"Do you speak any of the ancient languages?"
Athtar wiped away the traces of the characters he had written, for even writing them out in full could risk accidentally casting a spell.
"I think my father mentioned a few words from the ancient language to me, but I've forgotten most of them. I've never used any of them before because I wasn't particularly interested in the paths."
Christie tried to recall some words, then remembered one; she whispered it quietly, in a soft tone, as she pointed her finger towards the green grass beneath her: "SA'AQ."
Suddenly, Christie felt a prick in her finger; she raised her hand and said, "Ouch! Did I just get zapped? Did it work?"
Athtar quickly took her hand, causing Christie's cheeks to flush with sudden embarrassment, but she didn't pull her hand away. Athtar took a close look at her finger and saw a slight burn mark.
He then looked at Christie and nodded slightly at her. "Yes, you succeeded. Fortunately, your incantation was simple and basic. Be careful not to cast spells without being prepared."
"Right…" Christie replied calmly, the flush on her cheeks having faded slightly by now.
"SEHHA"
Athtar uttered softly, pointing his finger towards the burn on Christie's finger. Mana particles emerged from Athtar's body and began to gather at his arm, swirling like twinkling stars, then all converged at the tip of his finger.
A soft, pale greenish-white light emanated from there, enveloping Christie's wound, which began to heal slowly until the burn mark disappeared completely.
Christie was slightly awestruck and felt a pleasant sensation in her finger, as if she were being massaged. The spell did not last long, as the wound was superficial.
When Athtar finished casting the healing spell, he gently placed his hand on Christie's head, stroking it three times.
"You did well to remember one of the spells; this shows you're serious about learning."
Christie's cheeks flushed slightly as she puffed them out a little. "I'm not a child for you to stroke my hair; I'm seventeen years old! Legally, I'm an adult in my kingdom!"
"As far as our kingdom is concerned, you're still a minor."
"Hmph."
Christie tilted her head slightly to one side, but she didn't push his hand away from her hair; even as she feigned nobility, she enjoyed having him stroke her hair.
[ Age is just a number! In the old days, people became legends or kings at seventeen ]
The arrogant voice of the system suddenly appeared in Athtar's head, claiming that the distant past was better than the present.
"How can you know when you never lived through that era?"
[ The fact that you've stopped using the ancient language is the prime example of this ]
'Language evolves; humans will never stop developing language—isn't that natural?'
[ That would be the case if language were merely pointless drivel, but you've fallen behind instead of properly developing the ancient language… ]
'You're speaking again as if you'd lived through that era.'
[ My Majesty does not need to have lived through that era to realise that you are in an age rife with ignorance ]
'What grand words from a system that was only born a week ago.'
[ Hmph! When you realise the greatness of My Majesty, you will retract your words ]
'All right.'
Athtar turned to Christie, removed his hand from her head, then pointed it coldly forward, directing it towards a specific spot.
"You cast a stun spell a moment ago, didn't you? Let's see what effect it has when I cast it…"
Mana began to gather within Athtar's body towards his hand in the usual way, whilst Athtar's cold eyes stared at the tree in front of him. The mana turned a blue-violet colour, and bolts of lightning appeared in the form of waves coiling around his arm.
"SA'AQ"
The bolts of lightning shot out from his arm and streaked at lightning speed towards the tree's trunk, striking it and leaving a large, distinct black gash on the trunk's brown bark. A blow like that would have caused an ordinary human to lose consciousness.
"Wow… Why is there such a huge difference between us? Haven't we both entered the path of magic?"
Athtar nodded in response to her question and replied briefly, "Because it has to do with the strength of the soul, as well as one's Soul Imprint and lineage."
"Yes, I know that much… The intensity of one's Soul Imprint determines a person's talent."
"That's right. I also possess a great deal of mana because of my lineage."
Christie wondered about Athtar's lineage, but before she could ask, Athtar had looked away, changing the subject.
Athtar lowered his hand, then took his sword and began practising, saying coolly, "Practise the shock spell. Once you're able to summon more lightning, we'll begin the real training."
Christie sat on the ground, crossing her legs in a dignified and modest manner, and nodded to Athtar, saying, "All right, I won't let you down…"
She pointed her finger towards the grass and began to recite the spell in order to develop her abilities.
It was just as before; a mere tingling sensation in her finger was all the mana she could produce. She felt no frustration; after all, it was only natural that this was all one could expect from someone with no prior experience in using mana.
The break ended without any clear progress for Christie. They returned to the carriage and continued on their way; they were only stopping for short periods to save time, as the journey was still long.
...
A few days ago.
In another region near the Kingdom of Kaivan.
The 18 knights were returning to the kingdom to report on what they had witnessed at the Temple of the Goddess.
There had been 20 of them to begin with, but one was killed by the Demon, and another sacrificed himself so that Athtar could inflict critical damage on the Demon, forcing it to retreat. They had survived that battle by sheer luck.
"Commander John… what was it all about, in the end?"
One of the knights asked John, the man who appeared to be the group's leader and who had also led the squad.
"The man who accompanied us was a follower of the Demons before he became one himself; there's no doubt about that… but how did the Demons get here? What about the Cryptic Ocean? How did they manage to cross it?"
"Something strange has been happening in the world ever since one of the gods died, and this world is descending into chaos. How did the Demon King manage to kill one of the gods in the first place?"
"Be quiet! Don't ask about these things. Do you want the Five Churches—or rather, the Four now—to accuse you of heresy?"
One of the knights gave his companion a light tap on the head, causing the other knight to sigh and apologise for his questions.
John was calmer; having spoken only that first sentence earlier, he looked down at the road and said, "Whatever the case, we must tell Commander Severin what happened here. He may know more than we do."
"That's true… And what about Mr Athtar?"
One of the knights asked John quietly, and the others fell silent too. Their mission had undoubtedly been to capture or kill Athtar, but due to certain events, they had become comrades-in-arms and fought a life-and-death battle to protect one another; they could no longer bring themselves to kill him now.
"We'll say we didn't see anything… That's a crime punishable by death… But if I betrayed the man who saved our lives, I'd feel guilty for the rest of my life… I'll take responsibility if anything happens, lads."
John said in a serious tone, looking at his men, who smiled slightly at him.
"Why are you being so serious, Commander John? We've been through all this together; of course we won't blame you. Let's agree on a single story to tell!"
John looked at the knights around him and saw not a hint of hesitation in any of them. He sighed softly, then smiled back at them.
"Yes, that's good… Let's head back now!"
"Yes!"
The knights turned to return to the kingdom, but suddenly a creature fell from the sky onto the ground in front of them, creating a cloud of dust and a loud thud as it struck the earth.
The knights looked towards the site of the explosion and saw a shadow moving at tremendous speed towards them. The nearest knight didn't have time to react; his chest was pierced and his heart was ripped from his back by the new arrival's grip.
It was none other than the Demon, who smiled at them, sticking out his tongue in mockery.
The knight spat out blood, staring coldly at the Demon as he lost consciousness, whilst the other knights gazed in horror at the scene.
"Returning? Did I give you permission to do so?"
The Demon withdrew his hand, which held the knight's heart, then crushed it against his face. Blood began to pour into the Demon's mouth; he devoured it, sensing the tiny amount of mana that had escaped from its essence before vanishing, and added it to his personal reserves.
The knight's corpse fell to the ground and blood began to flow ceaselessly from his chest; the Demon looked at the remaining 17 knights with a malicious smile.
"How unfortunate for you… how unfortunate for you, Athtar isn't here to protect you~"
He sang in a haughty tone as he laughed.
One of the knights shoved John, shouting, "Commander, run for your life!"
John looked at his subordinate and said, "What? Are you going to sacrifice yourselves?"
"It's enough if just one of us survives! We'll keep him occupied whilst you escape—just make sure you do it!"
John clenched his fist tightly and began to run away, whilst the Demon said, laughing, "Are you going to sacrifice your men to save yourself? What a pathetic commander you are! Pathetic! Haha, I'll make sure to savour this meal you've left for me, Commander John."
John closed his eyes. If it had been up to him, he would have stayed, but it is wise to know one's limits, and John knew full well that his staying there would be nothing more than an extra meal for the Demon. Someone had to escape to inform the kingdom that a Demon was on the loose; that was his reason for fleeing and not looking back.
John heard the knights shouting, so he picked up his pace even more.
Time passed, and the sun's position in the sky shifted. John was panting heavily as he gazed upon the massive walls of the Kingdom of Kaivan coming into view. He sighed, clenching his fists, and tears streamed down his face. He felt shame, disgrace, and also weakness.
"I couldn't do anything…"
He blamed himself. It was he who had gathered them one by one just a few days earlier, telling them that under his protection, they would all return safe and sound, and promising them a grand feast once the mission was over.
"Damn it… damn it!"
John was about to drop his sword when he heard laughter behind him. He opened his eyes in shock as he turned round, only to find the Demon himself, walking slowly whilst staring at him.
"Is this the best you can do, Commander John? But you've done well to get this far…"
John's tears flowed even more freely as he pointed his sword at the Demon, his hands trembling and his eyes filled with hatred.
"W-where are they?!"
The Demon looked around questioningly, then smiled and said, "Do you mean your little squad? They're in my belly now, of course! Hahaha."
He began to laugh maniacally, mocking John, who closed his eyes slightly, feeling guilty towards his men.
"How… how can you be so cruel? What on earth have we done to you? Do you even consider yourself human?"
"No! I am, after all, a Demon! Haha."
The Demon laughed at John's foolish question, finding amusement in tormenting him psychologically. He didn't want to kill him just yet; he would kill him slowly, after draining his soul and making him wish for death.
But to the Demon's miscalculation, a golden figure appeared from behind John and darted towards the Demon at lightning speed.
There was a violent collision, as the Demon parried the figure's sword with his elongated claws and bared his teeth.
The figure who had entered became clear: she had shiny blonde hair, blue eyes, and was slightly short, yet an immense and incredible power radiated from her aura.
"C-Commander Evelyn!"
John cried out happily, finally feeling the weight on his heart lift.
Evelyn stood coolly facing the Demon, sizing him up and taking in his appearance. "What a repulsive creature. Is this what they call a Demon? I didn't realise this universe harboured beings of such filth and vileness."
The Demon laughed as he broke off the confrontation and stepped back, saying, "Evelyn? Princess Evelyn herself? What an honour…"
"What? Do you know me?"
Evelyn said coldly, without ceasing to stare at him and gauge his abilities; it was well known just how ridiculously powerful Demons were.
"Your fame precedes you, the Foretold Princess who is said to have been born with the strongest initial Soul Imprint in this world…"
"Hmph…"
She did not let him speak any further; the mere fact that he knew of this alone made it clear to her just how much he knew about her. She attacked him relentlessly with her sword, and the Demon retreated whilst parrying her blows.
This exchange did not last long, until Evelyn said coldly, her words seeming to travel from her mouth to the Demon's ears like waves of sound, "I understand everything now… You are nothing compared to me…"
The Demon felt a sudden jolt as his mind froze; he sensed Evelyn's aura rising to terrifying levels, then Evelyn slashed his chest, leaving a large gash from which blood poured.
The pain immediately brought the Demon back to his senses, and he leapt away, clutching his chest in fury.
"Soul Facet? And you speak of baseness?"
Evelyn said nothing; she pointed her sword at him and was about to speak, but the Demon leapt away. "Hmph! I'm not stupid enough to face you… I'll be back for you, John. Mark my words!"
Having said this, the Demon vanished amongst the trees, whilst John finally fell to his knees, weeping.
Evelyn sheathed her sword and stood before the weeping John. She said nothing, allowing him to let his emotions run their course.
"When you're done… let's go back to the kingdom… there are so many questions I want you to answer…"
John said nothing; he just carried on crying.
.
.
.
To Be Continued.