ARC 2: Blood Oath

The western part of the demon continent was the part that was ravaged the most during The Great War 300 years ago. The late Demon Emperor of that time had deeply rooted hatred towards the humans.

Mobilizing his entire force, he marched his entire army towards the continent of Lithuasa and Ruan. The non-ending war between the humans and the beast men resulted to an irreversibly barren land. Almost half of the ground in the west could no longer grow crops. It was only during the ascension to the throne of the current Demon Emperor Thanatos that the west started their agricultural programs, in hopes of actually reforming the ravaged lands.

Blatantly yawning, Taki looked towards the group and asked.

“Maybe we should call it a day and rest? Really, who made this mountain resemble a maze?”

It had been a couple of days since the group had left the city of Hortal. Valcres seemed to be a man that understood the meaning behind certain actions. The man knew that Yuje could have chosen to annihilate the whole clan of the Horlets if he wished to. Being quite thankful but not deliberately showing it, he told the group the fastest way to get towards the next town. It was a direction that was not indicated even in the map they have at hand.After passing through countless unconscious Horlets on the side of the road, the group had safely left the city.

After passing an ancient bridge that seemed to fall down at any given time, they are now at a graveyard that encompassed several kilometers. The tombstone’s appearance indicated that it was a graveyard for a certain tribe of beast men. After creating the usual wind barrier that was now weaker due to the lack of mana stones, Taki began to issue orders as per usual. The barrier without the mana stone was only at C rank but was still better than having nothing to protect the group for the night.

So far, the group had travelled smoothly without major trouble aside from the occasional attacks from monsters which were then swiftly taken care of by Yuje.

“If only this continent has wild horses roaming around like in Ruan. Man, this walking and running all around is so tiresome.”Taki, still yawning began to scoop his share of the food. Sitting beside the black cladded man, he then began to devour everything in one go. With tid bits of food still stuck to his mouth, he nudged the man beside him and spoke merrily.

“Who would have thought that we would meet again so soon! HAHA! And it’s unexpectedly at such a place! Man~ I thought I was going to die that time.”

“…………………..”

Yuje kept eating and calmly watched the star studded sky. It was a beautiful night sky devoid of any clouds. The three moons along with the countless stars that filled the sky of the demon continent was a view that could not be seen anywhere else.

The demon continent is vast. Around three times larger than Ruan I think? At this pace we are going at, it would take years before we could get back.

Yuje was not content with the speed they were going at. He knew that he could not hope for the others to keep up with his inhuman speed so he adjusted his pace with them. He needed a method of transportation that everyone could use.

“Uhhhmmm…”

It was Onesa. With flustered face, the clumsy girl seemed eager to start a conversation with the demon. Steeling herself, she then bowed down, with her bright red hair completely covering her face.

“I-I just w-wanted to say…thanks…I mean…”

Pausing for a brief moment and stealing a glance towards the man in front of her, she continued.

“I just wanted to say thank you for that time.”

Smiling from ear to ear obviously relieved that she was able to say those words; she merrily waited for the man’s answer.

Yuje felt that he should atleast comply by giving an answer to such a pure statement.

“Don’t mind it.”

Yuje replied after putting down his bowl, briskly brushing away the formed conversation. He then glanced at his right, towards the trees shadowed by the night. He felt a presence gazing towards them from a distance.

The presence is weak. The other students should be more than enough to handle it.

Ignoring the gaze thrown by the unknown creature, Yuje closed his eyes and slept. Only the sound of the glazing wind accompanied by series of laughter from the students echoed throughout the night.

****

The group immediately continued with their journey early in the morning. A foggy mist enveloped their immediate surroundings; effectively blocking their vision. The blindingly white chilly fog coupled with the rugged terrain made it extremely difficult for the group to move forward.

“Disperse.”

After that single word from Yuje, the ominous morning fog immediately dispersed from their surroundings. Using explosive pressure, he forcefully made the mist scatter. What greeted their eyes after their vision was cleared was a gargantuan statue of a human that was hanging upside down with its legs being devoured by another human.

Innumerable vines crept up the foot of the massive statue, clearly conveying its ancient heritage. Beside the colossal statue was an array of others that depicted the same theme—cannibalism. At the foot of each of the sculptures was the engraved word ‘Carnival’.

“Gross…” Kath covered her mouth as if about to puke. Her wavy ash-blonde hair covered her bulging chest.

“What the hell…such statues in a secluded place like this?” Taki looked around them in bewilderment. The man seemed calm no matter the situation. He then looked towards Yuje as if asking if they should enter the area beyond the sculptures.

“Let’s go.”

Yuje pointed towards the other way which was opposite that of the colossal images.

He deemed that it was a waste of time to associate themselves with things that did not concern them. The next town was around a month from their current spot and that was with a cart. Judging by their current speed, it might take twice the time. They do not have the leisure of exploring the unknowns that they would surely be encountering along the way just for fun.

Moving towards the opposite direction, the group continued traversing the rugged plains. Various broken works of art that seemed to depict the same theme as before was scattered along the ground.

~RUMBLE

A subtle rumbling sound was heard quite far from their current spot. Ominously, the sound seemed to come closer to them by the minute.

~RUMBLE RUMBLE RUMBLE

Everyone readied themselves for what’s coming. Whatever it was, it surely was massive enough to cause such a deafeningly loud noise in its wake.

~CRACK CRACK CRACK

The ground underneath them suddenly began to form cracks. After a few more seconds, a massive worm-like creature appeared behind them, its twin fangs oozing with a green fluid that screamedof poison.

“W-wha?!” Raul immediately created a dagger made of fire. He waved his hand out in front of him, tightly grasping the flaming inferno of a weapon.

~SCREEEAAAAKK!

The gigantic worm began to screech in a high-pitched tone that seemed to break the ears of those who heard it. Swaying its massive body that spanned several meters, a cloud dust accompanied by a subtle shockwave was created.

The worm in front of the group began to charge towards Kath with its mouth wide open as if trying to completely devour its prey. Kath enhanced her body with strengthening magic and dodged the open-mouthed assault of the gargantuan worm by a hair’s width.

The worm, unsuccessful with its frontal assault, dug into the ground. With a subtle sound that indicated the presence of the worm underneath, the group readied their selves for the anticipated attack that would come at them at any moment.

This is a waste of time.

Yuje summoned his blood sword. Amplifying his senses, he began to discern the current location of the gargantuan worm.

~SLASH

He then slashed towards the ground creating a large fissure, immediately decapitating the worm in half. With the sound of a muffled splattering sound underneath, the worm wiggled its last moments.

Thank Gods that this guy is with us. We wouldn’t have been able to survive such an encounter if were by ourselves.

Those were the thoughts that had run through the minds of everyone that was with the Demon of Grimfort. Till now, the silent guy easily disposed of any threat that confronted their group. Just the thought alone that he was with them was enough for them to keep their calm even under the most dangerous of situations.Yuje, as if nothing had happened walked forward with Taki and the group following behind him.

“WAIT!”

A voice echoed at them from behind. It was definitely the voice of a child. Turning around, the group saw a child with white hair cut till her waist running towards them. The child, wearing nothing but a single necklace made of silver was panting.

A spiral tattoo was embedded on her breast that continued till her neck. It was a symbol resembling a sun. Underneath the sun tattoo were three figures of man kneeling and worshipping the black spiral.

Yuje looked towards the figure of the naked child. He knew that the child had been following their group for quite some time now. It was the same presence that he had felt since last night.

“I saw that! I mean…”

The child pointed towards the fissure created by the slash from the blood sword. Grasping for air, she knelt with her head touching the ground.

“Please…” With a pleading voice that was mixed with anxiety and hope, the child spoke.

“Please. Please s-save the village! E-everyone…t-they will all die at this rate!”

With tears overflowing in her almond brown eyes, the naked body of the child shivered in extreme sorrow. She grabbed hold of her shoulders as if calming down her inner feelings.

“The whole village was ravaged by a group of cannibals. My m-mom. She’s…she’s been killed in front of my very eyes! My father and my brother…they’re g-going to use them as s-sacrifice..*Hic*”

Still kneeling on the ground, the child looked up. It was a face that would break anyone’s heart the moment they saw it—the pure and honest face of an angel pleading for someone to help her loved ones.

Turning around with blatant air of disinterest, Yuje resumed walking. The Grim Reaper cladded in black cloak didn’t even bother to listen to the rest of what the child had to say.

“W-wait!Yuje!”

“Y-Yuje!”

“Hey!”

Kath, Mui and Raul called out towards the indifferent man. Their minds cannot process that someone would be able to ignore such pleas for help. Hurrying his steps to catch up to the apathetic man, Raul grabbed hold of Yuje’s shoulders.

Yuje, without bothering to hide the irritation in his eyes turned around to face Raul, his eyes directly staring at the resolved man in front of him.

“I don’t know what’s wrong with you but I think we should at least listen to what that child has to say! We could save the lives of many people if we were to help them! And we have you with us!”

Raul said in a firm resolute voice, his thin arms still grabbing the left shoulder of the grey-eyed man. The man’s sense of justice had been great ever since he was a kid. After all, the house of Thena’s code of honor was ‘Lost of honor is synonymous to death!’.

He was a man who believed that justice should be served no matter the circumstance, no matter the enemy—no matter what the situation was.

Brushing away the hand of Raul, Yuje paused for a second and continued walking. Without turning back, he muttered.

“We won’t get anywhere if we are to help every person that we encounter along the way.

I—refuse.”

****

Sun rise in the demon continent was quite a sight to behold. Unlike in Ruan, the sun did not hover directly above—at the heavens, instead it formed a halo-like appearance exactly at noon. This halo-like appearance when blocked by the clouds created a beam-like scattered hue of different colors which was then further dispersed and refracted by the humid air at the higher altitudes.

This was one of the reasons why it was easier for massive trees to grow in the continent. The scattered radiant energy was perpetually equally distributed to these life forms.

“Why can’t you understand? That child needs our help! Not only her, but her entire family!” Raul hollered towards Yuje.

The naked child was now beside Raul, firmly holding his hands. It had been silent during the entire ordeal, frequently giving quick glances towards the black cladded man.

I don’t have time for this. We’ve been going at a snail pace already. Going out of our way to help them will surely eat quite a lot of time.

“Please… Yuje.”Onesa said. The feeble girl seems to be always flustered no matter the situation.

“I can’t believe this guy! Really!”Kath snorted. Subtlety smirking, She clenched her fist. The older of the twins seemed eager to immediately help the ravaged village.

“Uhhmm..If I may ask. How did it all—happened?” Mui turned towards the still silent child. With curiosity in her voice, she asked the question that she’d been meaning to ask since the child showed up.

Everyone looked towards the child, expectantly waiting for the explanation.

“W-we were preparing to transport our cargo towards the next town w-when…suddenly a group of monsters attacked us. At first I-I t-thought they were monsters. But upon seeing them more closely, I realized that they were humans too!”

Fidgeting in her fingers, her eyes darted towards the ground and up. Trickles of sweat began to form on her face as she recounted the vivid memories that happened to her a few days before. Shaking her head as if dismissing a thought, with her white hair partially covering her right eye, she continued her story.

“Then…t-they began to capture those that are male…*Hic* My brother and father…*Sob*”

Kath and Raul tried to console the sobbing girl. Embracing her arms around the child, Kath began to utter words of comfort.

“Don’t worry. I’m sure they’re fine.”

“R-really?” The child asked in an escalating tone.

“Yes I’m sure. And we will help you. So don’t worry anymore.” Kath said with finality in her tone. Her night-black eyes that complemented her pale face glimmered for an instant.

“You said that you were transporting your goods towards the next town. How?”

Everyone looked towards the direction of the man that had just spoken. With a cold inquisitive voice, the grey-eyed man asked the naked child.

The child was confused on why the man asked for such random details but still complied by giving her answer.

“We use these creatures called Lambards. Well…they’re some sort of…reptiles? Those guys are excellent on any terrain and can carry up to 5 persons on its back. We use them to pull the carriage though.”

Lambards? Hmmm…let’s see if we could use it for transportation.

“5 Lambards.”

“Eh? What do you mean?”

“I want 5 Lambards in exchange.”

The child’s eyes widened at those words. Her sobbing stopped and her face began to distort into something that blatantly states ‘absurd!’.

“That’s impossible! I mean we do have exactly five of them but do you know how much those costs?”

“…I take that as a no then.”

“W-wait!” The child tried to hinder the man from walking away. After mumbling some thoughts she finally agreed to the ridiculous exchange.

“Alright.Deal.”

Yuje looked towards Taki. The face of the brown-skinned man clearly stated that he didn’t really care either way.

“Lead the way.”

Following those words, the group began to move deep inside the forest.

****

The group returned to the place where they first saw the colossal statues. Innumerable figures lined up the paved ground that was shadowed by the canopy of thick leaves from the ancient trees. A broken archway with faded letters C.A.R.N.I.V.A.L. greeted the group at the entrance. The chilly mist from before had receded.

“It’s this way!” The child, panting due to the long distance and rugged terrain they had traversed, exclaimed excitedly.

They followed behind the naked figure in front of them. Along the way, a large mural that spanned around 10 meters and was embedded on a massive boulder marked the place where the road forked into two directions. The illustration had faded due to old age, making it hardly discernible.

The child chose to take the route to the right that seemed to go downhill. After quite some time, they reached a barren area devoid of any life. The trees were withered and the ground had formed cracks due to lack of hydration. Only some occasional weeds that grew between the cracks were seen as the group traversed the ominous path.

“We…are here.”

With her arms wrapped around her body—embracing her bosom, the child pointed towards a crooked wooden fence with a height of around three meters. Upon passing through the cracked fence, the view of a devastated farming village was seen. The tiny shacks were all mutilated beyond recognition, with more than few giant rubbles on its side.

“Wha…t-this seemed more like a ghost town rather than a village.” Kath whispered in a soft audible voice.

“Hey kath!”Mui glared at her twin sister as she said those words. She then pointed towards the child in front of them—crestfallen with her head hanging low.

“I didn’t mean…to. Sorry.” Kath said towards the white-haired child in front of her. She inwardly reprimanded herself for the insentient remarks.

“You don’t have to be sorry…”

“But! I said those insensitive things. Really…I didn’t mean to. Don’t worry, we’ll save your family!”

Opening her arms wide completely exposing her naked body, the child with the tattoo of a spiral sun spoke. Her white sharp canines glinted as she smiled.

“Really you don’t have to be sorry! I mean, you already have saved my family! The entire village!”

The child loudly declared as she tried to muffle her giggles. Her loud voice echoed throughout the eerily silent village. Everyone was shocked at the sudden change in conduct.

“Mmmpppffttt! Hahahaha!HAHAHAHAHA!” The child cackled like a maniac. With her right hand covering her laughing face, she began to kick the pile of wreckage in front of her, creating a subtle dust of smoke in its wake.

“This one’s pretty crazy~” Taki said in an amused voice. The man seemed to find it entertaining—watching the crazy antics of the naked kid in front of him.

The cracked laughter continued for quite a while until they heard a subtle rumbling sound. The sound came from different directions, along with it was the appearance of naked figures of men and women with the same spiral sun tattoo on their chests. In just mere seconds, they were completely surrounded by the ominous figures.

“W-what’s this?” Raul uttered in a stuttering voice. His eyes widened as if realizing something.

“HAHAHAHA! P-please help my village? *Hic* M-my brother and my f-father w-was captured! *Sob* HAHAHAHAHA!!!!”

The child roared in laughter after reenacting the drama a few hours ago. She was without a doubt enjoying the current spectacle.

“YOU!!”

Raul thundered in anger. Finally realizing that all of it was an act, he tightly clenched his fists and began to chant his magic.

“Oh God of Fire, blaze upon—”

Raul wasn’t able to finish his incantation since suddenly, a giant black magic circle began to form underneath the group. Black hands came out of the immediately formed magic, grabbing hold of the feet of those inside it. Everyone including Yuje was rendered unable to move.

As I thought it was a lie. Is the thing about the Lambards a lie too?

“Are these people threatening you? Tell us! We could help you!” Onesa said in a rattled voice. She seemed to find it hard to believe that the pure and innocent child moments ago was just an act.

“Calm down Onesa. You know the answer to your question.” Taki said in a calm tone. He had long suspected that something was not right the moment the child had shown her face to them. It was not the body of a child that had barely escaped from death. Her body was too clean, without a single scratch or injury. Furthermore, she seemed rather calm when she led them towards the ‘ravaged’ village.

“Heh~ Now let’s ask a question?” The child squeaked excitedly. Her angelic voice from before was gone and was now filled with nothing but evil intent and malice.

“What should we do with the h-u-m-a-n-s that we’ve c-a-p-t-u-r-e-d?! Any guess?!” The child looked towards the tattooed figures that surrounded the group of students. The figures were evidently drooling on their mouth.

“A. We eat them? B. We eat them? C. We devour them?!!!” The child opened out her arms wide as if embracing and savoring the soon to come sensation. The crowd surrounding them cheered in excitement.

“Eat them!”

“Eat them!”

“DEVOUR THEM!!!”

The crowd was in frenzy. Like a rabid animal that haven’t eaten anything for weeks, they roared and blatantly shouted their desires for human meat.

“The Lambards.” Yuje asked in a cold tone.

The child’s face disfigured after hearing the voice that cut her malicious trance. Immediately regaining her façade, she then smiled with her lips curled up in mockery.

“Oh~ The strong one! How does it feel to have your body be completely frozen, unable to do anything? How does it feel to be helpless?! Heh~ Welcome! Welcome to the land of the Carnivals! I’ll be sure you enjoy your meat later. Heh~” The white-haired child snickered as she loudly declared the name of the cannibalistic tribe.

“The Lambards. Are they really here?” The grey-eyed man asked in a nonchalant voice. His inquisitive stare sent shivers to the child in front of him. His calm demeanor screamed of his apathy towards the scenario.

The child seemed shocked at the man’s display. She had never seen such eyes before—cold, without fear, and at the same time with indescribable strength seeping from it. Regaining her composure, she replied.

“Yes. The part about the Lambards are true. So wha—”

~TTTWWWIIIIINNGGGGGG

A deafening sound that indicated the instantaneous destruction of the magic circle was heard. Minute black precipitates of what used to be the remnants of the high rank magic circle scattered in different directions, creating a regal translucent sight that soon waned after a few seconds.

The Carnivals surrounding the group were stunned speechless at what happened. Everyone became silent. The high rank magic circle had never failed them before. It had always immobilized their prey. Bit by bit, the Carnivals tore away at the flesh of their captures, excruciatingly peeling at their human flesh alive.

“W-what? I-impossible! This is absurd! That was a rank A circle just now!”

The child fell flat on her buttocks after seeing the surreal display. It was then that she realized that she was currently the only one left conscious. In the blink of an eye, all of the Carnivals were sprawled on the floor, unconscious.

“Where are the Lambards? Take me to them.”

Yuje began to slowly walk towards the frozen child. Her white hair seemed paler in fear. Grasping the only ornament she was wearing, she then began to pour mana towards the necklace. Suddenly, Taki, Raul and the rest of the students fell on their knees. Black smoke oozed out of their bodies.

“As I thought. You’re a monster. Even the restricted spell ‘Dark Miasma’ has no effect on your body.” The child spoke in a horrified voice. She had seen too much abnormality that day and all of it was from a single person. Grinning as if deliberately showing her sharp pearly canines, she spoke menacingly towards the grey-eyed man.

“Still, even if the spell has no effect on you, it sure is effective on your companions over there.” She said while pointing a finger towards the panting group of students. Purple lines began to appear at their body that was cladded in black smoke. The miasma was too much for the body of a normal human to handle.

Taki, Raul and the other students began to puke out greenish-red substance. Still kneeling, their faces began to distort in an agonizing way. Panting as if trying to grasp for as much air as possible, multiple trickles of sweat began to ooze out of their skin. Without a doubt, the students affected will die in a matter of moments if left alone.

This type of spell will be dispelled only once the caster dies.

“Hah! What is it now?! Can’t do anything as you watch your friends die before your very eyes? HAHAHA!! Puny human!!”The child jeered at the man in a dilemma. She seemed to have figured out that the guy didn’t wish to kill humans after finding out that her brethren were only knocked unconscious.

“And let me tell you!! Even if you kill me, the spell won’t stop! My body was not the only medium used in this spell! Watch in agony as your friends die in the most excruciating way possible!”

The child seemed to finally have gained back her former façade. Breaming with gladness at the impasse the man in front of her was going through, she twirled around thrice with her hands held out wide. Grinning from ear to ear, she giggled at the scene unfolding in her very eyes.

Yuje looked towards the Taki. The man’s body was already laying down flat on the ground and was almost lifeless.

Black-purple lines had covered his entire body like numerous veins popping out. The black smoke continued to ooze out and does not seem to stop at any moment.

Taki

Yuje grimaced as he summoned his blood sword. Swinging it numerous times in an inhuman speed, everything around them began to distort into nothing but smithereens including the unconscious bodies of the Carnivals. Finally decimating everything around him, he then pointed the crimson-black sword towards the stunned body of the naked child.

“W-ha”

“If I can’t find the medium, I’ll just annihilate you all.”

With those words, the body of the child was cleanly split in half from head to toe. With a subtle splattering sound, her innards fell towards the ground.

Finally annihilating all that was depicted by his senses, Yuje walked towards Taki. Thankfully, the miasma had begun to leave the body of the students. The black-purple lines had receded and were almost gone. With their breathing finally stabilized, they slowly got up from the ground

“Man~ I owe you another one.” Taki said while slowly scratching his temporals. He slowly lifted his head up to look at the guy that had again saved their lives but was shocked at what he saw. Not with the decimated surroundings but at the grey-eyed man that had fallen down to his knees.

With black-red spiral lines creeping up his body, Yuje silently endured the excruciating pain that enveloped him. A blue-white hue began to ooze out of his body at a frightening speed. After few more moments, the black-red spiral marks slowly diminished until it was completely gone. The excruciating pain also receded along with the blue-white hue. Slowly, his silver hair began to revert back to its former ash-brown color.

“Hey Yuje are you alright?! What happened man?!” Taki hurriedly dragged his tattered body towards Yuje. Behind him were Raul and the other students that seemed to observe the situation with surprised eyes.

Yuje slowly stood up and raised his palm. He then looked towards Taki that was transparently worried at what happened.

“I can’t utilize it.”

He then paused before he spoke the ominous words that were amplified by the silent noon.

“I can’t use mana.”

****

“You can’t use mana?”

Taki asked in a skeptical voice. He had seen the spiral marks that crept up the body of Yuje just moments ago. It was without a doubt the mark of a blood pact. Grabbing hold of Yuje’s palm as if inspecting it, he then eyed the man’s body from head to toe.

“That mark just now. It was without a doubt from a blood oath.” Taki said in a serious tone.

It was common knowledge that blood oath was one of the five greatest spells capable of binding one’s will. It ranked on the same scale as blood contract which was often used by Gods to establish their faith during the ancient times. Blood contracts enabled one to use a portion of the contracted God’s power.

“Hey you’re kidding right? Are you saying that you can’t use any mana at all?” Raul said in an almost disgusted voice. A very subtle snicker left his mouth after those words. Walking towards the ragged girls, he then assisted them to their feet.

“Are you girls alright? It’s fine now. The enemies’ gone.” Raul said while casually placing her right arm around the shoulder of the panting Onesa. He then looked at the red headed girl with a reassuring smile, deliberately showing his still perfect set of teeth.

“Th-thank you…” Onesa replied softly. She was still shocked at the revelation regarding the angelic child they had met a few hours ago. She would have never imagined that someone was capable of such crazy malicious acts.

Taki clenched his fist as he saw the act displayed by Raul. Keeping his calm, he then again asked Yuje if he was alright.

“Yuje.”

“I’m fine. I want to be alone for an hour or so. I need to verify some things.”

Yuje casually said towards the worried former farm kid. The man seemed calm even though such phenomenon that greatly decreased his strength had just occurred. With his disheveled ash-brown hair fluttering by the wind, he slowly walked towards a large cliff that wasseen from their current spot.

“I think the child was telling the truth. The Lambards should be around here. Find them.” Yuje finally said.

“Alright. I’ll also look for rations and other stuffs we could use.” Taki determinedly replied. He then turn towards the rest of the students that were currently huddled together. “Hey guys! It’s time to work! Let’s go find these creatures called Lambards. Also, we should grab anything that might be of use to us in the future!”

After the issued order, everyone began to scatter in search for the reptile-like creatures. A method of transportation was luxury in the damned region full of grotesque, dangerous monsters. Mui walked towards Taki and grabbed the hem of his clothes. With a soft grasp, she then asked Taki a question.

“That guy…is he alright?”

Mui asked with a glint of sadness and worry in her voice. As if suddenly flustered, she then took a step back and lowered her head. A long silence enveloped the two of them as Taki tried to reply with a truthful answer.

“I…don’t know.”

Taki finally said after the long pause. He then looked towards the cliff from a distance. In his mind, he kept asking the heavens to be merciful towards the grey-eyed man.

****

Yuje had finally reached the cliff after passing through an array of shacks covered underneath the rubbles. He then began to sit with his lower limbs crossed together, placing his sole arm at his knees. Closing his eyes as if in prayer, he then tried to recirculate the mana within his body.

This is my body. You can’t restrict me.

Yuje forcefully tried to remove the blood pact that chained his inner mana. Using the blood art of Hiryu, he tried to overpower the spell which was without a doubt one of the strongest binding spell there was. He tried to intertwine his very own blood with the spell inside him. After a series of resistance, his capillaries began to burst, splattering numerous trickles of blood on the ground.

A little bit more.

The cycle continued for quite some time, with his vessels popping and bursting all over. His ominously dark black cloak was drenched with his blood by the time he had finished. With innumerable cuts and injuries that resulted from resisting the blood pact, Yuje stood up and tried to gather mana to his palm.

~ssssshhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhzzzzzz

It took quite some time but he had eventually succeeded in summoning his blood sword. With no surprise, the blood swords lasted only for a few seconds before it began to disintegrate into its raw form—minute particulates naked to the human eye.

Again.

~sssssssshhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhzzzzzz

The Demon of Grimfort again tried to summon his blood sword. This time, he succeeded in doing so a tad bit faster than the previous summoning. Firmly grasping the crimson-black sharp weapon in his arm, he then waited for it to disintegrate again. This time, it took over a minute for it to return to its raw form.

Again.

The series of summoning continued until he was finally able to maintain the blood sword for an indefinite period of time. It was not as strong as before, but still, it was a lot better than even weapons made from the strongest metals.

I see. This is around two percent? Even with the art of Hiryu… Let’s see.

Raising his blood sword towards the heavens, he then slashed towards the ground below the cliff, deliberately measuring the amount of power unleashed.

~SHHHWAANGG!

~RRUUMMBLEE!

A massive fissure was created after the slash collided with the barren ground. Further scrutinizing his strength, he made a series of gargantuan strikes one after another. A large portion of the forest was immediately decimated the instant the attack had hit it. After the large smoke dust receded, massive crescent-shaped craters embossed the ground. Raising the blood sword in front of him, he then eyed the majestic weapon with interest.

So fragile.

With those thoughts, he went down the mound towards the group with his body fully drenched in blood.

****

“Here’s another one! This is the fifth one right?”

Onesa hollered as she grabbed the reign of the Lambard beside her. The Gargantuan creature had a height of almost two meters. With four legs that were crouched and a green-blackscaly carapace, the creature had a size almost thrice that of an average horse in Ruan. The reptile had a length of four meters in exclusion of the tail. The bulky body of the creature gave it a menacing look contrary to its docile demeanor.

~SCREEECH

“H-hey stock licking!” Onesa said. The creature seemed fond of her as it continuously licked her face, with sticky drools sticking towards her garb.

“Haha~ that one seems to be really quite into you huh?” Taki laughed as he pulled the tethered Lambard that he got towards Onesa’s. After quite some time, Raul, Kath and Mui began to huddle together with them, alongside them were the three other Lambards.

“Taki what’s the plan?” Raul inquired. The thin guy kept stroking the neck of the scaly Lambard beside him. Beside him are Kath and Mui whose garbs seemed soaked from drool.

“I think I saw a large carriage there.” Taki pointed towards a large cavern-like structure that was littered with wooden debris at the entrance. “Let’s see if we could fix it. Onesa?”

Taki glanced towards Onesa. With a firm nod from the girl, the group went towards the cavern.

“Woah. This one’s large. Should be enough to fit even five times our number?” Raul said as he brushed off with his hands the thick dust on the brown carriage.

“Onesa can you fix it?” Taki inquisitively asked the timid girl.

“I-I’ll try!” Onesa nervously replied.

Checking upon the massive carriage that seemed capable of carrying large boulders, she then heaved a sigh as if in surrender. After looking towards the expectant group of students, she began chanting her magic.

“Oh God of the embracing earth,

God of life’s origin,

God Gaia, I ask thee

Earth Construct!”

Multitude of earth began to cruise towards the broken parts of the carriage, effectively creating a blockade made out of earth magic. Onesa then further fortified the blockade with low grade steel magic.

“Phew!” Onesa heaved a sigh of relief. Almost all of her mana was depleted after the feat. With trickles of sweat on her forehead, she sat upon the dust-ridden ground.

“Thanks Onesa. Well done.” Taki subtly patted the head of Onesa. The red head closed her eyes as if enjoying the sensation.

“That’s great Onesa!” The other student’s exclaimed their delight. Just a couple of cleaning and the colossal carriage would be as good as new.

“Now, let’s move this thing outside.” Taki said while pointing at the large carriage. “Just a little bit of cleaning and this should be good to go. Really, what do those fanatics use this large wagon for? I’ve never seen something as large as this one.”

The group tethered the Lambards at the large circular metal in front of the vehicle. With the help of the farm kid, the group had successfully made the reptile-like creatures pull the colossal wagon outside.

“Hey!”

Taki saw Yuje and immediately dashed towards him. The grey-eyed man’s appearance was horrid with blood stains all over his black cloak. Specks of blood stains were evident on the man’s entire body.

“What happened?! Are you alright?!” Taki hurriedly asked in succession.

“I’m fine.” Yuje calmly replied. He then eyed the Lambards and the grandiose carriage behind it. “Great. We would be able to move faster with this.”

Raul and the other students moved closer to the blood soaked man and carefully listened to the conversation. They all saw the mark of the blood pact from earlier. They knew of the power of the grand spell—they knew that once someone was bound to it, they have no choice but to submit to the spell’s will. Even though Yuje was a monster, they all knew that man would be helpless under the oath.

“So you can’t use mana?” Raul eyed Yuje from head to toe, carefully scrutinizing the blood stains on his tattered body. “No wonder. It’s a blood pact after all.”

“Raul shut up!” Mui loudly retorted at the remark given by the high ranking noble. With glaring eyes, she snarled at the surprised man, not bothering to show her disgust at the displayed attitude.

Mui then briskly walked towards Yuje. Gently placing both her hands on his shoulder, she then stood in front of him, staring directly into the man’s eyes.

“Are you…okay?” Mui said in a worried tone. Her brown-black eyes were moist, with a fourth of her blonde hair covering it.

Yuje was quite surprise at the display. He had never spoken to the girl before. Subtly smiling, he complied with a peculiar answer.

“It’s okay. I’m alright.” Yuje replied. He then glanced towards the group and declared. “Two percent.”

The group was confused at the remark given by the blood soaked man.

“What?” Raul asked in a blatantly snickering tone. With a smug face, he then looked towards the grey-eyed man and waited for the answer.

Yuje glanced towards Taki and spoke.

“That’s the amount of power that I could use right now.”

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Surprisingly, vol 3 did not need much fixing. Just excuse glints of typo or anything of the sort if you do found any. Vol 3 was done in a jiffy, so here i am...will upload till vol 4. Yep yep.