Chương 57: The Mountain Pass

The road narrowed until two horses could barely pass each other. On either side, dark cliffs rose toward the sky, their upper edges hidden by morning mist. The forest had become thinner here, but the trees that remained were enormous, their roots breaking through the stone and their branches hanging over the road like twisted arms. Serah slowed her horse.

"This is the pass." Leo looked ahead. Nothing moved. That was the problem. A mountain road should have carried sound. Birds. Insects. Wind moving through the trees. There was almost nothing. Leo's hand rested loosely near his sword.

"Stop." Serah immediately pulled on the reins. Rowan and Darin halted behind her.

"What is it?" Rowan asked. Leo looked at the cliffs.

"Too quiet." Rowan glanced around.

"I don't hear anything."

"Exactly." Leo stepped off the road. He crouched beside a patch of dirt near the cliff wall. There were footprints. Five sets. The same ones he had noticed the previous night. But there was something else. A sixth set. Much heavier. Leo touched the impression with two fingers.

"Six." Serah dismounted.

"You said five."

"There were five in the forest." She looked at the deeper footprint.

"And now?" Leo stood.

"Six." A voice echoed from above.

"You're observant." Everyone looked up. Six figures appeared along the ridge. Crossbows were aimed downward. Rowan cursed. Serah immediately drew her sword. Darin reached for the knife at his waist. Leo remained still. The leader stepped closer to the edge. He wore a gray cloak and a metal mask covering the lower half of his face.

"You noticed the scouts." Leo looked at him.

"You were careless." The man laughed.

"Perhaps." Several crossbows clicked. Serah raised her blade.

"Don't." Leo looked at her. She kept her eyes on the ridge.

"If they wanted us dead, they'd already have fired." The leader smiled.

"She's right." He pointed toward the road behind them.

"Leave your horses." Rowan stared at him.

"You're robbing us?"

"No." The leader's gaze moved to Darin.

"We're looking for something." Darin's expression changed.

"I don't know what you're talking about." The leader pointed at him.

"The merchant boy." Darin stepped backward.

"I don't have anything."

"You don't understand." The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. The man descended several steps.

"We aren't interested in your goods." Leo watched him carefully. There was no greed in his voice. No excitement. He was searching for someone. Or something. Serah looked at Darin.

"What did you bring?"

"Nothing."

"You're lying." Darin's face tightened.

"I said I brought nothing." The leader sighed.

"Then we'll search you ourselves." The first arrow was released. Leo moved. Heavenly Demon Step. He crossed the distance between the group and the first attacker before the man could reload. Steel flashed. The crossbow split in half. The attacker barely had time to react before Leo struck him in the chest with the back of his sword. The man flew backward. He did not rise. Four others fired simultaneously. Leo twisted. Two bolts passed beside him. A third struck the ground.

The fourth was caught between the fingers of his left hand. He looked at it. Then threw it back. The bolt struck the weapon of another attacker and knocked it from his hands. Rowan stared.

"Does he ever do anything normally?" Serah ignored him. She charged the nearest enemy. Her swordsmanship was surprisingly disciplined. She did not possess overwhelming power, but every movement had purpose. A short thrust. A retreat. A horizontal cut. She forced her opponent away from the others rather than trying to overpower him. Darin fought differently. He carried a short blade and stayed close to Serah, using her movements to create openings. Rowan fought like someone who had spent years protecting caravans.

He did not chase opponents. He protected the horses. Leo noticed. These people were not helpless. They simply weren't trained to fight people like the ones on the ridge. Then Leo sensed something. He stopped. The sixth figure had not moved. The heavy-footed man. He stood at the far end of the ridge. Watching. Not fighting. Waiting. Leo looked at him. The stranger slowly removed his cloak. A tall man stood beneath it. His arms were covered with dark metal armor. No magic flowed through it.

That caught Leo's attention. The armor itself was the weapon. The man jumped from the ridge. He landed in the middle of the road. The ground cracked beneath his feet. Rowan took a step back.

"That one is mine." Leo glanced at him. The man charged. Rowan raised his sword. The impact nearly broke his arms. He was pushed backward several meters. The armored man attacked again. Rowan barely blocked. Leo watched for a moment. Rowan's strength was insufficient. His technique wasn't. He was using his weapon correctly, redirecting rather than meeting force directly. But the difference in physical power was too great. The armored man raised his fist. Leo moved. His sword intercepted the strike.

The impact sent a shock through Leo's injured ribs. Pain flashed across his body. He immediately stepped away. The wound from the capital had not healed enough. The armored man noticed.

"You're injured." Leo's eyes narrowed.

"Yes." The man smiled.

"Then I'll make it worse." He attacked. Leo avoided the first punch. Then the second. The third forced him backward. The man's movements were surprisingly fast for someone wearing heavy armor. Leo changed his stance. He stopped trying to overpower him. Instead, he began watching. The man's right leg dragged slightly after every attack. Old injury. His left shoulder moved before every forward strike. A habit. His armor was strongest around the chest. Weakest beneath the arms. Leo waited. The man charged.

Leo stepped aside. Heavenly Demon Step. He appeared beside the man's shoulder. The sword moved upward. Heavenly Demon Sword — Second Form: Returning Moon. The blade struck beneath the armored arm. The man staggered. Leo immediately retreated. The armored man looked at the damaged armor. Then at Leo.

"You saw it." Leo said nothing. The man laughed.

"Good." He removed the damaged armor from his shoulder.

"I was beginning to think these stories were exaggerated." Leo's eyes narrowed.

"What stories?" The man smiled.

"The stories about the masked swordsman." Leo's expression did not change.

"I'm not interested."

"You should be." The man looked toward the eastern mountains.

"People are beginning to notice you." Leo remained silent. The man continued.

"Some call you the Heavenly Demon." Behind them, Serah finished her opponent. Rowan had disarmed another. The remaining attackers began retreating. The armored man looked at his companions.

"Enough." One of them protested.

"But the merchant—""We have what we came for." Darin froze. Leo looked at him. The young merchant's face had gone pale. The leader tossed something toward the ground. A small wooden box landed beside Darin. Darin stared at it.

"You—" The man turned away.

"Keep it." Then he looked at Leo one last time.

"We'll meet again." Leo's hand tightened around his sword.

"I'm not sure that's a promise." The armored man laughed.

"It isn't." The group disappeared into the forest. Silence returned to the pass. Rowan immediately turned toward Darin.

"What was that?" Darin didn't answer. Serah approached him.

"Open the box."

"No." Her eyes hardened.

"Darin." He looked down. Then slowly picked it up. His hands were shaking. Leo remained several steps away. He had no intention of involving himself in their affairs unless necessary. Darin opened the box. Inside was a small black crystal. No larger than a coin. A silver thread had been wrapped around it. Leo recognized the symbol immediately. The same one beneath the capital. The same one from the notices. The same organization. Serah stared at the crystal.

"What is that?" Darin closed the box.

"Nothing." Rowan laughed bitterly.

"That's the third time you've said that." Darin looked at Leo. Their eyes met. For a moment, neither spoke. Then Darin looked away.

"I can't explain." Leo didn't ask him to. He turned toward the road.

"Then don't." Serah watched him.

"You aren't going to investigate?" Leo shook his head.

"No."

"Why?"

"Because it isn't my problem." Serah looked toward the forest where the attackers had disappeared.

"And if they come back?" Leo began walking.

"Then it will become my problem." Rowan sighed.

"That is somehow the least reassuring answer possible." Leo ignored him. The group followed. But the journey had changed. They were no longer simply travelers heading toward Velaris. There was something inside Darin's possession that powerful people wanted. Something connected to the same silver-threaded organization that had interfered with the Arcane Convergence. And Leo had no intention of becoming involved. At least, not yet. That evening, they stopped near the edge of the mountains. Serah prepared the fire.

Rowan repaired his damaged sword. Darin sat alone several meters away. Leo watched him from a distance. He noticed the young merchant repeatedly checking the small wooden box. Not out of greed. Out of fear. Leo knew that expression. He had seen it many times in his previous life. People rarely feared objects. They feared what would happen if someone discovered they possessed them. Leo looked toward the mountains. Velaris was still four days away. After that, the road would divide.

Serah and the others would continue toward the western trade routes. Leo would continue east. Their paths would eventually separate. That was fine. He had never intended to keep traveling with them indefinitely. Temporary companions were enough. A shared road. A few battles. A few memories. Then different directions. Leo looked at the fire. For years, he had lived surrounded by people who expected him to remain beside them. Now he was learning something different.

People could enter your life without becoming part of your destination. He found that strangely liberating. Above the camp, the stars appeared one by one. Leo closed his eyes. His Internal Energy moved through his body. The circulation was still unstable. But tonight, something had changed. The foreign mana absorbed beneath the capital was gradually settling into his Internal Energy. He could feel it becoming denser. More responsive. He opened his eyes. A new path of cultivation was beginning to reveal itself.

Not through a master. Not through a manual. Through his own body. Leo looked east. The mountains stood between him and the unknown. He smiled faintly. Four years. Perhaps four years would not be enough. But it was a beginning. And somewhere beyond those mountains, the world was waiting for a man who no longer existed. A dead student. A wandering swordsman. A name spoken by strangers. The Heavenly Demon. End of Chapter 57.