Turning
chapter-272

"Step back, Yuder Aile."

Even before hearing his response, Kishiar moved forward. Watching his retreating figure, Yuder's eyes trembled with questions and sharpness. In that moment, he suddenly realized that this situation was a mere memory of the past.

Ah, that was it. This was a memory of a particularly striking day during the tremendous battles fought while subjugating the Western monsters. Unlike the usual monsters that would inevitably die when falling from a great height or being crushed by a collapsing mountain, there was one monster that peculiarly grew larger with each attack it received.

In the future, many had tried to kill this monster, named Pethuamet after the name of a demon, but their efforts yielded little result. Yuder, too, had exerted tremendous effort to kill the creature, almost collapsing an entire mountain in the process, but the monster survived, growing even larger.

Had things remained as they were, he might have failed his mission for the second time, or even died.

Just like the scenery before him, Kishiar appeared.

He was unarmed. His white Commander's uniform was stained with dirt, and his hands, protected only by long gloves, lacked any form of weaponry. Yet, even before the monstrous howl that could knock one unconscious, he stood firm and alone.

In the dream, Yuder clenched his fists, readying for battle at any moment, and frowned deeply as he observed the scene. Up until then, Yuder had assumed that even if it were Kishiar, he could not confront the monster alone. After all, most of the time, Kishiar would retreat and take command rather than exerting his own strength. The monsters Kishiar personally dealt with were usually taken care of out of necessity during dire situations, and it didn't seem that daunting or challenging.

However, that probably changed that day. After seeing the events caused by Kishiar, who, without a single weapon, boldly approached the massive monster, Yuder lost his confidence in defeating him.

'...'

With just a swing of his arm, without any particular preparatory movement, an enormous sound tore through the air. The monster, taken aback by the unexpected attack, lost its footing. As it howled and fell backward, a huge cloud of dust obscured the view, like a mountain collapsing.

Thinking that Kishiar was swallowed up by the dust storm, Yuder was about to rush forward when a white shadow briefly revealed itself, leaping upward. A cold, crimson gaze pierced relentlessly from beneath the fluttering white hem of his robe. Yuder, unknowingly, halted in his tracks.

Then, a tremendous battle ensued, one that could be a page in an ancient chronicle.

The monster howled in rage at the small human who dared to attack it. Its purple body swelled and a burning substance poured out, spreading through the smoke and melting the ground and rocks it touched. Its spiked tail and the long claws on its four legs easily shattered the solid mountain as though it were soft soil.

Even with the sight alone leaving most rooted to the spot, unable to move, Kishiar bravely held his ground. The Cavalry members present that day could barely grasp Kishiar's movements. Young Yuder, his eye for the flow of power not yet as sharp due to lack of experience, was no different from the rest. The fight unfolded so swiftly that they could barely see more than afterimages, preventing anyone from aiding him haphazardly.

Yet, because this was a dream, Yuder could somewhat clearly discern Kishiar's movements better than his memory served him.

Kishiar dodged the onslaught of attacks aimed at him with astounding speed, as if he had wings. Even with the simplest strikes, he managed to crumble the tough bodies of the monsters or playfully dodged around them, leaving them wobbling. His speed and power were so relentless that it seemed as though he was manipulating and repelling the bodies of the monsters even before they made contact.

Swinging, kicking, extending his arms - these were the basic moves of martial arts. But none could move as lightly, heavily, restrained, and yet freely as he did.

One moment he'd be here, rolling and stretching his body somewhere else; the next, he'd leap into the air and fall like an arrow from the sky in the blink of an eye.

As time passed, the body of the monster unable to withstand his attacks began to rip apart. While it bulged and swelled in an attempt to regenerate, Kishiar's attacks were faster. The clothes on Kishiar's body gradually became tattered, but his speed did not decrease at all.

Those gathered there lost themselves in the spectacle, forgetting even their own safety. They couldn't fully grasp how he was moving, but there was a simple, beautiful strength in Kishiar's display. Despite engaging in a primitive hand-to-hand combat with no weapons, the trajectory of his movements was surprisingly elegant. It was a compelling power that could captivate and pull at the heart of any human watching...

However, Yuder remembered how that battle ended. When the monster, dazed from the relentless beating from Kishiar, mindlessly chased after him, Kishiar lured it towards the cliff that Yuder had earlier collapsed.

"It's no use! I've already thrown it down there once, and it climbed back up, twice as big!"

No matter how much he yelled, Kishiar seemed not to hear him and continued to distance himself. Yuder, seeing the monster with half its limbs cut off still stubbornly crawling after Kishiar, turned his body. He shouted with all his might to the Cavalry members who might be listening somewhere.

"Now's our chance to move. Retreat quickly!"

And then, he ran frantically in the direction Kishiar and the monster had gone. Beyond the collapsed forest, he saw the monster moving forward with a roar and the white shadow that continued to draw its attention.

"What on earth is he doing alone...."

He wanted to move faster, but his body wouldn't cooperate. It was because of the blood slowly seeping from his stomach. Yuder clenched his teeth and summoned the power of the wind. As he jumped off it, the jumbled stones, broken trees, and mixed soil quickly fell away behind him.

"Damn."

Hearing his own grumbled curse, Yuder found his past self strange. He didn't know that he had chased after them so frantically without even taking care of his body. Was this what actually happened, or was this an exaggerated spectacle because it was a dream?

"Commander!"

At Yuder's shout, Kishiar who had just reached the edge of the crumbling cliff, halted momentarily. However, without any hesitation, he jumped into the air. With a full turn of his body, he soared precisely to the vicinity of the monster's head, extending his arm for the final blow towards its wounded face.

An energy, like a mirage, flickered mightily near Kishiar's hand and a horrifying scream vibrated the entire mountain. Black blood spurted from the monster's face and splattered up to where Yuder stood, a large chunk rolling towards his feet. It was the monster's tongue.

The half-protruded, thick, long mass of flesh wriggled like a snake while a peculiar line of blue light intermittently blinked on its surface. Uncertain if it was an illusion, it resembled a fragment of a magic circle. The shape felt oddly familiar, but he couldn't quite recall.

However, Yuder didn't have the time to dwell on this. The moment he turned his head, he saw the monster at the edge of the distant precipice, swaying as if it had lost its strength. Half of its face was blown off - either the attack hit its weak spot perfectly, or there was no further attack.

Moments later, the monster growled lowly and tumbled down the cliff. The cliff, sharp and peculiarly shaped as if precisely split in half vertically from the mountaintop, was a trap Yuder had set to kill the beast.

The entire ground shook with a thunderous noise, filling his ears with a deafening roar that rendered him dazed.

Unable to withstand the massive shock, the ground cracked and shuddered violently. The impact seemed to ripple towards the very edge of the cliff where the monster had been standing, causing it to crack again. Yuder quickly retreated, but Kishiar, who appeared fatigued, remained still.

"Commander!"

He called out again, but this time there was no response. Was he overly exhausted, or was he injured to the point he couldn't move? From this distance, it was hard to tell.

Finally, as the ground around Kishiar began to crumble, his blood and dust stained white coat swayed as if about to plunge down the cliff. In that split second, Yuder examined the tree and solid ground he had held onto for safety. He was safe here. As long as he was in this spot, he wouldn't be harmed. If Kishiar still had the strength he just demonstrated, a single leap should be enough to return here.

However, knowing this, after a brief passage of time, he let go of the tree he was gripping tightly.

The moment he stepped on the wind and jumped, the spot where Kishiar had been standing too began to fragment and collapse. By a hair's breadth, Yuder reached out and tightly grabbed the hem of the white coat. He couldn't fully embrace the blood-soaked body collapsing from exhaustion, but catching it was enough for now.

The face he managed to see was soaked with blood flowing from the nose, mouth, and ears, causing the golden hair covering his closed eyes to appear red.

With the last of his strength, Yuder summoned the power of the wind and wrapped it around both of their bodies. The violent wind flapped wildly, creating a long tail-like trajectory behind them. The two became one, endlessly falling down the mountain, down, down...