Ruon looked at the eerie symbol with three intertwined hands, one black, one red, and one yellow, recalling Amella’s story. He spoke, “Are you also a servant of Belducius?”
“Do not speak that name so casually.”
Ruon removed his hand from the man’s face, and blood continued to flow from the jagged wound on his angular face with a stubbly beard. Licking the blood off his face, the man muttered.
“Impressive skills. A warrior who can cut through spears as if they were nothing… No wonder Salvetor met his end.”
Ruon shrugged his shoulders.
“Did you come for revenge, then?”
“Me?”
The man laughed roughly.
“What does it matter to me whether that unlucky bastard is dead or alive?”
“Then is it because of this?”
When Ruon took out a stone tablet from his pocket, the man’s eyes flashed before him. Confirming that the desire-filled gaze of the man was fixed on the tablet, Ruon put it away.
The man said, “It’s not something you should have. If you hand it over willingly, I’ll kill you without causing much pain.”
Talking big despite having half his face already torn apart.
Ruon inwardly mocked the man and unsheathed his Holy Sword. The sight made the man chuckle.
“You’ll regret not killing me with that last attack. You will come to learn that it was your last chance.”
A sinister light flowed from the man’s forehead as he spoke. Simultaneously, his body began to grow larger. Muscular arms covered in rough fur burst out of torn clothes, and sharp claws grew from his fingertips…
Before the man could fully transform, Ruon charged at him.
The shining Holy Sword cleanly severed the thick arm. With the man’s vocal cords were in the process of changing, he let out a scream that resembled an animal’s roar. Ruon closed the distance even further, slamming his shoulder into the man’s chest.
Having lost one arm, the man couldn’t maintain his balance and fell, while Ruon, who jumped on top of him, thrust down the Holy Sword with both hands. Despite the man’s resistance with his remaining hand, as the Holy Sword penetrated deep into his palm, he twisted his body in agony and opened his mouth wide as if in distress. It was not a scream, but rather an attempt to retaliate, as from within his elongated jaw, black flames spewed out. However, with his thigh firmly fixed against his opponent’s side, Ruon leaned his waist back like a bowstring, avoiding the attack and using the momentum to deliver a powerful punch.
Crack!
The fist crushed the beast’s bones and shattered the delicate tissue within. Covered in blood and flesh, Ruon, who rose while looking like a half-monster, spoke as he looked at the man’s face.
“Who said I’d wait for you to transform?”
He was a troublesome person, especially when shooting his spear from a distance. However, in a confrontation like this, the man was an opponent who posed no inconvenience to Ruon. It was also fortunate that he waited to transform. How many fools would be stupid enough to eagerly watch someone trying to become stronger?
“What’s this?”
As Ruon tried to withdraw the sword stuck in the man’s arm, he opened his eyes wide when a faint light seeped out from the deer-shaped pommel.
The radiance permeated the man’s body, extracting pure black smoke from within. Soon, the radiance engulfed the black smoke, causing the light to expand before fading back into the pommel. In that instant, a short phrase surfaced in Ruon’s mind as he held the hilt of the sword.
[Devil’s Adversary]
With the emergence of his new ability, Ruon felt a tingling sensation. It was something unlike anything he had ever felt before.
Immediately, Ruon drew the Holy Sword and closed his eyes. Soon, a faint light began to emanate from the sword. He swung the transparent divine sword, imbued with the light, towards the ground. A large stone lying on the ground split open like tofu.
“Yes, this is how a Holy Sword should be.”
Ruon smiled. He was in a state of realization, like a child tasting something for the first time, understanding the sensation that resonated with the Holy Sword. Although he still needed to consciously gather his focus, he knew that with time, it would come naturally.
“Ugh!”
At that moment, a battle cry came from behind. Turning his head, Ruon saw Kyle rushing up the hill with his shield held up. After briskly stepping forward, he stood beside the scattered corpses on the ground, alternating his gaze between them and Ruon.
“Is it over?”
“As you can see. How about you?”
“If you’re talking about the big beast, it’s dead.”
“You’ve been through a lot.”
Kyle raised his head at those words.
“It wasn’t me, it was Amella. I kept my distance so as not to interfere with her magic. I tried to block the incoming spears, but they kept flying towards you, Ruon.”
Amella, who had just arrived atop the hill, answered.
“Thanks to that, I could focus solely on killing that beast. Well done, Kyle.”
Amella patted Kyle’s shoulder and then turned towards Ruon, asking, “Are you okay?”
“No problems at all.”
“Handling it all alone. Truly remarkable.”
Amella approached the corpse of the dead man. As she examined his shattered head, Ruon scratched his head.
“He had the same symbol as Salvetor on his forehead… but it’s not visible now.”
At that remark, Amella silently chuckled.
“I know. Those beasts we encountered earlier were artificially modified creatures using Belducius’ magic. However…”
She trailed off, retracting her hand that was reaching towards the corpse.
“I can barely sense Belducius’ magic from this supposed owner. No, it’s too faint. Any guesses as to why?”
Ruon tapped the pommel of the Holy Sword with his finger and replied.
“This guy absorbed the black smoke, so I wonder if it’s related.”
Amella, who had been staring intently at the Holy Sword, nodded as if her doubts had been resolved.
“The silver deer symbolizing Tibella… I heard about it from the villagers, but that sword is truly the legendary Holy Sword. Yes, if that’s the case, I can understand.”
Ruon kicked the severed arm of the fallen man and spoke.
“Judging by the way he spoke before he died, it was clear that he was targeting the tablet. Even considering that, I’m curious how he knew our exact location and followed us.”
Amella reached out her hand in response.
“Can you lend me the tablet for a moment?”
“Here.”
Ruon handed over the tablet to Amella, who placed her palm on it with a serious expression. Up until now, it was no different from yesterday, but this time her lips moved. Her hand, reciting unintelligible words as if speaking in a dialect, gradually started emitting a bright light from the palm. As expected, sparks of crimson burst forth from the tablet. However, without stepping back as he had anticipated, Amella began chanting the incantation faster and louder.
“De-Melium-Ascentard!”
A dazzling light erupted. Kyle tightly closed his eyes and turned his head, but Ruon furrowed his brow and kept his gaze fixed. The dark sparks that ominously surged were being suppressed by a white light.
The light subsided. Amella staggered momentarily before raising her head. The cold sweat running down her forehead and neck gave an indication of how much power she had expended. Ruon asked.
“Did you find anything?”
Amella nodded her head.
“Yes, unfortunately, it’s not good news.”
She silently organized her thoughts and, with pursed lips, turned her head towards the two men looking at her.
“The power of Belducius contained in the shard is more than I anticipated. Even if we disregard the origin of the shard being the Philosopher’s Stone, it’s safe to say that the power within it is ominous, to the point where it’s basically a relic of Belducius.”
As Ruon silently stared at the Holy Sword at his waist, Amella raised her head.
“If you’re thinking of destroying it, it’s better we not. Even disregarding it being a shard of the Philosopher’s Stone, if we were to do that, we might all go insane right then and there.”
Caught off guard by Amella’s resolute words, Ruon shrugged his shoulders.
“Perhaps… Salvetor incorporated the power he received from the contract with Belducius into the shard, rather than his own body, and has been consistently doing that since then. If I were to speculate why, it could be to amplify the power he received using the potential within the shard.”
Amella said so, holding out the shard. Although Ruon felt uneasy, he accepted the shard regardless. He asked.
“If it’s such a dangerous object, why didn’t anything unusual happen while I had it? And it’s a bit coincidental that I encountered this guy shortly after meeting you. Was there any mistake during the process of touching the tablet yesterday?”
Amella nodded her head.
“…It’s correct to see it as a mistake. I apologize for that. The problem was that I recklessly tried to confirm whether it was indeed the Philosopher’s Stone without considering what Salvetor might have done to the shard. That’s why the power of Belducius leaked from the shard. It’s clear that someone sensed that energy and tracked us.”
Ruon asked without hesitation.
“So, will this ambush continue until we reach the Tower?”
“No, it won’t.”
Amella sighed softly and added.
“I’ve temporarily isolated the shard from reality. It still has a physical form, but its essence is in the realm of illusions…”
As Amella spoke, she quickly concluded her words, looking at the two men with confused expressions.
“Just think of it as being sealed.”
“How long does this seal last?”
In a concerned voice, Kyle asked, and Amella replied.
“Well… it should be fine for the time being. But it will become more dangerous as time passes.”
With that statement, silence fell among the three of them. Ruon remained expressionless, while Kyle scratched his head, seemingly unsure of what to say. Amella spoke again.
“It may sound like an excuse, but Ruon, even if you had continued to hold onto this object, something like this would have happened sooner or later. Even if the sword blessed by Tibella had protected you, the power contained within the shard would have found a way to leak out. Of course, the time frame was accelerated entirely due to my mistake. There’s no room for excuses. I apologize.”
Ruon raised his head.
“No, there’s no need to apologize. If the situation was inevitable, it’s actually better this way.”
Amella seemed genuinely sorry for awakening the power of the shard, but from Ruon’s perspective, it wasn’t a bad situation at all. Not only did he gain a skill, but he also learned how to amplify the power of the Holy Sword. Compared to dealing with the devil’s minions before, this was much better, wasn’t it?
After organizing his thoughts, Ruon added concisely.
“Now that the discussion is over, let’s move.”
