24 Hearts

124====================

+ + +

A rocky mountain where no grass grew, like a land carved into a barren stone by God himself… This was indeed the sacred place of the Red Bear tribe. On one side of the rocky mountain was a boy bound by chains on both ankles, right hand, waist, and neck. His body smelled like he hadn’t washed for a long time. He drooped with his head bowed as if he was dead.

Someone had come up the rocky mountain. The boy raised his head as he heard the sound. The boy was Kain, the owner of the worn-out face.

Kain Sabrak.

He was the grandson of Kaseun Sabrak, the Wielder of the Sword in Serenia Castle, and a talented boy who was chosen by the third Holy Monarch Gabriel and had an apostolic profession. Vibrant and driven by justice, the boy stared blankly at the man as he ascended the rocky mountain with his unfocused eyes and with one arm cut off.

“Oh?”

When he saw Quake, the chief of the Red Bear tribe, his face brightened. Not long ago, his left arm was cut off in a confrontation with an unknown boy while he annihilated a pack of orcs using the fragment. Quake asked with a joyful voice and anticipation.

“Did you find the spirit?”

But Kain had no answer. All he knew was his eyes set on the Yakal and its red aura, like a mist. Quake sighed with a confused look at his doll-like appearance.

“This is frustrating.”

He put the fragment he was holding in his hand down to the floor. The sharp blade cut through the hard rock and gently stuck through it. When he lifted his hand, he felt the overflowing force radiating from the fragment cease.

Quake gazed at the boy in front of him, recalling his memories a month ago.

In Regen, it was possible for those with the power to have multiple wives. He had that ability enough for him. However, he only loved one wife, so he refused to accept another. Behaving like a tyrant, he was the softest when he was with his wife.

He liked the golden locks of his wife, and she gave birth to several children, but when they were all mature, they were tried by the fragment, and all of them died.

He had been cursed by the fragment. The said fragment had been passed down from generation to generation, yet he also received his strength from it. The fragment stole the children that his beloved wife had given birth to. When his wife recently got sick, her body began to weaken. He always climbed the rocky mountain and prayed for the spirits.

He prayed for the spirits to get rid of the cursed fragment and heal his wife’s illness.

He prayed earnestly. And what appeared was a woman with white wings called Gabriel, and not a spirit.

She had a power utterly different from the unpleasant aura of the Yakal and emitted a divine light that he would not dare to look up to.

Gabriel, who appeared on the rocky mountain with divine light from heaven, opened his eyes to a new faith.

Gabriel once said she would grant him a wish. She first healed his wife’s illness. She was able to smile as brightly as before and welcomed Quake with a brighter face. Even though it was quite late, she even showed morning sickness as if she was pregnant. Filled with joy, he next asked her to get rid of the fragment.

However, she said that he could not get rid of it himself and instead offered to send a boy to collect the fragment. While walking through the forest by chance, he met a boy named Kain, with him was a pink-haired girl named Riel and an unnamed priest and warrior. As soon as he saw their tired faces, he knew Gabriel sent them. He invited them to the tribe and treated them with great care. Quake laughed happily with them, talking about Gabriel and handing over the fragment to them.

He handed over the debris he had long felt resentment for. The fragment was based on the power of wrath. Quake no longer wanted to bear the weight of the fragment. It always felt like it crushed his shoulders with a heavyweight. So, he asked him to take the fragment because he wanted to throw it off as soon as possible.

The Gods commissioned the child to collect all the fragments. The child with straight eyes was very pleased, perhaps because he had collected one.

And when he received the fragment, he looked fine, lifting the Yakal with ease.

Indeed, this was the child Gabriel had told him.

He felt so relieved. The child’s companions looked at it and approached with joy. At that moment, the child he believed would be something special plunged into chaos.

The moment he grabbed the handle of Yakal, he swung the sword wide and cut down all of his own companions nearby.

It was a mistake.

Even though he was a child protected by the Holy Monarch Gabriel, he was a child and not a Wielder of the Sword. It was a mistake that he passed on the burden much too early and gave it to him in a rush. He should have waited. He was fine, and it was a mistake that he wasn’t cautious enough.

He was not terribly out of his mind. He looked down at his companions, who fell and trembled at what he had just done. Whether such a sigh was enjoyable, Yakal made him giggle.

In addition to that…

Yakal swallowed up the boy’s body full of potential. He screamed as it overpowered the boy on the edge of insanity. For some reason, Gabriel did not appear then. Was this the child’s trial? Quake looked down at Kain for a long time and had no choice but to let Yakal do its own thing.

To get used to Yakal’s anger, it was best to deal with it a lot, even if it meant shedding blood in the process. He released it at the orc packs and several times in a nearby small town.

And while doing so, he accidentally ran into a dark-haired boy. The boy was awesome. It was not a lot for Kain to hold the Yakal while battling numerous orcs, so as the battle continued, his strength became more robust, but the boy even overpowered Kain.

His left arm was cut off, and Quake came out to rescue and returned him before the daggers with the same energy as Yakal could do the boy harm. It was the first time that Kain, who had not been able to get a good sense of his mind, spoke for the first time after holding the Yakal.

‘… Hmm.’

He wanted to try to fight the dark-haired kid once more. Quake burned medicinal herbs he had brought up while climbing the rocky mountain using a stone with the power of flame and gave it to Kain. It was a medicinal herb that forced him to sleep. The moment he smelled the incense, Kain groaned as if he resisted the rush of drowsiness but soon fell again.

‘Is he a guest of that tribe, since he was with the Black Tree tribe?’

Thinking differently, Quake put back Yakal in Kain’s hand. Before he climbed the rocky mountain, he destroyed three orc tribes. The Yakal, which decimated several orcs, had significantly amplified its power.

Because of this, Kain’s body began to regenerate due to the power of Yakal. The chopped flesh that had been burnt over the fire boiled up and grew in an unpleasant shape. Kain shriveled in pain.

The light from the Yakal disappeared, and Kain’s left arm was fully regenerated. The dirt of his body fell off.

‘I haven’t touched the Black Tree tribe so far. I have to see them at least once.’

Quake planned for the future schedule, retrieved the Yakal, released the chains that bounded Kain, and descended the rocky mountain.

+ + +

“Hah, this is a vain attempt.”

Arhil said as if she was sick of it. As she said, the orc tribe had already been attacked a long time ago, and the corpses were rotted and full of bites from a beast. They frowned upon smelling the terrible stench. No matter how many times they smelled it, they couldn’t get used to the scent.

Isabel looked around and exhaled, stepping on the thick bones of an orc with rotten flesh.

“Stop. Go back. We won’t find any traces in a place like this.”

At her command, Judah, Jeanne, and Arhil nodded and turned their backs without a word.

They didn’t know how many days had passed. It had been over a month since they’ve been wandering around with Isabel in the forest like they’ve been chasing the ghost of the Red Bear tribe’s chief Quake and Kain here in Regen.

At first, under Isabel’s guidance, they tried to tired of the forced marching, but now they were used to it.

“I just want them to show up in front of me. We can’t go around the forest like this forever.”

“That’s because we can’t!”

Jeanne’s words reached Arhil. It wasn’t enjoyable to walk through such a jungle anymore. The path wasn’t neat, nor were there any vehicles such as wagons or horses. Even traditional grocery stores could not be found here, and there was no place to buy delicious food. Because Judah had a subspace -Bag-, where they could always have fresh vegetables and supplies for life, but they were desperate. Arhil shouted in a voice full of resentment, shivering her body as if she was getting sick from it all.

“I just wish they would suddenly show up at the bottom of the hill…?”

Arhil’s words trailed off as her eyes spotted something unbelievable. They climbed down the high hills, and a knight was standing on the way down like a lie. He waited with a red great sword pierced on the ground, his hands resting at the end of its handle. The part of the armor that was crushed by Judah was covered in metal that he had tinkered with and did not match the rest of the armor at all.

“…”

Judah, Jeanne, and Isabel looked at Arhil in disbelief.

“…I didn’t summon him. That was just a coincidence!”

“Of course, but whatever it was, it finally appeared, so we don’t have to chase him anymore.”

Isabel grabbed the bow from her shoulder and took out her arrow as she spoke. Unusual energy came out of her body. With hostility, she hung the arrow at her protest and sent it to a space. With a bang, the arrow stretched out and penetrated the tree in an instant. It was a thick tree that had been rooted in its place for decades, perhaps over a hundred years, but it was in no time a hole on the ground.

“You don’t think you can hide just by hiding behind a tree, do you, Quake?”

“Oops. The chief of the Black Tree tribe is quite rough. As soon as we met, she shot with her bow.”

A man with a muscular and sturdy build similar to Kaseun walked out from behind the tree. In his hand was the arrow Isabel just shot. He looked up at the hill, bleeding and laughing, and broke the arrow he held in his hand using his bare hands.

“I thought he was a pretty valuable guest because he had black hair and eyes, but… I didn’t know the chief was guiding him directly.”

“The spirit? Who knew you were a fool? But… I don’t know. He might be the spirit who will collect the fragment from your tribe, right?”

“That’s interesting. You’re going to take the fragment from the apostle that I chose, no- the Holy Monarch chose? The child you believe to be a spirit will become the apostle’s sacrifice and fully inherit the fragment from me. He’s nothing but a sacrifice.”

“We’ll see about that.”

Isabel pulled out two of the numerous arrows in her quiver and fired her magical power. The arrows swooped into a whirlpool, and with powerful momentum, they rained down Quake and Kain.

“I’ll take care of Quake, so you can take care of the fragment on your own, right?”

“Yeah.”

Judah said, nodding his head, looking away from Kain. Arhil braced and blessed Isabel, who was about to leave. In a duel between the two Wielder of the Sword, the small buffs were surprisingly helpful. She wouldn’t know what buff she applied, but Isabel ran forward, saying thanks to her for feeling a little lighter.