Husel – "Already...?"
Already...?
The king's attitude, and the fact that no traces of demonic energy could be found on him. Tiny had been thinking that perhaps the real Husel was someone else entirely. Given the demon worshippers' situation, "Husel" might just be a code name rather than his real one.
But this immediate reaction was too suspicious to ignore.
"...Let's go."
Reaffirming his resolve to himself, Tiny leaped out the window.
Thud.
With his body lightened to the maximum by gravity mana, plus the added power of mana, jumping from a fifth-floor window produced only the tiniest noise—from landing to shooting forward like lightning.
- Woof! Woof!
Wolrang's spirit body, trailing behind the target, was closing the distance in real time.
"Halt right there!"
"Who goes there?!"
Soldiers on guard duty at the inner castle raised their spears to block the path.
Hummm.
But the moment Tiny flashed his silver badge proving he was a knight of Carun, projecting a blue wave crest into the air...
"Guh?!"
"What the—!"
"It's a knight!"
The soldiers instantly lowered their spears.
"...At ease."
Leaving only those brief words, Tiny dashed straight through the inner castle gate.
Whoosh—whoosh—whoosh—whoosh.
The dust storm kicked up by a single man's sprint whipped the hair of the obediently standing soldiers.
"Hey, but we..."
"...Didn't get his name."
"...We're screwed."
The soldiers who'd yielded the path under Tiny's momentum could only exchange glances and make miserable faces.
- Woof!
'Toward the harbor?'
Guessing the target's destination as it sharply changed direction, Tiny frowned.
Carun had amassed vast wealth through relay trade with the East Continent. Its capital, Ortus, was a developed city where even the outer walls boasted buildings four or five stories tall.
With so many alleyways as a result, pursuit was bound to be tricky.
- Woof!
But as long as he didn't lose too much ground on the bastard, the spirit would never let the target slip—and it was guiding the way.
"Tch."
Unfamiliar with Ortus's layout, Tiny kicked off a nearby building's wall and window ledge, leaping onto the rooftops.
Instead of weaving through the maze of alleys, he'd chosen the shortest path: bounding from roof to roof.
In the process...
Crash!
'Damn it.'
He accidentally shattered a flowerpot by a window.
- If you master gravity perfectly, you can fly freely through the air!
- ...Or so the legends say.
He briefly wondered how nice it would be if the Sword Emperor's bragging had been true, but he shook his head and brushed it off.
Now wasn't the time to worry about broken pots or the Sword Emperor's words.
'Husel!'
He had to catch the bastard.
The tangled, scattered thoughts that had plagued him since hearing the king's lament vanished in that instant. Tiny sharpened his focus.
'He didn't go through the gates—he scaled the walls in secret. That's gotta be him.'
And moreover...
- Woof.
Wolrang confirmed the man entering what looked like a tavern, emerging from the back door with a completely different face.
As long as Wolrang could smell souls, no magical disguise meant a thing.
- Grrr.
'What? Other tails?'
He was curious who they were, but he couldn't afford to care right now. Fortunately, Wolrang proudly reported that the other pursuers had fallen behind after the target changed disguises twice.
Good thing. The delay from the disguises had let Tiny close the gap quickly, bringing the bastard into view.
- Grrr.
Wolrang's spirit form sidled up, lifting its snout proudly as if to say, How's my work?
Shrunken to puppy size for stealthy tracking, it was just too cute. Tiny grinned and patted its head.
- Sniff.
As the pup smugly tilted its head back, Tiny turned his gaze to the black-robed figure—Husel—heading for the harbor.
Once they entered the harbor district, the surrounding buildings grew shorter, making rooftop pursuit difficult.
Thud.
Tiny immediately dropped to a shadowy alley and melted into the darkness.
Walking quietly through the pitch-black, stinking alley, he unconsciously frowned.
'Tch.'
He'd done plenty of chases in his past life, but not like this. For a brute-force knight like Tiny, a pursuit meant smashing through every obstacle in a straight line to pulverize the target.
'Not like I have the skill for that now...'
And this situation wouldn't allow it anyway. Still, this stealthy method felt utterly awkward against his nature.
And on top of that...
"Huh? What's a kid doing here? Oho! Smells rich!"
"Little one, take off that leather armor first! Heh heh."
"Where'd you pop out from? Kekeke, did I smoke too much?"
Thugs smoking foul-smelling cigarettes in the moonless alley picked a fight, adding to his irritation.
"Tch."
Of course, he had no reason or intention to waste time.
Snap. Crack. Crunch.
"Guh..."
The thugs crumpled like bundles of straw in an instant. One groan leaked out amid the hasty takedown, but with their necks twisted backward, they'd never open their eyes again.
Tiny peeked out, spotted Husel heading for a certain ship, and resumed the chase.
'Can't jump him right now.'
Capturing him wouldn't be hard. The problem was there were no hiding spots between this alley and the docked ships at the pier.
'Wolrang, can you understand people...'
- Grrr.
'...Yeah, figured not.'
Best would be to just have Wolrang scout with its spirit body. But only Tiny could communicate directly with it. It could grasp simple words intuitively, but anything complex required him to relay and translate.
And to do that, he'd have to possess it...
'No choice—materialize!'
- Sniff.
He'd have to risk detection. Given the circumstances, Wolrang nodded in understanding.
And soon enough.
Trailing far behind the receding black robe came a small, cute silver puppy, trotting along: pat-pat-pat.
* * *
The ship tied at the pier—a carrack somewhat small for a warship—looked like an ordinary merchant vessel on the surface. Even at this late hour, sailors stood guard nearby, while porters bustled in and out below. A bit unusual, but nothing too out of place.
The guarding sailors stiffened and rose as the black-robed man approached.
But when he pulled something from his robes, the sailors who'd been reaching for weapons dropped to their knees instead.
"Wait, weren't you coming tomorrow?"
"Plans changed. We sail now."
The lead sailor's brow furrowed at Husel's words.
"Pardon? We're still preparing. Time-wise..."
"Hurry the preparations. Finish under cover of night, return before dawn tomorrow. And all organization members except me stay behind at 'that place.'"
"Why the sudden change...?"
"The king sicced that brat on me. Of all people, one who can sniff out us."
The sailors' faces hardened in unison.
"The king? How long has that kid even been here?"
"Hmph, who knows his game. Shut up and prep!"
"Yes, sir!"
The sailors scattered with disciplined efficiency at his irritable tone.
- Hurry it up, you slowpokes!
Crack!
As whips lashed and sailors urged them on, the porters' movements quickened.
That's when the silver puppy watching from a dark corner stood bristling, baring its teeth irritably.
"Grrr."
Demonic energy. The foul power of demons emanated from every sailor except the black robe, and the revulsion it stirred was becoming unbearable.
- Calm down, Wolrang!
Tiny tried soothing it via soul link—he wanted to hear more—but Husel's face had already turned toward Wolrang.
"A dog with mana...? A spirit!!"
Blue glow flared from the robe's depths.
- Damn, no choice now...
Attack!
"Raaargh!!"
With Tiny's command, Wolrang swelled, becoming a massive wolf that pounced on the black robe.
BOOM!!
A 3-meter-long, 1.5-meter-tall wolf's forepaw clashed against the black robe's raised twin swords, unleashing a deafening blast. The impact of beast paw and slender blades was unbelievable.
The black robe's eyes wavered under the wolf's immense power.
"What the—!?"
The moment the attack was blocked, Wolrang whipped around like lightning, jaws gaping for the robe's flank.
Or tried to.
Crunch.
The black robe slid aside, dodging the fangs. His crossed swords slashed the wolf's body in an X, but blue light erupting from the wolf reflected most of the blade's power, leaving only a shallow wound.
And proving it wasn't mortal flesh, even that healed in seconds.
"Grrr."
Seeing it, curses exploded from the black robe.
"You damn mutt!!"
"Raaargh!!"
I'm not a dog!
BOOM!!
Enraged, Wolrang's body slammed the retreating robe, and the black robe's twin swords countered, filling the midnight pier with repeated blasts.
After several exchanges, unlike the initial fury, the wolf began to give ground bit by bit.
Slash. Crack.
"Grrrrr!"
Wolrang slid back, healing once more. But the black robe approached slowly, now with leisure in his steps.
The pier was silent save for the blasts. No commotion from inner or outer castle stirred his mind.
A lone spirit user, no king's aid? The arrogant brat must've come alone to gather proof first.
"Heh heh. Well now."
On the contrary, it confirmed the king still trusted him. Perfect, then.
The variable-maker had walked right into his grave.
'I can take him out faster than orders.'
The kid wasn't visible yet, but common knowledge: unsummon a spirit, and the summoner takes a huge hit. Without proof, he wouldn't flee.
"I'll finish you first, then rip your master apart!"
With thick killing intent, Husel lunged at Wolrang like lightning.
"Kyaaaooo!!"
Unfazed by the murderous aura, Wolrang roared back and met him head-on.
BOOM!!
White fangs flashed from the blocked black robe.
"Not bad, but..."
As expected of a spirit that broke the organization's assassin—it withstood Superior-grade power.
"That's as far as you go."
Just withstood. Nothing more.
Impressive for the kid's age; probably specialized in spirits.
Husel memorized the intel for his report, finally drawing his soul weapon.
Hummm.
"Time to end this."
The moment blue water surged from the sea, mingling with azure sword aura rippling from his twin blades...
KABOOM!!
An enormous blast shattered the stern—and it caught his eye.