Ch.107Chapter 107: Trigger (6)

As I hurried along, the pleasant sound of snow crunching beneath my feet echoed in my ears.

Unfortunately, as I approached my destination, I was too focused on the strange presence disturbing my ki-sense to enjoy the sound of snow underfoot.

All I could hear was…

“What do you think we’ll find there?”

Only Shizu’s voice, worrying about what might await us at our destination.

Her concern was understandable.

Even she, chosen as the wielder of the holy sword and possessing abilities far beyond ordinary superhumans, had momentarily felt confused. How could she not fear an opponent whose danger she couldn’t assess, one who was disrupting her ki-sense?

The subtle anxiety in Shizu’s slow footsteps was likely an extension of that worry.

If I didn’t have my experiences from before my regression, I would certainly have continued walking with the same anxiety she felt.

‘Though it’s just empty bluster.’

However, with my experiences from before regression, I became increasingly certain with each step that whatever was disrupting our ki-sense wasn’t as threatening as it seemed.

Despite having such remarkable ability to disrupt ki-sense and confuse opponents, there was no sign that it was attempting to subdue me and Shizu through other means as we continued to approach.

Yes, simply put, this was a situation where something could only deter us but had no means of using physical force when that deterrence failed.

So even though the sensory confusion persisted like walking through fog, I felt no fear.

But since it was difficult to recklessly inform her about matters related to my experiences from a timeline only I remembered, I could only silently acknowledge her concerns while offering my own positive perspective.

“Even though the presence beyond feels strange and ominous, I don’t think it’s as threatening as it seems. Besides disrupting our ki-sense, it doesn’t have any other means to hinder us as we move toward it. I think we’ll be fine if we just approach carefully without being detected.”

Like that.

My confident tone must have reached Shizu well because…

“Okay.”

Her brief response contained much less worry than before.

Her footsteps toward our destination now carried lightness rather than fear.

As we continued walking together, having shaken off our fears, I heard another sound besides the crunching snow.

“…Thank you.”

It was Shizu’s voice expressing gratitude, filled with shyness.

Thank me? I should be the one thanking her for listening to me.

I wanted to pat her head to express my own gratitude for her thanks, but…

“We’ve arrived. Let’s get ready.”

“Okay.”

Since we had just reached our destination, I had to postpone any gesture appropriate for her expression of gratitude.

What greeted us at our destination was a scene that looked suspicious at first glance.

The snow-covered field that wrapped everything dirty in pristine whiteness…

Was gradually being stained by undulating dark red energy trying to devour that cleanliness.

And in the center of that energy, the silhouette of the being presumed to be responsible for summoning this energy was becoming visible.

It was evidence that the unholy marks proliferating throughout this fortress weren’t naturally multiplying due to the demonic energy that had seeped into this land for a long time, but were artificially inscribed by a being closely connected to the demonic realm.

It was a scene that looked dangerous just by looking at it.

If only that undulating dark red energy hadn’t been so crudely formed compared to what I had sensed from afar that it almost made me laugh.

Normally, when discovering a being engaged in activities related to fortress subversion, the principle would be to subdue them immediately, but…

“…Holy…!”

As soon as Shizu discovered our target and was about to summon her holy sword, I brought my right index finger to her lips to stop her.

When my finger touched her lips, there was a noticeable crack in her cold expression that she had maintained since detecting the ominous energy, but…

“Let’s observe the situation for a moment.”

At my suggestion that we needed to observe, Shizu barely composed her cracking expression and nodded obediently, stopping her holy sword summoning.

Rather than immediately drawing out the holy sword that could be summoned in the blink of an eye with just a word and attracting the attention of our opponent…

We needed to confirm the clear identity of the being attempting to inscribe the unholy mark and whether others besides this being were inscribing such marks.

Of course, despite saying this… the sense of déjà vu in my mind upon facing the being creating this scene was already helping me deduce who it was.

With my presence completely concealed, I carefully observed the being attempting to inscribe the unholy mark.

The demonic energy, though quite pure, was too weak to taint the entire fortress with corruption, only capable of inscribing crude marks and nothing more.

The slender figure revealed through the silhouette despite being covered by dark red energy and a thick robe…

And the vivid purple hair, too bright to be completely hidden by the robe’s hood, which instantly dispelled any impression of frailty with its ominous aura…

The information before my eyes strongly indicated that this person matched someone I remembered.

No, it wasn’t just a match—it was enough to give me certainty.

Without a doubt, the identity of this presumably female being at the center of this ominousness was definitely…

Whoosh

…Huh?

Just as I was about to properly confirm the identity of the opponent, a scarlet flame erupted from my dragon sword in its scabbard at my waist, dispelling the darkness of the snowy night sky.

It was as if it had ignited using the strange form of passion that had emerged in my heart after somewhat confirming the opponent’s identity.

The flame rising from the dragon sword was problematic enough on its own, but it was even more intense than the pure white and golden light that would emanate when the holy sword, which I had just prevented from being summoned, was called forth.

“Tsk…”

I clicked my tongue and immediately extinguished the flame dwelling in the sword.

Although the flame quickly subsided as soon as my will to extinguish it intervened, despite being an unconscious reaction…

There was no way the opponent wouldn’t notice the light that had momentarily driven away the darkness of the night that had fallen over the fortress.

“…!!”

The mysterious being who had been blankly staring at the wall while attempting to inscribe marks in the open space suddenly flinched, causing the robe they were wearing to flutter greatly.

The dark red energy undulating around her also disappeared instantly, as if it had never been there.

All our careful footsteps and actions had been rendered futile.

[You got caught.]

‘…I know it’s embarrassing, so please don’t tease me.’

[When else would I tease you if not at times like this?]

‘….’

Before I could feel dejected at Paphnir’s voice mocking my clumsy response that had alerted the opponent…

The unidentified being, having noticed their actions had been discovered, took swift action.

After pulling their robe more deeply over themselves…

They turned their body to hide their appearance…

Tap-tap-tap-!!

And quickly took steps to escape from the location.

It was a movement without any unnecessary motion, and the way they quickly transitioned their body movements was quite impressive.

“Don’t move. I will cut you down.”

It would have been even more perfect if their escape hadn’t been blocked by Shizu, who had somehow summoned her holy sword and was pointing it at them with a cold voice.

Everything happened in the blink of an eye.

From Shizu summoning her holy sword after seeing the flame raised by my dragon sword responding to my unconsciousness…

To her instantly closing the distance with the opponent as soon as she saw them trying to escape…

All of this happened in a single breath.

If there had been enough time, I would have applauded Shizu’s movements with praise, but…

Since I couldn’t predict what impulsive action the opponent might take when faced with the white and golden light emanating before them…

“Listen. She really will cut you.”

Instead of taking time to admire, I drew the dragon sword at my waist and ran to the opposite side of Shizu, pointing my sword at the opponent and threatening them.

Making sure to approach close enough to stab immediately if they tried anything foolish.

“…”

Faced with Shizu in front and me behind, the robed opponent didn’t utter a word and remained motionless.

So we continued our standoff with the unidentified opponent, pointing our swords at them.

Since it was a tense situation where anything could happen if there was even a slightly hasty movement…

None of the three of us, including myself, uttered a word.

“…”

Shizu’s expression remained as rigid as her closed mouth as she blocked the opponent’s escape route with her holy sword pointed at them.

“…”

The same was true for me, who had closed my mouth after initially voicing a threat.

Ah, I was intentionally maintaining a stern expression.

Since I could somewhat predict what was hidden under that robe, I wasn’t feeling any wariness toward the opponent, but I was just trying to match the surrounding atmosphere.

During this forced silence…

Sometimes, silence can pressure an opponent more than dozens of words, and this was exactly such a case.

“…Ugh.”

A groan revealing embarrassment slowly escaped from the opponent’s mouth, worn down by the heavy silence imposed by Shizu and me.

The groan, mixing self-reproach at being absurdly discovered and despair at facing us who were stronger than expected, continued for a few more utterances, and then…

“Uu…ugh…”

Beyond groans, a sobbing voice began to be heard little by little, and then…

“Huaaah… Please… spare me.”

…Now a rather youthful female voice was heard with a muffled sobbing, not even trying to hide it anymore.

It was a tense situation, but what broke it wasn’t the sound of clashing weapons but crying.

It was inevitable that cracks would appear on Shizu’s face as she maintained a stern expression while pointing her sword at the opponent.

Needless to say, the same was true for me who had been forcibly maintaining a stern expression.

‘I suspected it, but indeed…’

Rather than feeling bewildered, I felt relief at confirming that the voice was the same as the one remaining in my memory.

Even when I encountered her before my regression, she was such a harmless being that I doubted whether she was truly a demonic entity.

Now, meeting her about three years earlier than that time, I could only imagine how much more harmless she must be.

It’s a voice clearly remaining in my memory.

From the time when I stayed at the Obsidian Palace beyond those mountains as an agent of the Demon God.

The voice was identical to that of the being who made me realize that not all beings tainted by the demonic realm were stereotypically evil.

Having confirmed the voice, it was now time to confirm the appearance.

I reached out to remove the robe that the opponent, who had given up even being wary of us and was crying in panic, was wearing.

Swoosh

As the sound of the robe being removed was heard, what was revealed was…

“…Huh? You are?”

Shizu’s voice, unable to hide her surprise after confirming the opponent’s appearance, and…

“Huaaang!!”

The extremely frail appearance of the person responsible for injecting the unholy energy into the fortress with the dark red energy, along with an explosive crying sound, were revealed all at once.

As expected, it was a woman.

And it was a being I had encountered several times before my regression.

The vividly revealed purple hair after the hood was removed…

The pale skin that, while appearing human, felt awkward to call human…

And the noble appearance reminiscent of someone with whom I had quite a close relationship during the period when I lived as an agent of the Demon God before my regression…

All these external characteristics indicated that this woman was the same being I knew.

And both Shizu and I had encountered this woman in the same place a few days ago.

[Isn’t she the employee from the tavern where you got scolded by Miss Proxian for being distracted a few days ago?]

‘The employee role was a disguise.’

[Disguise?]

‘I’m amazed I didn’t recognize her at first glance when I saw her appearance, she hid herself well, but it seems she couldn’t completely conceal it in the end.’

[I don’t understand what you’re saying.]

‘Let me explain, and listen carefully. As you can see from her pale skin, her true identity is something else.’

[Uh… pale skin?… Could it be.]

Paphnir expressed quite a surprised reaction as something came to mind at the mention of pale skin.

‘She’s a dhampir. And judging by the purity of the demonic energy surrounding her body, she’s presumed to have a vampire father of quite high rank despite her bloodline complex.’

I calmly explained what I knew about this woman’s identity as naturally as possible.

Packaging it as an explanation based on knowledge rather than experience.

This woman is a dhampir, that is, a hybrid with a vampire father and a human mother.

And she has an exceptionally remarkable father.

Although I can’t freely reveal it even to Paphnir, I know well who this hybrid vampire’s father is.

He was a workplace colleague who was relatively reasonable among those demonic beings who were steeped in madness and acted as puppets of the Demon God during my time as an agent of the Demon God.

And that person is…