Chapter 16 Chapter 16 - Deaths Shadow (1/2)
CHAPTER 16
DEATH'S SHADOW
Patriarch Varick and the Six Prime Elders were currently standing at the topmost perch of the valley, overlooking the entire town below. Their expressions were rather grim, eyes dimmed in shade, full of reluctance. Behind them were other senior figures of the Clan, alongside Vyeala who appeared to be the most confused one of all those present. She was currently wearing rather tight, leather clothes, her hair tied up neatly behind her back. Although the clothes appeared rather irregular, they were actually specially-crafted items that could prevent a deadly blow from anyone below Soul Realm.
Patriarch Varick's eyes scanned the entire valley for a moment before he sighed and spread Divine Sense – something only those at Soul Realm are capable of doing. Whatever was hidden behind the roofed houses and tall walls and crevices of the valley was quickly revealed to his mind. At the far edge of the city, inside the abandoned house, he recognized two figures sitting next to each other. His sense held onto Lino for a few moments before he sighed gently, shaking his head. Naturally, he'd rather have someone as talented as the boy as a friend rather than a foe, but it was too late now. Patriarch was certain that the information about Vyeala was most-likely already out in the open, but even if so, the boy still remained a hindrance.
”He's at the old smithy,” Patriarch Varick spoke in a soft voice so only the Prime Elders could hear him. ”Gather thirty or so people and surround him. We'll proceed with the plan and wait you at the end.”
”Thirty? Isn't that an overkill? Just send one of us.” First Elder Rayel said.
”… it's better to be certain than sorry,” Patriarch Varick spoke in a contemplative voice. ”Should he break free and run rampart through the Clan, even if we killed him in the end, the damage would be too severe, especially now. Besides, the six of you must be there to deter the noisy ones.”
”… very well,” Second Elder Xyvel said, bowing his head slightly. ”I shall have it arranged immediately.”
”Hm,” the Patriarch nodded. ”Good.”
He cast another, swift glance toward the abandoned smithy before turning around and leading everyone off the high point toward the town's exit. It was time to leave.
**
Despite being completely surrounded, Lino didn't feel afraid. Even he himself couldn't put it into words; he was neither scared of dying or deterred over having to soon kill so many people and fight his way out of this hellhole. Perhaps, deep down, he was always averse to life, or perhaps he was fascinated by death, or his blood was simply cold. Whatever the case may be, he figured, now wasn't the time to search for the answers. He flung Aeala over his shoulder – causing a rather timid while also seductive scream – while using his other hand to draw out a sword.
His eyes scanned over the people in the back, and through blessing of Glog, he was easily able to discern their levels – the highest was Level 31, similar to his own. Putting a whiff of Qi into his calves and feet, his muscles bulged for a moment before he bolted sideways, directly bursting the wall apart while leaving a small pit where he stood. He whizzed past the scattered wood into the backyard, startling the ten odd people waiting for him there. Without hesitation, his wrist flicked and the one-thirty centimeters long sword was flung sideways, piercing a heart of the nearby youth who didn't even realize how he died. While the sword itself was still in the air, Lino drew another one from his necklace as he landed onto the ground, spinning sideways to garner momentum before leaping forward, crossing nearly four meters of distance within a flash.
His hand slashed upward, splitting a bearded man's jaw and directly killing him, before kicking off of the man's chest and leaping into the air. He spun sideways and threw his sword in a beautiful downward arc, crashing it directly into another man's chest. Not even a few breaths had passed since he burst out of the house, and three had already died without the rest even reacting a bit. Only after the first body finally hit the floor did the light of realization light up inside others' eyes.
”Fuck!! Surround him!! Tighter the circle!! Cover each other's blind spots!” someone shouted as Lino landed gracefully.
He drew out another sword from his necklace and welcomed the tight encirclement with a grin. He felt wind behind his back grow colder as he lurched his body sideways, evading a sword strike; he replied in kind immediately, thrusting directly through the attacker's heart. As another strike was coming at him from the side, he twirled his blade so that it stood upright, dull edges facing sides, before pulling the sword and the body with it and drawing a half-circle, using the corpse to defend against the strike. Veins on his muscles popped as his grip tightened. As the strike meant for him hit the corpse, blood spurted out across Lino's face and clothes, causing bitter sweetness to invade back of his mouth. He licked his lips with an evil grin before suddenly shoving the sword forward, cruising through the corpse and accurately piercing an eye of the person in front.
Screams, commands and shouts had already invaded the previously peaceful backyard, even those upfront heard the commotion. Lino sensed that nearly ten were moving around the house to join the party at the back, causing him to quicken his pace. Abandoning the sword lodged into two corpses, he drew out another before flickering it backwards without even looking, killing yet another; he did so for the remaining four, until the whole backyard was doused in scarlet red, with stench of blood invading the air. Corpses laid strewn like dolls, while Aeala's screams finally numbed; her eyes were as round as eggs, lips slightly agape, whole body trembling. Only a single thought circulated her mind: I actually teased this kid!
Ignorant of Aeala's thoughts, Lino ran in a circle swiftly, gathering up five swords before the first wave of newcomers approached him. Most of them suddenly stiffened when they saw the scene of ten corpses surrounding a single, bloodied kid, which gave Lino enough time to take a breather before commencing another assault. He jolted his wrist, slashing his sword downward at the earth. The slash split apart the ground in a straight gash, causing a massive amount of fist-sized rocks to explode into a straight cone, hitting eight people, and even killing two. While the dust still raged and screams echoed out into the sky, he broke through the brown fog, searching for the elusive shadows within. The moment he'd notice one, he'd leapt toward it and pierce without a hint of hesitation. Merely ten seconds later, over twenty corpses were piled into the backyard, causing stench to become nigh unbearable. Lino looked around, searching to see whether there was anyone observing him from the higher ground. The moment he realized it was clean, he ducked into the alley on the side of the abandoned smithy, slithering like a thief around without being spotted while slowly moving toward the town's exit.
”Hey. Hey. Hey.” Lino called out to the befuddled woman looped over his shoulder, but there was no response. He was currently halfway toward the exit, but he ran out of the shady alleys to run through, and was currently hidden behind a stack of wooden boxes. ”Oi, wake up already!” he slapped her gently over the head, finally jolting her back to reality.
”Y-you…” Aeala looked at him in absolute terror, unconsciously attempting to pull away from him. However, as her eyes looked into his – which were as still and as calm as water – her stirred heart calmed somewhat. A breath escaped her – one she felt she held ever since the beginning – causing the stifled feeling within her chest to disappear.
”Me, me what? Come on, wake up already. Where now?” Lino asked, frowning slightly.
”… where are we?” Aeala mumbled as she looked around. ”Oh, the Merchant's house.” she exclaimed before turning her eyes at him, an odd glee in them. ”How the fuck did we end up here?”
”… uh, don't ask me. You're the guide here.” Lino shrugged his shoulders as he ignored the subtle critique.
”You seem plenty strong,” Aeala said. ”Why not just fight your way through?”
”I seem strong only because those guys were weak,” Lino said, sighing. ”If any of the Elders were to show up, we'd be toast.”
”Hmm… is that so?” Aeala mumbled as she thought for a moment. ”Well, if we backtrack a bit, we can take a roundabout route through the underground tunnels that lead toward the exit.”
”Eh? There's such thing?”
”Yeah, but it's not as though it's hidden. There's probably someone watching it.”
”Leave that to me,” Lino said as he picked her up again and threw her over his shoulder. ”You just lead the way.”
”… alright.” Aeala mumbled as she gripped the back of his shirt tightly.
Lino encountered several patrols on their way back but evaded fighting as much as possible, preserving his strength. He's yet to fulfill the reason he even came here, and he didn't exactly want to trade his life for Vyeala's. The two reached a small, one-story wooden house in about ten minutes of sneaking around and entered. Much like with the floor in the tavern, there was a small door embedded here as well. Opening the hatch, Lino first signaled Aeala to go inside before following her. The tunnel was extremely dark, forcing Lino to perk his fingers up and summon the Tri-Spirit Flame to light up the way forward. The path itself was narrow and low, as they had to bend halfway while walking forward.
”They moved a lot quicker than you anticipated.” Aeala said.
”Yeah, I guess I underestimated them a bit,” Lino mumbled. ”But, then again, it's not as though I had a lot of time to observe them.”
”Even if we get to the exit, though, didn't you say that even a single Elder would be enough to kill you? How will you fight all of them, alongside the Patriarch?” Aeala asked worriedly.
”Of course I won't fight them,” he scoffed. ”What do you think I am? Insane?”
”Then what?”
”We'll run away, of course,” Lino said, puffing his chest out. ”If it's running away, none of them stand a chance against me.”
”… I thought cultivators were supposed to be the headstrong kind, ones who never bow their head.”