Chapter 331: Yggdrasil (5)
Chapter 331: Yggdrasil (5)
"『Pierce at the speed of light. Shining Ray.』"
A white laser shot from the tip of my finger.
The Queen’s face turned just as pale.
"Kyaaaah...!"
A high-pitched, piercing scream rang out.
Aside from Nariel, who had reflexively closed her eyes, I could feel the shock and hostility radiating from everyone else in the room.
I really wish they wouldn't look at me like that.
My target wasn't Queen Nariel, but the guard standing right next to her.
"Guh...!"
The guard clutched his chest, where a hole had instantly been bored through his heart, and collapsed to one knee.
He was equipped with the traditional gear of an Elf Guardian—twin swords at his waist and a bow on his back—but he fell without being able to draw a single one of them.
It was only natural. Even among intermediate spells, Shining Ray was one of the fastest and most precise anti-personnel killing magics.
Combine that with the purified mana I gained upon becoming a High Magician, the mana control from Dragonification, the Spirit Language I’d been practicing lately, and the Sun God's Favor trait...
The result was a bizarrely powerful spell that had its chant shortened while its speed and destructive power actually increased.
At this point, wasn't it closer to advanced magic than intermediate?
No matter how much of an Aura Expert he was—as expected of a Queen’s guard—and despite his high-quality armor, he stood no chance against a surprise attack of this caliber delivered with such perfect timing.
"You bastard!"
Another guard drew his twin swords and stepped in front of Nariel. Looking back, I saw Milone and Eda targeting me from behind as well.
My party reacted instantly, shifting into combat stances. In a heartbeat, the office was thick with suffocating tension.
I looked around at the murderous atmosphere and let out a smirk.
"Why the long faces?"
"How can you say that! How could you do that to Sir Hraes...!"
The Queen shouted, peeking her head out from behind her guard. Her features were so gentle, however, that she didn't seem particularly threatening even when angry.
I shrugged at her.
"I just caught a spy who managed to sneak right up to Your Majesty's side. You should be a bit more grateful."
"...What?"
Nariel tilted her head in confusion. But that didn't last long.
As if proving the tenacious vitality characteristic of cultists, the man who had been playing dead suddenly lunged upward, swinging his twin swords at Nariel.
It was a silent yet lethal strike, fueled by surging Aura and the Authority of Boiling Silence, threatening to cleave through anything in its path.
A logical decision. By defeating Fiona, I had essentially become the leading authority on matters regarding the cult.
Even if he died quietly now, the death of a mere royal guard—not the Queen herself—wouldn't cause much of a stir.
Furthermore, I was the one who had exposed Fiona, who had been hidden better than anyone. If his identity was going to be revealed whether he lived or died, he might as well go out with a bang.
Perhaps it was due to the Authority of Boiling Silence, or perhaps the other guard had simply trusted his comrade too much. He was a beat too slow to notice the blade coming from behind him.
He extended his sword to block, but at this rate, Queen Nariel’s body would be shredded by that ferocious Aura.
No matter how strong a High Elf’s vitality was, or how much she was blessed by the World Tree, a Queen still dies when she's killed.
Not that I’d let that happen.
Boom!
The sound wasn't that of flesh being sliced, but of a heavy impact against a solid wall. The strike had been intercepted by a Shield I had prepared in advance.
Of course, since it was a hastily constructed Shield, it shattered after barely enduring that one hit... but it had done its job.
"Dammit!"
The spy spat out a curse in panic and quickly retracted his swords. I could feel his sheer desperation to land at least one blow, even if it didn't result in an immediate kill.
However, being prepared to die doesn't suddenly make the impossible possible. Unless you have luck and talent on your side, that is...
It seemed he lacked both.
"Hraes! You traitor!"
Clang—!
His face twisted with betrayal, the other guard managed to parry the lethal strike aimed at Nariel.
Taking advantage of the opening, I threw the Shining Lion Dagger, imbuing it with Telekinesis.
Swish—!
Even if everything else about him was a lie, his status as a Sword Expert was real; the assassin reacted with lightning speed.
His Aura flared up violently, as if setting his entire body ablaze. An Aura Expert focusing entirely on defense is as sturdy as a tank, but that only applies when their body is intact.
Aura that should have been circulating through his body was instead leaking out frantically through the hole in his heart.
The flames of Aura that had tightly enveloped his body without leaving a single gap flickered out. Seizing the moment, the other guard delivered a massive horizontal slash.
Thud—
Hraes’s arms were flung back helplessly, leaving his vitals wide open.
"Guh...!"
His throat pierced, Hraes glared at me with a look of pure resentment. He tried to say something through the bloody foam in his mouth, but...
Flash!
A follow-up strike from the dagger took his head off before he could speak.
Well, just like the other cultists who had died by my hand, it was probably just some curse. Nothing worth listening to.
The headless corpse slumped to the floor, and a pool of red blood began to soak into the luxurious carpet.
In the silence where no one dared to speak, everyone’s eyes were fixed on me.
Feeling a bit awkward, I scratched the back of my head.
"My apologies. I have this chronic illness where I just have to attack the moment I see a cultist."
"......"
"......"
"......"
It was a joke, but nobody laughed.
*
"Why? Why are they looking at me like that...?"
"You're not asking because you actually don't know, are you, Master?"
"Was blowing his head off too much? They seem pretty shocked. Next time, instead of a clean heart puncture, I should prepare a spell that just shreds their insides into a mess."
"...I do like it when you're a bit shameless, Master."
I brushed off Carla’s half-resigned comment and turned my gaze.
After catching the rat and finishing the request for support I’d originally come for, the body had been cleared away and the bloodstains wiped clean. In the corner of the now-tidy office, I saw Nariel huddled down.
Even though the danger had passed, the remaining guard was keeping watch with hawk-like intensity.
Milone was crouched down beside Nariel, trying to calm the startled Queen.
They were a fair distance away, so I couldn't hear what they were saying... but I watched Milone’s face soften every time she stroked Nariel’s shoulder or fixed her pink hair.
Her complexion, which had been dull and haggard from exhaustion, brightened in real-time. Her sharp eyes, though still underlined by dark circles, rounded out. Her stiff, stoic lips softened into a gentle line.
I saw it all clearly.
As I watched them with a satisfied smile, Fay, who had been hovering nearby, sidled up and pressed her lips to my ear.
Thanks to her aggressive chest, her breasts hit my shoulder before her hands could even reach my ear—a very welcome phenomenon—but Fay whispered on regardless.
"Junior. Don't those two seem a bit... strange?"
"In what way, specifically?"
"I mean, they're a Queen and a Chancellor. One lost her power and the other took it, right? I thought they'd be more hostile toward each other, but... how do I put it? They're so devoted."
"Devoted, huh? Well, it happens."
"It happens? Between two women?"
"Yes. It happens."
"???"
Fay blinked rapidly, clearly unable to understand my firm answer.
I couldn't tell her the reason here, but I was right. After all... Milone liked Nariel. In a romantic sense.
Of course, Nariel was so oblivious and innocent that she just thought Milone was a "good person," but it was only a matter of time.
That pairing was quite famous in H&A. There were plenty of players who tried to woo Milone because of her unique character, and just as many who tried to romance Nariel because of her cotton-candy looks.
In that process, a rather peculiar condition was discovered.
Surprisingly, neither of them could be romanced by a male character....
So, could you enter their route if you created a female character at the start? Of course. However, there were no solo routes for Milone or Nariel. You absolutely had to romance both of them simultaneously.
In the past, I thought they were characters designed to reflect the developers' firm resolve not to let a man intrude on a yuri relationship...
But now that I’d heard the whole truth in Fafnir’s lair, I knew.
It was just that Nariel hadn't realized her own identity yet; both of them were so firmly lesbian that no other possibility existed....
I spent a moment playing with Fay, tickling her under the chin as she grumbled about not getting it.
By then, it seemed the comforting session was over. Nariel, blushing at the thought of her unseemly behavior, and Milone, wearing a complex expression of relief, satisfaction, and a hint of guilt, approached us.
"First, thank you for catching the spy we didn't even know existed. Thanks to you, we were able to overcome a grave threat without anyone getting hurt."
"Th-thank youuuu...."
Milone bowed her head, expressing her gratitude in a fluent, professional tone. Her disciplined posture made the bow look cool rather than subservient.
Nariel, watching Milone with eyes full of admiration, hurriedly followed suit with a clumsy bow of her own.
Watching the two of them made my heart feel a bit ticklish. Maybe that's why their pairing was so popular among certain users.
As for me, I have no interest in yuri that I can't join, so I just acknowledged it for what it was.
"It was nothing. I only did what had to be done."
"...The rumors were true, then."
"Rumors?"
"There is a story that the Duke of Lindelheit can identify a cultist just by making eye contact."
"I wouldn't go that far... but I suppose it's not entirely wrong now."
I had seen Nariel’s assassination event several times in H&A, so I knew someone had infiltrated her inner circle.
But I hadn't known exactly who it was. After all, weren't there two guards, not just one?
The reason I could identify the assassin this time was thanks to the Cultist Detection trait I’d gained after defeating Fiona.
Until now, either Rebecca had caught them before they could get near me, or they just hadn't sent any.
I hadn't had a chance for Cultist Detection to trigger, but so this was the kind of signal it gave.
As I was mentally retracing that sensation, Nariel, who had been looking back and forth between Milone and me while fidgeting, suddenly widened her eyes.
"Ah!"
She clapped her hands together loudly and exclaimed.
"Now that I think about it, the Cyclic Life told me to bring the guest to them! That's why I came here, but I completely forgot!"
"Me? Why would they want to see me?"
"I didn't hear the details... but it won't be anything bad. They said they had a gift for you."
"Let's go right now."
Did a full World Tree equipment set just drop?!