280: The Fifth Energy (6)

The Black Knights commander returned from her training session.

Julius Hul was still the best.

The former Red Knights commander, Quincy Myers, and the current commander, Alexis Christian, also showed up.

Nevertheless, the Holy Kingdom gained courage when Ignet joined them back.

‘If time passes and the current leaders of Avilius disappear…’

‘There will be no problem.’

There was hope for the future.

Embracing the new flame she brought and represented, the Holy Kingdom went to subdue the devil with a stronger determination.

“Even so, they wouldn’t be able to find it.”

Despite their powerful force, the priest didn’t care about it.

This was as expected. He knew the human potential better than anyone, so he was thoroughly prepared.

Recruiting the clown was a part of his plan. It wasn’t difficult to earn a year or so with his help.

The priest turned his head to the swordsman who was peering into the abyss with an expressionless face and said,

“Come, Carl Lindsay.”

At those words, the other devils began to quietly disappear.

Carl Lindsay looked back at him.

No, he was immersed in his own thoughts with his gaze to the ground.

He no longer thought of his broken family.

Ignet Crescentia.

And Airn Pareira.

Recalling their fight a few days back, he slowly closed his eyes.

What Airn had was definitely an amazing talent.

He had great skill too.

However, he couldn’t be compared to Ignet.

Just as he suffered a terrible defeat, he, too, lost his mind after being pushed back.

But…

‘He made Ignet look back, made her conscious of her.’

Carl Lindsay’s memory traced the past.

He recalled the view of Ignet, who appeared like the wind, knocked him down, and then disappeared uninterested.

When the events of that time in the past and a few days back overlapped, his heart swelled. Feeling his chest tighten, he took a deep breath.

“… let’s see.”

He couldn’t stand it.

“It will never be that way.”

He mumbled and continued to mumble.

With a relentless commitment, Carl Lindsay threw himself into the abyss.

Looking at the priest’s back, he slowly seeped into the darkness where the sunlight couldn’t reach.

How did he come to walk this path?

He couldn’t remember when he stepped foot here.

But he was certain of one thing, it was impossible to go back to the old days.

… he thought about the other two.

The priest in front of him who was drenched in darkness, and the clown who couldn’t be found for a while.

A fortnight after the duel with Ignet.

Airn fell into deep meditation.

He didn’t eat, drink or even sleep for three days. He sat there and continued to think.

There was no problem.

This time he wasn’t shaken at her sight. He wasn’t nervous like their second meeting. Just how did the new stimulus which flowed in have an effect on him? That was what he was thinking.

‘I’m still a long way off.’

The first thing which came to his mind was the fact that he was such a great swordsman.

The tremendous growth he had achieved in the past few years was shocking. It was a bit flustering to think of it this way, but no one would refute it.

Still, he couldn’t take her down. Beyond that, she herself had grown so much that she one-sidedly took him down.

Comparing only their talent, he smiled for a moment as the thought that neither he nor Ilya could surpass her went through his mind.

‘But that wouldn’t be a problem.’

He wasn’t disappointed.

The reason he swung the sword wasn’t to become the best swordsman. It wasn’t to defeat Ignet Crescentia.

Of course, he didn’t ignore the fighting spirit and competitive spirit in him. However, if he got caught up in such a fight and forgot what was important to him, that would be an even bigger problem.

It was a thought he always had.

Whenever things got worse, he remembered his belief that he would forget the most important thing to him if he went down this path.

Airn, who remembered that again, finally woke from the meditation.

“Brother! Are you up?”

“Airn! Are you fine, Arin?”

“You’re fine?”

Kirill, Lulu, and his mother were all looking at him with worried faces. And the figure of his father standing behind them caught his eye.

Their hearts were overflowing with support for Airn. He nodded with a smile.

“I am fine. Sorry for worrying you.”

His gratitude flowed to them. There was an exchange of healthy and clear emotions and a circulation of their thoughts.

The days after that were normal.

Some days he practiced the sword, and some days he went out on picnics with his family.

Some days he would spend time with Ilya and some days with Bratt. The time he spent with Lulu became less.

He was puzzled since he couldn’t see her in the estate more often, but he figured that there had to be a reason, and he would wait for her to talk to him.

‘Because we still like each other.’

And that is enough.

And time passed.

Woong!

The seasons changed.

Still, Airn’s life had changed little.

He spent all of his time either swinging the sword or spending time with his loved ones.

Of course, it wasn’t exactly the same. The meetings he had with Ilya and Bratt were reduced from before.

It seemed like an important time in their swordsmanship had arrived. But that wasn’t a problem.

He regretted being away from Ilya, but it was worth it if she got stronger.

The words Ilya told him still flowed in his mind and made his heart flutter.

Sharing their love, swordsmanship, and many more things, the flowing water inside Airn swirled.

It wasn’t just his heart.

The hearts of many people beat for this lazy prince too.

A small sprout began to grow from the soil of Airn.

Wong!

Woo!

Seasons changed again.

There were no changes. It was the same with his sword.

He continued to practice but saw no change. However, he didn’t feel rushed. And he never gave up on it.

He was wary enough to not let himself burn himself out, and there was no need to push himself when he had a healthy spirit of improvement and fighting.

‘How was Ignet’s sword back then?’

The match with Ignet was of great help to him. In the past, the loss would have been difficult to bear.

If it had been his past self, he would have bowed his head at the intense pressure and never gotten up again.

If he was at the time when he was obsessed with the past and future and neglected the present and his surroundings, then it would have been a problem too.

But it was fine now.

Because now, he had the wide stream of water.

Along with the hardened earth, which was wide enough to embrace the stream.

Ignet’s stimulation affected such a heart, and the result of that battle wasn’t like a flame that would ruin him… it was more like warm sunlight.

The sprout grew slowly and stretched towards the sky.

Woo!

Whooo!

Woo!

He wasn’t aware of it yet.

To be honest, it was a slow movement each day.

Sometimes he felt disappointed, sometimes he felt strong, but in the long run, the time for improvement was too short.

Airn moved forward with a heart strong as ever, and swung his sword.

And again, time passed.

Changes had come to the Pareira family.

“Kirill? What is with your clothes? Are you going…”

“Uh? Ah! I have work to do! Well, it isn’t important…”

“Uh? What happen…”

“Ugh! Let’s talk later! Bye!”

Swish!

“…”

Watching his sister cut off his words and fly away, Airn felt puzzled.

Considering the old Kirill, this was weird.

Even if she was irritated or annoyed, she never had such a troubled expression when she was looking at her brother.

She wasn’t the only one; the others were the same.

At some point, the parents started neglecting their children who were dating, and Lulu still didn’t show her face.

Marcus was the same. Even he, who took care of Airn the most, was now busy managing the new servants.

But…

‘Things like this can happen.’

Airn didn’t take this too seriously.

It was because he didn’t consider this as neglect but as trust.

In the past, they felt like if they took their eyes off him, something bad would happen to their son… if it was in the past, he wouldn’t have been able to be fine with just this.

In the past, they all must have left their work for the sake of looking at him.

‘Thinking about it that way, even I have changed a lot.’

It wasn’t just the others who changed.

Airn had changed a lot. It wasn’t just his actions but his thoughts too.

He was rigid in the past, and he was rigid when he visited the Lloyd mansion too.

He had huge beliefs back then, and although he did have beliefs now, they were more stable.

‘I am no longer impatient or anxious. I am not even worried.’

There was a time when he was worried about whether he could turn the dream he had into reality.

His belief overflowed.

Who could support his will when what they saw in the past was his character which was always shaky and wary?

It was understandable that Karakum was furious when he decided to walk about the Path of the Hero in Durkali.

Right.

His goal and dream which could be rebuked for being arrogant…

But now, he could speak of it more confidently.

“I want to raise my sword.”

Without a reason, and not because he was drunk from his previous life.

He was confident. His beliefs, especially in himself, were much stronger than before. But that didn’t mean that he was perfect.

He was still lacking. However, there was no need to hide it and move ahead alone.

No, he could just accept the advice and help of others and exchange thoughts with them.

In this way, he could find his own happiness, and happiness for those around him, and maybe for the world too.

Of course, the last part was a long way off.

And Airn had no idea when that would happen, but…

He decided to take small steps to achieve it.

At least for his belief, this worked better…

‘Because not just the results but also the progress is also valuable.’

Airn nodded and left the training hall, and went to his room.

And he began to meditate.

A dream and belief that he always had in the past.

However, something felt different.

Something new entered his eyes when he entered into the imaginary world.

‘… a tree.’

And it wasn’t alone.

The exchange with people and the water which flowed.

The wide land and the hard ground created it to be embraced easily.

Right.

Not one sprout, but numerous of them together.

They were strong and healthy and green.

Airn smiled.

It was because the leaves were refreshing to watch in the sunlight.

Shh…

With a height that was barely to his waist, the growth rate was slow. But it was fine.

Fast is good, but slow wasn’t a problem. Rather than their speed, what was more important was how well they grew.

With that, Airn began to start the Five Spirits Divine technique.

All five of the elements had finally been established.

Metal, fire, water, earth, and wood.

The circle which formed was flowing and flowing and was adding depth to the entire place.

Time passed like that; a year passed since the fight with Ignet.

A letter arrived for Airn.

“Warrior… festival?”

It was an invitation from Avilius, The Holy Kingdom.