Chapter 167. Mission (2)
“……Heok!”
In an instant, air was sharply sucked into his lungs.
Beyond his ragged breaths, cold sweat formed at the tips of his hair in front of his eyes and fell.
His eyes opened in the dim interior of the training ground. Enoch touched one of his eyes with his hand.
It was right after the succession was forcibly interrupted.
Before he knew it, the memories he had seen in the World of Impermanence were echoing in his ears like a phantom.
--[Find your true mission in life]
--[Find your true mission in life]
--[Find your's true mission in life]
In an instant, a chill ran down his spine.
Something was strange.
He had heard this ringing in his ears before, even during the time of the last Sword Saint of the Empire, but it had never been this severe.
‘Has the condition worsened since last time?’
For now, gathering his senses was the priority.
Looking up at the empty air, Enoch calmly came up with questions to compose himself.
He had said that the forced interruption of the succession last time was to prevent a kind of ‘side effect.’
─Then what on earth is the true nature of that ‘side effect’?
This echo of the past that he felt after the memory succession, what kind of premonitory symptom of a side effect was it?
Enoch concluded as he stared calmly at the darkness.
He didn't know. Not yet, nothing.
“Kuh.”
Gradually, it felt as if the memories of the past that the Sword Saint had experienced, which were not his own, were becoming clearer and blackening his head.
His body tensed up at the strange sensation.
It was as if the ‘memory of once being the Sword Saint’ itself was trying to paint over Enoch’s senses.
Enoch gripped the scabbard so hard it could have shattered.
However, even in the midst of such confusion, he did not stop trying to understand himself.
He lifted his head and stared at the darkness in front of him.
Even this strange phenomenon was a necessary symptom to diagnose Enoch’s own current state.
He had no intention of missing even the slightest clue.
‘Come to think of it, Persona did say it.’
She had said that he would not be able to remain ignorant of his true self forever.
Was this what she meant?
No, in the first place, that original Enoch…….
Just as Enoch’s vision, which was becoming more and more filled with ringing in his ears along with his questions, was about to blur and close,
“Hmph~, what's with you?”
Suddenly, a coy voice rang out clearly, and instantly drove away the black ringing that had covered his ears.
Suddenly, the door of the training room next to Enoch was thrown open, and the light from the white hallway poured in.
“Hey, what are you doing in such a dark place?”
Enoch’s eyes widened slightly as he glanced to the side.
A girl with wolf ears had her arms crossed and was looking down at him with coy eyes, her chin slightly raised.
With her back to the bright light that poured in like salvation, her ruby-like eyes shone with their own light.
“……Sirocco.”
She walked in and swept her hair back.
“That's right. It's me.”
“Why are you here?”
“Hmm. I was just bored, so I came to play. I want to spar with you again sometime, whenever that may be.”
She glanced at me and twitched the wolf ears on her head. Then, she playfully covered her mouth with her fingers and laughed.
“Hmph, what's with you? Why the look?”
“My expression?”
“That's right. Are you really happy to see me?”
Her expression, what did she mean? Enoch glanced at the mirror in the training ground.
His reflection was visible in the broken mirror.
The dark blue eyes that met his own were slightly widened. It was only then that he realized he had been quite flustered by the situation until just now.
“……”
Come to think of it, the ringing in his ears had disappeared as if washed away. Enoch glanced at Sirocco and replied.
“Yeah, you're right. I think I'm really happy to see you.”
Could it be that reacting to external stimuli makes the previous symptoms disappear, rather than trying to compose oneself?
Whether it was a minimal temporary solution he had stumbled upon by chance or something else, it was a relief that he had returned to normal for now.
Enoch glanced at Sirocco and said.
“Thanks for coming, Sirocco.”
“Of course. I came to see you myself, didn't I?”
It was probably a compliment she didn't understand, but Sirocco seemed to be happy, narrowing her eyes slightly and wagging her tail.
“I'll come more often in the future! It's boring to lie in bed by myself without you all the time.”
“……Yeah, that's just like you.”
“What's with that reaction? Be happier.”
Enoch left Sirocco, who was pouting a little, and sheathed his sword in the scabbard that was leaning against the wall.
His senses, which had been sharpened by the sword's succession, were coldly certain of one thing.
‘The situation in the Inner World is getting more and more serious.’
The more he used and became accustomed to this Inner World, the more new questions kept popping up.
First, the order of the memory succession of the Sword Saint of the Waves this time was different from the last.
Until now, he had started the past succession after figuring out exactly what kind of sword form he would learn.
But this time, the order was jumbled up.
Before he could even figure out the sword form to be inherited in a life-or-death battle with the Sword Saint, it suddenly switched to memory succession.
“……”
It might be a very subtle difference, but as it was directly related to his growth, it was a point of concern.
Well, in the end, it was a world built within himself.
Perhaps it was unreasonable to think that everything was systematized according to a set formula or standard.
In the end, it was meaningless to worry about it alone. It would be good to ask the Emperor’s Supreme Sword next time.
“Hey, what are you thinking so hard about?”
Just then, Sirocco poked her head in from the side.
“Your face looks a little more serious than usual.”
Seeing her looking up at him nonchalantly from his side, Enoch replied with calm, dark blue eyes.
“It's nothing.”
“What? It smells like you're lying. I really don't know what you're usually thinking.”
Sirocco muttered, narrowing her eyes a little, but Enoch walked over and opened the door of the training ground.
Sirocco, who was watching him silently, followed behind him with a pout and asked.
“What, you're not practicing more today?”
“Unfortunately. I have to start preparing now.”
“Preparing?”
“Yeah. Not just me, but you too.”
The biggest event among all that had happened so far was just about to begin.
Enoch slowly checked his terminal. He checked the remaining time with the date displayed on the screen.
Just then, the dial of the white digital clock was turning to exactly [PM 7:00].
With this, there were just over two days left until the estimated invasion date of the magical beasts in the 19th outsourcing district of the Victoria Kazimieśi Domain.
Only a few dozen hours of grace remained.
Now was the time to move.
Putting his terminal back into his black uniform blazer, Enoch calmly reflected on this succession.
‘The conclusion I've reached this time is one thing.’
Whether it was about the Inner World, or the possibility of the ‘side effects of black magic’ that Lien had mentioned last time.
He would have to find out about Enoch Elsyde much faster than he had planned. So that the situation wouldn't get any worse.
Enoch left the training ground and came out into the corridor of the fortress.
A modern and spacious corridor with a long LED white light on the ceiling wall and a chandelier with luminous magic stones embedded in it.
Enoch’s shadow, walking on the white tiles of the floor, was faintly cast in several directions by the white light.
Just as he was about to reach the area in front of his room,
“Ah?”
Sirocco, who was walking next to him, stopped abruptly and then looked back at Enoch and pointed to the front.
“Isn't that the Deputy Commander?”
At those words, Enoch suddenly looked ahead in the corridor.
There, he saw Teano in her uniform, who had been leaning against a pillar and whose eyes had widened when she saw him.
“Sir Teano.”
Teano approached with her long, violet hair fluttering.
She stood in front of Enoch and narrowed her composed eyes, which were shaded by the brim of her uniform cap.
“I was just about to visit you, Lord Enoch.”
“Me?”
“That is correct. I was informed by your dedicated maid that you were temporarily absent, so I was waiting here.”
“I see. What can I do for you?”
“A reply has been sent to Nemesis regarding the matter you personally requested from me last time.”
She calmly stared at Enoch and added.
“The commander of the elite Dragoons of the Victoria Kazimieśi army has agreed to meet you in person to hear your business, Lord Enoch.”
Enoch nodded. Things seemed to be going more smoothly than he had thought.
“If they agreed to meet in person, where?”
“That is……”
Teano hesitated for a moment, then looked straight up at me and added.
“The outer sector of the 19th outsourcing district in the Victoria Kazimieśi Domain. It is the operational area where you will be active this time, Lord Enoch.”
***
“……Hyaa! Hey, this is so delicious!”
Sirocco, who was looking at the two-tiered ice cream of various colors in her hand with sparkling eyes, exclaimed in pure admiration to Enoch.
“Hey, do you want to try this?”
“No, I'm good.”
Enoch looked at the sun shining brightly in the sky, then lowered his gaze and looked around.
At the train station, which boasted a retro style, street stalls were lined up, and the area around them was very crowded with people.
Many things had changed in the 19th outsourcing district of the Victoria Kazimieśi Domain compared to the last time he had come.
To be precise, the floating population had increased a lot. In particular, there were even more people who looked like outsiders.
A noticeable feature of the crowd around was that they were all individuals who possessed magic gear specialized for combat, such as assault rifles slung over their backs or sleek staffs made like modern spears for close combat.
It seemed there was no need to question what they were all here for.
It seemed that April’s work, who was supposed to join them here separately, was certain.
Just then, Enoch, realizing that Sirocco, who had been holding her ice cream tightly, was looking at him with a pout, turned his gaze to her.
“Is there something you want to say?”
Sirocco tossed her slightly wavy red hair and turned her head slightly.
“Hmph, you never eat anything I offer you.”
“You should wipe your mouth before you talk.”
Enoch said as he gently wiped the ice cream off Sirocco’s white cheek.
Then, Sirocco, who glanced at it, quickly snatched Enoch’s wrist with her small hand.
As he was watching her, puzzled by her sudden action, Sirocco licked the ice cream off Enoch’s finger with her tongue.
Her luscious tail swayed once behind her back.
Enoch, who was watching her nonchalantly, tilted his head slightly to the side and asked.
“What are you doing?”
Sirocco licked her lips and then licked the ice cream in her hand once more, then turned her coy gaze to me and smiled mischievously.
“Hmph, you said you didn't want to eat it earlier, didn't you? Then I'm definitely not giving you any of my ice cream.”
“I don't lick things off my fingers.”
“Oh, I didn't know that.”
Just as Sirocco was about to reply nonchalantly, the sound of footsteps of someone approaching from the front through the crowd was heard.
And the next moment, an unfamiliar voice rang out.
“Are you Lord Enoch Elsyde?”