The Darkness of Barenberg (2)
Alien mana flooded the air around him.
To Schwarz, it was a mana he knew all too well. The crushing pressure that settled over his entire body, as if he had plunged into the deepest reaches of the sea, was something he had not felt since three years ago.
"What in the world have you done…!!"
Swallowing hard against the chaos before his eyes, Schwarz stared in disbelief.
[Khah…!! Khahahahah…!!]
The man threw back his head and howled with mad laughter. His frame had swollen to more than twice its former size, muscles straining as if they might burst. Beneath skin turned black as pitch, veins thick as fingers writhed and bulged. Sharp horns crowned his head; his pupils had shifted to a sickly yellow; and his teeth had lengthened into vicious fangs. The overall effect was nothing short of monstrous.
Yet the most striking change of all was his right arm—unnaturally, grotesquely swollen.
"Do you even understand what you've done!?"
[Whether I die this way or that, I'm dead either way. Might as well choose the option that gives me even a sliver of a chance to live, don't you think?]
The man sneered at Schwarz's shout, eyes flashing as he fixed his gaze on him.
"Haa…"
In that instant Schwarz sensed what was coming and let out a short sigh.
[If you understand, then just die already!!]
With a roar closer to a beast's howl than a human voice, the man charged, swinging that massive right arm like a club.
—Kwaaang!!
The enormous limb crashed down on Schwarz. A shockwave exploded outward with the force of a bomb, shattering the windows of nearby buildings in a cascade of sharp cracks. Screams rose from every direction.
But…
"Is that all?"
[Wh-what…!?]
What met the man's eyes was Schwarz, casually catching the blow with a single hand as if it had cost him no effort at all.
"Doesn't seem like much has changed in three years…"
[H-how…!?]
The man could only gape at Schwarz's utterly unimpressed tone.
And then—
"Even if I leave the others for later, I think I'll have to take you with me no matter what."
Schwarz's eyes hardened as he clenched his fist. In the same breath, black scales raced up his arm, reshaping it in an instant.
"Clench your teeth. Unless you want them all smashed out."
He knocked the man's arm aside and drove forward.
[W-what…!?]
"Hyaaaah!!"
The man could not even track the movement; a startled cry tore from his throat. Looking up at him, Schwarz drove his fist straight into the man's jaw.
[Guhk—!?]
A single strangled scream, and the man's body went flying. He soared several meters into the air before gravity dragged him back down. With a tremendous crash he slammed into a nearby pile of crates.
[Ghh… uh…]
"I told you. Surrender and you won't get hurt."
The man lay moaning, every tooth shattered. Schwarz dusted off his fist with a short sigh and started toward him.
"Now… how am I supposed to haul this thing away…"
Carrying him was not the problem. Hauling a monster like this through the streets would inevitably draw every eye. If he wanted to avoid a scene, he needed a discreet way to move the man.
"Mmm…"
Schwarz was still frowning over the problem when a sudden sense of wrongness prickled at his back. He twisted aside at once.
A heartbeat later something whistled past his cheek.
"A dart?"
It was a dart filled with some unknown black liquid.
—Pshhk!
With a sickening sound the dart buried itself near the fallen man's heart. The liquid inside vanished into his body as though it had been injected.
The next instant—
[Guhhk—!!?]
The man jerked awake with a strangled cry.
And then—
[Gyaaaa—!! Gyaaaaaaaaaah!!! Aaagh!! Gyaaaaaah!!]
"Wh-what?"
Schwarz could only stare, dumbfounded, as the man began to scream. He thrashed and howled as if every agony imaginable had seized him at once—a sight so horrific it was almost unreal.
[N-no… this… isn't…!!]
Even through the screams the man stretched a hand toward empty air.
But the next moment—
"What…!?"
His body began to turn a dull gray. Before Schwarz could so much as move, the man crumbled into dust and scattered on the wind.
"…"
Schwarz was still standing there, expression blank with shock, when more darts began to fly.
"Gyaaak!!"
"Guhk!! Gyaaaaah!!"
They streaked toward the other fallen figures. Agonized screams filled the air; every person struck by a dart dissolved into dust without exception.
"Damn it!!"
Only then did Schwarz understand. Cursing, he sprinted toward those who had not yet been hit.
Silencing witnesses. Destroying evidence.
Even as he ran, more of the stricken crumbled away. Only one remained.
"Hyaaaaah!!"
Praying he was not too late, Schwarz gathered his mana and stamped the ground.
—Kugugugung!!
A low rumble answered him as a thick wall of earth surged upward. The darts struck it with sharp pings and ricocheted away. In that opening Schwarz scooped up the last unconscious figure and bolted for the alley with every ounce of speed he possessed.
"My Lady!"
"You're late. How long does it take to—"
Milia turned at the sound of her name, then found herself speechless at the sight before her. Schwarz was approaching with a complete stranger cradled in his arms. Irritation flared hot and sudden; she fixed him with a sharp look.
"Looks like quite a lot happened."
Yet the urgency written across Schwarz's face, the restless tension in every line of him, told her something was seriously wrong. She asked at once.
"Yes. We need to hide first."
"All right."
"H-hide? What are you talking about?"
Neris stared at Schwarz in confusion as he nodded.
"Neris. I'm sorry, but you'll have to come with us for a bit."
"O-okay…"
Instead of answering further, Milia hurriedly gathered their belongings. Sensing from their manner that the situation was far from ordinary, Neris fell silent and helped divide the luggage.
"This way…"
Schwarz led the two of them toward a nearby inn. A short while later they were in the highest room the place offered.
"No one followed us?"
"No."
Schwarz nodded at Milia's question and carefully shut the door.
"So? Is this the one who was tailing us?"
"One of them, to be precise."
He answered with a nod as Milia crossed her arms.
"One of them? Then you let the rest get away?"
She tilted her head, surprised. With Schwarz's abilities, no ordinary opponent should have been able to slip free so easily.
"No… they're all dead."
"What…?"
Milia's face went blank with shock.
"You didn't—"
"It wasn't me."
Schwarz shook his head at the accusation in her voice.
"Explain."
"Someone silenced them all. I only managed to save this one and bring them here."
"Hmm…"
Milia narrowed her eyes and let out a low hum. Then she rose, walked to the bed, and pulled the mask from the unconscious figure's face.
"Tsk…"
She clicked her tongue the moment she saw what lay beneath. The face was that of a young woman—young enough that the word "girl" still suited her. A flash of inexplicable irritation rose in Milia's chest; she pushed it down with a short sigh. This was not the time for such feelings.
"Haa…"
She sat again.
"More importantly, My Lady—that isn't the real issue right now."
"What do you mean? There's something more important than this?"
Milia frowned, genuinely puzzled. A count's daughter had been followed and her servant nearly assassinated—what could possibly outrank that?
Schwarz's next words forced her to revise that thought completely.
"This whole affair… seems to be connected to them."
"Them?"
She tilted her head, failing for a moment to grasp whom he meant. Then understanding struck, and the color drained from her face.
"Is that… true? Are you certain?"
"Yes…"
When Schwarz nodded again at her disbelieving question, Milia staggered and dropped into the chair.
"Haa…"
She exhaled a long, heavy sigh and turned her face toward the window. She had always known a day like this would come, yet now that it stood before her, the turmoil was impossible to suppress.
"Um… what are you two even talking about?"
Neris, who had been watching them both with quiet caution, finally ventured the question. To her the entire conversation was a mystery—and rightly so. What they were discussing was something no one without considerable rank or direct involvement in the kingdom's affairs could possibly know.
"Neris. Listen carefully to what I'm about to say. All right?"
"O-okay…"
Milia rose, crossed to Neris, and laid a hand on her shoulder. The gravity in her manner made Neris answer in a tight, nervous voice.
"We're going to my family's villa first. I'll assign someone there to protect you. Then go straight home, gather the people around you, and get as far from Barenberg as you can."
"W-what is going on!? If there's anything I can do to help—"
"I'm sorry. I can't tell you the details right now. But Barenberg itself may be in danger."
"A-all right… if you're saying that much…"
Milia's manner was so unlike her usual self that Neris simply nodded without further protest. She had spent enough years at Milia's side—nowhere near as long as Schwarz, but long enough—to know that Milia would never speak such words lightly.
"Good."
Milia nodded, a measure of relief easing her shoulders, then looked back at the woman lying on the bed. Whether the stranger was aware of the atmosphere or not, her sleeping face looked far too peaceful. For a fleeting moment Milia wanted nothing more than to kick her; she shook her head and stood.
"All right. Let's head back for now."
"O-okay…!"
"Yes, My Lady."
Both of them rose at her words, nodding in answer.