Chapter 134: Not Chill
’That? It wasn’t that hard,’ Azel thought while raising his sword once again, the weight of the blade settling comfortably into his palm.
His breath came out in short clouds, fading quickly into the cold morning air.
’Like you said, dragon claws can exist in any size as long as they are sharp. So I decreased the size of the claw and made it more destructive while wrapping a bit of aura around it. That’s why the aura doesn’t show until it’s near the target. Although it should still work for five slashes, I don’t really know.’
He couldn’t see it, but Kyone’s eyes widened back in the plane. The goddess, ever proud and composed, found her thoughts trembling.
There was only one word echoing in her head as she witnessed it.
’Monster...’
Her judgment was not cruel, only awed.
He had... made it even better than when the Hero had used it.
’Uhm, Kyone? You there?’ Azel asked, brows furrowing as he felt her silence drag on.
[Yes, Esteemed Husband. That was good. If you can do it for all five slashes, it’ll be very strong. But don’t you think you should focus on more important things?]
’Yeah...’ Azel’s gaze shifted, narrowing on Julius, who was standing stiffly a few paces away.
The young man’s eyes were sharper now than his usual half-dead look. His daggers were already in hand, gleaming faintly with shadow’s touch.
Azel lowered his sword slightly, lips quirking. ’Guess he’s not letting this go.’
The snow crunched loudly as Julius dashed forward, shadows propelling him like a wave.
He closed the distance in a blink, eyes burning with the irritation of a man robbed of his morning calm.
"I just have to make sure you don’t touch your sword," Julius muttered coldly, his voice like steel in winter.
He leapt upward and slashed with one dagger, the shadow clinging to its edge like liquid night.
Azel didn’t bother blocking.
He stepped back sharply, then kicked against the stone wall of the house, rebounding with practiced ease.
The air rippled as their weapons nearly collided, their bodies clashing mid-air.
A burst of wind scattered snow in every direction. The sound of impact echoed against the walls of the small yard.
’I thought this guy was chill,’ Azel thought with a grimace. He had always pegged Julius as the silent type — the kind who would rather fade into the background than pick a fight.
But now, with his calm shattered, he moved with startling fury, shadows spilling from his steps like hunting dogs. ’Who knew he could get this angry?’
[I had someone like this in my squad centuries ago. He could be her descendant,] Kyone said with a tired voice.
Azel almost asked who, but there was no time.
They landed hard on the ground, boots digging deep into the snow. Julius didn’t hesitate. He lunged again, the shadows extending his leap, carrying him forward like living wings.
Azel raised his sword instinctively, but before bone could meet bone, both of them froze.
The weight of eyes pressed on them.
They turned in unison.
Everyone was watching.
At the edge of the yard, half-asleep and yawning, Veyra leaned against the post with her messy hair falling into her face.
She blinked at them, then smirked knowingly. Anthony, perched lazily with his spear in hand, gave no words but offered a mocking smile that twisted the knife of humiliation.
Drew was bouncing on his feet, fists pumping like a child at a festival.
"Julius~ I didn’t think you were that energetic~" Veyra teased with a sing-song lilt, her yawn trailing into laughter. "For someone who acts dead all the time, you’re very energetic."
Julius’s face reddened violently.
He had always kept his composure, always played the quiet shadow, but now he could feel the flush burning up to his ears.
He turned sharply toward Drew for rescue.
"Fight! Fight! Fight!" Drew cheered gleefully, ignoring his plea.
Julius’s eyes twitched.
He looked to Anthony instead.
The spear-wielder only leaned more comfortably against the wall, that sly, mocking smile never leaving his lips.
He furrowed his brows, the shadows flickering restlessly at his feet. Finally, he spoke, voice clipped and stiff.
"It’s his fault. I was doing my daily meditation and he’s interrupting me. I just want to relax."
The others blinked.
’This has to be the most amount of words he’s spoken at once,’ Veyra thought with wide eyes.
A laugh bubbled up in her chest, but she stifled it.
She stepped forward, folding her arms. "I think that’s better for meditation, don’t you? You can try to focus while he’s practicing."
Her voice was gentle but teasing, as though scolding a child throwing a tantrum.
Julius’s eyes widened slightly, the shadows around him quivering. Then, with a huff, his body dissolved into darkness.
He vanished into the house, leaving only silence in his wake.
Veyra let out a soft sigh. "Don’t mind him. He’s just like that sometimes."
"Oh, there’s no problem there," Azel replied smoothly.
He raised his sword, pointing it toward her with a small smile tugging at his lips. "Why don’t you spar with me now?"
Veyra blinked, then snorted.
’I can measure where he stands with ease now.’
And so the morning went on. He continued sparring with Veyra, Anthony and Drew, they were amazing with their weapons, as expected of warriors that were crowned one of the strongest in the Winter region.
The time they had was short since they needed to position themselves near the Divide but within that short time frame, Azel managed to fully perfect Dragon Claw completely, of course it took countless spars with the others but he could finally make five or even more of them at a time.
Julius watched him from the shadows and looked at his own daggers.
’It seems like I need to get even stronger.’ He thought, the next time Azel annoyed him, he wanted to be able to cut him down with just a single swing.