Chapter 104: Night of the Purge (3)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 104: Night of the Purge (3)
"Ugh..."
Nox bit down hard on his lower lip. Blood seeped between his teeth, leaving a metallic taste of iron. He slowly let go of his brother.
Assassins were, by nature, those who lived closest to death.
The act of taking another's life.
No matter how justified the reason, they too always had to be prepared for death.
For that was the karma they had to bear as assassins.
But resolve and reality were two damn different things.
Nox slowly raised his eyes. A crimson bloodlust ignited in his sunken pupils. Broken capillaries webbed his wide-open eyes.
Nox focused his vision, trying to gauge the dark barrier inside the door.
He wanted to rush in this very instant, but he held back. He was not foolish enough to charge in without grasping the situation.
As he heightened his senses, his skin began to prickle.
At the fierce, ominous energy leaking through the gap in the door, his feet instinctively took a step back.
'...Magic power.'
An overwhelming amount of magic power, incomparable to when the patrol car had arrived, surged through the air. The atmosphere was beyond chilly—it was pitch black.
As Nox glared at the door, Al'tair spoke to him.
"Nox, do not let your emotions sway you."
"...Yes."
"We have yet to identify the enemy. Conceal your agitation."
His voice carried a calm tone. However, unlike his voice, Al'tair's face was contorted.
Watching this, Kang Geomma could feel the old man's emotion.
Anger.
Even for him, an assassin at the absolute peak, the death of his family had cracked his mindscape. Al'tair tightly suppressed the raging emotions within him.
Clap, clap, clap, clap!
The sound of clapping echoed from deep inside, bouncing off the walls in all directions.
Soon after, multiple figures emerged through the darkness.
"Whoa, as expected of the head of the House of Order, his mindset is on another level. Look at him talk like that even after his grandson died. Do you not have any emotions?"
Amidst the biting wind, a dark-skinned man spoke up with a sinister laugh.
Kang Geomma narrowed his eyes. It was a face he had never seen before.
However, there was no doubt that this man was the one who had caused this tragedy.
The man was bizarrely exuding magic power from his entire body. In one hand, he held a severed arm still clutching a concealed weapon.
Al'tair's eyes followed the man's gaze, and his face instantly contorted with rage.
"..."
"Ah, this?"
Feeling their gaze, the man shrugged. Then, as if throwing away trash, he tossed the severed arm aside. The sound of flesh and metal fragments hitting the floor echoed.
"You Auditores are damn annoying. It's a good thing we had the numbers, because if we had fewer, we might have actually lost. And that's even with us using magic. I was thinking of keeping an arm as a souvenir, but I'll just give it back to you. Bury it somewhere sunny."
"You wretched bastard!"
Al'tair let out a furious roar.
His extreme rage transformed into an immense bloodlust, locking onto the man. But then, the man suddenly waved his hands in dismissal.
"Whoa, why is this old man so scary? Hey! I can't handle this alone. Everyone, get out here!"
The man shouted toward his back.
Thud, thud.
Multiple footsteps followed shortly after.
"...!"
A moment later, about fifteen figures lined up on either side of the man. An eerie glow emanated from their eyes.
Every single one of them was a villain. Almost all the internal enemies who had been hiding within the academy had gathered in one place.
As the lineup formed, a triumphant look spread across the man's face. He narrowed his eyes and crossed his arms, speaking boastfully.
"No matter how great the head of the Auditore family is, can anyone stand against a dogpile? Honestly, that Professor bastard might be annoying, but he's got a good brain. How does he time the enemy's arrival so perfectly, huh?"
The man sneered. The other villains frowned and completely ignored his words. The man scratched his head.
"Sigh, uncooperative bastards. Well, I guess villains are always like this. Hmm... but do guys like this become villains, or do they become like this because they're villains...?"
The man tapped his dark temple as he pondered. A useless self-questioning. It was an act that could only come from a place of absolute leisure.
"...Well, I can't find the answer on my own, so what do you think, Elder? You're highly educated, so you must know."
The man shouted toward the back.
Cladi, who had been hiding inside, peeked out. He hesitated for a moment to choose his words, then answered sheepishly.
"A-aren't all of you Half-Human Half-Demons incredible individuals? After all, you have made contracts with none other than the Corps Commanders."
"Hmm, is that so? It doesn't really answer my question, but hearing that we're incredible from such a distinguished Elder does make me feel good."
"...Haha, I am glad you like it."
"Well, enough chatter. Elder Cladi, you owe us. You'd better compensate us handsomely later. Otherwise, things might get unpleasant."
At the man's subtle threat, Cladi quickly nodded.
At that sight, veins bulged on Al'tair's forehead. He finally unleashed the emotions he had been holding back.
"Cladi! No matter how rotten you are, how could you join hands with such trash?!"
"Shut up! How dare a lowly butcher like you try to lecture an Elder! Furthermore, you had the audacity to attack an Elder's villa. Once tonight passes, I will personally annihilate the Auditore family!"
"Ha, to hear such words from a piece of trash clinging to demons like a parasite. Your father, who passed away gloriously while subjugating Basmon forty years ago, must be weeping in hell. Have you no shame?!"
At those words, Cladi's face turned pale, then instantly flushed bright red.
His face, already flushed from alcohol, burned with shame. Veins bulging in his neck, he shrieked in fury.
"You lowly bastard, how dare you bring up my father—!"
"Enough."
The man standing at the front cut him off, as if he couldn't bear to listen to any more.
"B-but that guy...!"
As Cladi huffed, unable to contain his anger, the man's eyes grew cold.
"Hey, Elder. Just because I keep calling you 'Elder' and speaking politely, you don't actually think you're above me, do you?"
"..."
"The only reason we're keeping you alive is because it'll make cleaning up after we kill those guys easier, not because you're competent."
Cladi's lips trembled before he bit down hard.
His eyebrows twitched with terror and humiliation. The man glanced at him briefly before turning his gaze back to the front.
That's the guy.
The black-haired genius top student, Kang Geomma.
This was the first time they had met this close, but it was clear at a glance that he was extraordinary.
While the two assassins were highly agitated, only he stood firm, calmly assessing their strength with his deep, quiet black eyes.
I guess a vessel candidate really is different...
Even before defeating Mao Rang, the Iron Leg, he had already been the most watched target among the villains, second only to Leon, the Hero Candidate.
For the Corps Commanders to descend upon the Human Realm, they required a host for possession, a so-called "vessel."
This was why Balor Joaquin had sealed the boundary between the Demon Realm and the Human Realm immediately after the end of the 1st Human-Demon War.
As a result, humanity was able to maintain a truce with the demons despite the imbalance of power.
However, that taut tension had been slowly loosening over the long span of seven hundred years.
The Corps Commanders quietly bided their time. They were near-immortal beings, free from the constraints of lifespan. They had more than enough time.
And finally, the perfect opportunity arrived. The Golden Generation, unprecedented and never to be repeated, had entered Joaquin Academy all at once—including Leon, the Hero Candidate.
But an unexpected variable arose.
Kang Geomma.
The student who had instantly pushed aside the brilliant Golden Generation to take the top spot. On top of that, an unparalleled genius who had defeated Mao Rang, the Iron Leg, in a single blow.
Upon hearing the news through the villains embedded within the academy, greed filled the eyes of the Corps Commanders.
They commanded their thralls: bring Leon or Kang Geomma to them, and they would be granted infinite glory and wealth.
At those words, the villains swore with joy to offer the vessel to their lords.
The man was slightly excited. The villains standing beside him also had shining eyes—greedy gazes like jackals that had spotted a plump prey.
Greedy bastards.
As he scanned the faces of his competitors, the man suddenly felt goosebumps. He instinctively looked straight ahead.
"...!"
Kang Geomma was glaring at him. Just meeting his gaze felt like being cut by a blade. A shiver ran down his spine.
...What the hell is with this guy!
Meanwhile, Kang Geomma spoke quietly to Al'tair.
"Patriarch, you and Nox please disrupt the enemy's vision. If we push through with speed, we can overcome the numerical disadvantage to some extent."
A brief flash of surprise crossed the old man's face at those words, but he soon nodded.
Al'tair felt a profound sense of trust in the words of this boy, who was young enough to be his grandson.
Kiiing—
Al'tair drew a blade from his cane. The S-rank Armament, Syndicate. At the sound of it being drawn, everyone's attention instantly focused on the old man.
Clang—
Metal rang out once more. It was the sound of Nox drawing his Crimson Ring Blade.
Gripping the hilt, he fed blood to the blade.
On Kang Geomma's left stood the Old Man of the Mountain, Al'tair di Auditore.
On his right stood the greatest genius in Auditore history, Nox di Auditore, flanking him as if to assist.
"Those bastards are coming!"
The man roared as he saw the signs.
They were outnumbered five to one. Yet, the bloodlust the three of them exuded was darker and more ferocious than the darkness of magic power.
"...!"
The other villains also cast aside their leisure and took up their formations. As the scent of iron drifted to the tips of their noses, their eyes twitched.
In an instant, a tense standoff was established.
Magic power and bloodlust clashed in midair. Amidst it all, Kang Geomma took a giant step forward and gripped his hilt.
At the same time, Kang Geomma stared directly at Cladi. Meeting those dark eyes gleaming with light, Cladi's eyes shook with panic.
Kang Geomma thought to himself. He owed that son of a bitch a lot of debts.
The very culprit who had put not only him but also the people around him in danger was standing right there.
Furthermore, the villains who had been lurking inside the academy were all gathered in one place. What better opportunity could there be to settle the score?
An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, a neck for a neck.
Any merchant worth their salt hated being in debt.
Of course, given their numerical disadvantage and the fact that each opponent exuded formidable magic power, the odds were against them.
Yet, for some reason, strength naturally surged into his grip on his Sashimi. Lately, he had grown quite confident in flexing his might.
Perhaps he was now truly enjoying the battle.
But what did it matter?
No matter how many enemies there were, or what they were.
"I will cut down the magic, so I leave their necks to you."
Kang Geomma spoke quietly to the two beside him.
Kiririring—
The Sashimi let out its final ring.
A cold light flowed from the two blades.
Kang Geomma smiled silently.
\[The Blessing of the Sword God is manifested.\]
Despite the standoff where the sparks of a fierce battle were about to ignite, a small chuckle escaped his lips.
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《May the Blessing of God be with you.》
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