EP.135 The Intruder (4)
A warm smile. A calm voice. An air of elegance.
Yet, overshadowed by all those peaceful adornments was an undeniable, sticky malice.
In the face of such overwhelming intimidation that would likely cause a regular person to faint, the movements of the Hero Party flowed smoothly like water.
“Ah, I see… The Savior was not here, but at the place Beta is heading… So, my role isn’t to serve her, but merely to buy time… Hah, how cruel can the gods be…”
Before the woman’s sorrowful sigh could finish, Apis swiftly drew her bow and aimed at her target.
The woman’s appearance perfectly matched the description of the assassin that had been relayed by the Hero earlier.
With a presence that easily surpassed an ordinary monster, she judged the woman to be a formidable foe that must be eliminated as quickly as possible.
“Fire. Come forth.”
Worried about collateral damage, Apis combined spirit magic and arrows, rarely using the stage indoors.
To Apis’s eyes, that meant the woman’s presence was that formidable.
“Oh my, someone is in a hurry! I did try to kill you all once, but dwelling on the past is not a good pattern of behavior. Now, why don’t you introduce yourself first? My name is Alpha. No, wait… Raiza! Yes! Raiza! The name that was graciously restored to me by her! That is, Ra─!”
“Die.”
Bang!
The blazing arrow, soaring majestically through the air, engulfed the woman in an instant.
There was no trace left, not even a suggestion that the target had been alive.
However, amidst the gazes of the party members directed toward the point of the thunderous explosion, there was not a speck of relief.
“Apis! Retreat!”
“Guh!”
As the Hero’s command rang out, several chains burst forth from the explosion.
The hero, wielding a sword, dashed past the still-reeling Apis, who barely dodged the sudden attack.
Clang!
The chilling sound of metal clashing echoed down the corridor.
Before long, fear and similar emotions rose in waves on the faces of everyone present, except for the woman.
“What!”
“Guh, cough! Hah, heh!”
The Hero’s astonished voice wasn’t because the sword he wielded had been futilely blocked by the chains the woman wielded.
It was because despite being struck by Apis’s arrow, leaving a massive hole in her torso, the woman was looking at the Hero with a kind smile reminiscent of a parent gazing at a child’s antics.
If she used the chains drawn from her body to block Apis’s arrow, then she could not fully defend against the Hero’s subsequent attack, leading to this behavior.
It was undoubtedly the action of a madwoman.
“She’s insane…”
Dawna unconsciously muttered in disbelief.
“Guh, cough! Ah, I understand. With this pitiful life of mine, I can only bind your feet for perhaps ten minutes at best. But I don’t mind at all. This is the fate I chose. The mission bestowed upon me. To save our Savior! To keep the High Priest Regis from the hands of heretic scum! To guard her holy being at our side! I will gladly dedicate this sinful soul to the gods right here!”
Even while spitting blood, the woman spoke incessantly, as if chanting a prayer, and the Hero had a realization.
It wasn’t a surprise attack, but an absolute confrontation. It was an utterly defensive stance as opposed to the previously mad aggression.
Moreover, the name they constantly spoke of.
“C-could it be…!”
Their goal is!
◈◈◈
“Are you saying I was the target from the beginning?”
“Yes, that’s right!”
I didn’t expect an answer to my rhetorical question, yet I was met with such an enthusiastic reply, rendering me speechless.
Although I had encountered countless odd individuals due to my reckless line of work, conversing with this woman who claimed her name was ‘Beta’ felt like a mental drain, almost as if I was undergoing hellish torture.
“It started when I wondered what kind of reaction the Saint and her followers would show if I just killed the Hero, you know! But upon arriving here, I discovered that the Hero and the Saint weren’t as close as we thought! They were almost snarling at each other! Yet here I am, thinking I should probably kill at least one while I’m here, but you went and saved them all leisurely! Hahaha! I tell you! This is why one shouldn’t act without a plan! Nothing ever goes right! Am I right?”
Trapped by rising ice, immobilized and unable to fight or flee, I had to play along with her nonsense to extract information.
But due to the hatred bubbling up like lava inside me, rational judgment escaped me.
“What’s so funny about that?”
“Oh, I’m sorry! Did I talk too much? Or are you just cold? But if I melt the ice, you’ll just run away, so I can’t let you go… Ah! How about I cover you with a blanket instead?”
“What’s so amusing about toying with human lives?!”
“………Oh, you can make that face! I like that! Much better than your usual silly expression!”
The longer the conversation dragged on, the more my rage simmered, while she seemed to revel in her enjoyment of the situation.
Drip drip.
The crackling sounds as I desperately tried to wiggle free seemed to perfectly reflect my miserable thoughts.
“I really don’t get this world. I was so upset when all my carefully laid plans just collapsed, but thanks to that failure, I got to know someone like you.”
Someone like you.
Normally, I wouldn’t have given such a statement much thought.
A trivial remark that I would have passed off as nonsense, but now it struck a chord of realization.
Could it be… what the Sister said…?
“Whatever! The important thing is that this series of coincidences has allowed us to meet like this! Hahaha♪ Is this what they call a fateful meeting?”
How long had her exaggerated monologue persisted, reminiscent of a one-person show?
Soon after, she brought her lips close to my ear.
“I’ll get straight to the point. Regis Lowville, right? How about joining our side?”
The heat of my body felt like it was instantly chilled. Her tone was indescribably icy and ominous.
The coldness of the ice enveloping me felt absurd.
“Ah, of course, I’m not just asking. If you join us, I’ll grant you anything you desire!”
With her slender fingers tapping my thigh like playing a piano over the ice, she continued speaking.
“If there’s a girl you want, just let me know! I won’t make you choose just one! No matter if she’s a noble or a precious princess, I’ll turn her into a loyal puppet who can’t live without you. How about it? Isn’t that a proposal any man would find tempting?”
Just as I felt a vague familiarity, a fundamental disgust surged within me, coming a beat too late.
When I received a similar offer from the Sister, even if just for a fleeting moment, it had stirred troubled feelings within me.
But what about now?
Nothing. I felt nothing at all.
The anger that had been burning my insides moments ago. The fear of facing an unbeatable foe.
All those trivial thoughts had vanished, leaving behind only the eerie feeling of staring at a being utterly different from myself.
“I decline.”
“Hahaha! I knew you’d say that! There are some foolish individuals who can’t help but throw away their own good fortune! Oh, do you perhaps have a fiancée already? Oh my! I just noticed you have a ring on your hand! Kyaah♪ Romantic guy~!”
As she cast her gaze at the ring on my finger, her body twisted and danced flamboyantly.
Wanting to hit her was probably a first for me.
Just then, as I grappled with the violent impulse thwarting my forward-thinking mindset, she spoke again.
“Well, I guess I have no choice. I’ll have to make you join us by force.”
“Guh!”
She who hid her expression in the shadows, unhesitatingly grasped my head with both hands.
I reflexively squirmed, but as my limbs were constrained, the best I could do was glare at her with wide-open eyes.
“I’ve always longed to do this! Stealing someone else’s man! Hahaha♪”
“…Guh!”
As the ice crept up to my neck and eventually reached my lips, I couldn’t utter a proper protest or make any effort to resist.
“Brother.”
A brilliant flash rose from my grasp. The familiar echo resonated in my head, as if it were ringing out directly.
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