Chapter 4: Resonance Skills and Malice Glyph

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“…Come at me, you small fry.”

The moment Lloyd’s provocative voice rumbled low through the air, one of the Temple Knights raised a battle cry and charged at him.

“You’re just a bandit! Shut your mouth!”

With a sharp lunge, a silver flash of a blade rushed toward Lloyd. But Lloyd felt no panic. With the corner of his mouth lifting, he twirled the tip of his magic sword, Rukuud. Steel scraped violently against steel, the piercing sound ripping through the forest’s silence. Lloyd’s magic sword caught the enemy’s blade with ease.

“Wha-…!?”

The Temple Knight’s eyes widened. In the same instant, Lloyd stepped forward ever so slightly.

“You’re slow.”

Muttering that brief remark, he swept his magic sword sideways.

“Gahhh!”

The knight, slow to react, lost his stance and was flung backward, rolling across the ground. Immediately, another knight rushed in.

“Damn you! Don’t get cocky!”

The thrust of the knight’s sword shot out like a spear, but Lloyd twisted his body and avoided it by a hair’s breadth, slipping directly into the man’s guard.

“You don’t even have your basics down. You’re completely wide open.”

He drove an elbow into the man’s stomach, then slammed the sword’s hilt upward into his jaw. Without pausing, Lloyd kicked off the ground, spinning into a sharp back kick. His heel struck the knight’s abdomen, sending him flying backward with a groan.

“Damn it, this guy…He doesn’t seem like just some bandit after all.”

The third knight muttered bitterly as he retreated. Terror was clearly written across his face. In only a handful of exchanges, Lloyd had overwhelmed three Temple Knights. The tension lingering in the battlefield was already dominated by Lloyd’s killing intent. However, the knights were not finished yet.

“I see you’re skilled. But we are Temple Knights. We have a way to kill you. If you withdraw now, we’ll forgive you.”

The knight forced a distorted smile as he spoke. Lloyd couldn’t understand why the man was trying to intimidate him in this situation. They must have had considerable confidence in whatever they were planning.

“And what if I say no?”

He glanced toward the girl they’d called the false saint and spoke. Lloyd had no reason to back down.

“Then we’ll have to kill you. Hey, you two. How long do you plan on lying around?”

The third knight called out to the two who had fallen earlier. They stood sluggishly and regrouped.

“Show this bandit scum what happens when he crosses us!”

At his shout, all three knights’ bodies became wreathed in colored auras—red, yellow, and green.

This is bad…

Lloyd knew this technique.

He had seen it many times, enough to know it was the kind of ability that could completely overturn the power balance.

“〈Divine Link: Trinity!〉”

The three-colored auras merged and wrapped around the knights’ bodies, crackling through the air like blinding lightning. Magic surged like a raging storm, shaking the ground. The next moment, each of the three men radiated an aura of heightened strength.

“…A skill to boost power, speed, and magic, huh. Damn cheats.”

Lloyd narrowed his eyes slightly. It was a Resonance Skill—an ability that activated only when multiple souls synchronized, multiplying the effects of each person’s skills many times over. It was the strongest form of coordinated technique.

“Die!”

The enemy charged in with lightning-like speed. This time, Lloyd couldn’t defend in time.

“…Tch!”

The blade sliced shallowly across his shoulder. Gritting his teeth against the searing pain, Lloyd stepped back to regain his stance, but the next strike arrived instantly. Enhanced speed and magic widened the gap. Lloyd’s blade fell just short, and a combined blow of sword and fist slammed directly into his abdomen.

“You’re not bad…!”

Groaning, he leaped backward, narrowly escaping the follow-up attacks. But the assault didn’t stop. Shockwaves tore across the ground, rising from below to strike at him. Lloyd dropped to one knee to block, but was too late. The impact blasted him off his feet, his body flipping before crashing onto his back.

Damn it… Is my power really not enough to do anything on my own?

No matter how much he trained his body, no matter how many master-level sword techniques he learned, a single Resonance Skill could overturn the advantage even against weaker opponents. How could something so absurd be allowed to exist?

“P-Please! Just run away!”

The girl’s desperate voice reached him. Lloyd’s awareness swayed at that sound. When he looked up as he rose, the girl was trembling and staring at him with pleading eyes. She looked like she might burst into tears and run toward him at any moment.

Am I going to fail to protect someone again…?

A dark emotion writhed deep in his heart. A girl who claimed her innocence. A girl he wanted to believe—truly believe—for the first time. Was he going to fail her too?

Wasn’t I training all this time to protect something? Not as a member of the Shadow Clan, but as me. As Lloyd. Because I wanted to protect someone. And yet I’m still—

At that moment, scorching pain shot through his right arm. It felt like a burning iron plate had been pressed against his skin, the heat tearing through his muscles. He looked and saw the Malice Glyph glowing black, its markings surfacing vividly on his skin.

“Not now…! Hey, you! Run—gahh!”

His words were swallowed by a piercing noise and an explosive headache. Black miasma surged from his right arm, engulfing his entire body in an instant.

“W-What is that!?”

The Temple Knights recoiled. Black, flame-like aura wrapped around Lloyd. Within it, Lloyd clenched his teeth, barely holding onto consciousness.

“…D-Damn it…”

The Malice Glyph’s rampage—Lloyd’s hidden trump card, yet also the curse that had isolated him all his life. It tended to rampage when his emotions ran high. But this time, it was worse than ever. He couldn’t control it at all. The miasma covering his body pulsed violently, the darkness rushing through him like a raging current.

“Aaaaaaaaahhh!!”

With a scream, Lloyd kicked off the ground, trailing black afterimages. He closed in on the nearest knight, and before the man could utter a sound, Lloyd’s fist smashed into his face.

“—Gbhraa!”

With a sickening crack, the man’s nose caved in, teeth scattering. Momentum carried Lloyd’s fist through, sending the knight flying. The blow shattered facial bones, his neck bending at an unnatural angle.

“W-What… What is this monster…!?”

The second knight tried to raise his sword, but his trembling hands were far too slow. Before he could ready it, Lloyd’s knee drilled into his solar plexus, something rupturing audibly inside him. Without conscious thought, Lloyd grabbed the man’s head and slammed it into the ground, bringing down a black-flamed fist. The dull crunch of breaking bone echoed through the forest, and by the time the sound faded, the knight’s face was crushed inward and charred.

And still Lloyd didn’t stop. He lunged toward the third knight, bringing his magic sword down.

“Hii—! H-Help—!”

The man tried to defend himself, but Lloyd’s black-powered strike broke both his sword and arm in one blow. Before the knight could even scream, Lloyd’s spinning kick crushed his face. The skull creaked, eyeballs burst, and blood sprayed as he collapsed.

All of it happened in an instant. Fueled by the cursed darkness, Lloyd’s violent rampage overpowered even a Resonance Skill, overwhelming the three Temple Knights. But then—

“Ghh… uu… grraaaahh…!”

Lloyd fell to his knees, clutching his head. Though the battle had ended, the black aura coating his body slowly receded. But, his right arm did not. From shoulder to fingertips, black flames clung to him, pulsing grotesquely. The miasma showed no signs of stopping. It rampaged even beyond the limits of his body.

No…At this rate, I’ll do it again…

He saw the girl in the corner of his blurry vision. She was hugging herself tightly, watching him with fear and worry. The image overlapped with a recent memory, when he failed to control his power and injured Fran. She had looked just as terrified.

If this continued…He would hurt this girl too.

Is it happening again…?

His mind filled with curses directed at himself.

Why… Why can’t I protect anyone?

Even that inner voice was swallowed by darkness. In the vortex of the rampage, Lloyd’s screams reached no one. His sight blurred, and he didn’t have much time before losing consciousness completely. And then, something white drifted into view.

“Are you all right!? Please, stay with me!”

A warm touch and soft sensation accompanied a clear, beautiful voice that echoed in his head.

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