Chapter 12 - Academy City (2)
"...Me?"
"Yes. You. Are you going to insist that the First Poison King resurrected as this young whippersnapper? Have you gone senile at a hundred years old?"
"That's enough. Impudent descendant."
The boy frowned.
"Do not speak carelessly. The Vice-Cult Leader is my benefactor. I will not tolerate insults to my benefactor."
"And what will you do if you don't tolerate it? Dare to mimic the First Poison King in front of me?"
"If you wish."
A transparent light flickered in the boy's eyes.
Galbray suddenly felt the hairs on his body stand on end.
"Poison flowing in his eyes? Could it be the Poison Eyes?"
The boy didn't respond.
The First Poison King, Kainens.
The now-legendary progenitor had a few symbolic characteristics: pure white hair, overwhelming stature, and crystal-clear nails.
Poison Eyes were also one of those characteristics.
By enhancing one's eyeballs with the power of poison, one could gain superior eyesight and reaction speed.
The problem was the side effect: eventual blindness within a short period.
Because of this, no master of poison arts ever touched their eyes.
"No one has ever reached the realm of Poison Eyes. No one since the First Poison King... Hah."
Galbray clicked his tongue.
Then he asked the old man over the boy's shoulder.
"Zigrat. Did you really do it? Did you truly succeed in stirring the leylines and extracting the Life-Death Poison?"
"Indeed."
"And you succeeded in putting that Life-Death Poison into that young whippersnapper's body?"
"It wasn't just put in."
The old man sighed and looked at the boy's back.
"It has already become completely one. Can you not believe it even with your own eyes? This person is truly him. The first and only true Poison King. Now that he has returned, show some respect. Ninth Poison King Galbray."
"...That cannot be."
Galbray shook his head and stood up.
"The past is just the past. Real? I am the real one. Only I am the legitimate and orthodox Poison King, acknowledged by all the elders."
"Acknowledged by the elders, you say..."
Then the boy interrupted, laughing.
"Amusing. Is that what it takes to become a Poison King these days?"
"You, young whippersnapper..."
"The Poison King's reputation has fallen. Others' acknowledgment? Weak. All a Poison King needs is power."
"Shut up! What do you know, you little brat!"
Kainens's face contorted like a demon.
The boy sighed and shook his head.
"It's a rule I set. Who else but me would know?"
"What? Don't boast. Just a young whippersnapper who luckily inherited Kainens's power..."
"Being young is a good thing."
"What?"
Suddenly, a transparent mist spread from the boy's body.
"Gasp..."
"Ugh..."
"Finally... at last..."
It was a potent poison.
The experimental subjects engulfed in the mist couldn't last even a few seconds.
Even the wood-reinforced ceiling couldn't withstand the toxic gas and began to crumble like dust.
Poison Mist.
One of the highest realms of poison arts.
One projects the poison within their body in the form of a mist, establishing their own territory.
"This young whippersnapper..."
His reaction was delayed, it was so natural.
Galbray also spread a purple toxic gas, establishing his own territory.
But it was too late.
The purple Poison Mist was overwhelmed by the transparent mist and couldn't spread widely.
"They say Life-Death Poison has no color or scent... It lives up to its reputation."
Galbray endured, drawing out toxicity from deep within his lungs.
"Not just anyone can use Poison Mist. Are you truly the First Poison King?"
"Yes. I am Kainens."
"...Phew. Why did you return now? You can't possibly be here to destroy the Poison King family. Wasn't your goal to become Life-Death Poison and contaminate the leylines?"
"I didn't return by choice."
The boy turned to the old man and smiled.
"Now that I'm here, I see much has changed. Your actions are no different from the Sword King family's. So I intend to return things to how they originally were."
"Hah!"
Galbray scoffed.
"What you're saying is identical to that old man's. Have you been brainwashed? Isn't it strange that nothing has changed after 250 years? The situation is complicated now, so..."
"Too much chatter."
The boy uncrossed his arms and gathered the transparent mist into his fist.
"Don't try to persuade me. This will be settled by force. Ninth Poison King Galbray. I, First Poison King Kainens, challenge you to a duel for the position of Poison King."
"Duel? Hah..."
Galbray gave a hollow laugh and picked up the mace lying on the floor.
"Duel, my foot. What outdated custom is that?"
"The position of Poison King is succeeded by duel. I decreed it so."
"It's an ancient custom, more than a hundred years old. Nobody duels these days. It's maddening. I'm already sick of catering to the elders, and now some dead specter reappears... No, how did these guys appear in the first place? There must be hundreds guarding the passage?"
"We climbed the cliff."
"What?"
"The weather was clear today. So we climbed up. The path I used before was still there."
And the boy launched himself.
It was a flash-like speed.
In an instant, he passed through the realm of the Life-Death Poison he had created, broke through Galbray's realm of decay poison, and threw a pulled-back punch.
"Huh!"
It was a movement that drew exclamations.
But this one was also a Poison King, in name.
Galbray swung his mace and struck the boy's fist.
At the moment of impact, an explosion erupted.
It was a thunderous boom that seemed to burst eardrums.
Simultaneously, multi-colored toxic gas surged in all directions as if exploding.
"Oh."
It was the boy who was pushed back.
The boy genuinely admired, as if he hadn't expected to be pushed back.
Galbray rotated his body without pause, swinging his mace.
At first glance, it seemed random.
But it was an intended illusion.
Within it lay intricate deceptions designed to instantly cut off the enemy's breath.
'All movements are calculated,'
The boy inwardly sighed.
It looked like the swordsmanship of the Sword King family.
What on earth had happened to the Poison King family during the hundreds of years he was gone?
Dodging was not difficult.
However, even that was an intended flow.
The mace, striking the ground, burst the surface, sending fragments flying.
At the same time, the purple toxic gas spewed by Galbray enveloped the fragments and showered towards the boy.
'Plausible,'
There was no such technique 250 years ago.
The boy rotated his body, spraying toxic gas to deflect the fragments, and simultaneously gathered the flow of Life-Death Poison wrapping around his body like an arrowhead, firing it at his opponent.
"Pressure Poison Arrow? Such an old-fashioned technique?"
Galbray blocked the attack by spinning his mace like a windmill.
The arrowhead failed to penetrate the mace and dissipated into a useless mist.
"Nobody uses such techniques these days! They're relics of a bygone era!"
But the arrowhead was merely a feint.
While Galbray was spinning his mace, the boy, who had melted into the Poison Mist himself, skimmed the ground like a wave and reappeared behind the enemy.
'Can he block this too?'
Life-Death Step.
The highest realm of body technique, usable only by those who can create Life-Death Poison and dissolve into it.
250 years ago, no one could decipher this technique.
Even the Sword King struggled with it.
But Galbray immediately turned around.
"You fiend!"
At the same time, he dodged the boy's outstretched punch and thrust his mace forward.
It was exquisite.
But it could be dodged.
The boy inversely coiled the flow of Poison Mist around him and effortlessly pulled his body away.
But it wasn't enough.
He dodged the mace.
But he was struck by a sudden surge of something beyond the mace and sent flying far backward.
At the moment of impact, the throne shook.
Cracks appeared in the walls, and dust poured from the ceiling.
The boy slumped to the floor, spitting blood.
"Cough..."
It was an unexpected situation.
The boy wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth and slowly stood up.
"It wasn't just a mace. There's concentrated poison inside the mace. Is it a new technique?"
"New technique, my foot."
Galbray scoffed, swinging his mace around.
"This has been around for over a hundred years. Even village guards use these days. Didn't Zigrat tell you?"
"A Poison King does not rely on weapons. That's something those weak Sword King family bastards do."
"So, you've been reborn, but you'll still fight only with poison and fists? Tsk, tsk..."
Galbray clicked his tongue and shook his head.
"You're outdated. Your fighting style is too old. The Sword King family this and that? If they were so weak, why didn't you wipe them out 250 years ago?"
"..."
"We have evolved. As much as you were sloshing around in the leylines. To defeat the enemy, you must embrace the enemy."
"Embracing the enemy's methods to fight the enemy..."
The boy nodded, setting his broken finger.
"A plausible story. Is honor of no concern to you?"
"Does that feed you?"
"..."
"Honor? Honor's good. So why didn't you do well in your lifetime? If you had done well, I, a descendant, wouldn't have had to do such things, would I?"
"...Indeed."
The boy sighed and nodded.
"A painful truth. There's no room for rebuttal. In that case, I have no choice but to accept it."
"You, now? Hah!"
Galbray scoffed and ridiculed.
"Don't you think it's too late? Should I fetch you a sword or something and hand it to you?"
"A sword, you say. I couldn't bring myself to go that far."
Suddenly, another transparent aura surged from the boy's body.
"Still, I can do this much."
"..."
Galbray, understanding the situation, couldn't close his mouth.
That was Aura.
The First Poison King, resurrected after 250 years, had activated Aura.
Something impossible and unthinkable was unfolding before his eyes.
***
The city of Bryse in the Northern Empire.
This was the largest city situated on the border, and also the frontline fortress blocking the Poison King family's southward advance.
It was also the location of the Northern Academy, where I would be attending.
"Welcome to Bryse."
The gatekeeper, after checking my student ID, opened the way.
I crossed the drawbridge and entered through the half-open city gate.
Beyond the gate was directly the bustling commercial district.
A strange sight where respectable houses like mansions and shabby houses built of planks coexisted in the same space.
And every street was packed with stalls and open-air markets.
"This is the Sword King family's Defense Force's regular patrol! The Sword King family always wishes for the safety and peace of its citizens!"
A group of Defense Force soldiers was seen patrolling the streets.
I stood still and watched them until they had all passed.
This was Bryse.
The most dangerous city in the Empire, and also the most prosperous city in the North.
-Bryse is the front line. As such, there's a lot of support, and many supplies and people gather there.
My brother's words suddenly came to mind.
I mumbled to myself as I passed through the crowded streets.
"The new dormitory... Was it on the outskirts of 8th Street, north of the academy?"
However, I didn't know where the academy was in the first place, let alone 8th Street.
There was no helping it.
This was my first time in Bryse.
Still, if I kept walking, I would eventually arrive.
It was common knowledge that the academy was located in the center of the city.
All roads in the city lead to the academy.
My brother, my sister, and even my father had all said the same thing.
"Wild boar skewers, 2 silver each!"
"Barley! Fresh barley flour from the South, just arrived yesterday, 5 silver a sack!"
"Herbs bought!"
"Persephone's Tailoring branch open! Half price on all custom items for opening celebration!"
The streets were full of vitality.
Compared to the shopping district of Crest, where I had stayed recently, there were about three times as many people and it was five times as noisy.
It wasn't bad.
Even just walking, I felt alive.
As I walked, observing the city where I would live for the next four years, an anomaly occurred.
"..."
Something strange happened.