Verdant Skylark

Who was that guy, and why did he know about Dad?

Seeing that I'm done with here, I returned all the Origin that I used and flew back towards where the others were.

Dad is already gone yet his legacy still lingers as if there's some kind of curse that can't be removed. It was a bad way to interpret it, but it's also a way for me to think that he's always everywhere, yet at the same time not.

"Dad... what kind of experiences did you had?"

He's gone for sure, yet I still miss him.

My heart also won't be able to rest as long as Hamion still lives. Thinking about my future goals made me recall about Yona.

It's been a while since she left and it's not like I miss her or anything, but I wonder if there are a few more ways to increase my power.

When I was trying to revive Mom, I could only take a glance at the child who eradicated the massive number of Calamity Butterflies like it was a cakewalk.

His power was also different, and it wasn't any of the kinds that I've seen before. It must be one of the seven types, or it must be another different type all along.

*clink*

I suddenly heard the sound of a metal, felt my shoulder budge a bit, and gritted my teeth before I somehow got sent flying forwards while spinning, which almost made me lose balance.

Unfortunately, that won't work at me.

I got sent flying by Yona lots of times already, and I had already adapted to this situation.

If that wasn't a thousand times, then it was probably between seven hundred to eight hundred times that I've experienced the same sensation.

My momentum slowed down after a bit, and I stopped myself within the air. I had no barrier on at that time, and only the Origin that my body naturally contained had protected me from the attack.

"Impressive. You're actually still alive after that?"

A man that had the same robes as the guys I've felled earlier appeared where I was. His voice wasn't really loud but it was strange how I was able to hear him talk from this distance.

He was also holding the guy that I've been carrying earlier, and he checked his pulse before taking a glance at me.

"You took away his source spirit? It's an unusual type of magic..."

White light gathered on my hands, and I restored the Origin that was lost from his attack.

I was just about to clearly see his face but then he suddenly blurred before he disappeared, only to appear later once more a few meters in front of me. The guy he was carrying was already gone at this point, and without any words he blurred once more before I instantly saw an incoming fist in front of me.

Not even a letup, huh?

I dodged his fist as I drawed my sword, and blocked his next punch that was targeted towards my gut.

*clang*

The sound of metal against metal colliding occurred and I saw his eyes widen before quickly stepping back.

"You're no demon, either."

Now that he somehow stopped for a moment, I could now see his face which had a green tattoo around his ear. He wasn't bald but his hair was almost like a buzzcut that already grew for a few weeks. He was probably twice as large as me which made him taller among most people.

People always just assume that I'm a demon because of the white orb that kept orbiting around my body, but looks like this guy quickly picked up that fact. He probably used the same techniques like the people that attacked earlier.

It only came to me now, the idea that he must be their boss or captain, whatever you call it.

There wasn't much of a delay before his next attack came, which was now a kick towards my side.

It was almost as fast as Aunt's attacks, but he's no way inferior. I could only see another blur come towards me as I tried to block with my blade.

*clang*

Once more, I got sent flying away but it wasn't that bad that I couldn't stop my momentum in midair.

"It's been a while since someone lived longer than a minute against me."

Dude, I can also attack. Haven't you realized that fact?

"It's also been a while since the last time I fought against someone faster than me."

I gathered four swirls of Origin behind and below, and once more deployed my speed booster utility.

There's no name yet for this technique or I've possibly forgotten about it because it's already so long before I've used this one again, and I keep delaying on what to call it. I'll just call it Four Swirls for now.

The Four Swirls started to spin and I dodged his incoming fist once more by just controlling the swirls, making me pitch in place twice in a second.

"What a weird movement."

Along the pitch, I grabbed his incoming arm and made myself roll countless of times.

It was making me dizzy, but I could still calculate at least how I would let go of him to make him crash towards the ground.

Before I couldn't determine where was up and down, I decided to finally let go of his arm, creating a high pitched sound that whipped through the air.

The sound of breaking bones came, and I still kept spinning, gradually slowing down to reduce the forced momentum that might make my head hurt.

I could only see a dust cloud below the ground after I stopped.

"Is he dead?"

Just to make sure, I created a slim white sword of light made of Origin and willed Soul Control towards the ground below.

"Not good...!"

As if some ferocious monster was awakened, I somehow felt via Soul Control that his form suddenly changed into a winged bird with a span of about five meters.

A screeching cry echoed throughout the place, and a blue and green blur suddenly rose up towards me.

I quickly injected Origin into my eyes and everything slowed down in a bit, and I could see that it was a large blue bird with the same green flame-like tattoo on the top of its left ear.

Of course I didn't take that attack that was going straight for me and I dodged to the side, yet as if I had some kind of invisible hitbox like in game, I knew that I wasn't directly hit but rolled a bit to reduce the force of impact.

"What kind of tailwind has that force?"

"You dodged it?"

His voice changed entirely, and it seemed like there were two of him talking at the same time.

"You're actually a beast. Are you related to the Vermilion Flame Birds?"

His head tilted before wildly laughing.

Was it my question?

"You know the Vermilion Flame Birds? I hate those conceited and overrated bastars. Just so they have a so-called god that they could worship and also bestow them temporary fuels of power, they've been revered as absolute in this country."

"This country?" It seems that there are more other places then?

"Ah, you're actually still a child if you don't know about it. At least tell me your name before I end your life."

His tone coldly changed and it seems like he's just talking to charge up his next move, which most likely would be a killer.

In return, I also slightly modified the Four Swirls that were currently rotating, and the spinning made them look like spinning cones. Of course it was none other than the Origin Drills that I always used as a penetrating force, which is lethal.

He somehow realized it too, and the image of a bird similar to him appeared behind his back, and the winds were slightly blowing in towards him.

"I'm not sure, but if I'm right... you're a Verdant Skylark."

His eyes narrowed until his slits turned into thin lines. The green tattoo on his ear flared, and more winds were generated, making the winds even more visible.

"Take this, it's called---"

"I hate shouting out techniques!"

Except for that technique that I copied from Aunt. It just made me mimic her until she released hers, which probably subconsciouly made me do that...

The previous four swirld that turned into Origin Screws launched themselves towards him, and he responded back by violently flapping his wings together, which each beat made loud sounds that were almost akin to claps of thunder. A spark of green light brilliantly painted the surroundings, before a thin streak of light that looked like a bird was released.

The two forces collided, and my Origin Screws were rarely held back, and one of those moments is this bird that almost looked weak yet it held on as its sharp beak kept all of the screws to a standstill.

The winds were so strong that I even saw a few pieces of furniture and all sorts of different trinkets fly up towards the skies and shredded into pieces as they touched the violent winds that surrounded him.

Seeing that my attack wasn't enough, I sent the thin white sword that I recently made in the center of the two forces with Soul Control, and tried to pierce through.

The bird's beak kept it at bay for a few seconds, before the sword finally made a small gap and quickly went towards the fully transformed beast.

"Impossible."

It was the last word he said before his bird image projection disappeared along with my white sword piercing through his source spirit that was located at the chest.

"You-you really can... destroy source spirits..."

The large bird's abdomen slowly rose and fell which indicated an error with his breathing pattern, followed by his transformation back into human form before falling down.

His face was pale as if death was coming, and along with his human form, a large blue tail was on his behind. He also had no clothes, yet he had those blue feathers that were thick enough to cover his private parts which gave me a sigh of relief inside.

That's strange, if he had source spirit as a beast, then why would his source spirit disappearing --- make him appear as a human?

Not thinking much on the question further, I also dropped down to catch the guy's body, and just as I did with the other one, matched his speed before holding him on the foot as I slowed down the falling momentum.

I dropped him on the ground when I noticed that he was still conscious, albeit looking weakened. He safely landed on the ground though, as if gravity didn't matter as he rolled to reduce the possible fall damage.

After that, he stopped and just spread himself on the ground as if he was on a stove, about to be cooked.

"Tsk. You should've just let me die."

"Well, the winner takes it all, and I have questions."

His eyes widened before he slowly made a smile.

"We have an honor to protect with our lives, and I swore to not divulge who sent us."

"Keh. Honor this, honor that. Should I kill you instead?"

I injected a few wisps of Origin on his body, and his complexion slightly turned better. After that I looked around and found a large piece of dirty cloth that might have been blown away towards here by the winds he made earlier by coincidence.

"I told you to kill me!"

He tried to take the blade on my back but I easily dodged him. This guy who was once so fast could only do so much after being weakened, it makes me pity them.

"Kill me!"

"Ugh, why do you want to die so much?"

Before he could retaliate any longer, I made a box-like barrier of Origin that enclosed him instead.

It's a hassle and it will catch the attention of most people because of the white orb that keeps floating around me, but I really have no choice.

Flying is comfortable, but having control something along as I flew somehow drained my mental energy. Of course fighting is different, but it's just like holding a candlestick as I walk for a long time. I have to do it but I also want to drop it.

At least, until I can't find someone that can point me to whoever tried to attack us or Mom, I won't stop keeping these attackers as prisoners for now.

The sun was already setting, and now I could probably, finally, priotize following the others.

This guy held me back so much that I might have difficulty finding them on the desert.

"Where are you going?"

I thought I would be able to leave the city, but it seems that these guys just keep following me everywhere.

"I'm actually busy right now, and have to do some business outside the city."

I was already getting lazy, so my answer was brief and my voice somehow in a bratty way.

"You have to regroup with your companions, right? I can help you."

His question made the hairs on my back stand, and now that I realize it, the voice was rather familiar.

I slowly turned behind and saw an unexpected person in front.