episode_0054

======[ Prede ]======

Hilde lay collapsed as if she had fallen asleep and died from the effects of Mabidok.

Upon arriving at the scene, Prede first checked Hilde’s condition.

“Breathing is normal… her heart is beating steadily. Just as I thought, it was just a simple sleeping potion.”

If that was the case, there was no need to worry. If left alone, given time, the poison would naturally detoxify, and she would wake up again.

Relieved, Prede let out a shallow sigh and carefully laid Hilde’s body, which was lying in a deep sleep, on the dry ground where the blood of the corpse giant had not spread.

“No matter how much I think about it… something still feels strange.”

Prede silently gazed down at the face of the sleeping Hilde. Doubt filled her large golden eyes.

“It’s definitely Brunhilde… lying in front of me.”

There was no doubt that the woman lying in front of her was Brunhilde.

Her appearance, voice, physique, swordsmanship, even her scent—everything matched the Brunhilde of old.

It was beyond the level that a fake could imitate.

So, the woman collapsing before her was undoubtedly Brunhilde herself. Prede was convinced of that.

However…

“She has changed too much. Strangely so.”

The only thing that remained the same was her appearance.

Her personality had changed drastically. It could be said that during the days of the hero party, she had hidden her true nature and lived differently.

“She has become weaker. Clearly.”

The Brunhilde she met again had undergone a significant decline in her abilities compared to before.

Prede was certain of one thing: Brunhilde’s prowess had weakened to an abnormal extent.

This conclusion was reached after observing her battle with the corpse giant.

◆◆

After seizing Abyssal Priest Hug Karsval and disintegrating him according to Brunhilde’s demands until no trace of his original form remained,

Prede, for the purpose of confirming his identity, returned to the battlefield where the corpse giant was rampaging while holding the head of Hug that he had left behind.

More precisely, he climbed up a branch of a tree at a distance far enough to not be noticed by his party members but close enough to overlook the battlefield.

A swift return would have raised suspicions, after all.

The fact that a Dongpa adventurer had defeated a Abyss Priest was enough to cause quite a stir. But what’s even more surprising is that it didn’t take much time, did it?

Anyone would find it strange. It’s not something that an ordinary Dongpa adventurer could accomplish.

That’s why Freide decided to bide her time by hiding in the trees and then join in.

And also to watch Brunhilde’s battle for a while.

“Now that she’s lost her sight, she’ll fight properly, right?”

Until then, Freide had thought that Hilde was concealing her true abilities.

If an ordinary Dongpa adventurer were to display strength surpassing that of a knight, it would attract an excessive amount of attention.

As a wanted criminal, it was a risk that Hilde, with her status, should avoid as much as possible.

So Freide considered Hilde’s inability to land effective blows on Hugo as a deliberate attempt to conceal her true strength and an exploratory maneuver to uncover the enemy’s tactics.

But…

“…Why is she fighting like that?”

The fight between Hilde, whom Freide observed, and the corpse giant displayed a pattern that she simply couldn’t understand.

Brunhilde’s combat style was based on thrusting swordsmanship, mercilessly piercing the enemy’s vital points and tearing them apart with her unique strength.

However, Hilde, who was fighting the corpse giant, seemed to have completely forgotten her old combat style, displaying a clumsy battle as if she had blacked out her former techniques.

Retreating meaninglessly, providing the enemy with opportunities to attack. Holding back excessively, unable to inflict a single proper wound.

It was reminiscent of newly appointed trainee knights.

“She’s still pretending…? No matter how skilled Brunhilde is, it’s quite dangerous to fight like that…”

Her movements were so amateurish that it was hard to believe it was Brunhilde’s fight.

If she made a mistake and took a hit, even Brunhilde would find it difficult to escape without serious injury.

She may be strong, but she’s not sturdy.

“…Is it because those women are still around that she’s acting this way?”

Furrowing her brow in suspicion, Freide glanced towards Gerda and Amy who were assisting Hilde.

“Will they be able to fight properly once both of them are dead?”

Thinking back to a gloomy household that she couldn’t have imagined in the past.

Of course, this was merely a hypothetical scenario. She had never entertained the thought of ambushing and killing Gerda and Amy, or leaving them to meet their deaths at the hands of the corpse giant.

“Hmm… as expected, that’s a bit…?”

Merely wanting to resolve her doubts was not a reason to abandon or manipulate a colleague’s death. How could someone wearing the mask of a human act in such a way?

Unlike before, Freide, who had become honest and faithful to her desires, still retained at least a modicum of conscience. A conscience befitting a former knight.

“If it looks really dangerous, I should help out.”

Therefore, Freide, instead of Nibelung, gripped the greatsword and observed the battlefield, naturally seeking the right moment to join in.

Thirty seconds passed.

“Ah, now it feels like fighting as I used to.”

Amidst the sudden change in the situation, Freide’s eyes sparkled as she smiled.

The power bestowed by the Abyssal Priestess seemed to have run its course, slowing down the corpse giant, while Hilde, for the first time since the battle began, launched an aggressive assault.

With each swing of the sword, the body of the corpse giant was torn apart, as if finally deciding to use its distinctive strength without hesitation.

After slicing the neck of the corpse giant, Hilde sat down on the ground, breathing heavily.

“Sitting down…?”

From a distance, Freide looked down at Hilde with a slight smirk.

Although she displayed a similar appearance to before, there was still a subtle sense of awkwardness about her. Perhaps it was an excessive waste of strength.

If it had been the old Brunhilde, she would have at least preserved enough energy to stand up and wield her sword.

She wouldn’t be left panting and unable to stand alone like this.

“Such a sight was rarely seen in the past.”

A failure in distributing strength and stamina against a mere corpse giant. It was a scene she couldn’t have imagined in the past.

“Why is she acting like this…?”

Just as Freide was earnestly pondering the reason, the sudden action of Gerda, the party’s scout, abruptly interrupted Freide’s contemplation. Freide opened her eyes.

Stabbing Amy with a dagger, Gerda then shoved the dagger into Hilde’s body and tied her with a rope.

“How dare you…!”

It was an obvious betrayal. Flames flickered in Freida’s eyes.

She cleared her mind of all thoughts and, with a furious expression, charged forward, driving the branches.

To thrust the great sword she held into the betrayer’s skull.

◆◆

And now.

Having gained confidence that Hilde had weakened, Freida looked down at her again, reconsidering the reason.

While the basic physical abilities seemed unchanged from before, there was a significant drop in skill. It was difficult to understand.

“Memory loss…?”

The first hypothesis that came to Freida’s mind was that there might be some problem with Hilde’s memory.

If she was fighting on instinct due to memory loss, even her clumsy movements could be understandable.

“…No, that’s not it.”

However, Freida immediately rejected that hypothesis. Upon careful consideration, it was an unreasonable story.

“Hilde always concealed her face with a helmet.”

Concealing her face meant understanding the need to keep her identity hidden.

In other words, the fact that Hilde herself became a wanted criminal in the Line Kingdom for deserting the hero party.

If she had forgotten so many memories to the extent of losing her old skills, she should have naturally forgotten the memory of leaving the party as well.

The fact that she concealed her face was evidence that there was no major issue with her memory.

“She forgot how to fight but retained other memories? Logically, such a thing is impossible… Wait a moment.”

Freida, who had been shaking her head in disbelief, suddenly lowered her head and looked at her own hand.

The small, delicate hand that had transformed into a man’s body for a while and then returned to its original form.

This, too, was an event far beyond common sense. It was a phenomenon caused by the power of the Holy Sword.

“If it’s the Holy Sword, if it’s the power of the Holy Sword, could such a thing be possible…?”

The power of the Holy Sword might be capable of taking away Brünhilde’s strength while leaving her memories untouched. Freide thought so.

“Then, could Brünhilde’s weakening be due to Nibelung’s power?”

It was a plausible inference.

Although it was impossible to know how the wish to meet again had been interpreted and thus taken Brünhilde’s power, in the end, they were able to reunite as fellow adventurers.

Of course, it was not something one could be certain about. It was an overreaching assumption based solely on the outcome, closer to guesswork, an overly exaggerated conjecture.

Furthermore, it was a conclusion that evoked strong psychological resistance.

If Brünhilde’s weakening was due to Nibelung, then it was akin to Freide herself having imposed the worst curse upon Brünhilde.

“…Perhaps, it might not be Nibelung’s doing after all.”

Thus, Freide tried to dismiss her own inference and consider new possibilities.

Coincidentally, there was another sheath on the Dragon’s Lineage, aside from Freide’s own sword.

“Perhaps Gunther has done something.”

Gunther, the hero of the Kingdom of Burgund, also possessed a Divine Slaying Blade.

As the true power of the Holy Sword was classified as a national secret, even Freide did not know the full extent of the Divine Slaying Blade’s abilities…

“Suspicious.”

If it was a Holy Sword equivalent to Nibelung, then it was entirely possible that the sword also possessed some absurd ability. It was enough to warrant suspicion.

Perhaps that sword had the ability to take away others’ powers.

“…Yes, that seems right. The wielder was trash who took pleasure in stealing from others.”

To what extent they enjoyed taking from others, to the point of taking members from another kingdom’s party, there was no guarantee that they wouldn’t take their powers as well.

Thinking this way, everything made sense.

Why the party members provided by the Kingdom of Burgund remained unharmed, why Gunther sought to obtain members from other kingdoms’ parties, and even the sudden weakening of Brünhilde, who had abandoned the party of the Kingdom of Rhine and disappeared, choosing Gunther’s party as a last resort.

And, the secret to Gunter’s recent rise to power and the means by which he could elevate his reputation.

“Yeah. It’s all because of Gunter’s doings…!”

All of it was due to him plundering the strength of Brunhilde and other defector party members.

Therefore, it was inevitable for Brunhilde to leave Gunter’s party and disappear.

Staying by Gunter’s side would only result in being a slave, surrendering one’s strength to him.

In reality, this was nothing but an absurd misunderstanding. The decline in “Brunhilde’s” abilities was actually because she wasn’t Brunhilde herself…

“No doubt…!”

The fact that Brunhilde’s soul had been swapped was an impossibility even for a fellow predator to fathom.

Thus, with a nod as if finally finding an answer, Freida ignited her animosity towards Gunter.

A nauseating half-elf marauder who not only stole Brunhilde’s power—perhaps even taking other things, a figure of repulsive character.

Within Freida, Gunter’s image had already been firmly established as an irredeemable villain.

Of course, at present, he was an unbeatable adversary, so if they were to meet again, they would have no choice but to flee with Brunhilde for the time being…

“Someday…!”

Someday, I will exact the appropriate retribution. That was Freida’s solemn vow.

As Gunter, it might seem like an unjust grudge. In the end, it was his own doing.