Chapter 209: 194

The landscape changed abruptly. From a grassy plain to a dimly lit room in the basement.

In front of me was……

「Ggrk」

……a young girl in a black-and-blue dress with black blood streaming from her eyes and mouth. For some reason, this monster had stuck her tongue into my mouth.

The taste of rotted flesh filled my mouth. The bitter taste stung my tongue and made me want to vomit.

Along with my rage, my regeneration point boiled over.

With a part of the curse coursing through me, my entire body was filled with abnormal strength.

Baring my teeth like a wolf, I tore off the shackles binding me. My flesh and bones didn't fare all that well. But the wounds healed instantly.

The hand knife I had formed went straight through the chest of the assistant.

「Tch!」

I had missed my target.

I had been aiming for the stunned magistrate. Her assistant had jumped in between us to protect her.

「Jutta, run―――――」

There was less resistance than I had expected.

As a result, my right arm got buried up to the elbow in her left chest. With that, the assistant died.

The magistrate grabbed her dress and ran up the one and only set of stairs.

「You're not getting away!」

I started after her, but a group of the castle's guards came swarming down the stairs, as if to take her place.

「What?!」

The soldiers held up their long shields and aimed the tips of their spears at me.

All of them look glassy-eyed. Are they being controlled? Is this the same trick they used to take me prisoner earlier?

「Shit」

The guards of Lemuria are all fierce warriors.

They're not the kind of opponent I can go easy on when unarmed. On top of that, I've treated some of the soldiers here to a meal or two before. How can I kill people like that?

But right now, there's no way I can let the magistrate escape.

If she calls for reinforcements, this country will be surrounded by a massive army. King Lemuria will undoubtedly sell out everyone who has anything to do with me.

That man is capable of selling out even his own family to protect his country.

「But still……」

If it's not one thing, it's another.

I slowly put some distance between me and Lanseal, who was lying on the floor.

Using the corpse at hand as a shield, I watched the guards' movements.

Their encirclement is so tight that not even an insect can get through.

In order to break through……

「Sorry」

……I just have to do it.

My hesitation was short-lived.

I can't afford to waver at all when dealing with a superior force. It kills me, but I'll kill. If it's only my life that's at stake, I'll give it freely, but that won't be enough to resolve this matter.

「Souya-dono!」

「Now what?」

Another voice came from the stairs. A small-sized beastkin with a big spear leaped into the room.

「Please crouch down!」

I did as the captain of the guard said and crouched down.

A whirlwind swept overhead.

With a single sweep of the spear, he sent the guards with shields flying into the walls. Half of them passed out from the impact, but the rest got up like zombies and attacked.

All of them were struck with the spear's butt and knocked unconscious. There were no wasted motions in his meticulous movements, making his attacks the fastest possible.

「You're safe!」

「Yes, I'm alright」

I had gone slack-jawed after being shown such divine skill.

The captain of the guard looked at Lanseal and me, then the dead body of the assistant.

「Souya-dono, am I right to assume that you’re able to kill these people?」

「Well, yeah」

「Then let's capture the escaped magistrate. Please lend me a hand」

「Understood」

Our interests were aligned.

I followed the captain of the guard as he ran ahead. We went up the stairs and through the castle. There was a panicked atmosphere inside the castle.

「That magistrate and her assistant have a way of controlling Hemus」

「Ah, I see」

The guards who had attacked us were all Hemus.

「Needless to say, my king is also being controlled by them. That's why he handed you over to them without batting an eye, Souya-dono」

「Hmmm」

It would have been normal to assume that he had simply sold me out. This goes to show how important building trust on a daily basis is, I suppose.

Running like dogs, the captain of the guard and I stepped out onto the roof of the castle.

「I've heard that you're an excellent archer」

He handed me a bow that was waiting there on the roof. It was a longbow that was as tall as I was.

「I used to be pretty good at it, but I'm not so sure about my skill now」

I’ll just have to try and see.

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「We'll shoot her from here」

The castle could hardly be seen from the streets, but from its rooftop, we could see Lemuria’s main street.

Judging by the crowd, it was late afternoon, and the flow and number of people were unusually moderate today.

「Those unfamiliar with the lay of the land won't be able to use the back alleys. They'll only get lost and end up back on the main street. In all likelihood, the magistrate is trying to flee this city as quickly as possible and seek help from the knights stationed at the nearby port. If so, this is the best spot to watch for her」

「What about the other gates?」

Aside from the west gate, which Lemuria's main street led up to, there were other gates to the north, south, and east. It would be a longer route, but the possibility of her trying to sneak out through those gates to seek help from the knights in the nearby port couldn't be ignored.

「Working with the merchant companies under our thumb, we caused wagon accidents to block the north and south gates. The magistrate will surely overhear people talking about it」

「What about the east gate?」

「I've sent my brothers over to fortify its defenses. There should be no problem」

「As expected of you」

His preparations are way too thorough. There's definitely more to this than meets the eye, but I'll leave the prying for later.

「Please use this arrow」

The arrow he handed me was made of a material that was virtually transparent. It had no feathers and no arrowhead, but its tip was sharp enough to produce a small bead of blood with the slightest touch.

「These arrows are made by processing the saliva of the large bees on the 20th floor. To onlookers, it would be difficult to tell what the target had been shot with. Because they're so valuable, we only made two of them」

「Hmm, I'd never have guessed that this came from those bees」

The captain of the guard also picked up a longbow and nocked a transparent arrow to its string.

For the first time in a long time, I took up the bow and nocked the arrow.

「Souya-dono, there she is」

「Yeah, I see her」

It was as he had predicted.

Far ahead.

Roughly three hundred meters away.

A figure in a black and red dress emerged from a back alley. While remaining vigilant, she began to walk in step with the people around her. Blending in with the crowd, she moved slowly and inconspicuously. It could be said that she had done an excellent job of hiding herself. But we could see her plain as day.

「Captain of the guard, where will you be aiming?」

「The foot」

「Then I'll go for the shoulder」

「I'm counting on you to make the first shot then」

「Understood」

I held my breath for a moment then matched my breathing with that of my prey. I recreated her movements in my head, measuring the length and distance of each of her strides.

Next, I visualized the estimated location of the shot.

If this feeling is accurate, I should hit―――――No, I'll hit her.

It'll pierce through.

I slowly pulled back the bowstring, gathering tension in the bow. When the bow started to quiver, I used more force to keep it steady.

I raised the bow up, pointing the arrow towards the sky.

I no longer have the blessing of the hero of the hidden name. All I have is the skill with the bow that my sister imparted to me. But now, even with my eyes closed, I can see her ominous presence.

There's no reason why I can't hit what I can see. As long as the thing I'm aiming for is not the moon or the sun.

「I’m firing」

The string snapped forward like a whip, and the arrow disappeared into the distance.

As if my soul was riding on the arrow, my vision drifted through the sky. After reaching the peak of its arc, the arrow slowly started its descent from height.

Accelerated by gravity, the arrow retained the same piercing power it had when it was released, and it pierced through the shoulder of the magistrate, who had noticed it only moments before it hit.

Losing her balance, the magistrate toppled over.

I felt as if I could hear the stir that caused among the surrounding people.

The snap of the captain of the guard's bow rang out from beside me.

I had a feeling that it would hit.

The magistrate was trying to get up, but fell over again. The arrow released by the captain of the guard had gone through her knee. That would probably make walking a struggle for the time being.

「What's next?」

「Our spies will capture her. There shouldn't be any problems given how badly she's wounded」

The spies that had hidden themselves in the vicinity closed in on the magistrate all at once.

They were all beastkin, including one tanned cat beastkin. Without letting the people around realize what they were doing, they tied the magistrate up, then blindfolded and gagged her.

A horse-drawn carriage stopped nearby and the magistrate was bundled into the back.

It was a masterful bit of kidnapping.

All that was left was to get out of there, but――――――

「Tch」

It was not to be.

A large man burst onto the scene.

In a flash, he knocked out all of the spies and got away with the carriage. He then proceeded to head straight out of the city.

「What, the……」

His entrance had been so sudden and his handiwork so masterful that the captain of the guard was dumbfounded.

「That bastard」

「Souya-dono?! Do you know that man?」

He had reappeared at the worst possible timing.

「He’s a representative hero of Elysium」

There’s no mistaking it.

It was that bastard Khius.

Yes, the twists & turns haven’t ended yet! In fact, we’re not even close. FYI, we’re not even two thirds of the way through this volume! Told you it was going to be a long one! So stay tuned!

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