Chapter 20
Mitchell saw the dawn sky beginning to brighten.
Hehehe.
Laughter leaked out of him involuntarily.
He had thought he was going to die, yet here he was, still breathing.
'I really didn't think I'd win that one.'
Recalling the final clash with Barque, it felt like a miracle that he was opening his eyes right now.
No matter how much he had poured into it, the man was a 5th-class aura user.
Grateful just to be alive, Mitchell groaned as he pushed his body up.
As he sat up, a voice called out from nearby.
"How is your body feeling?"
The one speaking was Ryderic, the elder of the twins.
Mitchell moved his cracked lips, tasting the faint metallic tang of blood.
"It hurts, but I'm okay. More importantly, some water..."
"Phew, that's a relief. This will be better than water for now."
With those words, Ryderic handed Mitchell a potion.
It was only a low-grade potion, but it was enough to quench his thirst and restore some energy.
"Ah, I feel like I can breathe again. Thank you."
"Don't thank us. We're the ones who should be thanking you."
Just then, Vendric, the younger brother who had been standing by with an excited face, chimed in.
"I never imagined you'd actually take down Barque. You're truly incredible!"
"Ah, speaking of which, where's the body?"
"This time, we confirmed for certain that he drew his last breath. You don't have to worry. Oh, and the way you acted after taking down Barque was really amaz—!"
Vendric started to say more, but he shut his mouth as Grant approached.
"You're awake?"
"Yeah. But why do you look so grumpy?"
"You're asking because you don't know?"
Asking because I don't know?
Mitchell tried to recall if anything had happened, but no matter how hard he thought, he couldn't see a reason for Grant to react that way.
When Mitchell remained quiet for a while, Grant suddenly burst out in anger.
"You happily smacked the back of my head and now you're pretending you don't know? You were even talking nonsense in that weird tone!"
[That weird tone? Nonsense? Why, you little—! I save his life and this is the thanks I get?!]
After that, Mitchell’s head throbbed as Grant and Kalian took turns shouting, but thanks to the noise, he finally understood the situation.
'So, Master possessed my body, finished off Barque, and broke the combined formation.'
And then he had approached Grant to give him a bit of a lecture.
"I don't remember it, but nothing you said is wrong. It's true that you were useless because you didn't train properly."
"What?!"
[Heh heh, for once you're saying something I like.]
Hearing Kalian's praise, Mitchell decided to lean into it to fulfill his duty as a faithful disciple.
"I fought Barque with my life on the line, but you couldn't do a thing because you were stuck in that formation, right?"
"Th-that's..."
"Instead of helping quickly... tsk tsk. That's why those words came out of me unconsciously. Do better from now on."
"……."
[Bwahahaha! Well said, my disciple!]
While Mitchell was making the master feel better by teasing the speechless Grant, he noticed someone standing in front of the inn.
Looking closely, it was the innkeeper and the waiter who had taken their order.
Mitchell held out his palm to Grant.
"Give me some money."
"Money all of a sudden?"
"Don't you see them over there?"
"Ah... the money I have on me won't even come close. And I already talked to them while apologizing earlier. I told them the family would handle it."
"That’s for your part. I'm not a member of the Runei family yet. I should show at least a minimum of sincerity."
Grant nodded at Mitchell’s words and pulled a coin pouch from his chest.
Just as he was about to hand it over, he stopped as if a thought occurred to him.
"Wait, why are you showing your sincerity with my—"
Snatch—
Before Grant could finish, Mitchell snatched the pouch away.
He peeked inside and shook his head.
"Is this all?"
"I brought a generous amount since I thought I'd be at the Demon Realm for a while. What are you talking about? Do you have any idea how much 10 gold is?"
Nope, no clue.
Mitchell shrugged, thinking of the balance in his bank account. He walked over to the innkeeper and handed him the pouch.
"I'm glad you're alive."
"Ah... thank you. But the other young master said proper compensation would come from the House of Runei..."
The owner's expression wasn't great, seemingly thinking this small pouch was the end of it.
However, when Mitchell explained that this was a separate token of his own personal sincerity, the innkeeper's face brightened instantly.
"Th-thank you! This much... thank you so much!"
"It might be dangerous here, so you should head to the village for now."
At Mitchell's words, the innkeeper and the employee bowed several times before hurriedly leaving for the village.
Only then did Grant approach, frowning.
"Why are you taking the credit with my money?"
"I'm the one who fought Barque."
"What does that have to do with money..."
"Maybe nothing. But isn't that the Family Head coming this way?"
"What?!"
They saw someone approaching rapidly from the distance.
The person who arrived was indeed Kayden, just as Mitchell had said.
"Father..."
Grant looked at his father with moved eyes, touched that he had rushed out for his sake.
But Kayden ignored him for a moment, taking the twin guards aside to ask them something. Then, he approached Mitchell with narrowed eyes.
'What? Am I getting scolded too? Did they tell him I just extorted money?'
Mitchell felt a momentary pang of guilt, but Kayden immediately bowed his head.
"Thank you truly. I've received your help once again."
"No, it's fine. We're going to be family soon anyway."
"What? Hahaha! Yes, family soon. Just finish your training well and come back. By the time you return, there will be some progress in our discussions."
Kayden slapped Mitchell on the shoulder with a hearty laugh.
Then, his face hardened instantly as he looked at Grant beside him.
"We'll talk when we get back."
He then grabbed Grant by the ear and began to drag him away. It didn't hurt that much, but being dragged by the ear like a child made Grant yelp.
"Ah! Am I a kid?! Why are you pulling my ear!"
"If you're not a kid, why are you running away from home? Just shut up and follow me."
The father and son climbed into the carriage, and soon the twins bowed toward Mitchell.
"Thank you once again. When you return, we shall treat you to a meal."
"My older brother is a fantastic cook. You won't regret it."
With those final words, the twins climbed onto the driver's seat and set the carriage in motion.
Mitchell waved at the receding carriage and then turned back around.
"Hmm..."
Looking at the sky, the sun was now fully up.
Since he was wide awake anyway, he figured it would be better to just set off.
As he was about to move, Kalian's voice echoed in his ear.
[Aren't you forgetting something?]
"Forgetting something?"
[Your luggage, brat. Your luggage.]
Turning his head, he saw the smoldering ruins of the inn, the flames died down but heat still radiating from the debris.
"Let's just go. The map says there's a village at the entrance of the Demon Realm."
[What do you mean 'just go'? Have you forgotten what's in your bag?]
"There's only clothes and some travel gear... ah! The black bottle!"
[I'm glad you remembered. That bottle was treated with magic, so it should be fine despite this level of heat and impact.]
At those words, Mitchell hurried to the ruins, using his Dark Aura to push back the heat while rummaging through the debris. Only after his entire body was covered in soot did he find the black bottle.
"Got it. Let's go now!"
[Right, let us head out.]
Carrying only the black bottle and his sword, Mitchell began to move toward the Demon Realm.
His steps followed the rhythm of the Ghost Soul Step, flowing naturally.
[Hoh, to perfectly master it after a single real battle.]
"I'm starting to feel grateful to Barque. But Master, about entering my body... was that always possible? Were you just choosing not to take it until now?"
[If that were possible, I would have been using your body long ago. I only managed it because you lost consciousness. Besides, my energy is shaken to the point of death because I forced your body to move. I feel like I might dissipate right now, so erase those foolish suspicions from your head.]
"No, it's not that..."
Mitchell's voice trailed off.
Actually, he wasn't suspicious; he was asking because he wondered if they could do it again next time.
"I just thought if Master used my body when the opponent doesn't expect it, we could handle most enemies."
[Nonsense! Did you not hear what I just said? It was barely possible because you were unconscious. What if your head had been cut off instead of just fainting?]
"Hmm, I guess that wouldn't be so great."
[Hoho, you want to rely on luck and try again? Go ahead and try. I'll kill you myself before that happens.]
"No, I was just saying."
Mitchell gave an awkward laugh and quickly changed the subject.
Since he had mastered the Ghost Soul Step and Forgotten Soul Body Technique to some extent, he suddenly remembered something Kalian had mentioned before.
"By the way, what's the gift? You said you'd give me a gift if I mastered the footwork before reaching the Demon Realm."
[Ah, that? Well, I suppose it doesn't matter if we start now. A promise is a promise, after all.]
Mitchell's expectations rose at Kalian's words.
What would be waiting for him this time!
[Take out the black bottle.]
"Oh, finally using it!"
As Mitchell pulled the bottle from his waist, Kalian immediately spoke the next words.
[Drink it.]
"Huh? Didn't you say this was poison?"
[Poison is poison. It is simply a poison that is beneficial to you.]
Even so, to be told to drink poison...
Seeing Mitchell’s face full of hesitation, Kalian recalled everything he had seen of him so far and found the perfect way to persuade him.
[I'll tell you what it is first. It is an elixir processed from Corpse Poison using a special method. Precisely, it only has the effect of an elixir for those who wield the sword of death. However, it will be quite painful. A normal person would beg to be killed.]
"An elixir...?"
Look at that; his expression already made it seem like his mouth was watering.
Mitchell seemed to have erased the mention of pain from his mind, muttering the word "elixir" as if possessed.
Kalian, sensing he had already won half the battle, drove in the final nail.
[Now, choose. Will you slowly increase your Dark Aura without taking the elixir, or will you increase it rapidly even if it's painful enough to die? Well, if you're too scared, we can go slow...]
Pop—
Before the sentence was even finished, the sound of the bottle opening was heard. Immediately after, Mitchell gulped down the contents of the black bottle.
"Gah!"
The pain arrived instantly.
It was a pain like his internal organs were burning. A feeling as if every blood vessel was contracting and then expanding.
His pores felt cold one moment and hot the next, fluttering randomly.
As his vision began to blur, Mitchell hurriedly asked Kalian for the next step.
"W-what do I do now?"
[You must continue toward the entrance of the Demon Realm while performing the Ghost Soul Step. That will help you control the energy better. If you do that, I will take care of guiding the energy for the rest.]
Mitchell didn't even have time to answer before he started performing the Ghost Soul Step.
And so, for a full week.
Feeling the maddening pain and the satisfaction of his aura holes growing at the same time, he arrived at the village at the threshold of the Demon Realm.
