The Villain's Retirement-Chapter 23: The Sword Hero

To Ard’s displeasure, the day has ended without any progress.

Their sparring session which lasted for hours has only ended and Ard has to say his body is aching all over. But then, the mana stored in the bracelet started to purify and got transferred onto his body bringing a cooling sensation and then a rejuvenating feeling.

’Although it consumes a lot of mana and doesn’t heal me completely, this artifact is extremely convenient!’

Yet despite his, Ard was a bit surprised at how his body was aching all over.

It was only now that he realized that he had never sparred against someone without physical reinforcement magic for a long time.

You could say he never saw the need to.

And this was coming from him who had entered the battlefield at the tender age of six. Back then, the concept of physical reinforcement magic was not at all familiar to him. Yet it actually didn’t matter that much. On the battlefield, his ability allowed him to kill at will and escape unharmed earning him a bunch of scary nicknames unsuitable for a child.

However, those nicknames held true to his reputation.

Shadow attribute: it was an extremely convenient magical attribute.

So much so that when Ard stepped foot on the battlefield, he had killed soldiers side by side without blinking an eye and then even a knight!

Even at training, he knew he was terrifying.

The training back in the demon continent for demon children as young as six were a deathmatch. They would be locked on a certain forest for a competition between families.

Ard being a representative of the Shadow clan, didn’t stood out at all. He wasn’t supposed to, anyway. His name wasn’t even put on the official list of candidates. But who knows how many lives, older demons, he had taken by simply hiding in shadows in a dark forest and then going in people’s shadows, and achieving the kill count the clan had required him to reach.

Ard lived a very black and bloody life during his childhood.

Then as he grew older, stronger opponents appeared, but he had grown stronger too, until mere sparring sessions between children his age could not push him to his limits.

Thus, it had been almost effortless. Ard eventually realized he was different. Unlike other children after all, he never cried nor did he seem inclined to laugh. He was also never sad nor was he disappointed. Thus, when he learned of the human realm, he asked permission from the clan head of the Village to leave.

When he arrived in the human realm, he first encountered what humans called physical reinforcement magic.

The memory of his first step into an adventurers’ hall still lingered vividly in his mind. He had been a barely a teenager then—barely half the size of the average man—and they had laughed the moment they saw him.

The humans started to insult and taunt him like the child that he was and daring him to probably run away or get mad.

Ard never even blinked.

He killed the man who laughed inches from his face, and for reasons he never understood, the room slowly erupted in cheers. Apparently, the place was an Assassin’s guild, an underground organization operating with similar but different functions with the adventurer’s guild.

For some reason, the others wouldn’t leave him alone.

Even at missions, individuals crowded around, challenging him to duels as if bloodshed were entertainment. However, even when enhanced by physical reinforcement magic, they were no match.

Demon genetics alone made him stronger than people who relied on physical reinforcement magic, even without using it himself.

Then eventually, he learned it formally.

Mana had been circulating in his veins after all and the concept of physical reinforcement magic was already being subconsciously used by him from time to time.

Right now, he was engaged in spar sessions with the Sword hero.

But he was being outpaced in raw physicals, despite the Sword Hero not using reinforcement magic either. The difference wasn’t in magic attributes—it was in him. The Sword Hero simply had better speed, strength, and, most importantly, stamina.

’To think a normal human could be that ferocious,’ Ard thought, as he laid down the bed inside the building and stared at the ceiling, ’Even now, he is swinging his sword.’

Time passed. And the moon stayed up. The air turned cold and thin.

Outside, the Sword Hero kept going—sweating, moving, pushing his muscles almost to the point of collapse, shouting like a barbarian outside.

Anyone would be fascinated.

’What drives him to train this hard when he’s already so strong? Didn’t he already defeat the Demon King?’ Ard wondered while he was looking through the mirror.

He thought the hero’s motivation was solely to defeat the Demon King, but to think he was this dedicated to the sword.

Of course, Ard wondered what was exactly was he doing here and without his sword. But for people who may kill him, it was best to stay away.

Holy power after all was even worse than poison!

The next morning, Ard woke up fairly early and for one reason: to investigate.

It was still dark outside but he could tell it was only a matter of minutes before it was going to be bright. Waking up, he touched the walls of his room. Circulating his mana carefully, shadows emerged within his body and tried to merge with the darkness but against the wall, he felt his senses slam into an invisible blockade that he couldn’t see.

’I can’t pass through...’ Ard said grinning a little to his mock himself. ’That mage made this whole place like a cage.’. Circulating his mana carefully, Ard felt his senses slam into an invisible blockade that he couldn’t see.

He walked to the window and pushed it all open, letting the cold wind in as the soft rush of wings sounded as birds scattered nearby.

Looking up, Ard sighed.

Encasing the mountain was a massive barrier, swollen like a translucent dome.

It was also multiple-layered, refined and seemed to have woven into the mountain itself. But that wasn’t all. Even the buildings had faint barriers of their own. Even the large dead tree had protective barriers.

Ard then leapt.

As he fell, his shadow stretched beneath him—and he melted into it, vanishing mid-descent as darkness swallowed him.

’Damn it... even the ground itself is warded...’

Like a specter, Ard then steered himself and eventually emerged on the opposite side of the barrier. He stood inches from it, as he narrowed his eyes before the invisible wall.

’Hm, I wonder if I can break this with demonic energy or force my way out.’ The answer came quickly.

Just as he’d suspected, the barrier was completely impassable.

Yet Ard was a bit tempted.

Using demonic energy was tempting. But the moment he does, the hero would most likely sense it and he would definitely meet the demon king right there and then.

’Whatever game that mage was playing, I had no intention of flipping the board until I am really pushed to a corner.’ He thought and slipped into his shadow like liquid again, before re-emerging inside his room.

As if he had only woken up, he then began to make his way out of the room.

’I can’t hear him.’

Right now, Ard assumed the mage was at least asleep. He wanted to do something, but if the mage was watching, it could easily provoke him. With a quiet sigh, Ard resolved to move carefully, avoiding anything suspicious.

The building seemed to be empty.

He didn’t know where the mage or the Sword Hero might be resting. However, there were multiple buildings on the mountain.

As he sauntered along, something tugged at his awareness.

Even when they first arrived, he had sensed it: there weren’t just three people on this mountain. There were at least a dozen others. He didn’t know who they were, but unlike the mage and the Hero, their mana signatures were plainly exposed. Unfortunately, the mage hadn’t said a word about them. Ard couldn’t tell whether they posed a threat.

For now, the safest option was to act as though nothing was amiss and continue on his way.

Then when he went out, the large dead tree loomed over the courtyard. The courtyard was quiet, save for the soft rustle of leaves from the dead tree. Until he heard the rustling of wind from what seemed to be someone swinging something.

’Don’t tell me he is training this early?’

To his disbelief, a shirtless Sword Hero dripping in sweat and grime facing a wall was already up before him, swinging his sword with relentless intensity.

’Isn’t he cold?’

For someone like Ard, born and raised in the Village of Eternal Night, the chill was nothing—but for a human, this was absolutely impressive.

’He’s not the Sword hero for no reason,’ Ard thought, ignoring him, dimming his presence as much as he can. He was tempted to attack him and see if he would react for a moment, but decided not to. It was best not to, and who knows if that mage was watching.

But—

"Who’s there?" the Sword Hero’s voice cut through the cold air, sharp and chilling.

Walking over, Ard then bowed slightly, mimicking human courtesy. He could smell the sharp tang of sweat and exertion.

"Good morning, Sword Hero," he said politely, offering a small smile.

When he finished turning around, the Sword hero looked at him with dark circles under his golden colored eyes.