Chapter 217 - Host (14)

I thought it might be an auditory hallucination.

When I turned around and saw Luna, I doubted it was a hallucination, and the moment I realized that Victor and Gale were seeing the same person as me, my heart sank.

Luna had come looking for me, breaking through the magic pressure with her body not even in good condition.

"Luna?"

She quickly walked towards me, calling my name from afar.

"Damian..."

I started to worry inwardly. What reason could she have for coming here looking like an abandoned cat?

Gale, perhaps thinking I was pathetic, muttered to himself in the northern language and went ahead without waiting.

Victor, seeming to sense the strange atmosphere, followed Gale.

"Don't be late."

Luna stumbled and fell, scraping her knee as she came towards me.

Seeing her struggling alone, I felt anxious and went back the way I came to face Luna who had sat down.

"Damian."

"Didn't you leave with the Drama Club?"

"I... ran away."

"Why? To fight together?"

"...No."

"Luna, you're not in a condition to use magic right now. Why on earth did you do this?"

"I know..."

"What's going on?"

Luna tightly gripped my sleeve. She seemed to have a lot she wanted to say but couldn't bring herself to speak and just groaned.

"..."

"Luna, it's okay, can you tell me?"

Luna lowered her head and pulled my sleeve tightly towards her body.

"...Don't go."

It was such an unexpected thing to say that I found myself asking back without thinking.

"...What?"

"...I have a bad feeling."

"Can you explain in more detail?"

I was confused about what to say. It was quite different from the Luna I had known so far.

If it were someone else, I might have brushed it off, but I couldn't do that with Luna's words. She wasn't the type of person to say things inappropriate to the situation based on mere feelings or trivial emotions of the moment.

"I can't do that. I have to go. Luna, you know that too."

What could be the reason for Luna, who had never blocked my choices in all the time I'd known her, to act like this?

"If Damian goes like this... I feel like we'll grow apart."

"Luna, I promise. I'll do whatever it takes to come back alive. Right now, Cecil needs me more than ever..."

"Cecil will be fine. So don't go... Please."

"Luna, have I made some big mistake that I don't know about?"

She shook her head vigorously in denial. Then how could she be almost certain that we would grow apart?

I lifted her chin with my fingertips and looked directly into her eyes. Her eyes were rimmed with red.

I couldn't grasp what I should say.

Then suddenly, Luna's ability that I had forgotten flashed through my mind. There was only one option that could explain this puzzling situation.

"Luna, did you see the future?"

A magical ability that existed in infancy and gradually disappeared as one grew up. 

You said that ability still faintly remained in Luna, right?

She avoided my eyes and hesitated for a long time before nodding.

"Yes."

Hearing her answer made me feel complicated.

I had experienced future visions a few times too, albeit in the form of dreams. If I had dreamed of growing apart from Silveryn, I would have been inwardly agonizing for at least a week, putting aside whatever I was doing.

Because I knew well what the pain of breaking a bond was like, I could understand her behavior. Luna's human relationships awee extremely narrow, so that pain would hit her even harder.

"Can you tell me what future you saw?"

The arm holding my sleeve went limp. Luna avoided my gaze and shook her head.

"I'm sorry for being selfish..."

Yet she still wouldn't let go of me. 

This stubborn and lingering behavior... it's just pitiful.

"Luna."

"..."

I should probably reassure her first. As I had experienced myself, future visions were never absolute.

"I don't know what you saw, but I won't grow apart from you by my own will."

"Then promise me. That you won't neglect me from now on..."

I raised my pinky finger.

"I won't neglect you, Luna."

Luna linked her pinky finger with mine and added, "And... if you have to fight, fight with all your might. Until you collapse from exhaustion."

I thought it unnecessary to add this, but I accepted it without much thought.

"I was planning to do that anyway."

Fortunately, the words I had said to comfort her seemed to have an effect. Luna wiped her wet eyes and appeared more stable.

"I'm sorry for holding you back in this urgent situation. I'll go back alone."

"Can you go back by yourself? Ah, more importantly... is Cecil really okay?"

Luna nodded with a confident face.

"...Yes. If Damian does his best."

***

I belatedly climbed the hill looking for the source of the mana pressure.

Finally, I, too, faced the Rupola Altar.

Through the trees, I could see a stone-paved flat ground and countless white bones. A circular ritual site, and in its center was a small metal altar that looked like a coffin.

About twenty paces away from the altar, I could see Gale and Victor with their weapons drawn. They were standing still as if watching something.

I approached where they were standing.

Victor, sensing my presence, spoke while keeping his gaze fixed on the altar.

"You're late."

Gale just kept his gaze fixed on the altar without saying a word.

At the altar, an unfamiliar figure was crouching and fiddling with something.

His hair was matted as if it hadn't been groomed for months, and his clothes were covered in blackened bloodstains. He had an old man's face, but half of it was smeared like melting candle wax.

Two swords at his waist.

The enormous amount of ominous magic pressure emanating from the old man's body. An ordinary person would probably have fainted before even reaching this place.

Leisurely gestures despite facing multiple enemies. He wasn't taking any precautions, but just looking at him made my arms tremble.

Even without fighting, I could sense it. This being was on a different level from any human I had faced so far.

Victor and Gale must be feeling this primal fear too.

I asked Victor, "Where's Cecil?"

Victor silently pointed to the altar with his chin.

The old man lit a candle and placed it on the altar. Then there were several loud clanking sounds from inside the altar.

"Mmph! Mmph!"

"Shh, shh, be quiet."

Looking closely, it wasn't an altar but a coffin. And that sound was coming from someone trapped inside the coffin.

I had to just watch, like Victor and Gale had been doing there.

Cecil was a hostage. If the old man decided to, he could kill Cecil at any time.

Since no one was speaking, I threw out a question first, "Sir, may I ask you something?"

The old man spoke without even looking up.

"Shh, it's not time yet."

"Weren't you looking for me?"

At that, he immediately turned his head, showing interest.

"Oh, Damian, is it really Damian?"

"I'm surprised you know my name. I'm not such a famous person."

"This lovely girl told me. She said her brave lover would come to save her and cut off my head. Hehehe."

At this, Victor glared at me once with a face full of questions.

"You..."

I ignored Victor and continued my question, "May I ask why you've gotten involved in these children's games, sir?"

"Hmm... Not enough food, not enough food..."

Suddenly, an inexplicable chill swept over my skin. Victor and Gale must have felt the same thing, as they took a step back.

The old man stroked the hilt of his sword at his waist and continued speaking, "Handling a magic sword is like handling a lover. Sometimes you listen to its stories, caress it with all your heart, and feed it delicious food to fatten it up."

Ching!

The old man suddenly stood up and drew his sword. A strange blade with a pale blue light was revealed, and the ground at his feet froze due to the cold.

As expected, he was a magic sword hunter. The atrocities in Marbas Village must have been caused by that magic sword.

"Only when you nurture it with love does the magic sword become more devoted to its master."

Gale and Victor sensed the crisis and immediately took battle stances.

I also immediately drew my wooden sword and said, "I'll keep that in mind, sir."

I took out the Griffin Potion and downed it, then put on my mask. Since I had to use my full strength anyway, it was inevitable that Gale and Victor would realize my identity. So in the current situation, it was better to add even one piece of armor to my face.

Victor looked at me again and trailed off, "You..."

The old man approached us step by step. Victor and Gale seemed to be struggling just to stand still, probably due to the surreal magic pressure.

I quietly asked, "Who's going first?"

"..."

"..."

Both Victor and Gale were silent for a moment. After holding out like that, Gale spoke first, "Nothing but cowards here."

Gale boldly walked forward, holding an axe as big as his body.

Unfortunately, the old man didn't seem to want to deal with us separately.

When he swung his sword, a blue-cold chill rushed towards us like a wave riding along the ground.

All three of us had to hurriedly throw ourselves to avoid it.

The cold air extended to the forest behind us. Soon after, the area of the forest directly hit by the cold air shattered like breaking glass and was swept away.

"...!"

"...!"

I had seen many freezing spells before, but this was the first time I'd seen such extreme power that swept everything away like a tsunami of cold air. A direct hit would leave no corpse behind.

If he could randomly fire such techniques, we would have no chance, but fortunately, it seemed he couldn't use it to that extent.

After the sword expelled the cold air, it writhed like a living fish.

Perhaps due to the recoil, the old man's arm lost control and stiffened for a few seconds as if electrocuted.

He didn’t have perfect control over the magic sword. If so, there was plenty of opportunity.

Victor and Gale hurriedly got up and exchanged glances. They felt without saying that this was not something to rush at separately.

The old man switched the sword from his right hand to his left. Maybe he couldn't control the power and overdid it.

Gale and Victor seemed to catch this too, as they immediately stood up and rushed at the old man simultaneously.