Chapter 9: Unhinged Soldier (1)
His encounter with the woman was something Liam never wanted to relive again, but that's alright, since why would a soldier of a mighty empire spend more time with him than doing whatever she is doing here in the first place?
That's what Liam thought, but it all changed when the name Xyrus was uttered out of her mouth.
Her face remained aloof, but her behavior changed completely!
Before he knew it, both of her hands were on his cheek, and her face was dangerously close to his, which sounds like the dream of every man.
But Liam didn't feel much joy right now; instead, he felt goosebumps all over his body.
'Her eyes are scary!'
Her eyes are completely black and devoid of any emotion whatsoever, which makes Liam feel uneasy the more he looks at them
He then tried to escape her grasp but found that he couldn't!
"Oh my god, this face, this hair and these emerald eyes—are you lord Xyrus?"
"..."
Contrary to her appearance, the touch of her hand is warm, and her behavior is gentle despite her grip on his face seeming inseparable.
And it would be a lie to say that I did not enjoy being squished to my cheek, kind of like the old days when I was young.
"Ah, the lord is right under my hand…"
"..."
He knows that he is no lord, let alone someone named Xyrus, but if there's a possibility that he is truly that lord you are referring to, then isn't it inappropriate to grab such a person's hand and speak to him like that?
Liam grabbed her wrist tightly and pulled to separate her hands from his face, but even with his full effort, the arm refused to budge.
'How strong is she?'
Liam believed his strength was on a different level when compared to others, and yet this slender woman's grip is too strong for Liam to pull out.
And this is just her innate strength and not some ability that aids her.
'Maybe it's not that my strength is inhuman, but the village was too weak?'
Not only that, but the two humans he met from the outside world are both Spirit Bearers and at Master rank at that.
Liam moved his eyes toward the system screen next to her.
*****
| The Path Of Spirit Bearer |
[Stat]
Title: Heart Of Stone
Age: 21
HP: 100%
Status: Alive
Rank: Master
[Spirits] (3/7)
Spirit Of Statue (True Spirit) (Unification Completed)
Spirit Of Bat (True Spirit) (Unification Half Completed)
Spirit Of Toughness (True Spirit) (Unification Completed)
[Ability]
Stoneborn: You will transform into a stoneborn.
Bat Wings: Sprout two giant bat wings behind your back that allow you to fly.
Toughen up: By staying motionless, you are tougher in both mind and body.
*****
'If you think about it, I wasn't exactly born here and neither was Dorian.'
So the outside world has all these superhumans roaming around... what a scary world out there.
And not just superhuman but unhinged women too, like that cold-blooded Lilina and this one in front of him.
"Look at this soft skin; did ghosts have such delicate skin when they died?"
"... Could you please kindly take your hand off my face?"
Now it's just getting annoying.
"A-Ah, I'm sorry, my lord."
The woman realized her mistake and took her hand out of Liam's face.
But as he watched her lower her posture, he immediately stopped her from kneeling again.
'It should be me who knelt to a soldier from the Empire, not the other way around!'
"Staying inside that wretched thing's stomach had me lose my decency."
"It's okay; I think you got none in the first place."
"What's that?"
"Nothing"
Liam immediately covered his mouth with my hand to stop him from uttering another word.
'It's been a while since I've had a conversation aside from Thomas… that guy has truly corrupted him.'
"Even your voice sounds like him."
"..."
'Okay, I couldn't bear this any longer; this misunderstanding ended now!'
With that thought in mind, Liam decided to spark a conversation to introduce himself.
"May I ask your name?"
"Oh, it's Jessie Ravenclaw, my—"
He raised his palm in front of her to stop her from saying that word, "lord."
'It's cringy the more I hear it.'
"You see, I am not the lord Xyrus you're talking about, nor am I a ghost. My name is Liam Heartwood, just a simple guy from a small, no-name village."
"huh?"
It seems that information was a shock to her; she then scanned through my body once again, which kind of made me uncomfortable.
"No, you're Lord Xyrus; you're completely identical to him."
'Now she just straight up denied my information, and even with all that scanning, she still thinks this skinny body is a lord?'
Liam grew even more wary; he once again explained his identity to Jessie.
"Well, didn't your lord die or something? That's why you mistook me for a ghost, right? Besides, do I look that old to be a lord of someplace?"
'That's… Well, you tell me—"
Hold on—"
"-My lord"
"Argh!"
He began to grow sick of her calling me lord. Which part of him is a noble, let alone a lord!
But then again, he may not be some lord but a son of a lord. His memories before he reached fourteen are pretty blank after all, so there's probably more about my background that I don't know of.
"I could be his son, though."
The theory could account for the identical features between him and this Lord Xyrus.
"No, you're him. I have seen how he acted and his portrait from the book; thus, I'm one hundred percent sure you're lord Xyrus the Flame Bearer!"
… Liam was flabbergasted. This isn't stubbornness or idiocy anymore.
This is psychopathy.
Damn it! Is she truly a soldier of an empire that is all about wisdom?
How should he convince someone who is a freak? Go with the flow?
"Well then, I—"
"Wait a minute, my lord, is this place near the Terran Village?"
"..."
He's getting annoyed by this woman right now; she is just treating me and his words as thin air.
'You firmly believed in me as a lord, and this is how you behaved? If such were to happen, then would I have to say off with her head?'
Liam was very inclined to say that right now.
"No, no, no, this is bad."
It seems like she is remembering something, something horrible enough for her to stutter and her shoulder to shake more than when she met me.
She turned her face toward Liam, where he noticed that it had turned pale.
'Is there something scary near our village?'
"We—we must run away from here!"
"Come down to your senses."
"T-The Executioner, they are coming; we must abandon this place."
What? Slow down a bit
"Huh? Just—"
"My lord, there's no—"
Ah, he wanted to scream at this deafening soldier right now, and so he did.
"SHUT THE F*CK UP."
Jessie's body shuddered under Liam's outburst before she slowly looked down without saying another word.
'Oh, don't act all pitiful.'
Liam furrows his brow and breathes out another sigh; this day has been too much for him, more than he had thought it would be.
All he wants right now is some sleep.
"Look, just tell me what's going on, and we can think of another solution later. I'm not abandoning this place where my friend is living."
"...You truly are the l—"
"Just be quick."
"Ah, yes."
Regaining her composure, she finally spoke out a proper line.
"Astella Terra has defected to the side of The Executioner; he's going to massacre every living thing around this place, around a month after the traditional ceremony of the village ended."
"...W-what did you just say?"
This time, it was Liam's turn to stutter.