༺ The Lord Is With Us (43) ༻
Memories became jumbled in my head.
Cloudy colors quickly dyed my brain like mixed paint on a palette, and my heartbeat rang in my ears as my breaths became ragged.
It was an unfamiliar landscape—a blood-soaked meadow that exuded an ominous air and corpses that blanketed the ground.
A large crowd of people silently stood around, and a lone man with an anxious expression hastily pushed his way through the crowd.
As he advanced, the buzzing in his ear gradually subsided, and upon reaching the front, the man was similarly stunned into silence.
His eyes captured a miraculous sight.
The innumerable beasts, that even tens of thousands of soldiers couldn’t stop, were reduced to mere handfuls of ash scattered across the floor, while the previously contaminated people were purified and peacefully met their ends in their human forms.
Even the grass, once trampled by army boots, grew thick and covered the field in a layer of green.
It was only then that the man realized that it was spring.
His gaze roamed, eventually settling upon a woman limply slumped against a tree.
She was the person he had spent ages searching for. The woman, now collapsed on the ground with her hands clasped together, wore a gentle smile on her face and resembled an icon.
She was as beautiful as always.
The man stood frozen in place for a moment. The sharp breath he drew in showed no immediate sign of being released. He stayed in silence for what felt like an eternity before hesitatingly taking a step closer to the woman.
Slowly and with great difficulty, he continued to approach the woman, the sound of his heartbeat resonating loudly in his ears.
Finally reaching the woman, he leaned his upper body closer to hers, pressing his ear to the tip of her nose, but he couldn’t discern any sound.
The once sweet breath that had gently graced his ear in bed, the tender voice that had whispered her love for him—now, there was nothing.
He couldn’t hear anything.
He staggered as his legs gave way. It was then that he looked down at the woman with desperation in his eyes.
She was dead.
Was this supposed to be the outcome of the obedience they always preached?
The man couldn’t understand why the woman had a smile on her face. Her sacrifice only granted her a brief respite from the inexorable march of history hurtling towards destruction.
He wanted to argue with her.
Why do you look so peaceful? What will happen to the Eastern Front you left behind? Why did you have to leave me behind, all alone?
Countless thoughts seethed in his mind like molten lava as he stood in a daze. He stammered. His swollen lips desired to release all the anger and grievances that bubbled up from within.
But in the end, nothing came out.
Instead, the man grit his teeth and spoke to the woman standing behind him.
“…….Adjutant.”
Surprised, the woman lowered her gaze and responded to the man, who was absentmindedly inspecting the lifeless body.
“Yes.”
“Send a message to the archipelago. Tell them that the troops successfully withdrew from the Eastern Front. And…”
The man’s golden eyes blazed as he gazed up into the air.
“…Tell them that humanity has lost another Master.”
The adjutant swiftly turned around and ran off without delay. The man turned and vacantly gazed at the receding figure of the adjutant before shifting his attention to the surroundings.
The soldiers, whose lives were saved through the sacrifice of another, began to kneel one by one. Then, their hands came together in solemn worship of the Heavenly God Arus. Tens of thousands of soldiers reciting their prayers in concert was a sight to behold, but the man did not join them.
He strode through the kneeling troops. Destruction inched closer with every passing moment, and even a second of prayer was a second he couldn’t afford.
Instead, the man just thought to himself with clenched teeth. Endless thoughts, twisted by his seething rage and hatred, filled his mind.
It didn’t matter to him whether they were a beast, a demon, a fallen priest, or even a mythical beast.
***
I regained consciousness, and at some point, my breaths had also stabilized.
Time flowed slowly around me as I felt a pleasant tension at the tips of my fingers.
My head was clear without a single thought, and my senses felt sharper than ever
A flesh seed was attacking with poison trickling down its disgusting, gaping mouth.
With no tension in my muscles, there wasn’t even a hint of movement in my body, and the flesh seed was already so close that it seemed impossible to counterattack.
However, I instinctively realized that my still posture was the root of all movement.
Movement within Stillness.
Right before its claw was about to reach me, time slowed to a standstill.
And within that frozen time, only my sword cut through the air. In the blink of an eye, the blade fell towards the bottom left.
Scenes from the past flashed through my head as I recalled Senior Delphine and Seria swinging their swords up from the same position I was currently in.
And at that moment, time began to flow once more.
–Kiyaaaaaaaaaaaak!
A dreadful scream broke out.
Blood gushed out in all directions as the flesh seed, now split into four pieces, rolled across the ground.
My sword moved at an imperceptible speed as three silver lines, reminiscent of a claw, marked their existence in the air.
The flesh seed momentarily floundered on the ground before dying shortly after its head belatedly split in half.
The Yurdina’s secret technique—Illusory Sword of the Golden Lion.
Seria’s eyes popped wide open at the realization of my feat, but her reaction only lasted for a split moment.
The rest of the flesh seeds began climbing up the cave walls and started charging straight towards us.
I didn’t know how that was possible, but what was certain was that several had passed me while others threw themselves at me.
From behind, shouts accompanied by the clashing of blades signaled the start of what would be a rough battle
In the meantime, I closed my eyes and took a deep breath.
A violent hostility burned deep in my chest. Normally, my head would become hot as well, but strangely, my head became increasingly cool and rational the more my heart boiled in hatred.
It was an odd feeling. It was as if I was being possessed by an old soldier who had trod countless life-and-death situations.
When I reopened my eyes, a silver trail cut through the darkness like a beam of light as my sword pierced through the head of one of the flesh seeds charging in from the left.
However, it firmly gripped onto my sword, determined to hinder me to the bitter end.
And taking advantage of that moment, another flesh seed kicked off the ceiling of the cave to rush at me, followed by another one from the right.
Judging that I didn’t have the time to wrestle my sword out from its grip. I decisively kicked the flesh seed away in its skewered state along with my sword.
Then, drawing my hatchet, I swiftly twisted my body while swinging my arm.
As the incoming claws narrowly brushed past from above, its head soon came within striking distance.
–Puk!
Blood and brain matter splattered everywhere as a foul stench filled the air.
However, that wasn’t the end. Its head trembled as it struggled.
I grit my teeth and tightened my grip on the hatchet that was still lodged into the side of the flesh seed’s head.
Regardless of how hard it resisted, its death was already certain.
Swinging my arm once more, two halves of its head flew through the air, accompanied by a silver trajectory.
The blade of the hatchet found a new target as it dug into the forehead of the flesh seed charging in from the right.
The entire series of movements progressed at such a speed that it felt as if the hatchet’s trajectory was simply an extension of my sword’s initial movement.
Three flesh seeds had lost their lives in the blink of an eye.
It was a wild battle after having entrusted my body to the rage. My vision was tinged in red from the thrill of battle, and a sweet scent pervaded my breath.
It soon dawned on me that my hands were now empty, but that was inconsequential.
I quickly bent my upper body back as a flesh seed shot past above me. Naturally, I had no intention of letting it go.
Bouncing back up, I wrapped my arm around its shoulder and slammed it into the ground with all my might.
-Boom!
-Kiiiiieeeeeeeeeek!!!
A pained howl reverberated through the air as a shockwave traveled across the ground. Without giving it time to collect itself, I immediately planted a fist into its face.
-Puk!
The sound of my fist connecting with the flesh seed sent shivers up my spine. The first punch shattered its nose, the second splattered blood everywhere, and the last punch broke through its skull, spilling cerebral fluid and brain matter.
Three punches were all it took to take its life. Ecstasy clouded my eyes, and shivers traveled up my spine as I unhesitantly inflicted raw violence.
However, the consequence of spending time brutalizing the flesh seed was severe. Before I knew it, another of its kind had snuck up behind my back.
It was too late to fix my position after turning around. So instead, I slightly lifted my right hand into the air.
Then, with a soft thump, I felt a substantial weight settle into my hand.
It was my hatchet. It was previously lodged in the head of another flesh seed, but by utilizing the principles of Movement within Stillness and many complex calculations, I had managed to retrieve it.
Normally, it was a feat that was impossible unless one knew exactly how their battle would progress. No matter how profound Movement within Stillness was, a weapon’s trajectory was determined the moment it was thrown.
But that wasn’t the case for me.
I was simply throwing and swinging my hatchet out of instinct. It was the same for my next series of movements.
I turned around and leaned my body down towards the floor before driving the hatchet right into its neck.
Blood sprayed out and soaked my face.
The flesh seed couldn’t even let out a proper scream as I flexed my arm and slammed it onto the ground before climbing on top of it.
The next step was simple. I simply had to swing my hatchet until it died.
Every swing was followed by a sickening crunch. Blood, bone fragments, and brain matter dyed my vision while its squeals reverberated within my ears.
It was suffocating and difficult to even breathe. My heart beat so exceedingly fast that my chest felt taut.
I have to kill it.
It was a kind of obsession. I clenched my teeth and repeatedly slammed my hatchet down.
Over and over and over and over—even after it convulsed, stopped moving, and ceased to make any noise.
I continued to fill the cave with the grotesque sound of a blade hacking away at a lump of flesh.
I couldn’t stop myself.
If only they didn’t exist.
They could’ve lived.
Everyone could have lived.
Everyone… if it weren’t for these damned monsters!
An unfamiliar malice surged into my head, and much like the roots of a tree burrowing into the ground, it took root until it felt like I would burst with overwhelming rage and hatred.
I felt like I was going crazy.
“…….These damned bastards!”
As I raised my hatchet once more, a hand gripped my wrist.
I directed my sharp gaze to the side. There, Celine was looking at me with quivering eyes.
“S-stop. Oppa, it’s already over…”
It’s over?
Startled, I scanned the surroundings. It was just as she said.
The corpses of around a dozen flesh seeds were strewn across the cave floor with their heads blown off, and more than half were by my hand.
It was only then that I came back to my senses.
I glanced down at the flesh seed under me. It was mutilated into an unrecognizable lump. It didn’t even resemble minced meat. Rather, it looked more like a stew with pieces of flesh, brain matter, and shattered bones mixed in.
I was speechless.
Why the hell did I act like that?
With labored breaths, I staggered up to my feet and turned around.
Every one of them was looking at me with fear evident in their eyes.
Among them, Senior Elsie and Senior Delphine had the most extreme reactions.
Although she wasn’t collapsed on the ground, it was clear that Senior Elsie was trying hard to hold back her tears through choked hiccups.
And nearby, Senior Delphine was pale and looked to be on the verge of violently vomiting.
Just like that, silence settled in the cave.
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