Plummeting, cleaver in hand, the figure screamed as he chopped down.
Levi slapped the sword to the side with the back of his hand as Aria grounded herself, her shoulders still secured between his arm and chest.
Sou!
"... Again?" Levi's tone darkened along with his expression as he plucked an arrow from its course.
"Ahh! HAHH!" Disregarding Levi's dissatisfaction, the man chopped out continuously.
After parrying and dodging every strike, Levi jumped back, thinking,' What should I do? They should be the people I'm looking for, but...'. He glanced at Aria. She looked back into his eyes.
"Young master."
"... What is it?"
"Don't let worrying about me stop you from doing what you need to do." She said.
Levi's gaze lingered on her for a second, before it fell onto the figure charging him once more. Illuminated by the moonlight, his appearance came into view. He wore a beasts' skin around his waist, which was the only article covering his body, aside from the primitive paintings on his face. He wasn't particularly big but had a muscular body.
'His strikes are heavy.' Levi swept his hand out like a sword, stopping the cleaver's advance.
'... A fleshly cultivator?' His eyes shone.
Sou!
"!!" An arrow flew toward Aria after curving around Levi. A glowing outline appeared around her as it inched closer. An invisible membrane sunk in from the arrow's force, before springing back out, flinging it a short distance away. It landed with a hollow thud.
Levi appeared before the man as he chopped down with his hand.
"Kek!" Forced into a kneeling position, the man coughed blood as a loud boom echoed. Although he had blocked the strike with his blade, the strength of the blow was more than his body could take.
Boom!
Levi's foot slammed into the side of his head as he flew. He then turned his malevolent gaze in a certain direction as a black blade appeared in his hand.
"Young master!"
"What?" Levi glared.
"I wasn't told why we came here, which is why YOU have to remember!"
Levi paused.
"While I'm thankful for your concern, you're overreacting. I'm not worth so much that you should sacrifice your plans."
Levi's eyes widened.
"You... You, as a person who knows about my early life, and about me as a person, should know why I'm angry. You know why I react the way I do when you are in danger. As a person as important to me as you are, you know why I won't forgive that comment. Especially from you."
Aria flinched. She opened her mouth but seeing Levi's face as he slowly turned around, closed it without a word.
"... Sigh." Levi's shoulders lowered with his sigh. After a pause, he sighed again.
"Sighhhhhhhhhhhh." and again.
Aria was at a loss for words. '... Is he trying to sigh the anger away???'
"Sigh... I know that all of you are there. Come out." After a final sigh, he rubbed his neck with a vacant expression.
"... Is he talking about the archer?" She muttered.
"Sigh." Pushing out a long sigh, Levi reached out. A ball of Qi brought something back to him.
"Guess I have no choice..." He sighed as he held the unresponsive man up by his shoulder.
Sou!!
Multiple arrows, tinted by a pale blue Qi, tore through the air.
Levi grinned. "What's the matter? I was just thinking of returning him to you."
"You don't want him anymore?" He cast a playful glance to the side.
As if someone pulled a blanket of darkness away, flaming torches appeared, brightening the otherwise moonlit night. Encircling the two were people who wore either the skins of beasts or crude cloth, standing shoulder to shoulder. Some carried blades, swords, or knives, or spiked clubs, either bone or metal. There were also some carrying bows and arrows. The bows screamed in protest as they drew them almost to breaking point.
'But you're not the ones who were shooting earlier.' Looking around, Levi's sight stopped on a strange group.
Surrounded by four tall mask-wearing men was a shorter figure, also clad in black. The men wore skirt-like pieces of cloth around their waists, down to their knees. But while others covered only their crotch and chests if female, cloaked in black cloth, this person stood at the center, covered from head to toe. They held a deformed wooden staff, watching silently.
'They're crazy people where ever you go...' Levi pretended he saw nothing and continued his search.
His gaze fell onto a certain tree. Sitting with her back against the trunk was a girl with short and curly water-blue hair. One of her feet hung freely, while the other rested on the branch she sat on. She held a drawn bow lazily, watching.
'I'll remember you.' Levi reluctantly shifted his gaze to the man walking up to him.
"Hmm?" He looked up. This man was taller than him by a few heads. He looked down his nose at Levi.
"Harmph!" The man shouted something incoherent before sweeping his hand out. The back of his large hand struck Levi, sending him bouncing a small distance away.
"!?" The cauldron outline faded as Aria's gaze chilled. She advanced.
"Wait."
"... You're ok, young master?"
"What do you think." Levi didn't get up.
"What are we going to do?"
"Hmm. This is problematic." Levi groaned.
"They outnumber us ridiculously, but I'll get you to safety no matter what." Aria surveyed their surroundings as a small head popped out from her collar.
"Never mind that for now. First..." Levi pressed his palms against his face.
"Never min-Young master, did you hit your head? You do understand our situation, right?" Aria almost choked.
"Of course. Perfectly. But the thing is, do they understand us? In other words, can they understand what we're saying?" He sighed heavily while pointing.
"!"
After listening closely, she heard the incomprehensible dialect from the group's murmurs. As her gaze swept over the people, their faces would twist into less than likable expressions, but there were no signs of them understanding their conversation.
"This makes things slightly difficult." Levi got up with a sigh.
'... Is he still angry?'
"Uhm, can anyone understand me? Hello?" Levi spread his arms in a welcoming manner as he slowly turned.
"None of you can understand me?" His shoulders dropped as he sighed once more.
"Oh? Can you understand me?" After retrieving the unconscious man, the man returned, towering over Levi once more.
He shouted something, causing a few people to walk into the encirclement, before grabbing toward Levi with a sneer.
"What do you want?" Aria's frosty gaze fell on the two men standing before her.
"..." Levi's expression slowly faded.
"Humph!" The man snorted. He shouted something, directing a twisted expression toward Aria as the men cackled.
"..." A flame grew on her still figure, threatening to burn everything in its path to nothing.
'I'm not weak anymore...' Aria stood unflinching.
' But, Young Master hasn't explained how he wants this situation handled.' The flames died out as she looked back. Seeing this, the two men chuckled disdainfully. They reached out.
A vacant expression found its way to Levi's face once again.
"Huh? Ak!" The two men suddenly froze, their lips twitching.
"... What is the matter with these two?" Aria retreated a step, muttering curiously.
Seeing that his subordinates refused to carry out their orders, the man's expression dropped as he shouted. Neither responded. Noticing something off, he pushed Levi to the side before advancing.
He shouted something again but got no response. The two men twitched continuously. They blinked and rolled their eyes lively as if trying to convey something. The man shouted angrily at the two. He turned to Aria, and, grasping her throat, bellowed something along the lines of "Useless! I will do it myself!", before he, himself, froze.
"Seeing as I can control your blood so easily, you are many times weaker than me. Even that shark was harder to control than you." Levi appeared beside Aria. The man's grip slowly loosened as beads of sweat appeared on his face.
"Look at her like that again, hmm. See if you don't die a painful death. Or maybe I should alter your bones and turn you into a statue, like those two?" After he released Aria, Levi pushed down the stiffened arm.
'Is that why they suddenly stopped? Is that just something you can do as a cultivator?' Aria looked at Levi curiously.
"Now listen." Levi turned, sweeping his gaze over those present.
"I came here for a specific reason. I have no interest in fighting you." He began walking, his hands behind his back.
As their leader was still, the encirclement also stood in place. They didn't know what was going on, but since the man had not made a move, they, too, would not. Their expressions twisted every time Levi's gaze passed over them.
"The natural resources in this wilderness has caught my attention, so I came here to procure some of them with your help."
"I obviously won't take something while giving nothing in return, so tell me what you want and I will provide it." He stopped.
Small murmurs here and there disrupted a small pause of silence. Impatient shouts bombarded the man, but one could mistake the target of these cries.
"... So they can't understand anything I say?" Levi muttered.
"... Well, I can't blame Nerezza if she failed. But if she did fail, why leave a marker here? So that I can find them and work things out myself? Hmm."
'... Nerezza? What does she have to do with this?' Aria's ear twitched as her brows crumpled.
"Ah..." A small cry escaped the man's throat. He released this sound multiple times.
"Young master... Is he trying to say something?" Walking to Levi's side hesitantly, Aria whispered.
"Hmm?" Levi walked up to him.
" Do you have something to say?"
"... Not like I can understand you anyway, though." Levi turned around with a sigh.
"Ah... N... e..." Indistinguishable sounds brushed past the man's lips.
Aria went closer, curious about what he might have to say.
"Ne...za.."
"Hmm?" Her ears twitched.
"Ner...zza!"
"Why do you know that name?!" Purple flames grew on Aria's body as a dominating pressure crushed seeped from her being.
The people surrounding them became restless as they shouted, ready to attack.
"What's the matter?"
"... Answer me! How do you know that name?!" A sizzling sound, along with the smell of burnt flesh wafted out as Aria gripped the man's neck. He trembled from the pain and the pressure.
"Aria." Levi put a hand on her shoulder.
"?!" She whipped her head.
"You'll get burned!" The flames quickly vanished from the shoulder before dying down.
"I'm fine. What happened?" Levi flipped over his hand, spreading his fingers as he asked.
"... It wasn't clear, but I'm sure he just said 'Nerezza'." Her furrow deepened.
Levi's face twitched. He looked at the man silently.
"... Young master."
"I know, don't worry."
After a slight pause, the man found that he could move. Instead of attacking, he stood silently for a few seconds, catching his breath and examining the burn on his neck.
'Quite an amazing flame, strong enough to burn a fleshly cultivator.'
"Ne-Nerezza?" He seemed to have trouble speaking, but forced himself to say this one word while pointing at Levi and Aria.
"You-!" Lifting his arm, Levi stopped Aria's advance.
He nodded at the man since saying anything would be pointless.
"Nerezza!" The man pointed in another direction. He walked by the two before looking back and pointing once more.
"Nerezza! Nerezza!" He pointed.
"Is... Is he saying that she is there?" Aria asked.
"... It looks like he wants to lead us somewhere."
The man said "Nerezza" once more as Levi and Aria started following him. He said something to the people surrounding them, causing them to open a path. They followed behind and at their sides, ready to attack if ordered.
Like this, they led Aria and Levi through the forest.