Chapter 13: Hair’s Blade

Chapter 13: Hair's Blade

Reaching down into the crater, Elithira pulled Ty up as she stated, "It would be best if we keep moving. If I recall correctly, there should be a small village about a mile up the road through the oak forest."

"So, you've been here before, is that right?" Ty inquired.

Responding directly, Elithira nodded, "Yes, it should have been around 12 years since I was last here."

"Your father mentioned the 'heroes,' all of them lost, and some other force took over. Is that correct? Do you think you would be able to beat whoever did that? Seeing you fight back there made it seem like you were pretty strong," Ty expressed genuinely.

"Whether I can or not doesn't matter," Elithira replied nonchalantly, "I'm not here to be anyone's savior. I just want to see if someone is alive. That's all."

With her arms folded, she added, "Furthermore, I'm not some chaperone for you either, so don't expect me to be tagging along with you the entire time." Visitt novelbin(.)co/m for the latest updates

Ty waved his hand and exclaimed, "That's fine. The sooner I get your father's item, the better it will be."

"I'm sure it won't be too bad down here. It looks like a nice place, all things considered so far," Ty continued before he was abruptly cut off by Elithira as she pulled his collar from behind and threw him to the ground. A blade had just inched past his neck, missing by just a few hair breaths from taking his LIFE.

As Ty crashed to the ground, he yelled, "Who the hell are you?" He quickly looked around and noticed a man clad in red armor, reminiscent of the traditional Edo period samurai armor. The lacquered plates of the armor gleamed in the sunlight, and intricate patterns of golden filigree adorned the armor's surface.

The helmet bore a fierce faceplate, along with a long crimson cloak that was draped down from the warrior's back. Ty's fear swiftly turned into amazement as his love for anything Japanese slowly came forth.

For a small moment, Ty even forgot the danger he was in, all he could do was marvel at how cool the man looked.

Before the man attempted another slice at Ty, he rolled out of the incoming attack and voiced, "Wait, wait, wait. We aren't the bad guys, and we don't mean any harm."

In response, the man simply grumbled, "Foreigners aren't welcomed here and will only bring more problems," after saying that, he attempted to carry out another strike.

Elithira stepped in, annoyed with the turn of events and said firmly, "Enough of that."

She had already pulled out her blade as the sumaria's strike got closer to them, she parried it, forcing the blade to drop from his hand and cut down the straps on his helmet.

As the helmet fell on the ground, Ty and Elithira were revealed the face of an elderly man, roughly 50 years old, with gray hair and a face laced with numerous scars, his eyes were dull with a blue hue in them.

"First, the two meteors fall, and now two strangers are casually strolling into my village, dressed like people who don't belong here," the man muttered, resigned. "Kill me if you must; just spare my family. Once the Yami King gets ahold of you, it's all over anyway."

With an annoyed expression, Elithira looked at Ty and said, "This is what we get with you showing off."

Tatami mats lined the floor, creating a traditional and serene ambiance. Sliding shoji screens separated the rooms, diffusing the soft, warm light into numerous patterns on the floor.

The faint scent of incense hung in the air, adding to the nostalgic atmosphere that enveloped them. Settling in for a moment, Ty stated, "Pretty crazy, right, Elithira?"

"What's crazy?" She asked, a bit perplexed by his sudden question.

"That you were able to run into the person's father so quickly," he said. "You'd think it was almost planned with how well all things have happened till now."

Elithira smirked as she replied, "Well, I always have a plan, and I didn't land where we did just because. I picked the spot because I knew that it was Sogetsu's hometown.'"

"So, I simply raised the odds of finding him a bit faster. Though I hid the gravity of his situation from his father, I am indeed worried about him."

"Well, my father always used to tell me, 'Worry only about what you can control; everything else will just become a waste of thought.'"

"So, at least for the time being, you can focus on taking the right steps to find the answer to your questions, and hopefully, our goals will line up for a while."

Running her hand through her hair, Elithira stated, "I suppose, but you are pretty useless without knowing how to fight, you know. You should already be using your Reiesencia since you've been out of the Mortal Realm for a while; besides being a platinum spirit, you should also have some fancy ability."

"In my experience with rare souls, at least," she shrugged.

"I mean, how am I even supposed to know how to use 'Reiesenzida'? It's like giving legs to a fish and expecting them to just walk. It's only natural for it to take time."

"Perhaps, but you really won't have time to get used to it if someone tries to slice your head off again. And it's called Reiesencia," she corrected.

"Haha, I guess that's true. I forgot to thank you for that," Ty replied while forcing a sheepish smile before they heard a knock at their door.

After opening the door, Ty was surprised to see a short female, maybe 5'1" or 5'2", in a pure white kimono, stating, "Master Tusandro has summoned you and Lady Elithira. Please follow me."

"Sure, let me grab my stuff," Ty said, a short blush on his face as he thought to himself, 'She kind of looks like a Chibi version of Jade.'

"Maybe I just have a thing for Asians," he shook his head and thought to himself while they continued their walk, following the short female to a hut located at the center of the village.

As they walked in, the girl in the kimono, who had been guiding them, gave a slight bow before walking off.

At the center lay trays of food of assorted meats and veggies as Tusandro called out, "Come sit and dine with me so we may discuss the next course of action over a meal."