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Turning Chapter 947
🕑 Added 2024-02-29 05:03:40 +0000 UTCChapter 947
When Kishiar considered it simply, balancing something akin to scales or a seesaw seemed most straightforward. He was always attentive to evenly use the four powers within him, striving to maintain their balance, ensuring none overwhelmed or fell short.
It was about expending something to empty and balance it.
Lives and powers spent on the day of hail, followed by the disappearance of the crack.
These two seemingly different events, when described this way, oddly appeared similar.
Hence, the best course of action they could take when facing another day like the hailstorm might not be so different from balancing the two sides of a scale, keeping it steady.
Kishiar had shared this thought with Yuder when he had just woken up from a long slumber following the hailstorm. Among many conversations meant to ease the tension, Yuder seemed to have remembered this particular remark quite well.
How could Yuder remember it so vividly, despite being half-asleep and unwittingly dozing off?
Kishiar's lips briefly formed a faint smile before fading away.
'So, to balance the scale means...'
To balance the scales without faltering, one mustn't hastily remove the weight. Carefully, even if slowly, one should steadily lighten the heavier side while firmly holding the lighter side, to eventually achieve the goal.
In their case, what they needed to remove was not the lives of allies or innocent bystanders but solely the power and lives of the monsters that crossed through the crack.
However, the monster they now faced differed from those of the hailstorm day. Back then, the monsters from the crack were numerous but small, easily managed by even the weaker mages.
But the monster currently causing massive tremors, emerging from the underwater crack, was so enormous that even Steiber trembled at its size.
'Yet Yuder believed he could handle it.'
Kishiar found the basis for this belief in Steiber's report.
According to Steiber, the immense monster trying to escape the crack was 'an irregular mass, as if many things had merged together.' The tentacle-like legs attacking them weren't proper legs at all. It seemed like a misshapen mass, jamming its enormous body through the crack's gaps, with only parts of it emerging.
Others might have imagined something different upon hearing this, but this description was unlikely Steiber's own interpretation. Only Yuder, among those who descended into the deep sea, had accurately witnessed the monster lurking in the crack. Steiber had merely relayed Yuder's words as accurately as possible.
While some might unwittingly insert their uncertain opinions or unnecessary details when relaying a message, Steiber was not such a person. His long experience in trade had taught him the significance of words, his nature both amiable and mindful.
'And above all...'
The Yuder Aile that Kishiar knew was not one to embellish reports or descriptions with artistic metaphors. His reports were always based solely on what he personally saw and heard. Therefore, the description of 'a form as if many things had merged' was not a mere metaphor but likely exactly as Yuder had seen.
Many things. Merged together.
Why hadn't he specified what exactly those many things were?
If Yuder couldn't identify it, he would have referred to it as 'unknown things.' This implied that while it was possible to identify them, there were too many to specify, making it pointless to do so.
Combining this answer and information led to a single conclusion.
What if, in a situation where countless things, identifiable but too numerous to specify, were merged, they could be separated by their will?
If there was a way to isolate the great monster, bit by bit, into individual entities or a small number. And if Yuder had speculated or discovered this, perhaps it was worth trying the method of balancing the scales, as Kishiar had discussed?
Naturally, it was easier to prepare for a specific, identifiable enemy than for an unpredictable natural disaster.
If Kishiar's thoughts and judgments were correct, they would find a definitive answer when the monster began to move again during the next tremor.
Amidst the tension, everyone found their places. Steiber, too, had returned from the medical tent after his checkup.
"Are you alright, Steiber?"
"Yes, Commander. After receiving Priest Lusan's divine power, I feel rejuvenated. I will return to duty now."
As Kishiar nodded, Steiber saluted and quickly dove back into the sea. His departure was much faster than before, watched in silence by the remaining members.
After Steiber disappeared into the sea, Kishiar stepped forward and drew his sword. The churning water lapped roughly against his feet and the hem of his garment, but he paid it no mind.
His red gaze and the tip of his sword, Orr, were steadily aimed at the water.
After a while, the rhythmically rolling waves suddenly trembled without reason.
"...!"
Lost droplets collided and splashed upwards in the altered direction of the waves. Soon, the water became more violently turbulent everywhere.
Kishiar gripped the hilt of his sword with both hands and lifted it smoothly. It was the starting stance of a horizontal cut, as described in the first page of the swordsmanship manual, a stance once deemed perfect by Yuder Aile himself.
The man paused momentarily, then straightened his back and took a deep breath. His chest swelled, and a dazzling blue aura began to shimmer along his sword blade.
'It's the aura of a swordmaster...!'
Jimmy Ocker, watching from afar, swallowed hard. The young boy, assigned to intelligence reporting rather than direct combat due to his age, reflexively glanced at the small sword at his waist.
He, too, could imbue his sword with a similar blue power. Everyone called it an aura, no different from his own, and Jimmy thought so too. Proud of his exceptional abilities at such a young age, even comparing favorably with adult Awakeners, he was quite self-assured.
But witnessing the true aura of a swordmaster was something different from what Jimmy had imagined.
The aura, so intensely concentrated that it wouldn't be surprising if the sword blade burst, was terrifyingly oppressive, making it hard to breathe just by looking at it. What would happen if he confronted it with his own power? No matter how much he imagined, he couldn't see himself winning.
The spectacle of the swordmaster's proof, shining brilliantly before the sea in such a situation, was ironically beautiful, almost surreal.
The sight of Kishiar wielding his sword, imbued with such a powerful sword aura, was both terrifying and strangely beautiful.
In that moment of confusion for the young boy, Kishiar moved his arm and swung the sword.
Initially, it seemed slower than expected. But in the blink of an eye, a massive aura, its origin unknown, was racing toward the sea.
Boom!
A light, bluer than the sky and colder than darkness, momentarily engulfed everyone's vision.
Just like the traces left on the Emperor's sword mark, the sword energy cleaved through the sea horizontally. It was as if the empty water was forcibly penetrated by the sword energy, and at that moment, everyone held their breath.
The sea, which had been ominously churning, suddenly stilled and became silent.
Then,
"Look, there! Something is floating!"
Accompanying someone's shout, indistinct objects began to emerge on the sea surface.
Small, transparent clumps mixed in the water, their shapes difficult to discern.
They looked like a bizarre amalgamation of all the world's refuse.
However, these objects were motionless, floating atop the water, each piece severed and lifeless, leaking oily fluids. They had been sliced and killed by the sword aura.
While everyone remained speechless, dozens, hundreds of these things surfaced, quickly covering the sea. Kishiar finally exhaled and lowered his sword, his gaze shifting to those awaiting orders.
Without a word, the Cavalry member flinched, responding to the staggering sight. Overwhelmed by the immense spectacle, they realized that it wasnβt the end yet, and gripped their weapons tighter.
"More are coming! Get ready!"
With the shout, the sea began to churn once again.
Comments
hien
this is taking me out LMAO
SchaheraZade
"It seemed like a misshapen mass, jamming its enormous body through the crack's gaps, with only parts of it emerging. Yuder: *Sighs* Everything reminds me of the Commander.
Vic 1989
Mine was "Yuder!!! What if that hits him again and it's RIP Yuder?!" π±
C J
My only thought after Kishiar knifed through the water was "rip corals" π
