Chapter 3
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 3
Chapter Title: Silver-Haired Child
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The man who had been about to kill the child and the kid who had collapsed on the ground both looked up at me simultaneously.
Silver-haired child.
Looks a bit like me.
“...W-What the hell are you!?”
I couldn't answer.
'I don't even know what I am.'
I didn't even know my own name, so how could I introduce myself?
As I stayed silent, the man grew even more aggressive.
“You crazy bitch, are you begging to die!?”
Instead of replying, I slowly walked toward the greatsword embedded right in front of his nose.
His eyes, which had been fierce as if he would lunge at me any second, began to waver strangely as the distance closed.
Once he got a clear look at my face, his pupils shook like they were caught in an earthquake.
His face twisted as if he'd seen something he shouldn't have.
“H-Hiiik...!”
He swallowed a scream-like gasp and staggered backward.
'What's his deal? I don't look that scary.'
My reflection in the pond had been pretty enough.
Or maybe it was this massive greatsword glinting right in front of him.
'It is pretty big.'
I gripped the handle of the deeply embedded greatsword with one hand.
Srrrring.
The hunk of steel slid out as lightly as chopsticks from tofu.
Not even a puff of dust rose.
I looked down at the man with cool, chilling eyes.
“Know what to do.”
“...N-No way.”
His throat bobbed violently.
His fear-widened eyes darted between my silver hair and the greatsword.
“A-Are you... from Axiom?”
Huh? What did he just say?
'Axiom?'
My brows furrowed instinctively.
It was a word I knew all too well.
One of the factions from Flower Blooming Amid Ashes.
Axiom.
The hunter organization in the game.
A group that only gathered monster-like hunters.
'I'm part of that?'
Inside, turmoil spread in an instant, but I couldn't let it show.
The child on the ground stared at me with sparkling eyes, then softly repeated the word "Axiom."
“...Axiom.”
Her eyes scanned me once more.
Even on her young face, she looked thoughtful.
'Even the kid's scared of me.'
My chest twinged faintly.
But this wasn't the time to dwell on feelings.
I casually let the tip of the greatsword drop to the ground.
Thud.
The ground rumbled deeply from the weight.
The man's shoulders jerked up in shock.
“...You know your stuff.”
I deliberately lowered my voice.
Intimidation was key in situations like this.
“Who wouldn't?”
“Is that so?”
I asked in a dry tone.
“Then you know my name too.”
It was a probe.
I didn't even know my own name.
I was fishing for any info I could get.
The man's face turned paper-white in an instant.
He immediately bowed his head, slamming his forehead toward the ground.
“O-Of course I do! How could I not know?”
His trembling lips barely formed the next words.
“Axiom #4, Lady Asrania!”
...What?
The greatsword nearly slipped from my hand.
'Asrania?'
If memory served, Asrania was one of the top predators in Axiom.
Known in the game as a total psycho.
She'd even killed several fellow Axiom hunters.
People in the game called her a hunter who hunted hunters.
Her epithet: Silver-Haired Butcher.
A deranged murderer... that's me?
I couldn't tell if this was good or just plain unlucky.
'Me, a murderer.'
Think positive.
At least my survival odds had skyrocketed.
'Better than being powerless.'
That was my conclusion.
The problem was the man trembling like a leaf in front of me.
Chopping him down now that he'd lost all will to fight felt off, but letting him go could spell trouble later.
Asrania would just sever his head without a second thought.
'What to do?'
As I mentally calculated my options, rough footsteps came rushing from deeper inside.
“Hey! What're you dawdling for? How long does it take to handle one kid!?”
“Don't tell me you're doing something perverted again?”
A hoarse shout rang out, followed by over a dozen men bursting in at once.
From their outfits, they were with the guy on the ground.
They paused briefly upon seeing me, then spotted their comrade kowtowing and scowled.
“Hey, you lunatic! Why are you crawling around? No shame?”
The scolded man shot his head up like he'd been struck by lightning.
His face even paler, he flailed his arms at his approaching comrades.
“No! It's not like that!”
His jaw quivered violently.
“Do you know who this is? Huh?”
I never imagined I'd hear lines like that in real life.
Something I'd never hear in my previous one.
“What're you babbling about?”
A truly dry response came.
The apparent leader smirked mockingly.
“Who?”
“A-Asrania! Axiom #4, Asrania!”
His voice echoed thunderously through the mine.
A moment of silence fell.
“...Pffft-hahahaha!”
One burst of derisive laughter sparked snickers spreading everywhere.
Some doubled over, clutching their stomachs.
“Must've lost his mind. Why would Asrania come to a dump like this?”
The leader scoffed and clicked his tongue.
“Asrania's no ordinary bitch. Even Axiom hunters tailing her can't catch a ghost like her.”
They brushed off their comrade's desperate cries.
Not welcome news for me.
I hadn't fully grasped this body's capabilities yet, and now I was about to be thrown into combat.
'Did I step out too far?'
But I couldn't just stand by as the kid's head was about to roll.
My body moved first. Much faster than my head.
“Ha, the color's a match at least.”
The leader eyed me up and down, chuckling sleazily.
“Silver hair and a greatsword. Cosplay, huh?”
He strode toward me, leering up and down.
His lips curled in a greasy smirk.
“Up close, she's pretty hot. Hey, don't kill her outright.”
“Oh, boss, you gonna have some fun?”
“Killing her now would be a waste. I'll play with her plenty later.”
It's been a while since we had a woman.
His eyes rolled with blatant filthy fantasies.
'Yeah, no talking this out.'
Not the type to reason with.
This was the world of Flower Blooming Amid Ashes, after all.
If words solved it, none of this would've happened.
I naturally readjusted my grip on the greatsword.
Numerically, it was one against over ten. Disadvantageous.
And I barely had time to adapt to this body.
Before I could plan, a completely different sensation swallowed my entire body.
Thump, thump, thump.
My heart pounded heavily.
Fear? Tension?
No.
Confidence.
The moment they drew weapons and exuded killing intent.
Their movements slowed.
The sequence of muscle signals, the rhythm of their breaths, the direction of force in their toes.
Everything came into view.
'I win.'
No.
'I kill.'
The faint unease I'd felt until coming here.
It solidified into certainty.
A monster who traversed countless battlefields, dyeing mountains in blood.
The instinct for slaughter engraved in Asrania's being.
Victory was absolute.
A single axiom buried deep in my body whispered.
The swarming foes before me were mere chunks of meat to cleave through.
“Grab her!”
With the leader's short shout, the men charged all at once.
Blades swinging from both sides, an axe crashing down from above.
A barrage of attacks poured in.
But.
Too slow.
It felt like watching slow motion.
Their clumsy movements were crystal clear, almost tedious.
My body reacted before reason could command it.
The greatsword in my right hand swung wide sideways.
Kwaang!
Two men's upper bodies flew into the air along the blade's arc, pathetically severed.
“...Huh?”
Before they could comprehend their deaths, their vacant eyes closed.
Instant death, before blood even sprayed like a fountain.
“W-What the...?!”
The followers froze in horror, but it was too late.
Whoosh, kwarack!
This time, my left hand.
Another greatsword plunging from above.
The shield and sword raised in defense crumpled together.
Along with the head beneath.
No shouts, no screams. Nothing.
“Y-You monster bitch...!”
'From woman to monster now, huh.'
The leader swung in rage, but it sliced only empty air before reaching me.
I pivoted slowly on my toes.
Twirl.
Lightly.
Swoosh.
My silver hair trailed behind as it whipped, and the greatswords in both hands mowed through like a massive sawblade.
Schluck, thud, patter.
Chilling sounds of flesh and bone tearing rang out.
In one instant, five men crumpled.
Some missing hips, some necks, some legs.
The mine reeked thickly of blood.
In a flash, over a dozen turned to gore and mangled limbs.
One remained.
The leader.
“A-Ah...”
His legs gave out, and he collapsed, trembling.
“R-Real... Asrania...?”
His face finally grasped reality.
“W-Wait! Sp-Spare...!”
The leader begged, hand outstretched.
But his words never finished.
One swing of the greatsword, and his head exploded.
Every breath dragged in blood mixed with dust, crushing my lungs.
“Hoo...”
I exhaled shortly and scanned around.
The ground was a mess of blood and chunks, yet not a drop had splashed on me.
'This is... my power?'
The strikes I'd just unleashed felt unbelievable even to me.
Then, a rustle from the corner.
The man who'd tried to kill the child first, then cowered before me.
'Right, he was left.'
He'd watched his comrades get butchered, and now sat dazed, even pissing himself.
“Aaah...”
As I approached slowly, he slammed his forehead on the ground repeatedly, wailing.
“P-Please spare me! Please! L-Lady Asrania! I'll do anything you say! Please, just my life...! I didn't do anything!”
Tears and snot ruined his face.
No trace of the guy who'd boasted to the child about her "fate."
I slung the greatsword over my shoulder.
“You like fate, don't you?”
“Y-Yes...?”
“Then accept it. This is yours.”
Kwachik.
Just one sideways slice, and his head burst.
Red blood and gray brain matter mixed, sloppily coating the floor.
I shook off the bloodied greatsword lightly, then slowly turned back.
The silver-haired child who'd witnessed it all from start to finish still sat there.
'Ah, showed her something awful.'
I figured she'd be screaming or bawling in terror by now.
But the emotion in her eyes was nothing like that.
Awe slowly spread instead.
Her red eyes, mirroring mine, fixed on me piercingly.
A mix of curiosity and fondness rippled through the air.