The Bird's Trap (7)

SLASH—!

"...!"

The greatsword the Death Knight swung drove the axe into the floor and carved straight across the Blood Axe King's chest. The leather armor — sixty days of a master craftsman's special treatment of monster hide, boasting defense to rival plate mail — tore apart without mercy, and blood sprayed.

"You son of a bitch!"

Blood flew, but the wound was not a deep one. The Blood Axe King's face twisted into something demonic as he flooded his axe with mana and struck back at the Death Knight.

CRASH—!

"...!"

The Death Knight staggered back five paces. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Its greatsword was thrown back with it.

The first clash had been a contest of raw strength. They had been evenly matched then, but as the dungeon's difficulty rose, so too had the Death Knight's power — which was why the Blood Axe King had been the one driven back. Now the situation had reversed completely.

"UAAAAAAAH!"

The Blood Axe King roared and swung his axe again, this time at the Death Knight's exposed midsection. The speed was almost impossible to believe from so heavy a weapon.

That attack is dangerous!

The knight of death understood it by instinct and hastily radiated death aura, hardening its armor.

CRUNCH—!

The axe, swollen with mana, buried itself in the Death Knight's armor. The death aura kept the body from splitting apart, but the armor cracked and split just as the Blood Axe King's had. One or two more hits and it would shatter completely.

"I'll kill you!"

CLANG CLANG CLANG CLANG CLANG—!

The mana-charged axe and the death-charged greatsword crashed together without pause. A fraction slower and the greatsword would have split him from shoulder to heart. But the Blood Axe King stepped back in that same instant, putting as much distance as he could from the blade's reach and keeping the damage to a minimum.

If not for that flash of instinct, he would have died.

He might still die.

"HRAAAAAH!"

That fact filled the Blood Axe King with rage.

Who the hell are these bastards?

A notification window had appeared before his eyes just a short while ago.

That meant someone from outside had entered the dungeon he was in the middle of clearing. A group walking into a dungeon already being cleared had not come with good intentions. They had come to kill him. That much was certain.

But he could not guess who wanted him dead. It was not that no one came to mind — it was that there were too many candidates to pin it on anyone.

A seat from which you could rule the world, and from which the world would check and attack you in the same breath. That was what it meant to sit a king's throne.

Everyone is an enemy.

Since he could not identify the culprit, the Blood Axe King decided to treat everyone as an enemy. The only ones he could trust in this place were his own Fairies.

"Erita! I'm using that!"

"...Yes, Master!"

After signaling something to his Fairies, the Blood Axe King swung his axe with everything he had ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠and drove the Death Knight back. Then he raised the axe high.

WOOOOOONG—

Mana began to condense in the axe. He poured so much into it that it looked as though white flames had caught along the blade. Then he brought the axe down into the floor.

RRRRRUMBLE—!

"...!"

The mana dwelling in the axe seeped into the earth. The ground shook and split as if an earthquake had struck. Unlike the Fairies, who had heard the Blood Axe King's warning and scrambled clear, the Death Knight and the Dullahans standing inside the mana's range were swallowed by the quake.

Caught in Earth Splitter, the Death Knight and the Dullahans could not move. The Blood Axe King did not waste the opening. He turned back the way he had come, his Fairies with him. This was not a boss room, so they could pass into the next section without killing every last monster.

"Hah..."

They had killed every monster on the way in, so nothing blocked their path now. Only after falling back to Section 5 could the Blood Axe King finally catch his breath. He would take a moment to regroup — and then he was going to tear apart the sons of bitches who had dropped him into this trap.

"Is everyone all ri—"

The Blood Axe King stopped mid-sentence as he looked over his Fairies.

"Cough! M-Master..."

"...Solis."

Of the four, only three had fled with him. And of those three, one was badly wounded, coughing up blood. Her left arm had been severed. She could barely stand.

"I am sorry, Master. I... I failed to protect Ansel..."

"....."

The Fairy Solis dropped to her knees before the Blood Axe King, tears of blood running down her face. She had fought the Dullahans alone, desperately trying to shield Ansel — but in the end she had not been able to stop their blades from piercing her companion's body.

The Blood Axe King looked down at the Fairy who was begging his forgiveness through her tears. He went down on one knee in front of her and reached out, wiping the tears away.

"Don't cry, Solis."

"Master..."

"And I'm sorry, but... you're going to have to die here."

"I was... prepared for that."

"I will summon you and Ansel again. Whether it takes ten years or twenty, I will get you back no matter what. So... just hold on a little longer."

"I will wait for the day I can serve you again, Master."

"...Thank you, Solis."

The Blood Axe King kissed Solis and whispered something to her. Ready for death, Solis nodded.

It was a cold choice, but there was no other. Surrounded by enemies on every side, he could not take a gravely wounded Solis with him. That would only get them all killed.

"Hah... hah..."

Solis sat with her back against the wall, breathing in ragged gasps. Her mind was fading, but she refused to let go — not until she had carried out her master's final order.

A short while later, a group of people burst into Section 5.

"Oh no! Solis!"

"You're..."

The man at the front recognized Solis and ran to her in a single bound. Solis lifted her head with difficulty and confirmed who was approaching.

"Prince Aeson!"

"Yes, it's me, Solis. The Gabri Family... those bastards attacked us at the camp. They're clearly after His Majesty the Blood Axe King. Where is he now?"

"His Majesty is... that way..."

Solis pointed with her remaining right arm toward the passage the Blood Axe King had taken. Prince Aeson smiled.

"So he went that way, did he?"

"Yes... please protect His Majes—"

STAB—!

"...Kh."

Solis never finished asking him to look after the Blood Axe King. Still smiling, Prince Aeson drew a dagger and drove it into her heart. She trembled, then dissolved into light and vanished.

"Stupid bitch. Still haven't figured out what's going on?"

"Master. Ansel is surely dead as well, so the only ones left at the Blood Axe King's side will be Erita and Lidia."

A woman stepped out from among the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠group and spoke to Prince Aeson. It was Dominique, the Healer Fairy who had entered the dungeon with the Blood Axe King.

"You did very well, Dominique."

"Thank you, Master."

Dominique beamed at Prince Aeson's praise.

The liquid she had sprinkled on Ansel's wounds was that Special-grade poison. Apply it, then use a healing skill, and the target looks fine at first — but ten minutes later, the effects kick in.

"Let's move. I can't wait to kill that fat pig."

"Fine by me. We move! Today we take the Blood Axe King's head!"

At Prince Kevin's urging, Prince Aeson rose and led the group in the direction Solis had pointed. They were passing through the corridor between Section 5 and Section 6 when—

"I'll kill you, you traitorous bastards!"

"What?!"

The traitors recoiled at the Blood Axe King's voice from above. He, Erita, and Lidia dropped onto their heads. They had been hanging from the ceiling, waiting for them to pass.

SLASH! SLASH! SLASH!

"GAAAAH!"

"Help me!"

The people in the middle died in a single stroke of the Blood Axe King's axe. The mana rolling along the blade said everything about how furious he was.

"Y-Your Majesty! What are you doing! It's me, Aeson! We came in to help you!"

Prince Aeson, who had been at the front, shouted desperately at the Blood Axe King slaughtering his way through them. A toothless tiger was still a tiger. A frontal fight with the Blood Axe King would cost them dearly, so he meant to put the man off his guard and then strike.

"Aeson! Shut your mouth, you traitorous piece of shit!"

"Y-Your Majes— ah, fuck it! What the hell are you doing?! Kill that fat pig already!"

But the Blood Axe King seemed to have seen through Aeson's plan. His eyes blazed as he charged straight at him. A panicked Prince Aeson barked orders at his Fairies and subordinates, but—

SLASH—!

"AAAAAGH!"

"Guh—!"

They were simply cut down. None of them could stand against the Blood Axe King in his rage.

"Th-this is fucking—"

The Blood Axe King had already known Aeson was a traitor. Moments ago, Solis had called out his name at the top of her lungs. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠He had learned the traitor's identity through his dying Fairy.

"N-no!"

The Blood Axe King smashed through the remaining enemies in a single rush and raised his axe high.

CRUNCH—!

Prince Aeson was split in half.

The moment Kanisia learned the Blood Axe King was in danger, she gathered Abraham — the Fairy who had been guarding the inner castle gate — and the soldiers, and raced for the dungeon. But by the time she reached it, only she and Abraham had arrived.

The Blood Axe King had taken most of the carriages, so she had no choice but to go on foot. There had not been time to requisition more. They had to run at full speed, and the soldiers — who were not Masters — inevitably fell behind.

"Th-this can't be..."

"Hrm..."

The sight that greeted Kanisia and Abraham at the camp left them stunned. Not a single tent stood intact. The thick stench of blood stabbed at their noses. Crows and beasts had gathered, drawn by the corpses. Most of the dead were ordinary people — soldiers, porters.

It was a massacre too horrific to look at with open eyes. Kanisia was speechless. Then she pulled herself together and started for the dungeon.

"It is dangerous, Master!"

Abraham stepped in front of her and raised his massive square shield.

CLANG CLANG CLANG CLANG CLANG—!

A rain of arrows hammered into the shield. Without Abraham, she would have been turned into a pincushion.

"I heard Princess Lora was staying behind to guard the palace... Tch. Looks like Brown failed."

"You lot... the Gabri Family..."

From behind Abraham, Kanisia identified her attackers and bit her lip. Standing in her way was the Gabri Family, the second most powerful force in Chinnimoni after the Blood Axe King. They, too, belonged to Palos's Bird.

"So you were the ones behind this."

Of course, Kanisia had no way of knowing the truth. She assumed the Gabri Family was behind the entire incident.

Damn it...

Kanisia ground her teeth as she glared at Gabri, the head of the family. She had run here in such a hurry that she had not brought her own spear. She settled for picking up a soldier's spear from the ground.

"What's this? Don't tell me the two of you are planning to fight us?"

Gabri, head of the Gabri Family, sneered at Kanisia as she settled into a fighting stance with the spear. The Gabri Family numbered a full thirty — and every last one of them was a Master or a Fairy.

It was an overwhelmingly lopsided fight, two against thirty. But Kanisia and Abraham burned with fighting spirit all the same.

"I've wanted to fight you for a while, girl. Perfect. I'll kill you right here today."

"Try it if you can, you brat."

"Heh heh heh... What are you all standing around for?"

Gabri looked around at his men and shouted.

"Kill them!"

"UAAAAAAAH!"

"Be careful, Abraham!"

"You must take care as well, Master!"

The two-against-thirty battle began.

Meanwhile, at that same moment.

"Hah, hah... Aigoo, I'm dying... When the hell are we getting there?"

"Shall we rest a while if you are tired, Master?"

"Hah... And what if Kanisia dies while we're sitting around? Let's keep moving."

"Yes."

Alan — who had just swallowed the Blood Axe King's fortune whole — and Aquaril were racing toward the C-rank dungeon as hard as they could. In his hand was Kanisia's spear.