Night soon fell. It was dark, the stairs in the tower were difficult to climb——he couldn’t help but think that at least the stairs weren’t shabby. However——he didn’t expect it to be so tall. They were on the frontier, in the unexplored depths of a small village, this place must have had a decent designer. Makudogaru probably got him from Alenhatan City, that designer must have built the whole village, including the church and the factory.
Nevertheless, it was very difficult to climb the stairs. As the steep stairs were covered with straight pieces wood. Did the designer have this in mind when designing the staircase?
(This is very different from my hometown.)
In the darkness, he leg hit the edge of the stairs, Sarua smiled. His faint beard forming an iconic expression. The sword by his waist making a rattling sound.
(After all, when you leave your hometown……that’s when the fun and interesting things begin.)
He continued to climb up the stairs, the tower only had one room. Ordinary villagers were prohibited from entering that room by Makudogaru——it was the priestess’ room. The key to the room was personally carried by Makudogaru, he never opens the door unless Feina makes a sound.
However, it was Sarua knocking on her door this time, he lowered his voice, and said:
“It’s me——Sarua.”
After a while, the door opened. Feina appeared wearing a toga, she murmured:
“Is there something……you want?”
“Excuse me, I haven’t come to talk——nor to bring you refreshments. However, this time you may need to do something. And that kid——”
He then looked around the room, Sarua paused for a moment. He looked left and right across the room, then said:
“Where’s the kid?”
“Majic……he went to the underground cell since Makudogaru hates sorcerers.”
“Ah…I see. But don’t you want to see what Makudogaru will be doing to him?”
Having said that, Sarua quickly turned to leave. Then——behind him Feina said:
“Wait……”
“……Huh?”
Sarua turned around. He saw Feina’s eye lashes blink, she meekly said:
“For some reason I lay awake during the night, I don’t know why. I can’t sleep……”
“……Are you referring to that plan?”
Sarua casually said, Feina looked at him in dismay.
“Oh, why would you know? Makudogaru hasn’t yet——”
“Not to say I haven’t learned anything from my own investigation. It will happen the day after tomorrow, you and Makudogaru will be leaving the village. Only the woman and non-combatants will remain in the village.”
“In the end, you……”
What was he going to say? These words were stuck in her throat, she didn’t dare to say them.
Sarua revealed a wry smile.
“Anyway, you do realize that Makudogaru’s plan will succeed?”
“……Yes.”
The girl sighed afterwards.
“I can’t stand it——the village will perish and all of us along with it, day after day I’ve looked for a way to escape…but it’s not that simple. Say, if you don’t want to die, will you escape with me?”
“…I-I want to die…but I’m afraid…”
His voice was lifeless. Feina was afraid——then she closed her eyes, she began to cry.
Sarua sighed.
“I know I’m not a nice guy, but I’ll do my best to protect you. However, if you want happiness…it comes with a price——you can’t get close to someone, and you mustn’t cry.”
Then, he sighed again. He didn’t like preaching.
(Damn it——I hate this place, I can’t stand this frontier task I’ve been given.)
Sarua turned towards the door. He didn’t hear a response from Feina, she was still crying.
“Bye, I’ll try my best, until that day…don’t cry.”
He went straight down the narrow staircase.
“You came again, didn’t you?”
He heard a different tone of voice, he quickly looked up the stairs. Feina had stopped crying, she was currently the priestess.
“Yes……”
(…………?)
Sarua felt very strange in the darkness. He heard weird sounds coming from Feina’s room——
(This is an illusion——isn’t it? No——)
He thought it was best to not think about it, he quickly went down the stairs.
“Ahhhhhh!”
Sarua heard screaming. It came from the entrance.
It seemed someone was getting tortured——Sarua thought for a moment, had the interrogation really begun?
“Ahhhhhh!”
There was more screaming. He couldn’t see the usual guard waiting at the dungeons entrance, Sarua summarised that the guard was being briefed about the ceremony. He was waiting for a moment like this.
“Well…”
Sarua went down the stairs.
A strange odour filled the air. He tried to hold his breath as he descended the stairs.
Then, as he finally reached the cell, his mouth fell open.
“Ahhhhh!”
He screamed. Meanwhile, with great speed the iron bars of the prison cell pierced the wall——it missed his head by a few centimetres.
“Ah, my ears, asshole!”
A little man yelled——it was Vulcan. Dortin was also there, except it seemed he had fainted.
Across from the two small men lay Orphen, his face was slumped against the wall.
The Black Sorcerer lazily said:
“Ah……it seems my headache is getting better.”
“You better be serious!”
Vulcan lamented.
(These people, what’s going on?)
Sarua scratched his head as he thought——why were the two who gave us the information on the sorcerer here? He summarised that they must be working with him.
The black sorcerer weakly laughed on the ground.
“I’m not joking, Vulcan. I’m always serious——”
He was hard to believe from his tone.
“Return.”
This sentence was a mantra——he used it to pull an iron bar from the wall, it came out easily. It flew through the air and stopped right in front of him.
Evidently, he was using magic to control the iron bars. Since he was lying on the ground, it hindered his aim.
“…Master!”
A voice suddenly said. It was his student, Majic——he was quietly standing there, with a stiff smile on his face.
Majic said:
“It was a pure waste wasting all that physical energy……”
“That’s rich! A student preaching to his master on how to be a sorcerer! Give me a break!”
The black sorcerer calmed down, his cell was much more quiet now——even the rowdy Vulcan sat in silence. The black sorcerer closed his eyes, he sighed:
“It’s good to see you again.”
“You too.”
“Hey, hey!”
Vulcan cried.
“Maybe you are forgetting something, you almost hit us with those iron bars! Don’t make me kill you!”
Vulcan’s mad tears flowed violently, the black sorcerer slowly turned his head towards him, and said:
“……Cry me a river, actually you might just end up doing that.”
“Master, I don’t think that’s physically possible.”
“You don’t even show the slightest compassion for me!”
Vulcan cried, the black sorcerer raised his head, and shouted:
“Compassion? You are a stupid raccoon dog! I’ve been rooting away in here and you talk of compassion! What comes around goes around!”
“You no good loan shark! No matter how many injuries I suffer you still treat me like a cockroach, you don’t care about me! I’ll dye your hair and watch you die from the flamboyant colours!”
“That’s because you are a cockroach!”
Vulcan instantly busted into tears. Sarua continued to watch in amazement, but he knew it was time to make them aware of his presence.
“Hey……”
“Help me, brother! I didn’t do anything wrong, the sorcerer tricked me! He’s the one to blame, kill him now before he attacks!”
The black sorcerer frowned.
“…Is that so?”
“He kills people for pleasure!”
“Well……”
Sarua looked down upon the black sorcerer.
“The name’s Orphen.”
“Huh?”
Sarua smiled. He squatted down beside Orphen, he reached towards his dragon pendant.
“A dragon wrapped around a sword, the emblem of the Tower of Fang. This says a lot about you, Orphen…”
Orphen shook his face for a moment——as the owner of the pendant, he knew this. Engraved on the back of it was the word Krylancelo.
Sarua shrugged, he put the pendant back in place.
(Childman’s successor……Krylancelo)
The strongest human in history was Childman——he recognized the seventh student from Childman’s class as his successor. He had heard of his disappearance five years ago, he never thought he’d meet him in a place like this.
Just knowing this——
“Hmm…”
Sarua immediately took out a switchblade from a pocket in his army jacket, he snapped the blade open. Majic nervously grunted.
“You, what are you doing?”
He quickly got up and lunged towards him——
(He really is a novice.)
Majic tried to ward him off, but Sarua crushed his head against the wall. Vulcan cheered loudly.
“Brother, you have chosen to help me!”
Sarua darted back towards Orphen in an instant, he thrusted the blade towards his neck.
(Krylancelo’s legend ends today!)
The knife stabbed the ground. Orphen was no longer there.
He raised his head——Orphen was standing next to him. Although his face was pale, he looked well awake.
“Your body can’t move……this must be a trick!”
Sarua said, Orphen calmly replied:
“You fool, I’ve been resting the entire day.”
“You little shit……”
Sarua grinned, he quickly pulled the knife out from the ground——sending it towards Orphen, he easily dodged it. It pierced Vulcan’s head.
“Ahhhhhhh!”
——His scream rang out——
Orphen knew he couldn’t resort to using magic, for it he did it would leave him open to attack. Thus, Sarua began his assault.
Orphen was able to deflect most of the initial attacks, leaving only his head and elbow grazed. But Sarua’s leg sweep was what knocked the black sorcerer to the ground.
(This guy——Krylancelo isn’t worthy at all!)
Sarua cheered himself on, the thrill of the fight kept him alert.
Although this didn’t stop Orphen from getting up and landing a punch on Sarua’s face, though he was used to this sort of thing, he instantly hit back——hitting Orphen in the right eye, Orphen’s eye closed due to a conditioned reflex. There wasn’t any other choice, it was a fist fight now.
Both of them continued to dodge and land blows on one another, Orphen dodging more than attacking.
Whack!
Orphen saw an opening and took it, knocking Sarua on his backside.
Getting back up, Sarua did the unthinkable. He grabbed his sword.
He was about to draw it, at that time——
Orphen stood in front of him, his right hand raised. He was prepared to use magic.
“Don’t do such a dangerous thing……”
Sarua said, as his hands moved away from his sword. Orphen also lowered his right hand.
“Now I’m unarmed.”
Sarua said as he looked into the cell——Vulcan fainted, it seemed Dortin would never wake up. Majic had also been knocked concussion from the concussion.
“……Well, they are all asleep.”
Orphen was watching him like a snake.
“Aren’t you excited——you know your teachers dead, right?”
Upon hearing his words, Orphen’s eyes narrowed.
He whispered.
“Anyone who doesn’t comply with the Kimurakku church’s orders are eliminated, that includes your teacher.”
Then, Sarua pulled out his sword. A crisp sound rippled through the air, the blade appeared to be in the dark, it was invisible——
“My teacher, dead……”
Orphen said slowly. Sarua held his sword, there was no handle on the blade——or rather he couldn’t see it. It looked like it was made from special reflective glass. You could barely see the outline of the blade, it would be extremely difficult to see if the blade was swung very fast. If he was stabbed even once, escape would be impossible. A sword like this was a symbol of an assassin from the Kimurakku Church.
Sarua jokingly said:
"To be honest, if my opponent is the "successor of razor edge "——the Iron successor, then I would want him to have a more decent weapon......"
“…………”
Orphen remained silent. He raised his left arm——if anything went wrong, he would use his right arm instead. The black sorcerer’s injuries were not severe, but if he pushed himself too much he could cause irreparable damage to his nerves.
Sarua held his sword tightly, he took a step forward.
“What’s all this talk about the death of my teacher?”
“Why does Krylancelo of the Tower of Fang come here?”
Orphen took a deep breath, he wasn’t afraid.
He stared at his opponent in silence——the black sorcerer was tense and alert, his black eyes following Sarua’s every move.
He had a look of impatience on his face.
Sarua tipped the blade in his hand. Then——
“This is your end!”
Behind him came a childish roar. Shortly afterward, a dull sound, his brain had been hit, Sarua slumped to the ground.
* * *
“Woah……”
He groaned, Orphen put a hand on his forehead, he looked down upon the assassin lying at his feet. Blood flowed from where Sarua lay on the floor, but he wasn’t screaming——
“Ahhh!?”
After a shrill cry, the sword clattered off the ground. The blade splashed in the puddle of blood, the sword master——a delicate blonde girl——she loudly said:
“Oh, you’re bleeding!”
Nonsense, Orphen said to himself.
“Now, listen.”
He extended a finger.
“Where did you go to, how did you get here?”
“From the other entrance……I sneaked inside.”
Cleo pointed to the stairs behind her.
“Sneaked, listen……”
It appeared Sarua didn’t notice her when he was fighting Orphen.
“The soldiers that I got to help are waiting outside the village, I rushed on over here ahead of them.”
“And what the hell are they waiting for? You should have just brought them with you!”
“You are so ungrateful!”
Cleo shouted.
“Hmph……not that I expect you to be grateful anyway.”
After they were done, Orphen looked around the dungeon. It was a tiny cell with six people in it. Vulcan and Dortin were clumped together against the wall, both were still knocked out. Majic was still unconscious from the blow he received from Sarua, who was still lying on the floor.
“Thanks……I didn’t expect you to come back so fast……I’d be lost without you.”
Upon hearing this, Cleo’s eyes lit up.
“Exactly, that goes without saying. Without me, things would only get worse!”
“Sure it would……”
He put it bluntly, Cleo was speechless. Orphen continued to mouth off:
“Exactly, you’d be there to shield me against an assassin attacking from the darkness. Yes, you’d make a good meat shield. Otherwise I would probably be killed.”
He said as he walked towards Sarua’s body.
“We are in a crisis…this isn’t the time to make jokes…”
“…………”
Orphen listened, once again he looked into the cell.
“Hurry, heal him.”
He squatted above the body of Sarua, he saw blood leaking out from the back of his head. Even though he was bleeding a lot, he didn’t seem to have a skull fracture.
Orphen was about to begin the incantation, but he stopped.
“…………”
He raised his head, Cleo noticed this, she turned to look at what he saw. Behind her——on the stairs, stood a figure. A torch swayed gently down the stairs, it was a young girl wearing a silk dress.
“Feina……”
Orphen said softly. But something didn’t seem quite right, the girl in front of him was giving off unearthly vibes.
“Who is it?”
Cleo asked. Orphen replied:
“That the priestess of this village……”
“Oh……”
Cleo looked at Feina.
“That’s such a cute dress, can I touch it?”
Feina ignored Cleo. She walked directly towards Sarua’s body, she reached out to his wounds.
She uttered no incantation——the assassin’s wounds were healed instantly.
Feina continued to stay in place, she looked towards Majic. Majic was still knocked out, he breathing indicated he was having a calm sleep. She also looked towards other places in the room——a moment later, Vulcan and Dortin’s wounds had healed. The knife fell from Vulcan’s head, it made a clanging noise as it hit the ground.
The wounds healed, but no one woke up——the healing process must have had some kind of hypnotic effect. In order for them to recover from their wounds, they had to sleep through it.
Orphen thought. Just as he was done, Feina turned to him.
“You……”
She said, but she suddenly stopped talking. At her side with a satisfied expression was Cleo, she was eagerly awaiting approval.
“Go ahead…you can touch it.”
“Awesome!”
Cleo recklessly began to touch Feina’s clothes.
Orphen sighed, he said:
“I never can tell what you’re about to do……”
“Hmph.”
Cleo stared towards him. Orphen pretended she didn’t. He picked up her sword and began to wipe the blood off with a handkerchief. He then handed it to her.
“Cleo, listen to me——”
“Wait. Stop.”
Cleo hushed him with her hand. She put the sword back in its sheath, and said:
“I know that you are going to tell me to go somewhere safe.”
“Because it’s necessary, go outside the village and stay with the soldiers.”
“You can’t expect me to leave you here, I’m your partner, remember?”
“I know. But I need you to secure the escape route.”
Orphen held Feina’s shoulder and prepared to leave the room. Cleo hastily said:
“Ah——right! I’ll secure the escape route!”
“Great, proper partners share responsibility.”
Orphen said proudly. However, Cleo made a disapproving sound.
“Orphen, do you hate me?”
“Of course not, but you’d just be getting in the way.”
“I see……”
A cheeky look appeared on Cleo’s face, she marched right in front of Feina’s face——she got so close the tip of their noses almost touched.
(In the way, am I?)
Cleo thought. Both of them stared into each other’s eyes, neither of them blinked. It was a stalemate. After a while, Cleo gave up.
“Okay……I’ll do as you say.”
After saying goodbye, Cleo climbed the stairs and left. Orphen listened to the sound of her footsteps, Feina then said:
“Are you a sorcerer?”
“Yes…...there isn’t much time. Please excuse me……”
Orphen looked into her cowardly eyes. Orphen scratched his head and said:
“We’ve got to get out of here, all of us.”
“Tomorrow morning…”
Then, she clenced her fist, and said:
“Please come…”
Orphen looked at Feina, her face suddenly turned into that of a priestess.
(Cleo’s face could never be like this…)
Feina’s request was very simple.
“Before tomorrow morning, please come as soon as possible and escape the village——bring Sarua, and Majic.”
Such a thing couldn’t be easier. With Cleo guarding the rear with the soldiers, they could easily escape with little damage to the village. Unless the girl was planning on bringing the magical dragon with her, anything was possible…
“But…”
Feina shook her head.
“I won’t be going…I will be staying here.”
Upon hearing this, Orphen was shocked.
“…I…hope you can understand my heart?”
“But if you stay here Makudogaru will use you for whatever he’s planning!”
“I know. But…”
Feina’s voice was getting weaker, he could barely hear her. Orphen rubbed his head, and said:
“Seems like you have some inside information……but, no matter what, peace won’t reign over the entire continent as long as this dark magic is used.”
“I know…”
Feina murmured, she slowly knelt beside Sarua, and began brushing he dust off him.
“Do you know who he is?”
“I know.”
Orphen said without the slightest hesitation.
“He’s an assassin from the Kimurakku church, he’s dangerous. There are only eight glass swords on the continent and he has one of them, he can’t be trusted.”
He looked at the invisible sword on the ground——Feina also looked at it.
“I know, I heard what he said. But he spoke them like drunken words, I’m unsure if he was telling the truth.”
Then, her eyes moved from the assassin’s sword to his face. Orphen tracked her eyes——he compared her actions to that of Cleo, though their ages were different, Feina seemed more mature and concerned about others. Orphen then thought about something else.
(Majic, I think she’s in love with him.)
Obviously, Feina knew he was thinking this.
“Do you know why he’s here?”
“He’s here for a purpose, like me.”
Feina sighed.
“I knew a sorcerer was in the area……since you were close to the village, I pretended to take a walk……that’s how I met Majic.”
“You never answered the question, why is he here?”
Orphen asked. Feina stared at Sarua’s unconscious body, and said:
“Makudogaru needed an assassin. Until a few years ago, he was a teacher in the Kimurakku church.”
“The Kimurakku church headquarters......”
In the north of the continent——the church rules the entire continent from this location. Their power and influence is only second to that of the King. The church hates sorcerers, it’s widely know that they employ assassins to get rid of those who interfere with their activities, or those who are deemed too powerful. One day Orphen witnessed an assassination attempt on Childman’s life, he was sitting in the library, then an assassin disguised as a guest tried to kill him. He was defeated almost instantly, it wasn’t so easy to kill a sorcerer.
“Is Makudogaru also from the Kimurakku church? How did a member of the dragon faith end up here?”
“…………”
Upon hearing this, Feina’s face stiffened.
“The Kimurakku church……”
“Go on…”
“I don’t know!”
She shouted. Orphen was surprised by this, Feina started blushing.
“I’m sorry…this is just too much…”
“It’s alright.”
Orphen coughed.
“Makudogaru’s purpose……”
Feina stalled, she was slightly hesitant to continue.
“You don’t know the reason he’s here, do you? This village was originally created as a retreat for members of the Dragon Faith. The ancestors from that original village have scattered themselves all over the forest……he came to this village three years ago, he brought with him specialists from Kimurakku, they built the tower and the factory that builds pistols.”
“Manufacturing pistols……that’s a secret held dear by the King. Only members of the Kings army are allowed to wear pistols.”
“Makudogaru took a pistol from one of the Kings knights, afterwards they successfully created their own——according to Sarua, Kimurakku has been secretly developing them for a while. When Makudogaru brought the pistol to the village, he was regarded as a hero.”
“And then?”
Orphen urged her to continue. The manufacturing of pistols is a great feat, though studying them in secret is one thing, creating more of them is a great threat.
“But Makudogaru never intended to become the village’s leader. Ever since he arrived the Dragon Faith has become more active, though this isn’t surprising considering……”
Feina closed her eyes.
“He announced the pistols were going to be used to combat sorcerers, but he needed more powerful weapons……in order to get them, he travelled to the centre of the forest, the Great Heart.”
“Did he know the Dragon existed in the depths of the forest?”
Orphen asked. In the past, humans stayed clear of the centre of the forest, for they knew about the sacred guardian’s carnage.
“He knew……he was desperate to find the Dragon. Then…I came to this village.”
“He wants to use your magic and the Dragon?”
“Yes.”
“Dummy.”
Orphen couldn’t help but say this——Feina was really able to use the Dragon Race’s magic. But even so, she didn’t seem more skilled than the Dragon. Take the night the Giant Wolf appeared in the village——compare the use of the magic words to Feina, she clumsily used them, it was as if she was borrowing the power from somewhere else.
If that confrontation with the Dragon was real, it would have instantly obliterated everything. Simply put, the magic used by the Dragon cannot be measured on the human scale.
These things seemed clear enough.
A glum expression appeared in her eyes——
“That’s right……I’m stupid. I wouldn’t normally do such a thing. They forced me to do it……”
Feina then violently shook her head.
“I’ve…dug my own grave.”
“Grave?”
But Feina didn’t answer his questions. She went on to say:
“Tomorrow, this village will be destroyed, the facts can’t be changed. So……you’ll escape. Bring Sarua and Majic with you.”
Orphen looked straight into her tear filled eyes, he thought she would have been strong when the end came.
She went on to say:
“Sarua was the only one who tried to be my friend. Even though he wasn’t very religious, he did talk to me once in a while. This made me happy——but I’ve always been alone.”
The feeling of loneliness. Orphen knew this feeling at the Tower of Fang since he was an Orphan, it was a fierce competition, and sincere friendship was nowhere to be found. However, now he has someone he can talk to, have a heart-to-heart, his partner. Now——
(I’ve sent my partner away, now I’m with a friend. Can’t say which one is better, but at least I'm not alone......)
“I refuse!”
Orphen proclaimed. Feina’s face was full of surprise.
“I cannot agree to your request. I’m not going to let you stay in this village if it’s going to be destroyed.”
“But……I……”
Feina was extremely confused. Orphen got close to the girl, seizing her arms.
“It hurts……”
Feina couldn’t help but emit a small groan. Regardless of this, Orphen said:
“Listen——how could I leave a girl like you alone in this village knowing what will happen?”
After that, he let go. Feina rubbed her arms, she stared at him. Orphen couldn’t believe this girl has several times more magic power than him, he could only sigh.
(Every time, it’s trouble with a woman!)
But he had no time to consider the issue, dawn was coming.
Feina left, first to wake up was Sarua. Orphen didn’t know how long the extreme fatigue lasted, or the effect of Feina’s magic, he just silently put the glass sword back in its scabbard. He grabbed the unconscious Vulcan and Dortin, bringing them back to the servant’s room in Makudogaru residence.
“I’ll deal with Makudogaru.”
“I saw that your name was Krylancelo, I’ll remember that.”
“Why did you attack me?”
“Well——”
With a self-deprecating smile, he said:
“Because it was more fun that way.”
After a while, Majic still didn’t wake up, he figured it would take longer for him. Now all they had to do was wait for their moment, wait until dawn.
Night soon fell. It was dark, the stairs in the tower were difficult to climb——he couldn’t help but think that at least the stairs weren’t shabby. However——he didn’t expect it to be so tall. They were on the frontier, in the unexplored depths of a small village, this place must have had a decent designer. Makudogaru probably got him from Alenhatan City, that designer must have built the whole village, including the church and the factory.
Nevertheless, it was very difficult to climb the stairs. As the steep stairs were covered with straight pieces wood. Did the designer have this in mind when designing the staircase?
(This is very different from my hometown.)
In the darkness, he leg hit the edge of the stairs, Sarua smiled. His faint beard forming an iconic expression. The sword by his waist making a rattling sound.
(After all, when you leave your hometown……that’s when the fun and interesting things begin.)
He continued to climb up the stairs, the tower only had one room. Ordinary villagers were prohibited from entering that room by Makudogaru——it was the priestess’ room. The key to the room was personally carried by Makudogaru, he never opens the door unless Feina makes a sound.
However, it was Sarua knocking on her door this time, he lowered his voice, and said:
“It’s me——Sarua.”
After a while, the door opened. Feina appeared wearing a toga, she murmured:
“Is there something……you want?”
“Excuse me, I haven’t come to talk——nor to bring you refreshments. However, this time you may need to do something. And that kid——”
He then looked around the room, Sarua paused for a moment. He looked left and right across the room, then said:
“Where’s the kid?”
“Majic……he went to the underground cell since Makudogaru hates sorcerers.”
“Ah…I see. But don’t you want to see what Makudogaru will be doing to him?”
Having said that, Sarua quickly turned to leave. Then——behind him Feina said:
“Wait……”
“……Huh?”
Sarua turned around. He saw Feina’s eye lashes blink, she meekly said:
“For some reason I lay awake during the night, I don’t know why. I can’t sleep……”
“……Are you referring to that plan?”
Sarua casually said, Feina looked at him in dismay.
“Oh, why would you know? Makudogaru hasn’t yet——”
“Not to say I haven’t learned anything from my own investigation. It will happen the day after tomorrow, you and Makudogaru will be leaving the village. Only the woman and non-combatants will remain in the village.”
“In the end, you……”
What was he going to say? These words were stuck in her throat, she didn’t dare to say them.
Sarua revealed a wry smile.
“Anyway, you do realize that Makudogaru’s plan will succeed?”
“……Yes.”
The girl sighed afterwards.
“I can’t stand it——the village will perish and all of us along with it, day after day I’ve looked for a way to escape…but it’s not that simple. Say, if you don’t want to die, will you escape with me?”
“…I-I want to die…but I’m afraid…”
His voice was lifeless. Feina was afraid——then she closed her eyes, she began to cry.
Sarua sighed.
“I know I’m not a nice guy, but I’ll do my best to protect you. However, if you want happiness…it comes with a price——you can’t get close to someone, and you mustn’t cry.”
Then, he sighed again. He didn’t like preaching.
(Damn it——I hate this place, I can’t stand this frontier task I’ve been given.)
Sarua turned towards the door. He didn’t hear a response from Feina, she was still crying.
“Bye, I’ll try my best, until that day…don’t cry.”
He went straight down the narrow staircase.
“You came again, didn’t you?”
He heard a different tone of voice, he quickly looked up the stairs. Feina had stopped crying, she was currently the priestess.
“Yes……”
(…………?)
Sarua felt very strange in the darkness. He heard weird sounds coming from Feina’s room——
(This is an illusion——isn’t it? No——)
He thought it was best to not think about it, he quickly went down the stairs.
“Ahhhhhh!”
Sarua heard screaming. It came from the entrance.
It seemed someone was getting tortured——Sarua thought for a moment, had the interrogation really begun?
“Ahhhhhh!”
There was more screaming. He couldn’t see the usual guard waiting at the dungeons entrance, Sarua summarised that the guard was being briefed about the ceremony. He was waiting for a moment like this.
“Well…”
Sarua went down the stairs.
A strange odour filled the air. He tried to hold his breath as he descended the stairs.
Then, as he finally reached the cell, his mouth fell open.
“Ahhhhh!”
He screamed. Meanwhile, with great speed the iron bars of the prison cell pierced the wall——it missed his head by a few centimetres.
“Ah, my ears, asshole!”
A little man yelled——it was Vulcan. Dortin was also there, except it seemed he had fainted.
Across from the two small men lay Orphen, his face was slumped against the wall.
The Black Sorcerer lazily said:
“Ah……it seems my headache is getting better.”
“You better be serious!”
Vulcan lamented.
(These people, what’s going on?)
Sarua scratched his head as he thought——why were the two who gave us the information on the sorcerer here? He summarised that they must be working with him.
The black sorcerer weakly laughed on the ground.
“I’m not joking, Vulcan. I’m always serious——”
He was hard to believe from his tone.
“Return.”
This sentence was a mantra——he used it to pull an iron bar from the wall, it came out easily. It flew through the air and stopped right in front of him.
Evidently, he was using magic to control the iron bars. Since he was lying on the ground, it hindered his aim.
“…Master!”
A voice suddenly said. It was his student, Majic——he was quietly standing there, with a stiff smile on his face.
Majic said:
“It was a pure waste wasting all that physical energy……”
“That’s rich! A student preaching to his master on how to be a sorcerer! Give me a break!”
The black sorcerer calmed down, his cell was much more quiet now——even the rowdy Vulcan sat in silence. The black sorcerer closed his eyes, he sighed:
“It’s good to see you again.”
“You too.”
“Hey, hey!”
Vulcan cried.
“Maybe you are forgetting something, you almost hit us with those iron bars! Don’t make me kill you!”
Vulcan’s mad tears flowed violently, the black sorcerer slowly turned his head towards him, and said:
“……Cry me a river, actually you might just end up doing that.”
“Master, I don’t think that’s physically possible.”
“You don’t even show the slightest compassion for me!”
Vulcan cried, the black sorcerer raised his head, and shouted:
“Compassion? You are a stupid raccoon dog! I’ve been rooting away in here and you talk of compassion! What comes around goes around!”
“You no good loan shark! No matter how many injuries I suffer you still treat me like a cockroach, you don’t care about me! I’ll dye your hair and watch you die from the flamboyant colours!”
“That’s because you are a cockroach!”
Vulcan instantly busted into tears. Sarua continued to watch in amazement, but he knew it was time to make them aware of his presence.
“Hey……”
“Help me, brother! I didn’t do anything wrong, the sorcerer tricked me! He’s the one to blame, kill him now before he attacks!”
The black sorcerer frowned.
“…Is that so?”
“He kills people for pleasure!”
“Well……”
Sarua looked down upon the black sorcerer.
“The name’s Orphen.”
“Huh?”
Sarua smiled. He squatted down beside Orphen, he reached towards his dragon pendant.
“A dragon wrapped around a sword, the emblem of the Tower of Fang. This says a lot about you, Orphen…”
Orphen shook his face for a moment——as the owner of the pendant, he knew this. Engraved on the back of it was the word Krylancelo.
Sarua shrugged, he put the pendant back in place.
(Childman’s successor……Krylancelo)
The strongest human in history was Childman——he recognized the seventh student from Childman’s class as his successor. He had heard of his disappearance five years ago, he never thought he’d meet him in a place like this.
Just knowing this——
“Hmm…”
Sarua immediately took out a switchblade from a pocket in his army jacket, he snapped the blade open. Majic nervously grunted.
“You, what are you doing?”
He quickly got up and lunged towards him——
(He really is a novice.)
Majic tried to ward him off, but Sarua crushed his head against the wall. Vulcan cheered loudly.
“Brother, you have chosen to help me!”
Sarua darted back towards Orphen in an instant, he thrusted the blade towards his neck.
(Krylancelo’s legend ends today!)
The knife stabbed the ground. Orphen was no longer there.
He raised his head——Orphen was standing next to him. Although his face was pale, he looked well awake.
“Your body can’t move……this must be a trick!”
Sarua said, Orphen calmly replied:
“You fool, I’ve been resting the entire day.”
“You little shit……”
Sarua grinned, he quickly pulled the knife out from the ground——sending it towards Orphen, he easily dodged it. It pierced Vulcan’s head.
“Ahhhhhhh!”
——His scream rang out——
Orphen knew he couldn’t resort to using magic, for it he did it would leave him open to attack. Thus, Sarua began his assault.
Orphen was able to deflect most of the initial attacks, leaving only his head and elbow grazed. But Sarua’s leg sweep was what knocked the black sorcerer to the ground.
(This guy——Krylancelo isn’t worthy at all!)
Sarua cheered himself on, the thrill of the fight kept him alert.
Although this didn’t stop Orphen from getting up and landing a punch on Sarua’s face, though he was used to this sort of thing, he instantly hit back——hitting Orphen in the right eye, Orphen’s eye closed due to a conditioned reflex. There wasn’t any other choice, it was a fist fight now.
Both of them continued to dodge and land blows on one another, Orphen dodging more than attacking.
Whack!
Orphen saw an opening and took it, knocking Sarua on his backside.
Getting back up, Sarua did the unthinkable. He grabbed his sword.
He was about to draw it, at that time——
Orphen stood in front of him, his right hand raised. He was prepared to use magic.
“Don’t do such a dangerous thing……”
Sarua said, as his hands moved away from his sword. Orphen also lowered his right hand.
“Now I’m unarmed.”
Sarua said as he looked into the cell——Vulcan fainted, it seemed Dortin would never wake up. Majic had also been knocked concussion from the concussion.
“……Well, they are all asleep.”
Orphen was watching him like a snake.
“Aren’t you excited——you know your teachers dead, right?”
Upon hearing his words, Orphen’s eyes narrowed.
He whispered.
“Anyone who doesn’t comply with the Kimurakku church’s orders are eliminated, that includes your teacher.”
Then, Sarua pulled out his sword. A crisp sound rippled through the air, the blade appeared to be in the dark, it was invisible——
“My teacher, dead……”
Orphen said slowly. Sarua held his sword, there was no handle on the blade——or rather he couldn’t see it. It looked like it was made from special reflective glass. You could barely see the outline of the blade, it would be extremely difficult to see if the blade was swung very fast. If he was stabbed even once, escape would be impossible. A sword like this was a symbol of an assassin from the Kimurakku Church.
Sarua jokingly said:
"To be honest, if my opponent is the "successor of razor edge "——the Iron successor, then I would want him to have a more decent weapon......"
“…………”
Orphen remained silent. He raised his left arm——if anything went wrong, he would use his right arm instead. The black sorcerer’s injuries were not severe, but if he pushed himself too much he could cause irreparable damage to his nerves.
Sarua held his sword tightly, he took a step forward.
“What’s all this talk about the death of my teacher?”
“Why does Krylancelo of the Tower of Fang come here?”
Orphen took a deep breath, he wasn’t afraid.
He stared at his opponent in silence——the black sorcerer was tense and alert, his black eyes following Sarua’s every move.
He had a look of impatience on his face.
Sarua tipped the blade in his hand. Then——
“This is your end!”
Behind him came a childish roar. Shortly afterward, a dull sound, his brain had been hit, Sarua slumped to the ground.
* * *
“Woah……”
He groaned, Orphen put a hand on his forehead, he looked down upon the assassin lying at his feet. Blood flowed from where Sarua lay on the floor, but he wasn’t screaming——
“Ahhh!?”
After a shrill cry, the sword clattered off the ground. The blade splashed in the puddle of blood, the sword master——a delicate blonde girl——she loudly said:
“Oh, you’re bleeding!”
Nonsense, Orphen said to himself.
“Now, listen.”
He extended a finger.
“Where did you go to, how did you get here?”
“From the other entrance……I sneaked inside.”
Cleo pointed to the stairs behind her.
“Sneaked, listen……”
It appeared Sarua didn’t notice her when he was fighting Orphen.
“The soldiers that I got to help are waiting outside the village, I rushed on over here ahead of them.”
“And what the hell are they waiting for? You should have just brought them with you!”
“You are so ungrateful!”
Cleo shouted.
“Hmph……not that I expect you to be grateful anyway.”
After they were done, Orphen looked around the dungeon. It was a tiny cell with six people in it. Vulcan and Dortin were clumped together against the wall, both were still knocked out. Majic was still unconscious from the blow he received from Sarua, who was still lying on the floor.
“Thanks……I didn’t expect you to come back so fast……I’d be lost without you.”
Upon hearing this, Cleo’s eyes lit up.
“Exactly, that goes without saying. Without me, things would only get worse!”
“Sure it would……”
He put it bluntly, Cleo was speechless. Orphen continued to mouth off:
“Exactly, you’d be there to shield me against an assassin attacking from the darkness. Yes, you’d make a good meat shield. Otherwise I would probably be killed.”
He said as he walked towards Sarua’s body.
“We are in a crisis…this isn’t the time to make jokes…”
“…………”
Orphen listened, once again he looked into the cell.
“Hurry, heal him.”
He squatted above the body of Sarua, he saw blood leaking out from the back of his head. Even though he was bleeding a lot, he didn’t seem to have a skull fracture.
Orphen was about to begin the incantation, but he stopped.
“…………”
He raised his head, Cleo noticed this, she turned to look at what he saw. Behind her——on the stairs, stood a figure. A torch swayed gently down the stairs, it was a young girl wearing a silk dress.
“Feina……”
Orphen said softly. But something didn’t seem quite right, the girl in front of him was giving off unearthly vibes.
“Who is it?”
Cleo asked. Orphen replied:
“That the priestess of this village……”
“Oh……”
Cleo looked at Feina.
“That’s such a cute dress, can I touch it?”
Feina ignored Cleo. She walked directly towards Sarua’s body, she reached out to his wounds.
She uttered no incantation——the assassin’s wounds were healed instantly.
Feina continued to stay in place, she looked towards Majic. Majic was still knocked out, he breathing indicated he was having a calm sleep. She also looked towards other places in the room——a moment later, Vulcan and Dortin’s wounds had healed. The knife fell from Vulcan’s head, it made a clanging noise as it hit the ground.
The wounds healed, but no one woke up——the healing process must have had some kind of hypnotic effect. In order for them to recover from their wounds, they had to sleep through it.
Orphen thought. Just as he was done, Feina turned to him.
“You……”
She said, but she suddenly stopped talking. At her side with a satisfied expression was Cleo, she was eagerly awaiting approval.
“Go ahead…you can touch it.”
“Awesome!”
Cleo recklessly began to touch Feina’s clothes.
Orphen sighed, he said:
“I never can tell what you’re about to do……”
“Hmph.”
Cleo stared towards him. Orphen pretended she didn’t. He picked up her sword and began to wipe the blood off with a handkerchief. He then handed it to her.
“Cleo, listen to me——”
“Wait. Stop.”
Cleo hushed him with her hand. She put the sword back in its sheath, and said:
“I know that you are going to tell me to go somewhere safe.”
“Because it’s necessary, go outside the village and stay with the soldiers.”
“You can’t expect me to leave you here, I’m your partner, remember?”
“I know. But I need you to secure the escape route.”
Orphen held Feina’s shoulder and prepared to leave the room. Cleo hastily said:
“Ah——right! I’ll secure the escape route!”
“Great, proper partners share responsibility.”
Orphen said proudly. However, Cleo made a disapproving sound.
“Orphen, do you hate me?”
“Of course not, but you’d just be getting in the way.”
“I see……”
A cheeky look appeared on Cleo’s face, she marched right in front of Feina’s face——she got so close the tip of their noses almost touched.
(In the way, am I?)
Cleo thought. Both of them stared into each other’s eyes, neither of them blinked. It was a stalemate. After a while, Cleo gave up.
“Okay……I’ll do as you say.”
After saying goodbye, Cleo climbed the stairs and left. Orphen listened to the sound of her footsteps, Feina then said:
“Are you a sorcerer?”
“Yes…...there isn’t much time. Please excuse me……”
Orphen looked into her cowardly eyes. Orphen scratched his head and said:
“We’ve got to get out of here, all of us.”
“Tomorrow morning…”
Then, she clenced her fist, and said:
“Please come…”
Orphen looked at Feina, her face suddenly turned into that of a priestess.
(Cleo’s face could never be like this…)
Feina’s request was very simple.
“Before tomorrow morning, please come as soon as possible and escape the village——bring Sarua, and Majic.”
Such a thing couldn’t be easier. With Cleo guarding the rear with the soldiers, they could easily escape with little damage to the village. Unless the girl was planning on bringing the magical dragon with her, anything was possible…
“But…”
Feina shook her head.
“I won’t be going…I will be staying here.”
Upon hearing this, Orphen was shocked.
“…I…hope you can understand my heart?”
“But if you stay here Makudogaru will use you for whatever he’s planning!”
“I know. But…”
Feina’s voice was getting weaker, he could barely hear her. Orphen rubbed his head, and said:
“Seems like you have some inside information……but, no matter what, peace won’t reign over the entire continent as long as this dark magic is used.”
“I know…”
Feina murmured, she slowly knelt beside Sarua, and began brushing he dust off him.
“Do you know who he is?”
“I know.”
Orphen said without the slightest hesitation.
“He’s an assassin from the Kimurakku church, he’s dangerous. There are only eight glass swords on the continent and he has one of them, he can’t be trusted.”
He looked at the invisible sword on the ground——Feina also looked at it.
“I know, I heard what he said. But he spoke them like drunken words, I’m unsure if he was telling the truth.”
Then, her eyes moved from the assassin’s sword to his face. Orphen tracked her eyes——he compared her actions to that of Cleo, though their ages were different, Feina seemed more mature and concerned about others. Orphen then thought about something else.
(Majic, I think she’s in love with him.)
Obviously, Feina knew he was thinking this.
“Do you know why he’s here?”
“He’s here for a purpose, like me.”
Feina sighed.
“I knew a sorcerer was in the area……since you were close to the village, I pretended to take a walk……that’s how I met Majic.”
“You never answered the question, why is he here?”
Orphen asked. Feina stared at Sarua’s unconscious body, and said:
“Makudogaru needed an assassin. Until a few years ago, he was a teacher in the Kimurakku church.”
“The Kimurakku church headquarters......”
In the north of the continent——the church rules the entire continent from this location. Their power and influence is only second to that of the King. The church hates sorcerers, it’s widely know that they employ assassins to get rid of those who interfere with their activities, or those who are deemed too powerful. One day Orphen witnessed an assassination attempt on Childman’s life, he was sitting in the library, then an assassin disguised as a guest tried to kill him. He was defeated almost instantly, it wasn’t so easy to kill a sorcerer.
“Is Makudogaru also from the Kimurakku church? How did a member of the dragon faith end up here?”
“…………”
Upon hearing this, Feina’s face stiffened.
“The Kimurakku church……”
“Go on…”
“I don’t know!”
She shouted. Orphen was surprised by this, Feina started blushing.
“I’m sorry…this is just too much…”
“It’s alright.”
Orphen coughed.
“Makudogaru’s purpose……”
Feina stalled, she was slightly hesitant to continue.
“You don’t know the reason he’s here, do you? This village was originally created as a retreat for members of the Dragon Faith. The ancestors from that original village have scattered themselves all over the forest……he came to this village three years ago, he brought with him specialists from Kimurakku, they built the tower and the factory that builds pistols.”
“Manufacturing pistols……that’s a secret held dear by the King. Only members of the Kings army are allowed to wear pistols.”
“Makudogaru took a pistol from one of the Kings knights, afterwards they successfully created their own——according to Sarua, Kimurakku has been secretly developing them for a while. When Makudogaru brought the pistol to the village, he was regarded as a hero.”
“And then?”
Orphen urged her to continue. The manufacturing of pistols is a great feat, though studying them in secret is one thing, creating more of them is a great threat.
“But Makudogaru never intended to become the village’s leader. Ever since he arrived the Dragon Faith has become more active, though this isn’t surprising considering……”
Feina closed her eyes.
“He announced the pistols were going to be used to combat sorcerers, but he needed more powerful weapons……in order to get them, he travelled to the centre of the forest, the Great Heart.”
“Did he know the Dragon existed in the depths of the forest?”
Orphen asked. In the past, humans stayed clear of the centre of the forest, for they knew about the sacred guardian’s carnage.
“He knew……he was desperate to find the Dragon. Then…I came to this village.”
“He wants to use your magic and the Dragon?”
“Yes.”
“Dummy.”
Orphen couldn’t help but say this——Feina was really able to use the Dragon Race’s magic. But even so, she didn’t seem more skilled than the Dragon. Take the night the Giant Wolf appeared in the village——compare the use of the magic words to Feina, she clumsily used them, it was as if she was borrowing the power from somewhere else.
If that confrontation with the Dragon was real, it would have instantly obliterated everything. Simply put, the magic used by the Dragon cannot be measured on the human scale.
These things seemed clear enough.
A glum expression appeared in her eyes——
“That’s right……I’m stupid. I wouldn’t normally do such a thing. They forced me to do it……”
Feina then violently shook her head.
“I’ve…dug my own grave.”
“Grave?”
But Feina didn’t answer his questions. She went on to say:
“Tomorrow, this village will be destroyed, the facts can’t be changed. So……you’ll escape. Bring Sarua and Majic with you.”
Orphen looked straight into her tear filled eyes, he thought she would have been strong when the end came.
She went on to say:
“Sarua was the only one who tried to be my friend. Even though he wasn’t very religious, he did talk to me once in a while. This made me happy——but I’ve always been alone.”
The feeling of loneliness. Orphen knew this feeling at the Tower of Fang since he was an Orphan, it was a fierce competition, and sincere friendship was nowhere to be found. However, now he has someone he can talk to, have a heart-to-heart, his partner. Now——
(I’ve sent my partner away, now I’m with a friend. Can’t say which one is better, but at least I'm not alone......)
“I refuse!”
Orphen proclaimed. Feina’s face was full of surprise.
“I cannot agree to your request. I’m not going to let you stay in this village if it’s going to be destroyed.”
“But……I……”
Feina was extremely confused. Orphen got close to the girl, seizing her arms.
“It hurts……”
Feina couldn’t help but emit a small groan. Regardless of this, Orphen said:
“Listen——how could I leave a girl like you alone in this village knowing what will happen?”
After that, he let go. Feina rubbed her arms, she stared at him. Orphen couldn’t believe this girl has several times more magic power than him, he could only sigh.
(Every time, it’s trouble with a woman!)
But he had no time to consider the issue, dawn was coming.
Feina left, first to wake up was Sarua. Orphen didn’t know how long the extreme fatigue lasted, or the effect of Feina’s magic, he just silently put the glass sword back in its scabbard. He grabbed the unconscious Vulcan and Dortin, bringing them back to the servant’s room in Makudogaru residence.
“I’ll deal with Makudogaru.”
“I saw that your name was Krylancelo, I’ll remember that.”
“Why did you attack me?”
“Well——”
With a self-deprecating smile, he said:
“Because it was more fun that way.”
After a while, Majic still didn’t wake up, he figured it would take longer for him. Now all they had to do was wait for their moment, wait until dawn.
