165. Festival of the Sword (8)
#165
“I came to Farzan chasing that guy in the first place. “If this continues all participants will be in danger.”
Russell’s expression was serious. Ronan just looked at him dumbfounded. His mind was confused due to the continuous pouring of unfamiliar information. He looked Ronan up and down and shook his head.
“You passed. Honestly it exceeded my expectations. “If only we had a few more talented people like you we might be able to stop him.”
“…passed?”
“okay. From what I saw earlier Empire’s Morning Star and Butterfly Rose are also there. If you are acquainted with them please persuade them. “Shouldn’t we save people?”
His attitude was as if he was a superior. It seemed like arbitrarily dragging people out and shouting incomprehensible things wasn’t enough. Ronan laughed as if he was shocked.
‘That won’t work. ‘You bastard.’
I didn’t like almost every aspect of it but what annoyed me the most was the constant emphasis on saving people. Regardless of the authenticity of the information it seemed like he needed to change his habits first. Hehe Ronan spat on the floor and took a step toward Russell.
“Because my fucking ass is ridiculous.”
“hmm? you?”
Ronan pulled at the hilt of his sword. He took long strides aiming the tip of his sword at Russell. Russell who was embarrassed was about to pull out his sword when Ronan fired a low shot.
“If you want to get rid of it pull it out. “I’ll knock his head off right then and there.”
“What is this all of a sudden….”
“shut up.”
Eventually Russell overwhelmed by the momentum withdrew his hand from the hilt of his sword. Every time Ronan took a step Russell had to take a step back. Eventually they reached the edge of the cliff. Russell who had nowhere else to retreat stuttered and asked.
“Why on earth are you doing this?”
“There is no end to my belief as I continue to listen. devil? Are the participants in danger? “Yes let’s say that’s all true.”
“Gagging!”
It was an instant. Ronan stretched out his arm and grabbed Russell by the neck. Russell’s legs lifted off the ground as he slowly raised his arms. Ronan took two more steps forward. Russell cried out in horror as he felt the ground beneath him was empty.
“Huh! Now wait a minute…!”
“But isn’t it a bit too much to do something like that and use it as a justification to save people? Do you know how many people will be fucked because of what you did at the arena. ”
“I am…”
“Are you glad that no one was killed or injured? “Where are you trying to go?”
Ronan leaned in close to his face and growled. Even if everything Russell said was true his actions were difficult to understand. If Ronan had made even the slightest mistake many of the twenty-four people would have died or become assholes. A bastard who is supposed to save people would do something like that just to show off his skills. There was no contradiction like this.
“I will explain everything! First of all take this…!”
Russell struggled with all his might but Ronan’s strong forearms did not budge. It felt like a python made of steel was strangling his neck. When Ronan heard those words the corners of his mouth went up.
“Oh yeah. “Do you want me to let you go?”
“omg…!”
Ronan relaxed his grip. Russell’s body fell down. Ronan’s figure began to quickly move away. For a moment the two words death flashed before his eyes.
“Kwaaaaaaak!”
The wind roared in my ears. Russell squeezed his eyes shut and let out a scream of despair. At that moment the fall stopped with the feeling of something wrapping around my body.
“This is…?”
Russell slowly opened his eyes and took a deep breath. Something like shiny tree roots was supporting his body. The roots growing along the wall continued all the way to the top of the cliff where Ronan was. Just right. Ronan snapped his fingers and the root wriggled as if alive lifting Russell up the cliff. Russell curled up at Ronan’s feet started the match.
“Huh…Huhuh…!”
“Have you come to your senses now?”
Russell’s face which had come to the brink of death had turned as white as a sheet of paper. Ronan squatted down in front of him. Ronan’s face bathed in the setting sun was stained red like a devil from hell. Russell quickly nodded her head. He instinctively knew there would be no second chance for him.
“mi. I’m sorry. I’m really sorry. I made a mistake. “Stop being blinded by revenge…”
“yes. “That kind of proper motivation has to come out.”
“…I won’t hide the fact that I was trying to use you for personal purposes. It was also my mistake to put many people in danger because I wanted to show off my skills… I will definitely take responsibility for them.”
Russell lowered his head to the ground as if he was bowing and began confessing his sins. After all fear was the best confession. He whimpered and shook his shoulders then suddenly lifted his head.
“But everything I told you is true! They even said that the devil would be a threat to all participants!”
“Oh sir. “I’m surprised.”
Only sincerity could be felt in the crying voice. The tears flowing down his cheeks were also proof of this. It seemed like he was ready to have a conversation. Ronan sheathed his sword and opened his mouth.
“Now tell me step by step mister. “Who is that devil and why do you hate him so much?”
“…It would be quicker to see it in person. “Look at this.”
Suddenly Russell took off his hood. Ronan’s eyes widened. I could see why he didn’t take off his hood even when he was covered in blood. Russell said with an expression of regret.
“Even if it’s bad please be patient for a little while. “I can’t take it off for a long time because the wound gets worse anyway.”
“This is…”
Ronan twisted his lips. It was a terrible wound. One corner of his head had been shaved off at an angle. Beneath the dark red dying scalp a pure white skull was revealed.
Ronan noticed that there were some letters written on the inside of the hood. I remembered seeing it several times in the magic book Asher often read. His role was probably to prevent his wounds from getting worse while wearing the hood. At that time Ronan’s eyes narrowed as he examined his wounds.
‘Is this…?’
The cross section through which the blade passed seemed vaguely familiar. He had definitely seen it somewhere. At that moment a bitter voice flowed from Russell’s mouth.
“It’s a wound inflicted by that devil. More than three years have already passed but it still remains and haunts me. “On the day I received this wound I lost my mercenary group which was like family.”
“Mercenary group? “Were you a mercenary?”
“okay. The Blue Arch Mercenaries… were quite famous in the Kingdom of Dharan and its surrounding areas. “It’s already a story that has passed.”
Russell continued his explanation in a calm voice. The Blue Arch which he led was a mercenary group that specialized in exploring unexplored ruins and dungeons. The one where they were annihilated by the devil was also a ruin that is not yet known to the world.
“I still remember it clearly. It was a white forest. The grass trees and even the soil were pale white. “The damned ruins were gaping in the middle of the forest.”
“Did you meet him there?”
“That’s right. It was not long after we entered the ruins. We were walking down a hallway covered in smooth metal. “Everyone in the unit was impressed because they had never seen anything like that before.”
Ronan shrugged his eyebrows. The metal-covered hallway reminded me of the heart of Dainhar in the desert. Russell took a deep breath and continued.
“Suddenly a young man approached me from a distance in the hallway. He was naked without any clothes on and his appearance was terrible. The skin on his entire body including his face was almost torn off and he was limping so it seemed like even one leg was uncomfortable. Meanwhile he was holding a sword. “We ran to the young man to ask if he was okay…and that was the last time.”
Russell briefly explained the situation at the time. The young man’s figure disappeared from sight for a moment and the limbs of his companions rose into the air. There wasn’t even a gap to scream. Russell chewed his lip as he described the sight of the corpses lying around.
“It wasn’t a fight. It was a one-sided massacre. It took less than three minutes for the mercenary group to be wiped out. “Everyone is dead except me.”
“Then how did you get out of there alive?”
“That’s…ah.”
Suddenly Russell was holding his head as if he was in pain. It was probably the darkest part of the nightmare at the time. He kissed his lips several times before lowering his head.
“… He didn’t kill all of his comrades. For some reason about half of them were holding their breath. I used my aura on them. “I escaped the ruins while my friends who had lost their senses were biding their time.”
“Fuck.”
Ronan’s brows narrowed. It was a more terrible story than I thought. I felt like I knew why he was so blindly obsessed with killing the devil.
“From that day on I devoted my life to chasing him down. “I discovered it again about a year ago and surprisingly my skin and legs were fine.”
“To the legs?”
“okay. “It wasn’t in any way better.”
From then on Russell began listing the misdeeds committed by his man the Devil. All of them were just terrible things. Pretending to be a traveler visiting remote villages and slaughtering all the residents before sunrise the next day was almost a hobby. Ronan fell asleep while listening to the story. He was a very dangerous type of bastard who committed murder as a habit.
“The last thing I saw was him hunting monsters on the road to Farzan. He cut down the mountain ogre with a single sword. “He has become incomparably stronger than when he put me in hell.”
“…How were you going to catch him?”
“They tried to raid us the night before the final exam. In order to take the final exam to go to the Holy Land I have to join the successful candidates from Aran Farzan. There is no way a strong person like you will fail the test and I am confident that I will get there too.”
Russell said the final test of the Battle of the Sword is fixed. The successful candidates from Gran Farzan and Aran Farzan two villages built on the north and south of the mountain were sparring with each other. Ronan nodded. It was definitely the right time.
“Anyway…my story ends here. “I’m sorry for causing you so much trouble.”
After finishing his story Russell sighed. He carefully wrapped the magic-imprinted bandana around his head again. Suddenly Ronan stopped him.
“wait for a sec.”
“hmm? “Why but?”
“Take off your hood again. And are there any other injuries?”
“Hmm…?”
“What happened to that guy. Is that all you have in your head?”
Russell tilted his head. Ronan’s eyes remained on his head. Even thinking about it again it was definitely a sword mark I had seen before.
“It exists but….”
“show me.”
Ronan’s voice was firm. Russell took off his top without even knowing what was going on. His well-trained body was covered with dozens of scars. These were traces left by the ups and downs of a long career as a mercenary.
“Now if you look here it’s on the back…”
“I know even if you don’t say it so just wait.”
Ronan stopped Russell who was trying to tell him about the wounds he suffered from the devil. I could tell without explaining it. It was rare to see sword marks that did not show any emotion. Before long Ronan saw a stab wound extending from his left wing bone to his waist. He touched his scar with his index finger and twisted his mouth.
“also….”
“Why why why?”
Russell asked in a confused voice but Ronan did not answer. I had to remember where I saw these sword marks. A forest with drizzling rain. Blood flowing mixed with rainwater. A were lion was hiding in a hole and shivering.
I had a memory of seeing the corpses of the members of the Dawn Unit who had been massacred not long ago. It was definitely one of three types of sword marks. Ronan opened his mouth remembering what the frightened Major had said.
“Hey man.”
“Hmm?”
“How does that devil guy look like?”
“Dressed to impress…? Hmm… So the face is rather ordinary…”
Russell drooled over her. I was wondering how to summarize this. Suddenly the features that had existed before his skin returned to its original state flashed through my mind. His mouth opened.
“… His hair was white and his eyes were reddish-yellow. He remembered it because it was an unusual color combination. “Now that I think about it my eye color is similar to yours.”
