The Face That Broke Brains
Did she grind her face against a rock or something?
"What?"
"Wha...?"
Kairan spoke first, followed by the bandit leader.
While Kairan looked flustered but seemed to understand to some extent, the bandit leader showed complete bewilderment. She tilted her head, her whole body radiating discomfort. Thanks to the automatic noise filtering in her brain, Kairan couldn't make out the expression, but it was probably horribly distorted.
"Ugly...? Me? This me?"
"Well... if it's not ugliness, then it's an artifact or magic."
"Me, ugly...? Ha. Haha..."
Eli nodded at Kairan's words and chimed in.
"Priests and mages are natural enemies. That's why we're sensitive to each other's presence. I don't sense any traces of magic from that bitch."
"Then..."
"Yeah. It's purely her ugliness making your brain reject it."
Eli shook her head slowly, as if she couldn't believe it.
"The phenomenon of the brain refusing to process information is a rare case mentioned only a few times in ancient texts... To think an outer god-level ability is being handled by sheer ugliness. In a way, it's pretty impressive."
"Her body's great, though."
"Yeah... but her face is beyond imagination."
"What about her head?"
"Yeah, it's settling down. Her face flickers in my mind, but it's just nauseating now."
Kairan nodded at Eli's words and raised her sword. She summoned an iron sword from thin air and assumed her stance—a motion ingrained in her body by her unique ability.
"Urgh, uwaaaah!"
The bandit charged like a mad dog, roaring. Raw, unrefined mana gathered at the axe blade.
"Hup!"
Kagagak! Boom!
The axe scraped along the sword blade and slammed into the ground. Kairan stepped back slightly, eyeing the irregular cracks symbolizing the unstable mana.
Wooong—
Following the sensations engraved in her body, Kairan channeled mana. A pure white mana like a blazing sun dwelled in the sword blade, and she swung it as is.
"Haaap!"
"Kuh! Uwaaaah!"
The bandit blocked the slash of pure white light. She began swelling her thick muscles even further.
Physical enhancement using mana. Concentrating it in one spot to boost power. Kairan steadied her stance and stared at her opponent as the muscles writhed and pulsed.
Assuming a defensive posture, she fixed her gaze on the enemy. Focusing intently, staring right through her—staring, staring... staring...
"Urk...!"
A sudden wave of dizziness and nausea hit her. As her stance faltered, the bandit leader swung her axe wide and charged.
"Hraaaah!!"
"『Guardian Shield』!"
Kwaaaang!
A golden shield appeared amid a blue glow. The holy-feeling shield blocked the bandit's axe strike. The full-force blow bounced straight back, sending the bandit tumbling. Eli kicked her hard while she was down and rushed to Kairan's side.
"『Mental Recovery』, 『Breath Circulation』, 『Mind Stabilization』"
Blessings that treated internal injuries and the mind—higher than holy spells for external wounds. Using three at once, Eli met Kairan's eyes and asked,
"Hero, you okay?"
"Y-yeah... S-scared me."
"Be careful. She's more dangerous than she looks."
"Yeah, thanks, Eli."
Kairan clutched her dizzy head and stood. Eli watched the hero with a small smile.
"No biggie. That's a saintess's job."
Kairan raised her sword.
Then she charged at the slowly rising bandit leader.
Clang!
The bandit parried the downward sword strike with her axe blade. Sparks flew, and the sword bounced away briefly.
"Hup!"
Clang! Clang! Clang!
Three consecutive overhead strikes. Pure white mana clashed with dark red mana, devouring each other.
"What...!"
No matter that it was muscle memory, refined mana couldn't match raw power evenly. Kairan's white mana chipped away at the wildly surging dark red mana, building momentum until it obliterated the mana coating the axe blade.
"Eeeeek!"
The bandit dropped the axe mid-swing and threw a punch. With her sword block gone, Kairan staggered and took the hit.
Her body rocked from the jaw strike. The bandit swung again, but Kairan's kick landed first.
"Guhk...!"
Kairan slammed her long leg into the bandit's gut. The bandit groaned and clutched her stomach as she collapsed. Kairan stepped forward.
"Surrender. I'll spare your life."
"Eek..."
The cowering bandit let out a small laugh and gathered mana.
"Like hell, you bitch!"
"What...!"
Clang!
Somehow she'd pulled out another axe wreathed in dark red mana and swung it. Kairan barely blocked and backed away, eyes wide in surprise.
Clang! Kclang! Kclang!
The bandit pressed forward, swinging wildly. Kairan calmly parried the irregular dark red arcs.
Axe...? Where'd she get it?
"Urgh!"
"Didn't see that coming, huh!"
"Where the hell...!"
Where? She definitely dropped it... Ah!
Kclang!
"Ugh!"
"That all you got!"
Inventory. Right, she stored it in her inventory.
Satisfaction at the realization was short-lived. Kairan gritted her teeth and swung her sword.
"Hup!"
Not blocking or parrying—she swung like smashing a baseball with a bat. She smacked the descending axe aside hard and dove into the bandit's guard.
"What...!"
Thud! Thump! Thump!
A knee to the gut, left jab, then a pommel strike to the head. Kairan snatched the axe and tried to store it in her inventory.
"It won't go in?"
"Guh, guh...!"
A moment's hesitation created an opening. The bandit body-slammed her, reclaiming the axe. She laughed loudly.
"Ha! Didn't know weapons imprinted with mana can't go in inventories, you dumb bitch!!"
"Hero!!"
Kwaaang!
"Damn... that shield again...!"
The golden shield blocked the bandit leader's strike.
Kairan punched into the gap as the axe bounced away.
"Guhk... W-wait...!"
"Hwiik!"
"Ugh! Aak! W-wait...! St-stop...!"
Fists, kicks, knee strikes, pommel blows—a one-sided beatdown. Was it terror from nearly dying? Eli gently blocked Kairan as her trembling fists hammered down.
"It's over, Hero."
"Ah, uh... Y-yeah."
"Shh. You're okay."
Eli stroked Kairan's head and pulled her face to her chest.
A soft blue glow gathered at her fingertips. The following blessing calmed Kairan's mind.
"Calmed down?"
"Yeah... Thanks."
"No prob. First time, but you did great, Hero."
Eli gently petted Kairan's head.
Matching the touch, Kairan slowly closed her eyes. She surrendered to the overwhelming drowsiness.
"Then..."
Eli gazed at the sleeping Kairan in her arms and slowly turned.
"Time to clean up."
Silver bullets appeared around her and rained down on the nearby bandits.
⁎ ⁎ ⁎
"Mm..."
"What's up?"
"Nothing..."
Eli looked down at the bound bandit leader.
Her limbs tied with rope, a bag over her head. Great body, but for some reason, no interest sparked.
"Ah, yeah, no good."
Eli stared intently, then shook her head.
"I was gonna capture her and play all I wanted at first..."
"Knew it was a no-go?"
"Yeah... Her face keeps popping up... Ughhh..."
Eli rubbed her face dry and sighed deeply, giving up.
"Kill her. We need the head anyway."
"...You're killing her?"
"Yeah. It's a 'subjugation' quest to begin with. Hauling that bulk is a pain. Just take the head cleanly."
"...Fine, I'll do it."
Kairan drew an iron sword from her inventory and said quietly.
"Huh? No, I can do it..."
"Nah. I should. Gotta gain experience, right?"
"Doesn't have to be now. Plenty of chances."
Eli took Kairan's hand.
"How about resting today?"
"No, gotta do it now."
"...Sigh, fine. But get blessed right after."
"Yeah."
Answering Eli, Kairan slowly approached the bandit leader.
She raised her sword high
and brought it down.
Thud. Roll. Thud.
The cleanly severed head rolled away slowly.
Eli cast 『Mental Relief』, 『Calmness』, and other mental blessings on Kairan. Effects varied by person, but usually eased trauma.
"You good?"
"Yeah, totally."
"Gotta take your word for it... Sigh. Let's go."
⁎ ⁎ ⁎
Descending the mountain, the two returned to the guild and submitted the bandit leader's head.
"Ah, don't stare too hard."
"Huh? What do you... Ah."
En, questioning Eli's words and staring intently at the head, soon felt her stomach churn.
"Urk...!"
"Told ya."
"Uweeeek!"
En grimaced and vomited. Luckily, a nearby coworker quickly provided a bucket, preventing a mess on the floor.
"H-how hard did you hit her?! Did you grind her face on a rock or something?!"
"Nah, not that bad."
"Th-then this is her normal face... U, uweeeek!!"
Kairan scratched her cheek as En kept puking.