Chapter 234: 41st Floor: The Assassins
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 234: 41st Floor: The Assassins
Thwack!
"Ugh...? Ah, ahhh-aghhhhhh!!!"
Having regained consciousness, Rodso soon became aware of the pain and shot to his feet.
Startled by his scream, Shota opened his eyes as well.
"You son of a bitch! You said you'd only cum twice, how dare you!"
"Knghh... Y-you agreed to it too..."
He was right.
Last night, completely captivated by the taste of his cock, I'd whimpered for him to fuck me, saying I was more than happy with it...
However,
“...I-I-I never said that!!!”
Whack!
I gave his thigh a light kick.
"Aghhh! You crazy bitch!! My leg, oh god, my leg!!"
Even if I kicked him with just a little of my strength, his body would collapse like a slime. But he hadn't done anything that wrong, and this guy still had his uses.
"Enough. If you don't want to die, you'll obey my every word from now on. Got it?"
"C-crazy bitch. You liked it too... Urk!"
Report him?
What happened yesterday took place at the Adventurer's Guild, where guards are always on standby and there were multiple witnesses, so it was possible. But there's no way I could report him for assault in a situation like this.
Even if I did, I could just countersue for rape. The semen still dripping from my pussy was proof enough.
Anyway, that's not what's important right now.
'The goal of this Trial is to protect Shota and get him to the hideout Layla prepared.'
As my head cleared a little, various thoughts came to mind.
First, taking a Warp Gate is essential. And the fastest way to do that is...
'Right, there's nothing better than the Red Drake subjugation.'
The Warp Gate fee is a whopping 50 gold per person.
But a Red Drake is worth over 500 gold.
Its blood, hide, heart, bones—nothing goes to waste. It'll be more than enough to cover the fees for me and Shota.
"Hoo... Let's head to the Adventurer's Guild first. Registration for the Red Drake Subjugation Party ends today, right?"
"Kngh, y-yeah, I think so..."
It wasn't too late. I got dressed again and pulled Shota into a hug.
"Sis..."
"Shota... Uh, forget about yesterday. Th-there's this rare disease some women get... where it hurts if they don't have sex for a long time? I-I have that, so..."
It was a ridiculous excuse, even to me, and Shota didn't look like he believed it at all, but...
"I-I see... S-so, Mom had that disease too, right?"
"Right! Th-that's exactly it!"
We hid our embarrassment and concealed our wounds with rationalizations and lies.
Then I hauled Rodso, who was still in the corner, back to his feet.
"Get up, you rapist!!"
Smack!
I hit him one more time before casting a heal on him.
"Keuk...!!”
'Ha… To think I got fucked like that by such a weakling… I need to be more careful from now on.'
It seemed I'd have to masturbate or have sex at least once every three days from now on. My body was used to lewd acts, but going celibate so suddenly must have made my brain malfunction.
"Don't be too sad. Once we take down the Red Drake, you'll make a decent bit of money too."
“……”
Rodso was strongly convinced he'd gotten on the wrong side of a crazy bitch.
'Just you wait. I'll fuck you like crazy again tonight...'
*
The Adventurer's Guild.
The Platinum adventurer, Dona (Lee Do-hee), had returned.
What's more, she came with the man from yesterday's incident.
"I'd like to join the Red Drake Subjugation Party with the Silver adventurer Rodso as the party leader."
"Ah... Understood."
Seeing us looking so friendly, the people around us started to whisper.
“That Rodso guy, how the hell?”
“Didn't he... get dragged away?”
“Anyone see Rodso yesterday...?”
A few people who were close to Rodso noticed how gaunt he looked and caught on.
“Fuck, Rodso! What happened?”
“That guy... he really did it?”
“You were gone all yesterday, don't tell me you were fucking her all night? Shit, let me have a turn!”
And seeing this, Rodso...
“Hehehe, last night was killer. No way, you guys. This woman is mine now!”
A woman's body and looks are a man's pride.
Forgetting that he'd just been beaten and dragged out, he was acting all smug, wrapping a hand around my hip as if I were his beloved concubine.
To anyone watching, we looked like a couple who had spent the previous night stickily entwined, holding nothing back.
"This bastard?"
Even when I shot him a glare, he didn't back down.
A man is nothing but a corpse without his pride.
Even if he got beaten later, she couldn't hit him here, so he pushed the boundaries as much as he could to show she was his woman.
“Rodso, you son of a bitch! I'm so fucking jealous..."
"What's the secret? Tell me too!"
"No way. A male whore who hangs around brothels with a woman like that? You're lying, right?"
"Crazy, Rodso fucked a woman that hot all by himself?"
"Ahem, please refrain from making rude comments about my future wife."
"......"
And just like that, the registration for the Red Drake Subjugation Party was complete.
Rodso's behavior wasn't half bad.
Because of this guy's tanned, muscular body and looks, most men stopped hitting on me, which was actually a bit of a relief.
'I can always use him to relieve my sexual frustration later.'
After leaving the Adventurer's Guild, we parted ways.
“We have somewhere else to be, so let's meet on the day of the subjugation in two days.”
“Two days? Ahem... Right, here's the 90 silver I promised.”
He said he'd ejaculated nine more times after the first two.
I didn't really need it, but he handed over the money without protest, as if he'd developed quite a liking for me.
'What's with him? Is he into women who are stronger than him?'
Or maybe he actually had feelings for me.
Anyway, now was the time to think about Shota.
We would spend the next two days breaking Shota's curse.
We passed through the city gates and ran toward the great forest.
The sun had set before I knew it, and the area outside the city was quiet.
The reason we went outside was to break Shota's curse in a place with no people around. It would have been possible to do it at an inn, but there were several obstacles.
First, the possibility that the many powerful individuals in the city would sense my immense divine power and cause trouble.
And second...
“As expected, they're following us. Shota, cover your ears for a moment.”
The assassins sent by the Second Prince.
As soon as we entered the forest, I could feel their presence from all directions.
They had only watched quietly from a distance, not wanting to cause a disturbance within the city.
Of course, I had already pinpointed their locations and numbers long ago. I'd even secretly cast a Divine Shield on Shota last night.
Anyway, things could get a little annoying if they found out Shota's curse could be broken.
Before, it was just about eliminating a potential risk. But a curse-free Shota would be a huge, tangible threat to the Second Prince.
And while Shota himself was a threat, Layla's influence was also quite significant.
The Second Prince's mother, the Empress, was backed by the most powerful ducal house in the empire, but it was still a family that could vanish overnight with a single word from the Emperor. That's how absolute and omnipotent the imperial authority was in the current empire.
A woman visited by such a man almost every other day? At first, they thought she was simply the Emperor's flesh toilet, but eventually, some of the powerful figures caught on.
They realized it was just something they did for mutual pleasure, and that Layla was the only woman the Emperor visited so frequently. In fact, the Second Prince's mother, the Empress, hadn't slept with the Emperor since her pregnancy.
So, if the Second Prince learned that Shota's curse had been broken, he'd feel his position was threatened and would come after us with all his might.
He probably wouldn't care about what others thought. He'd use his ducal family's backing, of course, and exert all his influence to try and kill Shota.
Which meant,
you all need to disappear today.
Whoosh—!!
Thwack!!!
“Kuaaaargh!!!”
I lightly threw a spear, and an assassin hiding among the tree branches fell.
'The forest isn't your territory.'
Normally, the dark, dense forest would be advantageous terrain for them, but not for me.
Perhaps they sent reinforcements when they heard I was leaving the city, because their numbers had grown to 32 people tracking me.
They realized I'd noticed them and instantly began to respond with a coordinated attack formation.
Sh-sh-sh-shk!
Thin wires, made of iron twisted like thread, were strung up around us like a spiderweb, and diversionary hidden weapons flew in from all directions.
Their plan was to slowly tighten the noose and capture me for sure, like a hunt, but…
“You're the ones being hunted.”
I'd already pinpointed all of their locations.
There was no need to wait, and no need to use any fancy techniques.
I blocked their hidden weapons with a shield and threw a spear in return.
A very basic and simple spear throw that didn't even require the use of divine power.
[Lee Do-hee throws a spear.]
A powerful and fast spear, launched by thousands of points in Strength and Agility, flew toward them.
Swoosh...!! Thwack!
“Kuaaaargh!!”
I retrieved it and threw again.
Swoosh...!!! Thwack!
“Gack!”
And again.
As if playing a simple game, every time I flicked my wrist and threw the spear, an assassin would drop.
In the blink of an eye, dozens of assassins were eliminated before they could even put up a proper fight.
“Everyone… retreat!!”
The enemy's situational awareness was quick.
They weren't simply hired assassins, but a direct assassination group run by the Second Prince's mother's family.
They prioritized reporting that the target's strength was far greater than expected over completing the mission.
They fired a red flare to signal the mission's failure and scattered in different directions, but...
“It's useless. Come forth, Silvarion.”
The panties I received from Arsilla after saving the World Tree in the 37th Floor Trial had the ability to summon a high-level wind spirit.
'A wind spirit is perfect for a situation like this.'
Whoooosh~~!
A fierce wind blew, instantly gathering to take on a human form.
The human form quickly solidified.
Her blue hair fluttered in the wind.
A woman with blue eyes and a somewhat imperious look gazed at me.
"[Contractor, did you call?]"
'Whoa, she's gorgeous.'
No, that's not what's important.
“Yes. Trap the enemies. And get rid of that flare.”
“[Understood.]”
The power of a high-level spirit was considerable.
A hemispherical barrier formed over the forest, preventing the assassins from escaping, and a strong gust of wind knocked the flare to the ground before it could even rise into the sky.
Trapped inside the spirit's barrier, the assassins screamed from all directions.
“Damn it, what is this?! H-help me!!”
“Captain, we can't get out!”
“Dammit… If we could just put up a proper… Keuk!”
Thwack!
One by one.
I approached them myself and delivered death.
I simply walked up and stabbed them with my spear, and the assassins dropped one after another.
They couldn't react.
No matter what tricks they tried, the moment our eyes met, a spear pierced their heart and they died.
A certain death.
An inescapable fear.
“P-please spare me… I didn't do this because I wanted to…”
Thwack!
“W-wait! I'll tell you everything I know, please just… Gack!”
Thwack!
"I didn't want to do this either... Keuk!!"
Thwack!
Thwack, thwack, thwack!!!
My movements seemed slow, but with each one, another person died without fail. In less than a minute, they were all dead, leaving only one man.
He was the one who seemed to have a slightly stronger aura.
"Ugh... D-do you think I'll die so easily!!!"
He threw various hidden weapons from his clothes, bravely confronting me for the first time.
*
His name was Captain of the Shadow Corps' 4th Division.
He had no real name. His rank and number were his name.
He had undergone assassination training for the Ducal House of Thermion for as long as he could remember.
For the Ducal House of Thermion.
Living solely for the Ducal House of Thermion was his life's purpose.
For reference, the Ducal House of Thermion was the family of the Second Prince's mother, the one trying to kill Shota.
He was a man who had calmly completed every mission, but he couldn't believe what was happening before his eyes.
'A Platinum-rank adventurer.'
'Layla was scammed.'
'Selling her body due to lack of money.'
'Cleric class. Slightly strong.'
'Appears to be a prostitute hired to act as Shota's nanny.'
Numerous credible reports. He had even confirmed some of them himself.
'But why...'
Their combined formation, said to be able to take on even a novice Swordmaster, was broken with ease. Even as he used his Shadow Step, which most knights couldn't even follow with their eyes, the target simply threw her spear and killed them as if they were stationary targets.
The sharp and sturdy black iron wires, said to be able to cut through anything, simply snapped as she walked through them.
And what's more, she was doing all of this with her pure physical body, without using any mana.
'I have to report this, no matter what.'
But even that was thwarted when they were all trapped by a high-level wind spirit.
His comrades were trapped and hunted down.
A woman who took lives so easily, with an emotionless face.
She clearly looked like she was performing a tedious, repetitive task... A hunt? No, this wasn't even a hunt.
It was menial work. Nothing more, nothing less.
'Us... she's killing us, who risked our lives to get this far... as if she's just taking care of chores?'
She walked toward him. She seemed slow, yet she closed the distance in an instant, as if gliding.
He couldn't die so meaninglessly.
He raged against this absurd injustice.
A hot energy surged within him.
In this moment of crisis, his mind awakened, and he unleashed a technique he had never been able to perform before. For some reason, it felt possible now.
He threw every hidden weapon attached to his clothes.
The hidden weapons, connected by black iron wires, moved as if they had a will of their own.
Dozens of hidden weapons, imbued with a powerful aura, rained down on her from different directions, targeting her like telekinetically controlled swords.
And then,
Thwack!
The woman, who had appeared before him in an instant, pierced his heart.
"Huh?"
Just like the others, he died with a hole blown through his heart.
He hadn't seen or felt her movements until the moment his heart was pierced.
He couldn't understand a thing, right up to the moment he died.
*
Thud…
The last assassin fell just like the rest, and the simple battle was over.
All the assassination techniques and martial arts their opponents had spent a lifetime honing were utterly useless.
Overwhelming power.
In the end, this is how the world works.
The strong decide everything.
“Silvarion, just take care of the bodies.”
“[Understood, Contractor.]”
'This one is nice and obedient.'
None of that 'spirits are friends, you have to ask them nicely' nonsense. She just did as she was told.
With the cleanup finished, I used the power of the wind spirit I'd already summoned to travel deeper into the forest.
The wind enveloped us, and we moved through the forest as if flying, floating about two meters off the ground. Like a self-driving car, we smoothly avoided obstacles like trees.
It was slower than me running at full power, but I really liked that I could fly comfortably through the air without leaving any tracks.
"S-sis... It's the blue lady..."
I had taken off Shota's blindfold by now, and he seemed to have taken quite a liking to the spirit.
We traveled like that for several hours, deep into the forest.
We stopped in front of a large, flat rock, perfect for Shota to lie down on.
“I'll need you to put up another barrier.”
I couldn't predict how long it would take to remove the Curse of the Evil God.
I had spread my senses and confirmed there were no people nearby, but there were quite a few monsters, and I didn't want to be disturbed.
The wind spirit, Silvarion, created a barrier to protect the area.
"Shota, we're finally going to get rid of the curse that's been tormenting you for so long."
"Ah... Is it really, really possible?"
It seemed Shota still couldn't believe this moment had come.
It wasn't doubt, but a joy so great it felt unreal that this moment was finally here.
For something he had only ever dreamed of to actually be happening...
"Of course. Just trust me, Shota."
As of today, the ugly prince, Shota, will be born anew.