Chapter 4 — He Seems Like a Decent Person... But I Won’t Trust Him So Easily!
The crowd that filled the clearing around the Swordmaster included all sorts of people from far and wide. Yogiri and Tomochika stood at the outer edge of the gathering, and although the area was now filled with killing intent, no one had made a move just yet. Some of them were probably waiting to see what would happen next, while others were waiting to hear if the Swordmaster had anything more to say.
“Can I ask a question?” Despite the nervous atmosphere, a confident voice rang out. “If I kill everyone else, does that mean I automatically pass?”
The speaker was the man who had been harassing them. He wore a black shirt, black pants, and a black cloak. The scabbard on his back was black as well, and so was the handle of the weapon sticking out of it.
“No comment. But if this were a test of character too, then you would have already failed.”
“What?!” The man went stiff at the unexpected reply.
“Come now, you can’t just ask whatever comes to mind. Think before you speak. It’s possible that asking any questions at all might disqualify you off the bat, don’t you think?” the Swordmaster said, making no attempt to hide his disdain. At his words, the crowd around him grew steadily more cautious.
“Hmm, is he actually nicer than he seems after all?” Tomochika wondered, although Yogiri had the opposite impression.
“If he was nice, he wouldn’t be telling people to kill each other. Excuse me, can I ask a question too?” Yogiri called out to the Swordmaster, raising his hand. The gaze of the crowd immediately shifted to him.
“What is it this time? Were you even listening?” The Swordmaster was sounding increasingly exasperated.
“I don’t really care if I fail. We’re only passing through, and I don’t feel like killing a bunch of people, so can we just walk away?”
They had only gone there to gather information, but Yogiri certainly wasn’t interested in going through a battle royale to get to it.
“Wh-What?!” Atila stammered, before the Swordmaster could even answer.
“Well, we’ve met this amazing Swordmaster now, haven’t we? So it’s your turn. You’re supposed to lead us to the capital,” he replied before turning back to the older man. “So, can we go?”
“Oh? You made it all the way here by sheer coincidence? It doesn’t seem like you’re a coward, but if I simply let you go, things could get messy. So let’s do this: if anyone escapes this clearing, everyone fails. Think that over.”
“Ah, that’s annoying,” Yogiri grumbled. They were now fully committed to being a part of the trial, one way or another.
“Hurry up and get started. A Knight has to be more bloodthirsty. I didn’t come here to watch you all stand around and have a chat. Do I have to set a time limit too? You have ten minutes. If more than half of you are left by then, you all fail.”
With those words as the trigger, the tense atmosphere broke. The man clad in black drew a sword from his back. Perhaps he was just that fast, but despite everyone around him being on guard, the man next to him barely had time to react as the blade slashed through him. With a single stroke, he had been cloven cleanly in two, the upper half of his body sent flying. His torso careened towards Tomochika, who nimbly stepped back to avoid it.
It seems you’ve grown rather accustomed to this, Mokomoko observed.
“After all we’ve been through, this isn’t that weird,” Tomochika replied as an angry roar filled the clearing.
The fighting had begun in earnest.
“Whoa!” Yogiri suddenly raised his voice in surprise.
“What’s wrong?!”
“Even the blade of that guy’s sword is black.”
“Oh, you’re right. Who cares?!”
“What do we do now? Running away would be easy, I guess...”
But if they did run, some of the people around them would certainly try to stop them. Before Yogiri could even put that thought into words, it became a reality. A small crowd had started moving towards them. Either they looked like easy pickings, or they’d been pegged as the most likely to run away. It seemed like Yogiri was going to have to use his power.
Just then, a swordsman appeared in front of them. Despite being in silver full plate armor, he moved as if it weighed nothing at all. Each individual piece seemed to be as slim and lightweight as possible. His lack of a helmet served to strengthen that impression.
“Please rest assured, I shall keep you safe!” Flashing them a bright smile, he turned back to face the coming crowd. “You fools! Do you not understand the Swordmaster’s intentions at all?! He will never recognize those who kill indiscriminately! This is a trial to determine who will take actions befitting a Knight of the Divine King!”
“He seems like a decent enough guy...but I’m not going to be fooled again.” Considering her experiences thus far, Tomochika was naturally suspicious.
Impressive. For someone to make it here they must have some measure of strength, but it seems this man is leaps and bounds above the rest of them.
The silver swordsman met the crowd that approached him head-on, dispatching them handily with his blade and shield. He was clearly skilled enough to not only thrash those around him in spite of being outnumbered, but to do so without using lethal blows. No matter how strong he was, however, he was still just one swordsman. There was no way he could defend the pair against magic or ranged weapons.
The moment Yogiri felt a clear killing intent aimed at him, he discharged his power. As he did, ten members of the melee immediately collapsed.
“What on earth...?” Seeing their sudden deaths, the silver swordsman paused for a moment.
“Well, actually—”
“I see! This is the power of the Swordmaster! It is no wonder he doesn’t carry a sword! I didn’t see him move at all, but a feat like this would be no challenge for him! This must be his judgment against those using dastardly means to triumph!”
Tomochika had been trying to think of a way to cover up Yogiri’s power, but it was totally unnecessary. Seeing the strength of the swordsman and the bizarre deaths of those around him, their attackers moved on in search of easier prey.
“Hmm. It seems we are safe for the time being,” the swordsman said, watching the mob retreat. “You said you ended up here by happenstance. While this must seem like quite a cruel sport to you, this trial is a matter of great importance. Could I ask you to stay at my side for a while longer?”
They had been warned that if a single person escaped, all of them would fail. Yogiri didn’t know what all of this Swordmaster business was really about, but he was hesitant to ruin it for everyone else.
“All right, we’ll stick around for a bit.”
“Thank you for understanding. I will make every effort to shield you from harm, so please rest easy.”
With the people targeting Yogiri and Tomochika having moved on, the area around them quieted down.
“Please...help...”
Breaking through the calm, a weak voice called out, drawing Yogiri’s attention. It was the man who had been cut in half at the very beginning. All that remained was his head and right arm, with just enough of the torso left to connect them. It was incredible that he was alive at all.
“This is...most unfortunate.” The silver swordsman shook his head, clearly deciding that there was nothing to be done for the poor man. Yogiri felt the same way.
“No, please, don’t give up on me!” Mustering what little strength he had left, the man called out to Tomochika. “You, the girl over there, please come here! Help me!”
He has an impressive voice for someone with barely any lungs left, Mokomoko mused.
“Umm, what should I do?”
“He’s not giving off any killing intent, so it doesn’t seem like he’s planning anything.”
“Really? Well, I guess I can go help him a little.” Tomochika approached the fallen man. “Are you okay? If you want me to hold your hand or something, I can do that much.”
“Pick up those rainbow-colored rocks over there, please.” He pointed at a number of shining, colorful rocks that were scattered about him. They must have been sent flying when he’d been cut down.
Tomochika gathered them up. “What are these?”
“These are...Apology Stones...”
“So what should I do with them?”
“Please put them in my right hand.”
Tomochika did as she was asked. As she pressed the stones into the man’s hand, they began to glow. Within moments, the mutilated fellow had completely regenerated. Although less than a quarter of him had previously remained, he was now restored to perfect condition, with a fully functional, tall, and slender body.
“What the...?”
“Thank you so much! I thought I was done for!”
He now looked just as he had before the black-clad man had cut him in half. Even his clothes were intact, with not a scratch to be seen on them. Yogiri looked around, but the other half of the man’s body was no longer on the ground. It had probably disappeared as part of the regeneration process.
“These are Apology Stones. They are star crystals given away as an apology. They can heal you from serious injuries, or they can be used to roll the gacha, so they are extremely useful items!”
“What is this, a mobile game?! Who was apologizing to you anyway, and for what?”
“Stop!”
The Swordmaster’s shout filled the air. Everyone in the clearing froze at once.
“We’ve cut the numbers down significantly. Let’s move on to the next phase. Come with me.”
With those words, the old man made his way out of the clearing, which was now covered with a gruesome pile of bodies. Only about half of the crowd had survived.
“You said he was testing for how a Knight should act, but I’m pretty sure he just wanted to reduce the number of people applying.”
“No, I’m confident that there is some deeper meaning to all of this. We ordinary people cannot fathom the thoughts of a Swordmaster.”
Despite Tomochika’s commentary, the silver swordsman was unshaken.
“Takatou, this is getting kind of dangerous, don’t you think? We met the Swordmaster, now let’s get going to the capital.”
“No. I will have to ask you to continue with the trials...” Atila piped up, somewhat hesitantly.
“Why? You asked us to meet him and we did.”
“Well, see, if the person I recommend becomes a Knight, then I myself will become the Knight’s attendant. But don’t worry, I won’t ask you to become the Swordmaster’s disciple or anything!”
Yogiri sighed. “I guess it would be a waste of an opportunity if we left before getting any information.”
It was definitely a frustrating situation, but getting out of the canyon without a guide would have been difficult anyway. And although this Swordmaster’s power was supposedly equal to that of the Sages, they had yet to see it in action. Yogiri was curious to know more.
He decided to participate in the trial for the time being.
No Comments Yet
Post a new comment
Register or Login