Only I Am A Reader

The dark-haired youth who seemed to be a few days away from adulthood had only grown more dashing over the time, in a way that matched the coldness in his eyes.

Having only gotten to this place after so long, Ray barely held back on storming the place right away. He only nodded at the Shadow's report before heading to the back of the carriage.

Creak.

"Mmmm, mmm!"

All kinds of suppressed hums emerged as soon as the doors parted, allowing sunlight to go through and reveal over a dozen of children that were 'packaged' inside.

"It's okay… everything will be okay."

It had only been seconds, but Ray's coldness had at one point been replaced by a gentle expression. He climbed up to the carriage himself and started untying the children's hands one by one. Ray tried his best to calm them down, but they were still scared that they didn't try to do anything even after being freed.

'This is better for now…'

"We will have to leave the last part on for now, but it's just for your safety."

Although he knew this incident was bound to cause more than a few scars on their mental state, Ray had to make the choice of letting everything evolve to this point, this was the only way he could end this once and for all.

In order to make sure they would be able to leave this death zone safely, anything that could grab attention had to be erased, so Ray only loosened the fabric tied around their mouth, not removing it completely.

"Take them out of here."

After assigning half of the 'Shadows' that came this time around to escort the carriage out, the glint in Ray's eyes reappeared as he turned back to his point of interest.

Following Ray's change, a pair of soft eyes closely watched him before directly approaching him, without redirecting their gaze, their owner reached out to her back and pulled something out.

Shiiing.

"Let's go."

The sound of a greatsword being pulled from its sheath wasn't loud, but it clearly indicated its weight. The person that appeared on Ray's side was clad in the same pitch-black that Ray and his 'Shadows' wore, but that still couldn't hide the difference in their figures. The one holding such a large sword was a woman!

"Are you sure you want to do this, Jade?"

sisshhh.

Similarly drawing his longsword, Ray's cold gaze slightly softened as he looked at the young woman beside in sadness, but her expression was nothing but firm.

It wasn't that there were no Swordswomen in this world. In fact, there were more than one of them who carved their names on the peak of the world as Grand Master, but even Swordsmen who used greatswords barely had any presence, not to mention Swordswomen. Anyone who saw the contrasting sight of Ray's longsword beside Jade's greatsword would be confused.

However, just like Ray was this world's protagonist, Jade wasn't normal either! She was none other than the second heroine!

She wasn't just the only daughter of the Empire's grand duke, but she also inherited the family's physical trait of strength. In this whole continent, only the grand duke's household was capable of continuously producing greatsword users!

"Do you even need to ask?"

Unlike the first heroine who saw both prospects and feelings in getting close to Ray, Jade only supported Ray as an ally who shared her view towards the chaotic state in the world. She hoped that, at one point, they would grow strong enough to stop the unending cycle of conflict.

Naturally, after learning about this 'lab' hiding within the Evil Sword Jungle, there was no way she wouldn't participate in this operation!

"Heh, I guess."

Showing a rare smile under the cloth mask, Ray and Jade steadily went through the small opening alongside the 'Shadows', their cold blades shining within the darkness!

`~~~`~~~`~~~`

Swish!

After passing through the tall corridor, the group finally met the first living being in over half an hour. Although… he didn't stay alive for long.

The man looked like he was just a sentry, but the Shadows' sensing indicated that he was at grade-4. As they exchanged looks, the whole group only grew more confident that they came to the right place.

Swish!

Unlike the first man who was carelessly taken out by one of the Shadows, the second one they met was alert enough to block. For some reason, he seemed to know that someone had intruded after his colleague was killed?

Shiiiing!

Unfortunately for him, the inability of the Shadow to one-shot kill him only meant to be crushed along his sword by Jade's 'Gravitating Flower'.

Jade's sword wasn't just special to endure her strength but it had the ability to increase the weight of her attack even further! Although she renamed it when she became its owner, it was still one of the heirlooms of the highest-ranked noble under the imperial family!

Swish! Shiiiing! Swish! Shiiinng! Swoosh…

The massacre continued without any exchange of words as every entity that met the group in this underground cave reached the end of its lifespan. Despite the unexplainable concentration of strong Swordsmen in a place like this, the special group wasn't anything normal as well.

Every single one of them was a Sword Breath user, in other words, they were all Sword Masters!

Moreover, compared to Jade who was equal peak Sword Masters relying on her physical qualities. Every now and then, Ray's longsword would see some blood as he exhibited ability beyond that peak!

"Eeek?!"

After wandering around the underground cave with no directions, meeting nothing but hostile Swordsmen who seemed to know their location, Ray's group met their first normal human at last.

"Finally."

Gritting his teeth, Ray knew that he had finally reached what he named the 'lab'. This place was where they planned to use those children for…

"Ugh, we were so close to… Did it really have to be now?"

As the Shadows rushed to capture the man standing alone in the rock chamber, he spoke in incomprehensible words before grabbing a knife and sticking it into his own neck.

"Go!"

Seeing this reaction, Ray immediately ordered the Shadows to rush forward and catch whoever else was hiding since speed wasn't his strong point, he specifically couldn't let these 'normal' people die before he knew the true identity of this place!

Most importantly, he had to know why they were chasing 'him'!

"Let's follow them as well."

With Jade rushing ahead of him, Ray also ran behind her. However, his already dark expression only darkened further as they advanced, there was nothing but destruction!

The rooms had the cages that he expected to find, but they were all empty! The corpses of those who seemed to belong here were everywhere!

'This… We were led on?'

Ray wasn't someone who had lived two lives for nothing. At this point, it was obvious that this place was nothing but a trap. Everything… everything starting from the 'delivery' to the sentries outside was nothing but a disposable cover!

'No!'

Not only did he have to wait for over a year to catch wind of a real 'delivery' in the middle of all the diversion, but he also had to turn an eye to the kidnappings that led to it. All in order to reach here! Yet, this was all he could get? An empty shell?!

"Master! We… couldn't keep anyone alive. They all committed suicide in all sort of ways, even those who seemed like they wanted to talk died just like that, they might have ingested something."

Ray stood in his place looking at his memories. Where did he go wrong? Was he destined to fail even in this world?

"Their hearts exploded… I don't know how they did it, but it definitely wasn't poison."

While Ray's mind was in chaos, Jade had already bent down to check on one of the bodies. Although she wasn't a botany expert like Rena, she knew that no poison could instantly cause an internal organ explosion upon consumption.

"Search every spot. Don't leave a stone unturned."

After letting out a few cold words, the frozen Ray turned to leave. Even if he failed once that meant nothing!

What he saw today only meant that he wasn't strong enough just like before, but he wouldn't listen to his inner self this time. He just had to grow stronger the proper way so he could stop both himself and this world from falling into the state that led to his demise back on Earth!

"Wait for me."

Walking out of the underground cave, Jade took her horse's reins from the Shadow that waited outside and followed Ray out of the Evil Sword Jungle. The ground was rough, but it didn't take long for them to leave the death zone. After all, even this unknown organization could only build its base at the periphery.

"..."

On the way out, Ray had been completely silent, only focusing on the road. Jade seemed to have something to say but she just closed her mouth in the end.

"Lord!"

As soon as they exited the Jungle, however, the awkward silence was broken by the Shadow who was stationed at the area they entered from. His face was covered, but his voice betrayed his excitement about the paper he held in hand.

"It was hard because he moved around too much, but we found him! He even made a big name for himself."

The Shadow gave a sorry excuse so he wouldn't appear to be complaining. In reality, the only reason they took this long was the order to 'not be noticed'...

Holding the paper in hand, Ray's eyes widened as his tightly shut lips finally parted, confusion apparent in his eyes once again.

"Endless Swords' Leo…?"