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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 13
Chapter Title: The Union
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Loan stared quietly into Blake's eyes, carefully observing his mana as well.
Mana surged toward the hand gripping the sword, ready to strike Loan with explosive force at any moment.
"I'm short on time, and the only reason I've waited this long is because I've taken a liking to you. It'd be a waste to just throw you away after all the effort I've put in."
"..."
Unable to see mana, Blake didn't understand the meaning behind Loan's actions or what their result would be.
That must have been why he allowed it.
"You're a smart kid. That's why I wanted to take you with me. But well, it seems some idiots ruined that plan."
"..."
"Still, I might as well ask. Want to come with me? Otherwise, I'll have to kill you... and I'd rather not do that."
"Where would we be going?"
Loan asked in a monotone voice.
One of Blake's eyebrows rose slightly.
He seemed pleased by Loan's unexpected interest.
"You'll probably be sent to another farm. You'll manage the children there, raise the tree. You'll learn the ropes under me. Become part of Le Tell's family."
The director had also mentioned Le Tell to Eger. It must be the group Blake and Eger belonged to. The ones behind all this.
"What is Le Tell?"
"It's the organization I belong to. The Reverend Leader intends to change the world with black magic. We are his faithful servants. It's a great honor."
"Then were you the one who made the tree?"
"What power do I have? I merely care for what the high priests created."
As he spoke, Blake glanced at the tree before fixing his gaze back on Loan.
"Look at me, running my mouth again without realizing it. You really are a strange one. So, are you coming or not? I'm out of time."
"I will not go."
"Then you'll have to die."
Blake threateningly extended his sword toward Loan.
Simultaneously.
Though Loan made no move, the convection of mana surrounding him instantly deflected the blade.
Blake felt as if there were an invisible, yielding wall in front of Loan.
The strange resistance caught him off guard.
Blake was unaware that Loan had already solidified the flow of the surrounding mana, making it completely his own.
"Huh? What? How did you do that?"
Blake took a couple of steps back and corrected his stance.
His opponent was a child, but a child who had taken down Eger in an instant.
He didn't know what kind of power the boy possessed.
But this small taste was enough to know he couldn't be taken lightly.
"Hah, don't say I didn't warn you."
Winking one eye, Blake lunged forward, thrusting his sword.
It was an attack filled with mana.
Loan had already read the flow of mana and prepared his will.
So the result was no different from before.
No, from Blake's perspective, the situation was even more baffling.
He had literally given it his all, yet his sword had stopped without even reaching its target. Now, it felt as if something invisible had gripped the blade tightly.
Blake tried to retract the sword, to swing it sideways again, but no matter how hard he struggled, he couldn't make it budge.
"What is this?"
He had no idea what was happening.
He was simply being completely dominated by the flow—by a child who was just staring at him with a blank expression.
Loan gazed at the trembling tip of the sword and asked.
"Blake, did you kill Mother Pauline? Is that what you meant by having a connection?"
"Why? If I did, are you going to get revenge?"
"It's not that simple, but I won't let you live."
"What? After everything I've done for you..."
Loan didn't wait for him to finish his story and extended a hand toward Blake.
At his will, a violent vibration of mana traveled down the length of the sword.
Sensing a formidable energy, Blake's face contorted as he gripped the hilt with both hands.
He tried with all his might to control the sword, but Loan's power was superior.
*Vwooom—*
The mana in his heart spun as if it were running rampant.
Drawn by it, the mana coursing through his entire body conveyed Loan's will to the external convection.
*Vrrrrrrrr—.*
Unable to withstand the vibrations, the blade began to bend, small and fast.
The mana, exerting intense pressure from both sides of the blade, finally twisted an imaginary fault line,
*Snap—* and broke the sword.
"Huh?"
But the broken tip of the sword didn't fall to the ground; it remained floating in mid-air.
It then slowly turned and flew toward the bewildered Blake, piercing his shoulder.
*Thwump—!*
One of his arms fell and rolled on the floor.
Strangely, the sword fragment that had severed Blake's arm remained suspended in the air.
"Aaargh!"
Loan kept his eyes fixed on Blake and spoke nonchalantly.
"It hurts that much to have an arm cut off. Why did you do it?"
"What, you crazy little bastard..."
*Swish—.*
Blake couldn't finish his sentence.
The sword fragment pierced his heart.
With a short gasp, Blake's body tumbled to the floor.
He didn't want to listen to any more of the curses that punctuated every sentence.
"When the heart is pierced, the feelings within it disappear too. You shouldn't have done that."
The dead do not speak, but Loan had a little more to say.
"I won't forgive you. Not until I've gotten rid of everyone like you, Blake."
It was a promise he made to himself.
It wasn't revenge. Nor was it for some grand cause.
He simply disliked the fact that what happened to Pauline was still happening somewhere else.
Loan stared at the sword fragment, which still hadn't fallen to the floor.
*Vwooom...*
Carried on the convection of mana, it moved as if it had life and a will of its own, returning to Loan's side and hovering around his shoulder.
Was it Loan's will, or Pauline's? he wondered at that moment.
He saw a group of mana descending the stairs.
Extremely bright and clear auras.
Loan guessed their identities and turned around.
The severe headache and dizziness that had briefly taken hold of him, the pain like broken bones, and the immediate sense of exhaustion had largely subsided thanks to his mana circulation.
The person who finally appeared was the owner of an intensely bright light, unlike any he had seen before.
"Hmm...?"
Dressed in a black suit like the ones who had chased him and Blake earlier, he was a middle-aged man with a sword as tall as himself strapped to his back and a magnificent mustache.
He spoke to those who followed him.
"I will question the child. Secure the perimeter."
"Yes, Vice-Commander."
As the four black suits scattered around the tree to scan the area, the man with the mustache approached Loan.
Loan met the man's gaze as he squinted at him.
When their eyes met, the long scar that ran diagonally from his cheekbone to his jaw curved into a subtle arc.
He looked as if nothing had happened outside, with not a scratch or a drop of blood on him, not even a speck of dust.
"Do you live at this shelter?"
"Yes."
The mustached man glanced at the sword fragment floating near Loan's shoulder.
"An interesting ability. Telekinesis?"
"Pardon?"
Loan tilted his head slightly as he asked.
It was such a natural reaction that the mustached man frowned.
"Did you learn magic from Le Tell?"
"Magic? I haven't learned any. And I'm not with Le Tell."
"You haven't learned it? Then your mana..."
"I learned on my own."
"..."
The conversation felt like it was constantly missing the mark.
And yet, despite the nonsensical words, he somehow didn't feel like the boy was lying.
"Hmm."
The mustached man was at a loss as to where to begin correcting things.
It was understandable, as he had raided and cleared out numerous farms, but he had never encountered a case like this.
Four corpses and a child who could use telekinesis.
There were no other survivors, and no signs of anyone having left.
"I should have asked for your name first. My apologies."
"I'm Loan."
"Loan. Do you know who we are?"
"You're the Union."
"Correct. I am Vice-Commander Oscar of the Union's Faith Division."
"The Faith Division is the 1st Unit, specializing in intelligence and reconnaissance for the Union, based on their harmonious swordsmanship."
"Ah, yes. That's right."
Oscar was taken aback, hearing an explanation that sounded like it came from a book.
His guess had been correct, anticlimactically so.
"I read it in a book. Vice-Commander, judging by the gold badge on your chest, you're Seeker-rank."
"Yes, that's right."
A strange child.
He was the one who was supposed to be conducting the interrogation, yet he was the one being led by the conversation.
"For now, let's go outside. Can you retrieve that blade?"
"Ah..."
Loan glanced at the sword fragment, its sharp tip glinting toward Oscar, and slowly extended his hand.
The fragment settled into Loan's palm without resistance.
Loan turned the piece of sword over and over in his hand, and Oscar watched him quietly.
In the meantime, his subordinates approached and reported the situation.
"Four recent adult fatalities. Judging by the size of the tree and the number of sacrificed children piled up behind it, the tree seems to be less than two years old, but for some reason, the ritual has been dispelled."
"Dispelled?"
His subordinate took out a shriveled fruit from Blake's pocket and showed it to Oscar.
"Yes. Considering this fruit appears to have been extracted just moments ago, the dispelling must have also occurred very recently."
"Hmm? If a high priest dispelled it himself, he should be here, but that doesn't seem to be the case. Then did a Priest of Shiong arrive before us..."
That was unlikely.
Oscar unconsciously turned his head toward the sole survivor, then gave a slight shake.
An overly wild speculation had crossed his mind.
He asked his subordinate again.
"The state of the fruit is strange, too. We need to find out exactly what happened here..."
While Oscar was talking.
Loan very naturally moved away from Oscar's side and walked toward the back of the tree.
Oscar stopped his subordinate who was about to intervene.
The child's destination was obvious.
Loan headed to the area behind the tree that he hadn't had a chance to check.
In front of the dead-end wall, countless children's bodies were piled up.
Naturally, the body of the most recently sacrificed child was closest to the tree.
Theo and Lily.
Loan stared at the children.
Sorrow washed over him again. The mana in his heart began to spin rapidly.
As if to soothe him.
"Sorry, Theo. I should have played with you a little more. Lily… when you were leaving, I should have been kinder. I'm sorry."
After muttering to himself for a moment.
Loan asked without turning to face the approaching Oscar.
"Vice-Commander, have you been to many farms like this?"
"I have."
"And you'll be going to more in the future?"
Loan said as he turned his body.
Oscar was a little surprised by the child's expression.
He had expected him to be crying, or at least lost in grief. He had just found his friends, after all.
But Loan's eyes showed no such emotion.
Instead, they held a sense of resolution.
"Yes. Uprooting Le Tell's farms is one of our Union's missions."
And so, he said something he didn't have to.
Loan nodded slightly, then smiled.
"Then, could you please take me with you?"
For some reason, Oscar found that smile to be both pitiful and chilling, making the hairs on his neck stand up.
He took a moment to study Loan, organizing his thoughts.
Bringing a child along on a Union mission was absurd, but for some reason, he felt drawn to the idea.
He even had the natural thought that he wanted to grant the request, which was a very unfamiliar feeling for him.
"The investigation comes first. We'll think about your disposition after that. Follow me."
After giving an uncharacteristically open-ended answer, Oscar signaled his subordinates and turned away.
While his subordinates set the tree on fire, Oscar and Loan walked side by side toward the stairs.
"Just a moment, Commander."
On the way, Loan veered off course and ran to the vice-principal, who was slumped against the wall.
There was no feeling of mourning.
He simply had business with the jeweled brooch pinned to the vice-principal's chest.
*Pluck—*
After tearing the brooch from her chest, Loan turned without a backward glance and followed Oscar up the stairs.