Chapter 114

Ch . 114: Speculating While Moving

Eventually, Loren and Lapis gave up on trying to clean everything .

There were just too many bodies, and the dragon zombie was too large to move .

Although they knew they couldnt do anything, it didnt help the stench at all, so they were walking towards their destination under the night sky .

Theres no way we could spend the night there .

Loren and Lapis had decimated a great number of undead, a True, and a dragon zombie at the place where they planned to camp for the night .

Although it wouldnt be the last, Loren hoped that they had done enough damage so that their enemy wouldnt be able to mass a similar force and attack anytime soon .

Are you okay Loren? Humans die so easily unless they sleep, so Im worried .

Lapis was carrying a silent Dia on her back .

After the attack, Dia, who had been stunned and unmoving, didnt seem to budge where she was kneeling even after they had finished packing up and were ready to move on .

They couldnt leave her there, but they couldnt stay there either, so Loren suggested that he carry Dia, but Lapis refused and said that she would carry her .

Loren was used to carrying heavy things on his back, so he thought that he should be the one to do it, but Lapis seemed to have her own thoughts .

She was being wary of Dias fangs being so close to Lorens neck, as he was only a human .

It would be a disaster if you were bitten .

Wouldnt that be the same for you?

I mean, I can manage, so .

Lapis smiled as she picked up Dia, but the fact that she said she could do something about being bitten, when normally if vampires sucked blood from living beings, they would end similarly, made Loren think about how powerful demon kind were .

Anyways, were such an efficient party, dont you think?

When Loren looked at Lapis face, wondering what she meant, she looked back with a serious expression .

Well, were walking in the plains at night without a light .

Now that she mentioned it, Loren remembered that his sight was still linked with the no life king Shayna .

A normal party would use torches or lanterns, and move in the darkness of the night .

But the two of them had no need for such things, and were walking as if it were daytime .

The only one that was shaking in fear was the donkey, since it was the only one that was walking in pure darkness .

Can you do this with your real eyes too?

When Loren asked Lapis out of curiosity, Lapis answered with a proud look .

Whatever I can do now, I can do with my real body .

Even beating up a True with just your hands?

Easily . Its actually more difficult right now . I can fight a lot better since I can allocate the mana I used for my arms down to my legs, but I still cant move how I want to since Im worried that the joints would fall apart .

Priestess

Should I eventually introduce myself as a monk soldier?

Loren wondered if that would be fine with her, it didnt seem like she cared, so he thought that it wasnt something he could say about it .

Is Dia still down?

Hmm . I wonder .

When Lapis turned over her shoulder to look at Dias face, Dia saw that she was being looked at, and raised her head slightly from Lapis back .

Her face was quite shaken, which was unlike the calm self she had been showing, and made her seem like the young girl she looked like .

Shes supposed to be over 500 years old, though

Not mentioning that is an act of kindness you know?

Why was she suddenly not able to fight in the first place?

Loren thought that if there was a reason, he needed to know .

He hadnt asked until now since Dia wasnt in a state to talk, but since she was able to respond, he immediately asked her, and when Dia heard him, she looked down, still clinging to Lapis back .

Loren regretted asking, as it seemed like she couldnt speak yet, but after a moment of silence, Dia managed to form words .

We Eldersdont speak our true names .

Seems so .

Loren recalled when Dia had introduced herself to them for the first time, she had said she couldnt tell them her family name, and to call her Dia .

Loren thought that there was a good reason for it, so he hadnt asked her about it, but it seemed that it was the same for them as a race .

For us Elders, our real names are connected to our very existences .

Hmm?

Although it seemed that she had come out with something very important, but Loren couldnt understand what she meant .

When he looked at Lapis for help, since Lapis was more versed in magic and divine arts, she thought about Dias words for a moment, as if she was letting the words sink in, and asked her .

Is that like a so-called True Name?

Thats exactly what it is .

I see .

Lapis seemed to understand, but Loren was still in the dark .

Would you like to hear about it Loren? If you ask, I could explain it

As Lapis showed a sense of superiority of knowing something he didnt, Loren felt slightly annoyed, he didnt show it, but instead replied in an uninterested voice .

You dont have to . Shayna probably knows, anyway .

What!? O-okay, Ill tell you, I mean, please let me explain .

Shayna possessed the knowledge that a no life king would have .

Loren guessed that she would know about the True Name that Lapis had mentioned, but since Lapis seemed to want to explain it to him very badly, he decided that there was no need to ask Shayna and silently motioned for Lapis to go on .

Shayna is quite troublesomeEven more so because only Loren can see her . Umm, True Names . It is said to be something that anyone can have, and its a name that is used to indicate ones own existence .

Could you explain it simpler?

Although Loren seemed to be quite educated for a mercenary, when it came to practical matter such as magic, it wasnt an exaggeration to say that he couldnt understand the theoretical things Lapis told him at all .

Which is why he asked Lapis for an easier explanation, but Lapis went silent with a troubled look on her face .

Umm . How would I explain thisThis was the only explanation when I learned about it

What if I tell you that its like a magic name that if someone says it, he has every part of that being in his hands?

Dia explained from Lapis back, helping her .

As Lapis looked at him to see if the explanation was good enough, even though she wasnt the one who came up with it, Loren seemed to get a vague image of what it meant, and nodded slowly .

So your magic name was used against you?

Yes, exactly .

Dias face turned sullen again .

Loren had a good idea where the conversation was going, but until it was said clearly, he couldnt use it as solid intel, so even though he didnt feel like it, he needed to hear it from Dia, so as he rubbed the back of his neck, he continued to ask her .

Who else knows your True Name other than you?

There was no answer .

That itself was an answer in a sense, but Loren pressed on .

I have my own guess . Want to hear it?

Tell me .

Its most likely her master Sierra that knows Dias True Name other than herself . Its such an important name, so its not something you can just tell anyone .

Based on your assumptions Loren, wouldnt it be Sierra who is getting in our way, not Stoos?

It was unlikely that the True who called himself First was able to force that information out of Sierra, who was an Elder .

Instead, Dias True Name was something that couldnt have gotten into anyone elses hands unless Sierra had leaked it .

But if was leaked, the one who did it couldnt be anyone other than Sierra herself .

I think its Sierra who did it .

Can I ask why?

The feeling that she didnt want to believe and the fact that there could be no other explanation seemed to be fighting each other inside, as Dias voice was trembling .

Pretending not to notice it, Loren continued his thought .

The dragon zombie . If something like thats walking around, theres no way no one wouldnt notice it . And being what it is, if found, it would definitely cause an uproar .

But there was nothing like such, and it was able to attack our camp, which means theres a high possibility that someone sent it our way .

Even though we slowed down to screw our enemys plans . But they still knew our location, which means someone had to confirm where we were .

I see . So you think that Dias master is suspicious since she came to us earlier . But why?

I dont know about motives . More so if its something within the confinements of Elders themselves .

Would you understand if I told you that Elders take pride in things that they excel in?

Loren thought about what Dia said in almost a whisper, eventually recalled a certain conversation .

It was something Sierra had said when she had come to check on Dia .

Does your master excel in magic?

Loren, are you saying

She said it herself . The reason why Dia was considered capable of leaving her masters care was because her skills in magic surpassed Sierras .

Loren thought that a student surpassing her master was proof that the master had taught her well, but apparently Elders couldnt think of it that way .

It was easy to dismiss it as silly, but as long as Dia didnt say so, it could be said that Loren was correct .

I guess, that would be so .

As Dia muttered, not able to object Lorens reasoning, buried her face in Lapis back, not letting the two of them see her face .