Gaten’s breathing grew fainter with every passing moment.
Didia wanted to administer First Aid to him, even if she had to sacrifice her own Lifespan, but her weakening body would not permit even the slightest movement.
She could not stop the bleeding.
The deep, straight gash across her thigh poured out dark crimson blood. The numerous smaller cuts covering her body throbbed sharply, as though needles were piercing her skin.
Letra had also lost consciousness and lay facedown on the filthy earth.
The only ones who remained conscious were Didia and Kyria.
“Skree……!”
Kyria, who had been hiding behind Didia, puffed up her body and glared at the Knight.
She appeared to be trying to intimidate him, but to a Knight who had effortlessly cut down a wolf more than five meters tall, it looked like nothing more than a pitiful display of affection.
“No, Kyria……!!”
Didia barely forced the words out in a frail voice devoid of strength.
Knights of the past had frequently hunted Monsters. They had even competed and placed wagers on who could defeat the strongest prey.
Whether Kyria understood Didia’s thoughts or not, she showed no intention of retreating.
She knew that in this desperate situation, where everyone might die, she was the only one still capable of fighting.
“No, Kyria! Please!!!”
Despite Didia’s desperate scream, Kyria never looked back.
Instead, the cry became the spark that sent her charging forward.
Flames erupted from Kyria’s body as she leaped high into the air.
The Knight casually swung his Bastard Sword and cut her down cleanly.
SLASH!!
The chilling sound of a sharp blade slicing through flesh drove itself into Didia’s heart.
Kyria scattered blood as she fell helplessly to the ground.
Even then, she struggled to stand on all four legs for the sake of her master, but her strength soon failed her, and she collapsed.
“Ah……!!!”
No voice came out.
Didia wanted to believe that everything happening before her was a lie.
However much she denied reality, the stench of blood filling her nose merely stabbed more deeply into her heart.
The tears gathered in Didia’s eyes rolled heavily down her cheeks.
The Knight looked down at her with pity, then closed and opened his eyes as though offering his condolences.
“The weak die. It is an eternal law that will never change.”
SHING……
The Knight pointed the Bastard Sword in his hand at Didia’s neck.
Had she been an ordinary person, she might have begged him to spare her.
Instead, the painfully hollow gaze of someone who had lost everything stirred compassion in him where none had existed before.
“I prefer to weaken my prey before ending its life in a single stroke. You could call it my own form of consideration.”
He was granting her an opportunity to leave behind her final words.
However, nothing reached Didia’s ears now.
“……”
They had been annihilated.
How could the situation have changed so drastically merely because Loeb was absent?
Didia’s head sank heavily as she fell into the depths of despair.
Her will to fight appeared to have already broken. She almost looked as though she were begging him to cut off her head quickly.
Darren watched blankly without displaying any expression.
His soul had already been removed, so he should not have felt any emotion.
Was it merely Didia’s imagination that his fist appeared tightly clenched in frustration?
It did not matter.
Once the Knight killed all of them, Darren would be next.
Shuran had ordered him to kill everyone without leaving a single survivor.
The Knight merely intended to carry out that command faithfully.
“May God’s protection be with you.”
The Knight murmured quietly and brought down his Bastard Sword without emotion.
CLANG!!
A clear metallic sound rang out.
It was not the sound that should have accompanied a severed head.
Didia’s consciousness also remained perfectly clear.
Unable to comprehend the situation, she raised her eyes and saw a familiar Navy Blue uniform fluttering through the air.
“Miss, I understand how you feel, but you must not give up your life over this.”
Didia knew the famous Mage who stood before her.
The woman had Dark hair tied into a ponytail and carried a Two-Handed Sword like the Knight.
She was a master of Teleportation Magic and Magic Swordsmanship, as well as a PMI Mid-Level Investigator.
Shedia Rain.
Why was someone far busier than Didia here?
CLANG!!
Ignoring the gaze she felt from behind, Shedia forced the Knight away with pure physical strength and sent him flying.
“Investigator Rain……?”
“Do not speak. Treat the injured.”
Shedia coldly cut Didia off and continued.
“I will take care of that man.”
Time returned to one day earlier.
“Shedia, have you heard the news?”
Shedia had no idea what Darius was talking about after appearing without warning.
She sat on the edge of her bed, puffing on a Smoking Pipe, and frowned irritably.
“……Did your mother die or something?”
Her incredulity was palpable.
Shedia was busy.
She had been working day and night to find Fran’s Clone, leaving her nerves stretched to their limit.
It was a remarkably plausible excuse.
Darius knew perfectly well that Shedia had already half given up on finding the Clone.
Unconcerned, Darius continued.
“Apparently, two incidents occurred in succession in Halaia. A corpse under the effects of Heros attacked the town.”
“Is that true?”
Shedia removed the Smoking Pipe from her mouth and placed it on the shelf.
“According to the information sent from there, the corpse that attacked Halaia was identified as Karte Magnotune, an Elemental Mage who disappeared two hundred years ago. The name is somewhat unfamiliar, but when we requested an investigation from the Magic Association, they discovered that he disappeared while investigating Arsil’s death.”
“Why did he attack Halaia?”
“There are several interpretations, but according to a Mage named Letra, he was targeting her. We have already confirmed that she belongs to the family of one of the victims from the village attacked previously.”
Shedia listened to Darius’s explanation with a meaningful expression.
“This next matter is not particularly related to the first, but a Dark Mage was captured there as well.”
“A major catch or a complete bust?”
“A bust. However, according to him, there was another Dark Mage at the scene. The information is not yet reliable, but he claimed to have witnessed the man speaking with another Mage. The police are apparently tracking him as a precaution.”
In truth, Shedia had already heard most of the story.
Early that morning, Gared’s Spokesperson had visited and reported everything that had occurred in Halaia.
Shedia was a Secret Police Officer.
Whenever an incident involving a Dark Mage occurred, information reached her faster than anyone else.
However, perhaps because certain details had been omitted along the way, Darius’s account differed subtly from what she knew.
It was entirely possible.
The incident had occurred in another town, and it did not fall within her Jurisdiction. There was nothing strange about a few pieces of information being omitted.
Darius continued.
“The Magic Association appears to be taking the incident very seriously. They have submitted an Official Request for Assistance to the PMI. They are looking for the most suitable Investigator, and the Higher-Ups apparently believe either you or I should go.”
“Do they know the location?”
“They have already sent the Coordinates. Letra is supposedly traveling there under Karte’s guidance, but the place is deep in the mountains. Anyone intending to provide support needs to leave immediately.”
Even from that brief explanation, it was obvious that this was a trap.
Darius took a piece of paper from his pocket and handed it to her.
Shedia unfolded it and fell briefly into thought.
“It appears this will be a race against time.”
“Yes. The success of the Shuran Subjugation Operation will depend on how long those people can endure.”
Halaia was some distance from their current location.
The mansion’s position was also uncertain, so traveling there would inevitably be troublesome.
However, Rud had apparently joined the group.
“What are you going to do?”
Shedia asked Darius.
“Earning credit is appealing, but I am not kind enough to fall for such an obvious scheme. I have no intention of marching foolishly toward my death.”
“Is that so? You truly are a coward.”
Darius’s expression did not change despite her mocking tone.
If anything, he appeared proud.
Shedia grinned at him, then abruptly rose from the bed.
“Fine. I will go. Unlike you, I am a woman who enjoys this kind of thrill.”
“What about finding the Clone?”
“This will earn me far more credit.”
If she resolved this incident successfully, she would surely be promoted to Senior Investigator.
Shedia drew a sword from the empty air and left the house without looking back.
“Clean my room before you leave.”
“……Living for so long truly allows one to witness all manner of strange sights.”
The Knight slowly rose to his feet and muttered.
“No matter how much the era has changed, I never imagined I would live to see a woman wielding a sword.”
“Why? Does it offend you that much?”
Shedia responded smoothly.
The Knight adjusted his grip on the Bastard Sword.
“No. Quite the opposite.”
During the era in which the Knight had lived, becoming a swordsman or a Mage had been a privilege reserved for exceptional elites.
As a result, countless commoners had been unable to pursue their dreams, regardless of how much talent they possessed.
The Knight continued.
“I always believed that with proper training, men and women alike could learn to wield a sword as well as any elite. I even attempted to establish such an education system, but those above me prevented it.”
“That is right. They claimed that commoners could not be taught techniques for killing people.”
It had been an era when inequality was considered natural.
Although such customs had largely disappeared with the passage of time, their remnants still clung stubbornly to every corner of the country.
Shedia grinned and assumed a stance.
“What is your name, old man? If you were a Knight in that era, you must have been rather famous.”
“My name?”
The Knight quietly repeated the question.
“I abandoned such a thing long ago.”
THUD! BANG! BANG! BOOM! BOOOOM!!
A fierce exchange in which neither side yielded unfolded above the Lake, and the deafening impacts washed over their bodies.
Enormous Columns of Water surged ceaselessly from the surface, while sprays of water scattered in every direction without any sign of stopping.
Shuran gritted his teeth and desperately tracked Rud’s movements as he repeatedly disappeared from sight.
The composure he had openly displayed earlier had long since vanished.
Blood vessels had burst across the whites of Shuran’s eyes, and the veins protruding from his neck looked ready to rupture from the heat.
‘What in the world is that monster?!’
Shuran had never seen or heard of a Dark Mage who preferred Close-Quarters Combat.
Whenever he attempted to use Levitation Magic, Rud immediately threw himself aside and evaded it.
Whenever Shuran attempted to use Dark Magic, Rud avoided it with movements that appeared to have been honed through intense training.
THUD!!
Another blunt impact drove itself into Shuran’s mind.
Rud had approached from the side, driven a fist into Shuran’s temple, and followed it with a Shockwave.
SKIP—SKIP—SKIP!!
Shuran’s body skipped across the water like a stone before he immediately regained his posture.
“You bastard!!!”
Shuran’s face twisted viciously as he shouted.
To Rud, however, he sounded like nothing more than a Demon screaming its final words.
His entire body was exposed.
Rud did not hesitate.
He drove his fist into the crown of Shuran’s head and sent him plunging deep beneath the Lake.
THUD!!!