Without hesitation, Gerard had cut up several Templar Knights; each swing brought fear and devastation among the lines of Knights, causing them to run away.
His Bardiche gleamed against the sun. Blood ran through like runny water, coating the blade in contrast to its silver glow. Patches of greenery were tainted by the crimson hue of Gerard's dead enemies.
He showed no mercy, letting all his strength rampage throughout like a torrent. Cleaving his way was a hassle, despite them falling like leaves, their body armor was hard to cut.
Gerard had to exert a certain amount of strength to make it seamlessly a mindless massacre, but he was calculative of his strikes and stabs. Only aiming for weak spots while endlessly dodging attacks from all sides.
Draped in a dark cape and the shadow as his armor, he continued his onslaught without any signs of stopping soon. The Shadow of Yuuyhrar City was a nickname given to him after he overwhelmed his enemies by blocking the sun and removing their sense of sight.
Of course, it was an illusion—yet the sensation and the sight of it were to behold. Under the covered sun, Gerard took advantage of a breath of fresh air.
Without exerting much strength, he had killed almost a hundred Templar Knights. His breath was as stable as iron, muscles getting warmed up while he continued to swing through bodies after bodies of what was deemed to be the pinnacle of humanity.
'So if they call this pinnacle of humanity, then does that mean we're monsters?' Gerard thought about it. It was an insult to his training and hard work that made him what he is today.
Nonetheless, he continued his massacre. Templar Knights falling left and right, their Colonel too stunned to give orders. At this point, they will lose almost half of their brigade to only a single person.
"Formation A!!!" Swiftly, Templar Knights formed in their positions. Surrounding Gerard, their guards were up and their weapons pointed at him.
"..." Gerard stood still, he tried to cut the formation—it was blocked by the shield, a massive mark etched throughout.
"Quite sturdy, this is new." Gerard looked in intrigue at their shields. While their weapon remained the same, the shields were unknowingly upgraded.
"Just give it up and surrender. The rest of my men will storm the village and into the jungle; no one will be spared." Colonel lifted his hand and pointed to the village, and a flock of Templar Knights immediately ran towards it.
Suddenly, their heads flew to the sky. Gerard had escaped from the formation and painted the fields red again. Even though he had taken their sight away, they managed to run towards the village without stumbling into other places.
"They managed to escape from my grasp?" Gerard began to scan around the brigade, there was a priest mixed in. Only priests of the 1st position could dispel it. A sense of pure and rather 'holy' aura could be sensed among them.
Gerard is no match against a brigade with a 1st-class priest. From that moment of realization, he covered himself with his cape and escaped. The sky shone through the darkness, tainted by the blood of the Templar Knights; it was like a field of roses.
***
'A dream? What kind of dream do I want when I grow up? Maybe... To be like my dad, the fastest in the world!' Laughter filled the air. It was I, a few years younger.
Puberty had yet to reach me at that time, and we were in our old house, celebrating my 8th birthday. A myriad of confetti and balloons ran through the air, it was a joyous day for me.
Or at least, that is what it seems to be. It is not the scenario that I remembered, it was a bit emptier than that. If I recall, my dad was not present at that time—only my mom and I celebrated.
That was before I knew that she was mute. I didn't fully understand why she didn't want to talk, but her expressions were more than enough to tell that she was elated and grateful for such an amazing day.
I looked at her trance, still wondering why she couldn't talk. She had told me countless times about how she was born without vocal cords, but my dad said that she met her when she still had her voice.
Curious as to why, I asked my mom by sign language.
"My dad said when he met you, you could still speak. But you said that you couldn't speak when you were born?"
My mother replied in the same sign language.
"It will come to a point where you'll know it, right now it's still too early for you."
Hearing those words, I patiently waited for the day that my mom would reveal why she couldn't speak; it was like a hidden family secret!
After the whole celebration, I was inside my room drawing while my mom was in the living room, when suddenly...-
***
"!!" Lein woke up feeling refreshed, yet a cold shiver went down his spine as he looked around. A moment of brief relief ran through like the trailing cold wind, but he was not in the clear yet, as he speculated that someone was following behind him.
He was right; someone was following him. Yet, the identity of the person was vague. Nonetheless, he continued his journey. However, he felt something amiss. As if he had forgotten something."
"...The Stone!" Lein immediately packed his things and went back to the cliff. The trail of cold air also followed him, but they lost trace of Lein. Confused, they went back to where he was a while ago, only to be met with a chokehold.
"Ghhkk!!" In reflex, they tried to grab Lein's arms, but ultimately failed as Lein dropped down on the grass, their spine at the verge of being dislocated.
"Who are you? Why are you following me?" Lein tensed the muscles in his arms, increasing his grip and restricting more of their airflow.
"W-wait..! I'm here for you...! Your dad sent me to help you get to the Academy safely!!" They pleaded for mercy while Lein slowly loosened his lock on their head.
'Academy? What are they talking about?'