Ch.6Fox (2)

“Haha~ Why are you all acting like this? I’m just trying to send you off comfortably!”

=I came to save you. I’ll protect you in a safe place.

I speak to them kindly.

“Don’t worry. It won’t hurt.”

=It really won’t hurt at all.

I was gesturing gently with a soft smile.

But despite such kindness, the foxes showed no intention of approaching me.

Were they frightened?

Clang…!

Irene finally drops the rusty sword she was holding.

She seemed to be resisting desperately, but eventually her legs gave out and she collapsed.

“Oh, sister…!”

“Sniff, Big sis Irene…!”

The little foxes hold back tears in confusion.

Children who appeared to be elementary school age at most.

They were trembling, hiding behind Irene’s back, simply terrified of the situation.

“Oh my, have I been too intimidating?”

I tilted my head quizzically.

As if I couldn’t understand their reactions at all.

‘Well… I actually do know.’

As I mentioned earlier, everything happening in this space is in the palm of my hand.

A stage I designed from beginning to end.

The current situation is also included in this meticulous design.

In other words, it’s all an act.

I appeared like a villain.

Just before the foxes escaped, I blocked their path and deliberately revealed my killing intent to create tension.

I also increased their anxiety by delivering ominous lines.

‘It’s natural for them to tremble in fear.’

The foxes must see me as a hunter now.

The worst kind of hunter who could annihilate everyone present with a single gesture.

“Hehe.”

I giggle with delight.

Perhaps because it had been a while since I caused such mischief, it felt twice as fun.

The corners of my mouth twisted unnaturally.

My already sinister smile became even more viscous.

The perfect image of a narrow-eyed villain.

“……”

Irene was kneeling, looking in my direction.

Her transparent eyes were trembling madly.

Perhaps my acting was too perfect. The girl seemed completely deceived.

‘It feels like I’ve actually become a villain.’

That thought crossed my mind briefly, but I pushed it away.

How could someone as kind and thoughtful as me?

Even this performance I’m putting on has its hidden reasons.

-Ding!

[Current remaining output: 21.5%]

I had used too many lies.

The output wasn’t sufficient enough to return safely.

If I were alone, it would have been plenty, but unfortunately, I’d taken on the burden of the fox group, making it difficult.

In short, I needed to restore my lies.

I decided to use them for that purpose.

“Mercy would be a luxury for slaves who have already caused a disturbance once.”

Judas’s unique ability, Liar.

The more perfect the lie, the greater the emotional change it causes in the listener, the more effectively it charges.

I exploit the hearts of others.

The fear of death.

It’s one of the most intense emotions that binds living beings.

The foxes who had been rejoicing in the hope of escape until just moments ago.

Now that these children were facing death, the emotional change that would follow…

-Ding!

[The target’s emotions are fluctuating dramatically.]

(Hope -> Despair)

[Due to the dramatic emotional change, a large amount of lies have been recovered.]

[Current remaining output: 47.4%]

The output of lies charging rapidly.

Just a few words and it’s instantly recharged.

Normally, filling such a gap would require muttering all day long.

‘…This method really is better after all.’

I felt slightly guilty about making young children cry, but I apologized inwardly.

This is all part of the process to save you.

I believed they would understand.

“How pathetic.”

I murmur in a cold voice.

The smile had disappeared from my face.

Clap-!

I clap my hands once lightly.

Following that, all the numerous lamps illuminating the passage go out simultaneously.

A world where only thick darkness remains.

I gathered the swirling mist and said:

“Well then… I shall dispose of these worthless items right here.”

I release a bit more of the killing intent I had been suppressing.

The tension that cuts through flesh forms frost, and sticky darkness weighs down the surroundings.

The children finally burst into tears one by one.

-Ding!

[The target’s emotions are fluctuating dramatically.]

(Hope -> Despair)

[Due to the dramatic emotional change, a large amount of lies have been recovered.]

[Current remaining output: 54.9%]

The output of lies was recovering smoothly.

At this rate, it would take about 5 minutes.

While estimating the remaining time, a girl with crimson hair catches my eye.

“……”

Irene sitting there, completely dazed.

Had she lost her mind from extreme fear?

Despite the commotion from the other children, the girl sat with her head bowed.

‘Has she given up?’

If so, it was somewhat disappointing.

The “fox” I remembered from the original work wouldn’t collapse from something like this.

Perhaps it’s because her awakening hasn’t occurred yet.

The stubborn sword saint I had been looking forward to meeting didn’t seem to be present.

I felt my interest waning slightly.

I thought I might have some fun, but to see such a pitiful state.

“Hmm.”

Well, should I just move on?

Since I’ve come this far, I should help them anyway.

As long as the world follows the original work, awakening will happen eventually.

“Not what I expected, but I’ll be satisfied with this for today…”

“Kids.”

Just as I was about to settle for this anticlimactic end, a brief word reaches my ears.

“Listen carefully to what I’m about to say.”

A trembling, battered voice.

However, what followed was anything but weak.

“Run away and don’t look back.”

Shing-

She picks up the rusty sword that had fallen to the ground.

Shoulders trembling as if about to break.

But even in such despair, the girl raises herself using the sword to prop herself up.

“I’ll hold this place.”

Gleaming black eyes.

The girl’s pupils were filled with a venomous light as she glared at me.

“Oho.”

An exclamation escapes me involuntarily.

Feeling my waning interest reignite, I smiled wickedly.

‘Yes, that’s more like it.’

I almost got disappointed there.

A thrill electrifies my fingertips.

I spread the lies I had been gathering in all directions and burst into refreshing laughter.

“Hahaha! What an arrogant delusion!”

“Everyone run!”

Following her sharp cry, the children begin to flee.

I briefly glanced at the little foxes running away, but soon had to focus on what was in front of me.

The future sword saint, Irene.

She was charging at me with her crimson hair flying.

I wiped away the playful atmosphere and snapped my fingers in the hazy darkness.

“Well then~ Shall we play for a while?”

Snap-!

The world turns upside down.

***

A tunnel-like long corridor.

Only sticky darkness hangs over it.

The lamps that should have been illuminating the surroundings are all extinguished, with only primordial blackness flowing down.

A gloomy atmosphere permeates the air.

Screech-!

A sharp noise cuts through the silence.

In the pitch-black space, only two figures moving violently existed.

“Haa, haa…!”

Rough breathing echoes loudly.

Irene swung her sword roughly while trying to control her breathing that was rising to her chin.

Clang-!

The sword is blocked with a powerful impact.

There stood the blonde boy, blocking her attack with his bare hands.

“Is that all you’ve got?”

A face smiling with enjoyment.

Unlike the girl in her miserable state, he looked completely at ease.

As if he viewed this entire situation as a joke.

‘Damn it…!’

Is he really human?

Blocking a sword strike delivered with full force with just two fingers.

‘Are his fingers made of steel or something…!’

Irene clicked her tongue and readied her stance again.

Immediately after, she stomped the ground.

Clang! Clang!! Crack…! Boom!!

The fierce sound of metal tearing.

Sparks fly each time the sword and fingers collide.

The flashes that momentarily illuminate the surrounding darkness with each instant.

“Ugh…!”

“Please try a little harder. You seem to be getting pushed back.”

“Shut… up…!”

An enraged cry extends outward.

Irene opened her eyes wide.

She pushes away the sword that was locked in a power struggle. Then immediately follows with a strike.

Whoosh-!

A sword path moving horizontally. A surprise attack targeting an opening.

Irene sensed success.

Angle, distance, timing, everything was perfect. It cannot be blocked.

‘Got him…!’

But.

“Oops.”

Clang-!

He blocks it as if it were natural.

Again with his index and middle fingers.

The boy deflected Irene’s sword with just two fingers.

“…Ha.”

What kind of monster is this?

A hollow laugh escapes involuntarily.

But there was no time to dwell on such thoughts.

Because now the boy’s fist was flying toward her.

Irene quickly defends with the flat of her blade.

The next moment.

Boom-!

The fist hits the sword’s surface, and a heavy impact strikes the girl.

“Kugh…!”

She’s pushed back considerably despite her defensive stance.

Her fingertips tingle and tremble.

She barely manages to hold on as her legs threaten to give out.

While steadying her momentarily staggering body, the boy approaches her.

Click, click.

The shoe heels are particularly loud.

Facing those terrifying footsteps, Irene bit her lip.

“Are you tired already? I’m just starting to enjoy myself.”

Tap-

A light step on the ground.

It was just one step, but the boy was already standing in front of Irene.

As if he had teleported.

“Ta-da.”

“You son of a—!”

Even her hasty reaction was too late.

His fist had already reached Irene’s abdomen.

Thud-!

A heavy blow lands. Her body flies again.

The body that had briefly floated in the air soon rolls on the ground.

Irene lay face down, letting out painful groans.

“Ugh… huff, gasp…”

Consciousness fading.

The girl tried to regain her senses.

As if mocking Irene, the boy muttered in surprise:

“Oh? Did that hurt so much? I thought I controlled my strength…”

“……”

Irene quietly bowed her head.

Her body would no longer move.

She had allowed just one hit, but it felt like her internal organs were turning inside out.

‘Am I going to die here?’

The fox sensed death.

If she had known it would come to this, she should have just quietly been sold as a slave.

A bland regret ripples through her.

The boy was toying with her.

If he used his full strength, he could probably kill her with a single gesture.

‘How empty.’

A feeling of having her past life denied.

The sword she had honed and polished couldn’t reach him. She couldn’t even keep up with his movements.

The sense of powerlessness born from lamentation weighs heavily on her shoulders.

It hurts. It’s scary. It’s sad. It’s lonely.

However, what comes to mind before all those emotions is…

‘I wonder if everyone escaped safely.’

Thoughts of others.

She had bought them plenty of time. That was some consolation.

The fox smiles faintly.

She didn’t want to die.

Because death is frightening.

It’s just that what she feared more than that was becoming cowardly.

The girl quietly raised her head.

“I think we should stop here for now. I don’t want our characters getting hurt.”

“……”

The blonde snake, no, monster.

He was looking at her with a face that shamelessly expressed concern.

She felt like giving him a good punch.

If the children needed more time to escape this hellish slave market, the girl had to pick up her sword.

It was a path walked purely on conviction.

She would hold on a little longer.

Even if it meant burning every last breath she had.

“Hey… you snake bastard.”

Irene raised her body that felt like it would shatter.

Though her balance was unsteady, the girl pointed her sword tip and murmured:

“We need to see this through.”

The next moment.

Light flashes from the rusted sword blade.

A radiance that dimly spreads into the darkness.

Though it was so feeble that even Irene herself didn’t notice it, the snake didn’t miss that streak of light.

The boy unconsciously mutters:

“…Could that be?”

A momentary question. It soon culminates in an exclamation.

“This really is interesting.”

Narrowing eyes slightly.

The golden snake feels a thrilling interest and shows a broad smile.

It’s a fragment of talent shining clearly.

“I wasn’t planning to go this far… but shall we enjoy this a little more?”

With anticipation beating in his heart, the boy gathered his lies.