The midday sun burned in the sky, and the white stones along the roadside gleamed like ancient eyes, silent witnesses to all the wars. The air smelled of hot dust and danger, and the silence around seemed too deep for a world so old and bloodied.
Ioh rushed down the rock where the Church of Saint Corvin rose, the old book clutched tightly in his hand. A fleeting thought crossed his mind: "I did it…" But he didn't finish the thought. The moment his feet touched the dry grass, a blinding light struck him, like a sword drawn suddenly under the midday sun. Ioh flinched, regained his balance, and jumped beside his black horse.
With a sure gesture, he adjusted his cloak, mounted, and without looking back, set off at a gallop down the winding path descending from the rock. Hooves struck the stone with a dry sound, and his heart beat calmly, almost coldly.
But the calm lasted only a few moments.
From the air, as if born of light itself, a silhouette appeared. A woman in shining armor, reflecting the sun like a blinding fire. On the back of her armor, a Roman numeral was engraved: III.
Ioh saw her from the gallop, and a warning thought flashed in his mind, like an old sign: "She's one of the Silent Seraphim…"
He changed nothing in his gaze. No fear, no hesitation. The horse kept running, and Ioh urged it onward.
— "I think you stole something that doesn't belong to you, monk," shouted the woman, her voice sharp as iron on stone. "I am Selena, the third blade of the Silent Seraphim, and your sentence is death."
Ioh raised an eyebrow, and a cold, almost mocking smile appeared at the corner of his mouth:
— "You talk quite a lot, for those who call themselves of the Silence."
Selena didn't smile. With a step almost inhumanly fast, her sword flashed. Ioh's horse let out a short, horrified cry, and in the next moment, its body was cut clean into four pieces. Flesh parted under the sharp metal, blood spurted onto the sun-scorched earth, and the horse's legs twisted in the air like torn puppets.
Ioh leapt just before the horse's body was felled, twisting in the air with a strange grace. He landed lightly on his feet, and dust rose around him.
His gaze was calm, almost bored. He gently rotated his wrist, and the sun reflected on his sword's scabbard.
— "Then let's get started!" shouted Selena, her voice carrying the joy of a predator.
Her thin, curved sword, like a feather of death, flew at Ioh. It cut through the air at dizzying speed, following trajectories only a fighter born in blood could read. The metal hissed, and the wind seemed to weep under her strikes.
But Ioh? He didn't seem to fight. He moved calmly, with measured steps, avoiding each cut as if he already knew where Selena would strike. His eyes were cold, without a trace of fear, like two ancient stones that had watched hundreds of battles.
Selena laughed in battle. It was a sharp laugh that shattered the silence of midday. Her sword came lower and lower, ready to strike Ioh's legs, to make him vulnerable.
Time seemed to stop.
In an instant, Ioh drew his sword from the scabbard and plunged it into the ground. The metal struck the earth with a dry sound, like a cross driven into the grave of death itself. Selena's sword hit his blade, sparks flew into the air, and she was pushed a step back.
— "What hunter would risk his life for a mere book?" asked Selena, her eyes searching for truth in his gaze.
On Ioh's face, for a moment, there was nothing. Only a shadow of a cold smile at the corner of his lips, answering:
— "I'm just a former monk… and I need this book for confession."
Selena spoke through clenched teeth, a hint of surprise in her voice:
— "A monk and a hunter… interesting combination. Pity you'll die here."
Ioh shook his head slightly, and his voice echoed calmly, almost ironically:
— "Many have tried. Few have lived to tell the tale."
Without warning, Selena attacked again. Ioh raised his sword and with a single move, struck directly at her blade. Selena staggered, but her armor suddenly glowed, dulling her pain and giving her strength.
— "I won't stop, thief!" she shouted, with a crazed grin.
— "Neither will I," whispered Ioh. "But I don't have time for games."
Ioh took a short, rapid step and struck her at the nape with the back of his hand. Selena staggered again, her gaze clouded. In her eyes, for a moment, appeared the shadow of fear.
With a roar that seemed torn from the earth's depths, Selena raised her sword for one last attempt. Her armor, engraved with forbidden symbols, not only devoured her soul slowly but also awakened in her a cruel power, born from the shadows of those executed.
Her veins swelled, her eyes shone like burning coals, and her breath turned into a venomous hiss. From the symbols on her armor, a white mist began to rise, like strips of living light, wrapping around her blade and making it shine even brighter. Each of Selena's steps left a yellow trail behind, as if the very rays of the sun followed her, ready to burn. It was more than physical strength: it was a cursed thirst for annihilation, a hatred so deep it would scorch even the glow of evening.
Ioh did not move. He looked straight into her eyes, as if seeing her from outside time.
Then, everything changed.
An ancient aura burst from him. The air broke, and the sun seemed to freeze in the sky. Leaves flew through the air, frozen in place, and even Selena's scream remained suspended, unfinished.
The fight was over. Selena fell to her knees, terrified, her sword resting on the ground. In her eyes was something worse than fear: it was the recognition of defeat before a monster older than herself.
Ioh said nothing. He turned his back, and the dust stirred by his steps covered his trail.
He walked away with steady steps, leaving behind only a kneeling warrior with empty eyes, staring into nothingness. The sun slowly sank toward the horizon, coloring the field in a sickly red.
"I didn't take her life," thought Ioh, climbing a new path. "But now she knows what true fear means."
With the book clutched in his hand, Ioh continued on his way, and behind him, the echo of the battle still seemed to burn.
And so, as the midday light faded, a hunter with a dark past walked on, carrying not only a forbidden book but also an unfinished challenge.