The Villain's Retirement-Chapter 20: Fight the Sword Hero? (1)

Fight the hero? (1)

’Where am I?’

Ard woke to cold air rushing past his face.

For a moment, there was only sky.

Endless blue stretched above him, clouds drifting lazily across his vision—so close he could feel their chill brush against his cheeks, damp and fleeting like breath. The wind roared in his ears, and his body felt... wrong as if he was inverted.

He tried to move.

But he couldn’t.

Apparently, he was indeed inverted.

’Is this a dream?’

Soon, a little bit of panic flared as he realized he was bound. There were thick leather straps wrapped tightly around his torso, arms, and legs. But then it didn’t seem to be a dream as his vision finally tilted downward and his breath caught.

Below him was nothing but open air where he could see a great overview of the world up from what seemed to be white mist...

As his consciousness cleared further, he then realized he was tied securely to the broad back of a griffin, its massive wings beating rhythmically as it soared through the heavens. Every powerful flap sent a tremor through Ard’s restrained body.

"...Awake already?" a voice said cheerfully.

Ard turned his eyes as much as he could and saw Sileus sitting ahead of him, relaxed, one hand gripping the reins while the other waved lazily in greeting. He was smiling.

’This bastard!’ The memories of the fight immediately replayed in his mind.

"Oh, don’t look at me like that," Sileus laughed, the wind barely stealing the sound from his voice. "You’re not dead and you’re still complete limb to limb."

Ard tried to speak and activate the mana within him. Using physical reinforcement magic at this state may be futile, but his shadows could pull him out of this like it was nothing. But to his surprise, no matter how much he tried to summon shadows, nothing answered.

Sileus glanced back, eyes crinkling with amusement.

"You wouldn’t have come quietly if I’d just asked," he continued lightly. "I could tell. So I figured—best to knock you out first. You won’t be able to use your mana for a while. Right now, you’re the most ordinary as one could get."

He laughed again, utterly unapologetic, as if if this was funny.

"Don’t worry, don’t worry. You’re perfectly safe!"

Whoosh!

The griffin screeched, making Ard’s facial muscles shake. Flapping its powerful wings, the large creature climbed higher and higher, clouds swallowing them whole as Ard lay bound beneath the open sky. 𝘧𝓇ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝘣𝓃ℴ𝓋𝑒𝑙.𝑐𝘰𝑚

At where they were going, who knows?

As to why he had been taken and not killed, who knows?

Soon, somewhere on the Western Side of the Continent.

A large griffin flapped its powerful wings twice before it landed on a green large mountain where a large building could be seen.

There were also a large yard and vegetation in the area and there the plants, the facilities, does not at all seem to be your normal one. It seemed like a large mountain with a beautiful garden but at the same time, a residence.

Ard awoke with a headache and bodily aches in places.

When he opened his eyes then he realized that he was leaning against a wall. He looked around in and found himself in a place that was unfamiliar to him. Surely he had never been in such a place.

Then—

He closed his eyes and opened it immediately.

He could not help but glance at his palms as faint shadows danced over it like fire. Seeing this, he immediately started channeling the energy inside his body. His powers had returned for some reason.

Tousling his hair, he remembered the absurd situation he had gotten into.

’Ouch...’

It must also be the reason why his body was aching so much. It wasn’t because of injuries or whatever, his body without any guard or magic protection had been exposed to the cold air way above the clouds for probably long periods of time.

’Well, it looks like at this rate, my chance to a quiet life is almost none. That damn human...’

Ard sighed deeply as he started to support himself to get up.

It was then—

"Are you sure you should be cursing me right now?"

As a soft creak sounded behind him, a man was leaning casually in the doorway.

He looked to be in his thirties, with long white hair that fell past his shoulders and piercing blue eyes that looked like he wasn’t looking at a living creature but more like a mere thing.

That man was naturally his capturer.

"Where have you taken me..." Ard said.

Ard turned to see a man leaning casually in the doorway.

Without waiting for a reply, Sileus grinned and motioned for Ard to follow.

Cautiously, Ard sighed and followed him out of the building.

At the very least, now he knew that this man probably does not want him dead. If he had wanted to do that, he would have already did, does he? But it was pretty clear he had captured him for a different reason.

Sunlight reached them when they entered the courtyard.

There, a great old tree spread over an area in the stone floor failing to shield them from the sun.

It looked like one of those large ancient trees that had been struck by a very strong lightning and had been like that for years.

Ard was still taking in the sights when Sileus handed him something.

"As someone who had taken you without permission, I can’t leave you without nothing, can I?" he told him, "It’s only right to give you a proper gift, come closer."

Sileus handed him what seemed to be a bracelet with some intricate design shining in gold and with a blue rectangle crystal in its center.

At the same time, Ard noticed that this mage was wearing a lot of jewelries. He had some in his ears, his fingers, and even on his hands, which were covered by his robes.

’They said this man is the archmage of the kingdom. But to think he has so many magic artifacts with him. It’s too much. Every artifact he has on him is probably worth an estate.’ Ard thought to himself.

Ard glanced at the bracelet as it was handed to him. Even at first glance, its weight and craftsmanship were unmistakable.

’Even this... it could easily be considered a royal treasure. Why would he give me something so precious?’ Ard thought. As his fingers brushed the surface, he felt the dense mana pulsing from it. ’This bracelet... it’s infused with incredibly potent mana. At first glance, it’s not something you just hand to anyone.’

Then Sileus spoke, in an excited tone but it only made Ard freeze.

"Consider it yours," he said. "Go on. Wear it."

Ard was stunned of course. His mind raced.

The way that he was insisting it was making things suspicious.

’What is this? This doesn’t seem like a dangerous thing...but why is he pushing me to wearing it so hard?’ Ard thought, unease creeping in.

"Wear it." Sileus said again, more firmly.

"Sure..."

Reluctantly, Ard fastened the bracelet around his wrist.

"Huh?"

Just as he wore it then, after a few seconds, a strange sensation washed over him. A cool, soothing energy spread through his body, and the pain that had lingered for so long began to ebb away, slowly but surely.

Ard looked up at Sileus, who seemed quietly pleased at the reaction.

’What is this guy planning?’

Just then though, before he could ponder further, a new figure appeared at the far edge of the courtyard, moving toward them with a presence that made the air feel heavier.

’What is he doing here?!’ Ard’s eyes narrowed as he swallowed hard discreetly.

The young man moved with quiet authority, observing the pair as he approached.

He has icy and sharp golden eyes, a hyper masculine face and thick looking eyebrows, which complemented his long, straight nose, and short blonde hair. Although his face was somewhat tender, showing his youth, he had a sturdy muscular body and broad shoulders which made him look extremely manly.

Right now, he was wearing a warrior’s outfit and wasn’t wielding his iconic holy sword.

But Ard would never forget who this man was.

The whole world was probably field with his statues. Almost every human village had one!

He was the living emblem of the world’s most powerful military—the Church—and even now, his presence dominated the courtyard, forcing Ard to straighten instinctively and brace himself.

The man approaching them was probably the strongest existence he had seen. It was the sword hero himself! Yes, the sword hero. The one who had slain the Demon King! He was a genius among geniuses!

"...You lizard," the man said flatly. "What do you want this time?"

Sileus brightened.

"Good morning to you too, Sword Hero."

"It’s afternoon." The hero clicked his tongue. "I was sleeping. So what do you want?"

Sileus smiled, his gaze drifting curiously to the young man nearby—Ard—who was already calculating a hundred ways to escape.

Noticing this, the hero’s sharp golden eyes flicked to Ard. Instinctively, Ard took a few steps back, eyes wide in surprise.

The hero raised an eyebrow at Ard’s reaction, shook his head, and clicked his tongue in annoyance. "And you’ve kidnapped another one... and of course, he’s a weirdo."

"Oh, it’s best you make friends with the weird one," Sileus said cheerfully. "After all, you two are going to be together for a while."

The hero let out a long, exasperated sigh, rubbing his temples.

"You know... one day I’ll wake up, and you won’t be dragging people to my mountain like stray cats."

Sileus laughed, utterly unconcerned. "But then where’s the fun in that?"

At the same time, a chilling voice entered Ard’s mind, ’Step closer and get here, or I will tell this obviously polite Hero of who you really are."

Hearing that, Ard felt the memory of the Demon King’s last stand replay in his mind, his life flashing before his eyes. Heart hammering, he reluctantly dampened his presence as much as he could and moved closer, every step heavy with fear.

"Do you see the dead tree above us?" Sileus said, his voice cutting through the tension. The massive, lifeless branches loomed ominously overhead. "You two—go under it and fight."