by Daman
“Ouch!”
Calron yelped after feeling a sting on his finger. The sharp edge of the broken blade nicked him.
A globule of blood formed at the tip of his forefinger, and Calron placed the finger in his mouth to stop the bleeding.
“Damn this stupid sword!”
As he bent forwards to grasp the pommel of the sword, Calron felt an urge to look at the object next to the blade.
It was a simple recurve bow with slightly sharp ends. It had a snapped bowstring, so it essentially looked like a curved stick with two dangling strings. The body of the bow appeared to be made of metal, and covered with small scratches and nicks. Its body was covered with rust and it seemed more like a discarded piece of metal than an actual bow.
Slightly confused as to why a bow would be made of metal instead of wood, Calron picked it up.
*Crackle*
Torrents of Azure Lightning rushed from Calron’s body and wildly fluctuated around the room.
This was the first time the Azure Lightning had erupted with such intensity.
The lightning ricocheted into the surrounding weapons, as a small thunderous explosion burst from each of them until only ashes remained in their place.
Calron was watching this whole scene with a stunned expression. He had no control over the Azure Lightning, as it currently seemed to have a will of its own.
At last, all the lightning gathered and formed into a single sinuous body of bolts that spiraled around Calron like a large electric azure snake! The lightning had actually taken a form!
Feeling the sudden heat from the center of his chest, Calron knew that the locket had awoken once again, and the sound of thunder filled the room.
Chapter 26 – Thunder’s Hand
*crackle* *crackle*
The long electric snake continued to shoot out small bolts of lightning while Calron numbly stared at the scene in front of him. He was exactly in the center, with the electric snake coiling around him.
The lightning around the snake seemed to be getting thicker and thicker by the moment, until an ear-piercing roar resounded throughout the room.
BOOOM!
The whole mass of lightning collapsed into the broken metal bow and a shrill cry of an animal penetrated into Calron’s mind!
The bow slowly rose up in the air out of its own accord, and waves of blue lightning bolts surged around it. A faint glow started to emit from its body, as the rust slowly peeled away, just like an exterior skin, revealing a dark onyx metallic body.
When the dark metallic body of the bow appeared, a baleful aura spread around the room at the same time and nearly choked Calron, until the locket transmitted a surge of protective energy around him.
Within the crackling of the blue lightning, thin threads of faint pitch-black lightning also rippled around the bow.
The metal appeared to be absorbing the bolts of lightning, as the essence slowly decreased by the second, while the metal bow continued to mutate.
All of a sudden, the bolts of blue lightning violently expanded in the span of a second and were then vigorously absorbed back into the bow. The previous azure glow around the room disintegrated along with the protective energy surrounding Calron.
Silence.
Calron let out the breath that he had been subconsciously holding the entire time. The scene he just witnessed seemed more like a dream than reality, especially considering the vicious aura that he felt before the locket intervened.
Calron was captivated by the mysterious bow in front of him. It had an alluring presence that was impossible to ignore. Upon closer inspection, he could detect faint traces of patterns emitting a dim azure glow that snaked around the bow. The most noticeable fact about the dark metal bow was that it did not even have a bowstring!
Calron was a bit apprehensive on touching the metal bow, but he felt the locket subtly compelling him to retrieve it. His hands trembled as they drew closer to the dark bow on the floor.
At that moment, the sound of glass shattering reverberated throughout the entire shop.
“Wha- what was that?”
The old widow’s asked with a quivering voice.
Her dull brown eyes were wide open as she dumbly gaped at Calron and the dark onyx bow on the floor. Her soul shuddered as she recalled the baleful aura she had felt a few minutes ago.
It seemed as if all the despair and misery of the world threatened to devour her fragile soul, and she felt that something as nefarious as that bow, should not exist in this mortal world.
The only thing that saved her life was the distance between her and the bow, which was too great to cause any permanent damage. Noticing that Calron was unfazed by that deadly aura, a hint of fear seeped into the old woman, as she inwardly questioned whether the boy was truly human or not.
“Uh, grandma, I-“
Not knowing what to say, Calron fumbled around while trying to think of a way to explain what had just happened. What worried Calron the most, was whether or not she actually saw the Azure Lightning released from his body or not.
“Boy! Get away from that vile thing!”
In the end, Calron was still a child, so the old woman found it hard to believe that all the destruction and the lightning she saw, was from this boy. She naturally concluded that the entire cause of this was the black bow! If she had known that Calron was actually a lightning elementalist, her thoughts might have been different.
Calron realized from her words that the old woman believed the whole mess was due to the black bow, and he could not help but feel slightly relieved. However, he had another dilemma on his hands. If he purposefully took the bow now, then it would gather too much unwanted suspicion.
Just then, Calron felt the locket heat up again, and a series of images flashed inside his mind. This sensation felt very similar to the time when his Teacher had transferred the second stage of the Thunder-Bird technique directly to his soul!
The images disintegrated as soon as they appeared, but the information remained inside Calron’s head.
He discretely clenched his fist with the finger that had been injured before and used the pressure from his other fingers to reopen the wound. Just as he felt a slight wetness within his fist, Calron moved on to the next part of his plan.
“Sorry grandma, I don’t know what happened! I was just looking through the weapons, and when I touched the metal bow, it suddenly started shooting off lightning! Look, this is where I touched it!”
Before the elderly woman could stop him, Calron touched the dark onyx bow with his injured hand, and in a blink, the bow completely vanished!
“Where did it go? Boy, move aside!”
The old woman frantically searched for the dark weapon, but could not find any traces of it at all! It was impossible for the boy to hide it as the thing was almost as big as him and the kid seemed to be just as surprised as her!
That was close! I thought she almost saw through me at the last second. Why do I always get pulled into the most troublesome situations? So, its name is Thunder’s Hand, huh? Thankfully the locket told me how to bind it with my blood, otherwise, I doubt I could’ve taken this bow anywhere. I wonder what this locket really is, I’ve never heard of any object being able to convey its thoughts to others…
Calron silently pondered, while the old woman continued to search for the missing bow.
“Uh, grandma, I need to leave right now. I told my friend to wait for me and it has already been way past the meeting time. It was nice meeting you!”
Seeing as there were no signs of the bow, the elderly woman simply sighed and rasped to the boy as he began to leave.
“Go, go. It’s not good manners to be late.”
As the boy left the store, the old woman slowly started to pick the broken shards of glass up from the floor.
“Blood?”
The old widow whispered as she saw the drops of crimson blood on the floor, and unintentionally gazed at the door from which the boy just left.
………
…………..
In a crowded district, inside a small meat shop, a lone chubby boy sat at a table by himself. He had a look of despair on his face as he continued to stare at the streets, looking for that one familiar face.
“Where is big bro? It has already been hours since we were supposed to meet, and he still hasn’t shown up!”
Fatty quietly murmured to himself and after a few moments, his stomach growled.
“I’m starving! I already spent all my money on the Flame-tailed Buffalo… that meat was so delicious, I will definitely come here again after big sis gives me some more money!”
As Fatty dreamed of more meat, he felt a tap on his shoulder.
“Sorry, Fatty! I got lost on the way back…”
Calron sheepishly said while scratching his head.
“What! You got lost? How can you be lost for hours? And couldn’t you just ask someone for the directions?”
Fatty burst out emotionally.
For the past few hours, he was tortured by the constant smell of meat roasting and with no money, and forced to stay at the shop by Calron, he could only silently cry tears and curse his luck.
Knowing he didn’t have a good excuse, Calron hurriedly stated.
“Fatty, let’s go back! I’ll give you half my share of dinner!”
“You promise?”
Fatty suspiciously inquired.
“Would I ever lie to you?”
Calron realized his blunder as he said those words, as Fatty suddenly glared at him.
After fervently apologizing to Fatty and with future promises of more food, Calron finally appeased him.
Soon, both boys started walking back towards the Red Boar School as they each recounted their tales of day. Fatty unceasingly described the taste of the “dream meat”, while Calron told Fatty about some of the fascinating items he saw while wandering around.
Obviously, Calron kept the situation with the dark onyx bow to himself.
He did not have the time to summon it again after leaving the old woman’s shop, as there were too many people around. He decided to wait until he reached his hut to further explore the bow that was named Thunder’s Hand.
………………
The sky soon turned dark, and even the weather dropped in temperature, as the boys suddenly felt a bit chilly.
Finally, the gates of the Red Boar School appeared in sight, as both Calron and Fatty rushed to get indoors for warmth.
Their breath turned foggy as they exhaled, and Fatty gave a withering scowl towards Calron, as if blaming him for the situation they were in.
Calron purposefully ignored Fatty’s stare, but he did feel a bit guilty, as it was because of him that they were so late.
“Huh, who’s that, big brother?”
Fatty whispered as a hazy figure suddenly appeared within their sight.
The figure was still a few meters ahead, but the light fog in the air obscured all features of the man, so Calron and Fatty could not distinguish the identity of the figure.
The reason both boys were anxious was because, the shadow of the man appeared to be slowly approaching their direction.
Chapter 27 – The Second Inheritor
Within the fog, the shadow continued walking towards their direction.
Seeing the figure approach them, Calron felt slightly nervous, as he had come to learn by now that misfortune seemed to follow him everywhere.
Even Fatty seemed a bit jittery with the current atmosphere. He could instinctively feel that someone with a powerful aura was coming towards them.
*clack* *clack*
The sound of a wooden stick hitting against the ground echoed in the quiet road.
“Eh? I’ve heard that sound before…could it be?”
Just as Calron muttered to himself, a figure soon emerged from the fog, revealing his features.
“Master!”
Calron exclaimed, as he saw the wrinkled face of Elias slowly being illuminated under the moonlight.
Elias’s silver hair was neatly tied in a ponytail, and his white robe glowed with the same luminance as the gentle moon above. The fog started to disperse away as he stepped out of it, and he continued to walk towards Calron and Fatty.
Seeing his Master, Calron felt both elated and confused. His Master did not like to come out in public and moreover, he had often reminded Calron to keep their relationship completely hidden from others.
This was the only reason why he still had not disclosed anything about his Martial Arts training to Fatty. In the sparse time they had spent together, both boys had unknowingly developed an unbreakable bond. They did not know much about each other’s past or history, but their souls were naturally drawn to each other, as if they shared a similar fate.
Fatty was the most shocked out of the both of them. Calron had just called this old man in front him, “Master”, so how could he not be surprised? Furthermore, the man was completely blind!
Even in the dark, Fatty could clearly see Elias’ opaque grey eyes and the click clacking of the wooden stick against the ground. Only blind people had cloudy eyes, as their vision was impaired.
“Big brother, did you just called him ‘Master’?”
Fatty spluttered hesitantly next to Calron.
Realizing his sudden blunder, Calron felt foolish as he had just revealed the deeply kept secret between him and Elias. Glancing towards his Master to see his reaction, Calron felt mollified by Elias’ next few words.
“It’s fine, Calron. He would have found out sooner or later. Besides I need him to know now.”
Elias said with a slight smile as he finally arrived in front of the two boys.
Baffled by his Master’s words, Calron just stood there while pondering what Elias meant.
“Roran, I can cure you of your sickness.”
Just those few words uttered by Elias shook Fatty’s world!
Never mind the fact that the man already knew his name, but his sickness was a closely guarded secret that not even the entire Axier family knew!
Fatty’s hands trembled as he subconsciously staggered back a few steps.
“H-How did you know?”
Fatty asked with a quiver in his voice. His sickness was his greatest weakness and if others found out what it actually was, he would be treated worse than trash!
Paying no attention to the changes in Fatty’s behavior, Elias calmly responded.
“Because I am the same as you.”
………………………..
“Report!”
A cold voice commanded the man kneeling in front of the dais.
“My Lord, Master Dane has agreed to take the little lady under his tutelage for the next few years. We have talked with the School Head, and Master Dane should have no troubles staying at the Red Boar School during that duration.”
The assassin stated in a stoic voice.
“How did Felice take the news?”
A frosty voice inquired, as its owner slowly stood up from his seat. The tall man turned towards his side and looked out the window, while the assassin continued to kneel on the floor.
A pale full moon gently floated in the starry sky. Below, the calm wind embraced the leaves on the trees as it softly swayed in the night.
“Little lady was most pleased when she found out that Master Dane would be tutoring her in Martial Arts. His reputation is indeed quite renowned.”
“Hmm, I’m glad.”
The moonlight shone on the man’s face, revealing his grey hair and trimmed beard. A pair of piercing cobalt eyes gazed at the scenery outside the window, as several creases appeared near his eyes.
“How is he?”
Suddenly, a gentle whisper sounded from the grey-haired man.
Noticing the sudden change of tone in his Lord’s voice, the kneeling man knew whom his Lord was referring to.
“He is well, my Lord. He gets bullied often, but his spirit never wavers. As per your orders, we won’t interfere unless his life is threatened.”
/> “Does he get to eat good food?”
The Lord asked with a slight smile on his face, which the kneeling man obviously could not see as the tall man was facing away from the assassin.
Not understanding the humor in the grey-haired man’s question, the assassin did not know how to respond.
“Yes, my Lord, the school provides meals for all its students.”
“Haha, I doubt that rascal would be satisfied with such plain food!”
The Lord laughed as he started reminiscing the memories of his son growing up.