Nozomanu Fushi no Boukensha (LN) - Volume 8 - Chapter 2.5

Side Story: Isaac Hart 

“I knew you would come. We all loved blood, but you most of all. I caused all this commotion just for you,” a robed man said with a smile. He stood atop a building on the outer edge of Maalt. 

Before him stood another man. It was me, Isaac Hart. 

“I never asked for this,” I said, “and you expect me to be happy? I have nothing to do with you anymore. Leave this town at once.” 

Never before had I been so callous to my old Allies, if I may say so myself. In the past, I would never have spoken like this. The Allies were my friends, brothers, and comrades. Our connections were stronger than blood. I could never have imagined that I would cut ties with them, but life is full of surprises. 

Unimaginable encounters could change one’s view of things. He was no longer an Ally to me. But I knew he didn’t feel the same way. I knew because, had things been slightly different, I would have been in his position and he would have been in mine. 

He seemed shocked by what I said, and his pale face turned even whiter. “What are you talking about, Isaac? You should be glad. Smile like you did in the old days. Our plan is coming together. What was once a pipe dream could soon be reality. Come back to us. Come back, Isaac!” 

At first he sounded perturbed. But his tone gradually turned more somber until, in the end, there was anger in his voice. Every kind of emotion stirred around within him. It was painful for me too, but none of what he said appealed to me. Not the plan, not our dreams, not the fun we once had together. I remembered it all, but it felt distant now. Faded memories could be nice to reminisce about, but I never wanted to return to them. 

“Shumini, you’re an old friend,” I said. “So I’ll tell you one last time. Leave this town, or else.” 

Before I could say more, arrows came at us from below—magic too. 

“There he is! It’s him!” one of them said. They weren’t aiming at me, but at Shumini. 

“Damn you, humans!” Shumini grumbled. “We were in the middle of something important.” 

Shumini began to gather mana in his hands. It looked like he was planning to use a big spell. There were about a dozen adventurers on the road by the building, and they were all eager to kill. 

“Mystic power that dwells in all things, obey me and burn all to cinders,” I chanted. “Fire Storm!” 

I blasted a fireball at his arm. It wasn’t especially powerful, but unlike the massive spell he was about to use, I could cast it quickly. The fireball hit Shumini’s arm and redirected his spell. As a result, it missed the adventurers below. It did hit a building in town, but this area had been evacuated already. That was why I lured Shumini here. Not that the owners of that building would appreciate what happened, but they could be compensated later. 

Shumini glared at the adventurers flinging spells and arrows at him, then gave me an enraged look. “What did you just do?” he asked. “Why help them? This isn’t who you are. Remember back when we fought side by side? We killed humans, destroyed towns, and feasted upon their blood!” 

“Yes, I remember.” I remembered the cacophonous cries of humans as they perished. I never questioned my actions. I thought it was what must be done. 

“Then why?!” 

“I didn’t know anything. I don’t expect to be forgiven for what I’ve done, but I can’t let it happen again,” I declared. 

Shumini shrank away and fell to his knees as if he’d lost his balance. He laughed. “I see, so you’ve changed. I’m sure a human has tricked you. I’m right, aren’t I? Where is the insolent human who’s deceiving you?! I’ll go kill them. Then you’ll come back, won’t you?!” 

I could tell now that he wouldn’t be convinced. It was too late. I knew from the start that our interests no longer aligned. Despite that, I held onto the faintest sliver of hope. For a long time, we’d shared the same goals and traveled together. No matter how things had changed, I thought that maybe I could make him understand. But of course I couldn’t. I’d forgotten that he wouldn’t so easily give up his aspirations. It was me who had faltered, not him. 

“I haven’t been tricked,” I said. “But if you intend to harm the people of this town any further, I won’t hesitate to turn against an old friend. That’s what I’m here for.” I drew my sword. It was the sword I was given long ago. 

“Very well, then I’ll have to resort to violence,” Shumini replied. “I promise not to do anything too brutal. I’ll just hurt you until you give me a name.” 

He took out his weapon, a blood red sword. Our blades clashed. He wielded a San Arm, a special weapon that vampires possessed. With enough power, their blades of darkness could cut through anything. Vampire blacksmiths forged the blades from the blood of the wielder. They could be compressed and stored within the body, and they had special abilities. 

Shumini’s San Arm brought back memories. I’d seen him as a dependable partner when he wielded it by my side. I thought that if we fought together, we could achieve our ambitions. Now the sword felt heavy. What had been reassuring in the hands of a friend delivered a fearsome strike in the hands of a foe. 

My weapon was the same. It had gone unused for a long time and had received no blood, so it had lost its former color, but it was as durable a blade as ever. An average weapon would chip or break when it struck a San Arm, but this sword wouldn’t. Still, I couldn’t deny that I hadn’t taken care of it for a long time. 

“What’s wrong, Isaac?!” Shumini roared. “Have you forgotten the vicious swordsmanship you once used?! You think you can beat me like this?!” 

He delivered a flurry of slashes, putting me on the defensive. I could only guess how much blood his sword must have drunk. It had been many years since we parted ways. The difference that all that time had made was now clear. I’d distanced myself from any intense battles. I did still slay some monsters, of course. But that was all. My main job as of late was to serve as a butler to the Latuule family, which involved no combat against humans or humanoids. To be frank, my senses had dulled. 

But even so, I had to do this. I had to do it for this city, and for her. I tightened my grip on my sword. Spikes jutted from the hilt. They dug into my hand and brought blood. But none of my blood dripped onto the roof. The sword drank it before it could. 

Also known as blood-sucking weapons, San Arms could absorb the blood of their wielders and victims to gain power. It had been a long time since I felt this, so it did make me wince. I could feel my blood rush into the sword. It must have been hungry. I hadn’t fed it in years, so it was understandable. My sword gradually transformed. A red blade grew around the thin, silver one. It turned from a rapier into a greatsword. 

Shumini saw this and distanced himself from me. He knew that this was my real fighting style. We knew each other well. Our weapons, combat techniques, ideas, favorite and least favorite things—none of it was a secret to either of us. That was why we couldn’t accept each other as we were now. We wondered why it had to come to this, and why the other side refused to understand. It was probably my fault. I changed, not him. He was the same as ever. Maybe I should have let him kill me, but I couldn’t. 

“Now let’s do this, Shumini,” I said and readied my greatsword, holding it in both hands. It was now about as long as I was tall. 

“Now this is the real you, Isaac,” Shumini remarked with a smile. “Keep it up. Remember more of the time we spent fighting together.” 

I already remembered. Fighting spirit surged from within me. I felt like a dog presented with meat, and I was overcome with a loathing for injustice. Now I realized that those feelings had simply sunk deep in my heart, but I had no intention of scooping them back out. I’d decided to leave them there for eternity. 

I brandished my sword and accelerated toward Shumini. Shumini saw me coming and readied his weapon. I swung my blade straight down at him, but he parried it. I predicted as much, so I used the momentum to spin and deliver a horizontal slash. But Shumini blocked this with his sword too. The greater weight of my blade did knock him back a bit, though, and I followed after him. I didn’t hold back at all. 

Arrows and spells raced toward him from the ground. They weren’t that powerful, so Shumini just knocked them away with his sword. 

“I knew they would interrupt,” he said. He tried to cast another spell, so I slashed at him from the side to send him flying. “You stopped me again?” he complained. 

“The adventurers will keep coming. If you don’t want interruptions, let’s go somewhere else,” I said. 

If he had said no, I might have dragged him elsewhere by force. But Shumini glanced at the adventurers on the ground, saw more of them running toward the building, and nodded. “Very well.” 

He probably didn’t want these insects crawling around and pricking him with arrows and magic. Shumini always preferred to enjoy delicacies in peace. Interruptions made him furious. It brought back sweet memories, but I didn’t want to think about that. 

“This way. Come with me,” I said. I wanted to say it would be his grave, but it could also end up being mine. I had to take this seriously.