The reason Kyle’s attack hit before Ruon’s wasn’t because he was more agile or composed. Rather, Kyle had already been rushing towards the tall woman before Ruon threw the dagger. His insane charge combined with the shock of his comrade’s death resulted in a splendid ambush.
“Die!”
The hammer falling with a thud appeared quite threatening even to Ruon. However, the woman gracefully leaped backward, evading the attack. As her hood was removed, her pointed ears were revealed.
She was an elf. Ruon acknowledged her exceptional movements as he looked at her ears.
“Where do you think you’re going!?”
Kyle swung his hammer again. He grabbed the end of the handle to maximize the rotational force, but the elf swiftly corrected her posture and used her thin sword to disarm Kyle’s hammer.
“Oof!”
Kyle was hit in the chest by a follow-up kick and staggered. She could have easily rushed in and finished him off with him collapsed on the ground, but the elf swordsman did not do so. Instead, she turned her head and met Ruon’s gaze.
“Are you just going to stand there and watch?”
She seemed to be conscious of the dagger that had killed her comrade. Ruon smirked and drew his Holy Sword.
“If you want, I’ll clash blades with you.”
With a light twist of his wrist, Ruon stepped forward. The elf swordsman seemed equally unconcerned about facing Ruon, smiling as she approached.
There was no meaningful conversation. The two simultaneously rushed towards each other. The elf, who closed the distance more quickly, kicked off the ground and thrust forward her thin blade, performing a remarkably swift stab.
Ruon raised his Holy Sword to deflect the stab, intending to counterattack. However, the speed at which his opponent’s sword was deflected and thrust back was even faster than before. Moreover, the spacing was also significantly different.
Ruon quickly withdrew his sword and blocked the thrust once again. Even though two of her attacks had been deflected, the elf showed no sign of disappointment. On the contrary, her footwork became faster, and the dust on the ground rose higher as a result.
The elf swordsman’s attacks, with their unusual footwork adjusting the distance with each blow, were so unpredictable in speed and direction that they would leave onlookers in awe.
Instead of immediately countering, Ruon refused to respond, instead adjusting his posture and limiting the range of the opponent’s attacks. He firmly grasped his sword with both hands and calmly focused on nullifying each incoming attack one by one.
The attacks aimed at his eyes, neck, and throat were all incredibly fast and precise, but none could penetrate Ruon’s defense.
As the exchange of offense and defense continued, the atmosphere gradually shifted in Ruon’s favor. The elf swordsman, unable to find any opening against Ruon’s impregnable defense despite using all her abilities and techniques, began to feel anxious. She momentarily retreated, feeling the urgency and fear. It was during that momentary gap that the Holy Sword penetrated.
A straightforward and powerful thrust pierced the elf swordsman’s chest in an instant.
Thunk.
As she coughed up a mixture of oxygen and blood, the elf swordsman, stumbling backward, sat on the ground. Without hesitation, Ruon pulled out the embedded sword. At that moment, Kyle rushed over.
“Why? Why did you kill the villagers! Answer me!”
The dying elf swordsman responded to Kyle’s shouting. In truth, it was more like the delirious mutterings of someone on the verge of death.
“Bilto said… that the magic waves he emitted… were being disrupted by… this damn monument. He was sure there was something… something… we should destroy… damn it… I should never have listened to him…”
The life rapidly faded from the woman’s eyes. With her last dying breath, she uttered empty words.
“—The waning moon will not forget to take its vengeance.”
That was the end. The elven swordsman, having finished speaking, remained motionless, like a statue.
“Damn it! So what?! What’s the meaning of this monument?!”
Kyle, who suddenly stood up, grabbed the fallen hammer from the ground and began striking the monument like a madman.
Ruon didn’t bother to stop him. Revenge was revenge. The smoldering anger in his heart remained, so it seemed better to just let him vent rather than offering feeble comfort.
By the way, the experience points gained were quite extraordinary.
Feeling the significant increase in experience points, Ruon smiled faintly. The small guy wasn’t particularly impressive compared to a mage, so the experience points weren’t substantial. However, the dead elf gifted him experience points several times more than that. It was a noticeable growth.
Although her last words bothered him a bit, Ruon figured it was probably fine. He didn’t know what the waning moon was, but if it came to a fight, he had no intention of avoiding it.
“Wait, what?”
At that moment, Kyle’s voice sounded perplexed.
“W-What’s happening here?”
When he raised his head, he saw that the area where he struck with the hammer had abruptly split open. The monument, now shaking unsteadily, began to fall forward slowly. What the…?
Caught off guard by the unexpected situation, Kyle hastily turned around and ran away, and Ruon also quickly stepped back.
Ku-gu-gugugu-crash!
In an instant, the crumbling monument engulfed the bodies of the deceased Bildo and the elf swordsman. Kyle, who had been watching the scene from a distance, muttered foolishly.
“Crazy.”
After a while, as the dust cloud that had risen settled, the chaotic remains of the open space became visible. Amidst the jumble of rocks, something revealed its presence. Ruon quickly approached the area.
It was a large circular shield. The shield had a black background with a silver border, devoid of any decorations or family crests. Other than being surprisingly lightweight for its size, it didn’t seem particularly special.
Ruon turned his head and asked.
“Is there any legend or story related to the monument and a shield? Something the village knows?”
Kyle shook his head.
“No. I haven’t heard anything about a shield, but this monument has been here for a long time, so—“
Ruon pressed his foot lightly against the scattered debris of the fallen monument on the ground. It easily crumbled with a soft thud.
“It’s not stone.”
More precisely, the area surrounding where the shield was placed was composed of a relatively weaker material. It seemed like someone had filled a part of the monument with something else to hide or store the shield.
When that portion, which was being relentlessly pounded by Kyle, broke, Ruon concluded that the shield, unable to withstand the weight, had shifted forward.
‘Was it because of this shield that the monument remained intact after being hit by magic?’
Ruon recalled the chaotic scene caused by the mage and the murmured words of the elven investigator before his death.
Although he was unfamiliar with magical abilities, based on the situation thus far, it was not difficult to speculate that this shield had the ability to block magic.
Ruon momentarily looked down at the shield, and then handed it over to Kyle.
“Here.”
Kyle, who unexpectedly received the shield, widened his eyes.
“Why me?”
“Because you found it.”
Regardless of the intention, Kyle was the one who discovered the shield, and he was also the sole survivor of the village. Plus, Ruon had little desire to keep the shield himself.
For Ruon, who valued mobility, such a large shield was rather cumbersome, so it was hard to find any disappointment on his face as he handed over the shield.
Rather, it was Kyle who had a complex expression. Sadness and devastation flickered in his eyes as he stared down at the shield.
“Just yesterday, at this time, everyone would have been preparing dinner. Smoke would rise from the chimneys, and the delicious smell would spread all around the village. I would have happily headed home, smelling that aroma.”
Kyle gritted his teeth as blood trickled down his lips.
“But now, all of that is destroyed by this damn shield.”
Kyle fiercely struck the shield against the ground.
“Damn it, what is this useless shield…”
Kyle’s eyes became red. Without paying any attention to the shield, he began to methodically clean up the bodies on the ground. Ruon joined in, helping him.
The two of them moved all the bodies to the largest house in the village and stood facing each other in front of the house. The sun had set without them noticing. Dark, gloomy clouds drifted ominously in the black sky.
Ruon asked, “Are you okay?”
Kyle nodded his head. He held a bundle of burning firewood in his hands.
“I can’t bury each and every person, so they will understand.”
With those words, Kyle tossed the burning wood through the window. The flames, fueled by the pre-applied oil, grew rapidly.
Staring blankly at the house engulfed in flames, Kyle eventually turned his body and looked at Ruon.
“Thank you.”
Bowing slightly, he extended a leather pouch from his arms.
“It’s not much, but please take it.”
Contrary to his words, the pouch felt quite substantial. Ruon received the pouch and asked.
“What will you do now?”
“Well… I don’t know.”
Ruon also had nothing else to say, so he scratched his head. Suddenly, he noticed a round shield lying on the ground.
“Are you just going to leave it?”
Kyle weakly smiled.
“No, I’ll take it. It’s the only thing left for me to remember all those who died.”
Kyle approached the shield, which was relatively lightweight compared to its size, and lifted it with one hand.
‘It suits him quite well.’
Smirking, Ruon suddenly turned his head, feeling a gaze from behind him. Standing a dozen steps away was a woman in a blue robe.
The woman spoke.
“I finally found you.”
“Who are you?”
The woman smiled warmly at Ruon, who instinctively gripped the handle of the Holy Sword.
“You don’t have to be so guarded, champion of Tibella.”
