Chapter 149
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 149
Chapter Title: The Watchers' Motive
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In an instant, there was a flash, and all four of our figures were transported to a secluded spot devoid of people.
It was a stroke of luck that I'd marked coordinates all over the place since arriving here.
Merrill and Rebecca, unable to comprehend the sudden spatial transfer, blankly scanned their surroundings before crying out in shock.
"Huh?"
"What is this...?"
Once they grasped their situation, it seemed they realized I'd cast an elemental magic spell—a 7th-circle spatial transfer, no less.
"What is this...? You can use magic too?"
"And 7th circle at that...?"
In response to their questions, I froze the surrounding air completely to form a soundproof barrier, then turned to them.
For some reason, the two of them were visibly struggling to suppress their fear of me.
There shouldn't have been any reason for them to be scared of me, yet here they were, suddenly acting like this?
Actually, even back in the dungeon city, Rebecca had shown hints of that behavior.
The real issue was sensing that same subtle terror emanating from Merrill toward me.
Was there some other reason they had to fear me?
As I ran through various hypotheses in my mind, a thought I'd rather not entertain surfaced.
These women had been searching for Arsha. And the group they belonged to, the Watchers of the Moon, killed anyone who might pose a problem to prevent some horrific event.
In other words, their reason for seeking out Arsha could be...
[It could be to kill Arsha Cascadia.]
As the librarian said.
Though unintended, my body reacted on reflex first.
No eyes watching, no ears listening.
I then tore open a sub-space, drew my sword, and aimed it at them.
"From now on, answer my questions."
A chill laced my voice as the honorifics vanished, and the sound of them swallowing hard echoed loudly.
"Why are you looking for my little sister?"
In truth, I didn't even need to ask—the circumstantial evidence was clear.
If they'd been seeking my sister with good intentions, they would've approached me first.
Instead, they were searching for her on their own?
That meant they'd marked my sister, Arsha Cascadia, as an assassination target.
"L-Leon, Young Master. Why all of a sudden...?"
Crack!!
Cracks spiderwebbed across Merrill and Rebecca's masks before they shattered completely.
"It feels like the answer's already obvious. I'm just asking to confirm, so don't try any tricks."
With their masks broken, their faces were pale as ghosts.
They already knew full well just how dangerous I was.
Summoning magic was one thing, but elemental magic was better suited to neutralizing any sudden variables from the two of them.
I'd frozen space around them and disrupted any artifacts they might try to use.
If they truly were targeting Arsha for their twisted logic, I could no longer remain neutral toward the Watchers of the Moon. They'd join the heretics as targets that absolutely had to be exterminated.
Still, I held off on killing them right away because I needed confirmation.
"Why are you doing this...?"
"The Watchers of the Moon. Didn't you say you're members of an organization that assassinates evildoers for some grand purpose?"
Silence was their only reply.
"So when I hear that you came all the way here, poking around without breathing a word to me, looking for my sister... how exactly should I interpret that?"
Understanding my implication, Merrill hurriedly stepped forward with an excuse.
"Wait! Leon, Young Master! There must be some misunderstanding!"
"Yeah, that's what they all say."
Normally, I might've calmed down a bit, but this was a race against time.
It wasn't just about finding Arsha—they were assassins, and I had to beat these bastards to her.
"Leon. I'll check the Baron Slave Trader myself."
"Thanks."
If Luna searched for Arsha while I dealt with the Watchers, we could save time.
Of course, I had no intention of letting her go scot-free.
"Muyoung, tail her."
A black shadow wolf poked its head out from my shadow, then melted into Luna's as a shadow form.
At the same time, Luna lightly kicked off the ground and leaped with impressive force onto a nearby rooftop in an instant.
She shifted her body slightly, unleashing a short sonic boom as she kicked off the air and vanished. I'd already noted the Baron Slave Trader's location, so she'd find it quickly.
What was more surprising was that she'd done it with pure physical ability—no aura or mana.
I'd taught Luna some common sense, so there shouldn't be any issues.
"Now, where were we?"
As I smirked at the direction Luna had gone, then wiped the smile away and glared at Rebecca and Merrill Dyna again, they flinched once more.
"At this point, I'll tell you everything I know."
"Go ahead. If anything sounds off, there's no negotiating."
She nodded, struggling to steady her trembling hands.
To sum up what she said: the Watchers of the Moon were scattered across the entire Phinas Archipelago on a mission to confirm Arsha's survival and retrieve her.
No idea how they'd learned she was alive, though.
"Keep going."
"Rebecca and I were gathering intel on Remilish Island here. We don't know her exact location. But we're certain Arsha Cascadia is still alive somewhere in this archipelago."
My fists clenched reflexively.
Relief? Or guilt as her big brother for only learning this now?
Either way, it didn't feel good.
"No lies. We're just here to find the girl—we weren't ordered to kill her."
I nodded at Merrill's persuasion.
And then.
I raised my sword to her throat.
"Why... why are you doing this?!"
"Doesn't something feel off even as you say it?"
Her logic wasn't entirely baseless, as she'd said.
But there was one crucial screw missing from their actions.
"Fine, whatever reason you had for that decision, it doesn't matter. So why hide it from me?"
"That's..."
"Hard to answer? Figures. If it was to kill her or drag Arsha off for some shady scheme, telling me would spell doom, right?"
If that were the case—and if their goal was truly her safe return—the best move from their perspective would've been to use me.
They even had Merrill Dyna, who already had a connection to me.
Yet they'd kept it from me.
"Nothing more to say?"
"It's..."
She desperately searched for words, but her mouth wouldn't open.
In the end, we were never truly compatible.
I was just about to slice Merrill's throat when—
"Because you're dangerous!!"
Rebecca's shout made my hand pause.
"What does that have to do with anything?"
"We confirmed Arsha Cascadia's survival. But... we don't know if she's safe, or what condition she's in—nothing."
"Go on."
I slightly lowered my sword and took a step back.
"You think your sister's dead. It'd be great if we rescued her, but if we told you and something went wrong here... it would be irreversible."
Absurd, hearing it laid out like that.
"Who're you treating like a walking bomb? What the hell have I even done?"
Merrill sighed and stopped Rebecca from shouting more.
"Enough, Rebecca."
"Senior...?"
"Young Master Leon, what Rebecca said is true. We don't know the girl's situation. So we decided it might be better if you didn't know—at least if something had gone wrong."
"You've been saying the same thing over and over. Does it become a problem if I know?"
Like I'd go on a rampage and shatter the world or something?
After much deliberation, Merrill finally answered my question.
"You're strong. You wield immense power. But you're not a complete person in that sense, are you?"
"That's rude."
"That's how I see it. Separate from your strength, you have an excessive obsession with family. I judged there was no need to stir up your wounds with false hope."
Ridiculous words, but not entirely wrong.
Were they lies? Or truth?
Or truth mixed with lies?
Whatever it was, it felt like they knew something about me.
Either way, I sheathed my sword, and the two finally exhaled in relief.
Hummm.
A transmission came from Luna at the same time.
"Found her?"
-Caused a scene.
"Send coordinates."
Luna had extensive magical knowledge. Coordinates were no trouble for her.
With the fixed coordinates from Luna, I activated spatial transfer once more, bringing the surveillance targets—Merrill and Rebecca—with me.
What greeted us was total chaos.
"...She alive?"
"Not dead."
With that, she grabbed the necklace around her neck with her hand.
Merrill's eyes widened, and she shouted urgently.
"Th-that's a Subjugation Collar?! Stop! If you yank it off recklessly...!"
Krunch!!!
There was some resistance, but Luna crushed the collar barehanded without a care.
"Huh?"
Merrill's eyes went wide as saucers.
"Why'd you have something weird like that on?"
"No idea. They spotted me from the central continent and slapped it on. Pissed me off, so I took 'em down."
Subjugation Collar.
I'd heard of them. Items from the archipelago made to restrain slaves—used on the more resistant ones.
They interfered with magic use or suppressed strength, from what I recalled.
Forcibly removing it or pressing the remote artifact's button inflicted excruciating pain—or near-death injuries—on the wearer.
Each one was quite expensive, too. No one would've imagined putting one on Luna.
She wasn't even nobility or royalty—she'd told them straight. But seeing her looks, greed could've kicked in.
The key point now was that forced removal caused massive backlash to the wearer.
Yet Luna smashed the sturdy collar like it was nothing. No wonder everyone was stunned.