217 – Host (14)
I thought it was an auditory hallucination.
When I turned around and saw Luna, I suspected I was hallucinating, and the moment I realized that both Victor and Gale were looking at the same person as me, my heart sank.
Luna came to me with an unhealthy body, breaking through her demonic pressure.
“Luna?”
She walked quickly, calling my name from far away.
“Damian….”
I started to get worried inside. For what reason did he come here like a cat abandoned by its owner?
Gail must have thought me pathetic, muttering to herself in Northern, and taking the lead without waiting.
Victor also seemed to have sensed the strange current and followed Gale out.
“Don’t be late.”
As Luna came to me, she lost her footing, hit her knee, and fell.
Seeing her groaning alone made me anxious, so I went back the way I came and faced Luna, who was sitting down.
“Damian.”
“Didn’t you leave with the theater club?”
“I ran away… “I hit it.”
“Why? Are you going to fight together?”
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“…… No.”
“Luna, you are not in a state to use magic right now. “Why on earth is that like that?”
“I know….”
“What’s going on?”
Luna grabbed the hem of my sleeve tightly. She seemed to have a lot of things she wanted to say, but couldn’t get them out and was sobbing.
“….”
“Luna, it’s okay, can you tell me?”
Luna lowered her head and pulled her sleeves tightly against her body.
“… Don’t go.”
It was something I didn’t expect at all, so I asked back without realizing it.
“…What?”
“… “I have a bad feeling.”
“Can you explain in more detail?”
I was confused about what to say. Because it was quite different from the Luna I had seen so far.
If it were anyone else, she would have brushed it off, but Luna’s words can’t do that. She was not one to say things that did not fit the situation simply because of her mood or the trivial feelings she had at the time.
“I can’t do that. I have to go. Luna, you know.”
Why is Luna, who has never once interfered with my choices during the time I’ve known her, acting like this?
“If Damian continues like this… “I feel like you’re going away from me.”
“Luna, I promise. I will come back alive no matter what. Now Cecil needs me more than ever….”
“Cecil will be fine. So don’t go…. Please.”
“Luna, did you make a big mistake that I don’t know about?”
She shook her head sharply in denial. So how can she be so sure that she will move away?
She lifted Luna’s chin with her fingertips and looked her directly in the eyes. Her eyes were stained red.
I had no idea what to say.
Then, Luna’s abilities, which she had forgotten, suddenly crossed her mind. There was only one option to explain this puzzling situation.
“Luna, have you seen the future?”
Magical ability that exists in infancy and gradually disappears as the child grows older. It was said that Luna still has a faint trace of that ability.
She avoided my eyes and hesitated for a while before nodding her head.
“Yes.”
After hearing the answer, I became confused.
I have also experienced future vision several times, albeit in the form of a dream. If I had dreamed of being away from Silverine, I would have let go of everything I was doing and groaned inside for at least a week.
I can understand her actions because I know very well what it feels like to have a bond broken. Luna’s interpersonal relationships are extremely narrow, so her pain will be even greater.
“Can you tell me what kind of future you saw?”
The arm holding the sleeve goes limp. Luna avoided my gaze and shook her head.
“I’m sorry for being selfish….”
But he still won’t let me go. Such a stubborn and foolish appearance… It’s just a pity.
“Luna.”
“… ….”
It would be better to reassure them first. As I have experienced, future vision is never absolute.
“I don’t know what I saw, but I will never let myself go away from you.”
“Then promise me. I promise that I will never be neglectful in the future….”
I raised my little finger.
“Luna, I will never neglect you.”
Luna hooked her little finger and added her words.
“And… If you have to fight, fight as hard as you can. “To the point where I collapse from exhaustion.”
I wondered if it was really necessary to add this, but I accepted it without much thought.
“I was planning on doing that even if I didn’t say it.”
Fortunately, the words spoken to appease him seemed to have had an effect. Luna wiped her wet eyes and looked more stable.
“I’m sorry for holding you in such an urgent situation. “I’ll go back alone.”
“Can you go alone? Ah, more than that… “Is Cecil really okay?”
Luna nodded her head with a confident look on her face.
“… Huh. “If Damien does his best.”
***
I belatedly climbed the hill to find the epicenter of Maab.
Just like that, I finally came across the Rupola Altar.
A flat area made of stone and countless white remains can be seen between the trees. There was a circular ritual site, and in the center was a small metal altar that looked like a coffin.
Gale and Victor were seen with their weapons drawn about twenty steps away from the altar. They stood still as if they were watching something.
I approached where they were standing.
When Victor sensed a presence, he spoke with his eyes fixed on the altar.
“It’s late.”
Gail just kept her eyes fixed on the altar without saying anything.
At the altar, an unfamiliar figure was squatting and fiddling with something.
The hair was matted and stiff, as if it hadn’t been trimmed in months, and the clothes were also covered in blood stains that had turned black. He had the face of an old man, but half of his face was crushed like flowing candle wax.
Two swords worn at the waist.
A huge amount of ominous magical pressure emanating from the old man’s body. If he were an ordinary person, he would probably have fainted before even coming here.
A relaxed gesture even in the face of multiple enemies. I didn’t have any defenses, but my arms were shaking just looking at it.
I didn’t even fight, but I could feel it. That person is on a different level from the people I have dealt with so far.
Victor and Gale must be feeling this primal fear.
I asked Victor.
“What about Cecil?”
Victor silently points to the altar with his chin.
The old man lights a candle and places it on the altar. Then, several loud rattling sounds were heard from inside the altar.
“Um, town! Town!”
“Shush shush, be quiet.”
When I looked closely, I saw that it was not an altar but a coffin. And that sound was the sound made by a person trapped in a coffin.
I had to just watch there like Victor and Gayle did.
Cecil is a hostage. If the old man puts his mind to it, he can kill Cecil at any time.
No one opened their mouths, so I spoke first.
“Elder, may I ask you a question?”
The old man spoke without even looking.
“Shh, it’s not time yet.”
“Weren’t you looking for me?”
Then he immediately turned his head and showed interest.
“Oh, Damian, is that you?”
“I’m surprised you know my name. “I’m not even that famous.”
“This lovely girl told me. That her brave lover would come to the rescue and cut off my head. Clue.”
Then Victor glared at me with a face full of questions.
“You….”
I ignored Victor and continued asking questions.
“May I ask why you became involved in the children’s play?”
“Um…. There is not enough food….”
In an instant, an unknown chill swept across my skin. Victor and Gale seemed to feel the same thing and took a step back.
The old man stroked the handle of the sword at his waist and continued speaking.
“Handling a magic sword is like handling a lover. “She should listen to stories from time to time, pet her with all her heart, and serve her precious food to gain weight.”
Chaeng!
The old man stood up and pulled out his sword. A strange sword body of pale blue light was revealed, and the cold beneath his feet froze.
As expected, he was a magic sword hunter. The devastation in Marvas Village was probably caused by that magic sword.
“If you care for it with such love, the magic sword will become more devoted to its owner.”
Gail and Victor sense a crisis and immediately prepare for battle.
I immediately pulled out my wooden sword and spoke.
“I will keep this in mind, old man.”
I took out the Gryphon potion and poured it into my mouth, then took out the mask and put it on my face. Since I had to do my best anyway, it was inevitable that Gale and Victor would find out my identity. So, in the current situation, it would be better to put at least some armor on your face.
Victor looked at me again and blurted out his words.
“You….”
The old man approaches us step by step. Victor and Gail actually seemed to have a hard time standing up, perhaps because of the surreal magical pressure.
I asked quietly.
“Who will go first?”
“….”
“….”
Both Victor and Gale were silent for a moment. After holding on together like that, Gail opened her mouth first.
“There were only pure cowards.”
Gail boldly walked forward, holding an ax as big as her body.
Unfortunately, it seemed like the old man had no intention of dealing with him separately.
When he swung his sword, blue cold air rushed towards us through his land like waves.
All three of us had to hastily throw our bodies to avoid it.
The cold spread into the forest in the rear. Soon, the entire forest, which was hit directly by the cold, shattered like glass and was swept away.
“… !”
“… !”
I’ve seen a lot of freezing magic, but this is the first time I’ve seen such extreme power that it sweeps away everything with cold like a tidal wave. If you hit it directly, no corpse will be left behind.
There would be no chance of victory if such a technique was used randomly, but fortunately it seems that he cannot use it to that extent.
This is because the sword emitted cold air and shook like a living fish.
Perhaps because of the recoil, the old man’s arm lost control and became stiff for a few seconds as if he had been electrocuted.
It is not possible to completely control the magic sword. If so, there are plenty of opportunities.
Victor and Gale quickly stand up and exchange a look. I felt like I didn’t have to say that this wasn’t something to attack.
The old man changed the sword he was holding in his right hand to his left. Isn’t it because I can’t control my strength and am overdoing it?
Gail and Victor must have caught this and immediately got up and rushed at the old man at the same time.