Chapter 111
Chapter 111
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 17
Chapter Title: Dangling a Tempting Bait (4)
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"Bait...?"
Jack's face clouded over. It was the expression of someone who couldn't possibly comprehend what he'd just heard.
"What do you mean by that...?"
"Who knows."
I had no intention of explaining it in detail to him anyway. Even as I surveyed the wrecked room, the smile didn't leave my lips.
'I didn't expect him to bite the bait this quickly.'
I'd raided the bandit group on purpose, leaving survivors behind, and left traces that were blatantly obvious. I'd gone in and out of the Vendetta Guild showing off my appearance when using Requiem, and even circulated the jewels.
It seemed the eyes that the Mare Guild had planted everywhere had caught sight of me.
'Even so, this is awfully fast.'
As if they'd been prepared in advance.
At any rate, things were proceeding smoothly just as I'd planned. Jack standing before me didn't look smooth at all, though.
"What's that?"
I pointed at the bulge sticking out from his pocket.
"Oh."
Tears welled up in Jack's eyes again.
"Sis... she secretly entrusted this to me."
He pulled a necklace from his pocket and held it out to me.
"She said it was precious, and that I absolutely couldn't lose it until I met the master."
The necklace sparkled iridescently as it swayed.
The thing Elice had spent over a decade searching desperately for. And the item that would one day serve as decisive proof when she revealed her true identity.
"She entrusted this to you, huh."
To think she'd hand something so precious over to Jack.
I could tell that trust had already sprouted between the two of them. And this was also a message from Elice to me.
Come rescue her.
"What a reckless woman."
I was going to go anyway, but now that she'd placed her expectations(?) on me, my mood felt strangely off.
I gave the room one last look around, then spotted the snake terrarium shoved into the corner.
It was made of sturdy tempered glass, so it hadn't shattered. But there were cracks across the front, and the rocks and branches inside were scattered haphazardly.
"-!"
Jack flinched at the sight of my face turning ice-cold.
"W-Why are you like that?"
"That."
I pointed at the snake terrarium with my hand.
"Who did that to it?"
Jack followed my fingertip and rummaged through his memories.
"I don't know... I was hiding, so I didn't get a chance to see."
I approached the terrarium and checked inside.
Goldstar was caught between branches, dangling limply. There were no visible external injuries, but its condition looked terrible.
"...The temperature regulator's broken."
My insides boiled with rage. I'd made contributions to Goldstar before.
[If anything happens to it, I'll make whoever did it suffer the exact same fate.]
It looked like the time had come to make good on those words.
"Ugh."
Jack started dry-heaving behind me.
He must have sensed the murderous intent spreading like mist. But he quickly stifled his sounds upon feeling my foul mood.
"...M-Master."
Jack crept up to me, suppressing his nausea. His face was completely ashen.
"You're... going to rescue her... right...?"
His tone was half-doubting, half-hoping.
He seemed fed up with how I favored Goldstar more than the guild members.
"......"
I didn't answer Jack for a moment.
'One, two... six.'
Several people were forming up and approaching the building. With clear killing intent.
'They had an ambush hidden.'
Jack asked again, his face full of anxiety.
"Master? What's wrong?"
"That."
I pointed at the terrarium containing Goldstar.
"Transfer it to a carrying case."
"Ah, yes."
I turned away as I watched Jack hurriedly gather the terrarium.
"Stay here until I tell you to come out."
"W-Why? Don't tell me again...?"
Ignoring Jack's question, I strode out of the room.
Thud.
After closing the door, I deployed Absolute Domain in the tavern hall.
'Two outside the door.'
And four more hidden at the exit points outside, for a total of six closing in to tighten the encirclement.
'Planning to ambush me when I leave the building, huh.'
This was where Requiem's ability shone again. Its perfect human detection that allowed no ambushes.
'Good.'
I stood still in the tavern, pretending I hadn't noticed a thing.
Time passed, and even the four approaching ones reached the door. I could sense them signaling each other in front of it.
Bang!
The door flew open as if it might shatter, and six men burst in.
"-!"
They hesitated upon seeing my face.
"Who's this?"
"He's not the one we're looking for."
Since they didn't recognize me, they must have been low-level grunts in the Mare Guild. The guild's elite agents would naturally have the nobles' roster memorized.
Soon, the one who seemed to be their leader stepped forward.
"What's your business here?"
"Came to drink."
I shrugged and answered in a relaxed tone.
"The owner here stocks good booze. But no one's around."
"Hmm."
The men whispered among themselves in low voices.
"Looks like a tavern customer."
"Report said three guild members total, and they were all captured."
"No need to cause a needless commotion, so should we just let him go?"
The man who'd first spoken to me looked me over from head to toe, then jerked his chin toward the outside.
"Forget what you saw today and get out quietly."
As expected, they wouldn't touch an innocent.
I pretended to comply and took slow steps forward. To exit through the door, I'd have to pass right by them.
"......"
The men tensed up briefly as I approached, then relaxed.
Probably because nothing hung at my waist, and they had overwhelming numbers.
"But weren't you looking for someone?"
At my question, the man snorted derisively.
"Shut up and get out."
I gave him a gentle smile. His face twisted slightly at my smile.
"Why are you smiling?"
"It's fun."
"What is?"
I took a step toward the man, who eyed me suspiciously.
"Black hair, black eyes—wasn't that who you were looking for?"
"How do you...?!"
The man's eyes widened, and he shot back in a rough tone.
"Did you see him? Where?"
"That's why it's fun."
I giggled and swung my arm downward.
Clang!
Requiem coiled around my hand like a shadow.
"Right in front of you, and you didn't know."
At the same time, my hair and eyes turned black like spreading ink. The men jumped back in alarm.
"It's him!"
"We have to catch him!"
All six drew their swords at once. The leader barked.
"They said capture him alive no matter what!"
"Capture alive?"
A scoff slipped from my lips.
"Capture alive."
I gripped Requiem tightly and declared confidently.
"If you can, try it."
"You bastard!"
The men growled and charged at me.
"Aim for the limbs!"
I could feel their genuine intent to capture me.
"Haha."
It was just amusing. When even vital points and the heart should be targeted, this mindset.
"You're too soft."
I bared a chilling smile and counterattacked.
'Both shoulders!'
Swords flew from both sides, precisely targeting my arms. It was a fairly sharp coordinated attack.
Clang!
With one clash of blades, I stabbed right at the crossing point of their swords.
"？!"
The two widened their eyes in unison, as if by agreement.
This form of attack was familiar to me. Thanks to memories of facing far sharper and heavier strikes than this.
'Should I be grateful to Mikel?'
I smirked and twisted my wrist sharply. I shifted Requiem's direction and thrust straight forward forcefully.
At the end of that trajectory were the necks of the two who hadn't disentangled their locked swords in time.
Thud! Thump!
The two men's heads rolled across the floor like dropped watermelons.
"-!"
The remaining men's faces changed.
"You still think you need to capture me alive?"
Even at my blatant provocation, they couldn't get angry. They just stared at the severed heads in dismay.
Ssshh—
The heads gradually blackened and withered, exuding an eerie chill on their own.
"What the hell is that...?"
Their gazes turned to the sprawled torsos on the floor. More precisely, to the cross-sections of the severed necks.
"What is this...?"
When witnessing incomprehensible horror, humans don't have many choices. The one they picked was to eliminate the source of that horror.
"Uwaaaah!"
One let out a beastly yell and swung his sword at me. Still clinging to the idea of non-lethal, targeting my legs.
Whoosh!
I leaped over the sword and stomped down on the back of his hand.
"Urk!"
As he clutched his hand and retreated, I thrust Requiem into him.
"Gah."
The man who'd been stabbed in the solar plexus let out a choked sound. From the point of Requiem's stab, his skin began shriveling rapidly.
Gr rumble, grrr—
Requiem's ecstatic groans echoed in my head. But its voice no longer affected me.
It felt like an invisible wall had been erected, completely separating it from me.
Maintaining my composure, I gazed ahead steadily. Like a spider methodically devouring prey caught in its web.
"You bastard!"
Whoosh!
A whoosh came from behind. A weapon tearing through the air viciously toward my back.
"Tch."
Still not withdrawing Requiem, I waited until
"Huh?!"
Just before his sword reached me, I slipped away.
Puke!
Unable to slow his momentum, he impaled his own comrade through the neck with his sword.
"!"
His face went pale. He frantically tried to pull back his sword.
"Oh dear."
But the sword didn't budge an inch. Because my hand had gripped his wrist tightly.
"What a pickle."
I hummed cheerfully, as if singing.
"Your comrade's dead?"
I stared straight into his shock-widened eyes.
"Because of you."
"U-Ugh..."
He alternated glances between the sword and me. No matter how hard he strained, the sword wouldn't move.
"U-Uwaaa."
In the end, he let go of the sword and staggered back. His face was filled with horror at having killed his comrade with his own hand, and fear toward me.
'It was a lie.'
I grinned at his slack-jawed face.
In truth, his comrade had already breathed his last before being pierced by the sword. Requiem had sucked away all his life force.
'No sound when it got stabbed, so he wouldn't know.'
In this frantic situation, he wouldn't have the leisure to judge.
'More....'
Requiem let out a pained whine.
'Be quiet.'
I snapped coldly and turned my body.
"U-M-Matthew..."
Toward the man trembling and staring at me.
Tadak!
I kicked off the ground and charged at him. With the momentum of my rush, I thrust Requiem through his body.
Puke!
Requiem pierced his heart and burst out through his back.
"Kk!"
His eyes bulged enormously. It didn't take long for him to shrivel like a deflated balloon.
"U-Ugh."
"W-What's going on?"
The remaining two's faces twisted in terror. They'd completely lost the will to fight.
Of course, I didn't spare them just because they had no fight left.
Splat.
One man's body was sliced diagonally and spilled onto the floor. His limbs, twisted in different directions, twitched in agony before finally stilling.
"E-Eh..."
I deliberately left the one who looked like the leader alive. Because I had a question for him.
"T-That..."
He gripped his sword unsteadily. Suddenly left alone, he didn't know what to do and just rolled his eyes.
"Still look like you've got a chance?"
I shrugged and gestured around. He'd already gone blank at the sight of his comrades turned into blackened corpses.
"That..."
Shwick!
Requiem shot out like a beam of light, aiming for his neck.
"-!"
He recoiled as if stabbed.
"Where did you take the people?"