Chapter 104: The Mysterious Middle-Aged Man With White Hair And a Blindfold.
“Young man… Do not withdraw the sword, for now is not the time…”
At the sudden sound, Leon, gripping the hilt of the black sword with the clear intention of drawing and pulling it out, snapped back to reality in an instant.
“Ha? What just happened?” Leon muttered, his confusion evident as he glanced downward, only to be startled by what met his eyes.
“Shit! What have I done!?” Leon cursed loudly, fear etched across his face as he hastily took a few steps back, his gaze locked in horror upon the black sword.
He couldn’t fathom why he had involuntarily approached the sword with the intention of pulling it out.
All Leon could recall was the voice that seemed to have entranced him earlier.
“Damn it! Could it be those voices?” Leon conjectured, growing increasingly convinced of this explanation.
Apart from the voices echoing in his mind, who else could it be?
Just as he teetered on the brink of astonishment and confusion, a voice unexpectedly sounded from behind him.
“Hahaha, young man, it seems you’ve regained your wits?” The voice, reminiscent of a middle-aged man’s, startled Leon anew.
Swiftly, he pivoted, only to find, about five meters behind him, a white-haired middle-aged man with a white cloth draped over both eyes, resembling a blind individual who had lost their sight.
The sudden appearance of the middle-aged man sent Leon’s vigilance skyrocketing.
“Who are you?” Leon questioned, cautiously stepping back.
With keen intensity, he scrutinized the enigmatic figure before him, his eyes narrowing.
At Leon’s inquiry, the middle-aged man offered a faint smile.
“Don’t be so guarded, young man. I harbor no ill will towards you,” the middle-aged man assured in a calm, gentle tone.
Leon furrowed his brow, refusing to ease his vigilance at the man’s words, sensing an underlying complexity in him.
After all, he was certain that he had been alone in this hall of glory moments before.
How, then, could this middle-aged man have appeared?
“How can you assure me that you had no intention of harming me?” Leon asked him cautiously, maintaining his vigilance.
The middle-aged man didn’t show any sign of anger towards Leon’s lingering wariness; rather, he maintained his usual gentle smile.
“How do I prove it? Well… didn’t I just prove it?” The middle-aged man replied with a hint of jest in his tone.
“Ha? What do you mean by ‘just proved it’?” Leon’s frown deepened as he asked impulsively.
“Well, didn’t I help you earlier in regaining your senses?” The middle-aged man responded with gentle calmness.
At the mention of “regaining your senses,” Leon was immediately taken aback.
“Were you the one who just freed me from the hypnotism of this black sword?” he inquired, gesturing towards the blade lodged in the altar.
“If it was not me, then who else?” The middle-aged man gave a small chuckle before continuing, “But it’s very impolite of you to point like that at a great sword that holds a status equivalent to a holy sword, Leon Kruger.”
When the middle-aged man mentioned his name, Leon widened his eyes in shock.
“Y-you… Did you just call my name!?” Leon asked in horror, his voice trembling as he gazed upon the middle-aged man.
“Hehehe… Are you surprised that I know your name?” The middle-aged man gave a small smile before continuing, “Let alone your name; I even know that you are a sword hero, and there are many more things I know about you.”
The more Leon heard his words, the more horrified he became, feeling as though he were being scrutinized down to his very soul by this unfamiliar middle-aged man.
“Who are you? How do you know my name and my status as a sword hero?” Leon asked once again, and his alertness heightened to an unusual degree.
“Didn’t I tell you not to be so vigilant with me?” The middle-aged man sighed helplessly, as if weary of Leon’s excessive wariness towards him.
He then continued, “Regarding my identity and how I came to know about you, I’m afraid I cannot disclose such information. It would entail severe consequences for you should you discover.”
“Severe consequences?” Leon asked, his frown deepening.
“Yes, severe consequences, and it would be disastrous for you,” the middle-aged man replied solemnly, devoid of any hint of jest.
Leon was rendered speechless by the sincerity in his words, which lacked any hint of deceit.
Moreover, he couldn’t sense any malicious intent from the middle-aged man, as he claimed.
After all, if this middle-aged man had truly harbored malicious intentions, wouldn’t he have refrained from aiding him in breaking free from the hypnosis of the black sword?
He could have easily taken advantage of his vulnerable state and attacked him directly.
Nonetheless, Leon felt somewhat hesitant due to the mysterious identity of the middle-aged man and his knowledge of Leon’s own identity, such as his name and his status as a sword hero.
After a moment of contemplation, Leon finally let out a small sigh and decided to trust him.
With his gaze still fixed on the middle-aged man, Leon nodded slightly.
“Alright, I’ll trust you,” Leon said firmly.
“Good,” the middle-aged man replied, his smile thin but calm.
Leon took a small breath and inquired, “Since you already know my identity as a sword hero, can you enlighten me about the origin of this sword? And why does it bear resemblance to the Holy Sword of Zenith?”
This matter left him truly astonished and perplexed.
How could there be a sword so similar to his Holy Sword of Zenith?
Was this black sword truly the twin of the Holy Sword of Zenith, or was it merely a coincidence of similarities?
If it was indeed the twin, why was there no record of this sword?
If it wasn’t, then why the striking resemblance?
Furthermore, the middle-aged man’s statement about “a great sword equal to a holy sword” only deepened his already profound confusion.
As unanswerable questions flooded Leon’s mind one by one, a strong sense of curiosity welled up within him, urging him to uncover the truth.
Upon hearing Leon’s question, the middle-aged man smiled and replied, “Unfortunately, I can’t disclose that information.”
Leon:…
Leon’s expression tightened, his hands curling into fists as if he were on the verge of striking the middle-aged man.
He never anticipated encountering someone even more shameless than himself!
However, before he could express his frustration, the middle-aged man’s voice intervened.
“I cannot divulge that information, not out of desire, but to avoid interfering with your path, Leon Kruger,” the middle-aged man replied calmly and nonchalantly.
“My path?” Leon asked, his voice betraying his confusion.
“Yes… Your path, or rather, your fate,” the middle-aged man replied with a mysterious smile, leaving Leon even more bewildered and speechless.
Was this middle-aged man truly fond of playing the mysterious role, or did he suffer from Chuunibyou syndrome1?
As Leon lapsed into silence, the smiling middle-aged man persisted: “However, I can disclose that this sword has a destiny intertwined with yours, and you must promptly rid yourself of the poison coursing through your body to forge a connection with it.”
Upon hearing his words, Leon felt goosebumps erupt all over his body.
‘Asshole! Is this middle-aged man some kind of god!?’ Leon asked himself inwardly, feeling a mix of fear, horror, and amazement.
Even this middle-aged man knows about the poison within him.
Therefore, who else but a god could possess such knowledge?
In the midst of his shock, Leon suddenly felt his body stiffen as if a powerful force were bearing down on him.
At the same time, he felt a pull, as if something were trying to draw him away from where he stood.
Sensing this, Leon was dumbfounded and questioned urgently, “What’s happening!? Why do I feel this pull!?”
The middle-aged man smiled and replied, “It means you must return immediately, Leon Kruger.”
“What? Return? What does that mean—” Before he could finish his sentence, everything began to blur around Leon, as if it were an illusion slowly fading away.
At that moment, an unusually intense wave of dizziness engulfed Leon, until finally, his entire vision succumbed to pitch blackness.
Meanwhile, the white-haired middle-aged man, observing Leon’s disappearance, smiled faintly before shifting his gaze to the black sword embedded in the altar.
“With this, everything should be back on the right track, isn’t it?”
Chūnibyō (中二病) is a Japanese colloquial term typically used to describe early teens who have grandiose delusions, who desperately want to stand out, and who have convinced themselves that they have hidden knowledge or secret powers.
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