Unspoken Secrets (2)
—Crack!
"Gah!?"
With a dull, heavy impact, the man swinging his sword went flying through the air. He hung there for several seconds like something out of an old cartoon before crashing into the people behind him. Screams erupted as they toppled over one after another like bowling pins.
The remaining men stared in horror at the boy standing before them.
Hair the deep blue-black of a night sky. Amber eyes that glowed even in the dark. Ominous light pulsed from the golden runes etched into his pitch-black gauntlets.
"W-what the hell is that thing!?"
"Calling a person 'that' is rather rude, don't you think?"
Schwarz answered with a bright, cheerful smile.
"Aaaargh!!"
In that moment a man who had been waiting for an opening charged from behind, sword raised. But—
"Hup!!"
"Gyaaah!!"
Schwarz thrust his fist toward the oncoming blade. With a shattering crash the sword exploded into fragments. Without slowing, he seized the man by the collar.
"Ghk… ghk…!!"
"I already told you. Hand over the children and I'll leave quietly."
"I-I keep telling you, there aren't any kids like that here!!"
As the man thrashed and groaned, one of the surrounding thugs shouted in a panicked voice. Of course, Schwarz already knew it was a lie; there was no need to point it out.
"Didn't anyone ever teach you that lying is wrong?"
"…!!"
With that, Schwarz released the unconscious man's collar. The body crumpled to the ground and went still.
"I don't know what you're counting on, but with my abilities I could put every last one of you down in five minutes."
"Damn it…!!"
At the icy look Schwarz gave them, the sound of people swallowing hard rippled through the circle.
In truth, Schwarz had a fair idea what they were waiting for.
That mage should be showing up any moment now…
The one who had set the hotel ablaze. That magic had been at least third-tier. Even Schwarz would take serious damage if he were caught off-guard by something like that.
"Well, it doesn't matter. If you won't hand them over, I'll just beat every one of you senseless and take them myself."
"H-hiiik…!!"
If the man wouldn't come out on his own, Schwarz would simply force him to. He would thrash every last thug here, rescue the children, and see whether the mage still refused to show his face.
With that thought, Schwarz poured mana into his gauntlets. The golden runes began to glow in response—
—Rumble…!!
"…!!"
A sudden peal of thunder split the sky, and a streak of light flashed overhead. Schwarz leapt backward at once, putting distance between himself and the others.
In the next instant—
—KRA-KOOM!!
An ear-splitting roar accompanied a bolt of faintly blue lightning that crashed down upon him. At the same moment Schwarz raised a defensive barrier with the mana stored in his gauntlets. Lightning and shield collided, spraying blue light in every direction.
The bolt lasted only a few seconds before its force faded and vanished completely.
"You actually withstood that… not bad."
"…"
At the voice coming from above, Schwarz shook the crackling sparks from the surface of his gauntlets and looked up.
"Seems my boys have put you through quite a bit of trouble."
There, floating in midair and radiating murderous mana, was a man. Solidly built, with hair the color of a clear blue sky and blood-red eyes beneath it. One eye was covered by a patch, a long scar trailing out from underneath. Every finger of both hands bore a ring set with a gemstone that glowed a different color.
"So you're the one who set the hotel on fire."
The mana he felt now was identical to the power that had fueled those flames.
"Hotel? I was just trying to reclaim my property, but the guards kept getting in the way. So I made sure there was nothing left for them to guard. If there's nothing to protect, there's no need to protect it, right?"
"I'll say this one last time. Return the children at once."
"Ha! How terrifying. And if I refuse?"
A worthless answer not even worth responding to. Schwarz let out a short sigh. The man gave a snort of laughter and asked again.
"Then I'll take them back by force."
He had already expected it would come to this. All that remained was to settle it with strength.
"You brought this on yourselves, so don't regret it."
Watching the man's subordinates begin to close in, Schwarz started channeling mana through his own body.
Roughly three minutes into the real fight—
"Urgh…"
"S-someone help…"
Every one of the man's subordinates lay sprawled across the ground, groaning.
"Impressive. What the hell are you?"
"I have no name worth giving you."
Schwarz answered the man's admiring gaze and released the collar of the last man he held. Already unconscious, the body slumped lifelessly to the dirt. With a final soft thud, no one remained standing.
"Honestly, if I don't handle things myself it always ends up like this…"
The man muttered irritably and set his feet on the ground. In the same instant Schwarz charged, fist flying.
"Shield."
As if he had expected it, one of the rings on the man's hand flared. A blue barrier sprang up between them and deflected the punch.
"Tch."
Mana had been radiating from the gems in those rings. Each one was clearly a magic item engraved with a spell. To block an attack from a body reinforced with mana, the stones had to be refined to at least first-grade quality.
What a nuisance.
Schwarz clicked his tongue and leapt back to open the distance.
"Chain Casting. Magic Arrow."
Eight orbs of condensed mana formed behind him. At a flick of his hand they scattered and rained down on the man from every direction.
"Surely you weren't that confident over something this weak?"
Another ring on the man's hand glowed. The barrage of light slammed into a second blue barrier and vanished in a series of firework-like bursts. The attack had only been a probe to test the shield's strength; being blocked cost Schwarz nothing.
"Then I suppose it's my turn?"
One of the man's rings flared, and in the blink of an eye he vanished.
"Blink…!!"
Short-range instantaneous teleportation. Sensing mana at his back, Schwarz dropped low just as a kick sliced through the air where his head had been.
"Oh. You're pretty quick."
"Tch…!!"
At the man's impressed tone, Schwarz spun and lashed out with a kick of his own. It only grazed the tip of the man's nose. Eyes wide with surprise, the man retreated and rubbed the spot.
"Haha! Excellent! This is more like it—now I understand why you were so full of yourself!"
"…"
Schwarz scowled at the man who was shouting as if he were having the time of his life.
If he fought in earnest, this opponent would not be particularly difficult. The problem was the children. Cornered humans were capable of anything. If he pressed the man too hard before Milia secured the kids, there was no telling what desperate act the bastard might commit.
And then—
"Sorry I'm late."
A familiar voice called from nearby. Schwarz's lips curved into a faint smile as he turned.
"What?"
The man also looked around in confusion. Both of them saw Milia standing atop a nearby building, arms folded, gazing down at them.
"The children are all somewhere safe. You can fight as hard as you want now."
"You're late, My Lady."
"Couldn't be helped. Do you have any idea how many people were on that ship? Cleaning them all up took forever."
Milia answered Schwarz's grumbling and leapt down to his side.
"Wait—what in the world is going on…!?"
The man trailed off, staring at her in open bewilderment.
"I don't know why you kidnapped those children, but now that you've laid hands on House Valentine, don't expect us to simply walk away."
"House Valentine…? Don't tell me—!!"
Something seemed to click. The man's face drained of color as he cried out. The instant he did, Schwarz charged straight at him.
"Let's see you block this one."
"…!!"
The runes on Schwarz's gauntlets blazed with brilliant light as they drank in his mana. The man hastily raised another barrier. Mana thick enough to be visible formed a wall of blue light—but—
"Haaah!!"
With a sharp shout Schwarz drove his fist forward. Mana collided with mana in a flash of searing light, and the blue barrier shattered like glass, scattering into glittering shards.
"I-impossible…!!"
"I won't kill you. I have far too many questions for you first."
Speaking to the dazed man, Schwarz swung his fist again.
In that instant—
"…What!?"
Something appeared directly in front of the man. A hole as deep and black as the abyss itself. A bone-chilling sensation raced down Schwarz's spine; he halted mid-strike and leapt backward.
"W-what was that just now?"
"You have good instincts."
Milia cried out in alarm. The black hole widened until it was large enough for a grown man to pass through, and someone stepped out of it.
"You…!!?"
A familiar, and deeply unsettling, mana. Schwarz knew that power. Heavy, clinging, like being dragged into a swamp.
"It has been some time, young lady of House Valentine, and her attendant."
A voice colder than ice issued from beneath a mask the same abyssal black as the hole he had emerged from.
"Who are you? Do you know us?"
"Yes. Of course I do."
Milia asked in confusion. A low chuckle sounded from behind the mask.
"I know the two of you very well indeed."