Volume 3, Chapter 49: The Lowly Ones and the Arrogant Ones
Volume 3, Chapter 49: The Lowly Ones and the Arrogant Ones
Her shoulders quivered so much as if her whole body was frightened about something.
Her strong breath reached her ears. And, her eyes moistened with tears. An endless storm of emotions crawled out of her chest. Filaret La Volgograd was put in a tough spot because of the impending situation.
The duel had begun right in front of her eyes. One was Helot Stanley, the unmistakable genius with a golden hair and eyes. The other was Lugis, the “lead-metal” person who wore dark green clothes. The two of them had blades pointed towards one and another.
These emotions caused some panic. Filaret involuntarily grabbed her upper garments with distress. If she didn’t press it to her chest, then she would feel as if her heart would tear her flesh apart. It was a moment of great suffering.
There was no way that “he” could win. The victory and defeat were visible to anyone’s eye. Filaret’s eyes blank and narrowed upon seeing that sight.
At first, she felt a large expectation on her heart. If it were Lugis, then he could have the chance of reaching that genius level.
However, the result was tragic. The slashes from the lead’s blades cut through the sky but were intercepted by Helot’s white blade. This duel looked like a fight between a small eagle and a huge hawk. No matter how high the small eagle flew in the sky, it was always driven to a corner by the hawk from above its head.
Nonetheless, Filaret’s heart wasn’t shaken by this outcome. Actually, she wasn’t that surprised. Yet, her heart was conflicted about something else.
Obviously, Helot was a true genius. No one could reach his talent. Yes, Filaret’s heart was convinced about that fact. It would be delusional to think otherwise. But, even so.
One part of Filaret’s heart knew that Helot’s strength wouldn’t be corrupted that easily, while the other part of her heart wished that Lugis could overcome Helot’s fearsome strength. Filaret was engulfed by a series of conflicted feelings. These strong emotions overflew into her eyes.
She hated these feelings. “What should I do?”, she thought. Filaret shook her head continuously like a child. She tried to suppress these emotions by pressing her lips.
Lugis was the right person to turn the useless lead into gold. On the other hand, Helot Stanley, who was gold as the shining sun, kept others away from him because of his intimidating godliness.
“…What can I do?”
Filaret thought about this question one more time. The waving of blades was reflected on her eyes. She had always relied on someone else until now, but now she had to make a decision.
Yes, a decision for either Helot or Lugis. Nothing mattered anymore. Both of them were dueling against each other. Now was the moment for Filaret to decide whom she’d side with.
“What should I do? Which one should I rely on?”
Filaret’s decision was about to reach a limit.
—
As a slight breeze came flying in, I forcefully felt a sharp pain.
At first, I didn’t know what happened for real. It wasn’t within the scope of my understanding.
The shocking pain came from the left side of my body. It was a strange pain. A burst of an incomprehensible suffering got explained when someone came out of my right side.
「Yo…You bastard…Damn Lizard! 」
My voice raised unintentionally when the sharp blade of the lizard slashed me through my side.
I bit my own lips while I gritted my back teeth in order to suppress the surge coming from deep down of my throat.
The blow was from behind my back. It wasn’t Helot’s strike that hit my lower flank. Neither my knives nor his double-edged sword reached out their targets. The culprit was the one that appeared at my side while facing the sun light.
The Lizard’s blade hit my body.
「Captain…In the name of our guards’ unit, I successfully managed to inflict damage on this recluse in order to stop this revolt against you.」
The blade was pushed to the other side on my flank. Blood dripped from my flesh and fell on the ground and it mixed with the sandy floor.
「What on earth did you do? Don’t you dare declare that cowardly move in the name of our guards’ unit! I didn’t give you an order to strike him down!」
Helot’s enraged voice echoed around.
How odd. He was godly. I remembered that he always acted with a clear mind and coolness. Yet, his burst of anger made him surprisingly human. Ah, Helot. How could I hate that expression? My fingertips trembled continuously.
I pierced my nails on my flesh when I felt an excruciating pain. My whole body was suffering terribly. Still, I only felt a bad sensation at first. I didn’t seem to care much about it. But, as time went by, the pain increased so much that I had a hard time standing. I didn’t want to lose my conscious right now, so I tried to rely on my senses.
The sound of a blade tearing the meat apart was so strong that I felt as if my whole body was literally cut in half. This terrible pain went through my flesh and my nerve system.
「I showed you rudeness. Forgive me, my Captain. However, I should be the one to take care of the lowly scoundrels of this Poor People’s cave. You shouldn’t be involved with the likes of them. Besides, they aren’t allowed to wear any kind of blades nor swords. So, it’s my obligation to subside them!」
After receiving the reprimanding words from his Captain Helot, the Lizard tried to defend his reasoning for attacking me. The tone of his voice was engulfed with hatred and sarcasm.
「In addition, this rascal has confessed his theft and turned his blades against you Captain. I mustn’t allow him to go any further than this.」
His saber was stretched towards me once again. It was an unpleasant sound. Yes, a really annoyingly sound.
I felt extreme rage when I realized that someone attacked me through a blind spot. Part of me felt hopeless, while the other part felt humiliation. All of these emotions combined with one another and gave birth to a huge spiteful feeling.
That’s right, that Lizard man was such a person to begin with. There wasn’t any righteousness, empathy or dignity on his morals.
His reasoning didn’t apply to inferior people like us. His demeanor portrayed selfishness and hostility towards people that he considered less than animals. Even though we were humans, for him we were nothing. That’s why he didn’t feel any compassion towards any of us and would crush us at any moment if necessary.
That’s why the Lizard couldn’t tolerate this duel. It must have been a disgrace for him to witness the Captain of the Guards dueling against a lowly man like myself.
My breath was rough. I couldn’t stop the flow of blood that escaped from my body. I must run away. Yes, I had to make sure I’d leave this place in order to survive.
When I moved my feet slightly, I noticed a shining blue hue. The Lizard’s saber was pointed towards my neck.
It wasn’t a joke. Yeah, no damn joke. I didn’t want to be stabbed again. I didn’t want to suffer this much in front of a whole audience. I wanted to safeguard my neck and my life.
It was a strange feeling. My blood was leaving my body and my consciousness wasn’t that clear. Yet, my heart was boiling with rage. My limbs moved regardless of my body’s condition.
*howling sound*
The wind was blowing.
It was a natural behavior. It didn’t go against anything or did it move forcibly. It was just the natural flow of the body. Followed by a strong inner feeling and desire, my body bounced forward as if the whole world stopped moving.
It was a smooth and relaxing movement. My footsteps moved on their own effortlessly. It felt different from usual. My field of vision became unusually clear. I could see the Lizard’s saber approaching my neck. In order to stop it, Helot stretched his white blade to stop the Lizard’s saber offensive momentum.
But, he was a step ahead. He jumped with the flow of the motion, but his flow suffered a slight fluctuation.
A silver light cut the through the sky.
My hand felt something tough. It was a feeling of cutting a fiber of a cloth that went up to the flesh. The sense of crushing bones was too evident.
A piece of my knives slashed under the Lizard’s jaw with a clear murderous intent, even though it barely cut his neck.
The Lizard’s eyes opened wide with astonishment. He couldn’t even believe what just had happened. Ah, how great this was. His shocking eyes were a delight to stare at. They were covered with revulsion. Actually, his eyes looked miserable.
*strong howling sound*
The wind was whispering on my ears.
「…Lugis! 」
Before I lost my consciousness, I heard a loud but vibrant voice that pierced through my earlobes.