The Vice Lord's Impossible Command
“A-Are you alright?”
Jeo pressed his helmet down against the bone-chilling cold that had settled over them and asked.
“Your wound is deep. Please don't push yourself.”
“Don't worry. I just let my guard down.”
That was what she said, but the spot where she'd wrapped the bandage was already soaked red with blood. She'd merely frozen it with spirit energy to staunch the bleeding—the wound itself was far from healed.
“Lady Karin!!!”
That was when it came—a shout from the rear, followed by the rumble of wheels rolling over the street.
“Harpoon launchers, prepare to fire!!”
Defense Captain Aziga drew his sword and swung it in a circle overhead. With a heavy thunk, pillars slammed into the ground. The three harpoon launchers that filled the street were loaded with massive bolts, and their three-man crews cranked the levers to draw back the strings with a grinding grrrrind.
“Fire!!!”
As he slashed his sword downward, there came a deafening boom, and the harpoons rocketed toward the mamant.
Crunch!
The harpoons embedded in the mamant's back. But they weren't enough to pierce its thick hide.
[Rooooaaarrr!!!]
The mamant reared its massive head skyward, then charged forward with earth-shaking thuds of its feet.
“Ignite!!”
Aziga's shout rang out once more, and one of the crew pressed a button. The harpoons lodged in the beast's back detonated in unison.
Kaboom……!!!! Crash!!
Flames and shockwaves erupted from its back, sending the charging mamant staggering. It rolled across the ground.
Skreee……!! Crack!!!
Nearby buildings crumbled as they were swept away by the sliding beast.
“Second volley, prepare!!”
Aziga bellowed, eyes fixed on the fallen mamant. His crew swiftly reloaded.
“This time, we'll end it!”
Aziga declared boldly.
“Don't worry, Young Palace Lord! I'll finish off this monster!! Let me show you the might of the Storm Wall garrison!”
He stroked his bushy beard, poised to charge at any moment.
“Stand down.”
But Karin blocked him just as he spurred his reindeer forward.
“……Pardon?”
“We can't kill it.”
“W-What do you…… It's an A-rank monster. Leaving a beast like that alive will devastate the city.”
“Even so, no.”
Aziga stared at her in utter confusion.
“Those were the Palace Lord's orders. Capture the mamant alive. She said she'd tame it herself.”
“What kind of ridic……”
He nearly let a curse slip and clamped his mouth shut.
'Tame a mamant? Even the Palace Lord herself— that's insane……'
“Aziga. You have capture tranquilizers, right?”
“We do, but…… they'll only last a few minutes at best. What we have is rated for up to B-rank monsters.”
“That'll do. Just stop it from rampaging now. I'll bind its limbs for the transport to the capital.”
“……What?!”
If anything shocked Aziga more than the idea of taming it, it was this.
“That's madness! Lady Karin, have you forgotten? Your side's been pierced! Your guts could spill out any second.”
“Exactly. And you'll be using spirit arts the whole way to the Ice Palace!”
Despite the protests from Jeo and Aziga, she seemed resolved. Slowly, she rose and assumed a stance facing the mamant.
“Those are the Vice Palace Lord's orders.”
That single phrase was reason enough, but the eyes of everyone around her turned ice-cold.
“She said bring it back alive.”
“……Understood.”
Anyone could see it was an impossible demand. Why had Krishan Samakal given Karin such an absurd mission?
'No matter how I look at it, it's just to torment her…… The Vice Palace Lord's reputation must be poor. Is this why the North Sea's master changed?'
Adel decided he'd need to keep a closer eye on the North Sea's situation.
“Hoo……”
Karin gritted her teeth against the throbbing pain in her side and steadied her stance.
[Screee—]
The mamant staggered to its feet, preparing another charge. Its tusks were aimed squarely at her.
“Good.”
As if she'd been waiting, she gripped her sword.
[That thing's done for.]
“Yeah.”
Kalderet watched her desperate resolve with a bored tone.
[Surprising she's a contractor of Muenel, and summoning a spirit king in that state is impressive, but it's straight-up suicide. Look at it. The form's blurry. She couldn't even manage a proper summon.]
Just as he said, it wasn't as vivid as when she'd summoned Alakar in the Black Magic Palace. It flickered like smoke.
[In her condition, she won't draw even half of Muenel's power. But summoning a spirit king doesn't care about the contractor's state. You think they give a damn?]
Summoning Muenel would undoubtedly worsen her already dire condition.
[Stay like that, and her spirit energy will drain in seconds. Then it'll sap her life force.]
He was right. Even with the pendant of aran leaves Sennew had given her back in the Black Magic Palace, she hadn't sustained it long. The sheer drain of spirit energy was immense. And now, with her body compromised—not just summoning, but fighting? Pure suicide.
“Perfect for racking up a debt.”
Adel murmured softly, watching her.
Shwick……!!
In that instant, Kasla fired the small harpoon from her wrist mount at the mamant's leg. It spun, wrapping around the limb, and she anchored the line to a pillar on the opposite side.
[Roooaaarrr—!!]
The mamant thrashed its massive feet, its charge halted by the binding.
“Not sure how long it'll hold, but……”
The line, hardened from spider silk taken from Shallon's spiders, had excellent elasticity and resisted even the mamant's strength.
“This should be enough.”
Heila said, her face covered in wounds. She gripped her crescent-curved blade and dove inside the beast's guard.
Slash—!!!
Her sword severed the tendon in the mamant's bound leg—the spot where Adel's flames had burned away the fur, exposing flesh.
[Keeeeaaak!!!]
The mamant screamed and writhed. The binding line snapped with a twang, and it went berserk, charging wildly.
“……Stop!!”
Karin shouted at the sight.
Whoosh—!!
A blizzard-like chill erupted from her feet, spreading in a circle.
Vice Palace Swordsmanship – Cold Moon.
Her blade traced a circular arc, unleashing razor-sharp sword energy. The ice-coated edge emanated a deep gray sheen—mid-tier aura.
Infused with the spirit king's frost, her sword radiated deadly intent.
Crunch—
But in that moment, a twisting sound came from her wounded side. Karin's brow twitched involuntarily.
For a split second, her focus wavered, and her stance crumbled.
“B-Be careful!!!”
Jeo's cry rang out, but with her stamina sapped by the summon, she couldn't refocus.
“Protect the Young Palace Lord!!!”
At his shout, the knights raised shields to block the rampaging beast. But even with heavy shields, they couldn't match its speed.
“What are you doing?! Fire already!!”
The harpoon crews, frozen at Karin's order, moved at Aziga's bellow—but reloading took too long.
[Keeeeaaaaahhh!!!!]
The mamant's massive shadow engulfed Karin. It raised its long tusk, still stained with her blood, and bellowed.
That was when it happened.
Schwick— Thud thud thud—!!
A sound like tendons slicing.
Spluuurt!!!
Then, crimson blood poured from under the beast's jaw like a waterfall.
Thud……!!!
The enormous body shuddered and toppled sideways.
Thump! Thump! Boom!!
Its corpse twitched sporadically, momentum carrying it across the ground.
Hiss……
Steam rose from Adel's ice-sheathed blade as the mamant's hot blood met the frost. He flicked Nazas lightly, and chunks of ice shattered off the edge.
One strike.
A precise vital hit, and the mamant moved no more.
“……”
Adel stood atop its head, looking down.
Karin's ice armor had melted away, and even the faint afterimage of Muenel was gone.
“……You. What the hell do you think you're doing?!”
“What do you mean? I hunted a rampaging monster in the city. And saved your life.”
“Who gave you the right to kill it?!”
She screamed in dazed fury at the lifeless corpse.
“And? It's dozens of kilometers from Storm Wall to the Ice Palace. How exactly were you planning to drag this thing there alive?”
Adel replied coldly to her predictable reaction.
“Don't make me laugh! I'll find a way. But you—who the hell are you to pop out of nowhere and ruin everything?!”
Shing—!!!
She drew her sword into the air, and the knights and garrison behind her leveled weapons in unison.
“……”
Kasla, Heila, and Harun clustered around Adel at the sudden tension, readying for battle. But he raised a hand to halt them, stepping down from the corpse toward Karin.
“Your reaction's telling, Young Palace Lord.”
“……What?”
“Am I seeing this wrong? You don't look angry about failing your mission.”
“W-What are you……”
“You look scared. What could possibly worry someone as mighty as you, who can hunt A-rank monsters?”
Step— step— step—
Adel approached slowly.
“Afraid of the Vice Palace Lord's absolute command?”
Their faces drew close, noses nearly touching. Karin flushed, momentarily flustered.
“Who knows. To me, it looks less like fear of her reprimand…… and more like anger that I ruined some other scheme of yours.”
Twitch—
Her shoulder trembled. Was it because he'd hit the mark, or from the wound where melting ice mixed with water and blood?
“Whatever the case, I had no choice but to kill it.”
His breath brushed her ear in a whisper no one else could hear.
“……Why?”
“Because your life matters more to the North Sea than the Palace Lord's arrogant demand.”
“……What?”
“You need to become the North Sea's master.”
Blasphemous words. Yet Adel's calm delivery left Karin speechless for a moment.
“There's still a chance. If blame must be assigned, let me pay the price instead of you.”
He gazed at her with a faint smile.
The plan had begun.
“Take me to the Vice Palace Lord.”