B, Blue Beyond
When we showed up, fear was plastered across the faces of everyone in the vacant lot. That reaction was the best. As a Seeker, being feared to this extent by my peers was just right.
Leon, who was lying on the ground in front of my eyes, proved that it was the end if you were looked down upon. No matter how outstanding a Seeker you were, if you let your weakness show, the only outco waiting for you is getting lynched like this. Even soone from Sky Winged Knights, who were exemplary role models and did not cause trouble for anyone, would get jumped like this, so this was truly a blood-soaked, violent world.
Well, for people like , it's a very comfortable and liveable world though.
Wh, what do you guys want?
When Edgar asked in a quivering voice, I snorted with laughter.
What do I want? Im just taking a walk. Am I right?
Were taking a walkJust taking a walk
When I brought up the subject to Kouga and Alma, who were waiting behind , they nodded in a forced and unnatural manner.
St, stop ssing around! Why are the people who are supposed to be taking a walk getting in our way!? What the heck are you doing!?
Edgar shouted while still holding his right hand, which was short a few fingers. He was still pretty shaken, but he had composed himself enough to take several glances at his battle axe, which had fallen on the ground, as well as his allies around him. He was probably searching for an opening for a counterattack. But that was an impossible endeavor.
Edgar, you're holding your head too high
Wh, what did you say?
Youre so impudent despite being inferior to all of us. I don't like that, you know? Yes, I don't like that one bit. How about you just die here?
What? Did you say Im inferior!?
Edgar, whose face was bright red because his pride had been hurt, picked up his battle axe with his left hand, and shouted loudly to his allies.
Everyone, pick up your weapons! How can we stay silent after being looked down on like this!? Lets make Blue Beyond bathe in their own blood too!!!
Edgar swung his battle axe in an inspiring fashion, and issued orders to his allies. However, rather than being fired up by Edgar's orders, those allies in question were beginning to back away bit by bit.
Gi, give a break, Edgar......
Blue Beyond are the ones who defeated Sky Winged Knights, you know
On top of that, they subjugated Dantalion with just three people......
They're not opponents that we can win against......
Edgar's allies had completely lost their nerve. Before long, one of them turned on his heel and bolted like a rabbit.
Uwaaaaaaaaa!!!
That started the ball rolling, and Edgars allies fled like rats from a sinking ship.
Wait! Don't run away! Co back!!!
Edgar desperately tried to stop them, but not a single one of them looked back.
I had expected it to turn out like this from the beginning. Actually, they probably had a good chance of winning if they had all fought together. We wouldnt have taken it lying down, but Edgar had the nurical advantage on his side. In spite of that, they overestimated us solely based on rumors, and convinced themselves that they could never win. The result of that was this shaful rout.
Edgar, you're not very popular, are you?
When I stepped forward, Edgar drew back.
D, don't co any closer
Don't co any closer? Are you trying to order around? Edgar, its about ti you learned. Who's the most important person in this place right now? ? Or you?
Grrr
Hurry up and answer ! I'll kill you!!!
Hii, hiii! Wa, wait, please! I surrender! I beg you, forgive !
When I threatened him, Edgar's heart broke and he threw away his weapon as he knelted down.
Your head is still high. Looks like you really want to tick off
N, no! Its a misunderstanding!
Edgar imdiately rubbed his forehead on the ground. For a man with such twisted pride, he had beco rather obedient. A human's heart is fragile after all.
I walked up to Edgar, grabbed his hair and lifted up his face.
It's too bad, but even though youve gone down on your knees and begged, I still dont like it after all. What should I do with you? Any good ideas?
I, I beg you...... Please let go......
To Edgar, who was crying and begging, I did my best to give him a gentle smile.
Okay, I understand. --I don't like that nose
A knife was quickly pulled out from its sheath, and Edgars nose was cut off.
GYAAAAAAA!!!
Edgar thrashed around as he held his now nose-less face with both hands. I grabbed his head and forcefully held it in place so that he could return my gaze.
Look at . Look at !!!
Hiiii P, please forgive already
If you want forgiveness, rember this well. Never get carried away and do sothing like this ever again. If you break your promise, not just you, but your allies, your family and your neighbors, regardless of whether theyre female or elderly, everyone will have the sa face as you. Got it? --GOT IT!?
G, go, got it! I understand!!
Go. This is your final warning
The mont I let go of his head, Edgar frantically stood up and ran away towards the back of the alley. After seeing him off, I smiled at the dumbfounded Leon.
Well, Leon. Let's talk business, shall we?
Business, you said?
Leon got up and looked at suspiciously.
Yes, business. Leon, beco my ally
What!? St, stop ssing around!
Seeing how he imdiately rejected , it seed like he bore a grudge against after all. Well, of course he would. But feelings like that were a trivial problem.
If you beco my ally, Ill welco you in as the sub-master of our newly created clan. Were a team who will grow rapidly from now on. Its not a bad deal, right?
Who on earth will want to beco your ally!
Why not?
If not for Blue Beyond No, Noel, if not for you...... Sky Winged Knights won't have been dissolved!!!
Hell fall if I talked to him. It helped that the ntal make-up of a cornered man was simple.
You're just like Edgar. Do you know the aning of what you just said?
Don't lump in with that guy! I know that you colluded with the Seeker Guild!
Certainly, I colluded with Harold. Ill admit that. But I properly let you have the first move, didn't I? You should have plenty of chances to win
That's right! But I know that you enticed my allies! Because of what you said, Kaim did sothing like that When I think of his suffering, I cant forgive you
Leon hit the ground with his fist and shed tears of regret. Seeing that, I laughed.
What's so funny!?
Isnt that curious? If you understand Kaim's suffering so well, why havent you reconciled with him? Im the root of all evil. Even if you can't work together as Seekers, you can et as friends as much as you like, am I right?
When I pointed that out, Leon was speechless.
Leon, the reason why you havent gone to see Kaim is because youre scared of him, right? He is your childhood friend and was soone you thought you knew everything about, but the truth is that he had been deeply jealous of you. But if you gave it so thought, you should have been able to understand sothing like that. And yet, you didnt try to figure out the problem. How absurdly negligent of you. Im appalled that you call yourself the partys leader
Talking like you know everything What could you possibly know about it
Of course I know. That's because Im also in a leadership position. All the problems within the party are the leaders responsibility. In exchange, the leader is entitled to take all the glory of the party for himself. Leon, you didnt fulfill the responsibilities of a leader. In spite of that, you turned a blind eye to the fact that youre the only one that the public recognized. Theres no way that a party like that can last long
Leon was outstanding. However, because he was too outstanding, he couldn't understand the weaknesses in people's hearts. As a result, the hearts of the other three continued to be exhausted.
I knew. That everything was my fault. That even without you, Noel, there was no future for us But if I admit that, it would an that everything weve done was all for nothing Thats too much for to bear
Leon's shoulders shook as he sobbed uncontrollably. I stood right in front of him.
Leon, I'll return to you the words from that ti. Stand, stand and fight
What would fighting accomplish? What Ive lost will never return
No, itll return
Huh?
When Leon looked up, I continued quietly.
Certainly, if things stay as they are now, the glory of Sky Winged Knights will beco a thing of the past. No, the public is rciless. The glory will be gone, and only dishonor will remain. Likewise, that dishonor will also quickly disappear. And in a years ti, Im certain that no one will rember the na of Sky Winged Knights
Youre probably right
But if you, the forr leader of Sky Winged Knights, leave your mark as a Seeker, the na of Sky Winged Knights will also remain
......That's why you're telling to fight? For only sothing like that?
When Leon twisted his mouth as if he was laughing at himself, I nodded.
That's right. Fight, and fulfill the responsibilities that you didnt fulfill. Fight, and leave the na of Sky Winged Knights for posterity. Other than that, there's no other way for you to be saved
But if I beco your ally, I'll be a true traitor
Leon, beco an egoist. Throw away those half-baked emotions. Neither you nor your allies will be saved by things like that. If you truly wish from the bottom of your heart to immortalize your precious mories, you'll need to be resolved to abandon everything else. Thats because there's not a single thing that exists in this cruel world that can be obtained without paying a price
Leon was silent and remained so for a long ti. Eventually, as if he had made up his mind, he opened his mouth.
Noel, what do you wish for? Whats your purpose in persisting as a Seeker?
Its to show this world that I'm the strongest Seeker
When I answered imdiately, Leon widened his eyes. Then, he got up slowly.
......Can I believe those words? If you're lying, I won't forgive you......
Hmpt, that's a foolish question
I smiled and proffered my hand. With a mixed smile, Leon grasped it.
It was exactly one week from the day that Harold had told us about the Variant. We paid the compulsory fee of 20 million Fil, stated the address of the clan house that we had purchased, and we were officially recognized as a clan instead of a party.
As the four of us walked together on our way back from the Seeker Guild, we ca across passers-by who were gossiping about us everywhere we turned.
Look, it's Noel and Leon......
I guess its true that Blue Beyond and Sky Winged Knights have rged and beco a clan This is going to be amazing......
Their numbers are small, but theyve inherited the achievents of Sky Winged Knights, you know? Once Blue Beyond beca a clan, it joined the ranks of the top-ranked clans right away
Those Blue Beyond guys, theyre on a steady rise, arent they?
Wait a minute, according to what Ive heard, they discarded the Blue Beyond na when they beca a clan. After they rged, their new na is--
They were all pretty quick to pick up on the rumors. Well, I was the one who had spread the rumors though. I had asked Loki, the information broker, to spread the word that we had beco a clan throughout the imperial capital. We would undoubtedly take up the front page of every newspaper today as well. This would an that our na would be spread even further. Being more famous would not only be a factor in our next assessnt, it would also make it easier to get more financing from the banks.
As I gloated inside my heart, there was an unexpected, angry yell from behind .
Noel Stollen!!! You demon!!!
I looked back and saw Kaim, whose face had been distorted into an angry and nacing expression.
Hi, Kaim. It's been a long ti. We havent t since that test, right?
Because of you, all of us--!!! Dieeeee!!!
Kaim readied his spear and looked like he was about to stab and kill . Alma and Kouga started to cut him off, but Leon the Sky Winged was much faster than the two of them, and had already blocked Kaim with his shield.
Kaim, stop it! If you do sothing like this, you're not going to get away scot-free! Hurry up and put away your spear!!
Shut up, you traitor!!! How could you wag your tail for the demon that set us up!!!???
That's right! I'm a traitor! That's why I won't let you kill Noel!
At Leons declaration, Kaim jumped backwards. He didnt give up because he had realized he was wrong. He was only adjusting the distance so that he could get the most power into his next spear attack. Kaim readied his spear again, giving off an intense killing intent.
Then, first...... I'll kill you!!!
Kaim charged forward and released a fierce thrust. A thrust with a long run-up like that would probably penetrate Leons shield easily.
However, Leon effortlessly dodged the spear and punched Kaims jaw with his right fist. Kaim was blown away and fell onto his back, looking like he had been knocked out.
Da, damn you! You didnt even pull out your sword, you're To what extent are you trying to make a fool out of Curse you...... I curse you, traitor!
Still lying on his back, Kaim hurled abuse at Leon. But Leon didn't respond and turned his back on Kaim, his forr ally.
I won't make any excuses. I'm a traitor. That's why I will walk my own path
And then, it was right when Leon was coming back towards us.
Good luck, Leon......
At Kaim's words, Leon's eyes shot wide open. In an instant, his eyes turned red, his lips started trembling, and he started to look back.
Don't look back!
I stopped him sharply.
Don't look back, Leon. Realize it, your big brothers manliness
Kaim hadn't co to kill , much less to hurl bitter words at Leon. Seeing that his little brother had chosen a new path, the awkward big brother had co to confirm his little brothers resolve. And, his goal was just to say that one phrase,Good luck.
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