Chapter 1097 - Swords, Vines, & Birds

The blade cut through the web of vines as the swordsman expertly avoided the thorns covering them, even as they shot out, aiming to impale his body. A screen of water protected him as a green blast sought to push him back, allowing him to continue his pursuit as the druid in front of him slammed her staff into the ground.

A vast fissure appeared between the Sword Saint and Dina, seeking to swallow him up as a torrent of vines erupted from beneath. Miyamoto’s eyes opened wide as he hadn’t felt the movement of magic from beneath, barely giving him time to react as he teleported back, Dina having effectively created distance.

“That wasn’t regular magic,” Miyamoto commented as he prepared to charge again.

“This is the Pantheon of Life,” Dina answered with a smile. “Easy for life to be hidden where you least expect it, and sometimes all you need to do is ask for a little bit of assistance.”

Bloodline. Right.

Stone-like thorns erupted all across the battlefield as the Sword Saint was forced into the air, seeking to get away from the ground that Dina used to attack. With a teleport, he closed the distance once more, allowing his blade to approach the dryad. However, he severely underestimated her as she had learned some new tricks since their days in Nevermore.

Right before Miyamoto had a chance to land his blow, Dina’s body erupted with energy as a wooden carapace formed around her, fully encompassing her body. Vines instantly erupted from the sphere of solid wood, striking at the Sword Saint as he dodged and swung for the defensive barrier.

His blade managed to cut deep into the wooden cocoon, but to land his attack, he had to pay with some blood of his own as a thorn penetrated into his shoulder, forcing him back.

Right as he retreated, the wooden cocoon instantly retracted, and he found himself staring at a staff pointed at his head. The staff began to glow as it exploded with green light, sending a beam of condensed energy toward the Sword Saint, who was still mid-air. Unable to stop his momentum on his current trajectory, Miyamoto had no choice but to defend as he also made use of some new means of his own.

Lifting a hand, a flat plane depicting the image of a pond was summoned between himself and Dina, with the beam of green light impacting it nearly at the same moment it appeared. The pond displayed in the image rippled on impact, absorbing the green beam entirely as the Sword Saint stabbed into the pond from behind, making the ripples suddenly intensify as a large droplet of water, slighter larger than a fist, was ejected from the image.

Dina was definitely surprised, but her defensive sphere activated in time to attempt to block the attack. A loud splashing sound was heard as the large energy-infused droplet hit the barrier of bark, the impact smashing Dina into the ground, creating a large crater.

The Sword Saint didn’t waste this opportunity as he stabbed repeatedly downwards, his arms moving at several times the speed usually possible, releasing a rainfall of piercing beams of water upon the sphere, instantly putting several holes in it.

However, before he could even follow-up, the holes began to mend themselves, making the Sword Saint not even try as he stopped. Dina’s barrier also retracted a moment later as she stood there, breathing heavily.

“I lost,” she said, sounding quite tired.

“It wasn’t certain,” the Sword Saint slightly disagreed.

“I would definitely run out of mana first, and if I pushed you too hard, I don’t have confidence in blocking some of your best offensive skills,” Dina continued to insist. “Without Bobo, I would already have been in great trouble.”

“Speaking of Bobo, did he evolve?” the Sword Saint asked curiously. He assumed that the wooden cocoon was created by the living armor she wore.

“He did,” Dina smiled happily. “The Mother Tree helped me in the endeavor, but I also trained a lot with him on my own.”

“You have definitely grown a lot,” Miyamoto said proudly.

“Not as much as you,” she shook her head. “I don’t want to make excuses, but it’s really hard to compete with those who participate in system events.”

“The Prima Guardian event wasn’t that good when it came to gaining levels,” the Sword Saint shook his head. “It wasn’t an event focused on challenging individuals but entire galaxies. The only Prima Guardian I would classify as truly challenging was the one Earth faced, and there, we had a fighting force that I doubt any C-grade could have ever defeated.”

Dina nodded as she also finally dispelled her staff. The Sword Saint took her cue to leave as he looked at the battlefield they had torn up nicely, the entire local area destroyed.

“Is it fine to leave it like this?” the Sword Saint asked.

“Why wouldn’t it be?” Dina asked. “Nature doesn’t care what the landscape looks like. It adapts. Besides, the barrier ensured no creatures lived there before we started fighting, and I’m sure now that it’s dispelled, beasts that will be nourished by our remnant energies and Records will flock to it.”

“I see,” the Sword Saint nodded as he and Dina headed back toward the residence provided to him by the Pantheon of Life. That was the place they’d chosen as their spot for get-togethers visiting the faction.

The two of them passed through the aforementioned barrier after flying a little, and Dina took out a token mid-flight and dispelled it, unsealing this otherwise mostly empty area of the Great Planet.

On the way back, they stopped by another similar barrier. It was transparent, allowing them to see what was happening within as they saw a bird having some fun of her own.

Sylphie was flying circles around a party of five who fought back with great coordination as they tried to defend themselves while hopefully locking down the hawk, hoping to buy only a single moment to give them a chance to counterattack.

Sadly for them, Sylphie was quite the elusive one, avoiding anything they tried as she dodged in between towers of vines and walls of stone that sought to seal her in, liberally switching between her form as a beast and the wind itself. Other times, she just blew straight through whatever they put in her path.

At the same time, constant attacks came from all sides upon the party of five. They were undoubtedly skilled; however, the Sylphian Hawk heavily outmatched them in terms of both skill and raw power.

“Mistress, Lord Sword Saint,” a voice spoke from behind as a group of five approached, their leader addressing them. He was a young wood elf wielding a bow, definitely giving off the vibes of a classic hunter. “How long have you been watching?”

The Sword Saint held back a chuckle as he knew why the young man asked. His body was healed, but his armor was marred with cuts all over, showing he and his party also had a tussle with the hawk earlier. What’s more, based on how much more haggard he looked than his other party members, it was evident Sylphie had put extra attention on him. Likely due to his choice of weapon. Not just because a ranged combatant was dangerous to Sylphie if he managed to land a shot, but because she probably assumed he was the most dangerous person in their group, seeing as the bow user she knew the best was definitely the most dangerous in any party he usually found himself in.

“We just arrived,” Dina answered, only glancing at the wood elf for a moment before turning her attention back to Sylphie’s fight. “How many groups have faced her so far?”

“This is the sixth,” the young man answered, seemingly relieved they’d just gotten there. “They’re definitely the strongest party, but... that Sylphian Hawk isn’t something people like us can ever hope to defeat.”

“She’s only something you can’t defeat as you are now,” the Sword Saint corrected him. “We have all barely begun on our Paths. Do not define your own future so early in your journey.”

“Ye... yes, senior,” the young elf bowed, a bit flustered. He glanced at Dina to see her reaction, but she didn’t move but simply watched Sylphie. Not to say she wasn’t listening in.

“I’m pretty sure he’s older than you. At least by a little,” Dina spoke telepathically to the Sword Saint, clearly finding the situation amusing.

“Quite observant of you. Now, do you know why he was so embarrassed when he asked if we saw his fight?” Miyamoto asked, deciding he could do a bit of teasing himself.

“I assume he and his party lost badly, and he doesn’t want us to think less of him for it,” Dina answered casually.

“Oh no, he doesn’t care what I think about him. It’s you he doesn’t want to think less of him,” the Sword Saint chuckled to himself. “It’s pretty obvious this young man wants to get closer to you. Hopes you notice him. Ah, such youthful spirit.”

His words left Dina momentarily stunned, much to Miyamoto’s delight. He found it fun to tease Dina, probably because she reminded him a bit of his own great-granddaughter, Reika. Both had been considered geniuses throughout their lives and nurtured in a sheltered environment. They had also both lacked maturity and growth in similar areas, and the Sword Saint was happy to have helped Dina during Nevermore to truly learn who she was.

He knew how hard it could be to live a life that was all about the expectations of others. From his conversations with Dina, he knew she had been nurtured and guided since she was very young, primarily because it was discovered she had inherited a powerful variant of Nature Attendant’s Bloodline. Such a thing was a massive boon, but it also came with a heavy sense of inherent responsibility and expectations of greatness.

Growing up like that, Dina’s life had been all about simply doing what she was tasked to do. To train in what she was told to train in, to learn what she was told to learn about. She’d made very few decisions of her own and thus had very little opportunity to decide what kind of person she wanted to be. What kind of things that she like... what kind of people she liked.

In Nevermore, that all changed. Nobody in their party told Dina what to do. Sure, she had a job during the floors, but she had way more autonomy than at any other time in her life. During downtime, she was free to do whatever, and while she’d been given a number of textbooks and what the Sword Saint could only compare to “homework” to do during Nevermore, she still had plenty of free time to do what she wanted.

Miyamoto was proud of how far Dina had come. During the early parts of Nevermore, she had also confided in him that many of the members of the Pantheon of Life had urged her to try and get closer to the Chosen of the Malefic Viper with the hopes of creating a romantic bond. Dina already knew that her grandfather wouldn’t be against it, and while he’d never outright encouraged her, there was some insinuation she was expected to at least try.

Not trying to live up to that particular expectation was one of Dina’s first real breaks with what others wanted of her. The Sword Saint also found the very concept silly. There was little to no chemistry between Jake and Dina, and he knew Jake had no interest in Dina from his point of view as she definitely wasn’t his type at all. What’s more, Jake and the nature affinity didn’t mesh well at all, making the prospect even more silly as even their Paths didn’t mesh. Then again, as the saying goes, opposites did attract... even if it often ended in disaster.

In any case, Jake and Dina was never going to happen. Of that, Miyamoto was sure.

Luckily, it seemed that Dina hadn’t been hit with any backlash. There were still many from her faction who wanted to see a powerful alliance forged between the Order of the Malefic Viper and the Pantheon of Life, especially now that the Viper had proven he was indeed worthy of his title as a Primordial, but they left Dina alone. Especially after Yggdrasil began to personally give the young dryad occasional guidance.

Besides, it didn’t sound like the hopes of the Pantheon of Life were entirely squashed based on what Dina had said about the god called Artemis. The Sword Saint was curious about what was going on there and would love to talk with Jake about it, as Dina had only let a little slip accidentally here and there. From what little tidbits he heard from Dina, it did sound like something interesting was developing there.

“You shouldn’t tease me like that... and we both know I’m not... you know...” Dina replied once she’d gotten out of her stun lock, also making Miyamoto stop reminiscing. He nearly considered to continue teasing her, but it looked like he wouldn’t quite have the time for that.

Within the barrier, Sylphie had finally managed to properly isolate the healer from the rest of the group by blowing the five all over the place, and without any assistance from his allies, the poor guy was pummelled into the ground in an assault that could have been lethal if Sylphie had attacked with the intent to kill.

With one member of a well-coordinated party down, picking off the rest of them proved quite easy for Sylphie as she took them down based on how durable they were, starting with the easiest prey first. By the time only two warriors were left standing, they simply surrendered to save themselves from the embarrassment. Not that they looked good, as they’d definitely already taken quite the beating.

Sylphie looked quite proud of herself as she puffed out her chest. The five defeated members of the Pantheon of Life picked themselves up and respectfully bowed to the mighty hawk before leaving to lick their wounds.

“Seems like she’s done,” the Sword Saint said. “She must have spent a fair deal of mana, considering she took down six groups in a row.”

“I’m not so sure, she fought a lot using her Authority of Wind,” Dina said, clearly fully on board with no longer teasing one another. “I would guess she did the same in her other fights.”

“Hm, true,” Miyamoto acknowledged. “She’s still done, though.”

“There also aren’t any more challengers,” the young elf tried to insert himself into the conversation.

“I did think the place looked a bit empty,” the Sword Saint nodded as he looked at Sylphie, who had just taken out a snack of her own and quickly eaten it.

After her snack, Sylphie decided to fly toward himself and Dina as she spotted them. She barreled through the barrier set up for her to fight members of the Pantheon of Life, and after throwing a scornful look toward the young wood elf hunter, that made the poor elf, along with his other party members, leave. Once they were gone, she turned her attention back to Dina and the Sword Saint.

“Ree! Ree!” she screeched excitedly.

“Oh, he is?” the Sword Saint said with surprise. “Well, we better get back there soon, then. He did take his time, which makes one wonder what he’s been up to.”

Miyamoto was naturally speaking of Jake whom Sylphie had just informed them was waiting back at his residence they usually stayed at. They’d already been at the Pantheon of Life for about a week at that point, and after Jake left them on the space vessel to go with the gods, he’d been a complete no-show.

Naturally, the Sword Saint had his own theories of what he’d been up to, but none he wanted to share openly, lest it would spread needless rumors. He would tease Jake incessantly, though. He did consider him a friend, after all.

“I know he had a meeting with the Mother Tree and Grandpa,” Dina said. “I also heard he brought them gifts from the Malefic Viper. Apparently, the exchange happened within the Divine Realm of the Mother Tree, so he may have needed a few days to digest whatever he saw there. It’s a very overwhelming place to experience, especially the first time.”

“That’s certainly possible,” the Sword Saint nodded, not entirely buying it. He viewed it as far probably that Jake had either met up with Artemis and spent the last week with her, or found an alchemy lab somewhere and decided he wanted to make some monstrous poison based on the concept of life.

Knowing Jake, both these scenarios were roughly equally probable.