As the sun gradually peeks its head out of the horizon, releasing its mighty power upon the land that paints the forests into jade, the earth into gold, the lakes into diamond; awaken the whole world up from its slumber.
Pearl likes snows, that accumulated on top of the mountains, over the freezing night soon melts, turning into small streams of water. Sparkling under the blazing sun, flowing down the mountain as if they are strips of molten sapphire. For the first glance, no sane person would ever believe such beautiful place to be a site of menace and death, killing and slaughtering. It doesn’t look like one and it shouldn’t be one.
On one of the steep side of the mountains. Water formed from melting snow begins to rumble down across a series of smooth, grey coloured rocky outcrops. Forming a miniature waterfall as it is doing so. In front of the fall stands a black haired young boy swinging a green coloured sword. Every one of his movement seems smooth, but also unstable at the same time.
He rises the blade above his head, swivels it clockwise with his wrist, doing a “Clouds Sword”. Then out of no where, the young boy takes a huge step back, whirling the blade using his arm, as if it is the axis of a water wheel. He swings the blade up and down, slashes it left and right. He sometimes strikes fast and sometimes acts slow. There is never an order or any uniform in his swings, his swords goes where his eyes goes, his blade strikes where his heart desires. The blade may look slow at one time. Then on the next, before the foes can even think of reacting. The sword may have already taken their head and their life along with it. This is why this sword style is called ~*Rain*~, Just like water it is formless, shapeless and just like rain it is unpredictable, unstoppable.
‘What is my swords way?’ stabbing the blade out, Erhart asks himself.
‘I definitely do not want to be a murderer.’
‘I am not interested to be an idiot that just have a sword addiction.’ Reversing the edge of his blade and Erhart turns his body.
‘Use sword to protect my loved ones sounds kinda nice. Despite it sounds cliché…but..’ the image of Yuna smiling flashes into his head. Erhart feels a sudden jolt across his body and his face turns slightly pale. But he still continues on swinging his blade.
‘Ahhh… where is that bastard when I needed him.’ By the word “bastard” Erhart refers to Zotoady. Who had disappeared for two day from now, leaving behind a simple note :
“
Dear Young Erhart,
Need to smash blow up do something, will be back in about 3 days.
Feed Yuwa ia adina the medicine I left on the ground.
Do not be surprised if her hair colour may change.
Best luck, see you soon.
Zotoady
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“
“Where did he go? Anyway! think I will go back and make the breakfas..” Erhart unknowingly speaks to himself. But pauses when he feels a disturbance in the qi of his surroundings. ‘Intruder!’ immediately the thought pops out into his mind. He prepares himself, but due to the absence in the knowledge of the intruder’s strength. Erhart did not act immediately, or shown any signs of irregularity. He closes his eyes and stands still.
10 metres,
5 metres,
3 metres,
NOW!
Erhart opens his eye, releasing a wall of sword aura towards the incoming intruder, due to the intense sunlight he is unable to the intruder’s face. But it doesn’t matter, as Erhart thought that his sword aura will most likely disable, if not injure the intruder. But he is wrong, before the aura even reaches him, the intruder vanishes.
‘where?’ Erhart scans his surroundings unable to find any irregularities or signs of something moving or hiding. But from the Hunter training experience he gained from Jorah, he learned that even without [Blood Awakening Abilities]. If the environment allows, a ranger, an elite hunter or a good assassin can camouflage and hide better than chameleon. There are even stories of a [Human] ranger corps that assassinated a group of [Tier – 7 Blood Warriors] with just bows and arrows. Of cause, Erhart did not believe that story, as from some of the deceptions of post [Tier – 5 Blood Warriors] written with the [Alchemist]’s note book. He learned if one is to try shooting an arrow at just a [Tier -5 Blood Warrior], it is just like throwing a tooth pick at a rock, and killing [Tier – 7] with arrows, is just like trying to use tooth picks to crush a diamond.
Erhart once again closes his eyes,’ if you are a living being I can sense you!’ In his mind a 3D diagram of the nearby landscapes are generated. and Erhart finds approximately 20 metres his 8 o’clock position, A blazing green flamed in the shape of man can be sensed hiding behind a tree. With a faint smile appearing on his face, Erhart sends out two slashes of sword aura towards the position where the intruder is hiding. The sword auras are both translucent and fast. As they fly into the intruder, the intruder did not have any time to dodge, neither does the purplish flame bolts the intruder uses to attempt counter the aura had any effect on them. With the aura passing through the bolts like a hot knife through butter.
Just as Erhart once again thought the fight is over, Erhart feels a sudden surge of unnatural fear emerge within his heart. Before he knows it, his surroundings begins to change colour, into somewhat golden with the roaring sound of hundreds of [beasts] echoing across the area.
“[Domain----Beast King’s Retribution]”
Domains, [AoE Blood Awakening Abilities], catalogued into four types: Battle, Support, Defence and Control. Battle domain modifies user’s attack within the limited area; Support domain grants special effects onto the user and its ally within a certain range; Defence domain creates a shield over a certain area that neglects attacks and control domain rarest type of domain, said once mastered by a being, the domain can have absolute control over certain element within the domain’s range.
And normally [Domain] can only be accessed by [Blood Warriors] once they reached [Tier- 6] and [The Beast King’s Retribution] is recorded to be one of the strongest Battle Domain out there.
‘Shit! TIER SIX.’ Erhart did not risking wasting any time as he knows once the domain is fully under the intruder’s control, he is not much better than being dead. Now, what he needs to do is either finding a way to defeat his opponent as soon as possible or maybe break the domain and escape.
“Cut!” Erhart sends out a series of sword auras into the domain, attempting the cut it apart, but it did work, the aura passes through the domain as if it is not even there and the domain not in the slightest bit seems to have been damaged. To some unknown reason, the intruder is just standing there, not attempting to use the Domain to the advantage that should have been used.
Seeing his attempt did not work, Erhart takes in a deep breath, gradually rises his sword above his head, pointing the blade towards the sky. At the same time, raising his other hand, allowing two of his fingers to stay straight, contracting the rest.
As he did so, in all a sudden the pressure shifts within the domain. The air of the nearby area seems to have somehow solidified with the change of pressure. Waves of concentrated sword auras begins to gather, circulating all around Erhart, they shift, they mix and they compress, changing their colour from translucent into glimmering gold. The glimmer it emits outshining everything nearby including the domain itself, yet unlike what normally gold’s glimmer may represent, the shine does not in the slightest way feel kind or divine, instead it gives out a radiance of uneasiness and solemn, a feeling of untouchable.
Sword Formation ---- The Judgement of Nine Blades
The golden sword auras shapes into nine glittering energy swords, hovering behind Erhart’s back, pointing towards the intruder.
“JUDGEMENT!” Erhart shouts.
With a wave of Erhart’s left hand the nine blades flashes straight into the intruder, without even give him a chance to blink, the blade traps the intruder, with each blade’s sharp point pointing in towards at him.
“like, CALM THE HELL DOWN! KITCHEN KNIFE” the intruder shouts with a shaking voice, his or well, her voice sounds somewhat familiar to Erhart.