Soul Equipment VS Soul Equipment
「Sora, Sora……”Sora”? Hohh? Hohohhh?」
The old man seemed deeply interested as he squinted his blind eyes after he heard the name that Claudia shouted out.
To this old man who has been serving under the Mitsurugi family for many years, Sora was a name that he has heard many times before.
The worthless son of the great sword saint ―― Sora Mitsurugi.
「He ended up in the Kingdom of Canaria? But……」
The old man’s voice was riddled with doubt.
What he could feel from this person named Sora was a violent stream of kei.
The pulsation of that kei’s power shook the air as it circulated that person’s body with rumbling noises.
It was completely unthinkable that he’s the same ordinary person who could not even pass the trial ceremony.
That overflowing kei definitely belongs to someone who has acquired soul equipment.
The phantom blade style is a martial art that is never taught to outsiders. Humans who are unrelated to the phantom blade style will never acquire soul equipment.
Which means, this Sora is that “Sora” after all.
But then that Sora did not formally learn the phantom blade style. If a person like him had acquired soul equipment by themselves, that would already be something unbelievable.
The old man chuckled happily in a low voice.
How amusing, he thought.
The old man has never come into contact with Sora before, so he did not hold any emotional attachments towards this exiled heir of the head family.
However, if Sora had climbed back up from rock bottom in order to obtain power and acquired soul equipment ――He will pay his respects to him.
That’s because that is a path that the old man has once walked himself as well.
「Sora Mitsurugi, I presume. I am a warrior in one of the Flags of Green Woods, they call me Jijinbou. I apologize for not realizing that it was you and not giving you my name the other day」
That was the old man’s――Jijinbou’s way of talking to show his utmost respect.
Although considering how he’s an assailant from the other party’s standpoint, plus the fact that the Duke’s family and servants have all fallen on the ground, it was natural for him to be treated with an attitude of disgust.
It can’t be helped even if he was ignored.
That’s why Jijinbou added in more words to make the other party respond,
「Was my advice of Claudia Dragunaut’s curse being linked to her sister Astrid Dragunaut any help?」
The sisters who overheard that twitched and looked at Jijinbou, and then they turned their eyes to Sora.
In response to that, Sora shrugged lightly.
「It sure was. The owner of an impure soul like yours was accusing Lady Astrid as the culprit. It pretty much proved that she was innocent」
「Hehehe! You have a sharp eye. Looks like the person who once could not stand up to something like a dragon tooth warrior and got exiled from the island has grown quite a bit」
Against those abusive words that were full of mockery, Sora responded with the same amount of malice.
「Oh? If we’re talking about being exiled then you’re pretty much in the same boat. Our situation is probably not that different」
「Hehehehe! Not even close. You’re saying that I, who was entrusted fully with the conquering of Canaria, is similar to you, who was exiled? If that wasn’t random nonsense just now, please do teach this ignorant self how so」
「What? It’s simple. If your abilities were really needed by the Mitsurugi family, there’s no way they would order you to leave the island」
After Sora said that, he looked at Jijinbou with a smirk.
「Under the sword saint’s leadership, the military law of the Mitsurugi family says that all phantom blade users of the Eight Flags of Green Woods are to defend the island. Because if they don’t, the monsters that flood out of the demon gate will quickly overrun the island’s defense. The only exceptions are the young phantom blade users who just joined and the sick or injured who lost their ability to fight, and perhaps the people with shinsous(soul equipment) that can’t handle the fights on the island」
Such people are entrusted with missions to leave the island.
Even if they cannot fight on the island, they would still have more than enough power to fight the monsters outside, not to mention the humans out there.
In other words, they can still be effectively put to use even when they are useless.
While those people clean up the requests of the nagging Empire on one hand, the island’s defense becomes solidified with only the elites remaining on the other hand―― Sora knows that’s how the current head of the Mitsurugi family does things.
「You’re standing here right now. That alone shows how strong you are and what kind of situation you’re in. If I was exiled, then you were relegated. See, we’re not all that different from each other, right?」
「Hehe, nonsense. I’m level 73, you know? This might be rude of me to say, but I don’t see how you can see us as equals, young master」
「Judging from your shinsou(soul equipment), sounds and curses seem to be your specialty」
「……Hm?」
「If your attacks can reach the mansion from the cemetery, why would you not be wanted in the island’s battles when they lack such useful long range attacks? That’s because your powers don’t work on beings that possess more than a certain amount of kei」
「……」
「Kei is basically mana that’s generated by our bodies. Skills that don’t work on someone like me will never work on the monsters of the island that carry the mana of the demon gate. That means all you can do is torment beings that are weaker than you. No matter how high your level is, there’s no reason to fear someone like you」
Sora declared clearly.
Then, he made a flash with the black blade in his hand.
The next moment, it sounded like a hundred pieces of pottery had broken at the same time in the garden of the Duke’s residence.
◆◆◆
That was the sound of the black wall of “Gakousai” that manifested from Jijinbou’s mana breaking into countless pieces.
It was due to the “Gale”―― the flying slash attack that Sora unleashed.
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The fragments of the wall that was shattered into pieces dropped to the ground and began disappearing like melting snow.
Jijinbou opened his clouded eyes wide when he realized that his strongest shield was broken into smithereens in one blow.
However, he had no time to be surprised.
Sora was coming for him with his black sword from the other side of the crumbled wall.
Since Jijinbou was leaning on the walls of the duke’s mansion, he did not have a path to retreat to, so he used his biwa――his soul equipment, “Lady Shizuka”, that was in his hand to take on his opponent’s strike.
The moment the two soul equipments collided, “Lazy Shizuka” released a piercing scream.
That was Lady Shizuka’s auto counter-attack. It was several times stronger than the sound attack that suppressed the Dragunaut father and daughters.
An ordinary opponent would have gotten their eardrums blown out in an instant, and then suffer in agony as blood comes out of their ears.
However, Sora endured the counter-attack――Rather, he didn’t even mind it at all.
Just like what he speculated earlier, Lady Shizuka’s sound attacks don’t work on beings that possess above a certain amount of kei.
I’m going to lose at this rate– The old man realized as they played the soul equipment tug of war. At the same time of his realization, high pitched laughs broke out from his mouth.
「Hehehehehe! Fun, this is so fun! Now I, who was toying with Claudia Dragunaut to my heart’s content, is the one who’s in trouble! Fate is truly uncontrollable, and that’s exactly what makes life fun! Very well, I will face you seriously from here on!」
Right after Jijinbou said that, he howled like a strange bird monster.
At that moment, Sora’s body was blown back as if something had pushed him.
Jijinbou had hit Sora with a kei blast from point-blank range.
There’s no reason for Jijinbou to not be able to use basic kei arts that Sora can use.
It dealt very little damage to Sora, but Jijinbou did not mind that. What was important was that he bought himself some distance between them. Before Sora could regain his balance to attack him again, Jijinbou already began his next chant.
「『Armed soldiers a million, wounded soldiers and old horses confined far from home』」
That chant was quick, accurate, and above all, refined. The compiled mana started to form the magic without the slightest hint of becoming disordered.
If there were any magicians present, they would probably be admiring Jijinbou’s chanting that’s at the level of a magician lord that every magician strives to be.
「『Without weapons, food, or water, yet their flag won’t fall. Commoners gathered, vowing a revolution. Stacking bricks to build a wall, digging through hills to form a moat. It’s an impenetrable fortress ――Gakousai!』」
The moment he finished his chant, A black wall――No, black ramparts appeared with Jijinbou as the center point.
It was not a partial manifestation as a result of the chant being skipped. The toughness and thickness of the ramparts that appeared around Jijinbou was on a completely different level compared to the black wall that was shattered earlier.
Even though it was small, it was a fortress.
「This is my greatest shield. Since I’ve put a lot of mana into it, don’t think you can shatter this with one blow like you did before. With this, your attacks will not reach me but my attacks will reach you」
Jijinbou laughed loudly.
「Hehe. Young Master, you said there was no reason to be afraid of me just now, right? Don’t tell me you thought you could beat me because you saw through only that much of me. If so, then I can only say that you lack the ability to see the big picture! It’s true that my shinsou(soul equipment) has its limits, but that’s why I make up for it with my skills. In the first place, I’ve never said that I only have one trick!」
With that, Jijinbou began his next chant.
「『Trees decay, grass withers, soil rots』」
And at the same time the old man started to chant loudly, an unfamiliar voice began chanting another spell.
「『The blood boils, the hair burns, those eyes fill with rage』」
That was a voice produced by his soul equipment. The Lady Shizuka that is in Jijinbou’s hands started chanting in a shrieking voice.
「『Ashes dance, Miasma fills the air』」
「『A noble castle, a chair of skulls. The rebels’ flag waves, the gift of the assassin’s blade falls』」
It was a dual incantation. That was another one of the abilities Jijinbou’s soul equipment had.
「『Erupt from rot and fester――Land Erosion』!」
「『Bloody eyes and fiery hands, give my enemy the embrace of death――Flame princess』」
The earth magic of the 7th realm activated the moment Jijinbou finished his chant, and the garden of Duke Dragunaut’s residence quickly began to decay.
Starting from where his “Gakousai” was deployed, the garden’s soil began to turn muddy.
Even the stone pavement that goes from the mansion’s entrance to the gate could not escape the decay and was turning into a clay-like substance.
The beautiful green grass of the garden turned purple and withered in the blink of an eye, filling the surrounding area with a nose stinging stink.
Then, what echoed in the air was the panicking noise of the people who serve the duke’s family.
The rotting garden turned into a bottomless swamp and was dragging the people there into the soil. The people who could not stand up were sucked in deeper and deeper in the decayed soil as they struggled like bugs who were caught in bird-lime until they could no longer move.
Even if they could run, there was nowhere for them to run to due to the entire garden being contaminated by the old man’s magic.
The same thing was happening to Sora.
On top of that, he has to deal with the ten-plus fiery tentacle arms from Lady Shizuka that were closing in on him.
If he strengthened his body with kei, he could probably escape.
However, he understands that those flames will be aimed at the others if he does that――Especially at Duke Dragunaut and his daughters.
In Sora’s field of vision, Jijinbou’s mouth opened in a crescent moon shape.
TLN: Reworded the chant for flame princess and updated them in previous chapters