Explosion (2)
"Ah, fuck. I'm so jealous of the bastards who went outside. They're probably having the time of their lives right about now."
"The hell are you on about?"
Near the mouth of the cave, one of the men assigned to guard their stolen goods under the boss's orders scowled hard enough to crease his whole face.
"Get a little action in, and if there happen to be some decent-looking women... you know, like this, like this...!"
"You insane bastard. Is that the only thing in your head?"
"Don't give me that. You're no different."
The man cackled as he said it, his mind already drifting to the hostages deeper inside the cave.
"The lieutenant's way too uptight, I swear. That's why he keeps getting his ass kicked by the boss."
"Why the hell are you whining so much? What's your problem?"
"Hey, it's not like we get to see women every day. We just want a little taste, and he throws a goddamn fit over it... ugh."
He shook his head in disgust. The man across from him cut in.
"Watch your mouth. If the bosses catch you talking like that, you're dead."
"Ha. You still don't get it? The lieutenant's already out of favor. So if we play this right—"
That was as far as he got.
A savage crack split the air, and both men's bodies crumpled. A scream should have followed — but ice had already sealed their mouths shut. The precise, merciless magic had frozen tongue and teeth alike, snuffing out every sound they might have made.
The one who had shattered their legs was Jina, her eyes gone cold. She flicked her gauntlets as if she'd just touched something filthy, then called back over her shoulder.
"Done. Are these bastards even real adventurers? Why are they so damn weak?"
"These are the kind of idiots who think taking hostages is a good idea even while they're being hunted. That's why they washed out of the adventurer ranks."
Er stepped into view with an assessment as sharp as a blade. She walked deeper into the cave, then stopped at the sight of the mountain of stolen goods piled before her, her voice turning sour.
"With a haul this size, you'd think they'd take what they have and run. That so-called boss must be pretty greedy."
"So what? That greed is what's going to get him killed."
Ahin came in behind her as he answered. He swept a disinterested glance over the piled loot, then turned away as if none of it held his attention.
"Dead end. This isn't the right way."
"We found the place well enough, though. There were a few forks in the path, so we'll find them if we keep looking."
"That'd be nice... Haru, can you keep these guys frozen like this?"
"...Enough."
Haru nodded at Ahin's words and flicked her fingers a few times. The bandits — already unconscious, one or two limbs broken — locked fast to the cave floor. She had frozen their clothes and the ground together so the ice wouldn't necrotize skin or flesh. Ahin studied the result, then spoke again.
"Unfreeze their mouths. Leave them like that and they won't be able to use them again."
"Do we really need to bother?"
"Yeah, we do. If this doesn't work out, we'll have to squeeze these bastards for answers."
He gathered up some of the rope lying scattered around and gagged the unconscious men, then went on.
"There were forks, so let's split up. Jina, you go with Haru. I'll go with Er."
"Wait! It might be dangerous if we run into them. Wouldn't it be better to stick together...?"
"We're not looking for a fight. The hostages might be held somewhere else, and the bandits might be split up too. The ones at the entrance and these guys weren't much — but if a commotion starts somewhere else first, that ringleader might bolt."
Given the circumstances, the one who had smashed the carriage wheels in a single blow and brought it to a halt was almost certainly the bandits' boss. Until they knew how strong he was, charging in blindly was out of the question.
"I'm dead weight, so I need to stick with Er. That way we can at least use Bond if something goes wrong."
"Ahin, what do you mean, dead weight...!"
"If we have no choice but to fight, we need to maximize our combat power."
The only way to raise their fighting strength enough to cover for Ahin — who had no offensive power of his own — was Bond. That meant he had to stay paired with Er. Jina understood as much, and in the end she only nodded, her face tight with discontent.
"...Don't try to handle it yourselves. If you find the ringleader, tell us immediately."
"Will do."
"Yes. Jina, Haru — if you find them, please let us know. As for how..."
"It's fine! Ahin and I are connected, so I can find him wherever he is!"
"I can't. That kind of thing..."
"If one path is a dead end, we just come back the other way. It shouldn't matter much."
With that, the party split in two. Ahin watched Jina and Haru disappear down the other fork, then spoke in a low voice.
"Let's move too. Wait — before that..."
"...What are you doing with that sword?"
Ahin had picked up a bandit's blade from the floor. Er frowned at the sight.
"Just holding a weapon makes the other guy wary. And I can use it as a threat."
"...But if you can't actually attack, doesn't that make it pointless?"
"Just holding it can restrict the opponent's movements."
He gave the sword a couple of experimental swings. The balance was all wrong and the blade had been neglected into a miserable state — but if it could draw an enemy's eye, that was enough. No one in the world would expect a man who couldn't land an attack at all.
He strapped the sword at his hip as he said it. Er tilted her head without quite meaning to, a small sound catching in her throat.
"Hmm...?"
"Something weird?"
"No. You just look more convincing than I expected..."
"I did learn the basics. Not that they've ever been useful."
He was Veronica's disciple too, after all. The fundamentals of combat had been carved into his body and mind as a matter of course. Sparring had never been possible, so he had no real battle experience — but the stance itself was convincing enough.
"This should be enough for a bluff."
"I suppose so. Still, be careful."
"I know."
"You should take the shield too. It looks like you'd make better use of it than I would."
Er unslung the shield from her back and held it out. Then a thought surfaced, and she put it into words.
"You should start carrying some armor as well. You need at least some way to protect yourself if things go wrong."
"...Yeah, I suppose."
If he was going to claim the role of rear-line support, he needed at least the means to keep himself alive. Even Haru, who looked lightly dressed, had countless enchantments woven into the robe she wore every day.
"We'll look for some when we get back. If not, we can try another city."
"...Yeah. Let's do that."
She had said it hoping to pull his mind somewhere else, even for a moment. It didn't seem to work. He answered briefly and started walking.
The opposite path from Jina and Haru. The cave ran deep, darkness unspooling ahead of them, and the two of them narrowed their eyes and watched every shadow.
It wasn't long before a voice drifted out from further in.
"Does what I'm saying not sound like words to you?"
A man's voice, thick with irritation. At the same moment came the sound of stone splitting apart.
"B-Boss, we need to run now! Forget those idiots outside — at least we should...!"
"This bastard's been telling me what to do this whole time. You think you're that special?"
The man gripping the greatsword swung it in a fit of temper and smashed it into the cave wall. Stone caved inward; grit and rubble pattered down. The people huddled nearby let out low, startled cries, and the man's voice thundered through the cavern once more.
"If you've got a problem, come at me! I'm not gonna dodge — so either do that or shut the hell up! I left you alone because you had a decent head on your shoulders, but you don't know your place? If you want your cut, keep your mouth shut!!"
"Kh. You were just Iron-rank trash until recently..."
"Hah? What did you just—"
That was when it happened. The man's roar, his face twisting into something ugly, set a small child wailing.
"W-Waaah!!"
"Shut that brat up! Or I'll kill it!"
"G-Good boy? Mommy's sorry, so..."
The child's mother, startled by the boss's words, pulled her son into her arms and tried to soothe him. It wasn't enough. The boy was already too terrified to stop, and then the hiccups started.
"Hic— waaah, hic—!"
"This little shit. I tried asking nicely...!"
"I-I'll make him stop!! So please...!"
"Shut up!"
Looking thoroughly sick of all of it, the man strode toward the huddled hostages and raised his greatsword.
"N-No!!"
"I said shut up!!"
The mother wrapped herself around her child. Even that desperate instinct wasn't enough. The greatsword climbed high above their heads —
and it was just about to come down.
"Pathetic. Is that all you can do with the power you've been given?"
"...What did you just say, you miserable bastard."
The speaker was a brown-haired man with his hands bound. His manner of speech belonged to someone older, but his face was young. Even with his feet tied, he rose to his feet with surprising ease.
"A man who holds a sword, and all he does is robbery and banditry... and now he would even harm women and children. I never knew the weight of a blade had grown so light."
"This bastard. What did you just...!"
"Was that too difficult? My apologies. Let me put it simply."
He looked at the bandit boss, whose face had begun to twist, and spoke without raising his voice.
"You— you— you little shit...!!!!"
The boss's eyes rolled white. He wrenched the greatsword around toward the bound man. The lieutenant paled and lunged to stop him, but it was already too late — the blade shot forward, a single stroke meant to split the man's skull —
Pierce
A grinding shriek of steel on steel tore through the cave as the descending greatsword was launched high overhead.
"Kyaaaaah!!"
"Aaaah!!"
The hostages screamed at the sudden violence. The bound man lowered the hands he had raised to catch the blow, and looked toward the entrance.
"Ahin. What are you doing here?"
"Father, why would you do something so dangerous...!"
"Dangerous? What is? That pig? Don't be ridiculous."
Ahin's father gestured dismissively at the bandit boss — a man carrying far too much weight for a swordsman. Beside him, Ahin's mother spoke in a voice as calm as still water.
"Ahin, your father isn't so frail that a sluggish swing like that would ever reach him."
"Our son does worry more than he needs to."
"He must take after you."
"Does he now?"
"...Are you two seriously having this conversation right now?"
Ahin let out a disbelieving laugh — and in that same breath,
"Fuck! And who the hell are you?!"
The boss, freshly christened a pig by Ahin's father, dragged his deflected greatsword back in front of him.
"Who else? The adventurers who are going to drag every last one of you in."
Blue mana gathered at the tip of Er's blade as she answered. The greatsword she had knocked aside had been heavier than expected. The original plan had been to deflect it and immediately cut into an arm or a leg — but the man had been stronger than she'd accounted for, and the follow-up never came. Now they were locked in a standoff. She hid the flicker of surprise and kept her eyes on the point of his blade.
"...With that kind of strength, why stoop to banditry?"
"Heh. 'That kind of strength.' So you can tell too? This... greatness of mine?"
The boss smiled as if the question pleased him. His emotions swung without warning; the madness packed into his eyes made it clear he was not in his right mind. Er tightened her grip on the hilt.
"It's all thanks to this body's greatness! I'm nothing like those idiots at the Adventurer's Guild who kicked me out just for killing a few people! The ones who recognized me — who acknowledged me...!"
"...Those ones?"
The ominous phrase had barely left his mouth before the smile vanished from his face.
"Perfect timing! I've been wanting to test this against someone strong! You... yeah, Silver-rank, huh! Killing you will be worth it!!"
"...I don't think things will go the way you want."
Sword and greatsword crashed together, metal screaming as the edges ground against each other.
"I'll cut those ropes for you— wait, what? Why are you already untied?"
"Do you have time for that? You should be untying the others."
Unlike their son, who had frozen with a sword in his hand, the two of them were already working through the hostages' bonds with practiced ease.
"Th-thank you. Thank you!"
"There will be adventurers outside. So please — make as much noise as you can on your way out."
"Father?"
"What, did I say something wrong?"
Ahin stared at his father, startled that a man who had been locked in a cave could speak so naturally about what was happening outside.
"That so-called boss was running his mouth about everything. And seeing that you two showed up, there must be other adventurers nearby. Am I wrong?"
"Ah — no, you're right, but..."
Ahin's answer came out awkward. His mother, wearing the same unhurried expression she always did, spoke gently.
"Then we startled you, Ahin? I'm sorry."
"...I'm just glad you both are safe."
He let out a long breath of relief and joined them in cutting the remaining ropes. The moment they had their freedom back, the hostages bolted for the mouth of the cave.
A commotion this loud should bring Jina and Haru this way from the other side. He had meant to signal them. The situation had moved too fast. Still — he couldn't imagine Er losing —
"Nngh...!"
The greatsword slammed into the cave floor and stone shards erupted upward. Er swept them aside with one hand and was about to counter when
"GRAAAHAA!! DIIIE!!!"
A manic howl came down with the next blow. She caught it on her raised blade and shouted over the impact.
"Ahin, get the others out first!"
"Will you be okay?"
"I'll be fine!"
She slipped past the next descending stroke and cut back. The man dodged with a nimbleness that didn't belong to a body that size — then saw that the front of his clothes had been sliced open, and a mad grin split his face.
"Yeeees!! Let's kill each other!!"
Stone exploded outward again. Watching Er's back as she carved through the flying shards, Ahin bit down on his lip, then spun and shoved the remaining people toward the exit.
"Everyone get out! If you don't want to die!!"
"Ahin, try to phrase that a little more nicely."
"Think about how frightened these people already are."
"This is not the time for that kind of leisurely talk!"
He couldn't use his skills — not with this many eyes on him. Even his enhancement abilities, less conspicuous than his healing, were too much to reveal in front of a crowd like this. If he was going to help Er at all, the hostages had to be outside first.
"F-Fuck! Everyone stop, if you don't want to die!!"
The bandits' lieutenant had drawn his sword and planted himself across the cave mouth.
"If adventurers have already made it this far, we're finished anyway!"
I was right. He should have abandoned that idiot and run. All he'd had to do was follow orders. Instead he'd gotten greedy over the loot in front of him, and this was where it had landed him. He couldn't let it end like this.
"Kyaaah!"
He snatched one of the women trying to flee and flashed a rusted blade.
"Clear a path! Unless you want to watch this bitch die!!"
"Ah, for fuck's sake..."
Ahin looked at the scene before him and muttered, his voice thick with weary exasperation.
"I thought this was going to be easy."