ALL NOVEL
[LN] Volume 3: Chapter 6.1
Volume 3 Chapter 6.1
Once Again, The First Step Part 1
Translator : PolterGlast
[ Chichichi ...... (Shi-jou, I brought them here!) ]
"Thanks for your help, Raz."
Razward, who had guided Irisdina and the others*1, returned to Shina's shoulder. She thanked her childhood friend and quickly stepped aside together with Anri, as if urging Nozomu to go over to Irisdina and the others.
Nozomu nodded and thanked them for their thoughtfulness, and then turned to face Irisdina and the others.
Irisdina was the first to open her mouth.
*1 Tl note : Probably they are Irisdina, Mars, Tima, Feo, Mimuru, Tom, Norn, Somia, Mena.
"Perhaps, this place is- ......"
"This is where my master taught me how to wield a katana for two years."
Nozomu's gaze fell on Shino's grave beside the hut.
It is a simple grave made of only stones. But Nozomu's gaze on the grave was full of affection, and his face was the most peaceful face Irisdina and the others had ever seen.
(Nozomu, he can also make such a face......)
Irisdina was captivated by Nozomu's smile, which she had never seen before.
Her heart pounded even faster.
"Nozomu......"
"Mars, huh? ......."
Mars stepped forward from beside Irisdina.
His usual brash bearing had waned, and instead, he was shrouded in heavy atmosphere.
"You know, I was envious of you. Toward you who was able to obtain extraordinary power......"
Mars revealed his feelings.
Wanting to have power like Nozomu's, he began to experiment with the magic-Qi combination technique.
He thought he could master it, and as a result of his shallow actions, he put everyone in a predicament.
And most of all, he refused to admit his own wrongdoings and unreasonably lashed out at Nozomu.
Nozomu listened to him silently.
"......I don't expect you to forgive me. And you might not even want to see me. But still...... I wanted to see you one more time and apologize...... I'm sorry."
"......It's okay. Besides, I'm not qualified to be mad at you, Mars. Unlike you, I was just scared and couldn't even give it my all."
In front of Mars, who lowered his head, Nozomu also opened his mouth.
"I, didn't get this power on purpose. I simply didn't want to die, so I fought and got it as a result......"
While repeatedly folding and unfolding his fingers, he gradually put his thoughts into words.
His voice was choked with anxiety and nervousness. But even so, Irisdina and the others were quietly listening to him. This made Nozomu feel grateful.
"I've been running away for a long time. Even though I knew I was running away, I couldn't move forward."
"It's the same for me. I knew you were struggling with something, but I couldn't bring myself to step forward."
As if in sync with Nozomu's confession, Irisdina also expressed her feelings.
"I'm, not as perfect as you think I am. I'm envious...... and most of all, I'm scared. There were very few people with whom I could have a frank conversation like this."
If they were supposed to be friends, if they were supposed to be colleagues, then there should have been more that could have been done.
But before she knew it, Irisdina had distanced herself from Nozomu.
It all started with just a little jealousy. But the small rift gradually grew.
She found herself in an awkward position to even talk to Nozomu.
"I knew. I knew that you were worried about something incredibly big. I knew that, but before I knew it, all I could do was just talk about insignificant things......"
"It's okay, Iris. To begin with, it's my fault for not getting my act together."
While holding back Irisdina, who still seemed to want to say something, Nozomu kept on speaking.
"I'm ...... afraid that if people knew about this power, they'd reject me. Even if they don't, it could be worse. To be honest, I'm still scared ...... even now."
But when he really needed this power, he stepped back.
Nozomu raised his left hand and gripped the invisible chains.
"That's why I have to move forward ...... I have to show myself for what I really am."
Nozomu exerted strength in his left hand. The chains that bound his body made a creaking sound as if symbolizing the anxiety and fear that still lingered in his mind.
"Guu~! ...... Uu~!"
Red stains began to seep out from under his clothes. The wounds he sustained in the battle against the [Cracked-Crown] have re-opened.
Nevertheless, while gritting his teeth and enduring the pain, Nozomu kept exerting strength in his left hand, but right before he was about to break the chains, a shadow of fear once again loomed over his mind.
[What's the matter? Aren't you alright now?]
A voice suddenly reached his ears. Nozomu's gaze naturally turned to the katana at his waist.
The memento of his master. Looking back with a sidelong glance, he could see her gravestone gently peeking out from the corner of the hut.
"Shishō......"
It might be just a hallucination. It might be a delusion created by his reminiscence. But for Nozomu, that was sufficient.
When he looked straight ahead, he saw Irisdina, Mars and the others staring straight at him. From behind them, Shina and Anri were also watching over him.
Instead of despising and abandoning him, who could not use his power, they came to see him one more time.
That alone was enough to strengthen his final resolve.
"Guuuuu~!"
He concentrated all his remaining Qi into his left hand. The resisting chains bit into his left hand and blood began to flow, but this was of no concern to the current Nozomu.
Countless cracks appeared in the invisible chains with creaking sounds.
Finally, the invisible chains shattered, and at the same time, a torrent of violent power erupted.
"Ku~u, this is still ridiculously intimidating ......."
"What the heck ...... is this .......?"
An enormous amount of Qi was released. The power and density that overflowed in a storm-like manner took the breath away of everyone present.
"No way, this is ...... the power of spirits ......."
"I knew it ......."
In this situation, only Shina and Razward reacted differently from the others.
Five-coloured source elements mixed in the released Qi. Both of them firmly sensed its presence, which they had not been able to perceive when they fought the Abyss Grief, and at the same time, they were shivering.
"A spirit of such colours ....... No, there couldn't possibly be a spirit with such a number of attributes and such mighty power ......."
Hearing Shina's words, everyone looked at Nozomu with their eyes wide open.
"It's not something a human being could possess ...... no, not even us elves ...... It will absolutely ...... wreck us."
The expression of awe that could not be hidden once again showed everyone presents the foreignness and danger of the power that Nozomu possessed.
In the midst of all this, Irisdina took a step forward toward the swirling torrent of power.
"...... He said that he had gained that power by accident. A fighting style of brute force that doesn't suit his original style. And the power of spirits inside him that Shina-kun sensed. Just what on earth is this ......"
[Spirits with a single attribute are stronger in terms of pure power than those with multiple attributes. In the first place, it's rare for us to have more than one attribute.]
As if to answer Irisdina's question, Razward spoke further.
Razward, who has three attributes and has even reached the status of a lesser spirit, is quite an oddball among spirits.
But even from his point of view, the power that Nozomu is currently emanating could only be described as abnormal.
The crimson flame, that governs purification, regeneration, and destruction.
The blue water, which gives birth to life and exudes coolness, but sometimes brings impurity and corruption.
The brown soil, filled with the blessings of the earth, carving out the passage of time.
The capricious winds of the sky, which sometimes carry the seeds of life and travellers, and sometimes block their way.
And the jet-black darkness, that governs the night, delivering peace and anxiety, contradictory things to all.
At that moment, the image of a giant dragon with five-colored, six-outstretched wings flashed in Shina and Razward's minds.
A huge body like a tower soaring into the sky, and wings that would cover the sky growing out of its back.
Its huge claws and fangs are so sharpened that they seem capable of tearing apart even the earth.
And eyes dyed with grudge and hatred, as if wanting to destroy everything in the world.
The spirits that exist in this world sometimes show a violent side, but even compared to them, this figure is far more disastrous.
"~! Don't tell me, it's-!"
[ Tiamat ....... Are you a dragonslayer.......? ]
Nozomu quietly nodded at the words of the two who had realized his true identity.
[ I see ....... So that's why. ]
"Dragonslayer, you say? ......."
Irisdina and the others were all at a loss for words upon hearing the name of an existence that should only exist in legends. Meanwhile, Nozomu calmly began to talk about the time when he became a dragonslayer.
On his way to the hut for his daily training, he wandered into an unknown place where he encountered a five-colored, six-winged dragon.
When he was helplessly being trampled upon, his Master came to his rescue. They joined forces and then he was able to release his ability suppression with his life on the line, and through a series of miraculous coincidences he was able to win the battle.
Just before he lost consciousness, he saw Tiamat collapse and became a torrent of light, which then rained down on him as he collapsed and was unable to move.
"This dragon's powers are too immense to fit inside my body. I managed to survive thanks to my ability suppression, but that dragon itself is till alive inside of me ......"
Even as he spoke, Nozomu was constantly resisting Tiamat's attempts to devour him.
He clenched his teeth in an attempt to suppress the raging force, but as if to mock Nozomu's efforts, it kept on raging in his body with glee.
"Haa, haa...... every time I released my ability suppression, she raged inside my body. On top of that, lately, she's started messing with my psyche in response to my emotions. There have been times when she has shown me dreams of me lashing out disorderly out of anger and killing everyone. Even when I confronted Lisa and Ken ......"
"Nozomu ......"
"Eventually, this thing might come out, devouring my body and my mind......"
Rough breathing was leaking from his mouth, greasy sweat was forming on his forehead and his face couldn't have been more tense.
"I didn't know how I would be treated if people found out about this. I didn't know whether I would be used as an experimental subject, a political tool, or a convenient pawn ...... More than that, I was afraid of what you guys would think of me if everyone knew about it ......"
He kept exposing everything he had and everything he was harboring.
"If I were to be swallowed by this dragon, surely I would kill everyone. Even if I don't, I'm sure everyone will leave me. Before I knew it, this thought had been stuck in my head for some time. I was so anxious ...... and there was nothing I could do about it ......"
If Shino were still alive, Nozomu would not have been driven to this point. However, she is no longer here. Until now, Nozomu has had to bear the secrets and anxieties of this giant dragon all by himself.
"I'm- ......'
"Finally, you tell us about it ......"
"Yeah. Thanks, Nozomu. For telling us ......"
Irisdina and Mars' words gently envelop Nozomu's shaken words.
"Nozomu. You've told us about yourself. Therefore, having heard your story, let me tell you what my intentions are."
Irisdina approached Nozomu with steady steps, step by step, through the torrent of Qi that was raging through the air.
Then, slowly, she extended her hand.
"...... I wanted to know more about you. And I wanted you to know more about me."
"~!"
But then, Nozomu's unsheathed katana was thrust in front of her eyes.
"If you know more, you may not be able to go back. If you get too deep into it, it could be life-threatening. You might even get your precious Somia-chan involved ......"
His words were cold and harsh. But his eyes were shaking so much that one could tell from the side, and the blade he was thrusting was trembling slightly.
The desire to convey and the joy at being accepted. Even so, the uneasiness that has not disappeared and the desire to confirm the hearts of his friends continue to shake his heart violently, as if it were a scale.
"...... Yeah, surely. Great power attracts many things. Some people will try to use you for their own convenience. Some may see you as a threat and try to eliminate you. Some of them may go after those around you."
Those who pursue their own interests with a blind eye, those who fear heresy. And when they decide that they can't touch the matter itself, it will be the people around it who will be targeted.
"...... But you know, that's just how my life has been this whole time."
The Francylt family has great power. As the next head of the family, many people flocked to her, as well as to her sister.
Naturally, it is not easy to compare Nozomu, who has immense power as an individual but no organizational backing at all, with Irisdina, the next head of a prestigious noble family with a long tradition.
But they were essentially the same in terms of attracting people's attention, in whatever form it takes.
"So for me, it's nothing new. I'd rather not have you gone than those trivial things."
The voice of the one who sought him, which was directed straight at him, seeped into his heart, and Nozomu's eyes shook greatly.
As Irisdina advanced her feet further, Nozomu's body moved backward to match hers.
Mars also stepped forward and lined up next to Irisdina.
"Now that I think about it, we never really opened up about ourselves. In fact, maybe we hadn't even started yet......"
Irisdina and Mars kept moving forward. The two were already within Nozomu's attack range. The unsheathed blade could easily reach them within this range.
"Therefore, let's do it once again. Right here, right now......"
The moment the two of them reach for Nozomu's thrusting katana and their fingertips touch the blade.......
".......Thank, you."
Along with a sobbing word of gratitude, the tip of the blade lowered slowly.
One drop after another, hot tears of heartfelt gratitude trickled down Nozomu's cheeks, twinkling gently in the moonlight and seeping silently to the ground.
"Thank you, for telling us. And for answering our feelings......."
"Sorry, Nozomu. And, thanks. For being friends with someone like me......"
He couldn't hold back, his heart was simply overflowing with emotion ...... With his eyes flushing red and surrendering himself to the warmth that enveloped him, Nozomu quietly kept weeping.
Eventually, after a little while, he raised his face up. Although his face looked terrible from the tears he had wept, his face was still radiant, as if something had been lifted from his mind.
"Me, too, once again with everyone......"
Nozomu opened his mouth to once again express his feelings in words.
However, in the next split second, Nozomu's eyes seemed to open wide, and he suddenly hurled a torrent of Qi at the two in front of him.
A violent shockwave struck, and Irisdina and Mars were blown backward.
Just what exactly happened? What was reflected in their eyes, which had no idea what was going on, was a huge black mass roaring past in front of them and the figure of Nozomu, who was blown away by the huge mass.
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