96 An Unprovoked Attack

***** Ghislaine's POV *****

Sophia guided me into and through Helios territory and we arrived at Vadu, their capital city, by nightfall. This resembled an actual city far more than the military encampment that the Markien Mercenary Country called their capital. Still, Vadu is nothing compared to what Roa once was.

The two of us took cover in some thick vegetation atop a hill overlooking the city.

"According to our spies, that large Manor on the west side of the city is where your friends are being held", Sophia said as she pointed out the largest and most opulent building in the city. "It is heavily guarded even now in the middle of night, but it will only be much worse during the day."

She was right. I could see at least ten guards patrolling outside the manor and there were probably many more inside.

"I'll cut down anyone who stands between Lady Eris and I. It doesn't matter how many there are. Where in the Manor are they being held?"

"I don't know. The only thing I was told is that the two of them were seen being dragged into the building after being captured."

"Damn!", I gritted my teeth.

The thought of Eris and Rudeus being knocked unconscious and dragged away in cuffs infuriated me.

"I'll just have to scour the entire building."

"It's either that or we wait to hear back from our spies. Perhaps they can uncover more information in time."

"No! I know how noble children are treated by their enemies; they don't have the luxury of time! No... I'm going to get them right here and now."

"If you insist I don't have the ability or the intention to stop you."

"Wait here and be prepared to make a run for it when I get back. If I don't return by daybreak, head back to Tiber and tell your King that he'll need to send his army after all."

"Yes. I will", Sophia answered me stoically. "Good luck."

I drew Hiramune from its sheath and dashed off as fast as I could towards the Manor. Thankfully, the city had no outer wall so infiltrating wasn't very difficult. I leapt from rooftop to rooftop until I reached the Manor.

The manor was gated and had a large courtyard surrounding it, so leaping in from another rooftop wasn't an option. Instead, I decided to take the direct approach and blitzed the first two guards, taking them out as quietly as possible.

Unfortunately, as I was in the process of cutting down the third guard I heard alarm bells ringing from the top of the manor. It seems I've been spotted.

Several more soldiers swarmed me from all directions. These were no mere guards, they were elites. Each one of them were skilled enough to be called advanced rank or better in their respective sword styles.

It didn't matter. They were still no match for me. It just means that I'll have to try a little harder.

The sounds of blades clashing and screams of pain echoed throughout the night. For every soldier I cut down, two more seemed to arrive in reinforcement. There didn't seem to be an end to them.

Despite cutting down several dozen men, I wasn't making any progress towards the Manor. I was already feeling sluggish. Thanks to the constant bombardment of my enemies' attacks I didn't have time to catch my breath. If things keep up like this one of their strikes will meet their target and I'll fail.

'I don't have time for this!', I thought as I parried one man's blow and in the same motion cut down another.

I ducked under a horizontal swing that and from my crouching position burst forward towards the manor, launching a longsword of light that cut down three of the four men standing between me and the manor. Only it didn't reach the last of them.

*CLANG*

Unexpectedly... my longsword of light had been blocked.

"Ghislaine? Is that you? What in the world are you doing!?"

"Grr!"

Something about this man seemed oddly familiar, but in the heat of battle my bloodlust had taken over and I couldn't recall. The only thing on my mind was cutting down my enemies so that I could save Eris and Rudeus. Everything else can take a back seat.

I spun back around to strike at the man only to have my sword parried once again.

"It would seem you haven't changed a bit", the man said as he gritted his teeth. "There's no reasoning with you when you get like this."

He took up a familiar stance. The same stance that I had practiced a countless number of times, the stance for a longsword of light. I grasped Hiramune in both hands and prepared to match him.

It was over in an instant.

"It appears that I was faster."

That was the last thing I heard as the world faded to black.

***** Present Day *****

"Meal time"

I woke up to the familiar clang of the guard smacking the hilt of his sword against the iron bars. He shoved a plate of food into my cell through a small hatch at the bottom of the cell door.

One loaf of bread and a small portion of meat. It was the same meal that I've eaten twice a day every day for the past three years.

As it turns out, the man who defeated me was a former rival of mine from back when I was a young student at the Sword God Dojo. Sword King Zahid, also known as the White Sun. Throughout our overlapping tenure at the dojo, Zahid had never once beaten me when we sparred. While it's true that I was already at my limit by the time we clashed, I know better than to use that as an excuse. On the battlefield excuses are meaningless. Defeat means death and that's all there is to it.

Yet for some reason I was spared.

After I had awoken, I found myself in this same cell where I was interrogated. As it turns out, nobody here knew anything about two children being held captive. The events Sophia had described never occurred; I had been tricked.

Zahid, the King's grandson and currently second in line for the throne, determined that King Markien had deceived me in order to have me attack Helios for him in hopes of weakening his enemy. Despite this, the King wanted to have me executed because I killed several dozen of his men. It was only thanks to Zahid pleading my case that I was spared execution and sentenced to prison instead.

I'm not so sure, however, that life in prison is any better than death. These past three years have been miserable, but I've struggled through it. I've already devoted my life to the Boreas family. My only choice is to bide my time here until I finally find my chance to escape.

As I sat there munching on my loaf of bread, I heard a loud commotion coming from a distance. At first I thought that the Markien Mercenary Country finally sent their army here to attack, but as the sound of battle drew nearer I could tell that wasn't it.

This was no army. This was a singular person invading the city fending off countless attackers just like what happened to me. Their approach, however, was slow and methodical. It was as if any and all attempts to stop them were completely futile.

With each step the invader took, my excitement at the prospect of escape was gradually being replaced with a pervasive sense of unease. The sound of battle was not only coming ever closer, it was heading directly towards me, as though the invader was coming for me.

I jolted back away from the cell door as a hand burst through the center of the steel door to the prison and proceeded to rip the door off its hinges.

What stood in place of the door was a man with silver hair and golden eyes. He wore a white coat equipped with black belts and adorned with fur. He exuded a presence of overwhelming power the likes of which I've never felt. The lone prison guard in the building with us screamed in terror and cowered in the corner.

Out of nowhere, Zahid launched a longsword of light aimed at his neck. Without even turning to look, the man deflected Zahid's attack with his bare hand and then countered with a strike to the chin, rendering Zahid unconscious in an instant.

I knew who this man was. I've never met him and have only ever heard stories, but I had no doubt. This was Dragon God Orsted.

~Twenty years ago, Ghislaine at the age of ten~

Master Gal Farion and I just finished our morning training session. Just like always I was never able to land even a single blow on him.

"You're simply untouchable", I complimented him. "You must be the strongest in the entire world."

"Hahaha", Gal laughed self mockingly. "Not even close."

"Huh? What do you mean? You're the Sword God. That means you're the best of the best, right?"

"I used to think so, but that was just foolish arrogance. That all changed the moment I met someone truly strong."

"Really!? Who?"

"It was shortly after I obtained the title of 'Sword God'. I'd finally achieved the goal I set out for. I'd reached the very pinnacle of swordsmanship, or so I thought anyway. I traveled across the world searching for strong opponents to prove myself against. I was confident that nobody could match me. At least that's what I thought before I met him."

"Met who? Just tell me already!"

"The Dragon God Orsted. The moment I met him I knew he was terrifyingly strong. Still, my arrogance wouldn't let me back down. I came at him with everything I had, but I couldn't even force him to draw his blade. He defeated me barehanded without even trying."

"What? That's impossible!"

"The Dragon God disarmed me and knocked me to my knees, and you know what he said? He told me 'Keep training and grow strong'. 'Grow Strong...' That implies that I was weak as I am now. From his perspective I must have been like a toddler playing with a toy sword. The power he wields is completely unreachable by human standards."

~ Back to Present Day ~

The man before me looked nothing like how I imagined Orsted. He was far more humanoid than the five story tall monstrosity I had pictured in my mind.

He walked directly up to my cage, causing me to press my back against the corner as far as I could get from him. Orsted reached out and casually ripped the cell door off its hinges and tossed it to the side.

"I think this belongs to you", Orsted said as he tossed Hiramune on the ground in front of me.

I quickly reached out and grabbed it, immediately drawing the blade from its sheath. Orsted paid no mind and simply turned his back to me and started walking away.

The tension in my body finally began to relax as relief washed over me seeing him leaving. Still though, why had he rescued me? It made no sense. My curiosity got the better of me and I mustered up the courage to ask.

"W-why? Why did you save me?"

Orsted paused and then turned around causing me to tense up once again.

"You aren't meant to rot away in a cell like this. Your destiny is much stronger than that."

'What does that even mean?'

He turned around to start walking away, but I stopped him once more.

"Wait! Before you go, have you seen a young girl with fiery red hair? Her name is Eris."

"Eris? Yes, I know of her."

"You do!? Please, tell me where she is! It is my duty to protect her but we were separated due to a mana disaster."

"I've heard that she currently resides in the Holy Land of Swords."

I breathed a visible sigh of relief.

"Was there a young mage with her? He'd be a little younger. His name is Rudeus Greyrat."

"Rudeus?", Orsted raised an eyebrow as the name seemed to pique his interest. "He's living in Sharia with his family. You needn't worry about him, however. Rudeus is strong."