Witch of the Ruins (4)
Adelaide bit her lip. The metallic tang of blood flooded her mouth.
Her gaze was fixed on Zenon. Her vice-officer, pale as death, gasping in Ailin's iron grip.
Blood dripped steadily from his severed wrist, soaking the ground.
"Grgh... ugh......"
Zenon groaned. Pain so intense he couldn't even beg for mercy.
At the gruesome sight, Adelaide's heart ached fiercely.
Well, choose. Watch this man die? Or—
What do you want......
Where's the fun if I spell it out?
She had to decide.
The monster before her—this devil in a girl's skin—was offering a deal.
So what did she want? Adelaide racked her brain, considering every possibility.
"Gahk...!"
"Damn it, stop—!"
"You're taking too long to decide."
Ailin tightened her grip on Zenon's throat, a strange smile playing on her lips.
She spoke in a languid drawl, her crimson eyes slowly sweeping over Adelaide, then the frozen knights behind her.
"How about this? Option one: everyone here dies together."
"......"
Ailin's shadow rippled. Like a living thing, countless blades erupted from the darkness, aimed at the knights.
The overwhelming sight made the knights falter and step back.
"Option two: you stay, and the rest leave."
"......!"
Adelaide's eyes widened.
She stared at Ailin in disbelief.
"Just me... stays?"
"Yeah. You alone should be enough."
"V-Vice-Captain! No!"
"Don't trust that demon! She won't let us go—!"
"Better to fight and die together!"
The knights shouted. But Adelaide ignored them.
She coldly assessed their forces.
Shadows striking from unseen angles. Movements that ignored physical limits.
Unless it was broad daylight full of light—
We can't win.
Yes, victory was impossible. They might not lose completely, but her subordinates would be annihilated. She hated to admit it, but that was reality.
She had to let at least one survive. To report this—to warn the kingdom of this devil's existence.
But she couldn't accept the offer at face value.
This was a monster who killed for sport.
"......Why should I?"
Adelaide gripped her sword tighter. Faint remnants of aura rose white around her body.
"And if you're telling the truth, you could just kill us all. So why propose a deal?"
"Too much hassle."
"......What?"
"You're cockroaches—tougher than I thought. Better to take what I want."
"Lies."
Adelaide dismissed Ailin's words.
"You're afraid of me."
"Me?"
"I haven't used my full strength yet. No matter how weird your power is, can you really withstand a Swordmaster's all-out strike?"
The tip of Adelaide's sword pointed precisely at Ailin's forehead.
"If you slaughter us, I'll take at least one of your limbs. You wouldn't have charged in without that resolve."
It was a threat. And a bluff.
A tactic to pressure by showing her willingness for mutual destruction, even at the cost of her life.
Silence fell. Ailin tilted her head, then smiled at Adelaide with evident interest.
"Hmmm... Fair point. That would be a problem."
Ailin nodded.
She flung Zenon to the ground.
"Cough! Gahk...!"
"Good. Deal."
"......You'll keep your word?"
"I don't lie."
Shameless, but Adelaide had no choice but to believe—for now.
Without turning, she commanded:
"Everyone... leave."
"Vice-Captain!"
"No way! How can we leave you...!"
"That's an order—! Survive... and return. Report everything that happened here to His Majesty. That's your duty."
"But......"
"Take Zenon and go—now!"
Adelaide's desperate cry.
The knights, tears streaming like blood, supported Zenon. They glanced back repeatedly, reluctant to leave, but Adelaide stood firm.
Finally, the knights vanished into the darkness.
Adelaide kept her stance, glaring at Ailin until the hoofbeats faded.
Silence returned to the village.
Crackle, crackle. Only the bonfire filled the space between them.
"Satisfied now? I let them go. As promised."
"......Yes."
Adelaide exhaled deeply.
Tension released, exhaustion flooded her body. But this was the real start—alone with the monster.
Ailin crossed her legs and grinned.
"Drop the weapon. Armor too—it's in the way."
Humiliating demands. For a knight, surrendering sword and armor was as good as offering her life.
But Adelaide complied. Her sword clattered to the ground, silver armor pieces shed one by one.
Soon, she was nearly in her undergarments. Cold night air brushed her skin, but she felt killing intent first, not shame.
She's off guard.
Ailin was defenseless. Legs crossed, chin propped on hand. Facing a knight—a Swordmaster, no less.
Arrogance. Overconfidence in her power, underestimating her foe.
Adelaide watched for an opening.
Even without a sword, a Swordmaster could manifest one with aura.
One ambush. Close the distance, sever the neck.
"Come here."
Ailin beckoned.
Adelaide approached slowly, very slowly. One step, two.
Distance closed: 5 meters, 3, 2.
In striking range.
The moment Ailin opened her mouth—
Thwack—!
Adelaide kicked off the ground.
Aura coated her hand blade as she surged toward Ailin's throat, closing the gap in an instant.
A perfect ambush, silent as the wind.
She saw Ailin's eyes widen. No reaction. Proof of her panic.
Got her!
Adelaide's fingertips brushed Ailin's pale nape—
"Kgh...!"
Her vision spun, the world flipped. Intense impact jolted her, head reeling.
She couldn't comprehend why she was face-down on the ground.
She tried to lift her head, but her body wouldn't obey. Hot liquid trickled from her forehead.
"Whew, that startled me."
The voice came from above.
Through blurry vision, Adelaide looked up. Ailin stood behind her.
"H-How......"
She'd been right in front. No time to react. How was she behind me?
Ailin crouched, meeting her eyes. Her red pupils curved like crescent moons.
"Isn't it obvious? NPC patterns are predictable."
Tricked. She'd feigned vulnerability, pretended to flinch.
She'd known the ambush was coming and baited it deliberately.
A blow to the nape, and Adelaide lost consciousness.
Her last sight: Ailin's cold smile, mocking her from above.
"Ugh, she's heavy."
I nudged the fallen knight with my foot, clicking my tongue. Did I misjudge the force when knocking her out? Hope she's not dead.
I held a finger to her nose. Good, still breathing.
She called herself a Swordmaster, right? Suits her—she's tough as hell.
"Tie her up for now."
At my will, shadows bound her limbs. Like a butterfly trapped in a spiderweb.
Shadows were so versatile. What kind of power was this, granted to Ailin?
Am I the Demon King or something? Nah, probably not.
I shook off the lingering thoughts and stood.
My gaze turned to the forest—the direction the knights fled.
"Time for hide-and-seek."
I said I'd let them go, not that I wouldn't kill them. An NPC surviving to blab? Unacceptable.
One breather from my world is enough.
Thwack—!
I kicked off and shot forward.