Underlord (Cradle #6)(49)

Once again, the weapon came down with enough force that he would have sworn it came from an Underlord, but this time Lindon was swinging one-handed. Kiro was still stronger, and his stance was solid as stone.

He held off the blow, punching out at Lindon with his shield. Lindon caught the edge with his left hand, his white prosthetic arm straining to push his axe down, the other wrestling with Kiro's shield. Kiro looked into the man's black-and-red eyes and snarling face, and he thought he understood why the Sage of the Silver Heart had taken hostile notice of him.

He had the bearing of a violent demon, a savage fixed on violence. Akura Charity's nephew must have met a horrible fate at this brute's hands.

But Kiro's body had still been bathed in soulfire, and Lindon’s had not. In a few more seconds, the prince would win this contest.

Then Lindon's eyes cleared. The black and red bled out of his eyes like ink being wiped away. The aura around him faded away, and the pressure on Kiro eased up. He didn't understand why Lindon would drop his Enforcer technique, but he wouldn't miss an opportunity when he had one; he shoved the axe away and pushed harder with his shield, intending to bowl Lindon over. The Blackflame began to slide back.

A new aura of light surrounded Lindon, this time a nimbus of hazy blue-white madra. Lindon stopped sliding back, holding the shield. Only a second later, he was standing upright.

Kiro felt a chill. The other Enforcer technique had given Lindon explosive strength and speed, but this brought the feeling of steady strength, like a placid lake.

He was matched.

He swept down his sword, but Lindon reached up with one fist and struck his wrist. There was a pulse of madra, and Kiro's hand went numb.

The crackling light surrounding his sword went out. It was no longer drawing on his madra. And it felt heavy, as though his Enforcer technique could no longer reach it.

That was one mystery too many for Kiro. How had a Truegold met him in strength? How was he using what seemed to be an entirely separate Path? The Sage had mentioned nothing about that. How had he negated Kiro's madra? And how had he managed a hit like that in the first place? Hitting Kiro’s wrist as he struck with his sword sounded easy, but doing so in an actual battle required inhuman levels of control. Or insanity.

Burning his madra for a burst of strength, Kiro shoved himself away from Lindon, taking two steps back. The Blackflame didn't pursue him, burning with that cold light, waiting for Kiro to make a move.

Watching him.

Kiro held up his sword and shield, keeping the fear from his voice. “Who are you?”

Lindon's eyes started to bleed black-and-red again, the pale haze around his body fading away. “You came looking for me.” Coming from that face, the words felt somehow like a threat.

“Are you the grandson of the last Blackflame Emperor?” Kiro had come up with all sorts of theories ever since Charity had pointed out Lindon's existence. “Are you a secret weapon of the Naru family?”

He didn't entirely expect an answer, but sometimes pride got the better of sacred artists. Maybe Lindon would let something slip.

And he had to know. There was no way a Truegold that fought like an Underlord could come out of nowhere.

“Who sent you after me?” Lindon asked. “Tell me that, and I will gladly tell you about myself.”

He spoke pleasantly, even politely, but Kiro's spirit warned him. He extended his senses to the aura around him.

The darkness of shadow aura had retreated before a slowly swirling tide of smoldering red. The Redflower family wagon was still burning. Still releasing aura of fire and destruction.

And Lindon had been gathering control of that aura the entire time. It was spinning slowly, all around him, like a newborn whirlpool. And like the Night Wheel overhead.

Kiro had no time to say anything, only time to react. He threw himself to the ground, ducking under his shield, activating the Titan's Blade and covering himself in a shield that he poured soulfire into.

As he did, Lindon clenched a fist and activated the aura.

Kiro was consumed in swirling black-and-red fury.

~~~

Yerin dashed at the gray-haired woman, whipping a Rippling Sword Striker technique at her. The wave of sword madra and aura exploded forward, slashing a groove in the soft forest floor, and Yerin ran in its wake.

Mercy suddenly emanated the power of a Truegold. Yerin didn't have to turn to feel her conjuring an arrow on her string, and an instant later that arrow blasted toward the Underlady.

The woman raised her blazing green scythe, then pounded it against the earth.

Black roots shot up from the ground like Striker techniques. They wove thick as a web in front of the life artist, burning with the vibrant energy of Lord-level madra.

Mercy's arrow shattered into specks of shadow on the first root. Yerin's wave of sword madra cut through the first layer, but broke on the second.

Yerin hit the wall of roots herself and kicked off, flipping back to land on her feet.

The roots retreated to reveal the woman's face. It was so blank as to be a mask. “I am Riyusai Meira, keeper of the Seishen royal garden. Tell me now: where is Wei Shi Lindon?”

Yerin used the Endless Sword technique, activating the aura around her body and her six Goldsigns. They erupted into a storm of uncontrolled slashes; Yerin didn't bother focusing on making her technique like the wind. She didn't need one specific cut, but a host of aura blades to slice through a forest of brambles.