novelWhen I Met Someone Who Was Dead (1)
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Chapter 36 - When I Met Someone Who Was Dead (1)
1
Niberis loved the dark when there wasn't a single speck of light present. She could achieve complete serenity only in a space with this kind of darkness. However, she loved the darkness, not the silence.
She was staring in to the empty darkness when a whisper entered her mind.
-You haven't concluded your business yet?
She heard a voice from a very distant place. From across the mountains, lakes and even beyond the boundaries drawn on the map by humans, the voice reached the dark snow-covered fields...
Niberis answered.
"The preparation is finished. We'll have it wrapped up soon.."
-Why are you taking so long?
-That place is a dangerous land for you.
-If you aren't careful, they will realize your existence. There is a danger of the Dragon Demon Duke moving
-Maybe even Count Michael.......
There weren't only one voice. From various places from the continent, the voices flew in, and they were having a conversation as if they were sitting next to each other.
"Do we have any reasons to fear them? They are parasites living off the humans."
Niberis revealed her distaste.
The Dragon Demon Duke, and Count Michael was listed as people they had to be cautious around in the Rulain Kingdom. Dragon Demon Duke was of the Dragon Demon race, and Count Michael was a Dragon Demon.
There weren't that many from the Dragon Demon race, who had integrated into the human society, so their names were well-known. They were able to live longer than humans, and most of them held great power. There were few who didn't train their fighting technique and magic after assimilating into the human society. Most of them cultivated their talent to spread their fame with their strength.
From the perspective of Dragon Demon King's worshipers, they were existence to be afraid of, since they'll indiscriminately kill the worshipers. However, Niberis wasn't afraid. Her voice indicated she was unsatisfied.
-We can't underestimate them.
-Our forces are too weak to go against the Rulain Kingdom. If we let down our guard, then we might meet with disaster.
-Niberis. We all acknowledge you possess great abilities, but....
"I understand. However, there is a reason why I had delayed carrying out this mission."
Niberis felt disgusted.
In the organization, she was considered to be young. Moreover, she was treated like a child. Now that she thought about it, the old elders were basically like senior citizens nagging at everything. She felt her irritation well up.
Niberis spoke.
"I'm being sufficiently cautious. I am waiting for the day when the clouds will cover the moon. When the world is blanked by complete darkness, I'll take care of them."
The power of the Magicians were significantly influenced by the surrounding. It also depended on what their specialty was in magic, and where they placed their source of magic.
As a Magician, Niberis' source was the darkness.
When the darkness grew thicker, her power grew stronger. Moreover, on a night without a moon, her presence wouldn't leak out. She could covertly put up a barrier that could isolate one from the outside.
She hadn't attacked Arrieta's party, because she had been waiting for this day. She had chosen a suitable location and the day to attack Arrieta's party. Then she prepared as she predicted the climate.
"The one with the name soaked in sin has a secret.... I'll definitely find out what it is."
2
For good or for bad, a person doesn't change easily.
However, if given a chance, a person could change in a surprising way.
It had been a while since Azell was able to experience this truth.
"If... if you don't mind, could you give me some pointers, Sir Azell?"
Boar asked after he summoned his courage.
The day after the fight, Boar didn't complain as he shared in the work. He did the dishes, prepared the camp and he also cleaned after himself. He even asked for things to do from his own volition, and the discontent he had in his eyes from before melted away like snow.
Still, he didn't get along with the other party members. Previously, he kept a natural distance between them, but now he hung back while he studied us.
He knew why Boar was doing this. Azell, Giles and Arrieta discussed each other's techniques after sparring sessions, and he probably wanted to join in.
After four days after the duel, he finally worked up his courage.
Azell was a bit surprised at his change in attitude, but he readily accepted it.
"I'll welcome it any time."
Arrieta spoke when she saw this.
"You are really popular, Sir Azell."
"I guess so."
"Unlike me."
"... Hahaha."
Azell awkwardly laughed when he saw Arrieta sulk.
Since Giles sparred with Azell, Arrieta wanted to spar with Giles. However, he said he was afraid his inexperience might lead him to make a mistake. He was afraid of making a mistake, so he declined her request. This caused Arrieta to sulk.
This was the same for Boar, who joined them later. During the spar, Azell discreetly put out a feeler. The two of them told him they were uncomfortable by the fact Arrieta was a woman.
"Mmmm. That is... The fact that she is of royal blood makes it overwhelming. Moreover, she is a woman. I don't think..."
Boar gave a similar answer.
"I've never pointed my sword against a woman. I want to fulfill princess' expectation, but...."
There were women fighters in the Rulain Kingdom. However, the number was low compared to the male counterparts. Moreover, chivalry was a bit full of machismo, and narcissism. These two young men were earnest knights, so from their perspective, they felt uncomfortable crossing swords with a woman.
Azell was simultaneously baffled, and understanding of the two people's attitude.
"Well, what if your enemy is a woman? Last time there was a woman amongst the group called the Dragon's Shadow."
"Mmmm."
"T, that is......."
Azell clicked his tongue inside as he looked at the conflicted Giles and Boar.
'Jeez. It turned out like this after 220 years have passed?'
During the Dragon Demon War, there were a lot of female enemies. Whether it was Dragon Demons or those of the Dragon Demon race, both males and females exhibited overwhelming power. Moreover, there had been a lot of human women, who joined the Dragon Demon King's camp. They recruited people who were shunned by the society. Then they guided those with magical talent, and they were commonly used as troops. Magical talent didn't discriminate between gender, so it was common to come across a strong female magician.
This was why Azell faced a woman using all of his might. However, it seemed this generation of knights didn't feel the same way.
'These guys are being troublesome. It'll be trouble if I do nothing. '
If they hesitated when facing Regina, because she was female then their head will be severed in a blink of an eye. It was imperative to get rid of their awkwardness when fighting a woman.
Azell gave Arrieta a suggestion.
"... this is why I wan't you to give them an order."
"Are you trying to make me a bad woman?"
"It will be your noble sacrifice."
"You are skilled at putting a pretty package over it. Now I'm sure you are a bad man."
"You got me."
Arrieta snorted then she followed Azell's instruction. After that day, Giles and Boar was forced to fight Arrieta. Moreover, they experienced getting absolutely annihilated by her.
In the beginning, they forcefully insisted that they were worried Arrieta would get hurt. However, Arrieta snorted then she dominated both of them.
"Both of you are very prideful. Even the kingdom's famed knight tried their best against me without holding their skills back. How can the two of you, who are so young, be so arrogant?"
This made Giles and Boar embarrassed, but they still refused to yield. They acknowledged Arrieta's skill, but their pride was hurt when they lost to a 17 year old girl.
From that point on, they faced Arrieta with a serious attitude. Since this was a sparring session, Arrieta didn't bull them over my using her Dragon Energy. This allowed her to experience a meaningful sparring session.
However, a problem occurred on that very night.
3
'Mmmm?'
Azell's eyes opened in the dead of the night.
Originally, they had planned on staying in a village across the mountain, but several small accidents during the trip delayed them. In the end, they weren't able to cross the mountain, and they had to camp outside. One of the small accidents was actually coming across a party with a broken carriage axle. It had broken when they were running away from the monsters.
His party chased away the monsters. While receiving their thanks, Arrieta's party helped them return to the previous town they had just left.
This caused a delay, so they had to sleep outside. They had hoped to avoid this.
"... Sir Azell?"
Boar, who was standing guard, turned a questioning look towards him. Azell put a finger to his mouth. He signaled to Boar to stay quiet.
Even though, there was a night watch, Azell hadn't lowered his guard. Since he already knew someone was watching them, he couldn't be careless.
Even when he was sleeping, he put up a barrier fence that reacted to a specific set of triggers. Some might think this could be only done by a Magician, but it was possible for a Spirit Order practioner to use this 'technique'. It was established as a technique in Azell's time, and it had been passed on since then.
Something unknown was caught in the barrier fence.
'This evil energy... Is it a black magician?'
He felt a dark and damp energy of darkness.
This energy was hiding magic. He could sense someone was trying hard to hide their existence.
However, he had been trained by the one armed swordsman, Balf. Azell's absolute senses was focused to detect the energy leak coming front the hidden one. He was sensitive enough to feel the reverberation caused by the energy.
'Moreover, this ground resonance....... '
Azell touched the ground as he focused his mind. He used the vibration caused by the slight tremor to find the large numbered group approaching them from a couple hundred meter away.
'However, I can't sense their group thought. A big fish has shown up. '
If it was a normal person... No, even if it was a Spirit Order practitioner, they would have ignored the faint and barely existent vibration from the ground. However, Azell had used it to speculate the existence of the enemies.
However, when he expanded his senses, he couldn't feel their group thought, so he knew this was the result of someone using the power of magic. This person was different from the Dragon's Shadow Magician, who used the monsters to attack them in the Balan forest. There was a powerful magician here, who probably held the common knowledge used in the Dragon Demon War.
Azell immediately woke his companions up.
-Everyone wake up. Don't make a sound. Just pretend to be asleep.
He didn't open his mouth. He delivered his message using Whispering. Then he used a faint mental energy to naturally stimulate his eyes to open.
The reason why he used such a cumbersome method was simple.
He felt gazes on him. It wasn't just one or two people. He was sure the enemy was observing their location from within visual range.
'Regina. That woman is here. '
Azell never forgot the energy signature he had once seen. Of course, this was limited to those like Sir Giles, who had magical energy.
'Also, Kirion. '
From beneath the earth, he could feel Kirion's energy signature. When the enemy starts their attack, he'll probably use his special skill. He'll use his magic that allows him to freely travel underneath the earth to ambush them.
'Still, how is the bastard hiding his Dragon Demon energy?'
He was able to sense their existence using the mental wave and magical wave that was faintly flowing out. However, he couldn't feel the Dragon Demon energy used by the Dragon Demon. It was the same last time. It was thoroughly hidden enough to fool Arrieta and also Azell's senses.
'These bastards wasn't that skilled... Did they develop a new method during my sleep?'
The society treated the Dragon Demon King worshipers as if they deserved to die. Therefore, it wouldn't be too strange if they developed a technique that allow one to hide themselves. Wouldn't 220 years be enough for this?
Azell had already asked about the skills developed during his sleep. For example, Giles used a defensive technique that could separate the mind and the body.
'Hmmm....... '
When he was deep in thought, Arrieta opened her eyes as she asked a question.
"What's happening?"
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