Real Combat
"What the hell is this all of a sudden? You looking to die?"
The black figure that had knocked aside the bolt spoke in a menacing tone, like a beast snarling a threat.
The thick killing intent laced through those words sent a chill crawling down the back of Jun's neck.
Even when he'd fought the mercenaries who'd come with Fatty before, he'd never felt killing intent of this magnitude.
He'd struck first because the enemies were about to secure advantageous positions, but now that it came to actually fighting, his hands and feet began to tremble slightly.
At that moment—
"Hmph. You were planning to kill us anyway."
"Blackie, save the bullshit for your master."
Robin and Fortuna rebuked the black figure—the assassin—with casual composure.
Looking at the two of them, Jun found his own premature fear so ridiculous that he let out a snort of laughter.
His trembling hands and feet settled, and the excessive tension that had gripped his entire body loosened to just the right degree.
Jun quietly prepared for battle.
Core status: optimal. Condition: peak. Buffs and weapons: sufficient.
After checking his physical state, he drew another loaded crossbow from his subspace.
The moment he finished preparing, the assassins also assumed stances ready to charge at any second.
In that hair-trigger situation, Fortuna asked Jun in a serious tone.
"Jun, are there any other enemies nearby?"
"No. Just the six over there."
When he'd just blown off the orc's genitals, his radar had detected the assassins. He'd informed Fortuna of that through his will, then cut the orc's life short as quickly as possible before expanding his radar to its absolute limit. He'd scoured nearly an entire mountain, but found no additional assassins.
"That so? Then we can fight without worrying."
With those words, brilliant light erupted from Fortuna's entire body.
Her usual transformation into human mode. But the form that emerged moments later was different from usual.
Sharply opened golden eyes. Tightly pressed lips. White iron armor covering her hands, feet, and every corner of her body; a round shield and a hammer gripped one in each hand.
The usual warm, cute fairy was gone. In her place stood a cold, ruthless warrior woman.
"I'll take three, including Blackie and that one who looks like the captain next to him. Uncle Robin, you take the remaining three. Or want more? I don't mind either way."
"...No. That should be enough."
Faced with the tremendous presence Fortuna radiated, Robin nodded readily. Though the presence her cores emitted was smaller than his own, he was certain. If he fought her, he'd lose a hundred times out of a hundred.
"Wait, For."
"Don't worry about me, Jun. I'm only borrowing Uncle's help in case they try to run. I can handle those guys on my own just fine."
"No, I wasn't worried about you."
"...That's mean."
Fortuna muttered softly, sounding sulky. But sorry to say, Jun truly wasn't worried about her in the slightest.
She was the angel who had led the war against another world to victory long ago. Though her power had dropped to roughly Jun's level due to the penalty, her skill hadn't diminished at all. Moreover, when Jun gained a third—Aura—core, she also gained a third Aura core. Since she'd said her combat style was close-quarters, she could now fully display her prowess using aura. And if she added angel mode on top of that, couldn't she wipe out the enemies in an instant?
Well, with Robin watching, she probably wouldn't use it unless the situation was truly dangerous. Anyway, the reason Jun wasn't worried about her was because he trusted her.
When he conveyed that as-is, Fortuna's fairy wings—which had dimmed—began to shine brilliantly once more.
She really is adorable.
"So why did you call me, then? My little Junie."
Fortuna's voice had gone sweet as sugar. But that voice didn't last long, thanks to the reply that followed.
"I want to take one of them too."
"What?! Absolutely not!"
"Come on, just one. Give me just one of the assassins you're taking. You finish off the other two as fast as you can, then watch over me and help if I get in danger."
Having said that much, Jun didn't press any further. If she still wouldn't change her mind after what he'd just said, he was prepared to sit out the fight as she wanted. It would be good to experience killing in preparation for any future contingencies, but he didn't want to stubbornly insist like some frustrating character and cause an accident.
"...The one on the far left. Take that one. Got it?"
"Y-yeah!"
"Be careful. Extra careful."
So saying, Fortuna waved her hand. Multicolored light dust sprayed from her palm and was absorbed into Jun and Robin's bodies. Both felt their physical abilities surge.
"Ready? Then let's go."
"Yeah!"
"Mm."
How did it come to this?
The Blackie of the assassin group—no, the vice-captain—felt like he was dreaming. He simply couldn't believe the reality that had befallen him and his teammates.
The mission the organization had assigned him and his team: assassinate a hunter and the orphan staying at his house.
An easy mission. He and his teammates had all thought so. Though the hunter was a Green-rank adventurer, he and his teammates had already assassinated adventurers of the same rank twice before. Several teammates had died in the process, but that was just the usual cost of doing the job.
The orphan wasn't worth worrying about. He had dual cores, but all his abilities were mediocre. The fact that the kid had received a Stigma and had a peculiar fairy who used holy power stuck to his side was a bit concerning, but the vice-captain deliberately erased that from his mind. Killing the kid and the fairy might incur a god's wrath, but he'd been prepared for that the moment he entered this business.
Anyway, while heading to their residence for the assassination, the youngest had coincidentally found traces of people passing by. Following the trail on a hunch, they soon found their targets.
They'd witnessed the orphan kid stabbing an old orc's heart, but figured he was just showing mercy to a dying orc. So they still kept the orphan out of their combat calculations while preparing the ambush—when suddenly the kid pulled out a crossbow and fired at them.
From that moment, the vice-captain felt a gradually growing sense of foreboding. To shake off that feeling and draw out their complacency, he'd tried threatening them while playing the wronged party, but only ended up with wounded pride. He had no choice but to chalk it up to mere nerves and prepare to attack.
But what in the world?
The fairy they'd dismissed as a non-combatant like the orphan erupted with tremendous light, grew in size, and began radiating an overwhelming presence—far surpassing the hunter's. The fairy then waved her hand, sprinkling light dust on the orphan and the hunter.
Holy magic, at a glance. Not only was she strong, she could buff her teammates too? That was broken!
While the vice-captain reeled in shock, the orphan vanished from his field of view. The moment he registered that fact, something whistled through the air, followed by the youngest's scream.
Hastily turning toward the youngest, he saw the kid clutching his shoulder—and behind him, the orphan about to swing a sword.
Clang!
Thanks to all the training he'd been put through, the youngest managed to block the orphan's blade. But he couldn't block the kick that came next. Taking a direct kick to the gut, the youngest went flying through the air like a ball kicked by a child.
That power couldn't possibly come from a holy magic buff alone.
"Intelligence Division, those bastards!"
The captain, who normally regarded the Intelligence Division as a thorn in his side, drew his dagger and spat a curse. Normally the vice-captain would have stopped him, but this time he let it go. If the captain hadn't said it, he would have cursed himself.
"Vice-captain! Hrk—"
Thud!
The captain, about to say something, never finished his words. The fairy, streaking in like a bolt, had smashed his head with her hammer.
Eyeballs, bone, and chunks of flesh scattered. It was an utterly surreal sight, but that very surrealness snapped the vice-captain out of his daze.
"Retreat! Priority on delivering the intel—kh!"
Mid-sentence, the same thing that had blown off the captain's head swung toward his own. The vice-captain hastily ducked, barely dodging it.
Whoosh! Goosebumps rose all over his body at the noise that seemed ready to tear space itself apart. He knew instinctively. Allow even a single hit from this attack and he was done for.
"Oh? Dodging that? Not bad, Blackie."
The fairy's eyes went wide, genuinely surprised. At that cute expression, the vice-captain nearly lost his grip on tension. If he hadn't seen the dark red blood coating the hammer's head, he really might have.
Whoosh! Whoosh!
The fairy swung a hammer twice the size of her own head as lightly as a toy. But its power was anything but light. A mere graze tore off chunks of flesh. It felt like walking a tightrope over a sheer cliff. Without aura and his psychic ability—Dog Form—he'd have taken a hit long ago.
Just a little more. Just a little longer!
The vice-captain poured every ounce of strength into dodging the fairy's attacks. She couldn't keep up assaults of this power forever. So the moment the assault ended...
"I can tell exactly what you're thinking. Do you really think that'll work? Do you even think you've lasted this long on your own skill?"
"What?"
"I was just playing with you for a bit, using my power for the first time in a while. Playtime's over. Off you go. I've got my own kid to look after."
"Like hell you will!"
The moment the vice-captain shouted that, a pure white water wheel appeared behind the fairy's back. As it began to spin, pure white light dust erupted from the vice-captain's body and was absorbed by the fairy.
Sensing an inexplicable dread, the vice-captain unconsciously took a step back—and then, squelch, he stepped right on what had been the captain's scattered head. He "unluckily" toppled backward.
"Wh-what?"
"Bye-bye."
"N-no!"
Thud!
Having "luckily" seized the high ground, the fairy brought her hammer down without a shred of mercy.