Chapter 14
Chapter 14
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 14
Chapter Title: Underground Sewers (4)
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[Um... Cloe... how about we part ways here...?]
The first time Cloe heard Rion's words, she thought the girl was finally trying to abandon her.
She had no idea what value Rion saw in her life, but at least it wouldn't be worth risking pursuit by the assassin guild.
[Ah, no... I meant let's act separately from now on.]
But Rion wasn't abandoning her.
[I'll lure the assassins, so Cloe, please find the source of the corruption spreading through the sewers...]
Rather, she was volunteering for even greater danger to pull Cloe out of harm's way.
'What the hell is she thinking?'
Cloe knew Rion's skills well from their brief clash.
The miracle of instant casting without a staff—with that ability, even skilled assassins should pose no problem.
But this time was different.
[...Besides me and that guy... about a dozen more were deployed.]
Yormungand assassins were all rated above B-rank adventurers individually. If they all targeted just Rion?
Even someone as extraordinary as her would struggle to survive.
'As expected... I need to stay by her side...'
In the end, too worried about Rion to leave, Cloe turned to head back—but
'But what can I even do if I go?'
Suddenly, the cold truth hit her: nothing would change even if she did.
Objectively speaking, Cloe's current skills barely exceeded B-rank adventurer level.
She had the cheat-like "Half-Demon" trait, but it shone against mana-wielding mages—against assassins, it lost much of its edge.
For her to charge into that battlefield to "help" Rion?
Forget helping; she could end up a hostage, dragging Rion down.
'Why...'
Helplessness. Cloe felt utter powerlessness, unable to do a thing.
'Why can't I do anything?!'
Just like back then, forced to watch her hometown wither away.
Just like when she watched the neighborhood kids who trailed after her starve to death.
Cloe hadn't changed a bit from her powerless childhood.
...Had she really not?
'No.'
No, that wasn't right.
She had thrashed desperately to survive.
Even if her methods weren't honorable, she had set her whole body ablaze for it.
She might not become the predator that devoured everything, but at least now she could leave bite marks on one.
[...It's just a guess, but... somewhere in the sewers... there's dark magic suppressing the purification. Remove it... and the facilities should work normally...]
She'd only known Rion a few days, but she couldn't let the girl who so readily offered her hand die.
Cloe knew her constitution well enough.
A power that repelled others' mana, nullifying magic itself.
That could destroy the source of the dark magic blanketing the sewers.
'At the very least, I have to handle the dark mage.'
She absolutely had to prevent Rion from facing both assassins and a dark mage at once.
For that, Cloe needed to take the dark mage side herself.
It didn't take long for the Yormungand assassins to converge at the signal point.
"The signal came from here."
"Leader, we've secured the two decoys acting as bait. They're unconscious."
They had been scattered throughout the sewers from the start to block Sion and Cloe's escape.
They rushed to the signal point, but aside from the two sprawled decoys, nothing was there.
"Any missing personnel?"
"10 and 11 are nowhere in sight."
The leader figure grasped the situation in an instant.
"Which sector were they guarding?"
"B15 sector."
"That's the one."
They had narrowed the encirclement around the signal point, so their absence meant a tear in the net.
That left B15—the sector where 10 and 11 hadn't joined or signaled—as the likely breakthrough point.
Knowing they were outnumbered, the targets' best move was picking off the scattered assassins one by one.
"They haven't gotten far. Don't slack on speed—prepare for combat anywhere, anytime."
"Yes!"
Their classes were mage and assassin.
The assassin aside, a mage's mobility wouldn't outpace them.
'5 minutes... no, at least catch them in 3.'
As the assassins raced toward B15—
"Uh... um... you're... faster than I thought..."
A lone figure slowly came into view from the direction they were heading.
'Just one?'
By her outfit, the mage of the two targets.
The other one was missing.
'Decoy? Or sacrificial pawn?'
Had the low-mobility mage been ditched so the other could flee solo?
Not impossible. In their situation, it was ruthlessly efficient.
"Where's the other bitch? Speak up nice, and we'll make it painless."
"Dunno... really..."
Near the girl lay 10 and 11, collapsed.
Two trained assassins, taken down without a chance to signal.
By a single staffless mage.
The runaway assassin's aid wasn't impossible, but caution toward the mage was prudent.
The leader slipped a hand behind his back, signaling his team.
'No slacking. Rush and end it fast.'
Failure in Yormungand meant ruin.
Their rising-star status came from a 100% success rate.
'Finish this one quick, then hunt the runaway.'
With the thought settled, he signaled—
'Now..!'
-BOOM!
Along with a deafening explosion, most of the assassins lunging at the girl vanished without a trace.
What the hell.
What the actual hell is that monster.
"...Now just you left..."
Even if their skills fell short of Yormungand's fame, that was only against top guilds.
They weren't pushovers to be slaughtered by small-time adventurers from some backwater town.
'Fire magic—an explosion spell, cast that fast..?'
Basic knowledge: higher tier and power meant longer casting times.
Yet the girl before them shattered that casually.
'We never should have tangled with her.'
"Fuck... this is why you don't mess with mage scrubs."
Such types existed occasionally.
Powerhouses who hid their strength and crushed eager weaklings for sport.
This girl was clearly one.
"Your mouth... is way too foul..."
"Crazy bitch."
"Ah, cursing again.."
Compared to his half-charred body or the comrades reduced to nothing, the girl was pristine.
Plus, the sewer walls—structurally unable to withstand such a blast—were unscratched.
Probably layered with protective magic.
'She had the spare capacity to shield the surroundings while fighting us.'
To her, they were like flies you hesitated to swat, lest blood splatter the wall.
'Those eyes...'
Her dark blue irises, once dull in the gloom, now gleamed vividly.
Like a starry night sky piercing the dark.
A telltale sign of the rare mages with vast mana reserves.
"Filthy dog bastard..."
"H-Hey, no cursing..!"
With those words, the leader's eyes closed forever.
Prifre Underground Sewers, deep level.
"Where to now?"
[Turn right there.]
Cloe and Lily were heading deeper to find the source of the corruption plaguing the sewers.
-BOOM!
Built underground, the sewers amplified sounds keenly.
Sion's battle noises reached Cloe vividly.
"That sound..."
[Don't stop, Cloe. Isn't your goal destroying the corruption source?!]
-BOOM!
As the blasts intensified, Cloe's steps quickened further.
The dread that slowing even a bit brought Rion closer to death wouldn't fade.
'Please... be okay...'
Praying inwardly while dashing, she soon neared the source.
[Here. The corruption stench is thickest.]
After several deep mental breaths, Cloe plunged into the foulest section yet.
And inside—
"...A slime?"
No dark mage in sight—just a single slime left behind.
Not that it was ordinary.
A massive slime body tangled with what looked like countless human forms.
Dragging itself with arm-like limbs resembling a giant beast's, the grotesque mass contracted and expanded unnaturally.
A monster like humans, beasts, and slime forcibly mashed together.
[Cloe, run.]
Cloe instantly knew it was beyond her.