Chapter 74. The Conditions of a Follower Family (5)
Sirocco stepped one step towards Enoch.
“Bold, aren’t you?”
She smiled provocatively and asked back.
“Me, as your Follower Family?”
But Sirocco’s words were instantly swallowed by the shouts of the other Beast-kin.
“Absolutely not! Chieftain Successor!”
Some of the Beast-kin were strongly protesting.
The Beast-kin warriors tried to quell the commotion. Nevertheless, a few Beast-kin desperately shouted in the end.
“Nonsense! To take the Chieftain Successor as a Follower Family of the Elsyde direct line!”
“That’s right! You, the Main House of the Empire, know best what that means!”
Their reaction was not unreasonable.
Because the meaning of pledging oneself as someone's Follower Family in the Atlas Empire was a very serious matter.
Follower Family was another word for a ‘Community of Destiny’.
It was a firm vow and expression of will to act together with the will and actions of the one they swore to serve, and to share the responsibility for the consequences – that was the essence of a ‘Follower Family’.
Together with the Follower Family, even when enjoying the highest honor.
Together with the Follower Family, even when falling into the deepest abyss.
As such, Follower Families shared all the results of the reputation and fame gained by the one they served, and also accepted the consequences of the will they unfolded in the Empire.
But conversely, that meant...
‘That they would bear all the criticism of the one who was the center of the Follower Family, and even the responsibility for their sins.’
Furthermore, Sirocco was the legitimate descendant and successor of the Chieftain Family, who would be responsible for the future of the Beast-kin tribes later on.
For her, to enter as a Follower Family of Enoch, a direct line of the Elsyde Main House...
“That means entrusting the entire future and destiny of the Beast-kin to the reputation and standing of the direct line Enoch Elsyde!”
Sirocco was the person who would become their leader in the future.
Therefore, such a reaction was probably not unreasonable.
“We’ve already vaguely heard the news! Isn’t he the black-haired direct line who was confined due to incompetence in Elsyde!”
Enoch chuckled inwardly at the words he had expected.
He really must be quite famous in his own way.
To have a reputation that even Beast-kin, who had little contact with the modern Empire, knew a little about.
Meanwhile.
The clash of opinions among the Beast-kin was intensifying into a confrontation between those who seemed to be in favor and those who were against.
“Even so, do we have any other way? If we miss this opportunity, for us...!”
“One wrong choice might lead directly to the destruction of the tribe! The decision must be cautious!”
One of the Beast-kin who opposed Sirocco becoming a Follower Family, perhaps overwhelmed by emotion, pointed his finger directly at Enoch.
“How can we believe and suddenly grab a rope that was already about to snap once!”
Clearly insulting remarks towards the direct line of a Main House.
One of the family mages, unable to stand it any longer, roared.
“How dare you! Insolent!”
However, the expression of that mage belonging to Elsyde instantly changed from anger to astonishment.
Whizz!
Sirocco, who lightly kicked the ground and instantly closed the distance, was already standing right before his nose.
“What...!”
He was startled by Sirocco, who closed the distance in almost an instant, and hurriedly raised his Magic Gear.
But Sirocco had already grabbed his modern metallic staff with one hand.
Sirocco looked at him with cold eyes.
“In a Main House, do individual members act before the will of their head?”
She added calmly, her ruby-like red eyes shining.
“If that's really the case, I don't particularly want to join hands with a group that's so disorganized.”
Completely self-indulgent words and actions.
Watching her, Enoch unconsciously smiled a little. That appearance was so very Sirocco-like.
Meanwhile, the mage tried to shake off her grip on his Magic Gear, but Sirocco didn’t budge.
“What, I expected more from the Elsyde Main House.”
Tap.
She let go of the hand that was holding the Magic Gear.
The Elsyde mage then quickly retrieved his Magic Gear and retreated. Sirocco looked at him, covered her mouth slightly, and smiled mockingly.
“You’re so~ incredibly pathetic?”
A clear provocation from Sirocco, the representative of the Beast-kin.
However, most of the Elsyde mages who were waiting calmly also sensed her true intention behind acting like that.
Someone next to Enoch murmured softly.
“...Even though she is young, her skill in handling the crowd is quite impressive.”
Sirocco deliberately provoked the family mages to control the Beast-kin, appeasing the dissatisfaction of those who were hostile to Elsyde.
Having suppressed the surrounding commotion in one go, she looked at Enoch with a clear voice and continued.
“I asked him.”
Sirocco spoke as if no one else mattered, still looking straight at Enoch.
“Only the successor to the head of the family I asked answers. No one else interferes. Even if they are my tribe members, I won't forgive anyone who interferes from now on.”
At her resolute words, the clamor of the few Beast-kin who were speaking out also subsided.
“You know.”
Amidst the now quiet crowd.
Sirocco walked towards Enoch alone.
“I thought about it a bit, and it seems this is the only way.”
“What is it?”
She stood before Enoch, looking up at him.
“You said you wanted to take me in as your Follower Family, right? Honestly, I think it’s not a bad proposal either.”
Sirocco spoke with blatant impudence.
“You, and the Elsyde you belong to, are strong. I saw it with my own eyes this time. I think receiving help from such a powerful group of yours is absolutely necessary for our current tribe.”
Sirocco glanced around.
“But that’s my judgment, not the opinion of the other tribe members. Since it’s a matter concerning our future, there isn't enough proper basis for the whole tribe to trust you unconditionally yet.”
Enoch met her gaze and nodded.
Sirocco’s words were not only honest but also reasonable.
“So, I’ll make a proposal to you too.”
Under the midday sun high in the sky, in the middle of the vast square. Sirocco extended one hand and pointed at Enoch.
Then, she smiled audaciously.
“You. Let’s have a match!”
***
Silence flowed through the assembly.
In the stillness filled with bewilderment.
Sirocco gazed at Enoch and spoke alone.
“I told you before, didn’t I?”
She flicked her tail once.
“I am the strongest among our tribe's warriors. So, if you defeat me in a spar, the suspicion of our tribe members who cannot trust you will disappear all at once.”
Sirocco said softly.
“Furthermore, at least I have no intention of being a Follower Family under someone weaker than me, nor do I intend to build the future of my tribe with such a person!”
At her words, some of the Beast-kin who had been dissatisfied until now seemed to be convinced a little and stepped back.
The current Chieftain also merely nodded without a specific answer when Sirocco glanced at him.
Confirming that, Enoch asked back curtly.
“What are the rules for the spar?”
“Until one side is clearly subdued by the other. No holding back from either side!”
However, the first to react to Sirocco’s proposal was a quite unexpected person.
“...That is an unreasonable proposal.”
Teano, the Deputy Commander of Nemesis.
She had approached Enoch’s side without him noticing.
“The opponent is a mage who has reached Rank 10 among the Beast-kin. A spar might be extremely dangerous.”
She said in a calm voice, glancing at Enoch with her eyes hidden by the brim of her hat.
“Although I cannot stop the choice that the direct line makes himself, it is also our duty to remind the direct line of potential dangers.”
Common sense dictated that Teano was right.
Confirming Sirocco's combat ability, which had reached Rank 10 during this mission, was not only Enoch.
Askel, who was listening to the conversation nearby, also opened his mouth with a quite worried expression.
“Young Master Enoch. That Beast-kin girl is a user of Unique Magic Gear of the strong physical enhancement type.”
He glanced at her tensely.
“You know, don’t you? Although she may look delicate on the surface, the essence of that girl is the successor of the Beast-kin Chieftain, who is extremely dangerous. If, by any chance, she doesn’t know moderation and harms the Young Master during the spar...”
At Askel's words, Enoch looked around.
The opinions of the Elsyde mages who were listening to the conversation seemed to be not much different from one another.
It was clear that the members of Elsyde, including him, also regarded the Beast-kin as a dangerous race.
Deep-seated mistrust of each other was not a story limited only to the Beast-kin.
‘The reason everyone reacts like that is obvious, I suppose.’
The image of a ‘dangerous race’ imposed upon the Beast-kin over centuries, using the side effects of past experiments as an excuse.
The truth about ‘Magical Beastification’, which once caused the Empire to hate the Beast-kin, was forgotten by everyone due to the Empire’s concealment of the truth and the erosion of time.
However, the people of the Empire naturally continued the past hatred, regarding the Beast-kin who were isolated from society as a ‘strong, uncontrollable, and dangerous race’.
Moreover, the Beast-kin still distrusted the Empire and were still struggling to survive on this harsh land.
Thus, their conflict was inherited across the ages.
...And so, it had reached this point.
Enoch briefly tilted his head with a strange feeling.
Perhaps it was because he knew the distant past when Elsyde, the Sword Saint, and the Beast-kin had lived together?
In the past. During the era when the Empire’s last Sword Saint was active, they were individuals who fought side by side, backing each other up.
But as countless years of severed time accumulated, a wall of conflict too high had been built between them.
A solid wall that would never easily collapse.
“...What will you do, Enoch-nim?”
Teano quietly asked Enoch from beside him.
She had finished her warning, fulfilling her duty. But this was beyond the jurisdiction of the Nemesis Knight Order, so she must have meant that she respected his choice.
The center of the massive square was now different from before; everyone was calm and the atmosphere had settled.
In that place, Enoch alone calmly opened his mouth.
“Okay. I will do that.”
A declaration accepting the spar with Sirocco.
A subtle change in expression flowed among the Elsyde mages and Beast-kin who were watching this.
Enoch added with a nonchalant expression.
“But there are conditions.”
“Huh? Conditions?”
“Yes. Two of them.”
Enoch said that and took a step forward.
“One. Let’s have the spar now without dragging it out. Everyone is gathered in the square anyway.”
Sirocco’s expression became slightly flustered at his words.
“Eh? Now? But you fainted earlier, didn’t you?”
“That doesn’t matter.”
Enoch slightly raised his empty hands.
“And two. I won't use Magic Gear in this spar.”
Instantly, the surroundings fell silent as if cold water had been poured over them. Sirocco looked at Enoch with wide eyes.
“...Are you serious?”
“Yes. And if, even once, you can land an attack on me. It will be my defeat.”
At Enoch's words, Sirocco’s eyes widened.
It was a condition that anyone could see was absurd.
Against the successor of the Beast-kin Chieftain, who was skilled in combat, a Rank 10 mage at that, and even giving himself such a handicap to proceed with the spar.
Naturally, the expressions of the family mages listening to those words also instantly hardened.
Next to him, Askel's worried murmur could be heard, his face dumbfounded.
“Surely, when the Young Master fainted and collapsed earlier, he didn’t hurt his head...?”
Of course, that wasn’t the case.
Since it was a public spar anyway, I couldn’t openly swing a sword in front of the family mages.
‘And anyway, I probably won't even need to carry a sword.’
Meanwhile, Sirocco stared at him intently, then laughed as if it were ridiculous.
“Hmph, isn’t that just bravado?”
She placed her hand provocatively on her slender waist.
“I know you’re strong because I saw you earlier. But no matter what, you can’t dodge all of my attacks bare-handed without the Magic Gear you used before.”
Sirocco added with a slight hint of disbelief.
“Are you, seriously intending to win?”
Enoch replied concisely.
“...If proof is needed.”
He said, feeling the gazes of the Beast-kin who were densely surrounding the square.
“I should prove it clearly with at least these conditions, so that there are no other arguments later.”
Having finished speaking, Enoch stepped forward without another word, empty-handed.
The central square of the Beast-kin village was wide and large.
A stone platform located in the middle of that vast space.
Around the square. With countless Beast-kin watching from the high buildings of the village and even from the rock cliffs above.
Enoch climbed the stairs leading up to the stage.
“Heh, you talk as if you’re sure to win, huh?”
Seeing him step up before her, Sirocco slowly swished her luscious red tail, then stopped abruptly.
“Don’t regret it later, no matter what happens, okay?”
She declared softly, her red eyes gleaming.
“Because I’m really not going to hold back!”
“Regret?”
Enoch stood calmly facing Sirocco.
“Who?”
“Hmph, fine!”
Sirocco greatly raised one leg.
Vivid red mana wrapped around the ankle of her bare white leg revealed below her short bottoms.
Kwaaaaaang!
Kicking off the ground as if driving her leg into it, the girl with wolf ears charged.
The next moment. Sirocco’s eyes, dyed red with the light of bright red mana, and Enoch’s eyes were facing each other at point-blank range, close enough to feel each other's breath.
But in that instant.
Whoosh-
Sirocco’s charge, which had flown in with such momentum, only cut through the air and passed Enoch motionlessly.
Enoch had already slightly moved his body to the side.
“Ah?”
Seeing that, Sirocco made a slightly surprised expression.
As soon as she landed on the ground, she immediately pushed off the ground again in reverse and sent a fierce roundhouse kick in the direction behind Enoch.
Pak!
An attack that seemed to ignore even inertia exploded.
The kick, slicing through the air with agility, emitted a whistling sound that seemed to crush the eardrums.
Swoosh.
But this time too, Enoch tilted his head back and calmly watched her bare leg pass in front of his nose with a nonchalant expression.
Whoosh!
The dull whistling sound of the kick disturbing the eardrums.
But this time too, Enoch’s body was only slightly off the trajectory of her attack.
“...!”
Seeing Enoch evade again, Sirocco’s eyes, this time, rounded with clear astonishment.
Immediately after landing, she quickly dashed towards Enoch again in succession.
Sirocco, who closed the distance to Enoch without pause, unleashed a kick, and as soon as she saw Enoch leaning his upper body back, she changed the trajectory of her kick midway.
Whirr-
During a rapid upward roundhouse kick, she sharply changed the direction of the force using her knee as the pivot.
Aiming for Enoch’s lower body, which he wouldn't have expected, Sirocco instantly drove her leg downwards.
Kuuuung!
But even against such a formidable variable kick, Enoch again evaded by taking a short side step.
Her desperate kick had only shattered the stone pavement of the square floor into pieces.
Sirocco's eyes widened as she exclaimed.
“Wait, how did you...?”
She wasn’t the only one.
The expressions of those watching their spar were also filled with astonishment, as if they couldn't believe it.
Enoch was truly, as he had declared, continuously evading all of Sirocco’s attacks bare-handed.
“You said earlier that I ‘absolutely couldn’t evade it bare-handed’.”
Enoch deliberately spread his empty hands low for her to see.
“Right?”
At his returned provocation, Sirocco bared her small fangs and glared at Enoch.
Enoch also calmly faced her.
Sirocco’s attacks were certainly fast and threatening.
However, I was already used to attacks much tougher than this from the Sword Saint in the World of Impermanence.
Furthermore, I was able to read the trajectory of her attacks in advance with the ‘Sense of Mana’ inherited from the Empire’s last Sword Saint.
‘And the more fundamental reason than that is...’
The reason why Enoch could face Sirocco with his bare body, without even using a sword.
The reason why he was never hit by Sirocco’s attacks, which had crossed the Rank 10 wall, even once.
That very, very fundamental reason was something else entirely.
—Whoosh!
‘As expected.’
Seeing Sirocco's attack pass by his side again, Enoch smiled inwardly with a nostalgic feeling.
‘All the movements are familiar.’
Just how many times had the Old-timer from the original story watched the combat scenes of the characters he mained?
Sirocco's attack patterns and aggressive fighting style. The timing of the connections between movements, and even every single small movement.
Even though she was five years younger now, her basic behavioral patterns had naturally not changed since it was her.
‘In fact, her movements are even slightly less skilled than the Sirocco I saw in the original.’
In other words, her next actions were all predictable.
Of course, now that it was reality, not all of Sirocco’s attacks and movements were exactly the same as those seen in the game.
But they were more than enough for me to grasp her next movements with the Sense of Mana.
If I could predict the paths and next actions in my head like this, the rest was easy; I could just slightly evade with my reflexes alone.
“Hmph, it’s not over yet!”
Sirocco, seemingly stimulated by Enoch continuously evading her attacks, lowered her body deeply.
Immediately, intense mana converged on her ankle.
Tang!
And the next moment, Sirocco’s form disappeared.
She leaped at a speed that left afterimages and had already reached the air in front of Enoch’s nose.
Sirocco, who had approached Enoch with all her might, leaping at a speed that would make it difficult for a normal person to even follow her movements with their eyes, let alone react.
However.
Thump!
Enoch gripped Sirocco’s small chin, her entire jaw, with one hand as she charged at him.
“......!”
Sirocco's two ruby-like eyes widened for an instant at the situation, which was far beyond her expectations.
When she glanced down at Enoch's hand, which was covering her entire small jaw in mid-air.
Enoch slammed Sirocco into the ground just like that.
Kuuuung!
A fierce impact sound rang out along with the vibration of the ground.
Clouds of intensely scattered sand and dust rose up in all directions above the square.
Those who were spectating the spar were all staring blankly at the sight, having forgotten to even react.
A development and conclusion that no one had expected.
While everyone was silent at the matter beyond common sense.
“...You understand, right?”
Lightly gripping Sirocco’s chin, Enoch quietly opened his mouth.
“What you are worried about will not happen.”
Enoch said softly.
“Trust me and follow.”
At Enoch’s words, a smile spread across Sirocco’s soft cheek through the fingers he was gripping.
And the girl, the successor of the Beast-kin Chieftain, smiled brightly and exclaimed cheerily.
“Gladly!”
Beyond Enoch’s back as he slowly rose to his feet.
The last Beast-kin of the Empire, who surrounded the square and watched the result of the spar, slowly knelt on one knee without a word, all bowing their heads as one.
Towards the new future they would follow.