Chapter 75

Chapter 75

75: Blood Born Fortunately, timing my entrance wasn’t difficult. I’d counted to about 97 when…

-Bishaahng!!!!

A massive shout echoed, and the soldiers and gang members waiting outside began to stir. It was obvious something had gone wrong. “Hoo.” I steadied my breathing and pulled a mask from my pocket, putting it on. I tied my hair back and put up my hood. That should be enough. I considered drawing my sword but decided against it for now. I couldn’t just indiscriminately kill guards anyway. If I did something that crazy, covering it up would be impossible. A thorough investigation would only make things more troublesome for me. I wanted to keep the damage to a minimum. That way, the other side might let it slide quietly. I didn’t know which Mesatrian noble was involved, but they probably wouldn’t go all out for some odd job for the Western Count’s family.

-Tap.

I channeled my inner energy, opened the Yin Demon Art, and used Light Steps to leap into the air. I soared through the void, enjoying the brief sensation of floating as I looked down. “What’s going on?!” “Something’s happening inside!” “Should we go too?” Four soldiers stood directly below me. They had drawn their swords and shields but were milling about, unsure of what to do. I heard the emergency call, so their hesitation meant either dereliction of duty or simply not wanting to jump into something dangerous.

-Tap.

With a small question in mind, I landed silently in the middle of the four soldiers. “Huh?” One of the soldiers seemed surprised by the sudden black figure that had appeared. Judging by his slow reaction, he must be a member of the garrison? Ah, they have swords and shields, so they must be guards. They’re not very well-trained for guards. That’s good for me. With that brief thought, I swung my arm at the two soldiers next to me.

-Thwack.

“Kuh-heuk!?” My hand struck their necks precisely, and the soldiers collapsed like straw dummies. There was no need to check if the attack had worked. I reached out to the other two soldiers.

-Thwack.

“What…kuh-euk!?” “Guh!” The remaining two soldiers panicked and tried to turn around, but it was too late. They fell to the ground like the first two. I’d knocked people unconscious with a single blow dozens of times when I was younger, using Keirna, Seran, and the other kids as practice. Thanks to that experience, I could now knock someone out almost effortlessly. …Come to think of it, I was quite the little scumbag back then. It was necessary for martial arts training, but I did a lot of things I should apologize for. No wonder the kids were so eager to bully me. Thanks to that, I also opened my eyes to that side of things, so I don’t have any complaints…right?

-Thump, thump.

I circulated my inner energy throughout my body and entered Blate’s hideout. As befitting a bandit hideout, a simple-looking hall came into view. “What?!” Along with the gang members who greeted me. Seven in total. Each of them held a dagger, ready to charge. “…What? Is that a kid?” One of them tilted his head, looking at me. Had he mistaken me because of my small stature? There was no need to answer his question, so I silently moved my feet and darted towards him. “Heup!?” The rather slender gang member seemed surprised and swung his dagger at me, but that level of attack was useless against my Iron Body Armor. I raised my hand, grabbed the blade of the swinging dagger, and lunged into his arms. “Ha?” ‘Ha’ nothing. I grabbed the man’s body and spun around, slamming him into the ground. “Kuh-heup!”

-Crack!

The wooden floorboards gave way, and a strange scream echoed from the man’s mouth, along with the shocked voices of the other men. “Kajim!” “Damn it, you little runt!” The remaining gang members seemed to snap out of it when they saw their limp comrade and charged at me. But they were no match for me. First to attack were the two in the lead. I fixed my left foot as a pivot and unleashed a series of kicks.

-Thwack!

Two kicks landed cleanly on their chins, and the two men collapsed like puppets with their strings cut. The remaining four hesitated when they saw that, but hesitating now was worse than running away.

-Swish!

I lowered my head to keep my hood from falling off and dashed towards the man who was now alone in front. “D, damn it!” He panicked and swung his dagger at me. Judging by the clean trajectory, he was quite skilled, but unfortunately, I wasn’t someone who could be hurt by that level of attack. I ignored the dagger and thrust my fist towards the man’s abdomen.

-Pow.

I felt something sharp touch my back, and a heavy sensation was transmitted from the end of my fist. I hadn’t used inner energy, but my physical abilities, enhanced by opening the Yin Demon Art, were enough to subdue an adult man with a single punch. “Kuh…uh…” The man let out an unsightly groan and knelt on the floor. I struck his pain-distorted face, and his body collapsed like a log with a ‘thud’. The dagger the man had swung had pierced my shoulder blade, but that was it. The blade didn’t even pierce my skin. It just slid down, leaving a scratch on my clothes. “What the hell!” Now there were three left. They charged at me with determined expressions, but things in the world don’t always work out just because you’re determined. “Kuaaagh!” I spun around and kicked the chin of the man charging in the lead, then slammed my elbow into the chest of the gang member who followed, sending him crashing into the wall. I let the last remaining gang member kiss the floor with a throw, in the same manner. “…Kuh-uh-uh…” Two of the seven were writhing without losing consciousness, but there was no need to finish them off. I didn’t have time to dawdle. I turned my gaze away from the seven fallen gang members and darted down the hallway again. // Fortunately, finding Elle wasn’t difficult. “Heugyak!” As I passed through the winding hallway, a strange scream echoed in my ears. I punched out the three guards who were attacking and headed in that direction, and Elle’s tattered figure came into view. “Uh…?” “Hi!” I greeted her, who was making a dumbfounded expression, with a cheerful greeting, and then took a moment to examine her. Her black dress was torn in several places, and red bloodstains were visible in the torn areas. She didn’t look to be in good shape, but thankfully, she didn’t seem to have any fatal wounds. “How did you get here…no, never mind, get down!” Elle muttered in a flustered manner as she looked at me, then suddenly changed her expression and lunged at me. What, why all of a sudden? Instead of listening to her, I looked down the hallway. There, a man was looking at me, swinging his sword. …From that distance? I was about to tilt my head, wondering what he was doing, when Elle’s body crashed into me. I could have dodged or blocked it, but I decided to follow her lead and threw myself backward. We rolled across the floor together, embracing each other, and at the same time, a faint sound echoed in my ears.

-Swish!

It wasn’t difficult to figure out what that sound was. When I looked up, there were gashes on the surrounding walls, as if they had been cut with a sword. That was definitely caused by magic, but he was holding a sword, so he couldn’t be a mage… “…A magic sword?”

-Nod.

Elle nodded at my question and added. “The Wind-Cutting Sword, Boreas. It has the ability to freely manipulate sharp winds. Its range seems to be about 15 meters, and its power is, as you can see…” At least enough to cut through human skin and flesh. I could understand why Elle was running away. If you had a weapon like that, which was practically cheating in one-on-one combat, you’d have no choice but to run. This world really is all about the gear. But for me, a magic sword like that was welcome. Unless it could conjure fire or something. That level was a piece of cake. I got up and said to Elle, as if giving her advice. “I understand. Leave this to me and run away.” “…What? Didn’t you hear what I just said?” Elle retorted, looking dumbfounded, but there was no time to explain. From down the hallway, the knight with the magic sword swung his sword at us again.

-Swish!

The faint sound of wind echoed again, and Elle grabbed my body and tried to dodge. But there wasn’t much room to dodge in the narrow hallway. I had no choice but to lay Elle on the floor and cover her. “Danger-kehk!?”

-Slash!

A wind that was as sharp as a blade tore at my back. The wind didn’t pierce my skin, which was protected by the Iron Body Armor, but my clothes were being torn to shreds. Elle was shocked by my appearance and tried to shout, but she stopped when she saw that I was unharmed. “That, could it be…” “Iron Body Armor. Ever heard of it?” I smiled at Elle and answered in a whisper. I believed she understood well enough. I immediately got up and turned my gaze towards the approaching knight. “Crazy. How did you learn that here…” Elle muttered in disbelief, but then nodded as if she understood. All she had to do was join up with Emily while I bought her time. “Who are you?” The knight looked at me and opened his mouth in displeasure, but there was no sign of surprise in his tone. Could it be that he didn’t see me take the previous attack unscathed? As a knight, he probably did. I should take it as a sign that he was confident.

-Swish.

I got up and declared confidently to him. “I have no obligation to answer you. Human.” I deliberately spoke in a hoarse voice, and the man tilted his head. “…A demon?” Huh, did he really fall for it? I’d thrown it out there just in case, but I didn’t expect it to actually work. Of course, I’d be grateful if he fell for it…was that why Elle was pretending to be a demon? “….” I glanced at Elle, who had a slightly complicated expression on her face. She was averting her gaze, looking embarrassed, so pretending to be a vampire must have just been her hobby. But that silent conversation was short-lived. Elle got up and whispered to me. “…Then, I’m counting on you.”

-Nod.

The moment I nodded in response, the knight’s shout echoed in my ears. “Where do you think you’re going!!!” He raised his sword high above his shoulder and thrust it at me. But instead of taking a defensive stance, I darted towards him. As long as the Iron Body Armor was in effect, this fight would be advantageous for me in terms of compatibility. However, that thought changed the moment I heard the sound of wind rushing towards me.

-Whooosh!!

A sound that was sharper and louder than anything before. Through that sound, I realized that the attack was something out of the ordinary and immediately drew my sword and swung it.

-Sreung!

I guessed the extension of where the knight’s sword would pierce in my head and cut through the space with the feeling of slicing through the wind. Then, as expected…

-Sasaak!

Along with the sensation of something catching on the tip of my sword, the remnants of the severed wind covered my body. The strands of wind, which were incomparable to the previous ones, brushed against my body as if caressing it, and the remnants of my torn clothes fluttered in the hallway. …Damn Erzsébet. What did you mean by ‘as you can see’? That wasn’t just wind.