The Saintess Party's Absence (1)
It was only natural that hatred would be directed at the Saintess Party. Like a plague of smallpox sweeping across the continent, they had eradicated every wicked faction in their path. The disappearance of the Saintess Party had allowed all the suppressed evils to rise again. It was obvious that arrows of vengeance would be aimed at the Saintess Party itself, or anyone connected to them. The string of terrorist attacks that followed made that clear enough.
‘The Mercenary King and the Sword Saint. So the next target is the Hero, of course.’
Maximilian, who had slaughtered countless enemies to protect Saintess Beatrice, could not possibly escape the attention of those thirsting for revenge. Many would be aiming for him. As if to prove the point, unidentified assailants had just invaded the grand residence of Count Hohenberg. There had been no warning whatsoever. In other words, these mysterious intruders had slipped past the territory’s borders and infiltrated the castle interior without detection.
Dong—! Dong—! Dong—! Dong—!
Only then did the bells begin to ring. They were alarm bells, signaling imminent danger. The great bell on the castle’s highest floor tolled without pause. The family’s soldiers had finally noticed that stealthy assassins had launched an attack on the estate.
The dimly lit space that had relied on nothing but faint lanterns instantly brightened as if it were midday. The moment the surprise assault was recognized, someone from the Hohenberg family had flipped the master switch connected to every magic lamp in the castle.
“Ugh!”
“Damn it, the lights…!”
The assassins who had crept in like sewer rats began revealing themselves one by one. Their panic at the Hohenberg family’s lightning-fast response was obvious.
It was sloppy. Their movements were amateurish in the extreme. The hidden assailants possessed martial prowess comparable to elite soldiers, yet they clearly had no experience as proper assassins, judging by how they fumbled about in confusion.
Seeing their lack of composure, I let out a small sigh of relief.
‘Even if Hohenberg Castle sits on the remote frontier… how did they get past the sentries without being noticed? Their skill level is nowhere near good enough for that. They must have used some kind of trick. Did the black mages who opposed the Saintess Party lend them a hand?’
There was a chance the black mages had secretly smuggled the assassins inside. I tightened my grip on the pistol handle, preparing for the possibility that I might have to fight the people behind this plot as well. The Saintess Party had accumulated as many enemies as their legendary fame, so every variable had to be considered. If the forces lurking in the abyss launched an all-out offensive, the Hohenberg family would be left hanging by a thread.
“Edanant!”
“It’s Maximilian’s brother! Kill him!!”
The assassins who had shown themselves spotted their fallen comrade and let out sharp cries. They drew blades wrapped in mana and charged straight at me.
Bang! Bang—!
I raised my muzzle and fired. But the bullets I shot with confidence were sliced apart by mana blades. Red sparks flashed briefly before bullet fragments scattered everywhere.
‘What the hell kind of midnight nightmare is this?’
I drew the new pistol from the holster inside my coat. A short-barreled gun with a silver sheen. I aimed it at the assassin who had raised his sword high, as if ready to bisect me in a single strike.
Boom!!
The shot struck true and knocked the blade aside. At the same time, I targeted the assassin whose balance had been thrown off while still gripping the hilt.
“Aargh!!”
Crimson blood gushed out like a fountain as the assassin collapsed. Ignoring his scream, I swung the muzzle toward the next assassin charging from behind.
There was no need to reload. This weapon overcame the usual delays that plagued firearms.
The pistols in both hands greedily devoured the user’s mana to generate new bullets. That fraudulent loading method made rapid fire and close-quarters combat possible.
‘Still, tough is tough… Close combat against swordsmen who can draw mana blades…’
Engaging in melee against knights—the very flower of close combat—was practically suicidal. On top of that, I was armed solely with firearms. I carried no bladed weapons whatsoever. If my bullets missed, I died. If I allowed a single slash, I died. Continuing a close-range fight while shouldering those penalties felt like walking a razor’s edge.
“Using such a lowly weapon…!”
“I’ll cut you down with my mana blade!”
Though they had fallen into a criminal gang, these assassins had once been knights who served a noble house. That was why they displayed such fierce hostility toward firearms that dared replace the power of the battlefield.
Gunpowder was nothing more than a tool for ordinary people who couldn’t wield mana. Perhaps they wanted to prove that point. The assassins extended their mana blades to full length, as if displaying their knightly pride.
“Hit him all at once!”
“It’s just a gun! I’ll chop your arm off!”
At the continuous gunshots echoing through the corridor, masked assassins swarmed in. They surrounded me from front and back. More than ten blade tips were raised high.
In response, I lowered the pistols gripped in both hands and waited for the enemies to charge. The moment I tightened my hold on the grips, the assassins roared and launched their assault.
───!!!
The sound of feet kicking off the ground. Boiling murderous intent directed at the hero’s blood relative. Sharp mana blades capable of cutting through any metal. And an overwhelming barrage of bullets that would drown it all out unfolded at once.
“Guh, ugh!”
“Dodge! The bullets are raining down!!”
What else could you call this smoky bullet storm, where rounds poured down without end?
Thick clouds of gunpowder smoke. Bullets flying like rain. A relentless barrage. A symphony of gunpowder and metal filled the air.
It looked like a masterful acrobat performing an absolute technique. The assassins who had charged in with reckless fire, along with every porcelain vase and artwork decorating the corridor, were shredded to pieces. The surrounding scenery crumbled rapidly, like a landscape blurring past from a speeding carriage.
“B-but I was told he was just a powerless civilian…!”
“Yeah. Compared to those monsters, he is.”
The assassin clutching his abdomen and coughing up blood forced the words out. As I answered his desperate question, I pressed the muzzle against the last survivor’s forehead and pulled the trigger.
The unidentified assailants who had invaded Hohenberg County belonged to an armed group dismantled by the Saintess Party.
The Blade Wolves. A bandit organization formed from wandering knights and mercenaries. They had destroyed countless farms, pillaged without restraint, and earned a notorious reputation for unchecked tyranny. Yet in the original story they displayed no real influence and suffered the humiliation of being used as mere combat power measurers by the early Saintess Party. To a group composed entirely of superhumans, an armed criminal syndicate was nothing more than an extra.
“Round them all up!”
“Stay alert! They’re using mana blades!”
The moment the alarm bells rang, the Hohenberg family’s knight order was deployed. The assassins who had raided the castle swung their swords in resistance, but they were captured one after another. True to their status as the foremost power in the eastern region, the Hohenberg knights overwhelmed the intruders with superior might.
“Damn it! These country bumpkins…!”
They had attacked Hohenberg County, home to the hero Maximilian’s blood relatives, to avenge their brothers whom he had mercilessly slaughtered. The result was utter despair. Most were dead or captured. At this rate, even their leader would be taken.
Copper Wolf Zebes. The leader who had gathered the shattered remnants after the Saintess Party’s assault and planned his bitter revenge swallowed a groan and desperately searched for an escape route. Even now he burned with hatred, swearing he would somehow turn the tables and take revenge on the hero.
‘Damn it, I thought an eastern rural family would be easy pickings…!’
His foolish complacency—believing that simply massacring the territory’s guards would let him crush the Hohenberg family—was his downfall. The fatal mistake was discovering that the second son of the Hohenberg family, supposedly an ordinary man, was actually a monster skilled in combat.
The gunfire had stopped. They were surely pursuing him. He had barely shaken them off moments ago, but there was no telling when they would catch up.
Feeling a chill of terror, Zebes sprinted down the corridor without pause.
‘Every retreat path is blocked! Even if I escape through a window, soldiers will be waiting outside! In that case, I have no choice but to take a hostage and barricade myself…!’
It was truly a cowardly, petty tactic. He had already lost. To resort to taking a hostage after suffering complete defeat was pathetic. However, unlike his subordinates who had been wandering knights, Zebes came from a mercenary background. Survival came first; he would use any means necessary.
“This way!”
While running through the corridor, Zebes spotted the office located at the center of the main building. Believing it belonged to the head of the Hohenberg family, he kicked the door open without hesitation.
Bam—!
He burst inside with sword drawn. Yet the office, softly lit by gentle candlelight, did not contain the Hohenberg family head.
The only person present was a girl with light green hair, breathing softly as she slept with her head pillowed on the desk. Even with metallic clashes and shouts ringing through the halls, the girl remained peacefully asleep. Zebes let out a hollow laugh at the absurd sight.
After expressing his sense of futility, he slowly stepped toward the girl left alone in the office, intending to take her hostage.
“Wake up, brat! Get up right now!! Damn it, are you deaf?!”
Judging by her lovely features, she appeared to be of rather high birth. That was fortunate. Capturing someone of noble status would give him the advantage in a hostage situation—one of the lessons he had learned during his long criminal career.
He reached out. His first priority was to knock the pretty little girl unconscious.
“Guh—!!”
As Zebes shouted while plotting his pathetic hostage plan, someone approached from behind and grabbed him by the nape of the neck in an instant. At the same time, a piece of scorching hot metal was shoved into his mouth.
Sizzle…!!
The sound of burning flesh accompanied horrible pain. But he could not struggle. He could not even scream. He tried desperately to break free, yet the muzzle threatening his life and the iron grip holding him from behind were far too strong.
“Shut your mouth. You’ll wake the kid.”
The man, covered head to toe in blood, bared his teeth in warning. Do not make a sound. If you make even the slightest noise, I will pull the trigger immediately. And if that trigger is pulled, the muzzle jammed in your mouth will spit fire. There was no need to explain the power of the bullets that had turned the castle’s attackers into bloody pulp. Without exception, every skull had been shattered and brains had spilled out.