The Guardians' Throne - The First Magic Swordsman

                                                    Eventually, Fyran and the other kids left after eating their share. While the people in the North were quite slim, they sure had a healthy appetite. As soon as they left, however, Derenus asked Zaos something weird.

"Can you touch my hand for a moment?" Derenus asked.

"… Why?" Zaos frowned.

"I want to check something, if you are the reincarnation of the demon god," Derenus asked.

"What the hell… what makes you think that I am?" Zaos asked.

"The fact that you are stronger than us with magic, the fact that you use weird techniques with magic and the fact that the gift of the demon god doesn't affect you," Derenus replied. "The demon god had another characteristic and I will discover if you have it by touching you."

"What kind of characteristic is that?" Zaos asked.

"The demon god could steal all the mana of those he touched," Derenus replied.

                                                    That seemed like one hell of a useful ability, but Zaos never had that. So, without worrying about anything, he touched Derenus's hands, and he frowned. He knew that Zaos didn't steal his mana, so he couldn't help but show a disappointed expression.

"How can you tell that I am not holding back that skill?" Zaos asked.

"The demon god couldn't control that, that was why he became the most powerful being in the world," Derenus asked.

"Is that so… that would explain many things," Zaos rubbed his chin thoughtfully. 

                                                    Zaos couldn't help but wonder… if the demon god could absorb mana from others, could he absorb mana from spells as well? If that were true, it would make sense that only two swords would be able to damage him. After learning that the kingdom was built on a pile of lies, Zaos wanted to run away from it and live a peaceful life, but that probably wouldn't be possible since the demon god was about to be revived.

                                                    Regardless, instead of worrying about that, Zaos decided to focus on recovering his strength. Although he was eating meat every day four to five times a day, he was recovering his strength as fast as he wanted… probably because he was only eating meat. His daily food intake needed more than just that, but he couldn't find it in that region. So, in the end, Zaos' plans of recovery suffered another delay…

                                                    In the blink of an eye, two other months passed. Fortunately, around that time, Zaos already could swing his sword without worrying about damaging his body. In a weak or two, he will be in peak condition again and ready to return home, but it seemed things won't be as that simple… After he returned from hunting during a particular afternoon, he noticed that another and this time an even bigger group was in front of Derenus's house. However, much to his surprise, the group looked at Zaos once but quickly lost interest.

"They are approaching Derenus! With an army of ten thousand soldiers! We need you now more than ever," Fyran said.

                                                    It has been a while since Zaos heard that voice, he thought the kid had given up, but it seemed that wasn't the case. Derenus seemed a bit more worried than usual. After all, it wasn't every day where he heard that an army of ten thousand men was marching toward his home. While he didn't live in the military base, he lived pretty close, and it will be only a matter of time before he is found out.

"We aren't ready to face an army like that yet," Derenus said. "I would advise you to retreat and wait for a while longer. That way, the other villages will join you."

"That means…" Fyran said.

"No, I am not going to participate in any battle," Derenus said. "I am going to live my days as peacefully as possible."

                                                    One might not like Derenus decision, but even those couldn't help but respect his determination. It was kind of weird, though… he wanted to rest of his days peacefully, but would he go as far as abandoning his people to achieve that? What was better live a few weeks of peace or several more years while struggling to survive? Not even Zaos was certain what was the right answer… would he live just a few days with his mother of peace if he had the chance, or would he struggle for years while knowing that he would fight to keep her safe even if he couldn't see her?

"I didn't want to do this, but…" Fyran said and then turned around to face Zaos. "We will capture him and use his life to buy us sometime."

"You have guts, I will admit that," Zaos said. "It is a pity that your brain isn't that impressive."

"Fyran…" Derenus said.

"If you aren't going to help us, don't question our methods, Derenus," Fyran said, and then he whispered toward his friends. "He is strong, under normal conditions, we wouldn't defeat him without suffering some losses, so I will attack him and then stop his movements, once that happens, you guys attack his limbs. He won't be able to fight and he won't die with those wounds alone."

"You might want to whisper a bit more silent if you don't want me to hear that," Zaos said and then drew his sword.

                                                    Fyran clicked his tongue. Zaos had a better hearing than he had imagined. Unfortunately, he didn't have any other plan. He was even planning to die, but…

"Wait," Derenus said. "I have a better alternative for this. Why don't you help them, Zaos?"

"Oh, boy… I'd better get the hell out of here, this kid's stupidity is contagious," Zaos said and then facepalmed. "That or perhaps you have gone senile, Derenus. I am planning to retire, but I won't help kill my former soldiers."

"You don't have to do that, just give us your terms and they will cooperate with you," Derenus said. "As long as it is reasonable, they will do anything to buy time."

                                                    Zaos considered that offer. It seemed interesting, but… he couldn't think of anything he might want from them. One thing that Zaos wanted was to prevent his unit from suffering any losses. He couldn't convince them to retreat since they were loyal to the kingdom and had no reason to desert, so he might ask that, but that didn't seem good enough.