Continuing old images (2)
A worthy being shines everywhere.
“There it is! “Hurry and drive!”
“What a troublemaker!”
And everyone was bound to covet a shining being.
“…!”
A pitch-black horse was running away under a night sky of a color similar to its own.
He handed over his duty as the leader of the group and came looking for the boy in pursuit of the memories of that day, but the greed of humans to possess a shining being was blocking the boy’s path to moving forward.
Nooses filled with ominous spells were flying towards the pitch-black horse.
Everywhere and everywhere.
On the horizon of the world where you and I meet, we become us.
A wider world would guarantee higher possibilities, but the boy who had faced the death worm like him that day was not here.
Therefore, the pitch-black guy had no choice but to handle all of this alone.
Heeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee of –
The pitch-black horse’s barking sound was echoing under the rising moon.
※※※※
Under a sunny summer sky, a cart full of hay was passing through the meadow.
An old man wearing a straw hat and a boy yawning next to him.
And even a young man with a long chin who was driving a horse while carrying them in a cart.
The sight of them huddled together in a small cart looked far removed from knights or swordsmen.
“How far are you going?”
“To Varna.”
“But is it okay to just lie down like this?”
“They say it will come to you on its own.”
The group was currently quietly following the upward journey heading to Varna.
According to testimony, the horse presumed to be a ghost horse was not only quick, but also always watched from afar and checked when people were riding in the carriage or cart.
“This guy has clear intentions. “It’s definitely not an ordinary thing to say.”
“…….”
Listening to the old man’s words, the memories of that day naturally came to Vlad and Goth’s minds.
A headless man in a foggy village. And the ghost horse he was riding.
They felt uneasy as they thought that perhaps some ominous trace had followed them to Shoara.
“The sky is nice. “The wind is blowing too.”
Regardless of the two’s worries, Ramund seemed to like the current situation, moving leisurely.
He took out a piece of hay from the load, bit it, and started chewing on it playfully.
“How long has it been since you became an Auror?”
“It’s been about three months. No, four months…”
“Did you get it from Deremar?”
“yes.”
“Hmm.”
The old man was lost in thought as he looked at the boy’s back through the gap in his straw hat.
The purpose of coming here in the first place was to investigate the unknown horse, but honestly, it didn’t matter if I couldn’t find it.
Anyway, the biggest reason why Ramund stayed in Shoara was because of the boy in front of him.
All I wanted to do was stay by Vlad’s side for a few days while he searched for the horse, observe, judge, and teach him anything if he was good at it.
“Three months is a bit fast.”
“What.”
In response to the boy’s question, Ramund took off his straw hat and made eye contact with Vlad.
“Compared to when I was awakened, my aura is stronger. “It’s surprising that you still haven’t found your own color.”
“…….”
When the story about Aurors came up, Vlad began to listen to the old man without showing it.
Xayar and the voice always emphasized the basics and did not teach the boy much about Aurors.
I just enlightened myself and moved forward.
“An Auror is a concrete embodiment of an image. “Not being able to find color also means that your world has not yet been defined.”
“How do I find color?”
Ramund smiled as he looked into the boy’s blue eyes.
Still, I shouldn’t tell you too much.
Because Xayar must have his own direction in mind.
“Expose yourself to the world a little more. “Don’t hide it too much.”
“What does that mean?”
Ramund pondered Vlad’s question for a moment, then opened his mouth, thinking that this would be okay.
“Create a device that brings out the world inside you. “The knights call it the key.”
“A key?”
Vlad’s eyes were moving quickly as he heard the words for the first time.
Ramund looked amazed at the sight of the boy trying to pick up even one of his words.
“It’s nothing special. “Have you seen the knights you’ve seen so far use Aurors?”
“I saw it.”
“They just use Aurors?”
“…Then do you write it differently?”
“You lack observation skills.”
Ramund leaned back on the haystack and smiled meaningfully at the boy.
“Think about it. “Why don’t you take certain actions before summoning the aura?”
“action?”
When Vlad heard the old man’s words, he furrowed his eyebrows and began to think hard.
When other knights summoned auras, it was always an urgent situation, so there was no time to look at it properly.
However, there were several scenes that came to mind while listening to Ramund.
“Clashing swords and shields…”
Pablo, the knight who led him to the path of becoming an Auror.
He clashed his sword and shield and asked the boy his name.
The sound of that moment was still vivid in Vlad’s ears.
“Um and?”
Rutger Bayezid, who killed the Death Worm.
He was like an active volcano and seemed to have flicked his sword with his fingers.
I couldn’t be sure because I saw it from afar.
“And……”
And Godin, the Knight of Blue Moonlight.
The owner of the Auror that the boy first saw.
“…Is that why you kiss the sword?”
“This can be happen. “You are strongly reminded of your own world through certain actions.”
That’s what the key was.
It was like a tool and ritual that widened the world of one’s imagination.
“I just write.”
“That’s why it’s so shabby.”
Vlad had nothing to say in response to Ramund.
Certainly, compared to the auras of other knights, his auras only gave off a faint glow.
“Xayar will have told you when the time is right, but it wouldn’t be a bad idea to think about it in advance now.”
A consciousness that opens the world wide open.
Since it was a technique that could only be used by knights who were firmly established in their own world, it may still be a long way from being used by a boy.
Feeling the state of other knights in the distance, Vlad felt a part of his heart become suffocated, so he raised his hand.
[Bow!]
“Bow!”
“……huh?”
Hearing the sudden warnings, Vlad lowered his head without realizing it.
Teuong!
“Eh?”
Vlad made a stupid noise and turned his head toward the sound.
There was Ramund holding on to a quivering arrow.
“Things don’t work out easily.”
Ramund’s eyes through the straw hat began to turn fierce.
“It’s an attack!”
“It’s a bandit group! Everyone be on guard!”
The moving procession came to a halt.
At the same time, cheers echoed from everywhere.
And there were arrows flying from the hill.
“Overturn the cart!”
“Where!”
Ramund quickly pointed to the direction from which the arrow came.
“Let the horse fly! Hold onto him tightly so he can’t escape. Coachman!”
“yes? yes!”
Even though it was a sudden situation, Ramund quickly assessed the situation and began giving instructions to Vlad and Goth.
Thanks to such a natural and agile response, Vlad and Goth were able to quickly get back on track.
“What is it? “Are they a group of magic bandits?”
“…I think they are more troublesome than those guys.”
Vlad asked, sticking his head out in the direction the arrow came from.
A group of men who appeared to be at least twenty people were standing on horseback on a hill.
An unfamiliar form of leather clothing and tattoos covering the head and face.
And even the strange shouting that goes on without stopping.
“They are barbarians.”
“Barbarians?”
When unexpected words came out of Ramund’s mouth, Vlad made a puzzled expression.
Kwasik-!
At that moment, an arrow pierced Vlad’s side.
“…….”
A barbarian man holding a bow on a hill in the distance.
Vlad seemed to have made eye contact with the man.
Two people with animal-like eyes were facing each other.
※※※※
Burning carriage with acrid smoke. The sound of mercenaries shouting at the top of their lungs.
“shit!”
And the flying arrows.
Vlad, who was looking at the arrow quivering on the ground, quickly used the cart as cover and began to monitor the situation.
I never thought things would turn out like this.
“Why is the barbarian here?”
“…….”
People in the North would not be unaware of the barbarians who were said to be living beyond the North.
Vlad was well aware that there were people who rejected the teachings of the church and lived in their own realm.
“This is the County of Bayezid? “No matter how far you go, it’s only a day’s journey from Shoara.”
“That’s right.”
However, the problem was that this was the County of Bayezid, an area far south of where barbarians usually appeared.
Even the experienced Ramund was lost in thought, biting his lip as if this was his first time experiencing something like this.
No matter how much one thought about it, they had no reason or benefit to come down to Bayezid County.
But things happened, and now is the time to take action.
Grumble-
“I thought it would be a little more comfortable.”
Vlad grumbled that his life must have gone awry and drew his sword.
Ramund also drew his sword and instructed Goth.
“It’s a coachman. Saddle the horse. “You have to have words to deal with those guys.”
Ramund was already thinking about how to overcome the situation.
The deep wrinkles on his forehead showed that the current situation was not easy.
“Except for a few warriors, these are people who wouldn’t dare fight even a knight. “You just have to kill the barbarians’ unique mobility.”
It is said that barbarians are with horses from birth.
Vlad had no choice but to bite his lip when Ramund said that everyone, regardless of age or gender, was an excellent cavalryman.
The area related to words was one of the boy’s painful weaknesses.
“listen carefully! “We don’t want to kill you all either!”
The barbarians, who had been threatening the procession by throwing arrows for a while, were now coming down the hill, making loud noises and putting pressure on them, as if the time had come.
“I’ll spare your life as long as you pay the toll!”
“…….”
Amid the quiet crowd, a man who looked like a merchant raised his hand and shouted.
He was the top lord leading this procession.
“I will pay the toll! “Please stop the attack!”
The corners of the barbarians’ mouths began to rise as they heard the merchant’s words, which sounded like a declaration of surrender.
“How much do you want….”
“Everything I have!”
The leader of the barbarians shouted loudly as he looked at Sang Sang-ju, who looked embarrassed.
“Leave bare-handed! “For those who have something in their hands, it will become a fortune in the afterlife!”
The barbarians celebrated their victory in advance by circling the procession loudly.
The merchants were taken aback by the barbarians’ excessive demands, and several mercenaries who had been hired to protect commerce only showed shaking eyes and lost appetite.
Even if I leave my luggage behind, will they just let me go?
“…I don’t like those bastards.”
“I tried to like him too, but it didn’t work.”
No one in the group expected things to turn out this way.
However, life is always a series of unpredictable events, and sometimes there are times when we must silently endure trials that come like a typhoon.
Now was that time.
“I came here to catch a horse. What is this?”
Just as Vlad didn’t expect things to turn out this way, the barbarians who were approaching now probably didn’t expect the group to be here either.
Vlad quietly closed his left eye and listened to the sound of the approaching horses’ hooves.
“Get ready.”
“yes.”
A retired knight and a boy who wants to become a knight.
Although neither of them were active knights, the swords they held had a lot of power.
The only problem was that the power did not reach the opponent.
Unlike Ramund, who grabbed the horse’s reins and prepared to run away, Vlad was given only one chance.
Just one moment when they approach the procession.
That may be the only opportunity given to a boy who cannot ride a horse.
“Whoa…”
Vlad quietly caught his breath as he waited for the men approaching with noisy noises.
However, the boy’s weakness was not just his inability to ride a horse.
Heeeeeee-!
What is there-!
The horses were surprised!
“shit!”
Vlad, who had been quietly waiting for the barbarians, felt that things were wrong when he saw them suddenly stop.
In the end, the strange force that he had been unable to control hit the boy’s ankle hard.
“scram! now!”
“Damn it!”
We couldn’t get as close as we intended, and they didn’t even get off their horses.
But I couldn’t wait any longer, so the only time I had to swing my sword was now.
Although Ramund was old, he kicked his horse and ran away like lightning.
His entire body was already covered in sparkling aura.
“What are those!”
“Turn your horse around! Open the distance!”
Seeing the two people charging at them with unusual momentum, the barbarians tried to retreat, but Ramund had already reached their very close proximity.
“You guys! How dare you tell me where this is!”
Ramund stopped the barbarians with a thunderous shout and began swinging his sword fiercely.
Since they were destroying the land they had devoted their entire lives to protecting, they should not have any need for mercy.
Red blood began to spurt onto his old sword.
“It’s an auror!”
“Why is the article here!”
The barbarians, embarrassed by the sight of the sparkling Ramund, grabbed the reins and quickly began to turn.
“Where are you going, you bastards!”
Although he was later than Ramund, Vlad ran forward with his characteristic agile movements and clung to the nearest barbarian.
[Aim for the horse!]
Following the voice’s advice, I cut off the horse’s knees, and the barbarian riding on him lost his balance and began to tip over.
“Come down!”
Pain and fear.
The horse, which was trying to escape everything that Vlad gave it, started running wild without paying attention to its rider, and the boy took advantage of the opportunity and quickly snatched up the barbarian who was riding on top of him.
“Keuuk!”
“Smile like before! “You bastard!”
The unadorned sword sparkled, including the cost of making it run unsightly.
Crying words and bursting blood.
The spirit of the barbarians began to be disturbed by the two people who suddenly rushed out.
“Go back, Vlad! “Go and protect the people!”
Although it was a half-failed surprise attack, the two men succeeded in defeating the barbarians with their own abilities.
“Aaaah!”
“no! no!”
But the procession was long, and the only men who stood against the barbarians were Vlad and Ramund.
Because the mercenaries were running away, using the crying people as sacrifices.
“Those bastards.”
Vlad swore softly at the fleeing mercenaries, but it was inevitable.
They were merely mercenaries and had no reason to risk their lives in such an unfavorable situation.
“Leader!”
At least Goth was fighting hard with a sword, but he was a man skilled at holding a sword and not skilled at handling a sword.
Blood and screams were everywhere.
[Slowly solidify your territory. You can’t protect everyone here.]
‘Damn it…’
The voice was right.
The tip of Vlad’s sword could not stop the barbarians who were constantly attacking and running away.
I don’t know if he would have moved with them on horseback, but Vlad was just a person stuck to the ground.
“Holy shit!”
Come down and fight.
Don’t go around acting like a coward.
However, as if laughing at the boy’s thoughts, the barbarians, like a swarm of bees, were constantly swarming around the procession, stealing, killing, and injuring people.
Horses and mobility.
The people who were trampled by the barbarian’s unique tactics had no choice but to sit down and let out deathly screams.
“mom mom.”
The blood-covered father grabbed the child, who was lying in a mess on the dirt, and hugged him.
Seeing the terrible scene, Vlad hurriedly looked for Ramund, but he was also in a difficult situation.
The horse Ramund was leading was a pack horse, and that alone was not enough to catch and stop the agile savages.
Rather, Ramund’s skill in ripping off a man who looked like the leader of the barbarians and driving him outside the procession, even under such adverse conditions, should be seen as remarkable.
The boy became angry seeing himself helpless again.
The world has many different appearances.
It’s so high you can’t reach it, it’s so big you can’t handle it, and it’s fast so you can’t catch it.
Vlad bit his lip as he felt various limitations coming upon him.
It happened again like this.
Heeeeeeee-
There was a sound that reached Vlad’s ears in a moment that he couldn’t handle on his own.
“…!”
It was a sound that I had not heard for a long time, but recognized immediately.
“What is that!”
“It’s him!”
“Then he escaped!”
A black dot started from far away.
However, in the blink of an eye, there was a presence approaching through the barbarians.
Vlad realized that the pitch-black eyes that were now running towards him were looking for him.
“It’s here!”
Sunlight was shining on the unadorned sword held high.
Look, I am here.
The boy who could not move and the horse that had to avoid the noose recognized each other.
“…!”
The pitch-black night that passed by quickly burned a star above me.
Vlad suddenly raised his gaze and stretched out his hand as he had done that day without realizing it.
The flow of air between my fingers was speaking.
“let’s go!”
Hehehe –
I can run now.
You don’t have to endure it anymore.
The unadorned sword that had nowhere to go was raised straight up.
The world flowing through the boy’s left eye.
A white horn standing fluidly on top of a pitch-black horse.
The two worlds began to meet at the end of each other’s limitations.
