In a World without God

In truth, Ed knew he was being followed, but he didn’t think much of it. Whenever Ed killed a monster, smaller ones often followed to tear apart the carcass. But a human and a little one at that following him? He definitely hadn’t expected that.

The girl who identified herself as Murjana was shaking uncontrollably with tears in the corners of her eyes. She was small in stature with long, slender limbs. The curved sword in her hand seemed too large and heavy for her size, but her grip on it was strong.

She must be training quite hard, Ed thought.

Murjana had fair hair, the color of the fine sands of the West Coast. It was roughly cut and of varying lengths and fell just below her shoulders. Such hair color, like Ed’s silvery hair, is uncommon in Kaldura. It is found only among the nomadic peoples of the coniferous forests of northern Sijia.

That sword. And the hair color. This kid is…

It didn’t take long for Ed to realize who she was. And then he remembered who he was and felt his irritation rise.

How could even a child know Ygraine was a witch?

It was ridiculous to be angry at a child, but Ed was not one to easily overlook such things. He stared at Murjana with a sour expression and decided to tease her.

He cleared his throat, wrapped himself in a threatening aura, and glared at Murjana.

“Conspiring, am I? Maybe I’m up to something very nefarious. A terrible plot that will engulf not only Kaldura but the entire continent!”

Murjana looked cowardly. Ed thought she would curl up in a ball on the floor and sob if he threatened her more. Bosha had changed a lot in his time with Ygraine, but he still had a nasty temper that occasionally flared up.

“If you’re so scared, run away,” Ed said in a menacing voice, encouraging the girl to flee.

But Murjana didn’t react the way Ed was expecting.

She swallowed hard at Ed’s threats, then her body stopped shaking. She stood up tall and proud. A blue aura enveloped her. Her Magick was impure and unsteady in its flow, but it was as blue and powerful as a waterfall.

Murjana raised her sword and stepped toward Ed, her determined eyes staring straight into his.

“If you are conspiring, then I, for one, will face you here!” Murjana shouted. Her voice no longer trembled but was resolute.

“Don’t you see the crocodiles down here? Judging by your magic, I don’t think you could take down a single one, yet you want to fight me?” Ed asked, puzzled by Murjana’s transformation.

“Yes!”

“If I say I won’t chase you if you run away, would you?”

“I won’t run away.”

“Why?”

“Because I am a descendant of Vala Ishtar, the hero who broke through Cyros!”

So it was just as Ed had suspected. Vala was an orphan abandoned in the coniferous forests of the north, with fair hair like Murjana’s. Unlike Vala, who looked like a mountain beast, Murjana had a round, cute face. But Vala had been no hero, Ed knew.

“As the heir of Vala’s blood, I cannot turn my back on an enemy of ten thousand people. Come on!”

Ed felt strange. Being a descendant of Vala gave this child a great deal of pride. But who was Vala, really? When Bosha had decided to go straight through the Cyros’ territory, Vala had been there, grumbling beside him. From Bosha’s memories, Ed could remember Vala’s reluctance to fight:

“What’s the big deal about being an Astanian, a witch, or anything else? I don’t get it. As long as you’re born a man, you must ensure you leave many descendants behind. I’ll listen to the boss, but before we go, let’s stop by the tavern. What’s the rush? Don’t you think we should say hello to the ladies first?!”

Vala was once a beggar in Sijia. The welfare of his people had never entered his mind, so it was awkward to hear his descendants, like Murjana, speak his name, saying things he would never say.

It was bizarre and wonderful at the same time. Something about Murjana’s demeanor reminded Ed of Ygraine. It was oddly gratifying to realize that this child, driven by pure goodwill, was the descendant of someone Bosha once considered a friend and comrade.

Is this how I’ll feel when I see your children or grandchildren, Bosha? Ed smiled, drew his sword from his belt, and stepped forward to meet Murjana’s fighting stance.

“Very well, then die.”

***

As Ed threatened Murjana, painful memories of her past flashed through her mind—the days when she was called a half-wit.

Vala Ishtar had five wives, each with three or more children. These children, in turn, had several more children until those who could be called Vala’s descendants littered Kaldura.

These descendants of Vala’s blood sometimes met to compete in swordplay, but Murjana had never won a single match, even though she trained day in and day out and for longer hours than anyone else. Her relatives sighed when they saw her.

“I am ashamed that you are of the Ishtar family.”

What will happen if she runs away now? Murjana, weak and cowardly, how would her father and grandfather look at her? She forcefully pushed aside the fear in her heart.

If this is the place where I will die, may my death be honorable!

With that thought, the trembling stopped. Murjana stepped forward, raised her sword, and quickly struck down towards Ed.

She maintained the posture her grandfather had taught her, her lower body firmly rooted to the ground, like the roots of a tree. Wrapped in Magick, the body should be a sturdy pillar and an impenetrable fortress. Each step is taken carefully, looking for gaps in the enemy’s defense.

A gap…

Murjana was puzzled. She was supposed to look for a gap, but there wasn’t one. Ed wasn’t even using his Magick.

“Do you think you don’t need to use Magick against someone like me?” she demanded.

Murjana’s own blue Magick enveloped her and her sword. Though she wasn’t yet skilled enough to release it, it was sharp enough, pulsating with a vibrant energy like a saw blade.

“You’ve learned your stance well,” Ed remarked, ignoring her question.

The moment Ed spoke, Murjana stomped the ground with her right foot. The black-fanged curved sword cut a sharp diagonal line through the air. The clean, beautiful trajectory was proof that Murjana had worked hard.

But it didn’t work on Ed, who sidestepped the attack so effortlessly that Murjana bit her lip in frustration.

“But you learned it wrong,” he added with a small laugh.

Murjana quickly focused her Magick on her sword, doubling the blade’s length. Paying no heed to Ed’s words, she drew another swift arc with the blade through the air, aiming straight for Ed’s torso.

Murjana was confident in this move. When she unleashed this technique, even her relatives concentrated on avoiding her attacks. Ed, however, seemed to have no such issue.

“See, you’re so slow.”

Not only did Ed dodge every single blow, but he also casually moved behind Murjana at a speed she couldn’t even see.

To be caught from behind by an enemy who doesn’t even use magic! Is this how strong the power of a witch’s offspring is? Murjana wondered.

She never thought it would end so quickly. Murjana sighed and braced herself for the final blow, but Ed did something unexpected. Like a mischievous child playing a prank, he kicked Murjana squarely in the middle of her back. It wasn’t a forceful kick, but it caught her completely off guard, and she toppled forward, landing on her hands and knees.

“Ugh… what did you do that for!” Murjana’s face flushed red with shame.

“You’re not supporting yourself properly, and that sword technique doesn’t suit your body. It’s suitable for people with a large physique and a developed upper body,” Ed replied nonchalantly.

“I… I don’t have that,” Murjana stammered.

Murjana had trained more than anyone else, so she understood what kind of physique was favorable for this sword technique. But she hadn’t expected someone like Ed to know that.

“Don’t think about keeping your feet on the ground. Be flexible. Use your spine as your axis of rotation and swing the sword with your whole body.”

Murjana was dumbfounded. Didn’t he say he was going to kill her? What the hell was he doing now?

“Get up, try it. Come on.”

“You… you! What the hell!”

Enraged by what she felt was Ed’s mockery of her and her skills, Murjana leaped to her feet and lunged at Ed once more.

Still unprotected without his Magick, Ed dodged Murjana’s sword easily once more. The whole time he dodged her strikes, he kept talking.

“You’re still only using your upper body! Didn’t you hear me? Don’t keep your feet on the ground! Keep your legs moving!”

“Shut up! It’s Ishtar’s swordsmanship! You know nothing about it!”

“The essence of mercenary swordsmanship is the flexibility to adapt to the situation. Isn’t it against the will of the ancestors to force yourself to practice a swordsmanship that doesn’t suit you?”

That was true. Her grandfather had always told Murjana to develop her own swordsmanship that played to her personal strengths while using the skills she had been trained in.

“Don’t rely on the Magick. If you don’t have a solid foundation in swordsmanship, you’re doomed, and right now, you lack confidence in yourself. Since you only wield Magick like that, your Magick is still full of impurities,” Ed instructed her.

Why did she feel like she was being scolded by her grandfather when she was risking her life against the conspiring scion of a witch? Murjana was becoming increasingly confused about what was happening, but it only fueled her rage.

“Well, since you seem to understand it so well. Fine!”

Ed sighed as Murjana doubled her efforts without much luck. Each time Murjana let her defenses down, and there was an opening in her Magick, Ed kicked her, and each time, Murjana fell awkwardly on the floor. It didn’t hurt, but it was humiliating.

Countless times, she charged, countless times she fell, her clothes soaked with swampy mud, her body exhausted, and her Magick hard to keep flowing. The only way to stop herself from falling to the floor was to alternate her weight between each foot. Murjana eventually got the hang of it. She momentarily shifted her weight to one foot while swiftly moving her body when swinging the sword, preventing Ed from kicking her again.

The blow to Ed was sharper than before, even though she swung with exhaustion and weakness. He still managed to dodge her attack.

“See. Much better, isn’t it?” Ed grinned at her.

Murjana couldn’t answer. She was furious, but he was right. The sound of the sword slicing through the air was different. But it was her last attempt. Murjana was too weak to lift her sword. With the blade pointed at the ground, she glared at Ed.

“You hateful scion of a witch! Why don’t you kill me? What do you think you’re doing?”

“Do you really want to die?”

Ed’s gaze turned sinister. Black Magick flickered over his sword. Murjana saw it and realized how skilled Ed was. The Magick was nothing like her father’s or grandfather’s, but it was pure and sharp. It was clear she was no match for him.

All this time, he was just playing with her. And now he was going to kill her for sure.

Ed raised his sword, and Murjana squeezed her eyes shut. She heard the sound of the blade slicing through the air, which alone gave her an idea of the power of the strike. She heard the sound of the blade thudding as it came into contact with its victim.

And yet, she was unharmed.

She opened her eyes to see a large wyvern in front of Ed, cut in half.

A carcass eater. It must have gotten tired of waiting for us to leave, she realized. Her gaze sped from the wyvern oozing in front of her to Ed.

“What the hell! You didn’t kill me?”

“The courage to step forward and risk death is commendable. But isn’t enduring shame also a kind of courage? If you survive, accumulate strength, and seize the opportunity, the day will come when you can wash away that shame.”

“I don’t want a shameful life.”

“Why not be a little shameful? Your people want upstanding warriors like you to be strong. Isn’t it better to endure shame for them than to waste your life defending your pride?”

Hearing those words, Murjana stared into Ed’s eyes, dumbfounded. Enduring shame for the sake of the people, Murjana had never thought of it that way.

Ed’s eyes were a clear silver-white. That struck her as odd. How could the offspring of an evil witch have such clear eyes and speak such words?

“Are you… are you really the offspring of a witch?”

“I don’t know.”

“When you said you were plotting to take over the continent, were you teasing me?”

“No. I meant it,” Ed said with a virtuous face. Murjana’s suspicions deepened.

“You just asked me to endure shame for my people. What are you plotting?”

Ed’s expression grew solemn, and he spoke his following words in a firm, low voice.

“I will unravel the great lie that rules the continent.”