“「Breaking Kill」.”
With that low shout, the coldly gleaming longsword arrived in an instant, swift as lightning.
The moment Renith heard the words “Breaking Kill,” the hand that had been about to throw out “Holy Protection” suddenly froze. A flicker of gravity passed through her eyes.
“Composite magic. Holy Tome pages 87 and 118 — earth magic, water magic — Cliff of Ice and Stone.”
Renith quickly chanted the spell, and the words on the tome seemed to be given life, slowly melting away.
The nearby sand and ice were drawn in by the magic, rapidly gathering together and taking form as her magical creations. One sturdy barrier after another rose swiftly from the ground, hiding Renith’s figure within them.
The sword of “Breaking Kill” pressed forward with unstoppable force, instantly breaking through the first layer of barriers Renith had created with her composite magic.
Seeing this, Renith’s eyes sharpened. She kept retreating while manipulating the tome, and the nearby sand and ice were once again drawn in, forming even more magical creations.
Yet even so, the ever-increasing barriers still could not stop Morist, who pressed on with irresistible momentum.
The moment his sword tip touched Renith’s magical creations, those seemingly solid barriers shattered like paper, breaking apart one after another.
Of course, this was not meaningless.
As Morist’s sword tip continued to advance, the power of “Breaking Kill” gradually weakened.
Renith felt the pressure ease slightly, but her speed in creating barriers also slowed. Fine beads of sweat had already seeped onto her forehead, and her magical power was draining rapidly.
Finally, the two of them stopped by the inner city wall at the city center.
The nearby residents, seeing the two who had swept all the way here, screamed in terror and fled in all directions. Their faces were written with fear, their footsteps frantic and hurried.
Morist stood in place, looking at Renith, who was struggling to hold on, and placed his hand on the blade of his sword.
His originally lifeless eyes were now veiled with a faint layer of gold, as if shrouded by some mysterious power.
“You’re quite strong. Unfortunately, you don’t have much magical power left. I win.”
“「Daybreak」, huh? You plan to use that attack to finish me off? Do you want me to die carrying memories of the past?”
Renith forced herself to stay upright, using the few remaining strips of cloth on her head to try to conceal her appearance.
Her magical power was indeed nearly depleted, just as Morist had said. Every breath was incredibly heavy.
Renith pulled out an equally scarce magic potion from the tome and drank it down in one gulp.
As if seeing something familiar, Morist’s hand paused slightly — but only for a moment.
“「Daybreak」!”
A flash of golden light, like a brilliant star bursting forth, and a powerful force surged out from the sword tip, sweeping toward Renith.
Renith had long since made up her mind. She opened the tome, preparing to use a move she had not used in many years.
But just then, a voice came from a distant alley:
“「River Sever」.”
A flash of sword shadow, like a meteor streaking past.
Morist’s “Daybreak” attack immediately changed direction, colliding with that sword shadow.
At that moment, a figure darted out from the other end of the city wall. He grabbed Renith and fled swiftly toward the core area.
The fellow was wrapped up tightly, his entire body shrouded in a black robe, with only a pair of eyes visible.
No matter how close Renith got, she could not make out his appearance.
The mysterious man carried Renith, leaping across rooftops at incredible speed.
“How is it a little girl?”
The mysterious man murmured softly, as if unconsciously.
His voice was very quiet, but Renith heard it clearly.
What’s wrong with a little girl?
Renith complained silently in her heart.
As if realizing something, the mysterious man said sorry to Renith.
By now, the standoff between “River Sever” and “Daybreak” had ended, and “Daybreak” was clearly the stronger one.
The golden radiance of “Daybreak,” like a surging tide, swallowed the sword shadow of “River Sever” and still had enough force to pierce through the earth, leaving a deep ravine on the ground.
Morist’s brow furrowed for the first time in a long while, and a flicker of confusion passed through his eyes.
He did not chase after the two who had fled. Instead, he recalled the sword shadow from earlier, muttering continuously:
“River Sever? … River Sever? … River Sever? …”
After several hundred repetitions, his brow smoothed out, as if he had figured something out.
He gripped his sword and swung it toward the direction the two had fled.
“「River Sever」!”
A massive “qi” wrapped around the sword shadow, pressing forward irresistibly into the distant void, and it was unknown how far it flew before it finally slowly dispersed.
“Lost them…”
Only then did Morist realize that his mission target had vanished without a trace.
That was just his nature — he could only do one thing at a time.
Having been interrupted by the sword shadow and having lost his target, he could only pick up a new goal: practicing his sword.
Only after finishing his sword practice would he go looking for a new target.
He wandered aimlessly above the city, his eyes hollow, and finally headed toward the city lord’s manor at the city center.
Renith was still being carried by the mysterious man, and the two entered the core area of the city.
The buildings here were completely different from those outside. The residential houses outside were built from a mixture of mud and wood.
But here, metal and something called cement were used.
Houses built from metal and cement were very sturdy, with smooth, flat walls.
The buildings here were generally much taller than those in the outer residential district, and their appearance was vastly different from the outside.
“This is the residence of the ‘God-Chosen.'”
Seeing Renith’s gaze fall on these varied buildings, the mysterious man spoke.
His voice was still deep, but this time, Renith heard a sense of twilight years from him.
In Renith’s view, this fellow had lived a very long time. Even with the support of a viscount or count-level realm, his life was nearing its end.
“So the people living here are all ‘God-Chosen’?”
“Of course not. There are quite a few nobles here as well.”
The mysterious man shook his head.
Then, the two arrived near the plaza, and Renith immediately saw the enormous stone statue.
The appearance of this statue was exactly the same as the one she had seen in Brand University City.
But somehow, this statue gave Renith a different feeling from the one in Brand University. A strange sense of familiarity lingered in Renith’s mind, as if something deep in her memories was stirring.
“Is this the god of the ‘God-Chosen’?”
Renith pointed at the statue and asked.
The mysterious man seemed a little surprised. He had thought the little mage in his hands knew nothing.
“That’s right. Look at them…”
Renith’s gaze fell near the statue. At this moment, a group stood before the statue, their leader carrying a massive axe on his back —
precisely the group that had ambushed Renith earlier.
After being defeated by Renith, those fellows had grown thorns from their bodies and given up chasing her.
The moment this group approached the statue, the thorns wrapped around their bodies flew uncontrollably toward the statue.
The thorns wrapped around the statue’s surface and were slowly devoured by it, while the people below began kneeling and worshipping the statue. A wisp of white light drifted out from within the statue and entered the leader’s body.
That fellow’s aura grew stronger?!
Renith opened her mouth. Ever since she had entered this city, the surprises had not stopped.
A ball of white light could push his strength further?
This was practically a desecration of those who seriously practiced “qi.”
“You also think this is heretical?”
The mysterious man looked at Renith’s expression and asked.
Renith nodded.
“Good. Let’s go!”
Renith’s answer made the mysterious man very happy, and the sense of age in his figure faded somewhat.
The two figures flashed again. Now they crossed the city wall of the central area and arrived at the other side of Ongler City.
“We’re here.”
The mysterious man said, his voice a little tired.
This was a house identical to those in the outer residential district, appearing plain and crude. The mysterious man pushed open the door, and Renith followed him inside.
Inside there was only a table, a chair, a bed, a small statue of a goddess, and some household items — nothing else.
The room was somewhat dim, filled with a musty smell.
“Do as you like.”
With that, the mysterious man removed the white cloth covering his face and took off the white robe concealing his form.
The person before her was so old. His thin cheeks were covered in wrinkles, like parched earth.
His limbs had atrophied to an extremely severe degree, as if only bones remained.
If not for the massive “qi” within his body, he would probably have already become a handful of yellow earth.
But in the end, Renith’s gaze landed on the top of the mysterious man’s head — he was bald.
Looking back on her life, Renith had not seen many bald people. Most of them had been enemies, and only one could be called an ally. Combined with the old man’s age before her, Renith could not help but speak:
“Balubalun?”
The old man’s figure visibly froze. He suddenly looked at Renith, a flicker of surprise passing through his eyes.
He began searching his memories of the past, but ultimately failed. He had never seen Renith before, yet there were two scents on Renith that he was very familiar with.
“Balubalun… what a distant name. So distant that even I had nearly forgotten it. Since then, I have never spoken my name outside.”
The old man said slowly, his voice trembling slightly.
“Yes. Actually, when I first saved you, I had a faint sense of familiarity, as if we had met somewhere before… It seemed to be a boy.”
Renith’s heart skipped a beat, and she was stunned for a moment.
“Maybe I remembered wrong. After all, I’m getting old… So please, can you tell me who you really are?”
If it was an old friend, that would be fine. But if it was an enemy…
Seeing that Renith did not move, Balubalun took a step back. The “qi” within his body stirred slightly, lifting away the precarious headscarf hanging over Renith’s head.
Renith’s heart lurched violently. She layered “Refraction” a second time, and magical power poured wildly from her body to block Balubalun’s probing. This was the first time Renith had tried so hard to conceal her identity.
The demon race had killed Balubalun’s people, and Balubalun hated the demon race with a burning passion. She did not want to expose herself before him so quickly.
In her heart, it seemed something had begun to sprout.
