Chapter 167. Mission (2)
“……Heok!”
In an instant, air was sharply sucked into his lungs.
Beyond his ragged breaths, cold sweat ford at the tips of his hair in front of his eyes and fell.
His eyes opened in the dim interior of the training ground. Enoch touched one of his eyes with his hand.
It was right after the succession was forcibly interrupted.
Before he knew it, the mories he had seen in the World of Impermanence were echoing in his ears like a phantom.
--[Find your true mission in life]
--[Find your true mission in life]
--[Find your's true mission in life]
In an instant, a chill ran down his spine.
Sothing was strange.
He had heard this ringing in his ears before, even during the ti of the last Sword Saint of the Empire, but it had never been this severe.
‘Has the condition worsened since last ti?’
For now, gathering his senses was the priority.
Looking up at the empty air, Enoch calmly ca up with questions to compose himself.
He had said that the forced interruption of the succession last ti was to prevent a kind of ‘side effect.’
─Then what on earth is the true nature of that ‘side effect’?
This echo of the past that he felt after the mory succession, what kind of premonitory symptom of a side effect was it?
Enoch concluded as he stared calmly at the darkness.
He didn't know. Not yet, nothing.
“Kuh.”
Gradually, it felt as if the mories of the past that the Sword Saint had experienced, which were not his own, were becoming clearer and blackening his head.
His body tensed up at the strange sensation.
It was as if the ‘mory of once being the Sword Saint’ itself was trying to paint over Enoch’s senses.
Enoch gripped the scabbard so hard it could have shattered.
However, even in the midst of such confusion, he did not stop trying to understand himself.
He lifted his head and stared at the darkness in front of him.
Even this strange phenonon was a necessary symptom to diagnose Enoch’s own current state.
He had no intention of missing even the slightest clue.
‘Co to think of it, Persona did say it.’
She had said that he would not be able to remain ignorant of his true self forever.
Was this what she ant?
No, in the first place, that original Enoch…….
Just as Enoch’s vision, which was becoming more and more filled with ringing in his ears along with his questions, was about to blur and close,
“Hmph~, what's with you?”
Suddenly, a coy voice rang out clearly, and instantly drove away the black ringing that had covered his ears.
Suddenly, the door of the training room next to Enoch was thrown open, and the light from the white hallway poured in.
“Hey, what are you doing in such a dark place?”
Enoch’s eyes widened slightly as he glanced to the side.
A girl with wolf ears had her arms crossed and was looking down at him with coy eyes, her chin slightly raised.
With her back to the bright light that poured in like salvation, her ruby-like eyes shone with their own light.
“……Sirocco.”
She walked in and swept her hair back.
“That's right. It's .”
“Why are you here?”
“Hmm. I was just bored, so I ca to play. I want to spar with you again soti, whenever that may be.”
She glanced at and twitched the wolf ears on her head. Then, she playfully covered her mouth with her fingers and laughed.
“Hmph, what's with you? Why the look?”
“My expression?”
“That's right. Are you really happy to see ?”
Her expression, what did she an? Enoch glanced at the mirror in the training ground.
His reflection was visible in the broken mirror.
The dark blue eyes that t his own were slightly widened. It was only then that he realized he had been quite flustered by the situation until just now.
“……”
Co to think of it, the ringing in his ears had disappeared as if washed away. Enoch glanced at Sirocco and replied.
“Yeah, you're right. I think I'm really happy to see you.”
Could it be that reacting to external stimuli makes the previous symptoms disappear, rather than trying to compose oneself?
Whether it was a minimal temporary solution he had stumbled upon by chance or sothing else, it was a relief that he had returned to normal for now.
Enoch glanced at Sirocco and said.
“Thanks for coming, Sirocco.”
“Of course. I ca to see you myself, didn't I?”
It was probably a complint she didn't understand, but Sirocco seed to be happy, narrowing her eyes slightly and wagging her tail.
“I'll co more often in the future! It's boring to lie in bed by myself without you all the ti.”
“……Yeah, that's just like you.”
“What's with that reaction? Be happier.”
Enoch left Sirocco, who was pouting a little, and sheathed his sword in the scabbard that was leaning against the wall.
His senses, which had been sharpened by the sword's succession, were coldly certain of one thing.
‘The situation in the Inner World is getting more and more serious.’
The more he used and beca accustod to this Inner World, the more new questions kept popping up.
First, the order of the mory succession of the Sword Saint of the Waves this ti was different from the last.
Until now, he had started the past succession after figuring out exactly what kind of sword form he would learn.
But this ti, the order was jumbled up.
Before he could even figure out the sword form to be inherited in a life-or-death battle with the Sword Saint, it suddenly switched to mory succession.
“……”
It might be a very subtle difference, but as it was directly related to his growth, it was a point of concern.
Well, in the end, it was a world built within himself.
Perhaps it was unreasonable to think that everything was systematized according to a set formula or standard.
In the end, it was aningless to worry about it alone. It would be good to ask the Emperor’s Supre Sword next ti.
“Hey, what are you thinking so hard about?”
Just then, Sirocco poked her head in from the side.
“Your face looks a little more serious than usual.”
Seeing her looking up at him nonchalantly from his side, Enoch replied with calm, dark blue eyes.
“It's nothing.”
“What? It slls like you're lying. I really don't know what you're usually thinking.”
Sirocco muttered, narrowing her eyes a little, but Enoch walked over and opened the door of the training ground.
Sirocco, who was watching him silently, followed behind him with a pout and asked.
“What, you're not practicing more today?”
“Unfortunately. I have to start preparing now.”
“Preparing?”
“Yeah. Not just , but you too.”
The biggest event among all that had happened so far was just about to begin.
Enoch slowly checked his terminal. He checked the remaining ti with the date displayed on the screen.
Just then, the dial of the white digital clock was turning to exactly [PM 7:00].
With this, there were just over two days left until the estimated invasion date of the magical beasts in the 19th outsourcing district of the Victoria Kazimieśi Domain.
Only a few dozen hours of grace remained.
Now was the ti to move.
Putting his terminal back into his black uniform blazer, Enoch calmly reflected on this succession.
‘The conclusion I've reached this ti is one thing.’
Whether it was about the Inner World, or the possibility of the ‘side effects of black magic’ that Lien had ntioned last ti.
He would have to find out about Enoch Elsyde much faster than he had planned. So that the situation wouldn't get any worse.
Enoch left the training ground and ca out into the corridor of the fortress.
A modern and spacious corridor with a long LED white light on the ceiling wall and a chandelier with luminous magic stones embedded in it.
Enoch’s shadow, walking on the white tiles of the floor, was faintly cast in several directions by the white light.
Just as he was about to reach the area in front of his room,
“Ah?”
Sirocco, who was walking next to him, stopped abruptly and then looked back at Enoch and pointed to the front.
“Isn't that the Deputy Commander?”
At those words, Enoch suddenly looked ahead in the corridor.
There, he saw Teano in her uniform, who had been leaning against a pillar and whose eyes had widened when she saw him.
“Sir Teano.”
Teano approached with her long, violet hair fluttering.
She stood in front of Enoch and narrowed her composed eyes, which were shaded by the brim of her uniform cap.
“I was just about to visit you, Lord Enoch.”
“?”
“That is correct. I was inford by your dedicated maid that you were temporarily absent, so I was waiting here.”
“I see. What can I do for you?”
“A reply has been sent to Nesis regarding the matter you personally requested from last ti.”
She calmly stared at Enoch and added.
“The commander of the elite Dragoons of the Victoria Kazimieśi army has agreed to et you in person to hear your business, Lord Enoch.”
Enoch nodded. Things seed to be going more smoothly than he had thought.
“If they agreed to et in person, where?”
“That is……”
Teano hesitated for a mont, then looked straight up at and added.
“The outer sector of the 19th outsourcing district in the Victoria Kazimieśi Domain. It is the operational area where you will be active this ti, Lord Enoch.”
***
“……Hyaa! Hey, this is so delicious!”
Sirocco, who was looking at the two-tiered ice cream of various colors in her hand with sparkling eyes, exclaid in pure admiration to Enoch.
“Hey, do you want to try this?”
“No, I'm good.”
Enoch looked at the sun shining brightly in the sky, then lowered his gaze and looked around.
At the train station, which boasted a retro style, street stalls were lined up, and the area around them was very crowded with people.
Many things had changed in the 19th outsourcing district of the Victoria Kazimieśi Domain compared to the last ti he had co.
To be precise, the floating population had increased a lot. In particular, there were even more people who looked like outsiders.
A noticeable feature of the crowd around was that they were all individuals who possessed magic gear specialized for combat, such as assault rifles slung over their backs or sleek staffs made like modern spears for close combat.
It seed there was no need to question what they were all here for.
It seed that April’s work, who was supposed to join them here separately, was certain.
Just then, Enoch, realizing that Sirocco, who had been holding her ice cream tightly, was looking at him with a pout, turned his gaze to her.
“Is there sothing you want to say?”
Sirocco tossed her slightly wavy red hair and turned her head slightly.
“Hmph, you never eat anything I offer you.”
“You should wipe your mouth before you talk.”
Enoch said as he gently wiped the ice cream off Sirocco’s white cheek.
Then, Sirocco, who glanced at it, quickly snatched Enoch’s wrist with her small hand.
As he was watching her, puzzled by her sudden action, Sirocco licked the ice cream off Enoch’s finger with her tongue.
Her luscious tail swayed once behind her back.
Enoch, who was watching her nonchalantly, tilted his head slightly to the side and asked.
“What are you doing?”
Sirocco licked her lips and then licked the ice cream in her hand once more, then turned her coy gaze to and smiled mischievously.
“Hmph, you said you didn't want to eat it earlier, didn't you? Then I'm definitely not giving you any of my ice cream.”
“I don't lick things off my fingers.”
“Oh, I didn't know that.”
Just as Sirocco was about to reply nonchalantly, the sound of footsteps of soone approaching from the front through the crowd was heard.
And the next mont, an unfamiliar voice rang out.
“Are you Lord Enoch Elsyde?”
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