Volume 3 Chapter 116-3 The Last Shadow (Shadow)
Edited by: Kanaa-senpai
That was something he would rather avoid.
However, with his pace visibly slowing on the plains, there was no choice but to cut corners with his detested character.
”I’ll take it off before meeting Serena.”
’I’ll tell you to take it off from my side too. Now, let me feel you, my subject.’
Her tone made Kian want to retort, but now was not the time for casual chatter with ‘glasses.’ Serena was undoubtedly involved in some kind of trouble. He had to help her quickly before it got worse.
Kian put on ‘glasses’ and followed the red-highlighted horse hoof prints at full speed.
(No scent of blood. The swamp and the dangerous areas of the plains are behind us. The trail of being attacked and injured by monsters is faint.)
Serena could calculate time well, so she wouldn’t have gone so far that she couldn’t return by evening.
So, if he kept running like this, the first village or the next one had a high chance of being the scene of an incident.
Kian slowed down when he saw a settlement ahead. He needed to check if there were Ramsey’s sentries or Hairkin Races soldiers in the village.
As it turned out, there were no soldiers in the village, and no bonfire was lit. Nevertheless, there were residents; through ‘glasses,’ he could observe the faint magic power emitted by people, glowing red.
(Everyone seems to be asleep. I wanted to ask if Serena had come here.)
’Try knocking on a random house.’
(First, let’s check if Serena’s horse passed through here.)
In conclusion, Serena’s horse had not passed through the first village. Serena seemed to have dismounted when she entered the village, as her boot prints were next to the horse hoof prints.
Serena’s footprints led to the village tavern. Outside the tavern was a stable where Kian found their horses tethered. That made him feel a little relieved.
The only concern was whether she had been beaten to death in a tavern brawl, but she was much stronger than the average adventurer around there. She could detect and avoid poison by its smell or taste, so it seemed unlikely she had been captured by drinking strange drugs.
Serena’s footprints disappeared at the tavern’s entrance.
Inside the village, there were many footprints, and it was impossible to track only Serena’s light footprints once the horse hoof prints disappeared.
Kian stopped in front of the tavern.
There was no light inside, and several loud snores could be heard. Adventurers without lodging were probably sleeping on the floor.
Through his ‘glasses,’ he saw several shadows but no sign of Serena’s shadow. With her considerable magic power as a Wolfman, he should be able to sense her location easily if he got close, but there was no magic power reaction inside the tavern that seemed to be hers.
As he wondered what to do, one of the adventurers sleeping inside got up, opened the door, and came out. Kian called out to him, slightly surprising him as he seemed to have woken up to use the restroom. He asked about Serena.
”Ah, that girl was here during the day. She had a noticeable appearance, so I remember. I thought she might be related to ‘Storm Herd,’ so no one approached her.”
”Do you know where she went?”
”Hm? She talked to a pair of Shin people who had also come to the village. After their conversation, the three of them left through the back of the tavern.”
”Thank you.”
Shin people──?
Kian was puzzled but did not show it. He handed the man some Silver Coins and left.
When he went around to the back of the tavern, there was a back door next to a pile of garbage. Beyond the back door, the grass grew wildly, and there were no footprints left at all.
”No, there are some. Serena’s footprints are here.”
Serena’s footprints were faint because of her light weight. But if you looked closely, you could tell where she had stepped on the grass and flattened it. When passing near the bushes, she caught a branch with a knife or something sharp and broke it.
On the other hand, they saw no trace that the Shin people had gone out with her.
Shin people refer to the people living in a large country east of the continent──farther east than Azrael. It is a multi-ethnic country, and some, like Christy, have black hair and white or yellow skin.
Shin merchants have traded in Azrael for a long time, and some settled in the oasis.
But it’s rare to see Shin people from the western countries.
Since the continent connects by land, it isn’t strange they are here. But there’s no reason for them to come all this way from the eastern edge.
’Be careful. Not an amateur.’
”Yeah.”
Kian raised the bridge of his glasses and gently pushed up the low shrub branches typical of Nordende, called Sguri.
Then, he saw a small hill at the village’s edge with a building on top.
’A common graveyard, likely.’
”Serena went hunting ghouls or grave hags?”
’Well… we’ll see when we get there. Don’t let your guard down.’
”I don’t need to be told.”
Kian regretted coming in his Silver Ice gear now. If the enemy’s senses were sharp, they might notice him midway—but there was no choice.
At least, he’d ensure no escape. He quickly crossed the open field like the wind, leaping up the small hill in meters and reaching the top in an instant.
The hill was indeed a graveyard, with a building in the center that looked like an altar, surrounded by endless graves.
”Who is it?”
From beyond the low wooden fence around the graveyard, he called out to the shadow standing in the center.
The shadow wore a red round umbrella, despite the night, and faced away from him. Under the umbrella, a beautiful white and purple kimono was visible. This is the traditional clothing of Shin, the great eastern country.
The shadow was a woman.
She had long, shiny black hair like Christy’s. When she turned, her red lips and long eyelashes were visible.
She was beautiful and enchanting.
Compared to the deeply featured Christy, her face was slightly flatter—a so-called salt-faced beauty. Kian looked at the woman’s face and felt a déjà vu. He thought they had met somewhere before, but he couldn’t remember who.
Kian had rarely met Shin people in his life. He couldn’t distinguish them easily. If it was someone he met as a child, over 15 years had passed. Kian, not interested in humans, couldn’t remember.
Kian tried to approach the woman and crossed the wooden fence. He was about to step inside with his right foot when he felt a chilling murderous aura. He instinctively tripped and took a defensive stance.
”────”
He took off his ‘glasses.’ The ‘glasses’ are good for detection, but Kian feels it dulls his animal instincts as a warrior monk.
Kian ignored the dirt on the shared graveyard that would ruin the Silver Ice. He reached for his Windsong Blade on his back. He calmly faced the black-clad man who appeared behind him earlier and slowly stood up.
The man was a Shin person.
He wore completely black leather clothes from top to bottom. His hair was neatly shaved, and his eyebrows were thick and dark.
His eyes were sharp like a hawk’s, glowing brightly under the moonlight.
”────”
The man seemed to smile. He held a large knife in his gloved hand.
He flaunted the knife, flickering it around, and in the blink of an eye, he vanished.
When Kian reflexively recoiled, a flash of silver streaked through the air half a second later.
”……”
Behind him. In front of the tombstone.
The black-clad, bald man stood confidently.
”Well done.”
Kian muttered while regaining his posture. He felt blood dripping from his eye area. This man had cut him.
The man rose from the tombstone he was leaning on. He toyed with his knife, flicking it back and forth, slowly moving around Kian.
”Kian Vahid.”
The wraith-like man murmured. The woman’s appearance had already disappeared.
A faint aroma of sweet, insect-killing poison wafted in the air.
Kian distorted his eyes and searched for the presence of the black man, who seemed to shimmer like a haze.
Please bookmark this series and rate ☆☆☆☆☆ on here!
Edited by Kanaa-senpai.
Thanks for reading.
Leave a Reply