Capítulo 65: Chapter 54 - A Midget and A Chicken? Damn
(Arthur Leywin)
The portal shimmered out of life and died out as me and Arisu stepped outside the teleportation frame.
"So, we should-"
Acting deaf to my presence, Arisu walked ahead of me, her lustrous locks flowing wildly in the untamed gusts of wind that surrounded us.
"Dicathen's encampment 20 miles down this hill. Alacryans are approaching from that side." Arisu reported, her voice stern and determined and hints of melancholy in them. "I will take the retainer out." She said and was about to take flight as I dashed forward and held her by her arm, cancelling her flight out.
"You shouldn't fight right now." As I firmly grasped her and drew her closer, I couldn't help but notice the glistening pools of moisture in her eyes, mirroring the setting sun that seemed to be swallowed by the horizon. The drowning sun reflected at the bottom of her honey-coloured pupil, making it seem like it has a neon glow in it.
"You don't have to decide it for me." Her response was saturated with a profound sense of disappointment that was difficult to fully grasp, as if the weight of her letdown was too immense to be conveyed in mere words.
I tightened my grip on her arm, halting her movement so completely that she was rendered immobile, unable to budge even a fraction of an inch. Initially, she fought against my hold, but eventually, her efforts waned, and her shoulders shuddered slightly and her voice quivered, "Why?"
"Now is not the time. You know that as well." I replied, trying to provide some sort of comfort despite knowing that it would all end in vain. She wasn't stupid but her judgment was being clouded by her emotions. Emotions tend to do this to humans, corroding their insides and casting a bewitching veil on common sense. Her feelings after a certain point in time had been quite apparent but despite me being not thinking much of it, they kept evolving in multiple forms. However, I can't let her make a decision that would endanger her life... just yet.
"Then when, huh? Why don't you give me a definitive answer?" She asked, wiping her eyes with the sleeve of her jacket.
"Maybe later, but not now." I replied, looking back at her.
"Maybe?" She got closer and raised herself up until she was at my eye level as I lowered my head, "You will regret doing something else." She said and walked away as I let out a sigh.
"Ohoo? Lover's squabble? How disgusting. Very disgusting. Seeing you lessers engage in acts of love... disgusting, how very disgusting."
A voice resounded in the dead calm of the forest. The voice was jagged, like the vocal cords being damaged by thorns as the witch-like laugh bounced all around the forest with an extremely high pitch.
"Ugh, now who is this?" Arisu grumbled as she looked around, her golden eyes already starting to morph into a brighter shade of orange.
"Disgutin-"
Before she could speak again, I punched the tree beside Arisu and my hand connected with someone's jaw. As soon as the crunch of bones breaking resounded, I felt a piercing heat on my hand. Immediately withdrawing my hand, I noticed a sickly green liquid seeping into the ground, as it sizzled and made a hole into it.
Acidic properties infused into water mana---Vritra mana arts.
I looked up and saw a tall, sickly thin, and pale woman. She was wearing a sparkling black dress and a ceramic doll-like face mask that had now a crack in the middle. The mask broke and fell like two seperate pieces on the ground despite her desperately trying to hold it in one piece. Her hair was long black and scraggly tied in two ponytails which hung behind her head. A bow was tied at each end of each ponytail. She also had a bump above her forehead under her hair, which was most likely her Vritra Horn.
"How dare you? HOW DARE YOU!!?" She screeched as I felt Sylvie's anxiety inside me. "How dare you touch my mask."
"Yeah, I am sorry on his behalf. He shouldn't have. I unlocked a new paralysis demon by looking at your face." Arisu replied from behind as she faked a shiver, and I could feel Sylvie snicker at her comment. "She doesn't look much. I can take her out."
"I know you can do much more than that." I replied to Arisu. I was about to talk again but a vine shot up towards me. Moving to the right, I dodged it and placed a finger on it. Augmenting just the tip of my finger, I avoided the corrosive acid and lit the vine on blue flames. The vine was alit and in a matter of seconds it was reduced to ashes.
Without waiting the retainer disappeared and a dense acidic fog engulfed us. The trees first seemed to bend down altogether but then they started to change shapes before being reduced to a slushy mess.
"HAHAHAHA. Die lessers." She let out a victorious laugh as her voice seemed to come from every direction.
"She is so annoying." Arisu commented as I looked back. A small ball of red flames lit up on Arisu's fingertip as she shot it randomly. The miniature ball of mana travelled like a bullet with some curve on it. On the last moment, it completely changed trajectory followed by the retainer's scream as the acidic fog dissipated and she fell to the ground with a thud.
"That is an efficient spell." I remarked as her face lit up from her previous gloomy one. It was favourable that she had already forgotten about how I didn't let her kiss me. "But I still haven't forgotten about the previous incident. So, don't use honeyed words because I am not forgetting it until you make up to me."
Well, never mind that. She didn't really forget about it.
"Uhh, sure." I replied awkwardly.
'Ehm, if you are done setting the date with your bride, can we focus on the retainer?' Sylvie spoke through our link as she morphed into her human form.
'Bride?'
'Skim the minor details.'
'...'
I looked back at Arisu, "Why don't we let Ethan and Sylvie handle this?"
Arisu tilted her head while Ethan excitedly hovered around her head. "Well, I am fine with it. She is quite weak anyways. And she lost an arm so I am not against it." As she said a golden light enveloped Ethan as he converted to his human form as well.
"Papa, I want to fight alone!"
"Mama, I want to fight alone!"
Both Ethan and Sylvie said simultaneously as I sighed.
"No, you have to work along with Sylvie." Arisu replied sternly.
"I don't want to fight alongside someone so weak." Sylvie replied with a flick to her hair as pure mana started to pour out of her.
"Haah? Weak? Me? You talking about me, midget dragon?" Ethan replied, his tone much more crass that was a striking contrast to Arisu's delicate one.
"Says the banished chicken." Sylvie replied with a snicker as Ethan's face grew more red.
I took a step backwards, letting them handle the situation on their own. There was something else that I needed to take care of after the fight here. That was why I didn't let Arisu fight. Something... no, someone was approaching.
"You think this is a joke?" The retainer stood up lankily, her arm dangling and the other one splurting green blood. "I am the Retainer Jagrette and I-"
"You're weak. Shut up!" Ethan spoke as an aura of flames encased him, seeming like he was in the middle of an inferno. Sylvie's pure mana shot up in the air as well. The translucent teal and blazing orange auras seemed to oppose each other as the titanic buildup of mana started to shake the earth beneath us. With a competetive edge to their gazes, Ethan's hand lit up in sparkling golden flames with light blue hints in it while a blade made of pure mana conjured in Sylvie's hand.
Since me and Sylvie have a seamless exchange of information, she was able to learn the multiple aspects of sword and hand-to-hand combat from me while I was training in Euphotus while I was able to learn a bit of Vivum arts from her.
Sylvie dashed forward as vines with corrosove properties, the same as before shot towards her. Twisting her little petite body at an impossible angle, she dodged all of them and swung her arm. While it seemed, she did it only once, she had moved several times and had severed the multiple vines and got close to Jagrette. However, getting so close could prove fatal. An acidic blast resounded as a huge wave of acid came crashing down on her.
On the last moment she managed to avoid it, the few drops burning away the corners of her dress.
"Your defenses are so bad. You are wide open." Ethan mocked her as he got closer and placed a hand on Jagrette's back. A huge amount of fire mana condensed into his palm and the next moment it exploded with a huge boom. However, it wasn't enough as the retainer was able to block it with a condensed number of vines that had gathered behind her, totally nullifying his attack.
"Pfft, a baby can throw a stronger punch than that, LMAO." Sylvie was the one who mocked back this time using a term she had learnt from my memories on earth.
Ethan gritted his teeth but before they could attack, I let out some of my newly acquired imitation of Kordri's king force as it weighed down on both Ethan and Sylvie. "Work together," I said as I felt my voice distort under the influence of King's Force.
Ethan looked back and Arisu nodded her head as he gulped and looked at Sylvie, "Don't miss the attack, midget, I am covering you from behind."
"Right back at you, chicken."
They both had explosive abilities. However, there were visible drawbacks. Sylvie had an extremely explosive offense that could overpower the retainer in front of us but due to her being young, she couldn't fully absorb the teachings and ended up having a poor defense. From what I've observed, Ethan's usage of mana is much more versatile because of him having access to fire mana, his defenses were almost impenetrable for the retainer but vice-versa, his attack power wasn't enough to land a solid hit on her.
Sylvie dashed forward once again, using the mana under her feet to make it explode and propel forward like a missile, her sword's tip pointing forward. The vines shot up from beneath the ground and went to penetrate all her vital spots. Just as they came close enough and were a hair breadth away, flames shot up and burned away the vines in a near instant. Following straight after the retainer shot a wall of acidic liquid on her but a wall of raging flames nullified it in an instant.
"What is wrong with you both? Who are you?"
Sylvie spun and got closer to her, swinging her blade as she severed her feet making her stumble to the ground and fall on her back. She swayed her hand the same acidic fog started to manifest but Sylvie got closer to her before that, holding her sword in both her hands and forming a translucent arc severed her head, making it fall right there.
"Something is not right." Arisu said as I looked at the corpse and Sylvie. Sylvie had a proud look over her face as she looked at Ethan. However, activating Realmheart I could feel it. The defense mechanism installed in her in case she dies.
[Static Void]
The world came to a standstill as I leapt forward and scooped Sylvie up by her midsection and travelled back to where I was. After I released the Static Void, the world returned to its former glory, the time flowing again. A huge fountain of acid burst forward as it exploded and dissolved everything around them. A huge crater formed around her, disintegrating everything.
"That was close. I had a hunch there was something wrong." Arisu said as she placed a hand on Ethan's head who turned around and hugged her, burying his face in her.
"You seem quite close to him." I said as Ethan looked at me and narrowed his eyes, "Don't hurt my mama."
"I didn't." I replied immediately as Arisu pulled him by his ear, her face radiating with a blush.
What did I do now?
"Umm, papa, please can you now let me down?" Sylvie spoke as I was still holding her. Letting her on her feet, I let go of her as she saw Ethan, "Mama's boy." She whispered.
"WHAT!? Say that again!" A vein popped on Ethan's face.
"Quite temperamental." I remarked as Arisu gave an awkward laugh, "Well, I wasn't around to raise him most of the time." She said as she looked down, her fingers still travelling through his hair.
As Sylvie and Ethan were about to talk again, I silenced them both, "Go back to the nearest encampment which is 20 miles from here in the south," Taking out the royal elven compass I handed it to Sylvie, "Show them this and they will transport you back to Floating castle."
"Where are you going?" Sylvie asked.
"There is something I need to be. Arisu too." I replied as she nodded in agreement.
"No, I will go with mama." Ethan retorted as he stuck to Arisu.
Sylvie let out a grumble as she started to pull him away from her as she waved her hand at me, "Take care, Papa and Arisu. I will take this little boy there." She said as both him and Ethan continued to argue.
I let out a sigh as Arisu came closer. "What's the matter?"
"The ships are here." I replied as her features scrunched into those of Suprise.
"How?"
"I don't know but it seems like there is a reincarnated individual among them. Making such high-powered ships that can power up the speed so much is not possible for people from this era. Even if it's a continent ruled by asuras."
"I know you want to do things on your own, but why do you need me? There is a reason behind it right?"
"You have a phoenix will, right?"
"Yes."
"I want you to pinpoint the reincarnates."
"And then what?"
"You will go back. The rest would be up to me."
(A/n) Almost 1 million views. Thanks all of you WN readers
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