The Sword That Cut Silence
Victor after sending Videl to academy he turn go toward direction where she said she last show knight.
Videl had left only a few minutes ago, yet the faint warmth from her embrace still lingered in Victor’s chest.
Azriel glanced briefly toward the distant road leading back to the academy and shook his head.
A faint smile appeared on his face.
"That girl..." he muttered quietly. "She worries too much."
Darkness stretched endlessly above like an ocean of black silk, covering mountains and forests alike. The distant sounds of insects echoed softly beneath the night sky while a cold wind drifted between the trees.
The moon hung quietly overhead, hidden behind drifting clouds as cold wind swept through the forest paths. Dry leaves rolled over the ground with soft scratching sounds while branches occasionally swayed overhead.
Victor walked calmly through the darkness.
His black shirt moved gently beneath his golden jacket while his black hair shifted slightly with the night wind. His golden eyes looked ahead without much emotion.
Outwardly he looked relaxed.
Inside, however, Azriel was observing everything.
His senses spread silently.
The forest itself seed to open before him.
The movent of insects.
The sound of distant footsteps.
The sll of iron from weapons.
The flow of mana.
Everything entered his perception.
A few monts later his steps slowed.
"Hm?"
His gaze moved toward the distance.
Several figures had entered his senses.
Victor’s expression beco amusent.
His lips slowly curved upward.
"Found you."
Instead of imdiately approaching, he silently moved toward a large tree and reduced his presence.
Voices drifted through the darkness.
"...That bastard escaped."
"Lord Henrick won’t be happy."
"Tch. We searched all night because of one brat."
Victor leaned against the tree quietly.
Golden eyes narrowed slightly.
Knights.
rcenaries.
Mixed together.
Exactly as Videl had described.
The moonlight occasionally reflected off steel armor and weapons.
The knights stood with disciplined posture while nearby rcenaries sat lazily against rocks and tree trunks.
One of them spat on the ground.
"What if that girl returned with help?"
Another laughed.
"Help? Who would co out here in the middle of nowhere for that?"
Victor slowly closed his eyes.
For a second—
Azriel’s smile appeared.
Cold.
Dangerous.
"My girl almost got hurt because of these insects?"
His fingers tapped lightly against his arm.
After he confird that they were the people Videl was talking about, Azriel made his presence known to the knights and rcenaries by spreading out his mana.
The surrounding air suddenly beca heavier.
The temperature itself felt like it had dropped.
Leaves that had been drifting peacefully suddenly stopped moving.
Silence spread.
An unnatural silence.
Then—
Victor casually stepped out from behind the trees.
Crunch.
Crunch.
The footsteps imdiately made everyone freeze.
Several rcenaries stood up instantly.
Knights drew swords.
Victor walked forward slowly beneath the moonlight.
His sharp features beca visible.
Black hair.
Golden eyes.
Calm expression.
Like soone taking an evening stroll.
One rcenary swallowed nervously.
"W-Who is that...?"
Another tightened his grip around his weapon.
"I don’t know..."
A knight narrowed his eyes.
"Be careful."
Victor looked at them calmly.
No anger.
No killing intent.
That sohow made it even worse.
Because everyone there could feel it.
The pressure pressing on their bodies wasn’t mana.
It felt like standing before so ancient monster wearing human skin.
Then—
BOOOOM!
Invisible pressure exploded outward.
Invisible pressure spread outward.
Leaves exploded away.
Dust rose.
The air itself trembled.
The knights who were searching for Videl stopped in their tracks and looked at the newcor who was spreading his mana so aggressively.
The mont they felt that mana, the knights knew that the person in front of them was extrely dangerous, so all of them imdiately went into defensive formation.
Several rcenaries instinctively stepped backward.
Sweat appeared on foreheads.
One knight shouted,
"Who are you?!"
Victor smiled.
A calm smile.
Yet sohow it felt terrifying.
"Hey, I heard you guys have been ssing around with my girl."
The mont those words left his mouth, expressions imdiately changed.
"Victor!"
One knight’s face turned pale.
Upon learning Victor’s identity one of the knights imdiately started running as he was about to send a ssage to their lord Henrick.
The remaining knights stood firmly in their defensive formation, while the rcenaries were thinking of watching at the sidelines before deciding what to do next.
The information given about Victor was limited.
They couldn’t gauge his strength.
Engaging without information was stupidity.
rcenaries survived by avoiding stupidity.
Victor sighed softly.
"Oh, I see there’s no need to talk..." He tilted his head slightly before smiling. "Well I don’t really like talking either."
Golden eyes slowly sharpened.
"I’m more of a man of action."
The mont Azriel said the last word—
He disappeared.
The rcenaries watching from the side widened their eyes.
"W-What?!"
"H-He vanished!"
Victor suddenly reappeared directly in front of the knights.
No.
Not suddenly.
They simply couldn’t follow him.
The distance between them had beco aningless.
The knights nearly panicked.
"SHIELD WALL!"
Clang!
Clang!
Clang!
Heavy shields imdiately slamd together.
Steel ford a defensive wall.
Victor looked at them.
Then sighed.
’These are the weaklings challenging my current incarnation?’
Disappointnt flashed through Azriel’s thoughts.
’Rather pathetic.’
Then he stretched out his hand.
Golden energy quietly gathered.
Unlike mana—
This energy carried sothing sharper.
Sothing heavier.
Light gathered and condensed.
A blade slowly ford.
A Long Sword.
Golden lines spread across the weapon while energy flowed along its surface.
The rcenaries stared.
"What kind of magic is that?"
"No mana formation..."
"What the hell—"
Victor casually raised the sword.
No stance.
No power gathering.
No dramatic movent.
Just one swing.
Swish.
That was all.
The rcenaries frowned.
Nothing happened.
One scratched his head.
"...Eh?"
"What did he just do?"
"Was that supposed to scare them?"
The knights looked confused too.
Silence.
One second.
Two seconds.
Three—
CRACK.
A sound echoed.
Then another.
CRACK... CRACK...
Everyone froze.
Lines suddenly appeared across every shield.
Then— SHATTER.
All shields split perfectly in half.
Cleanly.
Smoothly.
As if reality itself had been cut apart.
Pieces of steel slowly fell toward the ground.
Clang.
Clang.
Clang.
No one spoke.
No one breathed.
Everyone who saw this scene had their eyes left wide open. They couldn’t believe what they had just witnessed.
A man who casually swung his sword with no signs of mana fluctuations was able to slice over a dozen shields with a single slash.
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