Chapter 17
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 17
Chapter Title: Intruder (2)
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Mori, the owner of the Holy Relic Clocker. She had narrowly escaped detection by the demon woman and successfully slipped into the passage from which the demon woman had emerged.
'What kind of monster bitch is she?'
She shuddered as she recalled the demon woman who had faintly sensed her presence just moments ago. Her stealth ability wasn't some amateurish spell—it was a power derived directly from a Holy Relic. To exaggerate a bit, it was no different from the power of a god.
She had personally encountered 2-star Heroes and even 3-star Heroes who were stronger than her, and their power had been awe-inspiring. Yet even those Heroes hadn't been able to pierce her stealth... So what the hell was that woman?
'...Whatever. I just need to scout.'
She pushed the thoughts from her mind and reviewed the orders Pattem had relayed via hand signals. The plan was for the rest of the search party to draw attention while she, hidden away, checked inside this passage for the presence of Baikal. And if she happened to spot that half-demon along the way, she could attempt an assassination.
She had used this method many times before when searching demon villages where they clustered together or hunting down occasional rebel forces that popped up on the continent. While the rest of the search party drew attention, she would infiltrate the interior in stealth to gather intel or carry out assassinations.
'Well, most of the time it wasn't just stalling—we ended up taking out the enemies...'
At first, her heart had raced with tension, but having successfully infiltrated the passage undetected, she relaxed a bit and followed the faint lingering scent of blood deeper inside.
Traps were no issue. Thanks to the superhuman senses innate to Heroes, her nose could pick up the thick blood scent wafting from that silver-haired demon woman's body.
'Doesn't that bitch ever wash? Why's the blood smell so damn strong?'
She followed the faint blood trail lingering in the passage, carefully picking safe paths, until she sensed a dim presence from deeper within and held her breath.
-Rustle. Rustle.
Her shoes, caked in dirt from outside, trod the clean passage floor, but the power of the Holy Relic concealed even that dust perfectly.
A faint sound of water accompanied the presence, and as she crept slowly forward, a man soon entered her view.
'Black hair... Half-demon?'
Even in the darkness, his thick black hair stood out first, radiating presence. But the spotless blue attire contrasting it created an odd sense of dissonance.
This must be the half-demon that the hunters who had discovered the dungeon earlier were blabbing about encountering.
'But... what is he looking at?'
His face was half-covered by some strange cloth scrap, so all Mori could make out was the half-demon's eye glint. With a gaze that seemed sleepy or perhaps bored, the man stared blankly at the empty floor. Then, suddenly, he pulled out a staff similar to the one the female demon had held earlier—from thin air—and turned his eyes straight toward her.
"What is this."
".....!?!?"
A gaze locked directly on her. And the way he seemed to address empty air, where nothing should be visible.
'...No way?'
Mori felt chills creeping up her spine but denied the possibility popping into her head. It couldn't be—one person was implausible enough, let alone two seeing through her stealth. Yeah, even that demon woman from before had sensed something off but hadn't actually spotted her.
Her unease peaked as the half-demon pointed the tip of his staff at her feet.
'Dodge...!'
Sensing danger, she tried to pull back in a hurry, but the water jet shooting from his staff was faster.
-Whoosh!
"Aaagh!!"
A water stream pierced her instep before the 1-star Hero could even react.
'H-He really noticed me!'
Clutching her punctured foot, Mori looked up at the man with eyes full of fear. His gaze remained inscrutable. She was a Hero, sure, but she had no talent for direct combat. Her only exceptional skill was her unique stealth surpassing even 3-star Heroes.
Now that the source of her confidence was shattered, fear filled the void.
-Click!
"!!!!!"
As she lay there unable to move her injured foot, the man tilted his head and wordlessly aimed the staff again. If he'd cursed or threatened her, it might have been less terrifying.
But with half his face hidden and only his eyes visible, as he prepared another attack, Mori felt like she might faint.
'I-I'm gonna... die...!'
"Mmngh.... Master...?"
"!!!"
And then, salvation arrived. From behind the staff-wielding man came the voice of a young girl. His head snapped back toward it.
'Ch-Chance!'
The instant his gaze turned, she knew this was her one shot at survival from death's door. Ignoring the excruciating pain surging from her foot and the blood pouring from the hole in her instep, she gritted her teeth, forced herself up, turned tail, and fled.
'Scouting's done! Run... gotta run. Link up with the others and then...'
Fearing he'd chase if she looked back, she clamped her hand over her mouth to stifle any noise and bolted desperately toward her comrades. That she avoided any traps in her blind panic was pure luck.
-...!Clack...!Boom....!
After running for what felt like ages, noise finally echoed from the corridor ahead. Just past this stretch, her comrades would be waiting. While she'd infiltrated to gather intel, they—as always—would have been stalling outside... No, they'd probably hunted down the demons instead of just buying time.
Just past here...!
Just... here...
"Gaaahhhh!!!"
"My arm... my arm!"
"Die... just die, you monster!"
Her pace slowed as pain faded from her mind. The closer she got to her comrades, the louder the screams grew.
Screams that sounded nothing like the demon woman's voice.
She felt like gouging out her own ears as she slowly stepped forward to take in the scene.
"Guhhh...!"
The silver-haired woman was smashing Pattem's face into the floor with her bizarre staff. Pattem, who boasted overwhelming grip strength, strained with all his might against it, but not even a crack formed. Unable to pry it free, he was slowly suffocating under the endless torrent of blood pouring from the staff's tip.
"My arm.... Aaagh....!"
Boulder, who wielded his shield at impossible angles, had both arms severed from the shoulders, leaving him no arms to even drop it. Strangely, not a drop of blood flowed from the gruesome stumps.
And the holy knights who had accompanied them groaned, ensnared in blood nooses like spiderwebs.
'...Haha... Ahaha....'
Taking in the full sight, Mori denied reality.
This... was a nightmare.
'Hmm... Was that the presence I felt earlier?'
While casually dispatching the intruders, Erzsebet caught the faint blood scent and spotted the hidden one. She hadn't imagined anyone could fool her senses. Even in her weakened state, she was originally...
'Originally.... Hmm.... What was I again?'
...She couldn't quite recall, but surely something impressive.
It stung her pride not to have pierced the stealth, but sniffing the blood wafting from the hidden intruder gave her the gist.
'Must've gone inside and got done in by Master.'
Her master, who had subdued her fresh from sleep, could handle a single thief with ease.
As Erzsebet assessed the situation, she sensed the blood scent gradually receding.
'...Ha! She's actually running?'
From the intruders' initial time-wasting behavior, it seemed they'd sent her inside for assassination or intel while their comrades stalled. But in this situation, ditching them to flee?
'Disgusting.'
Her eyes turned icy as she pinned Pattem with one hand and raised the other to manipulate the blood. Easy enough to snag a thief already leaking blood scent—unless she hadn't noticed at all.
'...Wait. But Master should've caught her if she went inside.'
But just before skewering the hidden thief with blood spikes, Erzsebet hesitated. The woman's injured, bleeding state clearly showed she'd tangled with Master inside... yet if he'd only wounded her instead of killing—something he could easily do—then he'd let her live on purpose.
'Why?'
If the woman lived by Master's will, killing her arbitrarily might not fly. So Erzsebet withdrew her hand. The blood scent faded further, and the faint presence vanished entirely.
"Gurgle..."
Unable to endure the endless blood flow any longer, the man at her feet drowned. Erzsebet retracted the blood from all the corpses with a relieved expression and waited for her master.
Assuming he'd subdued the inner intruder, the awakened master would emerge soon.
"What a damn mess this is."
"Uh.... Master? It's the aftermath of dealing with the intruders who showed up overnight..."
"I get that, but... what's with this blood ocean."
"Well..... I absorbed the other humans' blood, but like I said, the blood from Master's magic tool is so utterly tasteless I can't absorb it, so I just left it..."
"Confiscated."
"Ah, nooo! Master!"
The corridor she'd worked so hard to clean!!!