Chapter 92
Chapter 92
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: penny
Chapter: 92
Chapter Title: Unavoidable Atrocities
-----------------------------------------------------------------
It was undoubtedly an unpleasant task. By all common sense, this was something deserving of condemnation. And yet, it had to be done.
"What are you people!"
The man gripping the broom shouted. His voice was thick with fear. The man's gaze, filled with terror, locked onto Bivinel's eyes.
She squeezed her eyes shut tight and then opened them, shaking off the guilt. This couldn't be helped.
She swung her sword. His head and body separated cleanly. Minimizing his pain was the only consideration she could offer.
Beside the collapsing man sat a child, staring blankly and gasping for breath.
There can't be any witnesses, the butler Pablo's words thundered in her ears.
Bivinel took a step forward, and the child stumbled back.
"It's done here. How about over there?"
Steen called from outside. Blood beaded on his comrade's sword.
"Almost finished."
Steen entered the house. The child kept retreating until his back hit the wall, then he sank to the floor.
"I'll handle it."
Steen shook off his sword and stepped forward. She blocked his path.
"I'll take care of this place. We each have our assigned sections."
"You look shaken."
"I am shaken. The very fact that we have to do this is horrific. But I'll get through it. I know what it means to take on this role."
Steen patted her shoulder and turned away.
I won't forget. What happened today, that child's eyes. I'm the vanguard. The one who has to be covered in blood.
After finishing the cleanup, she stepped outside.
The village was burning red. The roaring flames would swallow every ugly event that had transpired here.
A sour taste rose in the back of her throat. Guilt and self-loathing made her entire body tremble.
Vomiting would make it feel better. That's why she held it back. She couldn't afford to purge it.
If she couldn't even reproach herself, she'd truly become a monster. Or maybe she already was one.
"All clear."
"This side too."
Noel, Steen, Ran. All three wore grim expressions.
If this had been a battlefield where lives hung in the balance, they might have laughed it off.
"Following Shelder will mean facing this kind of thing time and again. Realizing the ideal comes at a steep price. But don't try to justify it. What we did was outright slaughter."
Steen said. Everyone nodded silently.
"Now let's move. The butler headed to the two-story house. We block the forest entrance to the burrow as planned."
"The curly-haired man, Kal, right? A must-eliminate target. He wasn't in the village. Is he still in the two-story house basement?"
"We'll find out when we get there. Though the odds are he slipped away."
She exchanged glances with her comrades and started walking. The wind blowing from behind felt scorching hot.
* * *
He'd been lucky, Pablo thought. The ones who'd discovered the two-story house were still in the basement.
He'd worried they might have missed someone or that a large force might surround the place, but it was all for nothing.
Blunoton was peaceful, and the persons of interest were quietly holed up below.
Pablo scanned the room with his eyes. There was the curly-haired man.
The 'Kal' that Dianne had mentioned. Beside Kal, a strangely shaped gray bird bobbed its head.
"You've come after all. Dangerous guests."
The curly-haired man said. Dangerous guests? Did they know about the raid?
"Glad to meet you anyway. Are you the guests sent by 'John'?"
"John? Seems there's some misunderstanding."
"You don't know the name?"
"No. More importantly, are you indeed 'Kal'?"
"You know my name. What an unpleasant experience after so long. Someone I don't know knowing mine. Being outmatched in intelligence gathering isn't pleasant at all."
"Thank you for the kind answer. And might I ask which side Lander is on?"
At Pablo's question, the cloaked man raised his hand.
The man who'd overpowered Inebil with sheer skill. As Dianne said, there was no overwhelming presence from his appearance.
"Then that man over there must be the hunter."
He addressed the man who appeared to be in his early forties.
"You know professions but not names, I see."
The hunter replied. He responded with a smile and drew his sword.
The old man trembling in the corner was beneath notice. Targets confirmed—now it was just cleanup.
"Drawing your sword right away suggests you're in a hurry."
Kal said.
"No need for talk between us."
"How about we exchange what we know instead? Ending it like this feels like I'd be at a loss. Of course, I could subdue you and pull your nails one by one while questioning, but wouldn't a peaceful resolution be better?"
"I like chatting too, but things are rather urgent."
He shifted toward the wall, narrowing the combat radius. Though he'd gained a near-omnipotent body, he knew nothing of fighting.
Even veterans died on bad days in real combat. He'd take them down methodically, one by one.
"The old master seems confident. Despite the numbers."
"I have a few tricks, one of which is swordsmanship. More than enough for you all."
"I see. But what about this? That trick won't help much against him."
Kal stepped down from the altar and knelt on one knee before Lander, raising both hands.
"Oh, there was one whom even the war god envied, and his name was Lander."
Exaggerated tone and gestures. Like an actor on stage.
Pablo ignored it and observed Lander. He'd closed the distance a bit, but no reaction.
One step, one step. He was now within sword range if he lunged, yet Lander didn't move.
"By the way, that line was from a popular play in the Holy City, re-enacted many times: Heroes of Andaras. Pretty spot-on, right?"
Kal kept talking. If it was a ploy to rattle his mind, it was a crude tactic.
Time to decide. Strike the unalert opponent with his sword, or watch a bit longer.
Lander, who'd been staring at him, suddenly looked up. Pablo flicked his eyes to the ceiling—nothing unusual.
"May I ask a few things?"
Lander spoke.
"Did you kill them all?"
He narrowed his eyes slightly. This burrow was deep underground. Hard to sense the outside. A guess?
Kal, who'd been chattering away, shut his mouth. Instead of answering, he moved. He thrust his sword at Lander, whose hands hung loosely.
The body pierced the human wall and executed as planned. A perfect strike. The opponent wouldn't even react.
"I have a few more questions."
Lander's head, which should have flown, stayed attached. His arm was severed instead.
It was cut cleanly, as if nothing had ever been there from the shoulder.
Before the pain hit his brain, he retreated.
Magic? A special trap?
The thought came, then the pain followed. He clutched the stump of his severed arm.
It hadn't been visible. He hadn't felt a thing. Yet it was gone.
"No matter how many times I see it, I never get used to that guy's swordplay."
"Gu Chi. You'll never get used to Lander's sword, even in a lifetime. Did you even see it? I blinked once, and that guest's arm was flying."
"I didn't see it clearly either. That guy's still fine even after losing an arm."
Kal hopped lightly and picked up the fallen arm from the floor. The detached limb twitched.
"Lander, looks like we need to take him alive. What a unique body. See here? The blood vessels are contracting to seal the wound. It's less human and more like..."
"Like it's been infested by a magical beast."
"Exactly. That's how it looks to me too. Lander, John sent us a real special gift. This body seems like the product of magic done here. Even if not, it's a tantalizing specimen."
Alarms blared in his head. Something was wrong. Only after retreating did he see the sword in Lander's hand.
When had he drawn it? When had he struck? When?
Before his thoughts finished, Pablo moved.
He had to escape. Death wasn't scary. Being captured and leaking info was.
A normal human would have ended with the arm, but this body could flee.
No time to grab the severed arm. He needed to get out and order the knights outside to retreat.
One clash told him everything. That was a swordsman beyond him.
A despairing buoyancy enveloped his body. He looked down. His legs were gone below the knees. Momentum from backing away sent his torso flying.
Guh, he groaned as he hit the ground. He tried crawling with his remaining left arm, but a leg blocked his path. Lander's.
"Quite the unique body. I sensed it with my first swing. The way it uses mana is unusual too. A normal person would have melted."
Pablo looked up. Lander gazed down with an unreadable, calm expression. For a moment, he felt like an insect.
"L-look at this! The severed limbs are moving on their own. What the hell is..."
The hunter made a fuss. Kal held the severed leg too, examining it with fascination.
A long-forgotten terror crept into his body.
"Mr. Kalligo."
Lander said.
Kalligo? Pablo dredged up a memory.
An incident where the Special Inspectorate had been dispatched. It had been the talk of the town since even the captain moved.
He didn't know the face, but the captain's name stuck: Kalligo.
Dianne had said Kal was someone who could obtain the Silent Workshop's guest list.
Pablo's instincts screamed disaster.
"You have questions for me?"
Kal crouched down, their eyes level. He voiced his rising doubts with trembling lips.
"Special... Inspectorate."
"If my name were some huge secret, I'd be impressed, but unfortunately, my position and name are public. My face isn't well-known, though. Normal citizens never cross my path. You know what I do, right?"
The mad dog prowling the emperor and the council.
Pablo thought one thing: Die here. Quickly and cleanly. Not a scrap of info could be left.
"Your expression says you're thinking of suicide. Possible in your state? Look at yourself—two legs and one arm gone, yet you're fine. No bleeding out. How do you plan to die? Got a secret method? If so, show it. It'll be useful against your kind."
Kal's playful words stabbed at the core. He realized it then. Something obvious he'd forgotten.
This body couldn't die easily.
Once a blessing, now it bound him. Couldn't die, couldn't escape.
Even overloading organs with dense mana wouldn't work; the body was attuned to it.
He needed to calm his despairing mind and find a way. But the worst was unfolding.
"Butler?"
Four members of the 1st Knight Order entered from the forest exit, spotting him.
(To be continued in the next installment)