Published at 28th of April 2023 1:14 am

Volume 13, Chapter 329: Swirling Doubts and Trembling Blade

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The two most common names given to the prison Lord Palome Bashar were eccentric and dubious.

He was a person who was suspicious about everything that surrounded him. He knew that it was the right thing not to believe in everything. He was like a follower of skepticism. He certainly did not believe in himself, much less in gods or even demons. That’s how he lived.

Then it was not a mistake to see him as such. After all, Palome was the epitome of doubt. Palome himself knew about those rumors but did not complain about them.

Human relationships in the nobility circle existed because of greed. Mutual aid sounded superficially good, but the essence was to use people and bring them down eventually.

Of course, the substantial part was not explained in a single word. At least, the Bashar family did not see the true worth in a suspicious and careful demeanor. And they paid the price for it.

Palome thought that his father, grandfather, and even his ancestors had the greatest gift, honesty. Honesty was said to be a virtue, but Palome thought that a virtue was also a weakness.

Trust people and be betrayed. On the battlefield or on the political arena. How many times had that happened? How did they not know a true friendship between the nobility never existed?

Due to those circumstances, the Bashar family had long since been cut off from the mainstream of politics and forced to sweat as a local and weak aristocratic family.

Because of that past, Palome no longer believed in human relationships. He was truly weird and doubtful. If his family’s reputation was established, people with second intentions would not dare to approach them. If that cunning people didn’t come near the family, they would avoid trouble.

However, even if the Bashar family’s reputation got restored, Palome wouldn’t stop questioning something. That was the nature of this man. He was the only one who could question people and their actions, and the only one willing to find out the truth.

Seeing the intruder…Vestaline Geluah…who had her limbs pierced by ice magic and lying on the floor, Palome nodded in satisfaction.

He had seen enough flesh to see a good amount of blood overflowing from her limbs. If it went well, it would also crush her bones.

The throwing axe was lying on the floor, and Palome’s guess of the match’s outcome was close to become real. But Palome didn’t think that reality was necessarily true.

After seeing what the imposing battle axe could do, Palome did not break the magic barrier. Nor did he want to go near the fallen Vestaline.

But he didn’t need to come near her, since he had a good chance of winning. Regardless of the type and form, Palome spread all kinds of magical enchantments in the room.

Yet, they did not produce any effect. Not the effects he wanted, anyways. However, the magic barrier he managed to successfully invoke was a fully charged magical mechanism that simply robbed a person of their stamina. It was no different than having the miasma of a magical beast showered on your skin.

That’s why Palome didn’t put soldiers in this room. Because they would become a useless burden. Palome saw that he had a better chance of winning if he was alone.

Of course, even Palome, a sorcerer, could not avoid the influence of the magical mechanism. Even now, the tip of his skin was gradually feeling something that resembled numbness.

However, it was also true that he had more resistance than ordinary people. If he resisted during a good portion of time, the enemy would definitely make a sound.

Therefore, Palome didn’t move. He was just waiting for the enemy to weaken. The gaze of the enemy lying down on the floor was exactly that of a hunter. Although he was careful, he still showed his dissatisfaction towards this situation.

Ahead of his line of sight, Vestaline thrust her fingertips into the floor. Palome could hear her heavy breaths even though he was far away. Palome watched as her hand reached for the battle axe that had fallen to the floor. Looking at that state, that axe was the only weapon that she could trust at the moment. Besides, she didn’t have enough energy to pull out the sword at her waist.

What was this obsession? Palome squinted his eyes and bit his teeth.

As far as he could see, the intruder in front of him was still young. She was an adult, but Palome thought she was still less than half his age.

How was it when he was the same age? He was nothing more than a kid, with no worries or strength. His skepticism remained the same, but he didn’t remember trying to do something so vindictive.

What was driving her? Palome doubted this woman’s intentions.

What was her background and what did she want? What would such a young girl try to accomplish by throwing her life away? Palome had no idea.

However, he knew that he had made one misunderstanding. She was not the kind of night thief to be despised and belittle. She was an adversary to be respected. She was an honorable enemy.

That was why Palome did not allow any carelessness or complacency.

When such thoughts licked Palome’s chest, a groaning voice was heard nearby. Vestaline, still lying down, made her voice tremble.

「…Why is not a Gharast person finishing the enemy? 」

Her eyes were still wide open as she spewed blood from her limbs. Those were not the eyes of someone who wanted to give up on everything.

Why was she so determined? Palome stroked his beard while sticking out his chin.

「I don’t have to. The guardian will be back soon. With the head of your comrade. 」

It was not easy to use another magic while maintaining the magic barrier. Just as it was difficult to have two thoughts in one’s brain at the same time, if one tried to activate two magical types at the same time, one of those types would be neglected.

Moments ago, Palome successfully invoked a complete surprise attack. But this time, this woman would definitely find her chance. The moment Palome activated his ice magic again, she would take the chance to grab her battle axe and thrust it into the weakened magic barrier.

Was he thinking too much? No, no. She would do it even if her limbs were pierced. Palome believed in his own incompetence, but not in his enemies’ incompetence.

Therefore, it was best to wait for the guardian. He didn’t totally trust that unbelievable demon, but he still couldn’t imagine that thing being defeated in this prison.

Vestaline groaned as she responded to Palome’s words.

「…My comrade is capable of killing your subordinate, you know? 」

Palome narrowed his eyes and shook his head. His eyes became sharp.

「Do you think a man can withstand a great flood? Is there a hovel that is not blown away by a storm? Tell me girl.」

Hearing those words, Vestaline grinned.

「…It seems you truly believe in that subordinate of yours. 」

—

The Hero Killer. The treasure sword with that name was filled with rage and had a fever that would make any human’s tooth quiver in fear. All kinds of wild passions were shaking the blade.

At the same time, the blade possessed a strange restlessness.

The sense of incongruity that one was not in the place where one should be. The grief that the existence that should be called half of oneself was not near oneself.

It was strange to use such words for a sword, but it behaved suspiciously. All sorts of emotions, such as rage, grief, and turmoil, swirled inside the treasure sword.

“…Oh, my lord. This is terrible. Don’t you know this is cruel?”

Involuntarily, the sword started to complain about such things. Lord Lugis threw the sword away from his side to some unknown creature.

Perhaps, he did so because he was now wielding a different blade that wasn’t his own…that white sword.

It was not something that could be forgiven. “Why? I am the sword of the Lord.” The sword couldn’t hold back its frustration after being removed from its Lord’s waist. The treasure sword waved its blade to express its dissatisfaction.

“Gosh, I should have sued the Lord for something like this. I should have taken some form and tell the Lord these words. Why is he trusting another blade other than my own?”

It was an undeniable rage for the treasure sword, yes, an undeniable irritation. The blade was hot and trembling violently.

However, at the same time, the treasure sword named Hero Killer gave birth to something that seemed to be emotions. It was something close to the anxiety that humans felt. The purple light shined coldly.

“…Perhaps, the reason I was removed from his waist was because my Lord decided that I was no longer needed.”

“It is comforting to be told that it is like life itself, but is it true?”

“I fully understand that my Lord admired the hero who owned that white sword. If so, it would be no surprise if he ended choosing the white sword as his own weapon.”

Until now, the treasure sword had never possessed even a shred of such anxiety. In fact, the Lord was free to handle the weapon in any way, and even if it was thrown into the armory shed, it would be easy to find its own way.

If the sword was abandoned, then it should wait for its next encounter with a hero. It never had such thoughts in the past.

But not now. Was it the result of irreversible assimilation in its “mind” and “body”? Lately, everything felt awful and scary. The blade didn’t even want to imagine being separated from its Lord.

The blade wanted to get rid of this anxiety as soon as possible. It wanted to return to its Lord as soon as possible. Those thoughts went around the blade’s soul.

“But what is this woman doing?” Entangled in a meaningless sorcery, Vestaline crouched on the floor, with the treasure sword moving with dissatisfaction at her waist.

“This kind of thing is nothing to the Lord. No, I wouldn’t even let such sorcery hurt my Lord. I would never expose the ugliness of being cornered by the enemy so easily.”

The treasure sword continued to think. “This person named Vestaline Geluah is a brave warrior. But she’s no big hero. She will not go down in history.”

Therefore, there was no reason for the treasure sword to lend her a hand, even if only a little. It had no interest in her predicament. The only things swirling inside the treasure sword’s soul were things about the Lord.

“However, if I dare to say this; I’m worried about one thing.”

“It seems that the situation has reached this point because this woman has not given up.”

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