Chapter 22
Chapter 22
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 22
Chapter Title: Escape Arc (4)
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Chaeng—
A sudden metallic clang echoed through the air.
As everyone turned to stare at the staircase, a fierce tangle of four figures came into view.
Two guards facing off against two warriors of Short Stature.
Just like Nellin, they were of the diminutive race.
Sparks flew between clashing swords amid them.
"You bastards, decoys?!"
One guard shouted, but his opponent silently swung his blade in response.
'Both Short Stature warriors are upper-grade.'
Even from the color of their mana alone, the guards were at a disadvantage.
The guards were mid-grade and upper-grade warriors, while both Short Stature fighters were upper-grade.
Moments later, the mid-grade guard, clearly being overwhelmed, spat blood and collapsed.
It was my first time witnessing someone bleed out and die right before my eyes.
Unlike the scenes I'd only read about in books or seen staged in videos, the brutality felt all too real.
After a few ting sounds, the moment their Mana Coats shattered, the bloodbath began.
Half-severed limbs dangling loosely, clothes soaked in blood, eyes filled with agony, movements slowing like slow motion.
Desperate struggles to survive, only to be ended by that final blow.
Having endured similar things in my experiments, I felt no particular emotional shift at the gruesome sight.
Being sliced or drenched in blood was familiar by now.
But Nellin and the other servants seemed terrified—though that made them normal, and me the odd one.
With one guard down, the remaining one bellowed at the top of his lungs.
"Decoy! Intruders on the third floor!"
Without another chance to shout, he now faced two Short Stature warriors alone.
Their Mana Coats were already shattered from one-on-one clashes between upper-grade warriors.
With one more joining, the fight ended swiftly.
—Puk
The last guard crumpled silently, as if accepting his fate.
As the sword that pierced him was pulled free, the Short Stature warriors turned to look at us.
And that was the moment.
From the base of the stairs, a short blade thrust upward, slashing one Short Stature warrior's throat.
"Ke, kek—"
The attacker passed right by the throttled warrior and pressed the assault on the remaining one.
It was Mere.
"Mere."
Kiru's honorific-free address shocked all the servants.
'Did she notice the outside and inside decoy operation?'
We had no knowledge of the plan, so we could only watch.
But the arrival of the two Short Stature warriors suggested a strategy to stir chaos outside while sending a rescue team inside.
Whether the rescue team was just two or if these were the survivors, we couldn't tell.
At least it was fortunate that Mere had come alone.
Whether she'd spotted the decoy ploy or simply wanted to check on her valuable livestock, she must have come on her own initiative to confirm my status.
To her, I was more important than the battle outside.
And now was likely our decisive moment.
At the very least, the chance to end our grudge against Mere.
"I'll go."
The servants looked baffled at my words, Nellin watched intently, and Kiru moved without a reply.
"Rat pup, you bastard!"
Before I knew it, Kiru had snatched a dead guard's sword and was aiming for Mere.
A single upper-grade Short Stature warrior stood before Mere, with mid-grade Kiru flanking her side.
The throat-slashed Short Stature warrior's Mana Coat had already been destroyed, making the ambush effective, but the remaining one still had his intact after facing a mid-grade opponent.
As the Short Stature warrior and Kiru attacked from both sides, Mere blocked the Short Stature's strikes while ignoring Kiru's.
Kiru's sword grazed Mere's body with a ting, damaging her Mana Coat.
"Prompt to Magic Cast—Healing Hand."
Mere chanted the spell while wielding Privé, and her Mana Coat visibly restored itself.
'So when it's not treating external wounds, it recovers the Mana Coat?'
Long sword in her left hand, Privé in her right, casting magic mid-fight.
Against Mere—an upper-grade warrior and special-grade holy mage—even a 2-on-1 would turn disadvantageous in a prolonged battle.
When Mere targeted Kiru, the Short Stature warrior exploited the opening; when Kiru went for Mere's gap, she occasionally parried with her Mana Coat and healed with Healing Hand.
In the end, Mere handled Kiru's attacks with holy magic as best she could in the 2-on-1 while trying to eliminate the Short Stature warrior.
I approached them but paused to observe, then circled along the edge of the central hall to the complete opposite side of Mere.
My target was the railing atop the stairs she had her back to.
Thanks to the mid-grade Blue Magic Balance, navigating the narrow railing was effortless.
I crept forward stealthily from the edge of her field of vision.
As I drew closer to Mere, I hunched low, and upon reaching the railing's end, I leaned my ankles and body forward to build momentum.
The plan was to leap onto her back and pin her down.
'Mid-grade warrior strength plus beginner Blue Magic Heavy Blow's weight—could even that withstand Mere's upper-grade warrior power?'
At that instant, the Short Stature warrior clashing with Mere glanced my way for a split second.
Noticing it, Mere whipped her head around and locked eyes on me.
"Maggot!"
'Spotted.'
But seizing the opening, the Short Stature warrior attacked, forcing Mere to turn back and block with her long sword.
She tried shifting position to keep me in sight, but the Short Stature warrior's pressure made it difficult.
A amusing thought crossed my mind.
'If I just jump in, will Mere slash me?'
There were no absolutes, but I rated the odds high for 'she won't'.
If she blindly slashed me mid-fight and seriously injured me, she'd have to halt the battle and cast at least upper-grade holy magic on me.
Or let me die, losing her means to achieve her goals.
To Mere, I was a pseudo-upper-grade Blue Mage lacking true upper-grade spells.
Even if I jumped and clung to her, she might completely ignore me, shake me off at most, or even carry me away on her back.
But Mere didn't know I had reached mid-grade warrior level.
In other words, she couldn't even imagine the combination of mid-grade warrior strength and magic.
Just as I'd sensed her pride in being able to fight as a warrior herself—such cases were exceedingly rare.
'What if this is all delusion and she slashes me the moment I jump...'
Easy to think, but hesitation crept in at the slim chance.
Yet recalling those days of humiliation and shame, I pushed myself forward.
I took a deep breath.
Then gathered strength in my legs and launched into a leap.
—Taat
Not a parabolic arc, but a straight-line jump.
In that instant of hurtling toward Mere's back,
'!'
Mere suddenly spun around and lunged toward me.
It was unexpected, but thanks to mid-grade Blue Magic Focus's heightened concentration, I didn't panic and tensed my body.
—Thud
My body-enhanced strength and Heavy Blow's added weight pinned the incoming Mere beneath me.
She'd likely planned to scoop me up and bolt, but this turn of events left her visibly flustered.
—Ting, ting
As I refused to budge and pinned her arms, Mere cried out urgently.
"Ugh, get off!"
—Ting, ting, ting
"Maggot! Hurry, aaak!"
—Sgeek
While pinned to the floor with me atop her, the Short Stature warrior and Kiru had chipped away at her Mana Coat from both sides until it shattered.
Glancing left and right, I saw Mere's left and right hands severed clean at the wrists.
"Kuaaaak!"
Mere's agonized scream reverberated down the hall.
—Shhh—sgeek
Kiru then sliced her ankles, eliciting a tearing shriek as Mere's body convulsed violently.
"No, aa—aaaak!"
Mere's continuous screams soon faded into weak, hazy groans.
"Kheup... kuh... kruhk..."
A faint voice leaked from Mere, exhausted by pain.
"Kek... kheuh... Prompt to Ma—"
—Puk
The Short Stature warrior struck Mere across the face as she tried chanting the activation words.
"Aroin, move aside."
Was it safe now? At Kiru's call, I slowly released my grip and stood from atop Mere.
"Dre... gs... save..."
Even in this state, Mere called for Dregs.
Dregs stared with mouth agape and eyes wide in disbelief at the scene.
He reacted to her call.
—Thud, thud, thud
—Slap!
He approached impassively, leaned close to Mere's face, and delivered a harsh slap across her cheek.
"I've always imagined far crueler methods, but this will suffice."
Dregs stepped back, and silence enveloped the space.
"... ."
Kiru quietly raised his sword, aiming it at Mere's heart.
And everyone watched the scene unfold.
"Aroin, anything to say?"
...I'd thought a moment like this would bring a flood of thoughts.
But right now, nothing came to mind. I just hadn't fully grasped it yet.
'So hollow...'
Like Kiru once said, Mere had only kept those she could control as servants.
Yet when faced with a situation beyond her grasp, she crumbled so pathetically.
In the end, it was because we—and I—had been too weak all this time.
"..."
I raised a hand to touch my face.
I considered forcing a smile, prodding the corner of my mouth, but let my hand drop.
What should I say? Nothing came to mind. No triumphant quip, no outburst of pent-up rage.
I just wanted to erase those experiments and inspections from that day, pretend they never happened.
To forget Mere, who had given me those horrific memories.
So, I declare the end.
"...This hellish time finally comes to an end."
I sever the sticky chains that bound me and bid her farewell, erasing her from my memory.
"Farewell, Mere."
I send her off.
"From now on, you never existed to me."
"Euk... Ma... g..."
Mere shed tears, gasping and trying to call my name one last time.
The sword pierced her heart.
—Puk
"...!"
Her eyes widened in shock, focus gradually blurring.
The empty gaze I'd always feared no longer reflected my image.
She who saw me only as livestock, as a tool.
She who inflicted hellish days on my youth, leaving an indelible scar.
And so, Mere died.