Chapter 10: Desolate Beast Domain

"That flash of cold light… it might be some Divine Weapon or razor-sharp treasure. And Seth Balam's face says it all. He definitely spotted something good." Seth Balam sprinted after the streak of light like his life depended on it. Lucian Lawes had just left Palepop Town, so he tailed him at once. With Minor Completion of Stellar Battle Body, he grew even stronger beneath the star-filled sky. He did not even need to burn True Energy to keep pace with Seth's frantic run. The cold light in the heavens dimmed as it flew, wobbling faintly. Lucian could just make out the shape of a sword. A blade that could fly on its own was something he had never even heard of, which only convinced him further that it had to be a treasure. Even while it wavered, it held on for half an hour. By then, they were far from Palepop Town. At that distance, Lucian no longer had to worry about Hayden Yare catching up. "This kid's got nerve," Lucian muttered. "Running this far from Palepop Town." As he followed, Lucian tied a strip of black cloth over his face. No one would easily connect a masked figure to Lucian Lawes, which was exactly what he wanted. "He's pushing himself to the limit and this is all the speed he's got, and he's still panting like a bellows. Seth Balam is, at most, Third Level Dragon Pulse Realm. Same as me. But I've got Falling Star Fist and Stellar Battle Body." They burst into a patch of woods. Only then did the sword-light lurch and stagger, plunging sharply downward before stabbing into the ground. Seth Balam charged into the trees a heartbeat later. The moment he saw the glow right in front of him, he finally exhaled. He dropped into a crouch, wheezing like a beaten dog, but his eyes burned as he stared at the blade ahead. "A flying sword that moves on its own has to be a top-tier treasure. If I get it, even if I hand it over to the Balam family, I'll be rewarded beyond measure!" The future he imagined was so sweet he laughed out loud. Then his laughter froze. A masked man stood in front of him. Seth's face drained of color. He jerked back and shouted, trying to bluff his way through the panic. "Y-you… who are you? What do you want?" A typical Third Level Dragon Pulse Realm cultivator was nowhere near Lucian's speed. To Seth, the masked man flickered, vanishing from sight. In the next breath, a brutal blow smashed Seth to the ground. The force was so savage it knocked several teeth loose. The masked man stood over him, cold and still. Seth broke. "Senior! I… I only happened to see the sword by accident! If you want it, take it, please… just don't kill me! Don't kill me! I'll do anything, I'll be your servant, your slave-anything!" Lucian smiled. "You really mean that? Still, once I take the sword, I'll have to worry about word getting out. So it'd be safer to kill you and silence you." Seth let out a strangled wail. "Don't! S-senior, I didn't see your face. I don't know you at all. How could I leak anything?" "That's true." Lucian chuckled. He grabbed Seth by the throat and hauled him up, clicking his tongue as he looked him over. "Soft skin, delicate features. Looks like your old man's probably handsome too. But the one thing I can't stand in this world is a man who's better-looking than me, so…" Seth went frantic. He clawed at Lucian's wrist and thrashed. "Senior, don't ruin my face! Whatever you want, my father can give it to you! My grandfather is the head of the Balam family in Palepop Town. Y-you know him, right? Please, spare me!" "Who said I'd ruin your face?" Lucian's voice turned colder with every word. Without warning, he produced a dagger. Whoosh. He drove it into Seth's crotch and twisted. "Aaaagh!" Seth's scream ripped through the woods. He stared at Lucian with near-hopeless eyes, then blacked out from the pain. Lucian tossed him to the ground. "I didn't ruin your face," he said quietly. "I just made sure you're not a man anymore. Seth Balam… if I hadn't been quick-witted back then, I'd be the one lying here. One debt for one debt. Cause and effect." He turned toward the sword. It was black from hilt to tip. Unlike ordinary swords, its blade was extremely narrow, barely two fingers wide, and only about seventy centimeters long. The body was iron, but it was mottled with rust, so corroded it looked like it might snap at any moment. Lucian gave a bitter laugh. "Chased it all this way, and it's a broken sword." He walked over, studied the hilt, and reached out to grasp it. A girl's startled cry seemed to ring out of nowhere. At the same time, an irresistible force surged from the Iron Sword and yanked him upward. Lucian looked up and his face went ashen. The Iron Sword had taken off again, dragging him into the sky. This time it flew ten times faster than before and climbed far higher. The forest below shrank into a tiny smear. Lucian's jaw dropped as he screamed, "If I fall from this height, I'll be smashed to pieces!" He clamped both hands around the hilt and practically wrapped his whole body around the blade, clinging for dear life. The Iron Sword thrashed wildly, as if trying to shake him off. "This Iron Sword has intelligence. It really is a heavy treasure… but if it throws me, I'm dead. No chance to enjoy it at all." Man and sword tore across the sky in a blur. Lucian hugged the blade with every ounce of strength he had. The Iron Sword tried one trick after another, but it still could not fling him free. Lucian fought like a drowning man, squeezing out strength he did not even know he had. Then, from within the sword, an angry girl's voice rang out again. "You shameless rogue! How dare you cling to me like this! Let go, right now! If you don't, I won't let you off!" Lucian nearly lost his grip in shock. The voice was coming from the sword itself. Being scolded as a "shameless rogue" by a sword made him want to spit blood. This sword… was female? "Did you hear me?" the voice snapped again. "Let go! I'm serious, I won't spare you!" The Iron Sword bucked even harder. Lucian hurriedly said, "M-miss, I want to let go too, but you're flying so high. If I let go, I'll die!" The sword stopped thrashing. "Huh? Is that so?" The girl sounded genuinely confused. "Ah… sorry. I forgot. I'll go down right away, but you have to promise you'll let go once we're on the ground. Um… men and women shouldn't touch like this." Lucian cursed inwardly. *I know men and women shouldn't touch, but you're a sword. What advantage am I taking?* Out loud, he forced a polite tone. "Of course. Miss, you're of noble bearing. I offended you without thinking. My apologies." "No, it's fine," the girl said, sounding a little sheepish. "I missed something too, so it's my fault as well. Alright, we'll go down." Lucian felt like he might actually die of frustration. She had flown for so long before realizing that letting go meant he would plummet to his death. How absentminded did someone have to be to reach that level? They landed safely. Lucian scanned the area and found a barren mountain range. Naked rock jutted everywhere, dead trees clawed at the sky, and the whole place felt desolate. From the distance came one beastly roar after another, each one raising gooseflesh. Crack. Lucian stepped on something and shattered it. A skull. Only then did he notice the ground around him. Beast bones. Human bones. Far too many of both. A chill crawled up his spine. "M-miss," he said hoarsely, "this place… it isn't… the Desolate Beast Domain, is it…?" The Desolate Beast Domain lay in the deepest reaches of Great Desolate Mountain, a place where survival was one chance in ten thousand. Lucian had heard countless tales of those who ventured in and never returned. The dead here were beyond counting. He did not know whether the next corpse would be his. He glanced at the Iron Sword beside him. The girl's voice spoke again. "Ah… I'm sorry. I can feel a lot of Demon Beast auras here that are way stronger than you. If I leave you here, you won't last long. What do we do? What do we do?" She sounded so anxious she might start spinning in circles. Lucian went silent. After a moment, he said, "Hey. Just fly me back the way we came. Like before." The Iron Sword did not answer. Lucian's chest tightened. "Hey, miss. What's wrong? Say something!" He reached for the sword. The girl blurted, "Um… I'm really sorry. I… I didn't expect this either. I was so focused on shaking you off that I didn't notice there was a huge Restriction here. I can enter from the sky… but I can't fly back out…" The instant she finished, she started bawling. Lucian drew a slow breath. If he did not force himself to stay calm, he honestly wanted to slam his head into a rock. "I can't believe I, Aurora, am going to die in this awful place… If I'd known, I never would've touched this stupid sword in the first place… Waaaah… Mom… Dad… I'm scared… I don't want to die…" "Be quiet!" Lucian snatched the Iron Sword and ducked behind a massive boulder. A faint sense of danger crept closer, like something heavy moving through the earth. In the Desolate Beast Domain, making that kind of noise was begging to die. Startled by his harshness, she immediately stopped crying. Feeling the threat in the air, she did not dare make another sound. She stayed obediently in Lucian's grip and did not mention anything about "men and women" anymore. Lucian's heart hammered so hard it hurt. Fear gripped him. He did not dare make the slightest noise. He crouched beneath the boulder, pressed an ear to the ground, and listened. Heavy footsteps approached, one after another. His heart climbed into his throat. He could not stop himself from trembling. That alone told him how lethal the danger was. He held his breath. He slowed his heartbeat as much as he could, trying to make himself feel almost dead. Cold sweat soaked through his clothes. What he feared most was the idiot in his arms making a sound at the worst possible moment. Yet he could not even warn her. If he spoke, he might end up a corpse moments later. The footsteps. The harsh breathing. The faint stench in the air, thick with blood and saliva. Lucian's scalp went numb. Even the strongest opponent he had ever faced had never made him feel like this. "Awooo…" A low howl sounded from the far side of the boulder. Lucian's hair stood on end. If he made even the smallest mistake, he would die. Fortunately, he stayed perfectly still. The footsteps gradually receded until they faded into nothing. Only then did Lucian dare breathe again. His hair was damp with sweat, as if he had been dragged out of water. "That was a Moon-Eating Demon Wolf," the Iron Sword whispered, sounding relieved. "With your strength, it could swallow you in one bite…" Lucian stood. "No matter what, I have to leave this place within half a month. You're coming with me. If you have any ideas, any way out, you tell me. And… your name is Aurora? I'm Lucian Lawes."