What the Goddess Does (2)
What the Goddess Does (2)
"Wh-what?!"
The boss's head went rolling across the ground next to his collapsing body.
The faces of the men nearby instantly twisted into shock.
But Nemesis paid no attention to their circumstances, twirling the twin swords in her hands with dazzling flair as she immediately charged at her next target.
Pu-uk!
The second victim, still wearing a dumbfounded expression, had his heart pierced before he could even put up any resistance.
"Th-this crazy bitch...!!"
Only after two corpses had fallen in succession did the men belatedly draw their weapons and mount a counterattack.
The men swung long swords and heavy blunt instruments at Nemesis while screaming curses.
But their attacks couldn't even graze the hem of her clothes.
Pa-at!
Nemesis agilely dodged the men's attacks, her red hair fluttering attractively.
Even while evading, she kept swinging her blades in between movements, steadily reducing the number of traffickers.
"Don't get too close!"
"If one attacks, the other covers!"
The men, who had been pushed back helplessly, began to pressure Nemesis intelligently by exploiting their numerical advantage.
As their attacks, previously relying on sheer numbers, gradually gained coordination, Nemesis's overwhelmingly fierce blade began to show signs of slowing down.
There were even those firing magic and arrows from a distance, making it difficult for Nemesis to break through.
The men pressed their advantage and drove her back even more relentlessly.
"Wheee~!"
Just as a faint sign of victory appeared before the men's eyes, Nemesis naturally widened the distance and suddenly let out a loud whistle using her fingers.
At that moment, something began charging at tremendous speed from a darkly shadowed alley.
"Woof!!"
The identity of the thing that came darting in at lightning speed was none other than a dog.
Eren, the Doberman combat dog raised by the Goddess of Vengeance, Nemesis.
"Grrr...!!"
"Wh-what the hell! Where did this dog bastard come from?!"
The men couldn't hide their confusion as a Doberman suddenly intruded upon the heated battle.
Eren, revealing a fierce gleam in his eyes, immediately charged at the mages and archers in the rear and sank his sharp fangs into their necks.
"K-keuk...!"
"S-someone stop him—Aaaagh!!"
As Eren, who had appeared out of nowhere, persistently bit only the vulnerable spots like testicles and Achilles tendons,
the men, paralyzed with fear, began to break formation.
Nemesis didn't miss the opening and made full use of Eren's support to take the men down one by one.
Anyone could see the tide of battle had already turned decisively.
"Looks like we don't need to get involved."
Thanatos watched the traffickers getting utterly crushed without lifting a finger, looking bored.
I nodded in agreement with her words.
I had a feeling it would turn out like this...
There was no way Nemesis would have actually been captured by such insignificant traffickers.
To face the Goddess of Vengeance, you'd need to bring at least a swarm of gargoyles or balrogs to have any chance.
"Are you disappointed?"
Thanatos, who had been hiding her mouth with her hand while laughing, looked at me and asked teasingly.
I stayed silent and avoided her playful gaze.
That alone was probably answer enough...
The battle taking place not far away was soon mostly wrapped up.
Thanatos and I slowly moved toward the blood-soaked corpses of the men sprawled on the ground.
Nemesis seemed to have already noticed our presence.
She didn't look particularly surprised even when she saw us approaching.
"Long time no see~."
Thanatos waved her hand coquettishly and greeted her.
Without saying a word, Nemesis lightly flicked the blood of the traffickers off her twin swords.
It was a somewhat chilly response, but not a malicious dismissal.
Nemesis El Amelia Rayhard had always been like that.
"Seems like your skills have gotten a bit rusty in this peaceful era? I never thought you'd struggle even a little against thugs like these."
"I deliberately held back for Eren's training," said Nemesis, sweeping back her red hair without a single drop of sweat on it.
"If I'd gone all out, I could have finished it in ten seconds."
"Hmm, is that so?"
Thanatos nodded with her characteristic annoying expression.
There was a reason Nemesis's movements had seemed unusually simple.
"But why did you even go along with being captured? Did you pick up a new hobby?"
"It couldn't be helped. It was a diversionary operation."
"A diversionary operation?"
"The plan was: while I let myself get captured by these bastards to draw attention, my companions elsewhere would rescue the hostages being held captive." Nemesis spoke in a calm voice about a plan we hadn't known about.
"Companions? Don't tell me you've formed an organization too?" Thanatos's eyes widened slightly in surprise.
Unlike other goddesses who had fixed bases and commanded many followers, Nemesis had always preferred solitary action without a permanent residence.
To think that she of all people would have her own organization.
"No, they're just mercenaries I hired temporarily for efficient action. For me, Eren is enough as a companion."
Having answered that, Nemesis patted the head of Eren, who was sitting right next to her.
Feeling the gentle touch of his master, Eren stuck out his tongue and wagged his tail softly.
It was a docile appearance that was hard to believe was the same dog that had been viciously biting men's vitals just moments ago.
So she was a decoy to divert attention.
One side draws attention, the other rescues hostages in the meantime.
If what she said was true, she had been playing the role of bait.
It was usually unimaginable for a goddess to act as bait.
But considering Nemesis's nature of always putting herself second, it wasn't an incomprehensible strategy.
"Woof."
After petting Eren who was acting cute, Nemesis began walking somewhere.
The place she headed was in front of the one-legged man who had brought her here.
"H-hiik...!!"
The one-legged man, whose prosthetic leg was broken and left wrist was severed, trembled in terror as Nemesis approached.
But there was no room for sympathy.
That one-legged man had tried to cowardly abandon his comrades and run away alone when the tide turned against them in the previous battle.
He seemed to be just as ugly on the inside as he looked on the outside.
"P-please, spare me...!"
The one-legged man, who had wet himself, desperately begged for his life to Nemesis, who had come right up to him.
But Nemesis gave no answer to the one-legged man and swung her twin swords without hesitation.
Clang!
But just then, her blade, which had been aiming for the one-legged man's neck, was blocked by something.
"Why are you interfering?"
Nemesis asked Thanatos, who had teleported directly in front of her.
Thanatos cast a reinforcement spell on the steel wire locked with Nemesis's twin swords and spoke leisurely.
"Because we need at least one guy to interrogate. Some goddess killed everyone without thinking, and this one's the only one left alive."
"No need. I already have plenty of evidence and witnesses."
"This is Krezell, the city I govern~?"
Thanatos pressed Nemesis quietly with a chilling smile.
But Nemesis didn't yield even to Thanatos's cold voice.
"Then you should have managed it better so bastards like these wouldn't run rampant."
At that, one of Thanatos's eyebrows twitched almost imperceptibly.
"Huh? I did manage it well? I was deliberately leaving them alone so I could do a proper separation and disposal when all the trash gathered~?"
"That's an excuse worse than doing nothing."
The atmosphere was turning ominous.
A hard-to-ignore hostility began swirling in the eyes of the two goddesses staring at each other.
"...Haah, fine."
At the critical moment, fortunately, Nemesis lowered her sword first.
Seeing that, Thanatos folded her steel wire with a satisfied expression.
"But keep a ruthless watch on him. I don't want to see this bastard's face ever again."
Nemesis, having sheathed her twin swords, glared at the one-legged man who had narrowly escaped death.
Feeling her icy gaze, the one-legged man shuddered and silently bowed his head.
"Oh? Do you know this one-legged guy?"
Thanatos, sensing the extremely uncomfortable atmosphere between them, tilted her head and asked.
Nemesis withdrew her gaze from the one-legged man and firmly dismissed her question.
"He's just trash not worth remembering."
Having said that, Nemesis immediately turned around and started walking somewhere again.
Whether it was just my imagination, she moved with particular energy, and upon reaching her destination, she spoke softly.
"I didn't expect to find you here, Ion."
Nemesis, who had come right up to my nose, revealed a welcoming emotion beyond her expressionless face.