Screwing the Amour Gang (2)

My feet hammered across the tiles. The city whipped past in a blur, and the wind split and tore around my body as I ran. A rooftop rushed up to meet me, seemed to fall away for a heartbeat, then I was already touching down on the next one.

Jeira and I were racing across the city's rooftops. We had our special orders, after all.

She asked without so much as breaking her breathing.

"Can you feel it?"

"Feel what?"

"The tension. It's just the two of us going to take down Koldo and Boldga."

"Yeah. Feels like a special ops mission."

I played along. If I'd been heading out alone, I probably would've muttered something like that under my breath without even realizing it. Solo operation, confirm?

The captain of the guard had told us exactly what to do. We were following his plan to the letter.

"Waaaaaagh!"

Steel shrieked against steel in the distance. The shouting grew louder, uglier, and then it was the unmistakable sound of a real fight. The captain had started drawing their eyes with his soldiers — flushing the rats out of their holes.

I gathered myself as I launched hard between buildings. I had my own preparations to make.

Time to dump points into the achievements real quick and bump my stats.

That came first. I started pouring points into the achievements, and the goddess spoke up.

Let's start with Nation of Investors.

Nation of Investors is still just another title. It'll work. Gotta upgrade the foundation first.

And I was curious. What would happen if I upgraded this one? What kind of effect was waiting for me?

The achievements bloomed one by one in the empty air. I reached out and tapped Nation of Investors.

The numbers that had been locked in place were free. Heh. Time to get started.

I tapped through the achievements one by one. Common ran five thousand points, Rare ten thousand… the cost scaled with rank. I dumped points into every last one of them, then looked over the results.

Holy shit. Every single one of them had jumped to an all-time high. Even the ranks had gone up.

I hadn't collected every title in this world yet — not even close — but I felt a hell of a lot sturdier.

The Title All-Stars just assembled. Next up: stats.

I poured most of it into Stamina. I was about to push the investment all the way to level forty when Jeira suddenly called out.

"Stop — that's it, right?!"

It snapped my concentration, but I didn't mind. Thanks to the title upgrades, strength and dexterity felt like they'd gone through the roof. I was already leaping between buildings like a bird before she'd even called for me. With the extra power, I didn't have to worry about my landing form anymore — the muscle in my body would eat ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the impact. And with Stamina up too, I wasn't even winded.

"Oh. We're here."

Our destination came into view: an abandoned church. Apparently a religious order used to keep a presence in our fief and came through often enough to preach. Then, at some point, they stopped coming. Nobody knew exactly why. Then again, when your lord spends his days doing nothing but stupid shit, that tracks.

The door groaned as I pushed it open.

The second we stepped inside, harpoons came screaming at us. Jeira and I ripped our weapons free and swung hard, batting them aside like they were nothing, and kept moving forward.

If this is supposed to be a trap, I'm gonna laugh.

I couldn't even manage a chuckle. Even if this place was a trap, I'd figured they'd at least put together something with a little more class. Back-alley thug IQ, I guess. Figures.

Then javelins came whipping in from the flanks in a messy storm. Jeira and I picked up the pace, knocking them aside or slipping past them. Okay. So they'd prepared a little.

I'd just swatted one away and turned my head when I saw another javelin closing on the gap in Jeira's guard. I stepped into her flank and smashed it down. She started to smile — then both her eyes went wide.

"Wait — behind you!"

It happened in a blink. A crossbow bolt came out of nowhere from the entrance we'd just used. Jeira took it in my place and crumpled without a sound.

"Jeira! Jeira!"

Her eyes had already gone slack. Sleep? Some kind of knockout?

Footsteps. Slow, heavy. So they really had dug a trap. Sons of bitches.

"Do you know what humans and beasts have in common?"

A thick, low voice. A heavy tread. The man who came with it was a black giant of a fighter, a greatsword slung across his back — a Zweihänder? The empty crossbow looked like a toy in his hands. He was built like a bear.

"Even when you're being careful… you still get caught."

"You're Boldga?"

"I am."

He tossed the spent crossbow aside and flicked a glance at Jeira.

"The girl's a lost cause. Why don't you run while you still can?"

I gave my sword a couple of cuts through the air and locked eyes with him. Then I shrugged.

"Run? Why would I?"

"That confident?"

"The prey crawled out on its own. I'd be rude not to bag it. And besides…"

I stepped in front of the unconscious Jeira.

"This woman is my comrade, and someone I care about. Don't you dare talk about her like that, you animal."

Boldga had been watching me with no expression at all. Now a slow smile spread across his face.

"Heh. Interesting. I used to be like that too. Right here… I'm going to break you."

"Alright. It's show-and-prove time!"

I charged Boldga and ignited my aura from the first step. Full release.

I cut two, three times. He slipped them like they were nothing, then flicked the flat of my blade aside with the edge of his hand and threw a hook. It slammed into my cheek like a sledgehammer and drove in deep.

I went flying and crashed down hard. Boldga's voice followed me.

"That's the difference in skill."

I touched my cheek and laughed. There was blood on my sword.

"Then is that the difference in letting your guard down?"

I pointed. A thin red line was drawn across Boldga's chest. He touched it, and a crooked grin pulled at his mouth. Only then did ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠three lights blaze fiercely from his solar plexus.

"I took you for a greenhorn. Not bad. Fine. I'll do this for real."

At last he drew the Zweihänder. He never took his eyes off me as he stepped in, light as anything — and the blow he threw so casually was heavy as a falling wall. I barely got my sword up in time and tried to take his flank, only to find the Zweihänder already cutting for my ribs. I slipped it and found my breath.

Grand, crushing strokes that were never slow. Cuts that changed trajectory in midair and came crashing in out of nowhere.

I swung the flat of my blade to cancel his strike outright. The two swords met.

The impact was enormous. Every time the blades crashed together my body was driven back, and both arms went numb.

What the hell. I've got aura on and I'm still getting pushed?

I looked closer and frowned.

What is this guy. I can't feel any ki off him. He's got a Force Heart, that's obvious, so why…

I stared at Boldga. The light at his solar plexus — it wasn't white. It was blue.

Mana…? What?

I'd never seen anything like it. A Force Heart runs on ki, so it shines white. A mage's Circle Heart is blue, sure, but it doesn't show itself like that — it's a ring wrapped around the heart, not a blaze in the chest.

The Zweihänder came in heavy from the side. I barely stopped it, and Boldga fired a calf kick into me. The second it landed, adrenaline dumped through my system. I put everything I had into a wide horizontal cut. Boldga gave ground for a moment — I read where he'd retreat, spun a full circle, and drove a roundhouse into his chest. The blow landed and shoved him back. He laughed.

"Not bad. Just like I heard — talent spilling out of you. Enough to make someone like me, who hasn't got a scrap of gift or even aptitude, look worse than I am."

"…You've got talent too. Filling the gap where ki should be with mana. I've never even heard of a method like that."

"Heh. That so."

"Why aren't you using it for something better?"

It genuinely bothered me. A talent like this — why hadn't he become a hero? Why was he still just some underworld thug?

"You see the color of my skin? Wherever I went, I was alone. Koldo-hyung took me in. Even if he's violent, even if he has no manners — he accepted me. He is… the man I will serve for the rest of my life."

For a moment I understood, just a little, what real loyalty looked like. I was impressed. To serve a man like that simply because he'd taken you in — that was almost beautiful. How many pieces of trash in the Romance of the Three Kingdoms talked about loyalty and ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠never meant a word of it? How many backstabbers were there in the real world?

Next to all of them, Boldga was a rare man who actually knew what loyalty was. I gave a short laugh and reset my grip on the sword.

"I'm a little jealous of Koldo. Having a man like you under him."

"You flatter me. Shall we finish this?"

We tore toward each other and crossed.

In the office, Renata looked out the window, worry eating at her.

Please let nothing happen to Lashu.

She was still worrying when a scream tore through the air close by, then another. Someone came running hard. A servant, she thought, and started to turn —

The door burst open. A man with a long knife-scar down his cheek stepped in wearing a greasy smile.

Koldo.

"Y-you?!"

"Heheh. Pleasure, Lady of the fief. Or should I say — the bitch who's about to become my sex slave! I am the Amour Gang itself. The name's Koldo!"

Gold-plated brass knuckles gleamed on his fist as he started toward her, slow and savoring it. The bulge between his legs had been straining for a while already.

Renata, though, was calm. She smiled with aristocratic disdain and turned just enough for the sword-belt at her waist to catch the light.

"How dare you. Do you have any idea where you are?"

"Where? The place I'm gonna break you and turn you into my bitch! Kiheheheh!"

Koldo charged. He was faster than she'd expected, and for a split second Renata faltered — and in that split second it looked like he might actually reach her.

Then invisible threads snapped tight around him from behind.

Wire blessed by a Saint's Baptism…?

Startled, Renata looked past him. Someone had caught Koldo in the wires and slammed him into the ceiling, then dropped him to the floor and finally showed herself.

Sion.

"Oh my. I came by to say hello after so long, and what do I find? A stray dog. Ufufu."

Even so, Koldo got up like it was nothing, drool at the corner of his mouth.

"The bitches I'm gonna eat are already gathered. Nice."

"Such vulgar language. Someone needs to teach you some manners, don't they?"

Sion whipped the wires from mid-range, keeping him at bay. Koldo pressed forward anyway, letting the wires cut him, closing the distance any way he could, straining to get his hands on her.

Heh heh… just a little more!

Bleeding, he finally got close enough. He was a heartbeat from putting a hook through Sion's face when a rapier blade punched clean through his chest from behind. Renata held the hilt, smiling coldly. She flicked the rapier sideways and hurled him off it, then spoke with perfect elegance.

"Did you let your guard down because I'm a woman? I am a noble. You are a beast. You and I exist in a hierarchy."

Koldo shook the blood from his chest and grinned. Then he spun on his heel.

"Luck's not on my side today. Shame!"

He bolted from the lord's manor. He needed more preparation — that much was obvious. He was scrambling to get out when someone appeared right in front of him.

"Ah. So you're Koldo?"

It was the rising hero candidate. Lashu Leonhart.