Chapter 24: Pa-Harijan

When Sian broke the wall that blocked him from advancing, he felt a strange feeling reeling within him.

<Everything seems pointless and nothing is worth it anymore.>

He did not hate the feeling. He had no interest in other things than using the sword.

He was busy trying different things with his swords after breaking the wall, so it did not bother him much. Yet, other than training, everything else became pointless.

He could not understand why his brother worked so hard in the Knight Guard and why his mother insisting on helping neighbors and people around them. He even felt sad for his father who worked hard for the family.

All the rules, traditions, and lifestyles made by humans did not seem to fit him. He didn’t want to follow anything.

<Freedom from all things that can enforce>

The only thing that held him back was the families who could be sad if he somehow ended up different from their perceptions. That made him lock up the new strength which filled him with strange thoughts. It brought him back to normal and he decided to not use the power if possible.

<This power distances the user from being human.>

As long as his family lived, he wanted to stay human. That’s when he began trying to fit in with the people. He tried to learn and stay within the human laws and learned the mannerisms and ways of the people. He was still considered lazy, but that was his best.

Locking up the power did not stop him from gaining more power and learning new things, so there was no problem. After the incident, he also was now able to hide his true power from anyone, including his father.

It was the best state he could ever wish for and he wished it could’ve continued on as is.

He wished he would never have to use the power again and avoided any possible conflicts.

“Hah...”

Sian shivered at the refreshing feeling that he hadn’t felt in a long time. Just five seconds ago, he was going to clear this place up and lock the power back in again. But why?

‘Why do I need to do that?’

It was so refreshing. He could feel everything around him. The senses that already made him superhuman was now god-like and the power that could crush mountains lingered in his palms.

Humanity? That’s for humans.

He felt like a fool for trying to stay within the boundary of people.

‘Do all Ra-Banders feel this way?’

He wasn’t sure. But one thing was certain.

<Everything feels so worthless. There must be something worth challenging.>

That’s probably why they all left human society.

The Ra-Bander that fought against six-horned Harijans or Kuradans who destroyed the mountain range probably felt the same.

‘What should I try?’

Sian realized there was one thing he had to take care of before.

‘What should I do with these?’

He looked at the eleven people who froze in fear of the energy blast that occurred as he unlocked the power. He smiled and made his decision.

‘Let’s kill them all.’

There was no specific reason.

<That seems to be the best idea.>

This was also to respect himself from ten seconds ago. The Sian from ten seconds ago wanted him to take care of the situation, so he decided to do it.

At once, a space on his palm began to distort itself. It was the first time he was using the power, so he couldn’t control it properly, wasting most it. But it did not matter. He was strong. Stronger than anyone. Sian decided to practice using his power on the surrounding people and began walking up to them.

<This... cannot be...>

The Fifth Elder could not pull himself together at the evil energy that blasted out from the man. The only thing that stopped them from fainting was the similar experience they had from before.

<Battle with a pair of six-horned Harijans>

It was the vicious energy that radiated from the monsters, trying to tear them into pieces which made them feel dizzy. If it wasn’t for the Great Elder, the Second Elder and Kirat, they would’ve all died.

But this was much worse. The man walking toward them was smiling, and he was definitely going to kill them all.

The Elder did not take off his gaze off the man and spoke to his people in their language.

<We... need to run... now. I will hold him... spread out... Rasha... go take Kirat... run to Great Elder...>

Everyone nodded as they bit their lips. Kirat was the most important among them all. Each one of them represented one of the many warriors, including the Fifth Elder, but Kirat and her special Exar power that enabled her to guide their people made her unique and valuable. They needed to buy time for Rasha to successfully flee with Kirat into safety.

The Fifth Elder then took out his weapon from within. He needed to attack when his enemy unexpected it the most.

<Now!!!>

The Elder shouted and blocked Sian. The other ten people began running out.

The Fifth Elder took out a weapon crafted by the Second Elder.

They moved south and fought many Harijans.

All the leftovers from killing those monsters were theirs.

They ate the meat, gathered blood to make medicines, and they used Talic Stones to craft arms.

They had to grow stronger to survive. Most of the Harijans they fought were four-horned, but sometimes there were five-horned ones.

The Second Elder then collected many Talic Stones from those five-horned Harijans and created powerful artifacts. They had to use Talic Stones to survive through the battles, so the number of artifacts crafted were small and they were given to the other Elders and elite warriors.

The power went unmatched and even proved powerful enough to cut down the arms of a six-horned Harijan.

<Karmata>

It was the name of the weapon.

It was so strong that the Fifth Elder restrained from using the weapon as it would make him rely too much on the weapon. He was certain that there were very little people in the world that he could not defeat with the weapon.

<The world... is too large... the War God that your people believe in... must have been crazy... to make a man like you...>

The Elder spoke, gritting his teeth. The man in front of him was at least equal, or probably stronger than the Great Elder.

A Grand Bander at seventeen was impossible.

“Yeah, yeah. The world is large after all. That’s why you have to play nice.”

He didn’t seem to care about the others who were running away. He also seemed much less polite. The Elder looked at the distorted space upon his palm and began moving Bander into Karmata.

‘I need to buy time...’

A golden light began emanating from Karmata as Bander began flowing into the blade. Its light was a force that was meant to destroy everything it touched.

“Oh, that’s interesting.”

But Sian did not seem to mind. Not that the Elder expected him to mind anyway. He was relieved that it interested the man so he could buy a little more time. Sian, who seemed to realize what the Elder was thinking, smiled.

“So, I’ve waited long enough then? Come on now, I gave them enough time to run...”

The Elder charged instantly, blasting out the Bander he concentrated on the body and swung Karmata at Sian. There was no swooshing sound as Karmata destroyed everything, even the air, in its path. The only thing that it left was the trace of a golden streak.

‘...! Did it hit?’

The Elder heard a thudding sound and a resistance on the weapon. He did not expect to hit him at all.

But it was beyond his expectation. His attack was stopped by a hand. Sian continued, “Away. You, old man, are so rude! I was in the middle of talking.”

historical

<ARRGH!!>

The Elder could not take the sword out of Sian’s grasp and gave up. He then concentrated all of his Bander and smashed it on Karmata’s hilt, trying to bash it into the enemy. A loud crashing sound was heard and Karmata wobbled like crazy. It wasn’t because Sian was moving. The sword was flailing against the powerful strike. Sian was still looking at the Karmata he was holding onto.

“I’m not good at this stuff... but this is really well-made.”

The weapon let out golden light, trying to destroy the target, but it was helpless as the owner was no longer holding it and the light began to dissipate. The Elder was standing a few feet back in shock.

“Oh. Did you know?”

The Elder turned to Sian as he smiled and asked his question.

“The time limit is over.”

Sian grabbed Karmata’s handle and swung it around. It was like a simple practice swing, but the result was catastrophic. The area in front of him was sliced in a line. It was hard to see, but it had clearly been divided into two. And it spread out from the inside to the outside, to hundreds of yards where ten of his people were running off to.

<...No...>

The Elder was struck with despair.