We live at the foothills of Dragon Peak.
The Three Stars of the Desert.
I was cornered by an unexpected adversary in an unfamiliar land.
I moved at full speed through the richly cultivated deep forest.
Making full use of spatial jump, a special technique of the Mimicho race, I fled from my pursuers, witnessing the dense forest scenery change moment by moment.
“Did the shadow bind succeed? Judging by the fact that they aren’t pursuing us, it seems I’ve successfully escaped from that youth and the Mimicho race…”
Still, I couldn’t let my guard down.
I didn’t know when that terrifying black dragon might attack from the sky.
“I never imagined this forest was the territory of dragons. The Beast race I met after crossing the great river told me that the territories where wyverns hunt are in the southern plains.”
There was no point complaining.
We had stumbled into a dangerous land.
“It’s not just that. Because Magdalia did something foolish, the North Sea is in turmoil.”
I carefully read my surroundings. Of course, I didn’t neglect to watch the sky. After confirming that the presence of my pursuers had completely vanished, I finally stopped.
“Xepia, please guide Magdalia and Zeke here. I’m sure those two have also managed to escape safely.”
“Understood. I’m going. Karina, you rest here.”
“I will do so.”
Xepia, the only spirit I control, appeared as a faint light on my chest. Xepia’s cool presence gently cooled my feverish body after the strenuous movement.
However, I had to entrust Xepia with the task of finding our companions and guiding them here.
Otherwise, it would be truly difficult to regroup in this trackless, deep great forest.
After instructing Xepia, I let my presence blend into the forest.
The black dragon saw through me, but my skills as a Mimicho should still be effective against the beast race, who seemed to inhabit this great forest, and the red wyverns who seemed to claim it as their territory.
“But what about that youth? And that other Mimicho…”
While catching my breath, I recalled the sudden attack from earlier.
It was a surprise assault, truly out of the blue.
The first to notice the presence of a giant wyvern, unlike anything I had ever seen, was Magdalia.
Shortly after I became wary of the sky, sensing a terrifying magic power. A giant black dragon flew in from the western sky.
We cooperated to blend our presence into the forest and watched with bated breath as the black dragon passed overhead.
However, the black dragon easily saw through our hiding place and, to my astonishment, launched an attack.
“And I never imagined someone would leap from a black dragon…”
Before being attacked by the black dragon, we had already been attacked by red wyverns, and then scattered, fleeing through the forest.
But the youth who leaped from the black dragon specifically targeted me and pursued me.
“Why would a human youth use spatial jump? And why can he use it so much better than me, a Mimicho?”
I sighed, lamenting that despite being born and raised in the deep forest of Carion in the eastern part of the continent, my spirit power was unfortunately not that strong.
However, it wasn’t just me. Even the other Mimicho and spirits who built villages in the deep forest of Carion possessed only weak powers.
Unfortunately, although I am a Mimicho, my spatial jump range is short, and I lack the spirit power to use it continuously.
The elders of the village called this peculiarity that pervaded the region “The Curse of Crimson.”
It was said that at the end of the dark ages, thousands of years ago, before the elders were even born, the Great Demon Lord, defeated by the Divine race, left behind a curse.
It is said that because of that curse, sorcerers cannot be cultivated even today in the regions once ruled by the Great Demon Lord.
“Perhaps in other regions, people other than the Mimicho can use spatial jump?”
No, that youth is special. I corrected my thought immediately.
Until now, I have traveled with Magdalia and Zeke.
We have seen many regions, learned of numerous countries, and interacted with various races.
Unfortunately, there were times when we couldn’t build friendly relations and ended up in conflict. There were even times when I crossed blades with incredibly skilled individuals.
“Among them, I’ve never met anyone who could freely wield the techniques of other races like that youth. So, he is special, isn’t he…?”
Furthermore, he even demonstrated a sword dance.
“What kind of sword dance was it? If only I could have investigated more cautiously… No, if I had continued to fight him, I might have definitely lost. Even I, who graduated top of the Holy Knight Academy’s second batch?”
In the region where we were born and raised, it is said that due to the curse, individuals who wield high-level techniques do not emerge.
Knowing this, I enrolled in the Holy Knight Academy, which had just been established in the Jigune Desert, to perfect “techniques” based on my physical abilities and skills, such as archery and swordsmanship.
And so, after honing my skills with Magdalia and the others, I was able to graduate as part of the second graduating class.
“That I would be outmatched in swordsmanship… Just who is that youth?”
“Hey, Karina. You look pretty grim.”
“That youth? It seems you had trouble shaking off your pursuers, didn’t you?”
“Magdalia, Zeke!”
I must have been lost in thought.
I hadn’t noticed the approach of my two companions, guided by the ice spirit Xepia, until they were close.
“Xepia, thank you.”
“You’re welcome.”
With a faint sparkle like ice crystals, Xepia returned to the spirit world.
Instead, the two who had joined me faced me.
“It seems we both managed to escape safely.”
“Safely? I was in a desperate crisis.”
“Hahaha, yet you managed to get through it. That’s your skill, Sword King Magdalia. After all, luck is part of skill.”
“Luck, huh? Indeed. If that black dragon had been serious, I’d probably be inside its belly right now. Luckily it spared me, and we three are reunited safely. It truly is good fortune.”
Magdalia let out a deep sigh.
He was a pure-blooded demon youth with goat-like horns growing from the side of his disheveled black curly hair.
He was tall and well-built, like the most reliable older brother among the three of us.
And he was the top graduate of the Holy Knight Academy’s second class, awarded the title of Sword King and the Heavenly Revelation Sword by the Council of Elders whose existence was only rumored among students. He was the ultimate swordsman.
Regrettably, in swordsmanship, I am no match for Magdalia.
The other gentle man was Zeke, a divine race member.
He was also tall, but unlike Magdalia, he was slender.
However, his physical abilities were high, and his swordsmanship was beautiful.
The sword dance of the youth who attacked me in the depths of the forest was also beautiful, but I thought Zeke’s swordsmanship was more beautiful.
Moreover, the way he pushed back his long straight blonde hair to wipe away sweat made even me, a woman, feel a flutter, which was problematic.
“But seriously, I’m stumped. Following the red wyvern yesterday, a black dragon today. Things just aren’t going smoothly lately, are they?”
“Isn’t that all because Magdalia recklessly swung his sword at the sea?”
“That’s right. If only Magdalia had exercised restraint back then?”
“Karina and Zeke, you’re both too noisy. What else could I have done? This Heavenly Revelation Sword whispered to me. It told me to cut the sea.”
“A weapon whispering? I can hardly believe that.”
“Still, the Heavenly Revelation Sword is the supreme weapon bestowed upon the Sword King alone by the Council of Elders. It may possess performance capabilities beyond our understanding.”
However, I sighed that even so, to meddle with the North Sea, which had no good reputation, Magdalia apologized with a scowl, “Sorry.”
“So, what do you plan to do from now on?”
In response to Zeke’s question, Magdalia said, unconsciously touching the Heavenly Revelation Sword at his waist.
“Our journey’s objective is to aim for the next Sword Saint. And if the Heavenly Revelation Sword, bestowed by the Council of Elders on the path to becoming a Sword Saint, whispered ‘cut the sea,’ then there must be some meaning to it.”
“To search for that meaning? But this forest is too dangerous.”
“Yesterday’s red wyvern. Today’s black dragon. The situation is vastly different from the information we gathered in the east beforehand.”
“Furthermore,” I added, supplementing Zeke’s words, I told them about the youth from earlier.
“…A human youth who uses spatial jump to catch up to you, a Mimicho?”
“And a sword dance as well…”
Personally, I do not find the current situation, where unforeseen events continue to pile up, favorable. I should honestly retreat, and if Magdalia still insists on following the whisper of the Heavenly Revelation Sword, we should prepare anew before challenging it.
But then, I let out a sigh so small that the two of them didn’t notice.
“If it were Kensei Faruna, she would surely charge forward with her sword, no matter the difficulty. For us, who aim to be Sword Saints, to turn tail and flee from dragons and a strange human kid would be utterly shameful.”
“I agree with Magdalia. People grow by confronting difficulties. Alright, I will follow Magdalia, who feels guided by the whisper of the Heavenly Revelation Sword.”
As expected, the two of them choose this kind of option. I inwardly gave a bitter smile.
“Oh dear. If people from other regions knew that a demon and a god were so in agreement like this, they would be surprised.”
It seems our course of action has been decided.
“If I encounter that human kid, I’ll kill him. I’m curious about the sword dance, but it’s just a fake after all.”
“Then, our caution should be directed towards the dragons? Well, even if we are targeted, we should be able to escape like this time.”
I shot back that Magdalia had been in a desperate situation, but the two of them laughed as if it were amusing.
“Next time, I’ll escape more skillfully.”
“Rather, if they become an obstruction to us, may we counterattack?”
They are a strong-willed pair, and my anxieties seem to fade in front of them.
“The dragon and the kid are minor issues that don’t concern us.”
“However, that in the North Sea is troublesome, isn’t it?”
I had heard rumors from a distant land.
Unlike the East Sea, it was said that ships could not sail in the North Sea.
We, who had traveled from the eastern lands, initially dismissed the rumor lightly.
However, on our journey westward, we learned the details of the rumor.
A terrifying ruler reigns in the North Sea.
The ruler of the North Sea, who allows no one to approach, has blockaded the sea for hundreds of years.
“Ruler of the North Sea. Hmph, bring it on. There is nothing the Sword King cannot cut.”
Magdalia grinned, full of confidence.
