You're Going to Die Here Today
I was waiting back at the cottage when the call came in from Asili. At first, I assumed it was just her regular report. As far as I knew, there was nothing in the Delusion Forest that could pose a serious threat to Elia. Sure, if she went up against one of the Area Boss monsters she might get hurt somewhere, and I’d wanted to stop her from going at all, but I knew Elia would win in the end. That was why, when the communication crystal from Asili—who had followed Elia into the Delusion Forest—lit up, I thought it was nothing more than a routine check-in.
“Yeah, Asili. What’s up?”
[…….]
“……Asili?”
[Clang-clang-clang───!!]
The moment the connection opened, the only sound that came through the crystal wasn’t a greeting or any kind of report—it was the sharp ring of blades clashing. That was when I finally realized this wasn’t a normal check-in. The sound of steel ringing out from the communication crystal linked to Asili told me everything I needed to know. The instant I understood what it meant, I shot up from my seat. Luina, who had been sitting right beside me, did the same.
“Kael, this is……”
“Yeah. Looks like Asili had to step in.”
If Asili had stepped in, that meant something capable of threatening Elia had appeared. I didn’t know what it was, but Luina and I didn’t need to discuss it. We both bolted out of the cottage at the same time and started running.
Right as we left the cottage and broke into a sprint, the sounds of battle coming through the still-connected crystal suddenly stopped. Then voices began to drift through.
[Whoa, dual daggers? That’s a pretty rare weapon. Did you get inspired by this great Asili, by any chance?]
[What the—where did you come from all of a sudden……!]
It sounded like the person threatening Elia was talking to Asili. According to what I’d just heard, the threat used dual daggers. And as far as I knew, there was only one group on the entire continent that fought with that kind of weapon.
“Assassins……!”
“Assassins? You mean those underworld types?”
Every single person I knew who used dual daggers was an assassin. For one thing, very few people even chose that weapon, and the general perception of it meant regular mercenaries or soldiers wouldn’t touch the things. And just like Luina said, if they really were assassins, the odds were high they belonged to the underworld. The assassins operating in the open had no reason to target Elia.
And if they really were underworld assassins……
‘Don’t tell me…… Worst?’
Worst. Could they have run into that organization? It was a leap with no real evidence, but it wasn’t an impossible story. The moment the possibility that their opponent was Worst crossed my mind, my steps quickened even more. In the blink of an eye, Luina and I crossed from the southwest district through the northern central streets and reached the north gate.
Thududududu───!!!
“Huh? W-wait just a second……!”
“Sorry! I’ll explain the situation when we get back, so please step aside!!”
The gate guards watching us charge toward them at ridiculous speed looked completely flustered, but unfortunately we didn’t have time to calmly explain anything. With a quick apology, we blew straight past the guards and kept running down the road that led from the north gate straight into the Delusion Forest.
It didn’t take long before the entrance to the Delusion Forest came into view. I glanced at Luina, who had already formed a bow out of a World Tree branch she carried at her waist, and asked for her help.
“Luina! I’ll head in from below, so I need you to provide covering fire from above!”
“Leave it to me, Kael!”
Luina was a child of the forest folk—an elf. Even though the Delusion Forest was much smaller than the great Elfheim woods where the World Tree stood, she could still move through it like it was her own backyard. I asked her to support me from any angles I might miss, then dashed between the thickly growing trees at full speed.
While I ran below, Luina shot up a tree that had grown dozens of meters in an instant, using the branches as footholds to race across the canopy. We passed scattered mercenaries, smashed aside any monsters stupid enough to block our path, and plunged deeper into the heart of the Delusion Forest.
I didn’t know exactly where Elia and Asili were, but thankfully I didn’t have to worry about getting lost. A powerful presence radiating from far ahead was telling me exactly where to go.
Rumble rumble rumble───
“Over there!”
The immense aura I felt from a distance was pointing out their location. It was even stronger than Asili when she fought with everything she had, and it told me not only where the two of them were, but just how dangerous their current situation had become.
Asili wasn’t quite on Zenle’s level, but she was still stronger than any so-called famous expert you could name. If someone was giving off an aura stronger than Asili at full power, the situation had to be on the verge of disaster. I kicked off the ground with everything I had, sprinting toward the source of that presence.
I poured on speed I normally avoided using in a forest environment because of how hard it was on my legs. The air exploded behind me.
Boom───!!!
My entire body shot forward like a cannonball toward the direction of the aura. The moment I blinked, I saw the familiar faces—and above all, Elia standing there completely unharmed. I drew my sword and shouted her name.
“Elia!!!”
Thankfully, Elia didn’t have a single scratch on her. When I tore my eyes away from her, I saw Asili exchanging blows with one of Worst’s executives—Cali.
“What?! Why is that person here……!”
“Hup!”
Cali’s eyes widened the moment she saw me charging in, and she shouted in shock. I had no intention of answering her question. I swung my sword without a word. Cali hurriedly pulled back her dual daggers to block my strike.
“Ugh?!”
Kaang──!!!!
The momentum from my full-speed dash added to the swing created a terrifying roar. The impact sent Cali flying backward. She tumbled across the ground several times before slamming into a tree and finally stopping. As she struggled to get back to her feet, I turned to Asili, who was standing behind me with a face that practically screamed I’m dead.
“Give me a quick explanation of the situation, Asili.”
“Umm…… to put it simply, the young lady was hunting an Area Boss when these guys showed up, said the prey was a target they needed, stole the kill, and then tried to kill the young lady to eliminate any witnesses. So I’ve been risking my life to stop them.”
I ignored Asili’s attempt to brag about how hard she’d tried. What mattered was the rest of her explanation. I felt my grip on the sword tighten on its own.
Crack───
“……They tried to kill Elia?”
“Yes! I stopped them right as they were about to put a hole through her throat! It was definitely an attack meant to kill her instantly!”
Asili’s unnecessarily detailed explanation wasn’t bad at all right now. My anger was already boiling over so fiercely I could barely control it, and her precise description gave that rage a clear target.
The one who had tried to kill Elia was the woman standing right in front of me.
Her entire body was flushed deep red—probably from using the Demon Berserk Factor—but I didn’t care about that. Normally, since she was an executive of Worst, it would have been smarter to capture her and hand her over to the royal palace. But I didn’t care about that either.
The only thing that mattered to me right now was the fact that this executive of Worst had tried to kill my daughter.
“……Since you tried to kill my daughter, don’t even think about dying easily.”
Because of what she had done—
I had absolutely no intention of letting Cali leave this place alive.
***
“Hmm…… this is dangerous.”
In the underground base of Worst, inside one of the laboratories, Chain looked up from the flask he had been studying. He set aside the flask of blood he had been heating over a flame, removed the glasses he was wearing, and stood up. Neila, Worst’s first executive, approached him.
“Did something happen again?”
“Yeah. Looks like Cali is about to get taken out this time.”
For the past several years, Worst had been carefully climbing the ladder while carrying out their grand plan right under the kingdom’s nose. This time they had needed the corpses of the Area Bosses from the Delusion Forest right next to the kingdom, so they had sent Cali. It seemed trouble had found her the moment she got near the kingdom.
And shockingly, the trouble this time was once again caused by none other than ‘Kael.’
“Haha, at this point I’m starting to think it’s fate. If coincidences can be this malicious, it’s enough to make you sick of them.”
Why in the world was Kael involved again this time? There were soldiers, mercenaries, even knights. So why did it have to be Kael again, getting in the way of Worst’s plans? It really was just a coincidence, yet the situation felt as if someone had maliciously orchestrated it. Chain let out a laugh mixed with a sigh.
“Cali ran into Kael. She’s even using the Demon Berserk Factor…… Oh no, looks like Asili is there too.”
“What? Didn’t Cali go to the Delusion Forest? Why would those two be there……?”
“Exactly. It’s a huge question for me too. Why are those two in that place?”
It was a completely incomprehensible mystery. But unlike a few years ago when they had lost Benjamin and Sherda, this time Chain had grasped the situation in advance. Over the past several years, he had prepared all sorts of things in anticipation of eventually clashing with Kael. Of course many of them were still incomplete, but the preparations he had made were still effective.
That was why Chain looked at Neila, who always stayed by his side, and said,
“We can’t afford to lose another valuable executive…… Let’s go, Neila.”
“Understood, Leader. I will follow.”
Unlike last time, this time they would not lose one of Worst’s limbs. The figures of Chain and Neila vanished on the spot.