In the midst of the downpour—was the carriage moving fast?
Not really.
But the forest was far too close. In just this short while, it had already carried everyone into the mouth of the shadows.
The thick darkness of rain.
Carried in the wind came an ominous "sound."
Allen stared into the rain curtain.
And then—the rain stopped.
Literally.
The falling raindrops seemed to "freeze" mid-air, suspended in slow motion.
Suspended within those deep gray eyes.
Suspended within Allen's maxed-out Ryūsei Tōki (Dragon Saint Battle Aura) and its full-force activation of kanryū (Flow Sense)!
The carriage curtain gently flapped in the wind! Through the soft glow of the candlelight, countless water droplets hovered in front of him, falling slowly, refracting orange arcs of light that reflected in his pupils!
His brain went into overdrive. As his thoughts raced to process what he was seeing, he couldn't help but recall a visual from a film in his past life—an effect where lighting made raindrops seem suspended in time.
Now, in this world of sword and magic, Allen had truly achieved it.
Amid the dense rain, the "background" of the environment returned through kanryū's feedback.
The rain had stopped! The wind had stilled! The leaves in the forest no longer swayed in shadow!
And from within the forest—
Gleamed the cold shine of weapons, their tips flashing with killing intent as they left their sheaths.
Above the curtain of rain…
A swarm of arrows crept through the suspended droplets!
This was no mock sparring from Ghislaine—it was a carefully orchestrated assassination!!
Allen blinked, exiting his intense kanryū state.
The curtains danced wildly before his eyes in the wind and rain.
He heard hurried footsteps behind him—Eris had broken free from the cat-eared maid and in two steps stood right in front of his face.
"Hey! Is Ghislaine out there? You've been staring out the window—don't tell me she's here—"
Before she could finish, Allen raised his hand to her face.
The back of his hand toward Eris, palm facing the window—just enough to block her line of sight.
What?! You're stopping me from looking!?
Little lioness Eris had never been challenged like that!
Her sleepiness vanished in an instant, fiery red brows arching high. Her lips parted, ready to retort—
But in that exact moment—
An arrow fell from the sky, slicing through the rain, slipping between the window bars—and struck Allen's palm directly!
The weight of its fall gave the arrow a whistling tremble, but with kanryū constantly adjusting its trajectory, it nearly left behind afterimages.
In that sudden shock, Eris instinctively took a step back—but her pride stopped her from retreating further. Her budding Sword God Style instincts kicked in, and in that instant, her red pupils caught the arrow's trajectory through Allen's fingers.
Then—
CRACK! The arrow shattered into splinters, raining shards of wood over the carriage!
More arrows twisted in the air, slamming into the roof of the carriage.
They had already entered the forest, and shadows broke through the rain and charged from the trees.
"Luffy! Dorobō Mahō (Earth Fortress Magic)—protect Eris and yourself!!"
Allen spun, grabbing the stunned Eris, and tossed her straight into Sylphie's arms.
"Okay!!"
Sylphie reacted quickly. After all, the harrowing night she and Allen had faced fighting beasts in the snowy valley last winter had built solid teamwork between them. Even if she didn't understand the situation, she instinctively obeyed Allen's command.
Allen watched out of the corner of his eye as chakra surged from her palm, forming a protective dome in the corners of the carriage.
The jutsu—Dorobō Mahō (Earth Fortress)—left only a small hole to observe from.
Meanwhile, Eris—faced with this sudden chaos—shifted her gaze away from Allen's palm to the splintered arrow fragments on the floor. Her red eyes sparkled—not with fear, but with excitement!
After all, this was the kind of girl who, even when kidnapped, still cursed out her captors. A little ambush like this couldn't possibly scare her!
Sylphie glanced at the arrow shards and heard the sound of footsteps splashing through the mud outside. She quickly realized this was an assassination attempt—and when she looked back at Allen's vaguely furious expression, her eyes grew confused.
"Wait… Allen called Eris's name first? Does that mean… he's already figured out that this ambush is targeting her?"
Just then, Eris began to struggle.
"Sylphie, let me go! I want to go out and see!"
But Sylphie used a Fūton (Wind Magic) spell to pin her in place, her voice gentle yet firm and fast.
"Don't do that, okay? If Allen asked me to protect you, it must be very dangerous out there. I know you're really interested in his sword skills, so I made you a little 'window.' Let's just watch from here, alright?"
"I—!"
"If not, he might get mad and refuse to teach you swordsmanship."
Eris froze. Her lips curled into a little pout.
"Like I even care if he teaches me!"
But her body was honest—she slumped quietly in Sylphie's arms, eyes glued to Allen without blinking.
Sylphie smiled softly and looked up.
And in that instant—
A blade stabbed through the carriage wall—heading straight for Allen's face!!
Sylphie and Eris's pupils contracted at once. Eris instinctively moved—but this time, Sylphie tensed up first and moved with her.
The next moment—
They both felt as if the candlelight inside the carriage had become blinding. A piercing, vibrating hum rang in their ears—just one sound, yet layered like thousands.
VRMMM!!
In the middle of that hum—
The flashing blade shattered in front of Allen like the falling rain outside. From its tip to its hilt—ping ping ping—each fragment dropped to his feet.
Blade tip. Blade body. Blade handle.
Fingers. Wrist. Forearm.
Torn fabric. Gushing blood.
The attacker's entire arm—hand, blade, and all—was sliced into paper-thin pieces as it entered the carriage.
One by one, they fell before Allen.
Blood sprayed from the stump of the severed arm.
And all of this took no more than a second.
Almost simultaneously—an agonized scream rang out from outside the window!
And then—silence.
A severed head rolled onto the windowsill, bounced down the carriage wall, and landed right in front of Sylphie and Eris's fortress of earth.
Blood still gushed.
The expression on the head was strangely lifelike—as if still clinging to life.
Eris and Sylphie stared dumbfounded at the bloodied, bearded stranger's face.
Sylphie's legs gave out and she plopped down inside the earthen dome. Only then did she realize—
Allen's "earth fortress" wasn't really for defense.
It was to prevent them from getting sprayed with blood.
That was all.
(End of Chapter)
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