Hard Carried by My Sword

Chapter 194

Leon began by explaining what he had learned of the Winter Serpent. A monster summoned from another dimension, it devoured heat to swell in size and strength, and spawned larvae that infested other beings, twisting them into warped creatures.

Karen and Elahan, hearing about the larvae, recoiled in disgust as Leon had. The fact that they themselves couldn’t be infected did give them some relief, but being aware of the presence of something so repulsive in the water made drinking it far less appealing.

“We’ll need to hurry,” Elahan murmured gravely, her face tense at the thought that once transformed by the larvae, there was no returning to humanity.

Karen agreed, then shared what she had discovered: the suspicious steward in the Viscount’s manor who was clearly a pawn of the Evil Order, and the Aura Master Dayton who had been ensnared by him. She recounted their entire conversation word for word.

“Of all things, we have to worry about a Spearmaster who retired decades ago...” Leon frowned.

“He’s in quite an unfortunate situation, but we can’t let him do this,” Elahan said firmly.

The knowledge only added weight to the work they had cut out for them by the Winter Serpent. An Aura Master was no trivial foe.

Dayton el Blanc was none other than the former head of the famed Blanc family, once the Empire’s greatest spearman. In his prime, he had led conquest campaigns across the continent under the banner of the Clyde Empire. Though it had been more than thirty years, and some had forgotten, anyone who had studied recent history knew the gravity of his name.

Dayton wasn’t someone who could be underestimated just for his old age. The old lion may lose its fangs and claws, but it could still crush a hyena with a single blow. More than an old man, he was a seasoned veteran.

Even if it means three against one, we’ll have to take him down decisively.

Dayton had already cornered himself. Accepting the Evil Order’s aid was no different from declaring he would use any means, no matter how vile, to save his son, even if that made him the enemy of the entire continent.

Show pity to a man fighting with his back to the wall, and one risked being struck down. All three of the Hero Party knew it well.

Karen suddenly brightened and exclaimed, “Ah! Mr. Hero! Ella! I just thought of something!”

“What is it?” Leon asked.

“What idea?” Elahan also tilted her head.

Karen beamed, eager to boast of her contribution, and explained, “Dayton only sided with the Evil Order for his son, right? So, if Ella healed the boy with her Holy Law, we could turn him into an ally instead!”

“Oh?”

It sounded plausible. Leon turned to Elahan hopefully, but she shook her head.

“Huh? Why not?” Karen asked.

“Unfortunately, there’s no guarantee I can heal him,” Elahan said.

“What do you mean? You’re a Saintess.”

“Being a Saintess doesn’t make me omnipotent. Holy Law’s healing has limits. Pouring in more Holy Power won’t change what can’t be changed. If even the Cardinals couldn’t do it, then neither can I,” she said in a resolute voice. “Aura Masters of the Empire are capable of going directly to the Holy Church to request treatment. They had the wealth to pay the price, so they could have secured the hands of Cardinals themselves.”

“So, the fact that he hadn’t gotten his son fixed already means that...”

“Yes. It means his condition lies beyond the reach of Holy Law.”

It was conjecture, but Elahan’s logic was sound. Holy Law was not all-powerful. Those born frail and plagued by disease could not be healed, and genetic afflictions often returned even after holy treatment. If Dayton’s son suffered from such an illness, then Elahan was powerless.

Leon looked at Karen and asked, “We can investigate further, but do we have the time?”

“That’s the problem,” Karen said. “The Guild’s all but withdrawn from the Empire, so I’d have to chase down the son myself...”

“The Winter Serpent is more of an urgent matter,” Leon said.

Dayton was a formidable opponent, but not insurmountable. They could not gamble the lives of tens of thousands in Ladoga for the sake of saving one man and his son. Whatever his tragic circumstances, he had chosen to consort with the Evil Order, and that was treason beyond pardon.

The three of them let the matter drop in silence.

“Ah, I suppose it’s my turn,” Elahan said last. “I didn’t find anything as substantial as the two of you. Wandering the outskirts and slums, I only picked up vague rumors tied to the lake.”

“Rumors?” Leon asked.

“Yes.”

And they were surprisingly specific. Drunkards who fell into the lake vanishing without a trace. Fishermen who hadn’t seen a catch in months. Pleasure cruises, once a tourist draw of Ladoga, no longer running.

The damage wrought by the Winter Serpent had been stifled under orders from the Viscount, surfacing only as whispers and gossip. The sort of talk that could tarnish the domain’s value and thus could never be acknowledged officially.

“I’m sorry. Compared to you two, it feels like I haven’t done enough,” Elahan said apologetically.

“No, it’s a great help,” Leon assured her. “If the rumors are true, the Winter Serpent doesn’t just lurk at the bottom. It moves when prey appears. Meaning the exolaw wielder doesn’t fully control it.”

“Could we lure it out?” Elahan asked.

“It wouldn’t leave the lake, but we might be able to lure it to rise closer to the surface.”

Leon’s gaze sharpened. He had an idea, and it was an operation only he could attempt. He explained, drawing both Karen and Elahan in. By the time he finished, their faces were blank with disbelief.

“You want to feed it? That monster?” Karen asked.

“Don’t tell me you mean to tame it like some pet?” Elahan frowned.

Leon chuckled and said, “Hardly. Just thinking of putting some scores on the already-loose leash.”

***

The serpent was happy. Unlike its home, where enemies were everywhere and hundreds of rivals fought over a single scrap of prey, this land was paradise. It was the only predator, and there was so much food that it was almost troublesome to choose.

The nagging voice that compelled it to move was bothersome, but if that voice was leading it to a place where it could gorge itself, it could overlook that much. Besides. One day, that voice would become food as well.

“Hisssss...

?” That had been its thinking until now. Then, the serpent’s eyes glazed over at a golden orb descending from the surface. Even before tasting it, it felt ecstasy. Its coiled body unraveled like a ball of yarn, and it stretched its tongue desperately toward the slowly sinking orb.

And for the first time in its life, it tasted true delicacy.

“Hiiiiiiisss!”

Bliss surged through its body, which spanned over thirty meters long. A creature that had never known the concept of dance writhed in rapture, sending ripples across the lake as it savored the flavor lingering on its tongue.

It understood. It had opened its eyes. Compared to this meal, everything it had ever eaten before was trash. With a single bite, its body grew three meters longer and its strength swelled. The proof of this new meal’s superiority undeniable.

“Hiss! Hiss! Hiiiiiss!”

Just one more. No—two. Three!

Give me all of it!

Its primitive mind clamored for more of the delicacy. The scraps of prey flitting nearby no longer even tempted it. All the serpent did was wait and wait.

The next day, another golden orb descended. It was a little farther than the day before, but still close enough that even the “voice” could not stop it from grabbing it. The serpent devoured the delicacy without hesitation. Its body lengthened again, its power grew, and it felt the voice’s influence weaken.

Now, it refused all other scraps it had been feeding on until now.

“Hisss! Hiss! Hiss! Hissssss!”

Better one delicacy than a hundred morsels. Compared to this delicacy, the voice’s offerings were worthless. In the serpent’s mind, the voice’s importance plummeted.

A day passed. Then another. And several more.

Each day, the golden orbs fell shallower, nearer the surface. An obvious lure, obvious enough that even the dull serpent might have suspected something. However, it didn’t think anything of it. It couldn’t.

“Hisssssss!”

Its body swelled past fifty meters, strength overflowing. The voice tried to hold it back, but it no longer listened, and the voice no longer mattered. The taste of the delicacy was all that mattered. It didn’t take much longer before the serpent found itself waiting—waiting for the time and place when the golden orb, its beloved delicacy, would descend.

“Hiss? H-hiss?”

Then, as if by cruel play of fate, the orbs grew scarce. It used to fall once a day, but now, it came only once every three or four days. As if that wasn’t enough, sometimes it only shimmered on the surface without falling at all. The serpent fumed with frustration.

Now, the voice was almost gone. Nothing stood in the way of its leaving.

“Hisssss...”

When an entire week passed without a single orb, the serpent’s patience finally snapped. It fixed its eyes on the surface, on the golden light shimmering just beyond. Its gaze locked there, unyielding.

***

Standing by the lakeshore, Leon brushed his hands together. The golden orb of light in his palm—concentrated power of the Holy Sword—shattered into sparks.

“Almost time to come up?” he muttered.

For the Winter Serpent, which fed on heat, those orbs were the perfect bait: unforgettable, irresistible. After two weeks of laying the groundwork, it was about time for the results to show.

“It’s not just going to run off after eating all that, right?” Karen muttered, frowning down at the water.

“No, it won’t,” Leon answered with a sly grin. “Yesterday, I released live fish into the lake to test it.”

“And?”

“They’re still alive today. It didn’t eat them.”

One could get tired of cookies and eat bread instead, but no one, tired of chocolate, would ever eat feces. To the serpent, fish and drunkards were now no better than dung. Having tasted Leon’s orbs of sun-forged heat, it was addicted like a junkie.

More than once, the lake had seethed with its frantic, withdrawal-driven thrashing. The exolaw wielder’s control meant nothing now.

“I think it’ll come up tomorrow,” Leon murmured, stepping back as his golden eyes pierced the malice stirring below the surface.

Everything was going as planned. Using his Aura to lure the Winter Serpent. Driving it with the promise of his bait. Which meant that the real problem began now.

Leon and Karen turned together and said simultaneously, “How long do you plan to just stand there and watch?”

They had known all along. Aura Masters could not conceal themselves from one another unless one had some special concealment, like Karen’s ability to meld into shadows.

Dayton stood revealed, his expression heavy,

He said, “Impressive. To think you possess such skill at your age. When I was your age, I was still the youngest knight in the order, running wasteful errands and doing chores.”

His eyes shifted, settling on Karen.

“So, it was you, the presence in the manor.”

“Whoops. Guess you got me,” Karen quipped.

“Two Masters, one an Assassin Master. Even in my prime, I’d have balked at facing such a situation.”

Leon suggested in a calm voice, “You can still stop, Dayton el Blanc. Maintain your reputation as the finest spear of the Clyde Empire.”

“I had that chance, many times over. I chose otherwise.”

A spear materialized, leaping into his grasp as though drawn to him. Man and weapon as one, spear and body united. A mastery polished over a century leveled its point at them.

“And so, I chose. To save my son, even if it means sacrificing tens of thousands of innocents,” said the old general, his eyes burning with conviction. “Now, it is your turn to choose.”

Leon did not reply. Instead, he drew the Holy Sword from his waist.

Dayton also said no words as he gave one slow nod. That was enough.