章 107: C107
"Ugh..." Shirou groaned and slowly opened his eyes, feeling aches pulsating through his head and abdomen. Had he not escaped the path to the "Root" yet? As he sat up, his whole body screamed in soreness.
He muttered to himself, attempting to shake off the disorientation, but froze when he realized he was not in the familiar environment he had expected. Standing up and nervously looking around, His brow furrowed. Where was this? It was a strange place, or perhaps it was better to call it a room?
Shirou scanned the room, taking note of the deep cracks that covered the walls. He could feel a cold wind blowing in from outside, and as he looked up slightly, he saw a huge hole in the ceiling that let in a thin stream of sunlight. Was this a thatched hut?
Suddenly, his nose detected a damp and slightly putrid odor emanating from the corner of the room. He turned his head and saw a pile of grass, which made him swallow hard and his face become slightly unnatural.
The walls were made of mud, and rubble and weeds were strewn in the corners. As Shirou looked down, he realized that he was lying on something. He reached out and touched it, trying to determine what it was.
"Could it be a straw?"
Where had he been thrown into?
"Chatter Chatter..."
From outside, a graceful figure walked slowly into the room, a girl wearing a brown dress adorned with silver scales that shone with elegance and nobility, a stark contrast to the dilapidated surroundings. She wiped the sweat from her forehead and looked at Shirou, her eyes curious.
"Chatter Chatter..."
Her voice was soft and melodic as she spoke, but all he could hear was a jumble of nonsensical words.
Shirou: "???"
He didn't understand what the girl was saying, but the unfamiliar situation triggered an instinctive sense of wariness within him. He carefully scrutinized the girl, searching for any clues about her intentions.
She appeared to be around fourteen years old, with a beautiful, youthful face that was framed by long, lustrous black hair. Her locks cascaded down her back in waves, lending her an air of elegance and grace. Her bright blue eyes seemed to mirror Shirou's own appearance, sparkling with intelligence and curiosity.
But that wasn't the most striking thing. The girl's face bore an uncanny resemblance to his own. A distant cousin, perhaps?
But he couldn't recall his parents ever mentioning having a relative with such a striking resemblance.
And then there was that dreamlike dress... no one besides actors in stage plays and TV dramas should be wearing something like that, right?
As the girl continued speaking, she reached out to touch Shirou's cheek. Instinctively, he grasped her wrist and asked, "Excuse me, but who are you, and where am I?"
Despite his grip on her wrist, the girl seemed surprisingly calm. Her expression was warm, with a hint of doubt. However, as soon as he spoke, the girl's demeanor suddenly changed.
Her delicate face contorted with fear, and her eyes flickered with terror, as though she had been caught by some kind of monster. She struggled to free her hand and then shouted in a panicked voice.
Shirou gazed at her with a bewildered expression, completely at a loss. He couldn't make sense of anything that was happening!
Suddenly, several heavy male voices were heard outside the door, followed by the clamor of armored soldiers rushing in, pulling out their swords and pointing them at Shirou. The girl quickly took cover behind the soldiers, her eyes wide with fear as she peered out at him.
Shirou: "???"
He couldn't comprehend what these people were saying in a language he didn't understand. However, from their aggressive gestures and the girl's fearful reaction, it was apparent that he had somehow offended her, and the soldiers were now pointing their swords at him.
In that brief and incomprehensible encounter, Shirou learned three things.
Firstly, he realized that he had no idea where he had ended up after escaping from the "Root." It certainly couldn't be modern times, since nobody besides actors and cosplayers wears silver armor and brandishes swords these days. Times have changed, and even magi resort to using guns.
Secondly, the language barrier made it impossible for him to communicate with them. Lastly, he observed that whenever he spoke, these people became frightened and filled with a mix of fear, hatred, and anger.
Shirou was able to perceive these emotions so clearly because his "Evil Flower" had absorbed the negative emotions of these people.
"Chatter Chatter Chatter!"
Several soldiers shouted at Shirou but received no response. Fury flickered in their eyes as they gripped their swords and advanced toward him. However, as they drew closer, Shirou's black mud surged forth, and two thin hands extended to shatter their swords into pieces.
The soldiers' faces turned pale, and they took a few steps back in fear. The girl crouched down and trembled, clutching her head in terror. Just then, another panicked soldier rushed in. After a brief exchange of Chatter, the soldiers turned ashen and fled with the girl, galloping away on their horses until they were no longer visible to him.
Shirou surveyed his surroundings in confusion, struggling to make sense of what had just happened.
As he stepped outside, his eyes furrowed at the sight of the towering trees and dilapidated houses in the village ruins.
Despite the decay, he noticed the remnants of beautiful brick and tile fragments scattered about, suggesting that this place had once been a beautiful and flourishing village.
At that moment, he felt his "Evil Flower" greedily absorbing a large amount of negative energy, which gradually transformed into magical energy, nourishing him with its power.
As the magical energy flowed into his body, his depleted energy began to recover, and the black mud within him stirred and writhed with renewed vigor.
"Swoosh...!!!"
In the distance, a flock of birds suddenly took flight from the forest, their startled squawks echoing through the air. They were quickly followed by a group of wyverns, their massive wings propelling them up toward the sky with powerful flaps as they let out fierce howls that reverberated through the forest.
"Clip-clop, clip-clop...!!!"
The sound of hooves echoed through the jungle, catching Shirou's attention. He turned his head and saw a cavalry charging towards him from within the trees.
The leader, holding a long spear, shouted something that Shirou couldn't quite make out at first. "Chatter Chatter... Guinevere!!!" the leader bellowed, his voice carrying over the noise of the charging horses.
"Guinevere!!!"
The cavalry's hostile yells rang out as they charged toward Shirou with animosity in their eyes. Meanwhile, the wyverns soaring above them let out loud roars, and quickly joined the attack, hurtling toward Shirou with incredible speed.
Shirou turned and broke into a run, his heart pounding with confusion. He was still unsure of his location and what was happening around him, but the hostility of the soldiers charging toward him was all too clear.
His body was weak and tired, drained of magical energy and willpower. The surreal sight of armed soldiers on horseback and mighty wyverns soaring through the sky only added to his confusion.
As he fled, Shirou commanded his accumulated evil to manifest two human-sized black hands on his back. He then used the black mud to form a black bow and a quiver of black arrows. Taking aim at one of the flying wyverns, he shot an arrow and hit the creature, cursing it with his evil. The wyvern let out a loud cry as it fell to the ground.
Seizing the opportunity amidst the chaos, Shirou summoned a pair of wings and took to the air, eager to put as much distance as possible between himself and the enemies.
However, what troubled Shirou the most was that the knight relentlessly pursued him for miles, shouting "Guinevere" at the top of his lungs. The bipedal wyverns followed closely behind, their iron mounts propelling them forward at breakneck speeds.
As the evil energy he had absorbed from the girl and her soldiers began to dwindle, he was forced to temporarily disable his wings and land on the ground, running on foot. But how could his legs match the speed of the cavalry? It wasn't long before he was caught up to.
Sighing heavily, Shirou turned to face the approaching cavalry, knowing that he had no other choice. He considered his options and decided that perhaps by using the power of the Evil Flower to absorb their evil emotions and convert them into autonomous protection that was more mana-efficient, and by utilizing his Projection, he might be able to put up a fight.
But he knew that this kind of attack might not be effective against the bipedal wyverns, who loomed on the horizon.
Shirou hesitated for a moment, knowing that not fighting would be like giving up his chance. He steeled himself, preparing to attack with a renewed determination.
But suddenly, everything changed.
A figure leapt high into the air with a swift "whoosh," brandishing a sharp sword that glinted in the sunlight with a cold, deadly light.
With a resounding "crack," the blade sliced through the air, and a bipedal wyvern was cleaved in two, its body plummeting to the ground.
The sharp storm of the rising sword broke several trees around them, and the overwhelming sight before their eyes forced the cavalry to come to a sudden stop. Even the bipedal wyverns in the sky instinctively halted in their tracks.
An old knight with a weathered face placed his giant sword on the ground, the impact causing the horses on the opposite side to take a few uneasy steps back.
Shirou was stunned, hardly able to believe what had just happened. Was he saved?
Suddenly, a hand reached out from behind and patted his shoulder.
Shirou turned around and was surprised to see a blond girl dressed as a boy looking at him with a pair of bright blue eyes. She opened her mouth to speak, but all Shirou could hear were unintelligible sounds.
"Chatter Chatter Chatter..." she said, leaving Shirou completely confused.
Beside the girl, a boy stood with his arms crossed, holding a piece of grass in his mouth. His eyes drooped with an air of aloofness that made him seem difficult to get along with.
The cavalry on the other side seemed to know the old knight, and they were clearly afraid of him. They only shouted for a moment before turning and leaving, pointing angrily at Shirou and shouting "Guinevere."
The old knight turned around and looked at Shirou, making some unintelligible sounds as if asking something. Shirou remained silent, still unsure of what to do or say.
He was afraid that speaking might lead to hostility, just like it had with the black-haired girl before. Although it was not certain that this old knight would show hostility like the black-haired girl, Shirou knew that the old knight's strength was very strong. Before he could recover his mana, Shirou didn't want to risk even the slightest possibility of fighting with the old knight.
Seeing that Shirou remained silent, the old knight frowned and said something to the blond girl and the boy before turning and walking away. The boy with the grass in his mouth gave Shirou a quick glance before turning to leave, while the blond girl patted Shirou's shoulder and spoke in her unintelligible language, motioning for Shirou to follow her.
After thinking for a moment, he decided to follow the girl.
As they walked, Shirou took in his surroundings, growing increasingly familiar with the environment. He couldn't help but steal glances at the blond girl's face, sensing that he recognized her. However, something felt off about her pair of blue eyes, as if something important was missing.
Sunlight filtered through the mottled leaves, casting fragmented rays of light onto the forest floor. Leaves drifted down from the branches, creating small ripples as they landed on the water's surface.
Furrowing his brow, Shirou followed the trio as they weaved their way through the forest.
...
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