BAM!
The hotel staff seemed to be aware that the underground should not be revealed, as they had tightly concealed it with a steel door, but unfortunately, the door had fulfilled its purpose and was crumpled like paper, rolling across the floor.
In the underground, even the slightest movement sent sounds echoing up the walls, but by the time we reached the first floor, the bothersome noise naturally faded away.
“Ugh, uhh.”
I thought I had knocked her out, but perhaps while dragging her, Priscilla hit her head on the threshold and regained consciousness. She clawed at the hotel carpet, desperately trying to escape.
“Shut up.”
Grabbing her hair, I slammed her into the floor once more, and she went limp like a dying fish.
I attempted to snatch her by the collar and move again, but the hotel staff blocked my path.
“Do you know who you are currently opposing?”
The oldest among them, a wiry old man with a mustache, placed his hand on the hilt of his sword and warned me with a touch of manners.
“You’ve just drawn your sword against the highest authority of the kingdom. If you overstep here, the entire kingdom will come to tear you apart.”
“……”
“Don’t make a choice you’ll regret.”
Honestly, I couldn’t even hear what the hotel manager was saying. I was focused on something way more ridiculous.
“Thirty-one? I think I need to call a few more.”
As I accurately counted how many were lying in ambush, the hotel manager realized there was no room left for negotiation. He drew his sword and stepped forward in silence.
“Refined swordsmanship? We’re not even dueling.”
I dodged the stabbing sword, leaned low, and grabbed the hotel manager’s wrist. He tried to step back, but he was pulled forward by my strength, and bam! His nose smashed against my knee, eyes rolling back in shock.
My memories of battling the complex and soul-draining magical beasts of the forest were still vividly etched into my soul.
Thinking back on it, the movements of the swordsmen trained in manners on the dueling grounds seemed too predictable and cliché.
It didn’t matter how many jumped at me.
In fact, it was easier to deal with them all coming at once, so I could clean up swiftly.
Just thirty minutes ago, they were all smiling warmly as they welcomed me, now they were sprawled on the floor, whimpering like children.
Grabbing Priscilla again, I headed upstairs where the Chokugen Faction was preparing traps and defenses to capture me.
The prince was on the fourth floor.
The Chokugen faction awaited me with daggers drawn, seemingly determined, but honestly, I couldn’t shake the feeling that it was all a bit ridiculous.
If I hadn’t been this angry, I might have actually shown them some mercy.
From the looks of it, not everyone in the Chokugen was entirely devoted to Prince Oliver. I could have given them a chance to escape.
“I’m really not in the mood for that right now.”
Despite my approach, the Chokugen didn’t take a single step back.
“Watch out! You can’t take him lightly!”
“He’s the guy who beat ten of us! Assess him as an S-class threat and assassinate him!”
“Where’s the Madame?”
These so-called elites of the continent’s best assassination group were making quite the fuss.
“Shut up with the buzzing.”
It felt like mosquitoes were flying around my ears, so I threw Priscilla forward to distract them and took the chance to ascend the stairs.
Suddenly, the assassins who had been hiding on the third floor lunged at me from behind, daggers in hand. It seemed the commotion on the second floor was a ruse.
As I dodged the dagger, I twisted the assailant’s wrist and shoved him down the stairs. If he could at least do a proper rollback, but with that broken wrist, it seemed impossible.
“You all better brace yourselves for life as cripples.”
Considering the nature of the Tudogs organization, they could definitely be classified as ‘evil.’ The leader of Tudogs brings up noble reasons of stopping the world’s apocalypse.
However, the deeds carried out for that goal were mostly filthy and repulsive, gnawing away at others.
So how about the Chokugen, their rivals?
They weren’t completely on the opposite side.
In fact, they were just a bunch of brats fighting over a dirty mud pit.
Historically, the Chokugen had been around longer, and with numerous clients wrapped like roots, they likely had bloodier hands.
With intent to uproot them today, I smashed their arms and legs one by one or twisted them in other directions.
“You’ll never brag about being Chokugen again.”
The sight of even the Chokugen, accustomed to pain, screaming and crying brought a small satisfaction. Leaving behind a short commentary about white worms crawling, I moved to the next floor.
The third floor was the same.
Perhaps due to the stairs being too narrow, they spread out for efficiency, but it only resulted in them being picked off one by one.
In a high-class hotel welcoming guests, screams echoed from all corners. I wondered if the Murder Hotel in Bethel felt somewhat similar. Finally, I arrived at the prince’s room.
I tossed Priscilla whom I’d been dragging and smashed through the door. Priscilla let out a gasp before moaning in pain inside.
As I entered the room, Prince Oliver was already absent. Was he already running away? But then—
I heard the sound of a sword slicing through the air from the void.
“……!”
Instinctively ducking to evade, I twisted my waist and kicked out. I felt something hit my foot, and a groan escaped from mid-air.
“Ugh!”
The transparent magic user, Prince Oliver, had been struck squarely in the abdomen, leaning against the wall, with a bit of drool escaping.
“You’re not a lion, you’re a magical beast. Yes, you’re a magical beast biting the king’s hand.”
Prince Oliver’s eyes, instead of showing the anger one would expect, were filled with excitement and a racing heart.
Seeing that, a female student came to mind.
“Definitely siblings.”
“Guh, awesome! Just thinking about the day you kneel at my feet makes me excited already.”
Having already learned that talking to someone like him was pointless, I decided to keep my mouth shut from the start.
Prince Oliver clenched his fists. A brilliant array of colors burst forth from the ring he wore, filling the guest room.
“Like Elise……”
“Power doesn’t simply mean physical ability. People, materials, resources, knowledge, appearance, power—all of these are a form of power.”
His right hand, containing all the world’s light, swept through the air. It was a distance blatantly too far for it to reach me.
“I won’t hesitate to use it.”
“……!”
I unknowingly crossed my hands in front of my chest to shield myself. Despite this, I felt myself lift off the ground from the shock of hitting the hotel wall.
“Ugh!”
Blood trickled from the corner of my mouth. My forehand and wrist bore marks similar to those left by a blade in a tempest.
Had I not noticed and blocked it, I would have taken a serious injury that could render me incapable of fighting, but I managed to block it clearly.
“Not twice.”
The moment I blocked his vital strike, my victory was assured.
I had been tense, thinking that the prince might have some secret move, but at this point, I was more exhausted than anything.
“The more I see, the more I desire, Meckler……”
Prince Oliver’s expression hardened at the dagger perfectly embedded in his shoulder. Initially dazed and unable to comprehend the situation, he soon paled visibly.
Oliver reached for the dagger, bewildered, but my shoe scraped over it.
Crunch.
“Ugh!”
As his hand went with the dagger, bubbles formed from his mouth, and his eyes rolled back, only to return to their original place.
“Relying on mere ring magic, what do you think you’re doing?”
As I defeated the Chokugen, I drew another dagger concealed at my waist.
Seeing the celestial light erupting from Oliver’s right hand, I aimed to slice off his fingers without a hint of hesitation.
But nothing passed through, and the dagger was uselessly driven into the hotel carpet.
“Teleport?”
Prince Oliver’s body was already disappearing halfway. Did the ring’s magic include warp? He managed to conjure a trembling smile.
“I’m about to put you in my cage, reverse magical beast!”
His villainous remark echoed through the room, marking the end of the situation.
Or could this even be called settled?
Looking down at Priscilla, who had lost consciousness again, I thought I’d take a breather and plopped into the chair the prince had been seated in.
“Daniel!”
At the door stood a black-haired girl, eyes red from holding back tears.
“Rin?”
I sprang up from my seat without even thinking, but from behind Rin darted a small, white-haired assassin.
“Daniel!”
“Wah!”
Maybe because I had relaxed, I couldn’t even hold on against Sen’s light weight and toppled over. I’d been perfectly blindsided, yet it didn’t feel bad.
“How did you end up here?”
With her weight sitting on top of me, Sen looked down and asked. The moment I saw her face, all the worries that had weighed on me vanished.
“I discovered that there was a Chokugen in Batian. I thought you would be in danger.”
Without discussing the communication, I expressed it indirectly, but Sen shook her head in surprise and snuggled into my chest.
“Thanks. Thanks to you, I’m alive.”
“Yeah, yeah. This big brother is the best, right?”
“Yes, you’re the best!”
Huh?
That wasn’t the response I was expecting.
Here, since she’s a year younger but in the same grade, I thought she’d just say we were friends, but she completely agreed.
I realized how much I had been stressed and gently patted Sen’s head, who was nestled in.
Yet from over Sen’s shoulder, I heard a peculiar exchange.
“I’m next in line, step back.”
“I don’t wanna! Can’t you see I’m standing in front?”
“I went in forcefully to help you escape, so this is my share!”
I wasn’t quite sure what they meant by going in and out, but I could hear Rin clicking her tongue.
I thought it might be like May winning this one, but Rin stubbornly pushed ahead.
“Then let’s settle it fairly with rock-paper-scissors.”
“I’ve never lost even once, this is a tie round.”
“How about Ares?”
“……No.”
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