Springtime for Nid (4)

When he heard someone scream, Nid was still wearing a mask-like smile, chatting with several fat, big-eared guests.

The moment he turned around, the mask called a smile shattered.

In front of his line of sight,

Several guests covered their faces and screamed.

Several family guards rushed over quickly.

The woman in the dark blue suit stood to the side, looking utterly shocked.

Among them--

There was a shattered wine glass and my sister lying on the floor.

What happened?

What happened? Why?

Before he could even think about those things, Nid dashed off like an arrow.

He knocked over the table and spilled the dishes, but he didn't notice at all.

"Get out of the way, all of you get out of the way!!!"

His tongue, now dulled, wove weak words as he desperately pushed past guests. Everyone vanished from his sight, replaced by masks of fake smiles. In the center of this sea of masks, only his unconscious sister remained a real presence.

"Sister Xue!!!!"

Nid shoved aside the guard blocking his way, picked up Loxue, and found Loxue face as pale as paper, large drops of cold sweat dripping from her forehead, and strange purplish-black blood flowing from the corner of her mouth.

Looking at the shattered wine glass on the ground, everything became clear.

It's poison!

Someone poisoned the drink!

It was an assassination!

Who did it? Why did they do it? When did they do it? How did they do it?

These are all secondary.

As if sleepwalking, Nid placed his violently trembling hand under Loxue's nose and felt for a very faint breath.

Still alive!

Although her breath was very weak, she was still alive! Still alive! Still alive!!!

--The most important thing now is to save my sister!!!!

"Who... who's coming..."

Nid wanted to call for a medic, but this wasn't the army. He wanted to call the family doctor, but where was he? Looking around, all he saw were masks of all kinds, some panicked, some terrified. Was anyone there? Could anyone save his sister? Was there anyone he could trust?

--Got it!

Nid finally found it; in this hall, besides himself and Loxue, the only person who wasn't wearing a mask.

"Brad! Quick! Come here right now! Sister Xue—"

Brad stood on the other side of the hall watching them.

As usual, I watched them.

His face was expressionless.

Nid was puzzled.

"... Brad?"

Brad opened his mouth slightly.

"I'm sorry, Nid, Loxue."

Sorry?

Whom should I apologize to? My sister and me?

Completely bewildered, he couldn't understand what was happening for a moment.

Then, Brad shouted in a certain direction outside the hall—

"We can move now, Selace!"

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!!

With a series of whooshing sounds, dozens of people shrouded in black rushed out from various blind spots. They were all silent, but their movements were perfectly coordinated! Some rushed to the various doors and windows of the hall to block them, some entangled with the family guards, and some ignored everyone else and headed straight for Nid!

"--Gurgle!"

Although his brain was almost frozen, his body's instincts compelled him to react. He scooped up the limp Loxue in his arms with lightning speed, and with a swift flip, dodged the throwing knives hurled by the men in black.

"Hidden Thunder Holy Burial!"

The men in black chanted Divine Word in a low voice, and in that instant, the throwing knives they hurled emitted a blinding silver light, enveloping Nid and Loxue in a light array! There was no noise, no sparks, and the moment the light array appeared, thousands of volts of high voltage pierced through the air! But Nid's reaction was equally swift; just before the high voltage appeared, he grabbed Loxue and forcefully broke out of the light array's range!

Nid's lightning-fast reaction startled the men in black, but they immediately launched their next move!

"Instantaneous movement!"

This is a type of movement magic. Although it is far inferior to the Heavenly Law's "Divine Speed" in both speed and distance, it excels in its agility and silence! With a faint flash of holy light, they instantly teleported several meters away, surrounding Nid at point-blank range!

"Superior!!!"

With a low shout, the leader unleashed several short swords inscribed with dense Divine Word! These Divine Word were all spells designed to destroy the flesh, suppressing regeneration; an ordinary person would be instantly killed with just a scratch! Nid reacted in a split second. He dodged the first sword by tilting his head, used the sole of his shoe to deflect the second, protected Loxue, and leaped to avoid the third. Then, with lightning speed, he swept his leg out, knocking down the nearest man in black, and used this brief opening to break free of the encirclement!

The hall was in complete chaos. Guests who had been chatting and laughing just minutes before were now screaming and scattering like birds. A dazzling white light emanated from outside—the light of a miniature teleportation array. One after another, men in black poured out of the array and rushed into the hall, continuously tightening the encirclement of Nid!

The older sister in my arms is in critical condition.

The number of enemies is increasing.

There were no weapons at hand.

We can't waste time, no fighting, we must break through immediately!

Before the encirclement could re-form, Nid grabbed Loxue and charged forward! Dodging chains of holy light and evading beams of incredibly sharp arrows of light, they rushed towards the hall entrance!

The sudden attack caught the Bradwich family's guards off guard. Although they reacted quickly, they were overwhelmed by the enemy's first strike. The men in black were clearly elites with special training; they were swift, silent, and fierce, in no way inferior to, and perhaps even surpassing, the family's guards!

But now Nid couldn't care less about anyone else; all he could see was the dying Loxue. He leaped aside, dodging attack after attack from the men in black. Several of them chanted something simultaneously, and suddenly a vast Thorns of Light appeared beneath Nid's feet, covered in countless sharp spikes. He immediately jumped up—which was exactly what they wanted! It's difficult to adjust one's body freely in mid-air, and dozens of holy flames and lightning bolts aimed at him and blasted towards him!

"Tsk--!!!"

Nid kicked the air with both legs, the force of the kick traveling back to his feet in an instant, propelling him at high speed through the air! Flames and lightning streaked across the space; although Nid dodged most of them, a few grazed his body! The smell of burning flesh wafted from beneath his torn clothes, and excruciating pain shot through his body from his wounds, but none of this could distract him. Almost there, only a little left. If only he could break through—

Click!

A sound like a mechanism being activated echoed in the air, and a deep purple light membrane suddenly blocked his way! Without hesitation, Nid grabbed Loxue tightly with both hands and kicked out at the same time! Although Nid was a Hybrid Ability User with enhanced physical abilities, his full-force kick only caused the light membrane to ripple slightly!

Nid was all too familiar with this thing.

He had seen countless people on the battlefield use their supernatural abilities to create this sturdy barrier that served both defensive and alert functions; he had seen countless people use it to protect allies and to trap enemies.

Now, it's trapping itself and its sister.

The man was less than two meters away from Nid, separated only by a thin membrane of light.

He was one of Nid's most trusted men.

"I'm sorry, Nid, I can't let you get away."

It was still that same thick, muscular body, like an elm stake; still those muscles that seemed out of place in an evening gown; still that perpetually expressionless face.

Only his eyes became incredibly cold.

A dark, turbid current surged within Nid's heart.

"Why... when... did you become a spy for the Vatican?"

"... There's no need to answer you."

The fog in my mind gradually dissipated, revealing a volcano about to erupt.

"The mishap during the chaotic battle of Torres, the leak of intelligence during the Battle of Sadington... were all your doing?"

"That's right."

Desperately suppressing his surging emotions, Nid forced the words out through clenched teeth.

"Why..."

Brad remained expressionless as he looked at Nid.

It's like wearing a mask.

"I'm asking you... why!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

Brad's gaze grew increasingly cold.

He finally spoke.

"... I've had enough. I've had enough since the day Emily and Sherry died."

"What did you say?"

Emily and Shirley.

Brad's deceased wife and daughter.

But what does this have to do with Nid?

"Of course it has nothing to do with you, Nid... You are innocent, and so is Loxue... If we have to say who is at fault, then it should be the war."

"Are you... insane?! It was the Vatican that killed your wife and daughters, not the Revolutionary Army!!! Wasn't your initial motivation to fight so desperately to avenge the Vatican?!"

That was indeed the case at the beginning!!!

Brad suddenly roared, the first time Nid had ever seen him yell at him.

"I did hate the Vatican and wanted to kill all those bastards... But the more I fought, the more tragedies I witnessed! Mothers who watched their children join the Revolutionary Army by day and returned with their children's corpses by night, wives who were separated from their husbands forever, orphans whose parents died in your so-called 'noble cause'... They believed in your great ideas of freedom, but what did they get in the end? A corpse and a pitiful pension?"

"Shut up!!!"

Who wants to listen to this traitor's nonsense! Who wants to listen to this mole's excuses! Besides, his sister is in grave danger! Nid, his mind raging like a volcano, wanted nothing more than to tear Brad to shreds! He grabbed Loxue with one arm, roared, and slammed his fist into the barrier, the bones in his hand cracking! Even if he couldn't break the barrier, he would let the attack travel through the barrier and strike Brad directly!

However, it failed.

"Vacuum layer!?"

Nid believed that the spread of an attack must occur along a medium.

Brad set up two barriers, with a complete vacuum in between! Attacks couldn't get through!

"How weak you are, Nid. With a little manipulation, you'll be as fragile as your ideals without your weapons..."

"Bastard! Bastard! Bastard!!!"

Nid roared, pounding his fists on the barrier again and again, large drops of blood dripping from his joints, but the barrier remained completely unmoved! Without a weapon, physical strength alone could not break this barrier! His sister's complexion grew worse and worse in his arms, which made Nid even more anxious!

Brad's cold voice continued.

"I hesitated for a long time, and finally came to a conclusion... If I had to find an object of hatred, it would probably be war itself. On the battlefield, there is no good or evil, only death and sorrow."

"Then you'd better obediently serve in the Revolutionary Army! Go and overthrow the Vatican and end the war! Remove this damn barrier right now!!"

"But it was you, not the Vatican, who started the war."

"... ah?"

Nid was a little confused for a moment.

"If the Revolutionary Army hadn't declared war on the Papacy, the people of the West Saint Continent, though still living under the Papacy's control and facing hardship, would at least be alive! They could still enjoy the happiness of reuniting with their families! But what about now? What has the war you instigated under the banner of righteousness changed? What has it brought? How many of the young people who went to the battlefield at your instigation, risking their lives, will return alive? What has your victory given them? A so-called 'oppression-free' life with an uncertain future? Or just a little bit of military pay? Too many people have died because of your endless war! What are the chances of a revolution that has paid such a high price succeeding? The so-called revolution has only increased death toll!"

"Don't give me that nonsense! What do you know! Remove the barrier!!! Now!!!"

Snap, snap, snap.

The sudden applause interrupted the two.

The men in black who had been surrounding Nid immediately stopped standing.

A man wearing a black overcoat appeared.

He was bald, and his head was covered with dense tattoos.

"That was fantastic, absolutely fantastic! You've worked so hard, Mr. Brad, and—"

He squinted at Nid, who was fighting like a cornered beast.

"Nice to meet you, young master Nid. I am the current director of the Inquisition of the Divine Law Cult. Just call me Selace."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

In movies and TV shows, generally speaking, a strong, rugged character with a calm and collected personality who can be a mentor is not a traitor. So, I set Brad as a muscular man, but it seems many people still guessed it... It's my failure. After all, among the high-ranking members of the Revolutionary Army, besides the siblings, the only other character who received significant attention is Ya. It's easy to guess using the process of elimination.