The Blade Meant for Me
“You fucking dog! Wasn’t ruining my business enough, you goddamn bitch? Turning Grack into a cripple should’ve been plenty!”
In truth, to snap the man’s neck, I had to divert a bit of mana to Rai so he could exert his monstrous strength.
But right now I didn’t have any mana to spare.
Just then the floor above grew noisy and dust showered down from the ceiling.
The knights seemed to have reached the level directly overhead. It was truly a waste to let go now.
“If you’re going to act like this, I’ll kill your friend too!”
Well. That was inconvenient.
The woman, as if she had nothing left to lose, grabbed Iruse by her clothes again and screamed like a madwoman.
I had no choice but to release the man.
Protecting an unconscious Iruse was simply too difficult.
“Fine. Fine, so… I’ll let him go.”
“Hurry!”
The closer the thunder of the knights’ boots came, the more frantic the woman grew.
“Rai, release that bastard and protect Iruse.”
While Rai crawled toward Iruse in jerky, unnatural movements like a broken toy snake, the woman supported her newly freed brother and examined his wounds.
A sudden, vicious throb tore through my gut, and Undine’s form began to blur.
Having a spirit forcibly unsummoned from mana depletion caused the most lethal kind of internal injury.
I felt blood surging up my throat and watched Undine vanish against my will.
It was an utterly hollow feeling.
Undine reached out to me, then dissolved completely into empty air.
“Miss Crowell! Miss Peiru! Where are you? Answer me!”
Along with the sound of many people running urgently came a familiar voice calling my name and Iruse’s. It sounded like Philo.
The place had a maze-like layout, so the voice came from directly behind me.
But I couldn’t let myself feel relieved.
I shouldn’t relax just because I heard a familiar voice or because Rai was protecting Iruse.
“Miss Crowell!”
Even if my mind was scattered from trying to staunch the blood pouring from my mouth, even if I was distracted because Ash had opened his eyes in my arms at that very moment.
“Wench!”
At the scream-like voice I turned as if pulled by a string.
It looked like the woman had thrown something at me.
For an instant I thought of Rai, but the dagger was flying far too fast. Was it the same blade she had used to threaten Iruse?
A flash of white rushed close.
I’m going to die. Like an idiot.
Even as the thought formed, I couldn’t even close my eyes.
Bright red blood sprayed.
It wasn’t mine. Whatever had forced its way into that split second wasn’t Rai.
“Ash!”
It was a very small hand.
The child’s pained scream stabbed my ears, and at the same time I saw the sharp blade protruding from the back of that hand.
“Aaaagh! Ugh, hk.”
Ash.
Ash!
Why would you do something like that!
Confused by something I couldn’t comprehend, I stared blankly at Ash as he curled up in agony, clutching the pierced palm.
Ash panted harshly and tried to pull the knife out of his hand.
“Don’t! Don’t pull it out!”
Only then did I snap back to my senses and stop him.
This idiot really is a fool. If it were me, I wouldn’t have saved you! I wouldn’t have taken a blade for you!
“Hk… it hurts…!”
“Just endure it. You can’t yank it out carelessly! The knights are coming… so first let them see…!”
Tears suddenly spilled out in a hot rush.
Tears with no clear reason. Everything was so chaotic that I felt confused, suffocated, and miserable.
The world spun so violently that I coughed up another gout of blood.
When I looked back, the woman was gone. She must have fled the instant she threw the dagger; only an empty doorway met my eyes.
“Rai… go after her.”
“Stop talking and chase her! And make sure you kill her before you come back.”
“Now.”
When anger burned too hot, blood seemed to boil in my voice.
Rai, looking uncertain, slowly crawled out of the prison in his blood-soaked body.
“That way! It’s Miss Crowell’s snake!”
That was the last thing I remembered before I lost consciousness.
I think I collapsed on top of Ash.
I don’t remember clearly, but I spent the whole time wandering somewhere deep.
Submerged in hot water, spinning and sinking endlessly, tense with the fear of never knowing when I would hit the bottom.
The helpless sensation of being pulled under sent chills through me several times, until at some point I opened my eyes.
They flew open. It was the middle of the night.
“……”
I was inside a dark room.
It looked like my room at the inn.
The curtains were drawn tight over the window, but the heavy silence and the cool, low-hanging air told me it was late at night.
I was lying in bed wearing clean pajamas. When I sat up, the wet towel that had been on my forehead dropped onto the blanket with a soft plop.
My body felt terribly heavy and clammy; for a while I couldn’t make sense of anything.
While I sat there in a daze, Rai crawled out from inside the blanket.
Only then did my head start working again.
When the white snake flicked its tongue at me, the sight felt strangely comforting.
“Me?”
“I don’t remember much.”
Right. The headache was from the fever.
I rubbed my forehead and tried to piece together my memories, but everything was hazy.
All I could recall was constantly feeling thirsty and being fed something like medicine.
The moment I realized I was in pain, a horrible throbbing began deep in my stomach.
I had heard plenty about pain before, but so this was what an internal injury felt like.
“Ugh… What about Ash?”
“Yeah. Is Ash all right?”
“The black-haired boy who was with me.”
Rai seemed to think for a moment, then shook his small snake head.
“How many days has it been since then?”
I forced myself up and climbed out of bed.
The instant both feet touched the floor I understood just how bad my condition was. Had standing always been this difficult?
“Hey, Rai.”
“What did you do with those people?”
This brat. Where did he learn to act cute when it doesn’t suit him at all?
“I told you to kill them!”
Even speaking that loudly made my stomach churn as if I would vomit.
Ugh. I had never been in a body this weak before.
“Conclusion only.”
“You’re fast too.”
In the end Rai was dragging out a long, rambling excuse for his failure.
“Don’t make me laugh. You wander around alone just fine.”
To think I would feel this much fury over failing to kill someone.
I ground my teeth at the murderous intent I was experiencing for the first time in my life, with no intention of swallowing it back down.