Chapter 109
Chapter 109
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Translator: Ebonarch
Chapter: 109
Chapter Title: The Graduation Ceremony (5)
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I stripped the two female outlaws naked and attempted to bind them in a turtle shell harness.
It was to subdue them more perfectly.
Plunk.
As I removed their clothes and the chain mail layered underneath, the brooch pinned to their chests fell off.
At that moment, the outlaws' faces transformed into those of completely different people. Their builds shifted slightly as well.
'So this brooch was a disguise artifact.'
Out of curiosity, I pinned the disguise artifact to my own chest and checked my reflection in a nearby mirror.
My height shrank slightly to around 190 cm, and the visible musculature diminished.
Long hair cascaded down from under the helmet.
I glanced around and removed the helmet, only to see the face of the female outlaw named Valteri—the one I'd just knocked out.
Of course, only the outward appearance had changed; touching my body revealed my height was the same, and it still felt like the muscular, masculine frame overflowing with manhood.
"Ahh."
Just to be sure, I tested my voice, and a woman's voice emerged. No clue how it worked.
'Whatever it is, it seems like the illusion magic that Rayhem handled.'
This disguise artifact allowed me to wield something similar to his skill.
Suddenly, a brilliant idea flashed through my mind.
'In this form, things could get a lot easier.'
The other outlaw, Cobson, also had a disguise artifact brooch on her chest.
In other words, this brooch was their mark for identifying each other.
With it, I could impersonate a Blaz clan member.
'Invisibility magic isn't perfect either, so something like this comes in handy.'
Invisibility was convenient, but it had limitations.
Like how it dispels after more than fifteen steps, or those sensitive to presence detection might notice.
But the disguise artifact had no such drawbacks.
'For the purpose of lowering their guard and closing in, this could be even more useful.'
I stashed the helmet in a corner of the balcony for now.
It was too recognizable at this point and might draw unwanted eyes.
"Mind if I borrow this for a bit?"
To prepare for the off-chance the disguise failed, I removed the half-mask from a male graduate who was dead drunk and slurring incoherently, then donned it myself.
"Meowr!"
Shuding, half-shadowed, climbed onto my shoulder and urged me onward. I stroked her firm belly and said,
"Alright. Lead the way. Let's go."
It was time to become Creed, the assassin of Labyrinth City.
"Grrrk—"
The eyes of the guy whose throat I was choking rolled back.
Fifth target captured.
Shhrrk—
"Close call."
This one was a bit risky. I'd nearly exceeded the step limit and dispelled the invisibility. But I managed to subdue her quickly.
I bound the five naked and turtle-shelled captives like stacked dried fish and stashed them in the warehouse beneath the rooftop banquet hall.
I'd originally planned for the rooftop.
"Slurp— Haa— Darling..."
"Ngh, w-wait just a..."
There was still an hour until the dinner party's opening, but couples already drunk on wine were up there, entangled in sticky displays of affection.
"Fuck. Some of us can't even enjoy it properly..."
A wave of injustice hit me, but it was my chosen path, so the complaint was fleeting.
This hardship would surely pay off big later.
Time to endure a bit more.
"Meowr—"
I set my route following the cries of Shuding, now my navigator.
This destination: a shadowy corner of the garden outside the banquet hall.
Two women in tuxedos were holding a secret meeting.
I eyed their chests. Like the five I'd already caught, they had disguise artifacts pinned there.
[James LV. 34]
◆ Blessing of Presence Detection
◆ 3312th Marionette's Blessing
[Bones Ahil LV. 23]
◆ 4919th Marionette's Blessing
I confirmed their names via status window and verified they were outlaws.
'Good call on the interrogation.'
While capturing the five, I'd lightly tortured two who hadn't passed out immediately.
Thanks to that, I learned the outlaws' names that even Assistant Gelsia didn't know.
James here was a name she hadn't mentioned.
'Not quite Gurumimi level, but high-leveled. An officer maybe?'
I needed to approach more cautiously. I scanned the surroundings, biding my time.
"It's about time someone came to report capturing a couple targets."
"Doesn't the situation feel off somehow? You think they've caught on already...?"
"...No way. No leaks in the intel. Big Sis has the assistant locked down tight."
The hole she'd had locked tight had come knocking on my door and spilled everything—and it was so loose, it barely felt like thrusting into anything... But James shook her head with utter conviction.
"Those grunts. You don't think they're slacking off, do you?"
"...Even so, they're not the type to slack at a time like this."
"Hm... Right. Big Sis, Karino, and Drei went after the big fish as a trio, so we handle the rest of the grunts..."
Five outlaws captured so far. Two in front of me, and it seemed the leader Vesta had gone elsewhere with the remaining two.
I'd gotten all the info worth having. Still invisible, I approached them.
Due to the fifteen-step limit, I took each step with the widest stride possible, yet cautiously stalking my prey.
One step, two.
Five steps, six.
Nine more and I'd reach them. Six more would definitely do it.
"Who's there?!"
James, bearer of Blessing of Presence Detection, whipped her head toward me. I immediately dropped the invisibility.
"L-Lady James...!"
I called out to her in the most servile, desperate voice I could muster.
"Half-mask?"
Bones Ahil tilted her head at my mask, but James recognized me.
"No way. That voice, the brooch, the disguised face... Valteri?"
"Y-Yes. Ngh..."
I clutched my arm as if it were broken, contorting my face in agony as I approached them.
Then I dropped to one knee and collapsed forward.
As expected, they reacted just as I anticipated.
Flustered, they hurried over and bent down toward me.
"What the hell happened? Where's Cobson, who you were with? And what happened to your arm?!"
"Th-The plan's been compromised, I think. Everyone else got caught, and I barely escaped—"
"What? Is that for real?!"
"The professors are combing the banquet hall like mad. W-We gotta run...!"
All lies.
But planting the image of a massive imaginary foe would draw their eyes away from me—awkwardly acting in disguise—and elsewhere.
"Th-Then Big Sis, who's still at the banquet hall—"
Oh ho. So Vesta was still at the banquet hall?
"I already warned her. On my way back after orders to prep the carriage first...!"
Another lie.
"Good work!"
It worked. Seemed like loyalty in their eyes.
"Can't be helped about the other five. But Big Sis and Karino will snag the big one for sure. Like she said, hurry and get that assistant bitch to prep the carriage. Let's go!"
James and Bones Ahil finished conferring, stood, and turned their backs.
I shifted my weight forward and rose carefully.
The moment I'd alerted them to a different threat—not me—given them their next objective, and their attention on me was at its laxest as they headed there.
The instant they were most off-guard against me.
Now.
I didn't miss the chance.
Leaning my full weight into my front paws.
Tensing my lower body tight.
Then lunging at their turned backs like a tiger pouncing on prey.
Their small, womanly napes were instantly in my grasp.
James sensed my sudden shift in presence and turned, but it was far too late.
Kuuuung!
"Gah—"
Bones Ahil's face slammed into the ground first, her short death rattle signaling instant unconsciousness.
"Grraaak!"
James, whose ear hit next, clutched it and thrashed, but I stomped her throat.
"Grrk— Guh—!"
Unable to even breathe properly, James pounded my shoe with her fists.
"Guh— Kek—?!"
A goblin-like desperate groan.
Her fear-filled eyes turned to my face.
Her upturned gaze seemed to ask who the hell I was.
No obligation to tell her.
Crack.
I crushed her neck effortlessly, and she foamed at the mouth, head lolling back.
Three outlaws left, including leader Vesta.
I dragged the two unconscious ones to a secluded spot in the garden.
Stripped them, turtle-shell bound. Fifth time, and I was getting good at it.
Whoooosh—
A sudden gust made me squint up at the sky.
"...What the hell is that?"
Ellie in a black dress was flying through the sky.
'No, wait.'
I blankly rubbed my eyes and looked again.
The night sky's color had tricked me.
Ellie wasn't flying.
Three women in black tuxedos were kidnapping her.
"Those crazy bitches."
They'd gone and poked the bomb.
The strategic nuke named Diana.