Chapter 111: Three-Way Battle - 10
Chapter 111: Three-Way Battle - 10
Dawn.
Jiha sat by the window, eyes closed.
'Bloodsucking isn't all-powerful. I have to get close first, and even after biting, the target can resist with Mana for a while. It's hard to use mid-combat, and even harder against someone already on guard. More than anything, if they defend with Mana, I doubt my fangs would even pierce the skin...'
Having reconsidered the limits of his Bloodsucking power, Jiha opened his eyes.
The red-light district, usually rowdy at all hours, had grown subdued lately.
Rumors were spreading that gnolls from out of town were taking whole families hostage and killing them if things went wrong.
As Jiha stared past the wide-open window at the distant lights, a strange sound reached his ears.
Crack.
It was the sound of a door being forced open, followed by muffled footsteps.
At the sound of movements carefully calculated to avoid waking the homeowner, Jiha raised a hand.
Clap!
The sharp snap of his hands came together, ripping through the pre-dawn silence, and the Mana Lamp in the living room flared to life.
Caught in the brilliant glow of the Grade 1 lamp, the intruder who had just entered the living room froze in place.
"Hey there, moron."
Jiha greeted Kamain.
Despite the greeting that made it clear he'd been expected, Kamain didn't react right away, only his eyes darting around.
"Don't be scared. I didn't bring anyone with me."
"Why are you here?"
"You think I was waiting here because I missed you?"
Jiha tsked.
"But actually, that's right. I came to see you."
"......"
Kamain stared at Jiha with sunken eyes.
Jiha drove straight at Kamain's hidden motive.
"Coral's locked in a detention cell, but his underlings are scattered all over Waris, lying low. And you've made up your mind to finish them all off, since you never know what nonsense they might spout."
"I have no idea what you're talking about."
"The cop kills the suspect, then claims the guy was on a rampage and it was unavoidable. In Warsland, with no CCTV and no human rights, that story holds up pretty well."
Jiha got straight to the point.
"But you killed too many. Seventeen dead as of yesterday, and not a single survivor, right? Most species are prejudiced against gnolls and hate them... but even then, that death count is a problem."
"......"
Jiha sneered.
"A bastard who rose to Super Rare by catching a Unique's eye couldn't properly subdue a single Normal Grade, so he had to kill them all? Couldn't you even save one hostage?"
"They had Mana weapons. There was no avoiding it."
"Pretty shabby results compared to your shining service record. A string of failures. Ah, but it's not seventeen cases, is it? You also disguised some of them as gnolls killing each other in a brawl."
"......"
Silence descended.
Both Kamain and Jiha were building up their Mana in preparation for a clash, each aware the other was doing the same.
Realizing a surprise attack was impossible, Kamain asked a question.
"What are you trying to say?"
"The gnoll you were trying to kill is in this house."
"......"
"Common sense said I should have gotten him out of here... but I figured you'd notice. So I locked him in the bathroom."
Thanks to Iroha's intel combined with Mayan's tracking skills, Jiha had located the surviving gnolls' hideouts before Kamain could.
Kamain's gaze demanded an explanation.
His expression was one of trying to gauge why Jiha had been waiting.
"Why are you trying to clean up your past? These gnolls were your comrades through thick and thin."
"That's old news."
"No, you planned to deal with the gnolls in Waris from the very beginning."
Worried that Kamain might try to dispose of them, Coral had gone looking for another way out.
It was a choice based on a vague gut feeling, but it had been the right one.
"Even after you got investigative authority, you had no reason to keep the gnolls alive. The plan was to eliminate your coworker who couldn't handle a Grade 2 weapon properly, and all the gnolls who stole it and killed a Common. Then you'd be the only one left."
"Why would I need to do that?"
"Because the gnolls know you too well. Now that you've hit Super Rare, you probably figured it was time to get rid of the guys who know your dirty laundry. It'd be a real pain if they tried to blackmail you with it later, right?"
Kamain let out a faint, dry laugh.
"That fool didn't tell you what he did. He already tried."
"I figured as much."
When Kamain became a Super Rare, Coral had gotten greedy and tried to cash in.
"Did he say something like, since you made it this far thanks to his backing, you should repay him?"
"He chose his words a bit more politely, but the nuance was similar."
"He told me he didn't have any evidence to blackmail you."
"I thought that was the case too."
Jiha laughed.
Coral had kept his lifeline hidden until the very end.
If his gamble failed—if Jiha died and Kamain won—he'd planned to use that blackmail evidence to secure his own safety.
Kamain sneered at Jiha.
"Did you actually believe that trash?"
"Everyone in the world has their uses. It's the eye of the one using them that matters. The ones with poor judgment are usually the ones puffing their chests out."
"......"
Even while talking, Kamain was paying close attention to the presence within the house.
He was on alert, trying to figure out if Jiha was truly alone and what he was counting on to act this way.
Leaning back against the wide-open window, Jiha raised both hands.
"You're so suspicious. I told you, I'm alone. No security officer is scheduled to show up."
"You'll die here, killed by a gnoll."
Kamain's voice was flat.
"Jealous of my recent achievements, you got desperate to build your own reputation. You mobilized every connection you had to find the gnolls' hideout, but lacked the skill, panicked, and ended up dead."
"Hope is always a beautiful thing. Wishful thinking must be its cousin, since it's equally charming."
As Jiha mocked him, Kamain slowly drew his sword.
Grinning as well, Jiha reached for his back.
"But is this okay? If a commotion breaks out here, people will come running."
"I'm just in the middle of an investigation. You're the one who needlessly attacked."
"Oh yeah? Then..."
The instant Kamain lunged, Jiha kicked off his chair and leapt up.
Seemingly rushing straight at him, Kamain landed and planted his feet on the ceiling, head facing the floor.
Then, using the ceiling as a springboard, he shot down toward Jiha like an arrow.
It was an acrobatic attack that masterfully exploited the cramped indoor space.
"Well, then..."
Jiha summoned his Shadow Hand as before to halt Kamain's charge.
And as before, Kamain swung his flame-wreathed sword to slice through the Shadow Hand.
But this time, he didn't back off. Instead, he swung his sword, now blazing even fiercer, straight for Jiha's neck.
'He really is different from before.'
No idiot would fight the same way under the same circumstances.
And Kamain, a Super Rare Grade bastard, was the strongest among all the enemies Jiha had faced so far.
Jiha quickly ducked to evade, and Kamain immediately launched a front kick.
Jiha threw himself sideways to dodge, and the wall where Kamain's foot struck cracked.
The crack was a testament to the Mana behind the kick. Even if Jiha had bolstered his defense with Mana, a direct hit would have left him far from unscathed.
"Do incubi have superior physical strength?"
"No, they're no different from... humans."
Having seized the upper hand, Kamain spoke coldly as he turned. He waggled his fingers leisurely.
"Go on, keep playing with your shadows. Seems like you learned it from your master."
"If that's what you want..."
Jiha replied while stretching his shadow long.
As Jiha's shadow crept closer and a Shadow Hand reached for his leg, Kamain didn't hesitate, stabbing his sword into the floor.
Immediately, Jiha's shadow rippled as though agitated but couldn't spring forth.
"In a head-on fight, the dark elves' methods of manipulating shadows are nothing special. A petty ability mostly used for ambushes. You just crush it with force."
Kamain delivered a cold, dismissive verdict.
"An assassin picking a head-on fight with a knight."
"Look at the ego on this knight. Mister, which bloodline did you come from?"
"......"
Kamain didn't catch the analogy to online games.
Seeing him raise his flame-wreathed sword again, Jiha tsked.
"More than anything, it's ridiculous that you'd call yourself a knight. Sure, if you dig into the reality of medieval knights, they were thugs of blood and violence. You could write a harsh critique of medieval romance and chivalric literature as nothing but the pride-drunk ramblings of bastards justifying their murder and plunder as 'justice'..."
"......"
"But that doesn't mean a bastard like you is a righteous knight. What kind of world's logic has a justice that massacres innocent civilians? Even in Warsland, where survival of the fittest is the social motto, a son of a bitch like you is rare."
Jiha had done many things, but he'd never touched innocent, uninvolved civilians.
That sort of behavior was natural, even expected, in Warsland. Even the haughty Enril hadn't just outright attacked the red-light district women who mocked her without knowing who she was.
"You don't even have the bare minimum of a cause. Massacring innocent civilians for no reason, just to cover your tracks, is an unforgivable crime in any world."
"This is Warsland. I can do it. Even if this comes to light, do you think I, a Super Rare Grade, would be punished?"
"No. This is Waris."
Jiha clenched his fist and spoke coldly.
"This is my neighborhood. I'm about to make you pay the price for trying your bullshit on my turf."
"How? With that tiny dagger?"
Kamain's sword was a bastard sword, while the blade Jiha held was a shortsword.
The reach difference was clear.
Noting even the quality of the blade, Kamain burst out laughing.
"A Grade 3 sword. Well, since you're a Common, I guess that was the best you could get your hands on."
Kamain held up his own flame-wreathed sword to show it off.
"This sword is Grade 1. Bestowed upon me by Lady Asira, who raised me to Super Rare."
"Did she tell you to kill civilians with that sword, and hold it to women's throats while you rape them?"
"......"
"Asira would be absolutely thrilled to see what you've been up to, wouldn't she? Right? She'd clap and laugh, huh?"
Kamain's previously relaxed face hardened.
"......Shut your mouth, or I'll kill you."
"Oh my, so you were willing to spare me if I kept quiet from now on?"
Kamain kicked off the wall and charged again.
This three-dimensional attack, coming at him from above, was something an ordinary person wouldn't dare try to counter.
Moreover, the flame-wreathed sword couldn't be blocked, so he was forced to dodge, putting him irrevocably on the defensive.
But Jiha used a Shadow Hand to seize the vanity and hurl it.
Crash!
The drawers flew open as it sailed through the air, scattering various items everywhere.
Even if Kamain could suppress the Shadow Hand itself, he had to contend with objects being thrown at him.
Half in disbelief and half in bewilderment, Kamain swung his sword.
As the fiery blade traced a line, the vanity was cleanly split in two.
But Jiha kept at it, throwing a clothes rack, then a bronze mirror, then the rug, and finally he went for the wardrobe.
"Grrgh..."
When hurling it with the Shadow Hand alone proved too taxing, Jiha grabbed the wardrobe door with his own hands.
A grinding, tearing sound!
"Huaap!!"
Channeling all his Mana, Jiha lifted the wardrobe stuffed full of clothes and threw it.
But Kamain simply stood still, swinging his sword each time Jiha threw a piece of furniture.
The clothes rack, the mirror, the rug, and finally the flying wardrobe—he dispatched them all with a single stroke of his sword.
The wardrobe was sliced apart, and clothes burst upwards before fluttering back down.
Standing stock-still amid the mess, Kamain asked coldly.
"Is your desperate struggle over?"
"Yours is just beginning."
Jiha grinned.
Because everything was going exactly as he'd calculated.