Aster was in a hurry.
He had to get to the temple and obtain Mistilteinn as quickly as possible.
He didn’t know for sure, but that was part of Frondier’s plan.
Coming all the way here for Renzo’s sake was an enormous waste of time, but Aster had no other choice.
However—
“I don’t need it, you idiot! You take it!!”
KWA-ANG! KWA-AANG!
Right now, Aster was dashing through the storm of the battlefield.
The fight between Renzo and Tyr was now blowing out a torrent of aura that allowed nothing else to approach. If he tried to get close carelessly, his body would be torn to shreds without even knowing why.
“Come on, I went to all the trouble of bringing it, what kind of line is that?!”
“When did I ever ask you to bring it! I threw that thing away!”
SWISH!
Renzo spoke while dodging Tyr’s fist.
To Renzo, Aster was now about as close as a fly buzzing and whining in the air next to him. Incredibly distracting and uncomfortable.
It was already hard enough just fighting Tyr in front of him, but the tactless Aster kept trailing after them around the edges.
‘How is that bastard even reacting to this speed in the first place! I only just awakened a new power from fighting Tyr right now!’
That was what really made Renzo feel displeased.
He had undoubtedly leveled up while fighting Tyr. He’d managed to imitate Angfer’s technique, and he was just now starting to get used to it.
So then why was Aster following alongside him like it was only natural? Running inside the eye of the storm without getting swept up in this high-speed exchange?
“Fine! Then I’ll just leave it somewhere nearby, so do what you want with it!”
“Do whatever you like!”
At Renzo’s answer, Aster widened the distance a bit and came to a stop.
He took out the spear, Enkesphalos, and stuck it into the ground at a suitable spot.
Then—
Thud.
“......?”
Enkesphalos returned to Aster’s hand.
Because of the trait “Infinite Attempts.”
“You’ve got to be kidding me.”
SWISH!
Aster bent his body sharply backward. A chill, killing aura brushed over his face.
“So you’re Aster.”
It was Tyr.
His kick suddenly came flying toward Aster.
“I’ll kill you too.”
“.......”
Aster’s eyes went wide as he looked at Tyr.
“Why?”
“.......”
Tyr’s mouth froze.
In that opening, Renzo’s attack came flying in.
KWAANG!
A downward strike that seemed to split the space between them. Aster and Tyr each retreated in opposite directions.
“Hey, Tyr! Don’t talk to that bastard for no reason! You’ll just piss yourself off!”
Renzo called out advice to Tyr.
For Renzo, it was an extremely apt and sensible piece of advice.
“More importantly, Renzo! How am I supposed to throw this away? Because of the trait, it keeps coming back into my hand!”
“You have to hit something with it, you moron! It comes back to your hand because you keep missing!”
“You mean I’m supposed to hit you with it?”
“If you do that, I’ll kill you before Tyr does.”
Renzo growled.
Behind him, veins bulged all over Ares’s face.
[These wretches, how dare they...... with my divine relic in front of them......!]
Aster and Renzo treated Enkesphalos like a troublesome piece of junk. Humans who didn’t recognize the great might of the spear and were looking down on a god’s weapon.
[Renzo! Go get that spear right now! It’s right there in front of you!]
“Shut up! I don’t even want to lay a hand on your spear anymore!”
[If you have that spear, you can kill Tyr!]
“I don’t need it!”
In the meantime, Aster widened the distance and ran.
Tyr’s attack range had expanded to the point where the damage was now reaching even Aster. Without a doubt, Tyr was trying to kill Aster along with Renzo.
“Hm.”
The ground in this area had long since been smashed apart. Wherever they struck, dust storms and chunks of stone burst roughly upwards.
TAP!
Seeing that this wouldn’t do, Aster jumped high. A leap that added aura and One Slash to his already outstanding physical ability. From that tremendous height, he looked down at the ground below. Then he gripped the spear.
He looked at Tyr and asked:
“Sorry, but is it okay if I attack you too?”
Tyr furrowed his brow even more than when he’d looked at Renzo.
“There was another lunatic as crazy as Renzo.”
“Hey, watch your mouth.”
At that, Renzo spoke up.
“Between me and that guy, we’re very normal for humans. Just a little eccentric, that’s all.”
“You really lack self-awareness. Do you think there could be another lunatic out there as crazy as you?”
“No. There’s someone even crazier than me.”
At that, Aster looked at Renzo.
By this time, Aster already had the spear drawn back.
“You’re not talking about Frondier, are you?”
“Why are you guessing it right?”
“.......”
Aster had no words for that.
SWISH!
For now, he threw the spear.
THU-UNG!
Tyr smacked it aside with his fist.
His eyes were filled with rage.
“A human, daring to!”
Seeing that, Aster—
Looked at Renzo and asked:
“I hit him, right? That wasn’t considered a miss, was it?”
“Mm, yeah. In that situation, the spear didn’t come back to my hand either.”
“Oh, you’re right! Thank you! Then I’ll be going on ahead!”
“Yeah, hurry up and get lost.”
TAP!
Without any lingering attachment, Aster turned his back and sprinted away. He even dropped his shield on the ground.
All of his business here was finished. He had no regrets at all.
“.......”
Tyr silently watched that scene.
What exactly is going on right now?
He thought for a moment.
SST─
“!”
With Short Step, he reached Aster’s side.
“Your impudence has gone too far, human.”
Aster was running when a kick came sweeping up in front of him.
Just before it connected, the balls of Aster’s feet touched the ground—
TANG!
Using the subtlety of One Slash, he retreated backward.
“......!”
Tyr’s eyes widened.
‘Just now, was that Short Step? A human used Short Step?’
Aster spoke.
“Come on, you attacked me first, and then you kept threatening me several more times. So I threw a spear at you; that makes things even now, doesn’t it? Just let me go.”
“Nothing like that will happen until that arrogant head of yours is buried in the dirt.”
At those words, Aster rolled his eyes for a moment.
Seeing that, Renzo charged right up to Tyr’s vicinity and shouted:
“Aster!! Don’t stick your head in the dirt! No matter what you do, Tyr’s not going to let you off for that!”
KWAANG!
Renzo’s straight punch. Tyr dodged, but the tree far behind him was smashed to pieces instead.
“Wh-what, seriously?”
Aster asked as he looked at the tree. His eyes went round.
He hadn’t been surprised at Renzo’s words, but at the unique properties of that straight punch.
‘A tree at that distance......! That’s not just simple shockwave!’
With a single glance, Aster knew what level Renzo had now reached.
Tyr fell back. In that opening, Renzo approached Aster.
“Hey, Aster. Let me ask you just one thing.”
“What is it?”
“How do you do that?”
“Do what?”
“One Slash, I mean.”
At those words, Aster looked at Renzo.
Renzo was asking Aster to teach him.
Aster was so shocked that a chill ran down his spine.
Renzo looked at Aster with serious eyes.
“See, I just gained a truly enormous insight a moment ago.”
Of course, it had all started as an imitation of Angfer’s technique, but he didn’t bother mentioning that part.
“But I’m missing that last little bit. From what I can tell, there’s a hint in your One Slash. How do you do it? If I just know that part, I can kill Frondier in one blow.”
“......You’re really making it hard to want to teach you.”
Aster frowned as he looked at Renzo.
Renzo grinned.
“If you teach me, I’ll help make sure you stop getting dragged into fights. You look busy, after all.”
“Is that true?”
“Of course. You don’t trust this Renzo?”
“.......”
Aster closed his mouth.
He was a hero who ◈ Nоvеlіgһт ◈ (Continue reading) at least knew when to keep his mouth shut.
“What are you two blabbering about!”
WHOOOM-!
KWAAAAANG!
When Tyr brought his fist down, his aura writhed up and down and bore down on both Renzo and Aster.
“Urgh......!”
Aster leapt backward, but he was blown up into the air by the pressure. Tyr, seeing Aster floating in the air, moved to shoot him down.
At that moment, Aster met Renzo’s eyes.
“......!”
Renzo grabbed Enkesphalos, which had fallen to the ground.
Seeing that, Tyr, who had been running toward Aster, stopped.
No matter what, he couldn’t leave that spear lying there while he himself was up in the air. That would be an act of sheer stupidity.
Aster flew farther and farther away as he was carried endlessly back.
He shouted at the top of his lungs.
“It’s a flat plane, Renzo!!”
“......What?”
“The thing in front of your eyes!”
At those words, Renzo scrunched up his face and looked at Tyr.
He’d gone out of his way to help Aster escape, and now Aster was spouting nonsense.
Teach me One Slash, you bastard.
“It’s a picture!!”
Even as his voice grew more distant, Aster’s words came through clearly.
“Is it hard to cut a picture?”
“......!”
Upon hearing that—
Renzo understood about one percent.
***
By the time Aster reached the temple, many people were already there.
“Look over there.”
“It’s Aster. Aster Evans.”
Those who spotted Aster looked at him with tense expressions.
Aster was one of those who had left the continent together during the recent incident, when the Zodiacs had been possessed by the gods.
Most who didn’t know the inside story had no idea why Aster had left the continent.
Whether it had been his own will, or whether Aster too had been possessed by a god.
“Excuse me. Let me squeeze through for a moment.”
But Aster didn’t care.
Either way, these people would make way for him.
With his usual expression, Aster raised a hand and asked the gathered crowd for their understanding, and the knights stepped aside and opened a path toward the temple.
“Aster.”
Just then, the knight closest to the temple called his name.
Aster’s eyes went wide when he saw him.
“Commander Sylvine!”
The commander of the Roach Knight Order—Sylvine was standing there.
Aster had met Sylvine when he became a professional. The two already knew of each other. One was the hope of the next generation, the other the commander of the continent’s greatest knight order; it would be harder not to know each other.
“What brings you here? I thought only the Imperial Palace Knights came to this place.”
“Ah, I’m a sort of reinforcement.”
Sylvine answered with a smile.
“You’re the same as ever.”
At that, Aster also answered with a matching smile.
After the Manggot War, Sylvine hadn’t stayed only with the knight order but had traveled to many places.
At that time, Aster had just become a professional, and thanks to that, the two had been able to talk a lot and become close.
The reason Sylvine no longer stayed solely with the knight order was simple.
It was because of the might Frondier had shown during the Manggot War.
─Did you see who we’re supposed to protect?
─We must never fall behind. Not ever.
─If we stop even for a moment, we won’t even be able to see his back.
Sylvine had appealed to the Roach Knight Order like that, and at the same time, he knew it wouldn’t be easy even for him to keep up.
Frondier had given him the hint of the “left hand,” read the enemy’s strategy ahead of time with crows, driven back the black monsters of the barrier by himself and killed the Cyclops—truly a Roach second son so difficult to protect that it was exhausting.
So Sylvine had received Angfer’s permission and left Yeranhes to gain more experience and training. To become even stronger.
Some of the Roach Knights would grumble jokingly that their commander had run away, but when Sylvine asked if they wanted to come with him, they’d go pale and shake their heads.
“You can see the temple over there, but we can’t go any farther than this.”
Sylvine jerked his chin over his shoulder. In that direction, the temple was indeed visible.
“......I see.”
Aster narrowed his eyes as he answered. There was definitely a strange power flowing there. A miasma deadly to humans. That was why no one could get any closer.
“Can you really go in?”
“I can only try.”
Aster answered calmly. He didn’t have any particular confidence or resolve.
And that, if anything, made Sylvine’s worry lighten considerably.
“All right, then. Go on. Where would you like your body buried?”
“In the front yard of my house.”
“I’ll see that we handle your remains properly.”
Aster nodded and walked forward.
He realized it after just a few steps.
‘......Divine power.’
This was truly a vicious divine power.
When divine power aided humans, it became a force stronger than anything. But if it rejected humans, could it become this kind of poison. This was Ecleksis, piercing all things.
But whichever side it was, it didn’t matter to Aster.
‘If it’s this, I can pass through.’
Aster had complete immunity to Ecleksis and Ecleksis alone.
The claim that only he could break through was no empty boast.
Aster walked forward without any trouble.
As Sylvine’s eyes grew wider and wider—
“......Commander.”
Aster, still walking, asked:
“Mm?”
“How is the Head of House?”
“.......”
Head of House. To Sylvine, commander of the Roach Knight Order, there was only one person that title could mean.
Aster was asking after his well-being.
Sylvine’s mouth stopped for a moment, but then he gave a small, wry smile.
“He’s not someone you need to worry about.”
“My apologies.”
With that answer, Aster said nothing more and continued on toward the temple.
Behind his back, Sylvine instead turned his somewhat tired eyes up toward the sky.
