The Master of the Mansion (2)
The Master of the Mansion (2)
"Ugh, I can't... move..."
Only now could I finally do what the assassin I'd seen in my childhood had done.
It was a technique that filled the surrounding area with my mana, allowing me to control even the movements of those caught within it.
It wasted a great deal of mana and was closer to showing off, but it was more than enough to strike terror into my opponent.
But as expected, it was only effective against those below a certain level.
More than half of the bandits and mercenaries were holding out against my mana, and some were even trying to force it back.
Crackle.
Just like the hulking man at the very front, with sparks crackling around his body.
Unless my own skills had deteriorated, the people before me were clearly a gathering of highly skilled individuals.
Well, they were people who'd fled the Kingdom of Balea, after all.
I could now see clearly just how much Balea's skills had improved.
Until now, I'd only seen her use it while on the move or in territories she'd thrown together in a hurry.
In a place properly prepared like this, even I found Balea's ability terrifying.
Within a properly established Balea Domain, enemies below a certain level had no choice but to be annihilated in an instant.
It was an ability specialized in defense, and a lethal one against large groups of enemies.
I'd heard someone mention a witch earlier, and with an ability like this, she certainly deserved to be called the Witch of the War on the battlefield.
I withdrew the mana I'd released.
The bandits and mercenaries gasped for breath.
The hulking man at the very front, with his fierce-looking face, looked even grimmer.
"Everyone, attack! If we lose the initiative, we all die!"
As expected, the hulking man understood the situation, unlike the others. He was a skilled mercenary who didn't seem like the sort to stoop to highway robbery.
But as I'd always seen, character and skill didn't necessarily go hand in hand.
Besides, holding on to the initiative didn't mean you were safe from death.
The hulking man rushed at me, swinging his axe.
Whoosh.
The axe made a tremendous sound as it sliced toward my waist.
I swung the greatsword I held in one hand as well.
Clang!
The axe clashed against my greatsword and stopped right beside my flank.
Immediately afterward, the other mercenaries lunged forward.
I stepped forward. Startled, the hulking man retreated, but I advanced faster.
I felt the swords and spears swung by the other mercenaries pass behind my back.
Keeping my greatsword locked against his, I moved my free hand and whipped the dagger around, its tip trailing a long shimmer.
"Argh!"
"My arm!"
Blood splattered around me as screams rang out.
"You motherfucker, you piece of shit!"
The hulking man, retreating with his axe still locked against my greatsword, roared.
It had been a while since I'd heard such deliciously foul language. Whether because he was a mercenary or because he was working as a bandit, he swore magnificently—the kind of cursing I'd heard in my past life.
My past life's experience with keyboard battles made me briefly consider asking after his mother, but I couldn't afford to lose my mind any further here.
Most of them had been ground to pieces inside the estate, leaving barely any useful opponents. It would be a pain to rough him up too much as well.
He gripped his axe with both hands and barely managed to push me back.
As expected, it was still difficult to keep an opponent's weapon locked in place.
I could do something similar for a brief moment, but to do it properly, I needed another of Carlos's mana cultivation techniques.
"Fine, then how about this?"
I slammed the greatsword down with all my might.
Thud!
"Ugh."
The hulking man blocked the descending greatsword, but groaned at its weight.
"Urrgh, this makes no sense. Why is it suddenly so heavy..."
Even so, the hulking man gradually forced the greatsword back, spitting blood from his mouth.
Increasing the sword's weight was also difficult to sustain for long.
Using it in short bursts was a great help in combat, but, as expected, this too required a proper mana cultivation technique.
In that case, shall I test another technique this time?
I sheathed the greatsword on my back and swung the dagger.
"Fucking bastard!"
Once again, curses burst from my opponent's mouth.
While I tested the various techniques I'd recently acquired, all the other mercenaries and bandits ended up lying on the ground.
Some tried to flee midway, of course, but I threw my dagger and embedded it in the back of their heads.
Since I could retrieve the dagger I'd thrown with my newly acquired ability, even those who were fleeing began to fight desperately, giving me a more realistic combat experience.
But everyone who lunged forward like that died too, so now the hulking man was the only one left standing in one piece.
"Kill me."
He knew very well that I was using him as a practice partner.
Even then, he seemed to have been desperately searching for a way to survive, but it looked as though he'd finally given up.
The hulking man raised both hands.
But why was he still holding his axe? And why were his eyes darting all over the place?
Still, I had something to ask him, so this worked out well.
"If you answer well, I might just spare your life..."
"Is there any idiot who would believe that?"
Even as he answered, I could clearly sense the hope in him.
"Tell me what you were thinking when you invaded this territory. If there's any useful information, I'll consider it."
"Ah, that—I can tell you all about it. Two mercenaries who knew this territory well came to find me..."
The hulking man began his story from the beginning. As he spoke, he quietly lowered his arms.
Given how extremely detailed his explanation was, he seemed to think someone might come and help him.
Or perhaps he was waiting to be properly punished. If that happened, he wouldn't die immediately.
Just as the hulking man expected, someone was indeed due to arrive.
Manuel and the knights were currently rushing over here as fast as they could.
The bandits and mercenaries rampaging through the village would be dealt with by the soldiers and knights who had survived at the estate.
Since Balea was moving with them, there was nothing to worry about.
As I passed through the village, I had faintly sensed something similar to what I'd felt at the estate.
It was a strange, bothersome sensation, but looking back, it had been the mana Balea had laid out in advance.
It was something like a magic circle prepared beforehand to create her domain.
When she activated her domain, the prepared mana would respond, producing a large-scale miracle like the one that had just occurred at the estate.
'At this point, you couldn't even tell illusion from reality...'
If an illusion cut your flesh and broke your bones, there'd be no difference to the victim between illusion and reality.
And everyone had seen the same illusion, so in the end, it was no different from reality.
As I listened to the hulking man's story, lost in thought, some strange words caught my attention.
"Wait, a mercenary who knew the situation at the estate introduced a disgruntled knight?"
The man and woman I'd seen when I first arrived at the estate briefly came to mind, but there was no guarantee they were the same mercenaries the hulking man was talking about.
I didn't remember their faces clearly, either. This seemed like something I'd have to ask Balea about.
What followed wasn't particularly useful.
The fact that they'd gathered mercenaries-turned-bandits and other bandits to raid the territory was something I already knew.
The names of the other bandit groups and mercenary bands weren't much use to me, either.
"I can't kill him, since I have to take him to Balea."
As if he had nothing left to say, the hulking man began listing the personal details of the mercenaries who'd invaded with him.
Judging by the way he spoke, he seemed to know quite a lot, so it felt like a waste to kill him.
I was about to simply break his limbs, but then a good idea occurred to me.
I pulled a black sword from my chest.
"Set synchronization slightly higher than medium."
As I pulled another sword from my chest and muttered to myself, the hulking man—who'd been talking—fell silent and widened his eyes.
He'd gotten scared after all, it seemed.
"Take the sword. Though this is a test, it feels more like a reward than a punishment..."
To think that a bandit like this would be the second person to hold the Sword of the King.
Still, I had to see how someone else would experience it.
And that person had to be someone who wouldn't be able to spread rumors.
Though terrified, the hulking man took hold of the sword I offered.
The expression drained from his face, and his eyes lost focus. He stared blankly into space.
I wonder if I looked like that, too.
Since I'd always held the sword myself, seeing it from a third-person perspective felt completely different.
"I knew it, but I really need to be more careful. This leaves me completely defenseless."
Thinking about it, I realized just how defenseless I'd been every time I held the sword and trained in my dorm room.
But then again, it wasn't easy to find another place, so...
"If I get caught, is suicide my only option?"
Not as a figure of speech—I might really have to commit suicide...
As I watched him, at some point the hulking man's body began to tremble violently. Soon afterward, he started foaming at the mouth, his whole body shaking.
Even after letting go of the sword, he rolled around on the floor.
"The reaction is more severe than I thought..."
There had been pain, but it hadn't been this severe.
Was this roughly what it felt like to have an arm severed by a sword? It was a little different, but weaker than the sensation of dying...
I'd thought I'd have to cut off his limbs even after he held the sword, but it seemed there was no need.
"At this rate, I don't know if he'll even be able to answer properly when Balea questions him."
Still, just in case, I broke all his limbs.
Then, after roughly tossing him aside, I ran toward the village as well.
As expected, the remaining bandits in the village had all been cleaned up.
There were no bandits left alive. The furious knights and soldiers had killed them all.
Behind the blood-spattered knights and soldiers stood Balea, completely unharmed except for the torn hem of her skirt.
At her single word, the soldiers and knights moved frantically, making it seem as though Balea was the lord of this territory now.
"Did you finish off all the bosses who fled?"
Balea knew exactly who had fled and who had stood in her way.
Even though we were outside the estate, that much seemed to be within her field of vision.
Could she detect the surrounding area even when her ability didn't reach it? I should keep that in mind, too.
"I left one alive because he seemed to know a lot. Question him later."
I just hoped the hulking man would be able to answer properly.
At my words, Balea nodded.
"Is your family safe?"
"Yes, my mother is safe."
Hmm. I couldn't tell whether she meant only her biological mother was safe or whether everyone was. It felt awkward to ask again, though.
Fortunately, she continued speaking.
"The acting lord and the Baroness are also alive. If the territory collapses, it would be troublesome for me to attend the Academy, so they must remain alive."
Would she have left them to die if not for the Academy? Once again, it was difficult to ask.
Fortunately, with the village cleared, the commotion at the Baron's Estate was over.
Many people had died, but none of the Baron's family were among them, and they'd managed to protect their wealth as well.
Was it because those who died were strangers?
I didn't feel the need to turn back time.
It might have been because my own pain felt greater than their lives, or perhaps because I already knew I couldn't save everyone.
Manuel and the knights, who arrived late, helped clean up the territory, and Balea seemed to have some concerns after questioning the hulking man I'd left alive.
At any rate, the vacation wasn't long, and we couldn't stay at the Baron's Estate for long.
We set off toward the Duchy, watching the territory being diligently restored.
The Baron's family saw us off, and Balea waved to me as we departed.