Level up with swords (62)
With that cold sentence, the assassins moved.
Naturally, it was Karen who attacked first. The response of ‘Mole’, who was hit on one leg, was delayed by one step.
The shadow stretches and becomes six spears.
The shadow that Karen directly controls is itself an ‘Auror Weapon’, so even a mere swipe is fatal. Each shot has destructive power that can rival a knight’s lance charging.
The Mole’s complexion turned pale when he recognized this.
“Impaler… ! “You are sincere, <Guardian>.”
How many bodies were pierced by those spears and adorned the walls?
This is a technology that once reigned as fear in the underworld.
〈Mole〉 increased its power without leaving a single inch to spare. He knows Karen’s skills better than anyone else. Even in her prime, when she was much sharper than she was now, she wasn’t confident she would win, and conserving her strength only made her escape hole narrower.
Staring at his sweaty eyes, Karen spoke in a bleak voice.
“Is it a protest?”
“… what?”
“I ordered it.”
When asked “Mole” in an incomprehensible voice, Karen answered as if she was asking something obvious.
Then he took a step forward and spoke briefly.
“To die.”
At the same time, a shadow spear was fired.
Not one sack, but six sacks.
It pierces through every area that can be avoided. It was a technology that had to be avoided, but it was a contradiction in that it could not be avoided. <Mole>, who knew the killing power, quickly adjusted the knife.
The scimitar held in his hand was tinged with ocher light, creating several afterimages and blocking his path.
Blah blah blah!
The barrier blocking several spears shatters.
“Keuheook!”
‘Mole’, who was pushed back ten steps, vomited blood.
An ‘Earth’ auror famous for his defensive power. Not only did the barrier made from it collapse in one attack, but he also suffered internal injuries.
This is the ultimate assassin.
Dominating all battles with one attack power.
“How many times can you endure it?”
Karen, with emotionless eyes, reaches out her hand once again.
Once again, a spear emerges from the shadows.
This time there are 8 sacks.
<Mole> stiffened at the wave of attacks that didn’t even give him a moment’s time. It was an attack aimed at thorough annihilation rather than quick resolution. It’s a persistent stranglehold, with no way out.
Damn it!
I roll my body as soon as the auror wall is shattered. Immediately after that, several daggers cut into the ground where he had been staying.
“You move well. Then add two more.”
Despite this, Karen’s dominance remains unwavering.
The 10 spears explode like that, and while coughing up blood, he rolls on the ground to avoid the dagger’s follow-up attack.
If you make even one mistake, you die.
If you misjudged even once, you died.
〈Mole〉 felt the scythe of death touch the back of his neck for the first time in several years, and realized that the sense of his heyday was being revived.
“Khaat! “That’s not even funny!”
Smiling with a grimly distorted face.
The more my senses return, the more I understand how hopeless this situation is. There is a wave of attacks that completely blocks any possibility of escape, and there is an assassin in front of him who is several levels superior to him.
It is said that an assassin’s natural enemy is an assassin greater than himself.
It was indeed as he said.
Jump!
Finally, a single dagger stuck in his elbow, and its force cut off nearly half of his left arm. Since they are both Aurors and Nabals of ‘Earth’, the difference in level is too big, so their defense doesn’t work.
<Mole> quickly completely severed the tattered arm and blocked the artery to stop the bleeding.
Even though he was seriously injured, there was no waste in his response.
An assassin recognized his own body as a tool. He wasted almost four years and was rusty, but his essence was still the same.
“… “Huh, haha.”
‘Mole’, who suddenly lost one arm, started laughing.
“Wow, you’re so strong. I’ve known since you said you cut off the boss’s head. “You were a monster after all.”
“Are you going to leave a will?”
“If that’s the case, will you listen?”
Instead of answering, Karen let her hands hang down.
It was ready to attack at any time, but the air, which did not allow even a single breath, became slightly lighter.
<Mole> also noticed this and lowered the arm holding the curved sword.
If I was going to kill him anyway, I couldn’t hold on any longer.
If I was going to end my life in an ugly way with a meaningless struggle, I was thinking of saying everything I wanted to say.
“Why did you do that, and you?”
<Mole> looked at Karen with half-opened eyes.
“You said you’re the same as me? He said his parents were not murdered, nor was he kidnapped. I picked up an orphaned cub and made it strong, so why do I hold a grudge? “Even if you killed the boss because he was annoying, there was no need to disband the organization.”
“… “I never asked to be made strong.”
“under! That sounds like you are full. “If the organization hadn’t picked you up, you would have been working as a prostitute in the red-light district by now.”
It wasn’t wrong.
Karen also thought that was highly likely.
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But just because we avoided the worst, we couldn’t call the rest the best.
You wouldn’t understand “The Mole” who accepted the life of an assassin.
Still, she answered him without ignoring him.
“Up until then, my life had been a collection of things I didn’t want. Being an orphan and being raised to be an assassin. I didn’t get this strength because I wanted it. So I decided to get my hands on it. “What I want.”
“What the f*ck is that?”
“Freedom.”
Mole, dumbfounded by Karen’s immediate answer, opened his mouth.
“You can go anywhere and do anything. I wanted a state I had never enjoyed before in my life. So I excluded everything that was annoying. No boss, no organization chart. “For my freedom, it was better not to have one.”
“Only for that reason… ?”
“It may be that much to you, but to me it’s a reason worth risking your life for. Now, are you satisfied?”
The ‘Mole’ pursed its lips for a moment, then gritted its teeth and raised its blade.
Even compared to before, his murderous intent was clearly inflated.
I felt like I was encountering something unacceptable.
“You f*cking bitch! I wish I had that damn freedom in my hands! Why are you trying so hard to share it with us?! There was no need for that! I, we are not you! It couldn’t be you! “This is the only way to survive!”
“… … .”
“If you were going to kill them like this, why didn’t you kill them all that day! How many people do you think can cut off my leash like you do! “If I were to die from you, there would be a lot of people who would go away with a smile!”
“… Yes, I knew.”
Karen aimed her dagger as if responding to his murderous intent.
In this situation, the demon leader before her eyes was a fragment of the past that she had left behind.
‘Mole’, who was raised to be an assassin, was ultimately a man of shadows.
Fleas trapped in a bottle are limited to the point where they can only jump as high as the bottle, even if the bottle is removed. Unlike her, she is like <Mole>, who has adapted to her life in the shadows, and even if her organization disappears, humans tainted by evil cannot return to the light.
“This situation is probably the result of me ignoring you.”
A turquoise aura burned at the tip of the dagger.
Auror Fire.
As the power contained within it pressed down on the space, the faded ocher aura wavered like a candle in the wind. The superiority and inferiority of power could be known even without clashing.
However, the two assassins did not stop in the end.
“It’s a little late, but I’ll finish it now.”
‘Mole’ laughed at what Karen said and said,
“―Huh, keaaaa!”
I lunged at her with my only remaining arm.
Perhaps because he was using up all his life force, his skin became dry and his aura burned loudly in just a few seconds.
A special move that goes beyond one’s limits with just one strike.
A trump card that every top-notch assassin possesses.
but.
Phew!
Karen was nowhere to be seen where the mole had cut with all her might, and before she knew it, a large hole had opened near her heart.
It’s an absurd technology.
I didn’t even feel pain, let alone a sign of an attack. This means that it was that fast and powerful. The gap between a top assassin and a top assassin was bigger than he thought.
“… Heh, heh… flaw… .”
‘Mole’, who was on his knees, smiled in satisfaction.
As he looked up at Karen’s back with what little life he had left, his body slowly fell to the ground.
“… taste… Ji-gun. indeed… Our, the strongest… .”
Eventually, ‘Mole’ stopped breathing and fell silent.
Even if an assassin survives by any means possible, there is no way to come back from a state where the entire heart has been destroyed.
Karen looked down at him with bitter eyes.
“Karen, are you finished?”
At that time, Leon, who had killed all the thieves, approached her.
With the exception of <Mole>, they had mediocre skills and no unity, so the conclusion was quick.
Karen looked back at him and nodded once.
“Yes, it’s over.”
An old relationship that turned bad has ended.
〈Mole〉, I don’t know what his name is. There was no way to know now. One day, I would forget that face and the weapon I was holding.
Still, Karen promised that she would not forget everything.
“Hmm, I guess it looks like this box?”
Meanwhile, Hamel took out a compass and found the item.
It looked the same as the other boxes, but the compass needle was pointing steadily at it.
A total of 3 boxes were stolen by <Mole>.
It would be better to take the other two as well.
“Let’s put it here.”
Karen held out the ring on her middle finger and sucked up all three boxes. Unlike Leon, those who would target her A-rank subspace ring would not be common.
There was quite a bit of free space, so the box was stored right away.
This concludes the request given by the merchant.
Hamel, who strummed the bowstring as if playing a guitar, said with a smile.
“Okay, if I leave now, is it all over?”
Leon was about to accept that, but a thought suddenly occurred to him and he asked him a question.
“What should we do with the remaining bandits?”
“Well, can I just leave it alone? Other than the boss, I couldn’t see anyone who could be the focal point. “It will disperse on its own within a month or two.”
“But just in case… .”
As the two people talked like that, the conclusion was reached before Karen had time to mediate.
… Kugugugugugung… .
A vibration sound that seemed to shake the entire facility.
The group, who sensed the scale of the incident, looked into each other’s eyes without worrying about who was first. Collapse. The magnitude of the force that I intuitively guessed was more than enough to collapse the underground facility here.
Karen said, “No way,” and turned over the body of “Mole.”
Then I saw that the floor covered by his body had sunk in. I don’t know what it was used for, but it was definitely part of the machinery.
“This damn bastard… !?”
Perhaps because he wanted to f*ck them until the very end, the last thing the ‘Mole’ pressed down was the facility’s locking device.
Now, I was okay with the thieves.
The three quickly started heading back the way they came. It is said to have been in good condition for over 100 years, but on the other hand, it was a place that was over 100 years old and was a poorly maintained facility.
It wouldn’t be surprising if it collapsed right away.
“run! “Faster!”
“If there’s someone in your way, just get past them and run!”
Even though he is a top assassin, if he is buried alive in this basement, he will die.
Passing by several thieves who were just as panicked as they were, he ran at a speed that set the soles of his feet on fire.
Exactly 5 minutes of sprinting.
The longest 5 minutes of your life pass by your group,
Rumbling!
An unidentified canyon collapsed tragically.
* * *
The sun was rising.
The mercenaries and adventurers who stayed up all night were tired, but they couldn’t do anything because Gustav was behind them with his eyes wide open.
They prayed that the tracking team would return as quickly as possible.
It was then.
“uh? It’s back! “The tracking party is back!”
“Is that true?!”
Arnold, who jumped out at the words of the sharp-eyed mercenary, asked.
The mercenary nodded at those words and stretched out his finger.
“Look over there. “There are three people coming.”
“oh? Oooh!”
As the three blurry shadows on the horizon got closer, their shapes gradually became clearer.
They are a trio of Leon, Karen, and Hamel.
The three’s entire bodies were covered in dirt, as if they had suffered quite a bit.
Arnold greeted them, unable to hide his nervousness. He seemed terrified that he might have missed the cargo or that the word ‘failure’ would have been heard.
Fortunately, those concerns were quickly put to rest.
“All the cargo was recovered, and the devil leader was also defeated.”
“Oh oh! Thank you very much!”
When Karen took out three boxes, Arnold bowed as if he was going to put his forehead on the ground and showed his respect.
It was a natural reaction since it was one of the important purposes of this commercial trip.
He said he would definitely repay them and excluded them from all worksheets so they could rest for now. So much so that I could just sleep until I reached my next destination.
“Wow, I had a hard time during the night.”
“I know. “I think I ran almost 30 kilometers.”
Leon, who returned to the carriage with Karen, immediately lay down.
There were no injuries, but the sprint at the end drained a lot of my stamina. The threat of rocks weighing hundreds or even thousands of tons was truly terrifying.
Even A-rank Karen’s complexion turned pale, so if she had been crushed, she would have died, regardless of whether she was a hero or not.
[The power of nature is great. Although I am greater.]
El Cid, who couldn’t read the mood, giggled mischievously.
[Hurry up and become able to cut down mountains with a single sword. Only then can you maintain your form without being embarrassed in a situation like before.]
‘I have to sound like a horse…’ .’
[In the desert, they say camels, not horses?]
‘… … .’
Leon’s eyes widened at the cheesy pun.
Maybe it was because he had gotten used to it after experiencing it so many times, but he soon came to his senses and complained to El Cid.
‘Anyway, the investigation of the facilities inside the canyon was poor. ‘If it collapses like that, there’s no way to dig it out.’
[Even if there was something, it would all have been broken. Well, don’t worry about it. It’s a place that has been hidden for over a hundred years. I don’t think such meticulous people would have left any traces that could provide clues.]
‘… is it.’
[Let’s make a promise for later. Like a warrior.]
Leon agreed to El Cid’s words and closed his eyes.
There will come a day when we will encounter that darkness.
His consciousness slowly subsided as he decided not to rush.
Perhaps because he was tired from the chase last night, Leon fell into a deep sleep within a few minutes. In the rattling carriage, only the sound of even breathing was mixed with two beats.
