Chapter 700: The Deathhouse [Part 1]
"Hmm, a strange question indeed when you consider that I am one of your summons too," Bairan beamed. "Are you perhaps growing fond of me? Is this what favoritism is?"
Northern dismissed the sword king with a terrible sigh.
"Don't be a fool, Bairan, focus."
Immediately, the sword king's demeanor straightened up.
"Ah. Yes, Master."
He kept silent for a bit, then opened his mouth with his usual coldness.
"Well, it's difficult to tell really. At some point, I thought I was the one, then at some point, I thought it was that foreboding dude of darkness, then of all strange things, there's the Black one's terrifying growth amidst battle. The beast is as dangerous as every one of us, especially when he transforms to a bipedal monstrosity."
He paused, looking down as he continued.
"But one thing I have been able to observe is that each and every single one of us has our forte; it's a bit difficult to tell. But there is just one of us that gives me enough eerie feeling to be careful around him."
Northern turned his head, slightly interested.
"And who could that be?"
"Nightie. Most of the time, he seems to be matching our pace."
'Why am I not surprised.'
Northern smiled.
Night Terror had, from the beginning of his time, been a harbinger of terror, more accustomed to the cruelty of war than any of them, and even a very ferocious and capable leader.
It wouldn't be far-fetched to say that Northern himself had learned the art of leadership from him.
Night Terror was his first and favorite summon. His buddy through the dark and lonely times, his first sinister friend and nemesis.
'... Those were days...'
Days of peak and ineffable sufferings.
Northern sighed, shoving all thoughts to the back of his mind as he focused once again on the death house before his eyes.
A dark grimace climbed his face as his eyes scurried around, then the next second, everything faded to a cold, indifferent glare.
"Well, will you guys be joining me?"
Bairan chuckled jokingly, waving his hand in dismissal.
"That would be too much for the monsters to handle."
Northern tilted his head irritably.
"Are you joking with me right now?"
"Then my death is at hand."
"I will kill you, Bairan, don't play with me."
"I would never, master. I sincerely think your might is more than enough to wrench this place to pieces."
Speaking like that, Northern had not much more to say to the guy. He knew Bairan to be the most sensible and human of all his summons.
And maybe in a way, the sword king was right. But he wanted to laze around, even if it was just this once. The festival was coming; he'd need all the strength he could get.
But it is what it is.
Northern stepped forward, rolling his shoulders as he did. He stopped and opened his hand, a little whirlwind of black sparks shimmering into his grasp.
As they coalesced to form a sleek, naked sword, he clenched his fist on the wrapped hilt and swung downwards, causing the wind to violently flee for their dear lives.
A black, almost liquid darkness spread out of Northern's back like a gale of wind parting the surrounding air. The darkness solidified into a violet hue, glistening ominously with a dark- violet luster under the dimmed radiance of the cave.
Northern's Void wings spread twenty meters long on each side and flapped softly, dispersing the wind around.
With a strong blow of the wings, he was taken up into the air, rising effortlessly towards the peak of the stakes, where the buzzing monstrosities roamed.
The sword king raised his head, watching as his master gracefully ascended. He breathed and sighed, smiling.
"...Majestic."
As Northern rose to their altitude, the mournful abominations turned, all their focus converging towards a single point.
Their structure was a bit strange and foreboding. First, for flight-type monstrosities that buzzed like bugs, they looked nothing like it.
Their form was like a mass of human body with six hands and two legs. Attached to the joint of each hand was the root of their transparent wings, that stretched out and merged together to form a large, almost round wing that flapped crazily fast, turning into a blur. Their head had no space for eyes and nose, while their mouth seemed like it had been forcibly torn open by their incessant gnashing of teeth towards the flesh that hung on the stakes. Northern almost vomited upon seeing them. But one had immediately lunged towards him, purplish tongue with spikes snaking out and flying ahead of its head.
Northern easily sidestepped the tongue, cutting it with a swing. He flapped his wings, propelling himself forward and plunging the Illusion blade right into the opened mouth of the foreboding creature.
An irritating squelch squeezed out with a splurge of blood as Northern pushed the sword deeper and forced it out towards the side, wickedly tearing half of the creature's head.
Its flight became unstable, but the transparent wing held-even though blood endlessly rained on the ground.
Northern glanced at the wings and quickly curved one wing over his head, shooting several steeled feathers into the transparent wings.
The mournful bug swayed in the air as each steel feather plunged its way into its featherless wing. Then it finally plummeted down, the only beauty on its back crudely detached.
The consistent buzzing of the air suddenly seemed to slow down. The other abominations that had been lurking on the peak of the stakes and watching Northern and the defeated mournful bug seemed to be taking a breather.
Then all of a sudden, simultaneously, perfectly in sync, they were all lifted off the stakes by the blurring wings on their backs.
For some reason, the wings seemed to flutter even faster than Northern remembered. It was almost as if they were non-existential.
Northern narrowed his eyes, observing the syncing movement of the bugs. He shook his head
slightly.
'Why do I feel like I am missing something...'
His gaze filtered through all of them, examining their forms, most especially the wings.
Then it registered.
'...the wings...'
Unfortunately, as Northern realized, the mass of abominations flew towards his direction like
a flood of bugs.
'...oh crap.'