Bab 63: Chapter 62
Pushing aside the grass that surrounded him and creating an uncomfortable and painful sound with each movement, the strong and relentless winds swayed the leaves of the nearby trees, bending and shaking the branches they clung to.
"Hmm..."
From the surroundings, noises from all directions and objects reached his ears, confusing his mind. The lights muddled his vision, and the faintest odors that reached his nostrils provided extreme experiences—scents that could either make his mind succumb or illuminate it with a beautiful vision born solely from his imagination due to this singular factor.
"Alright, this isn't as bad as you made me think, so..."
The touch of the winds made him shiver. The sunlight made his eyes yield. As words reached his ears, his fists clenched along with his teeth, and in a constant struggle to stay standing, everything in front of him wavered along with his vision.
"...Begin!"
The form followed, in a failed attempt to move his limbs in a synchronized manner, adhering to the descriptions in the book he had been given earlier.
Stretching his arm quickly and precisely, his body paralyzed after an apparent bolt of lightning coursed through him completely. The resistance of the air or the tiniest specks of dirt in the atmosphere didn't matter. It was as if sharp blades were tearing every part of what moved, from his fingertips to the end of his arm; every small piece and even his hairs felt the pain of being cut and torn daily.
After regaining his senses, his foot lifted, bringing the knee high, while the other moved slightly to minimize the shock. The grass around transformed into knives capable of shredding his feet, turning into needles when stepped on again. And once more, with another movement performed, as if habitual or programmed, his body paralyzed immediately afterward.
"Pant! Pant! Pant! Pant!..."
With the wind's blow, his body wavered as his vision dulled, making it impossible to focus on his own thoughts. Sweat dripped from the tip of his chin onto the leaves on the ground as his body trembled more and more.
His wavering gaze focused, and his gray eyes no longer trembled. Swallowing hard and narrowing his eyes, preparing to make the next move, he first visualized it in his mind. However, when his foot moved for a brief instant and his arm prepared to be positioned next while the other advanced, continuing was no longer necessary. Thankfully, it earned him a deep sigh of relief.
"Alright, Carlos, you're doing very well. Better than I ever was, or anyone else in the kingdom, actually. None of us had to go through what you did."
His long black hair swayed with the wind as he walked toward the small boy whose nose was still running. Smiling, he placed his hand on the child's head, gently caressing it.
"So, don't rush too much, understood? You still have plenty of time. I'm not planning to leave anytime soon, so don't worry."
Sniffling, Carlos wiped his face with his arm.
"I'm not trying too hard, it's just that..."
"I know... the noises are quite bothersome, aren't they?"
Picking up the boy in his arms, the man walked through the grassy field where the shadows of enormous trees rested on the ground.
"But I couldn't master them easily either, you know? When I was four, I couldn't even walk without my own steps getting in my way, even in isolated places in the kingdom."
"So, I'm better than you, grandpa?"
His eyes sparkled, and smiling, Carlos sniffled again. Looking at his face filled with confidence and a bit of arrogance, the man clicked his tongue as he changed his gaze's direction.
"Don't dream, boy. Who is the kingdom's sword? Wait another eighty years, and when I'm gone, then you can say something like that."
"But I will also become the kingdom's sword, grandpa. I'll protect the king and the kingdom, and also... that annoying Scarlet..."
"Hmph!"
After hearing his last whispered words, the man immediately smacked his head.
"Kid, be careful what you say. What have I already told you?"
"Protect... the sword must protect its master..."
"Exactly, so don't say something like that again, understood?"
With cheeks puffed out with air and hands rubbing the top of his head, Carlos nodded. Seeing his expression, the man smiled while ruffling the child's hair without any care.
"Ouch!"
"HaHaHa! It's alright, it's alright, you're stronger than that, right? A little injury like this is nothing for the future kingdom's sword, isn't it?"
"Hmmm..."
"Okay, okay, sorry... let's postpone tomorrow's training, how about that?"
"..."
***************
Cutting through the skies, powerful lightning bolts descended toward the ground as if they had a life of their own, moving abnormally and terrifyingly. Passing through makeshift bridges, they all entered the abyss surrounding the kingdom's cities.
All the citizens watched in silence and disbelief. Once again, terrible creatures came in droves toward their homes, their abode, and they could do nothing but watch. Rising, a man decided that no, unlike how he acted when the ice dragons attacked, now, even if it meant signing his death sentence, he would do differently, he would not give in... However... the lightning bolts coursed through their bodies, and their dark blue eyes did not allow someone like him to even move in their presence... let alone stand up...
From all sides of the kingdom, the beasts emerged from the abyss, but in no way did they act aggressively.
"Hey... you all... are seeing the same thing as I am, right...?"
Answering Aiden's question, even remaining silent, everyone nodded.
Standing on each of the ten giant serpents, two people remained motionless and seemingly waiting. The lightning bolts continued to be emitted by the creatures, and despite appearing very powerful, those people showed no sign of feeling anything, not even a small stimulus with all that energy coursing through their bodies. On the contrary, they showed a strange and absolute indifference, as if it were simply normal.
"If there are people mounted on these creatures, then, on the others too..."
A loud noise interrupted Riley's words. It was the stone giants ceasing their march before the kingdom's gates. And looking a bit more closely, on their shoulders, they saw the same as they had observed with the serpents.
"Yeah, it seems so..."
The winged beings accompanying the giants landed on the wall, leaving any guard completely incapable of even thinking about reacting.
Touching the hilts of their swords almost simultaneously, Aiden, Riley, Carlos, and Clovis began to think about how they would act. However, their eyes scanned the ground beneath their feet, and gritting his teeth, Aiden's eyes widened upon seeing the unmistakable green hair along with a few other people on one of the bridges on the left side.
A tongue click echoed, and with the minimal draw of his blade, the thought of running there was concretized. However, with his body trembling and his eyes widening even more intensely, the gleaming claws rested on the bridge while the fangs of the enormous whitish creature were bared. His fist clenched in terror as the creatures resembling ice dragons roared from all sides.
Bringing the wind with them, huge white eagles descended from the skies, while, carrying flames on their bodies, birds whose feathers burned visibly, flapped their great wings over the ruined grounds.
So many different energies united in one place that, to his eyes, Ethan couldn't see anything but enormous colorful mana trails. But, looking more closely, something somewhat familiar stood out among the others. His eyes narrowed, and his gaze focused on the back of one of the fire birds; a woman, a man, two children, and...
Raising their heads, no one had any reason to tremble anymore because, for some reason, their hearts and minds were strangely calm in a way not seen for a long time.
The darkness in the skies was driven away by the flapping of white wings. Human bodies, indeed, and wings somewhat similar to those all demons possess, then, why... despite being obviously similar... did they appear so different...?
A deafening silence ensued until, like a small sun, an intense glow emerged in the sky, emitted by the small dagger floating in the air above the kingdom. The blade moved, heading toward the group of knights. It passed slowly by Carlos, then Riley, Aiden, and was almost halted by Clovis, who thought of drawing his sword. However, his body completely paralyzed, and feeling once again an imposing pressure, it became more than evident who was behind it, the Black Raven.
"..."
With the gleaming blade floating before his eyes, Ethan observed the surroundings, the reaction of all those beings who had just arrived, and as his eyes wandered, his heart tightened the moment a warm sensation consumed him.
"You've grown..."
Along with the hoarse voice, the brilliant smile he had only seen in his dreams until now appeared in his mind. Mentally confused and physically paralyzed, with his eyes strangely filling with tears, Ethan remained perplexed before that mere dagger... those mere words from someone he couldn't even see.
"...my son..."
Be it in the air, be it on land, it didn't matter, the pressure imposed by the Black Raven repeated itself and, recalling the moment of its arrival, along with those who had just arrived in the kingdom, everyone bowed.
Status Power Mingguan
-- Peringkat
Power 
-- Power
stone