The Assassin Can't Beat the Tank

Sane turned the two men into stars in the night sky in an instant.

"Nice to meet you. First time, right?"

Sane stated the obvious.

'Then we must've met before...'

"…Who are you?"

I decided to pretend I didn't know Sane. There was no way an ordinary academy student would know an assassin from the Demon Countermeasures Division.

"Hmm… Let's get to know each other gradually. I'll cut to the chase."

After a brief pause, Sane asked me directly.

"You. What's your connection to the demons…?"

"No connection at all."

"Huh?"

Sane pulled out a notebook from her pocket, read something, then asked again.

"That can't be right…? You've been inside the Necromancer's laboratory, haven't you…?"

"I haven't."

"I must've mistaken you for someone else… That doesn't make sense."

As expected, it didn't work. How did she know…? Had they been monitoring us somehow? Why?

"That laboratory was a facility our Demon Countermeasures Division had been keeping a close eye on. …There was a report that Melek had been sighted there."

"Then suddenly… ta-da? Three academy students show up and enter the place…? Doesn't that seem suspicious?"

'It does seem suspicious.' Anyone would think so.

"On top of that, you even knew how to get in. …Right when we were struggling because we didn't know the way."

It was a mistake. I should've been more careful. To think the Demon Countermeasures Division had already been watching that place…

"And the spear you're holding right now… That's the same spear Melek had when he appeared in the Berhen Kingdom seven years ago."

'So there was that kind of backstory…'

"Anyway, I'll ask one more time. What's your connection to the demons…?"

"Just so you know, this is the last time I'll ask nicely. There won't be a next time."

No matter how many excuses I tried to come up with, I couldn't explain how I'd learned the dungeon's entry method.

'I'm actually a transmigrator who possessed a character in the game, and I went into the Necromancer's dungeon because it was a low-level area for some item farming.' There was no way I could say that.

As the silence dragged on, Sane looked ready to resort to physical methods.

"It's fine… There are plenty of ways to make you talk…!"

Sane's figure vanished.

Unfortunately, I hadn't used Invincibility today because I'd been testing potion effects. The situation had turned far too unfavorable for me.

. . .

Sane disappeared right before my eyes. I quickly backed up against the wall. …At least with my back to the wall, I wouldn't have to worry about attacks from behind.

I raised my shield and prepared for Sane's assault. The cave was pitch dark, and since she was an assassination specialist, I couldn't sense her presence at all.

'This is hopeless…'

"Hey! I have this spear because I defeated Melek!"

I tried explaining the situation. But Sane didn't respond.

'Damn it…'

I had no idea where she was aiming for my life from. Even if I escaped this place, it was obvious she'd keep targeting me.

'I have to settle this here.'

Eventually, Sane emerged from the darkness. She held her dagger in a reverse grip and brought it down toward my shoulder. I hurriedly raised my shield, but Sane was faster.

…A tremendous pain surged through my shoulder.

Sane vanished back into the darkness.

'How can I pin down Sane's movements…?'

Her hit-and-run tactics, based on her high agility, were extremely difficult to deal with from my position.

"Ugh…"

Sane's next strike pierced my left thigh. I groaned from the pain. The wounds burned like they were on fire.

'Wait a second… If the problem is that I can't see her, then I just need to make sure she can't see me either, right?'

Following that thought, I turned off the glowing artifact.

The cave was soon engulfed in complete darkness.

'Since she's human too, it'll take her some time to adjust to this darkness at least.'

The artifact Sane's companions had been carrying broke when she killed the two of them, and I'd destroyed the last one. …In other words, there was no light left in this cave.

Perhaps flustered by my action, Sane made a mistake she normally wouldn't. …She made a sound with her footsteps.

I swung my spear toward the direction of the sound.

…I felt the sensation of the spear tip hitting something.

I concentrated all my senses to gauge Sane's position. Maybe because the spear had struck her, I could hear her rough breathing.

I immediately thrust my spear in that direction.

"Kyaaaaah!"

Sane's sharp scream echoed. There was definitely solid feedback.

I turned the glowing artifact back on. As light illuminated the cave, Sane's figure was revealed.

Sane was sitting on the ground, clutching her abdomen. The spear wound on her leg was an extra. My first strike had luckily cut her leg.

'Is it because Sane's luck stat is lower than mine…?'

I approached Sane with my spear in hand.

Thud. Thud.

My footsteps echoed through the cave.

"A…ah, it hurts… Save me…"

Sane was out of it from the pain. I walked up to her and shook the health potion I'd been carrying in my pocket.

'Good thing I brought it just in case.'

It was fortunate the potion bottle hadn't broken.

"P…please… It hurts so much… Ugh… I'll do anything…"

Sane cried out in agony. She'd probably only ever fought battles where she unilaterally toyed with her opponents, so she must've rarely experienced this kind of pain.

I leaned in close to Sane and whispered.

"You… know how to use the Submission Spell, right? The one you guys use when you capture people…"

The Submission Spell. It was a spell the Demon Countermeasures Division created to extract confessions from demons or their collaborators. Basically, members of the Demon Countermeasures Division could use this spell anywhere, anytime, on anyone… since they had to extract confessions no matter what.

'Thinking about it now, it's for the sake of humanity, but it's still a vicious spell…'

The Submission Spell could only be used when the target was weakened both physically and mentally. Sane weakly nodded her head.

…So she could use it after all.

"Target is you. And the one dominating is me. You can do it, right?"

Sane hesitated to answer. Even with a hole in her stomach, she didn't want to be enslaved.

'No choice… I'll have to use some shock therapy…'

Crash!

I smashed the health potion right in front of Sane. Despair filled her eyes.

"Ugh… What… are you… doing…"

Sane's face was already covered in tears. Her complexion was growing paler by the second.

'Still pretty even like this…'

I pulled out another health potion from my pocket. Hope began to flicker in Sane's eyes again.

"This is the last time I'll ask nicely. You know the spell? Use it right now."

It was my final warning.

"Don't even think about ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠changing the target. If you try it on me and fail… you know what happens, right?"

Sane looked at me like I was a demon. Eventually, she began casting the spell as if resigned to her fate.

Before long, a magic circle formed around me, and chains emerged from the circle on my side, binding Sane.

"I-it's… done… That… give me that…"

Sane pleaded with me while staring at the potion. I checked Sane's status window once more.

'Looks like it worked… Should I test it just in case…?'

Sane was ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠on the verge of passing out.

"Ugh… Please… I'm gonna die… Ugh…"

I handed the health potion to Sane. She desperately tried to swallow it.

"Sane. Don't drink it."

"Ugh?!"

Sane froze in the exact posture of trying to swallow the potion. Her eyes were filled with pitch-black despair.

"W-why are you doing this… Ugh…"

"Drink it."

The moment I finished speaking, Sane gulped down the potion in a frenzy. Gradually, her wounds began to heal.

"Hic…"

Sane suddenly burst into tears.

"You… hic… bad bastard… Sob… Is it fun messing with people…?"

…Honestly, Sane looked cute right now. To think the cold image Sane had in the game would end up like this…

'Now I look like the bad guy…?'

I rationalized that since Sane attacked first, I wasn't at fault.

"Waaah… Hic…"

She cried so pitifully. For now, I gave Sane an order.

"From now on, you cannot perform any indirect or direct actions that would harm me."

That should do it.

…Come to think of it, the wounds Sane had stabbed were starting to hurt again.

"Hey. If you're fully healed, carry me on your back. It hurts."

Sane looked at me like I was trash.

…Well, what could she do? She was the one who did it.

. . .

Sane carried me all the way to the dormitory. Sweat poured down her body like rain, but that wasn't my problem.

"Good work… You can rest now… Actually, go buy some health potions."

"Yes…"

Sane headed outside as if resigned. Looking outside, it was getting brighter—it must be sunrise. The potion shop was probably open by now.

'I'll have to skip class today…'

One day should be fine. My whole body hurt like hell…

After treating my body with the potions Sane bought, I surrendered to the drowsiness that washed over me. Incidentally, the cost of the potions came out of Sane's own pocket.