By Zephyria It took about 7 minutes to incapacitate two Owlbears. During that time, Hugh, leaving me behind again, bickered with Samantha. Disliking them talking so intimately with just each other, I also butted in from time to time.
“You rejected Elvin? Huh? You told me you were the one who got dumped?”
“Shut up, Samantha!”
“It was weird from the start, you two coming out of the same tent today! What’s really going on?”
“We agreed to sleep together, just for a nap.”
“What!”
“No! No! That’s not what I meant, Elvin!”
“We agreed to hug, not to marry.”
“You damn bastard! That’s just! Ah, I’m going crazy, really!”
“You crazy bastard! Are you playing with her?”
“No! I’m not!”
“Can’t hug? Then is holding hands okay?”
“Please, you crazy bastard! Just shut your mouth!”
Monsters kept flocking to us along the way. We defeated five Trolls, one Ogre, four Owlbears, and then another seven Trolls. If we kept arguing like this, we wouldn’t reach the summit of the Yuil Mountains on time. Hugh and Samantha, who had been huffing and puffing, realized the reality and quieted down for a moment.
While we swung our swords, the Mage, who had been clinging to her staff in my arms, quietly apologized again, for what felt like the hundredth time.
“Really… I’m truly sorry… I was wrong…”
“……”
“……”
Once again, no one forgave the Mage.
By the time we barely managed to reach the summit of a peak in the Yuil Mountains, everyone was exhausted.
Still, we succeeded in reaching the black hole, which could no longer be called a dot, the grotesque Mana channel, before it got completely dark. Seeing the myriad of Mana pouring into that hole and the Spirits rushing in one direction, it was impossible to get lost even if we wanted to.
The sun was setting by then. The sky was a chaotic mix of a dark crimson hue, like congealing blood, instead of the sunset, and a chilling blue, like skin repeatedly beaten with a large club.
The Aventa Bump I had seen before was actually a small one.
Seeing the Mana hole, large enough to swallow a carriage whole, the party exchanged glances. No one knew what kind of effect their actions from now on would bring. Samantha, whose energy had been drained more by arguments than by climbing, suddenly spoke in a gentle voice.
“…Still, thank you for coming this far together. Mage Sellars.”
“Why are you acting like you’re about to die? Let’s just do it and run like hell.”
Hugh said indifferently, pulling out a pouch from his pocket, stuffed with Sacred Tree leaves. The Sacred Tree leaves were truly strange; no matter how much pressure was applied, they wouldn’t break or lose their shape. Like soft dolls, they were pressed down but returned to their original form.
Mage Sellars took the entire pouch with a deep breath. But he didn’t let go of me. If something happened, I had to carry him and escape, so it was natural.
“Still, shouldn’t we test it just in case?”
“…Well, let’s do that. We’ll put just one leaf in, and if the reaction is strange, we’ll ditch it and run.”
“Okay. Then… I’ll try just one first.”
Blur, pri gehi me-nium stik heimun shu na. Pri gehi me-oun… A Magic Formula, whether spoken or drawn with hands, enveloped the leaf just taken from the pouch. A verdant Mana clung like wings around the green leaf, rising into the air. We watched quietly.
Everyone watched with tense faces as the leaf flew into the center of the hole like a Sylph.
And then,
Fwoosh-!
Mana exploded. Wind howled.
I dug my feet into the ground to avoid being pushed back. I quickly drew my sword and slashed the space in front of me in a cross. In the blink of an eye, all three of us had our swords drawn.
Above the hole, a man stood in mid-air, blocking the trembling leaf with one hand.
The man had blond hair. His hair, disheveled by the fierce wind, was short enough not to obscure his vision despite the chaos. A coat with an unfamiliar ornament instead of buttons was draped over his neatly tailored blazer.
“Oops, that was close. I didn’t need such a cute gift.”
The man replied playfully, pushing the Mage’s formula enveloping the Sacred Tree leaf without touching it. Cough, the Mage in my arms swallowed blood.
The man descended step by step, as if walking on invisible stairs.
As he got closer, my shoulders grew heavier. The oppressive aura that made me bow my head was of a kind I had experienced many times before. When facing the Oasis, when I first met Gano Paquin, when Spiritus and Michael fought… Yes, it resembled Divine Power.
At least a Grand Sword Master. At most…
Hugh, having assessed the opponent’s strength, slowly straightened his body. Instead of drawing the sword he had gripped tightly, he put it back in its scabbard. Samantha, who had lowered her stance and prepared to attack, glared at Hugh.
We knew well how many Sword Masters Michael could face simultaneously. If the man before us was on his level, the three of us stood no chance. Even with a desperate resolve, it would be the same. The only difference would be whether we became a less crushed lump of meat or a more crushed lump of meat.
Hugh took a deep breath and asked with a smile.
“Are you the ‘Owner’?”
“It seems you heard about me from somewhere. You guys… are you close with the owner?”
The object referred to as ‘this’ was the Sacred Tree leaf. The Mage’s formula turned a silvery-gray, and the Mage, having had her formula taken, struggled to stabilize the surging Circle. Like throwing a ball in the air, the Sacred Tree leaf, trapped in a new magic formula sphere, spun in the air.
Hugh didn’t waste time.
“Yes. Very close.”
“…Really?”
“Still, it’s fortunate. Since we’ve announced our destination, if something happens to us, that person will find you and take revenge, won’t they?”
“Wow, this is a new character.”
“So, before I die, I have a question: what is that?”
“……”
“Is that also an Aventa Bump?”
“Do you think I’d tell you that?”
“If you are kind to me, my friend might become your friend. If you prioritize survival, it’s an option worth considering. That person is quite generous…”
Then, whoosh, the air around us lightened. Samantha also sheathed her sword. I just held my sword. I didn’t have the energy because I was still holding the coughing Mage. Of course, the man before me, the Owner, didn’t care about someone like me. Just like the Oasis always did.
“No, well, the basic principle is similar, but it’s not that.”
“Then?”
“If you want to be precise, it’s closer to a portal. My work on this land is done. I’m going back to my world too.”
Hugh Benson was now at the very front of the party. It was rare for Hugh, who lacked strength but excelled in Stealth techniques, to be at the forefront. His role was to assess, coordinate, and command the battlefield from the rear. But now he stood at the very front. He turned his hands behind his back and beckoned.
Everyone read his hand signal. Samantha stood slightly askew, shielding me from the man’s gaze. I readjusted my hold on the Mage. The Mage clutched the staff in her hand to her chest.
Hugh Benson continued.
“Are you a newcomer god in this world?”
“…No. I’m just… lost. It’s dangerous here, so go back. Don’t want to jinx it.”
“Why? A normal portal shouldn’t be that dangerous.”
“Well, if it’s just moving within the same world, it’s fine. But I have to go quite far, and I don’t want to incur the wrath of a newly formed god now. You guys know, the ‘god’s favor’ is strongest in the beginning…”
Just then, Hugh clenched his fist behind his back. Attack signal.
Simultaneously, the pouch covering the leaves tore open. Dozens of leaves rushed towards the hole torn in the sky. Realizing our actions in an instant, the Owner frantically looked up.
“…You little brats!”
My vision turned red.
Blood poured from my eyes and ears with a single roar. It was a good choice to turn around, hugging the Mage, at that moment. I heard the sound of bones crushing and cracking from my shoulders and lower back, sufficiently reinforced as a Sword Master. It was excruciating pain. I could see the Mage activating a Healing Artifact, rustling in my arms.
I raised my head and looked at the man running through the air. He said he could fly, but it was closer to running. He could step on the air like stairs, but his strides weren’t very long.
With gestures swung in all directions, the leaves, stripped of their magic formula, fell downwards. The man, the Owner, twisted his body multiple times to avoid even a fluttering leaf.
Hugh Benson, who had instantly used a self-healing artifact to mend himself, picked up a falling leaf and charged. The leaves shot towards the man like flying daggers, looking excessively cute and pretty. It was as if they were playing house.
Samantha also tried to pick up leaves and throw them, following Hugh Benson, but she wasn’t skilled in the throwing knife technique. The leaves Samantha threw didn’t even reach the man, falling short. So Samantha picked up the fallen leaves and brought them to Hugh.
And the Mage, her mouth stained red with blood, glared and tried her best to control the leaves. I held the Mage tightly and ran, dodging the attacks falling towards us.
Blur, pri gehi me-nium. Stik heimun shu na. Pri gehi me-oun. It couldn’t be called a proper fight. Gehi me-nium la os genor bo-or. Hokhe sne ogrde heimun ai to.* But it was desperate. Did I pick too few? That was a bit of a shame. I could have gotten in.
Of the seven leaves that were barely pushed close to the black hole, four had their formulas broken and fell, and two were caught by the coat the man took off and swung. And the last one was caught in the man’s left hand. It wasn’t a leaf that had burst from the pouch. It was a leaf the Mage had secretly kept hidden in her embrace that reached there.
The man’s hand began to sizzle and burn.
It was Michael’s Mana, which had been kind and refreshing to us. His purification ability, welcomed by all other gods, was now harming this man.
The leaf, crushed in the Owner’s grasp, rained down. The surrounding weight, heavy once more, made my knees sink. The black hole, contorting and writhing violently, slowly began to smooth out from the edges.
“…Since I received such a good gift, shall I play one last trick?”
The man stood on the edge of the smooth hole. And he extended one hand towards us.
As soon as I saw the direction of his gaze and fingertip, I threw the Mage I was holding to Samantha. I ran, leaving the screams of two women behind me. Was I this slow? But it was okay. It was Hugh Benson, who had always waited for me, no matter how slow I was.
And this time too, Hugh waited for me.
Haha. My vision turned blindingly white.