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Turning Chapter 842
🕑 Added 2024-01-25 04:35:41 +0000 UTCChapter 842
"But still, I will clear the path to Nahan for you. I can manage that much, so don't refuse this offer."
The weight of emotion in those red eyes oppressed Yuder's heart. Swallowing down the sensation, he nodded silently, his lips sealed shut.
"...Yes."
"I think I've found Nahan's location...!"
As Yuder struggled to break the silence as he and Kishiar gazed at each other, fortunately, Gakane's strained voice drew everyone's attention.
"Did you find it?"
"He's much further than before he was trapped in this space. And it seems he's still moving."
Gakane's eyelids, tightly shut in concentration, twitched incessantly.
"If he's moving, how should I pursue him from my end?"
"I'll send signals through the shadows."
Opening his eyes, Gakane drew out a thin shadow from his fingertips and wrapped it around Yuder's wrist. It clung like a bracelet made of black thread, stirring faintly, giving an odd sensation.
"As this is my space, I can send signals through it. Keep moving to the right... The shadow will react more as you get closer to Nahan, so you can follow it."
"Got it. Thank you, Gakane."
"No, I should thank you. I never thought it would work, but I did it, all thanks to you..."
Gakane, his eyes open, smiled tiredly but with a renewed vitality.
"I did what only I could, right? Enough to be of help to you?"
"Yes, exactly, well done."
"Haha."
Encouraged by his own achievement, Gakane looked proud and happy, prompting Kurga to shake his head.
"You really are like a terminal case of the Cavalry disease..."
'Cavalry disease?'
Yuder, intrigued but restrained by the situation, didn't inquire further. He flexed and swung his shadow-wrapped hand, testing its resilience, then turned to Kishiar.
"Let's depart now. Is that alright with you?"
Kishiar nodded and reached out his hand. Yuder felt an invisible force envelop him and Kishiar more densely.
"Let's go."
"Be safe, Commander!"
"Yuder. I'll help you from here through the shadow curtain, somehow. So, be careful and don't get hurt...!"
Leaving behind Kurga and Gakane's farewells, Yuder started to run. Soon, the voices of his companions faded as if cut off.
All that was left to feel was the warmth of Kishiar close by, the ominous and gloomy aura engulfing everything else, and the darkness of the black shadow veil.
Shapeless, ghostly apparitions swirled around the running Yuder like the wind. They lunged, trying to penetrate the barrier of Kishiar's energy, but none could break through, repeatedly being repelled.
Despite repeating the same futile attempts dozens of times, the apparitions showed no signs of fatigue. The increasing number of phantoms as he ran indicated Nahan must be nearby.
-Woo... Woo-woo...
-Useless Omega Cavalry Commander...
-Kill that traitor...! Behead him and display it on the Seventh Wall Street...!
-Yudrain... Yudrainβ¦
Amidst the chilling wails and screams, occasionally, the voices of those he had encountered in a previous life mingled in. Yet, Yuder paid them no mind, focusing solely on his wrist bound by the shadow and on Kishiar beside him.
Kishiar, too, ignored the faint apparitions clinging to him, his gaze fixed ahead. Though outwardly calm, his complexion had turned even paler than before.
Judging by the way the voices of the apparitions clinging to Kishiar only sounded like a hum, it seemed he couldn't hear the voices of the apparitions attached to Yuder. Despite having no secrets left from him, Yuder felt relieved.
Knowing something and experiencing it as reality were, after all, two different matters.
Suddenly, the shadow wrapped around his wrist writhed and trembled, pointing in a slightly different direction than before. It seemed Nahan was on the move.
"Has he moved?"
Kishiar, turning sharply, asked.
"Yes. He seems to be moving continuously. The speed... suggests he's regaining his senses. Be careful."
Yuder changed direction. The vibration of the shadow around his hand grew stronger, eventually allowing him to know the way without looking.
As they continued, the number of surrounding apparitions increased to the point where it became difficult to see. So many overlapped that the black shadow curtain blurred, creating a misty, whitish haze before their eyes.
The sensation of a rampaging, tremendous power constricted their breaths.
A quiet, unfathomable depth of hostility surged around them.
Every nerve in Yuder's body tensed as he felt all the anger Nahan originally harbored, now twisted and amplified dozens of times, filling the air.
Even having experienced rampaging Awakeners countless times in a past life, Yuder couldn't help but frown at the intensity.
'It's severe...'
Yuder realized that if he had come this far without Kishiar's abilities, it would have been incredibly difficult to proceed, a thought he reluctantly acknowledged.
As Nahan's energy intensified, the power Kishiar used to protect them grew stronger. Sweat began to form on the brow of the man who had maintained his composure until now, as his unseen force strongly repelled the apparitions.
"How much further to Nahan?"
"Very soon. He seems close."
In this ominous darkness, a few steps were enough to lose sight of each other. Now, with Nahan's rampant energy fiercely overwhelming them, it was even more so.
Yuder, scanning the darkness sharply, spoke up.
"From here on, I'll handle it. Please step back, Commander."
"..."
"Commander?"
When no response came, Yuder turned to see Kishiar, who had just pushed back an apparition that nearly broke through, exhaling a long breath, his eyebrows relaxed.
"There's no need to rush. But... would you grant me the chance to be stubborn just this once?"
"What?"
Before Yuder could finish, golden magic surged from Kishiar's hand.
"What... Commander!"
As Kishiar muttered something indistinct with complex hand movements, around ten magic stones β from the bracelets he wore, the brooch on his formal wear, and even the jewels embedded in his ceremonial sword's scabbard β shattered all at once.
Simultaneously, a fully-formed golden shield enveloped Yuder like a cocoon, then turned transparent as it emitted light.
Yuder felt the oppressive sensation that had been weighing on him disappear, replaced by a feeling of liberation as his breath became easier. A faint golden light enveloped and protected his body. Though not well-versed in magic, he could distinctly sense that this was something extraordinary.
However, Kishiar's complexion told a different story. This was the first time Yuder had seen him looking so perilous since the incident in the Cavalry's underground, where he had used complex magic to counteract the explosion of a Red Stone during an experiment with Thais Yulman and Alik. A feeling of dizziness washed over Yuder.
"Don't do this! There's no need to go to such lengths...!β
"If I wasn't certain that this would make things even slightly safer, I wouldn't want to move from here either."
The man, having completed his task and letting his hands fall, smiled with an indiscernible expression, lifting the corners of his lips.
"...So that's why."
"..."
"If you're angry, I'll accept your protest after all this is over."
With those words, the magic power dispersed like dust, fading away swiftly.
Perhaps it would have been better if he had simply ordered Yuder not to get hurt and to return safely. But this was different. Even if the words sounded similar, the feelings behind them were vastly different. The sincerest, most vulnerable, and secretive emotions that the man had been suppressing throughout their journey overwhelmed Yuder, mixed with that smile.
Ah.
It was then that Yuder truly understood the meaning behind the words he had spoken earlier.
How could he not grant permission after hearing such words?
As if breaking a long silence, his lips finally parted.
"How could I..."
How could I possibly protest after hearing such words.
Only upon hearing Yuder's faintly uttered voice did Kishiar truly smile with sincerity.
Unknowingly, Yuder felt a strong urge to reach out and gently caress Kishiar's cheek.
Comments
Shrak Prince
How big is this space, they've been running for a while now π
C J
Id never want to be in a life or death situation... but me and who???
Sarah Mooney
I know were in the middle of a pitched battle with a rampaging utter nutter but the author writes these little "stay safe dont die" moments between kish and yuder so well they barely slow the pace at all.. i think they even kinda add to it π€ π
