Riding through the meadows, with a forest on the horizon, the wooden carriage moved steadily, its roof a canopy of brown cloth, led by two horses. Eyril, in his sharp clothing with his porcelain mask on, and Marki, in his usual plain-looking clothes and his brown hair glided on the wind, sat watching the forest slowly grow bigger. Marki grinned cheerfully as he hummed, swinging his legs.
He slowly panned his head and poked Eyril by the shoulder, saying, "It's so boooooooooooring~, let's fight!"
Such actions were everyday throughout the two-month trip for Eyril, and though it was annoying for him, he kept his focus on the mission, always saying, "Later."
"But later never comes! Why are you like this! Ugh!" Marki fell backwards into the carriage, where the metal cage of the beast was held. It growled as Marki looked inside, adding, "Hi, friend!"
But the beast stayed silent. He pouted while furrowing his eyebrows, thinking, You ignore me too? How awful!
As the sounds of Marki's whistling echoed through to Eyril's ears, they finally reached the forest of the Lorenthel Queendom. Eyril sighed, thinking, This search will take years to find it. What is the clan head thinking? He could've come here himself and found it within a month… Yet again he sighed as he whipped the horses with the straps that were holding their heads.
***
Stopping by the enormous tower inside the forest—its size towered over even the biggest of castle walls—Eyril gripped his thin sword and said to Marki, "Protect the carriage. I'll step down and retrieve what is inside, understood?"
"Yes sir~ Understood, far and wide," Marki said, as he fell instantly asleep by the carriage on the ground.
Eyril glared at him but decided to let it go, and so he stepped into the tower. Within, there were only two ways: up the tower into the skies, or deep down underground.
He decided to go down the stairs. To save time, he walked up to the edge and jumped down. His sharp clothes thrashed violently as he cut through the air as fast as a sword cuts through flesh.
Now that it's begun, I'll retrieve the Concealing Medallion. We don't want to run into 'that' grandmaster near the capital…
Within a second, he struck the ground, his knees barely bending. He stood up straight and dusted off his clothes while walking forward. In the depths of the underground was only an enormous cavity of a tunnel, decorated with pillars holding the ceiling, each appearing as a strong, beautiful elf.
Gripping his sword, he stared forward as the corridor brightened up, row by row, as the torches engulfed with fire, shooting past Eyril toward the end of it—where it illuminated a figure.
It was a stone figure of a swordsman. His armor was like a fine rose, a beautiful rose. If a normal person looked at him, they would've been immediately captivated by his beauty, stuck in place forever. But not Eyril; he was strong enough to withstand temptation.
Behind the figure was a pedestal where the medallion was held. The medallion hung on a chain of seemingly pure gold material. It resembled a rose, but its petals were pure black, and in the middle resided a deep red gem, shining with reflections from the torches.
Eyril, gripping his sword to his side, prepared as the stone figure's joints cracked and stone slowly broke away, falling to the ground. The figure, at first barely able to move, within seconds regained its mobility. From the strap on its side, it took out a stone sword and held it by its side.
And so they stared at each other, awaiting either to make their first move.
Eyril made the first move, shooting forward to slash at the figure's chest. It immediately jumped to the side, but unfortunately for it, Eyril struck the tip of his sword and, as he cut it out, the blade slowly turned to ash.
Seeing this, the figure threw the hilt aside and leaped upwards onto the shoulder of the statue, placing a hand onto the empty holster at its hip. Instantly, a new sword formed, and it drew the weapon. Gripping it tight, the figure swung behind its back and hurled the blade in a straight line toward him.
Eyril turned to face it and noticed the sword. So fast? You're as fast as Grandmaster Theo was… Interesting.
He slashed at the projectile, and only ash hit his body. Engulfing his own sword in mana with a bluish glow, he slashed at the air, slicing a pillar in half. It crumbled into ash, and the figure fell to the ground with a loud THUD that echoed through the corridor.
The figure stood up and stared. Then it threw five more swords, immediately.
Running forward, Eyril dodged every attack by an inch from his face. With a swing, he clashed swords with the figure. It was immediately in jeopardy. It acted at once, slashing once and throwing away the sword.
The clinging of metal and stone echoed as they battled across the whole corridor, jumping from wall to wall. Each time, the figure just barely avoided the death sentence, but each time it tried to kill Eyril, it was to no avail.
Knowing it was no use prolonging the battle, the figure gripped its sword and jumped back. With one powerful swing, it split the whole corridor in a diagonal line, making the underground collapse slowly.
At that moment, it lost its footing as it tried to avoid the debris falling on its head. But Eyril appeared right in front of him, stabbing him into the stomach.
The figure looked immediately at it, trying to shatter the sword, but it was no use. It immediately turned into ash as a blue gem fell from where its head had been.
Staring straight at it, Eyril said, "It was a good fight. Thank you."
He picked up the gem and stored it in his pocket. After, he walked up to the collapsed debris and touched it, turning it into ash. The whole corridor's visibility immediately turned dire as it filled with ash.
Eyril, on instinct, walked forward and grabbed the medallion. Dangling it in front of his face, he observed it as it spun on its axis. He sighed, placed it into his pocket, and walked slowly back to the surface.