Ying placed a cup of water down in front of me and, in a sincere tone, apologised, “Sorry for leaving at breakfast. I am very sorry.”
“Don’t worry about it. I don’t mind.”
Ying nodded: “So, is there anything else you came here for? If you came to convince me, then I think there’s no need for that. I really don’t want to be dragged into your fighting. We don’t belong to a nation. Actually, I’m not a human to begin with. I don’t want to be dragged into your fighting.”
“No, I’m not here to convince you. I’m just giving you a choice. I don’t mind if you don’t want to be my bodyguard. You can still come with me. I’ll prepare a house for you at the Imperial City and provide you with living expenses every month, so you don’t need to worry about living needs in the future…”
“You have already provided us with alms if you are providing us with a home. Thank you very much. As for money, I shall not bother you. I can look after us.”
I smiled: “I’ll teach you our literacy and language over the next few days, then, so that you’ll be able to communicate when you get there.”
Ying nodded: “Thank you in advance.”
I picked up the cup in front of me and had a drink. I then said, “My purpose in coming here this time is to find out about the wyrm.”
“The wyrm?” asked Ying. “About the wyrm? What do you want to know?”
I answered “The most fundamental piece of information: how to kill it.”
Ying’s gaze didn’t change. She picked up a cup of water by the side: “The wyrm is actually a very ordinary wild beast; it’s no different to one. It has a scale that’s a different colour to the rest on its back. If you pierce through it, you’ll stab its heart. Alternatively, you could behead it, and then shatter its head. That’ll kill it.”
“It doesn’t sound difficult.”
Ying elaborated, “However, the ocean is its home ground, not ours. It dives into the water and flees when it can’t win. Alas, I can’t chase it into the water. There’s an advantage to fighting it assuming a human form, but the drawback is suffering the physical weakness of humans. The shell of the wyrm is covered in a strange power that protects it. The power can also be used as a weapon the same way as your mom’s. Is that what you call mana? It absorbs the island’s mana to form its shell. Normal weapons can’t pierce its protective armour but I can. In addition, the more mana it absorbs, the stronger my power grows.”
Ying was an existence created to combat mana, indeed. She was an invincible sabre against mana. She could effortlessly tear through mana. In other words, not only could she counter the wyrm, but also Vyvyan. The primary reason Nier could defeat her was because she was human and had no mana. In Vyvyan’s case…
Vyvyan was quite proficient at swordplay. I didn’t think there was much of a discrepancy between Vyvyan and Elizabeth in terms of swordplay proficiency. If Vyvyan was willing to wield a sword, there was a chance she could defeat Ying.
“So, if you want to kill the wyrm, please let me go with you, for I am the equivalent of a sharp sword that can pierce its armour.”
I nodded: “Are you going to bring Xia, then?”
“If I want to kill it, I must bring her. Alone, I am useless. I’m just a scabbard. Xia is the sharp blade; only Xia can kill it. I can only stop it. I didn’t have Xia with me before, but this time, I can let Xia go freely, right?”
“Sister…” called Xia, reaching out and grabbing the corner of Ying’s clothes from the side. She turned in Ying’s direction. With a soft chuckle, she asked, “Sister, do you finally need me? Aren’t you worried I’ll go berserk again?”
Ying gently stroked Xia’s hand. In an incomparably gentle voice, Ying explained, “This will be the last time you see blood – if he’s not lying to us, that is.”
Xia slowly turned to me. With a weak smile and timid voice, she said, “Thank you. I trust you. I trust you. You saved me and let me see my sister again, weren’t you? Thank you very much. I heard what you said to my sister just before, so I don’t want you to come with us this time.”
“Why…?” I asked, puzzled.
Xia shook her head: “You must know about the incident from several years ago, I assume. At the time, I didn’t know what happened. I just wanted to kill. I craved blood. I had no idea what I did. I wanted to kill, and that was all. When I realised what happened, I was covered in blood from head to toe. It was the blood of the children my sister and I liked. We wanted to repay the villagers who took us in, yet we, instead, hurt them. Therefore, I deserve whatever they do to me… However… however… I really missed my sister…”
“What does that have to do with whether I go with you or not?”
“Do you still not know? I’m very grateful to you. You are a very kind person and one with a strong sense of justice. You also want to take us in. For that, I am very grateful to you. You are a kind man. As for me, I do not know when I will lose control again. I only know that I will gradually lose my conscious when I enter battle. I might hurt you if you come with us for this battle against the wyrm. If I do, you might be endangered. I only need my sister with me. I’ll be able to control myself with her by my side.”
I glanced back and forth between the sisters. Ying turned to look at me. In a solemn tone, she said, “The wyrm is our problem. There is no need for you to get involved. If I am to go out with Xia, it would be best if there is nobody nearby.”
“You confident you can kill it?”
Ying shook her head: “No. We need luck. Lots of luck. We can subdue it; unfortunately, we are helpless if it tries to flee.”
“What do you want to do if you fail to kill it, then?”
“We can’t do much, then. I guess we will just stay here if that is the outcome. We really want to kill it. It has wandered the waters for too long, killed too many people and desecrated too many corpses. We exist to protect others and slay it. It is what we want to do right now and what we ought to do.”
I stood up: “You need me, then. I insist on going with you, and I have a method to deal with it. You may not believe it, but I once read about the wyrm, so I really want to see it. I’m not worried, and I understand mana very thoroughly. I also have a potion to negate its power. I won’t burden you two, and I don’t need to worry about Xia.”
“Are you not scared?” asked Xia.
“No, I‘m not,” I answered with a solemn shake of my head. “I believe Ying is a kind girl, and you are a gentle girl; therefore, I trust you two!”
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