Chapter 5 Part 1
Translator : PolterGlast
Proofreader : John4891
"Haa
haa haa ..."
In
the forest, someone was wielding a katana. In front of him, there were demon
beasts with countless red eyes and there were also countless black humanoids
with smoke-like miasma.
Those
black humanoids wielded swords, spears, axes, halberd, and other weapons in
their hands and attacked him.
==================================
Nozomu's
POV
I
needed to avoid the blade, swing down from the front, and pass through the side
of the opponents, and cut through their side.
From
the right side, another black humanoid swung its greatsword sideways and tried
to get rid of me along with the black humanoids that had just been cut.
"Kuh!!"
I
saw through the trajectory of the greatsword, crouched down to avoid the
greatsword, and put my strength on my bent knees.
The
moment the greatsword passed over my head. I released the power stored in my
knees, swung my katana up while jumping, and slashed the black humanoid in
front of me.
A
black humanoid with a spear rushed in from the opposite direction, but I thrust
the blade of my katana into the opponent and cut it off.
"Damn
……"
Even
if they were slashed off, mowed down, and knocked down, the black humanoids
reappeared one after another.
Before
I knew it, my surroundings were covered with black humanoids, and there was no
way to escape. The black humanoids surrounded me and I backed away to put some
distance between me and them.
The
difference in numbers made Nozomu’s defeat inevitable. Before I knew it, I was
trying to release the invisible chain that bound me.
The
next moment, the surrounding black humanoids jumped toward me all at once.
With
my left hand, I hit the ground with all my might against the black humanoids
that were approaching from all directions.
Qi
technique [Light of Extinction]
A
pillar of light erupted to cover my surroundings and burned away the black
humanoids that jumped in, but as I thought, it could only stop them
temporarily.
"Gaaa!"
The
black humanoids, who couldn't be defeated, launched a counterattack at me since
there were gaps in my defence. They pierced my body with the weapons they had
in their hands.
My
consciousness turned white due to the severe pain, and blood oozed out of the
wounds. As the blood gushed out all at once, it got cold rapidly and my field
of vision became pitch black.
"A-Aa
…"
I
felt chills all over my body. A presence of death that slipped into my body.
(No,
I refuse …)
Even
though my body was already cold, his reluctance towards death swelled in
contrast and suddenly started burning my heart.
The
flames blazing with the will to live took me to my limits, moved my hands, and
tore apart the chains that bound me.
In
the next moment, my whole body was full of power, and an overflowing stream of
power blew away the black humanoids.
My
strong will for not wanting to die.
Blood
was still flowing from all over my body, but I didn't care about that. I cut
the black humanoid who was about to attack and hit it with a bisection slash
using Qi technique [Phantom]. In addition, I hit the scabbard into the flank of
the black humanoid who was charging from the other side.
The
black humanoid's ribs were crushed by the scabbard and its body was bent into a
dogleg shape, and several black humanoids who were around it too were blown
away.
Furthermore,
I sent Qi to my feet and activated [Instant Move -Curve Dance-]. Before being
surrounded again, I slipped past the black humanoids in a high-speed curve
movement and activated Qi technique [Phantom -Clad-] on my katana, and cut the
black humanoids.
I
broke through the encirclement and swung my katana while running around inside
the group of black humanoids.
The
black humanoids couldn't follow my movements and were one-sidedly mowed down.
Finally,
all the black humanoids had been cut down, and I took a deep breath, letting
the chains wrap around me again.
However,
by the time the chain finished wrapping me. The scene in front of me changed
completely.
"Eh?"
I
was supposed to be in the forest, but before I knew it, I was in the ruins.
A
familiar building collapsed and caught fire, dyeing the surroundings red. It
was the same crimson dream I had before.
"U-Ue
..."
A
tremendous feeling of nausea rose the depths of my chest.
The
countless fallen black humanoids, which had just been cut down, had turned red
before I knew it.
No,
they weren’t black humanoids.
The
familiar white-based uniform.
They
wore the same uniform as me. They were also Solminati Academy students.
They
were slashed with sharp blades without exception. What I saw before me was my
of own doing, and it hit me hard.
"Gu-Ge
e ~e~eee~e!"
I
couldn’t bear it anymore and spat out what was in my stomach.
I
crouched while holding my head like a child. I didn't want to admit it. The
person who caused this tragedy was me, not "that guy".
"A-Aa"
However,
no matter how much I closed my eyes tightly to deny it, the smell of blood that
filled the surroundings, the sound of sparks erupting, and the rumbling sound
of buildings collapsing continued to point out the tragedy that I’d caused.
When
I crouched down, I could see the face of someone in front of me.
"U~!!"
In
the darkness with little to no light, that face came to my sight. I was
familiar with that face. However, instead of a face with a sun-like smile, only
a pure white expression of death appeared before me.
Obviously,
her body, from her neck down, was gone. Reason being, I already cut it off.
"Uaaaaaaaa!!"
While
my scream reverberated across the bloody and crumbling Arcazam, my outstretched
shadow suddenly changed, forming six wings.
My
shadow kept changing, forming a shape. A light lit up in my eyeballs and began
to pulsate, but I didn't notice it and kept screaming.
"Uaaaaaaaa!!"
I
jumped out of the futon and immediately rushed into the bathroom.
"Ugu-Eu-Geeee
"
I
desperately thrust my face into the washbasin and tried to vomit what was in my
stomach, but there was nothing in my stomach, so only gastric juices came out.
However,
the feeling of nausea didn’t disappear, and I drank the water in the jug. After
drinking, I immediately spat it out.
After
repeating it several times, the feeling of nausea finally subsided; however,
now an overwhelming sense of malaise enveloped my body, and I just sat on the
floor and leaned my back against the wall.
It
had been two weeks since encountering that black demon beast, but my condition
was getting worse.
Somehow
I managed to get up and get ready to go to school.
The
morning sun was warm and enveloped Arcazam.
"Fuu
..."
Before
leaving the dorm, I took a deep breath and calmed myself down.
To
be honest, my current complexion wasn’t great.
After
the incident with the black demon beast, Iris and the others became somewhat
worried about me.
I
met Lisa and Ken just before going into the forest, and my vicious impulses
rose within me at that very moment.
I
didn't want my nasty impulses to explode, so I ran to escape from the issue.
Mars,
who was with me at the time, told Iris and the others. After Shina’s friends
and I defeated the black demon beast, and after finishing the report to the
school, I was questioned by Iris and the others.
However,
in the end, I could only give them an ambiguous reply.
"…
Is that so"
“…………………”
I
remembered.
Irisdina
and the others looked somewhat lonely. Mars silently glared at me without
trying to hide his dissatisfaction he had towards me for not saying anything.
On
that day, we were feeling awkward the whole time.
Furthermore,
even during training in the forest, nightmares and wicked impulses flashed
through my head and bound my heart. Even if I tried to grab and tear the chain
of Ability Suppression, my hands couldn't move any further.
"Good
morning,Nozomu"
"Good
mo~rni~ng!"
I
was called and when I turned around, Iris, Somia, Mars, and Tima were there
before I knew it.
"Good
morning, Nozomu-kun"
"Yoo"
Tima
and Mars also greeted me after Iris and Somia.
"Good
morning"
I
forcibly put the dream I had last night in the depths of my heart and tried to
pretend to be calm, returning their greetings.
However,
my voice was also a little stiff.
"That's
why Lansa-chan got angry and scolded the boys with all her might."
"Well,
I don't know how she feels, but I think they're both at fault."
"Is
that so? I think the boys just reap what they sow ..."
"Hahaha
……"
"Well,
the cause was those boys. The girl named Lansa wouldn't suddenly scold them for
no reason..."
We
had such conversations on our way to school early in the morning.
Somia-chan
was talking about her classmates.
There
was a girl named Lansa who was giving a warning because the boys had forgotten
their class duty, but the boys didn't reflect on it and started to lose their
temper. In return, Lansa also got angry. It seemed that it later developed into
a big quarrel.
Iris
said that both were at fault, and Mars said that the boys reaped what they
sowed.
Tima
smiled bitterly at the two of them.
I
couldn't talk about what happened in the forest, and for a few days after that,
the vibe became awkward. Our facial expressions were a little stiff, but
recently we could finally talk normally.
Another
thing that had changed was ...
"Ah!
There he is! O~i! Nozomu-kun!!"
A
voice like the sound of a bell resounded in the surroundings.
Seeing
the person who made that voice, three people wearing the same Solminati Academy
uniform came here.
The
first was Shīna Juliel, an elf girl with long blue hair tied with a black cloth
headband.
The
other was Mimuru, a Wildcat girl with cat ears and tanned skin.
Behind
Mimuru was Tom, Mimuru's lover, who was smaller and thinner than the other two.
It
was probably Mimuru who called out to me. She waved her hand to announce her
presence, just like when she found her close friend.
This
was another change around me. After that incident, they started talking to me
from time to time.
"Good
morning, Nozomu-kun. Sorry. Mimuru suddenly shouted like that."
"No,
I don't mind that ..."
"That's
right! He's not someone who minds such things. Shīna is still very
stubborn~~"
"It's
because you’re too soft like cream, so I have no other choice."
"I'm
in trouble. If I look so delicious, I might get attacked and eaten by Shīna.
It's hard to be so popular~~"
“I
assure you, Mimuru, you are very popular right now. Everyone, remember Mimuru’s
cooking skills? What she put in the soft cream wasn’t sugar but salt and chili
peppers. Such a wasted dish. No one would be able to eat it."
"Wha!
It's not that terrible!! Of course, I'm not good at cooking. Even so, my only
mistake was the salt!!"
"It's
no good either way ..."
Mimuru
retorted and wasn't aware of Shīna's sarcasm.
Tom's
face next to me turned pale ... Yeah, let's pretend not to see it. Back in Shisho's
hut, it might’ve been if I had cooked.
"Good
morning. You three are the same as usual."
"Good
morning, Nozomu-kun. Even in class, Shīna and Mimuru are still like that. Well,
that's a good thing though."
Tom
smiled as he said so.
Shīna
and Mimuru were sarcastic towards each other, but despite such an exchange,
their facial expressions were very bright.
The
bond between those who overcame that incident grew stronger.
"O,
yaho Somi~chi! How are you doing?!"
"Yess!
I'm fine today too~!!"
When
Mimuru found Somia, she smiled and gave a high five after she arrived beside
her.
After
that incident, Iris and the others started talking to Shīna, Mimuru, and Tom
since the chances of encountering them increased.
"Ah,
good morning, Mars-kun. About the knife I gave you yesterday, how was it?"
"Oh,
I was able to use the technique quite easily, however, the power was the
problem. If you carve a formation on the blade, the power will drop."
Tom
was talking with Mars and Tima about magic.
Mars
was studying magic with Tima, but it was still difficult.
Mars
did his best, but even if he managed to learn the theory behind a technique, it
didn't work when it came to application and using it even in practice.
Mars
was tactless when it came to magic, as he had only used Qi techniques, and that
was the only way for him to fight.
When
he tried to use magic while fighting or wielding a sword, his control over the
Qi technique that he applied on himself became unstable. In addition, Mars was
by no means good at controlling magic.
Therefore,
Tom proposed a method of using alchemy to draw a formation in advance and then
pouring magical power into it to activate the magic. This could reduce the
burden on Mars instead of creating the magic from scratch.
By
the way, Iris sometimes joined their conversation.
"But
Mars' weapon is a greatsword, right? If it's for developing a new magic or
spell, I don't think you need to think too much about strength ..."
"That
said, I'm a vanguard. There might be occasions where I need to change my weapon
to counter the opponent's attack. Well, I won’t use this knife though ...
"
The
knife depicted with magic formations were commercially available, but it seemed
this time it was just an experiment. Perhaps Tom was thinking of adding it to
his lover's knife.
"Hmm
… It's hard to carve a magic formation directly onto the blade ... but, I guess
there's no problem with trying ..."
Tom
was an alchemist, not a blacksmith. Although he had no problem with the
application of magic, he was a complete amateur in terms of the power of a
weapon and how to handle it.
"Hmm.
As I thought, I need to think about it a little more. Thank you, Mars and
Tima."
"No,
you helped me too. To be honest, I had a hard time using magic while fighting."
"N-No.
I'm the one who should be thanking you ... I'm not familiar with adding magic
to weapons ..."
Tima
had knowledge of various kinds of magic that could be learned such as attack
magic, recovery magic, and auxiliary magic; however, having the ability to
learn it and whether it could actually be used were two different matters.
She
was only 17 years old. She couldn’t cover thousands of years of magical history
and wisdom.
It
couldn’t be helped, especially when she wasn't familiar with the magic she didn't
usually use.
"Speaking
of which, Shīna-kun, you have long hair, so I wonder how you take care of
it?"
"Well,
I wipe my hair thoroughly after washing it with water. I try to make it feel as
natural as possible so as not to apply strong force. Besides, it seems that my
hair gets damaged easily if I wipe it right away after washing ... How about
you, Irisdina-san?"
"Umm.
My maid does it for me, but sometimes I try to do it myself. But I'm still
worried. It seems my hair has been a bit damaged lately ..."
After
saying that, Iris brushed her own hair with her white hands.
Iris
and Shīna were talking about something very feminine.
Her
hair was black and very shiny, and to be clear, I didn’t know where or how it
got damaged.
"Well,
that's right. A lot of things have happened lately, so my hair got a little
damaged."
Shīna
also pinched her long blue hair and showed it to Iris. They showed each other's
hair the same way, but I still didn’t get it.
"Hey
Nozomu. You think so too, right?"
"……
Eh?"
"See,
this hair. It's a little damaged ..."
"Yes,
this one too ..."
They
suddenly spoke to me.
It
seemed like Iris and Shīna were pinching the ends of their hair and showing
them in front of me, which seemed to be about the hair quality they spoke of
earlier.
Black
and blue. The colors were different, but both were very beautiful. I felt that
Shīna's hair was a little lighter. It seemed that Shīna's hair was thinner than
Iris'.
I
saw their hair presented in front of me, but I still didn’t get it at all.
"Ummmm
... I'm sorry. I don't know ..."
""
Ha~a ... ""
The
two were shocked and sighed, frowning with dissatisfaction.
"Nozomu,
you have no sense for fashion"
"Yeah.
You definitely lack fashion sense."
"Ummm
... I'm sorry ..."
Because
they didn't like my answer, they complained, and their voice strangely pierced
me.
"Hmm?"
I
was feeling depressed, but I suddenly felt someone's gaze, so I turned towards
the source. A girl with red hair looked at me from within the crowd.
"Lisa?"
It
was quite far away, and I couldn't read her expression.
When
Lisa noticed my gaze, she quickly averted her gaze. There were so many people
coming and going that she immediately disappeared among the crowd.
"Nozomu!
Come on, quickly!!"
"Y-Yeah!"
Mars
called my name.
Lisa
was in my head for a moment, but Mars urged me again and I hastily started
chasing after everyone.
=====================================
Lisa’s
POV
"Nozomu
..."
I
saw his figure when I was on my way to school. At that moment, the inside of my
head burned with fury, but at the same time, I remembered something.
About
two weeks ago, when I was leaving school with Ken, I met him.
I
glared at that traitor. At first, his head was down, and he was a bit different
than usual; however, he glared back at me at the very next moment.
At
that moment, I felt a pain as if my chest was pierced by his gaze that seemed
to return my anger.
When
I noticed, he was looking at me. He was so far away that I couldn't see his
expression clearly.
However,
when I saw him with Iris-san and the others, I got angrier and my chest hurt.
He
betrayed me, and he abandoned me …….
Naturally,
I clenched my fists and teeth tightly.
"Good
morning, Lisa. What's wrong?"
"!!"
Ken's
voice was heard from behind and I hurriedly fixed my expression, turned my back
to his gaze, and turned my face towards Ken.
"No,
it's nothing. More importantly, you're so slow!"
"I'm
sorry. It takes some time to prepare."
Ken's
smile was the same as usual. I felt the pain in the depth of my chest healed by
his smile which hadn't changed in the 10 years I’ve known him.
…
Let's forget about him. Ken is here now. Even without him, I'm not alone ...
