Chapter 3:
The Search for Garrus, Revisited
THE VALKYRIE GLARED at by a manticore… Can’t seem to find anything matching that description.
Hm.
We surveyed the area around the Adventurers’ Guild under the pretense of sightseeing. Starting in our immediate area was the best way to look natural. Our target was probably in the noble district, but we would stand out too much if we snooped around in broad daylight. Visibility wouldn’t be a problem at night, since we could see in the dark.
Stone or bronze statues. Flags. Paintings. Carvings. It could be anything.
“Hm.”
Let us know if you’ve picked up on Garrus’ scent, boy. He’s the one who made the scabbard we bought yesterday.
“Woof, woof!”
We searched high and low, but couldn’t find anything that resembled the clue. Considering the size of the capital, finding the manticore and valkyrie was next to impossible.
This is going to take a while.
Why don’t we ask someone who might know?
But we already talked to Erianthe.
What about Calc?
Calc… Right.
Calc was our other acquaintance in the capital, if you could call him that. He was probably the head of some street gang, so he would know the ins and outs of the city. He wasn’t what you would call trustworthy, though. He might be afraid of Fran, but he was likely to just sell information about us after we were done with him. In fact, it was all too possible that he would sell us out to Marquis Aschtner.
I didn’t know how Garrus managed to put his scabbard up for auction, but Marquis Aschtner might already know that Fran was the one who had bought it. And then what if he found out that Fran was looking for a valkyrie glared at by a manticore? He might immediately see through the clue and figure out that she was looking for Garrus. Attracting that kind of attention from the marquis was far too dangerous. Even so, a man like Calc was bound to have a useful network of information.
I hatched a plan.
Basically, I’ll send in a powerful clone of myself to talk to him.
The clone would contact Calc for us, allowing Fran to remain anonymous.
All right. That ought to do it.
My clone was a seedy-looking man who wouldn’t look out of place snooping around back alleys in the middle of the night. It wasn’t quite as strong as Fran, but with a stat average of 200 and Advanced Sword Mastery, it was basically an intermediate adventurer.
“All right. You’re going to have to look for Calc, Jet.”
“Woof!”
That shouldn’t be a problem for Jet’s sniffer. The clone followed Jet as he led it down an alleyway. We were close.
Fran concealed herself while following the clone. I could still talk to her with Split Thinking.
Do not cause a scene, Fran.
Hm.
That would defeat the whole purpose of having a clone snoop around for us.
Arf.
Here?
Jet’s sniffer led us to a pub. It was a run-down tavern that was somehow still in operation. The only signs of life were the wisps of lights sneaking through the cracks in the wall. The pub would’ve looked abandoned in the daylight.
I went through the creaky parlor doors and stepped inside. The interior was so poorly lit you wouldn’t be able to see who was sitting next to you. It was a good thing I had Night Vision. The denizens of the pub stopped and stared at me. The entrance was the only spot that was well lit, probably so diners could see anyone that came in. The contrast also made it difficult for visitors to see the diners.
I could hear chuckles and leering before the pub resumed its murmuring. My clone looked forgettable, average, and broke—the winning trifecta. He wasn’t muscular and didn’t have anything to indicate that he could use magic. In a word, he wasn’t a threat. The only man who kept his guard up was the man I was looking for.
I navigated the pub, around feet trying to trip me up, and sat at a table close to Calc.
“So, you’re Calc?”
Calc clicked his tongue. “I had a feeling you’d have business with me.” He turned away, but made no attempt to leave.
“Relax. Someone just told me that you’re the man I should talk to for this thing I need.”
“Don’t know who told you that,” he frowned. “But I don’t appreciate the advertisement.”
I was my own tip, of course, but I knew that would make him stay on his toes.
“Cut that out,” Calc said. He was directing it to me as well as his men behind him. They were probably about to eliminate me for being dangerous. One of them was already on his feet and had his hand on his dagger.
But Calc’s Wimpsight told him that his bodyguards weren’t going to be strong enough to beat me, let alone stop me. His bodyguard was shocked that his boss would acknowledge this stranger, and that this stranger was stronger than him. But he trusted Calc, so he sat back down.
“We can talk in the back room.”
“Oh, there’s no need for that,” I said. “Silence.”
“Mage, huh?” Calc frowned. I was becoming a bigger enigma with every moment. His guards got up again, surprised that they no longer could hear their boss, but Calc motioned for them to sit back down.
“No one can hear us now.”
“What do you want?”
Good. He was willing to hear me out without causing a scene.
“I’m looking for a mansion. One where a valkyrie is being glared at by a manticore. Know where it is?”
“Is that supposed to be a puzzle? I don’t think anyone here knows what that means.”
“I figured. I want you to look for it. And keep it on the down low.”
“Look, you can’t just—”
“Here’s your advance. You’ll get more when you get me what I want. Three times more.”
“Really…”
I put fifty thousand gauld on the table. Calc was now interested. He liked the way I pulled a wad of cash out of nowhere.
“What’s my deadline?”
“I’ll be back tomorrow night.”
“That’s not a lot of time.”
“That’s why you’re getting a whole lot of money.”
“…Temper your expectations.”
“I’m expecting the best,” I grinned. “See you around.” The clone disappeared in a puff of smoke.
“What the…?!”
To Calc and the rest of the pub, it looked like I had teleported. Hopefully this little bit of theatrics would convince them to take their job seriously.
And that’s that. If things go well, we should have Garrus’ whereabouts by tomorrow night.
“Hm.”
That said, we should still see if we can find anything on our own.
“I know.”
“Arf!”
Unfortunately, we had no such luck. We didn’t know enough about the capital for our search to bear fruit. We checked out the noble district when night came and only found dragon statues, angel busts, and lion reliefs; no manticores or valkyries that we could see. Meanwhile, Erianthe and the guild hadn’t found anything noteworthy, either. She said she was still looking and would keep us posted. Calc was our last chance at finding information.
Do you think he’ll have anything for us?
If nothing else, Calc should be able to narrow down our search.
Calc would know the entertainment and downtown districts like the back of his hand. If he came up dry, we could omit those two areas.
I’m going in.
“Hm.”
I made another clone and went to the pub again. Jet informed me that Calc was already inside.
I swung the door open and stepped inside. All eyes were on me, but they no longer scoffed since they knew I had business with Calc. And really, anyone who saw how I disappeared last night would know enough to keep their guard up. There were no feet stuck out to trip me or mocking hoots and hollering. If anything, the denizens of the pub cleared a path for me. They didn’t want to get involved.
“Hey,” I said. “It’s been a while.”
“You’re back,” Calc said. “Do you have the money?”
“As long as you have the info.”
“I do.”
Impressive. Calc’s network got us the information we wanted while the guild couldn’t even find a lead.
“Here you go.”
“Paying up before you I fill you in? You sure that’s wise?”
“People call me a human lie detector. Besides, you’re not stupid enough to take the money and split.”
Calc scoffed. He didn’t appreciate being strong-armed when he was used to doing the strong-arming.
“Silence. Can you fill me in now?”
“Here.”
“What? You wrote me a letter?”
“It’s directions to the place you’re looking for. Noble district. A villa belonging to Count Olmes; right next to Marquis Aschtner’s mansion. Across the street is a mansion belonging to one Count Bayreeds.”
“Olmes…”
“It used to belong to Baron Lesseps, but it changed hands after he died. There was a huge scandal, too. He was Aschtner’s bastard son, you know.”
Seldio’s old house was right across the street from the Aschtner estate. I wouldn’t be surprised if the current owner was connected to Marquis Aschtner, too.
“Anyway, Count Bayreeds happens to have a statue of a manticore in his front garden, and it’s staring right at the statue of a valkyrie in Count Olmes’ garden. Good enough for you?”
“Pretty good.”
That must be what Garrus was talking about. We had checked out Olmes’ place, but not his villa. I didn’t even think he had multiple houses. I guess that’s what nobles did when they had too much money.
“In fact, it’s perfect. Thanks for helping out.”
“Work’s work even if it gets shoved down your throat, and I’m a little bit of a perfectionist when it comes to my job.”
“Thanks again.”
I could now take the scrap of paper, give it to Jet, and disappear. But then I had a thought. We might need Calc’s expertise again. It would be better if I left this quest hanging even if it wasn’t the nicest thing to do.
“I’ll be back if anything else comes up.”
“Much rather you didn’t.”
“I’ll be nice.”
“Hey—!”
The clone grinned, then disappeared, leaving behind a very annoyed Calc.
How’d it go?
Very well. I wasn’t expecting that.
So…
We know where the mansion is now, although we are short on the exact address.
Calc said it was near Aschtner’s mansion, so we had a general area.
“Woof!”
Jet, you’re back.
Jet popped out of the shadows. We had both seen Calc’s directions, but we weren’t sure where the exact address was.
We should ask Erianthe.
You’re right. She’ll definitely know where the marquis lives.
Hm.
We headed to the Adventurers’ Guild. I just hoped she would still be in her office…
“Hello, Fran.”
There was no reason to worry. Erianthe the weary Guildmaster greeted Fran from her avalanche of paperwork.
“Sorry, but I still don’t have any leads for you.”
“Hm. It’s all right. I have the info I need.”
“Really? All by yourself?”
“No. I went to an informant.”
“I issued a quest to the informants in the guild, as well. How did you get your info sooner than us?” Erianthe asked. She was surprised enough to stop working on her papers and look at us.
“Hm. I met him in a bar.”
“Was it someone from the Thieves’ Guild?” Erianthe squinted her eyes.
“Hm? Thieves’ Guild?”
“You’ve never heard of them? They’re a guild in the capital made up of thieves trying to coordinate with each other.”
“Never heard of ’em.”
“Okay, how did you come across the bar, then? I doubt you could just walk into any old bar and find that knowledgeable of an informant.”
Judging by the tone of Erianthe’s voice, the Adventurers’ Guild and the Thieves’ Guild weren’t on the best of terms. We decided to tell her the truth: that Fran met a man in an alleyway who knew his way around the capital and got Jet to track him down. We left out the part where I sent my clone to talk to him, of course.
“I see. I didn’t think someone in the market district would know…”
“Hm.”
“All right, I’m trusting you on this. Still, it’s best to be careful around someone like him.”
We told Erianthe about our lead: Count Olmes’ villa near Marquis Aschtner’s mansion. Recognition flashed in Erianthe’s eyes. She took out a book from one of her shelves—a volume containing city plans for the noble district. While it wasn’t up to date regarding the ownership of each house, it still contained a map and street addresses.
“Let’s see,” Erianthe said, flipping through the pages. “Found it. This is the place.”
“Thanks.”
“Just to be clear… You are not to go infiltrating the mansion by yourself. You’re still up against nobility.”
“Okay.”
Even with our track record, we weren’t about to go snooping around in the count’s house.
“Just find the right house and then come back, got it?” Erianthe said.
“Hm.”
“Somehow, I’m not convinced…”
Maybe we should ask what stories Erianthe had heard about Fran. She sounded like she was worried Fran might barge through the door and start wrecking the villa.
“Don’t worry,” Fran said. “I won’t do anything stupid.”
“You’d better not,” Erianthe said. Fran was a problem child in her eyes, but it wasn’t like she actively looked for trouble. More often than not, she was dragged into it.
We said goodbye to Stellia on our way out of the guild and made our way to Count Olmes’ villa. Concealing our presence, we scoped the place out from afar.
That one.
Oooh, so that’s the manticore.
Fran pointed to the gates of Count Bayreeds’ exquisite mansion. By the looks of it, he was really living it up. The gates alone were ten meters high, and a stone manticore was placed on top of each pillar. These must be the guardians of the house. I traced their line of sight and they were definitely looking into the garden of the mansion across from it—the villa of Count Olmes. Now we just needed a valkyrie at the end of their gaze.
A tall fence protected Olmes’ villa from onlookers. I thought about sneaking in, but that was too dangerous. A powerful barrier was also protecting the villa. The mana here was even more powerful than in Aschtner’s mansion.
Fran was about to make Erianthe’s worst nightmares come to pass by charging in head first, but I stopped her before she could do anything.
I’ll go up and get a bird’s-eye view. Don’t move, okay?
Hm.
Fortunately, I was working under the cover of night. I teleported myself upwards; I wouldn’t trip the barrier if I had enough altitude. I moved carefully so as not to disturb the barrier protecting the place. I then used my skills to zoom in on the garden.
And there it was.
The valkyrie statue!
A stone woman clad in armor stood at the center of a fountain. This was the manticore’s valkyrie.
I returned to the ground to report my findings.
I’m back.
How’d it go?
We’re here. This is definitely the place.
I see.
I couldn’t see through to the inside of the mansion, of course. We still didn’t know where Garrus was.
It doesn’t look like it from the outside, but there are a lot of people in there.
Hm.
Most of them were guardsmen posted both outside and inside. It was like they were trying to keep someone in.
Pick up any scents, boy?
Woof…
Guess not.
Ruff.
There was a wind barrier over the mansion to prevent noises and smells from escaping.
What do we do?
I would really like to know if Garrus is in there.
We walked around the perimeter of the estate to see if we could find any clues. The only thing we could sense was a veritable army of guards within the estate. We kept walking until Jet suddenly started sniffing the air.
Do you smell Garrus?
Woof.
He shook his head. No.
Woof!
Jet told us to follow him, but not before concealing himself with a Shadow spell. We followed his lead and used every skill and spell we had to hide ourselves. A civilian wouldn’t be able to see us even if we walked right up to them.
Jet silently led us away from the Olmes villa.
Here?
Arf.
We were on the right track. Jet went down an alleyway, which led to the road outside of the Aschtner mansion.
Ruff.
He stopped before the exit. Jet pointed his muzzle, and we slowly looked at the road to see what he had found.
That homeless guy?
Woof!
Jet was pointing at the alleyway across the street, near Aschtner’s mansion. A man dressed in rags sat there on the ground. The homeless weren’t a rare sight in the capital. We came across quite a few homeless people during our stay here. I guess he did look out of place in the noble district, though, and the guards were probably ignoring him because he was occupying a blind spot.
But then I noticed something strange about the homeless man. I can’t really feel his presence.
Hm. His mana’s weird, too.
Is he hiding himself with skills?
Woof!
This man was no ordinary vagrant. He could hide himself like a D-Rank scout, and I found it hard to believe that such a man would be out of house and home, let alone broke. A man as strong as him could make a decent living killing weak monsters outside the city.
Considering where he’s at…he might be staking out the Aschtners.
We couldn’t quite see his face, but he was definitely facing the Aschtner mansion. I was amazed Jet sensed him at all, actually. Maybe he found the homeless man’s absence of presence peculiar.
The homeless man turned and crept into the darkness. Had we been noticed?
We kept ourselves concealed and followed him at a distance, going into the alleyway next to his to keep ourselves hidden. If we lost him, Jet could always pick up his scent. I didn’t want to overextend ourselves here. It didn’t seem like he had noticed us, though, so something else must have caused him to move.
We carried on walking down the noble district’s alleyways for a few minutes. Eventually, the homeless man took off his robe, convinced that no one was around to see him. I was surprised to see that he was well built underneath his rags. His body was honed through training and real combat, and his battle aura returned as soon as he dropped his disguise.
I had compared him to a D-Rank scout earlier, but I was wrong. He was clearly someone who made a living on the frontlines. What’s more, I recognized his face.
Colbert?
What was he doing here?
That’s definitely him.
Woof!
Colbert was the B-Rank adventurer who helped us during the Bulbola cooking contest, and the one we fought in the fighting tournament. He also fought Linford with the rest of us, which was how Jet recognized his scent.
Should we talk to him?
Hmm…I don’t know.
We were acquainted, but I wasn’t sure if we were allies at the moment. Adventurers needed to be careful with each other in the field because they never knew who the other person was working for. Either way, I doubted he would be scouting out the Aschtner estate without a tip. But who could he be working for?
Colbert left his cloak behind and continued down the dark alleyways. He was still cautious, but his footsteps were firm. He knew where he was going. We continued quietly tailing him. If he went somewhere with ties to nobility, then we could ask Erianthe or Calc about it tomorrow. But if he just retired to an inn, then we would make note of the location and arrange for a sudden reunion. Hopefully, we could get some good information out of him.
Where is he going?
The noble district?
Certainly seems that way…
Colbert walked to the northern part of the noble district where the sun was blocked by the palace. This was where the lower nobles lived. He entered a park filled with trees, distinctly gorgeous in the way only the parks in the noble district were. Unlike parks in the common districts, recreation was an afterthought. This one was made specifically to look good, even at a distance. Still, the lack of sunlight in the district was apparent from the lack of flowers and the shady trees looming all over the park. At night, one might almost imagine those branches coming to life to snatch at visitors. One could easily mistake this place for a graveyard.
What is he doing here?
Maybe he’s meeting someone.
Fran was right. The park didn’t lead anywhere, so he wouldn’t go through it if he were in a hurry. If a rendezvous went down here, we might catch a glimpse of who Colbert was working for. If nothing else, Jet could remember their scent for us to follow up on later.
We followed Colbert into the park. He walked in a straight line for a while, and then suddenly stopped and looked around. We stopped as well, observing him from afar.
Ah!
Hrm.
Woof!
Colbert then started sprinting at full speed. Had he spotted us? Before I had time to consider the question, another presence had entered the park. There were several people, and they threw something in our direction out from their hiding spot. I didn’t know what it was, but I teleported away with Dimension Shift and equipped Physical Immunity.
SSSSSSH!
Green smoke filled the park twenty meters below us. Our guests must have thrown a bomb filled with poison gas, and now they were panicking after seeing us disappear. They were skilled enough to make themselves invisible, but I could tell they lacked actual combat experience. Their concealment fell every time they moved.
Still, I didn’t want us to kill them. They might be Colbert’s acquaintances.
Hit them with a Thunder spell, then Teleport in to attack.
All right.
Jet, you’re on standby.
Woof!
And don’t kill them, okay?
Hm.
Fran and I shot a flurry of Stun Bolts at the tree they were hiding in. Blue charges of electricity lit up the night, and a small figure tumbled out of the darkness. They appeared hurt, but could still move around a little. They were still startled by the Thunder spell when we teleported behind them.
Gotcha!
Hm!
Fran had taken a big gulp of air before attacking, adding to the wind barrier and our strong Abnormal Status Resistance. We took every precaution against the poison gas, and I was ready to heal Fran’s eyes and skin if need be.
With a mouth puffed up like a chipmunk, Fran swung me at her target, still sheathed. She pulled away before I could make contact.
“You missed.”
It couldn’t be helped. Jet-black spears had flown in Fran’s direction. Shadow Magic. This must be our second guest, and they were much stronger than their companion. I could barely feel their presence despite them being so close. They must have a powerful stack of stealth skills and spells to conceal their aura so well.
“Th-thanks,” the figure said to the Shadow Mage behind her. She sounded young, and Identify revealed her to be a girl of seventeen. Her aqua-blue hair was done up in a ponytail, and she looked strong-willed for her age. She was wearing black leather armor with dark blue accents. Her whole look reminded me of the American idea of Japanese ninjas. She could just as well be an assassin. Either way, she came dressed to work in the dark.
Her equipment had skills which helped her fade into the night. She glared at us, a knife in each hand. A dark blue scarf covered her mouth, but I knew that her teeth were clenched.
She was quite strong and must have been well-versed in poisons as well as weak point exploitation. Her stealth left much to be desired, though. Her name was Velmeria Bayreeds. I recognized her surname, at least. Was she related to Count Bayreeds?
The Shadow Mage was named Frederick. He was only thirty-five, but so far he’d behaved much older. He was a good-looking man with slicked-back black hair, and he wore all-black leather armor which also made him look like a ninja. He boasted a slew of powerful skills: Advanced Sword Mastery, Shadow Magic, Mental Resistance 8, Flame Resistance 5, and Storm Resistance 4. He had other skills which I had never seen before, but his Class Skill—Invite Malice—stood out the most.
His stats were oddly low compared to his skills. I had seen the opposite case where a noble’s skills would lag far behind his stats because of power-leveling drugs. Powerful skills combined with weak stats was new to me. Frederick had the skills of a B-Rank with the stats of a D-Rank.
Their races also piqued my interest. Velmeria was a water drake halfling. That was normal enough. There was a race in this world called drakes, and she was half drake. No problems here. Frederick, on the other hand, was a drakefiend halfling. I didn’t sense any malice from him, but the word “fiend” definitely put me on edge. Both appeared fairly human, though they had short horns protruding above their ears to indicate their race. They also had aqua-colored scales on the backs of their hands, though they were more difficult to see.
Between the two, Frederick seemed to possess the rarer heritage. He had black scales on his temples and long fangs. His pupils were reptilian vertical slits, and black scales covered the length of his right arm. He had what looked like a metal gauntlet on his left arm, which on closer inspection turned out to be a metallic manatech prosthetic.
The two drake halflings glared at us as they spoke to each other.
“Watch yourself. This girl is stronger than she looks.”
“I know that. She managed to escape the poison gas and attack me. How did she do that?”
“Teleportation is the only thing that comes to mind.”
“So, we’re dealing with a teleporter… Very dangerous.”
I could say the same for you. Even in his weakened state, Frederick’s experience and insight were still a major threat. He managed to guess that we had Timespace Magic after a single attack. I’d rather take on an idiot with strong stats.
We have to finish this quick, Fran. The longer we have to deal with Frederick’s cunning, the worse it’ll be for us.
“Hm!”
We fired more Thunder spells toward Velmeria and Frederick. You could call us a couple of one-trick ponies, but Thunder Magic was the best way to incapacitate opponents without killing them.
“Haaa!”
Eat this!
Thunder Chain created links of electricity which paralyzed the enemy. It didn’t have a wide area of effect, but a flurry of them was sure to clip our opponents. Fran could now cast two intermediate spells at the same time, while I could do three. Together, that made for five Thunder Chains.
“Aaargh!”
“Ugh!”
The electric links struck Velmeria and Frederick like a snake. Lightning was difficult to avoid, no matter how strong you were. Velmeria fell to the ground after the lightning chain shocked her, but Frederick was ready for us. He unsheathed his enchanted blade and sliced through the chain. The mana around his sword must have dispersed the electricity, because Frederick didn’t seem the slightest bit fazed.
Pretty good. Let’s see how he handles this!
“Hm!”
“Ah!”
“Instacast…?! And so many spells at once!”
He handled seven, but let’s see how he handles ten, I thought to myself. Ten Thunder Chains coiled around Frederick’s body, and he fainted. The spell’s main use was paralyze the opponent. While it wasn’t strong, you needed a lot of Paralysis Resistance to resist a whole volley of it.
With both Velmeria and Frederick on the ground, we cast a Land spell on them to keep them there. The ground wrapped around their arms and legs like vines. Even then, I didn’t feel completely safe. Frederick had Shadow Magic, which meant he could Shadow Walk to escape.
Jet, keep an eye out for any Shadow spells.
Woof.
Fortunately, Jet could also use Shadow Walk. He should be able to intercept Frederick if he tried to sneak away.
Time to ask some questions.
“Hm.”
I used Telekinesis to separate the two. I decided that we should start with Velmeria. Frederick didn’t seem the type to easily break his silence.
Usually, Fran would begin the interview with a few kicks to the gut to wake the other person up. Tonight, she just knelt next to Velmeria and slapped her cheeks lightly to awaken her. Nice and gentle. Paralyzed though she might be, people tended to fight like cornered rats when they realized their lives were on the line. Besides, she might be Colbert’s acquaintance and she was definitely the daughter of a count. We couldn’t be too rough with her.
“Uhh…”
“Are you awake?”
“Ungh… Wha…?”
Confusion immediately filled Velmeria’s eyes. She was tied up and now there was a Black Cat in front of her. But then she remembered what happened and glared at Fran. “What have you done to me?!”
“I’ll be asking the questions here.”
“My servant… Is he all right?!”
“Stop talking and answer my question.”
Fran used Menace to break Velmeria’s will. She shuddered, and fear flashed across her face.
“Urgh…I won’t…”
Velmeria gritted her teeth and refused. She accepted the possibility of what might happen to her now. She might be inexperienced, but she had the full dignity of a warrior.
You feel that, Fran?
“Hm.”
A familiar aura had made itself known and was approaching us. It was cautious, but not hostile.
“Been a while, Fran. Don’t suppose you’d mind letting go of the girl, would you?”
Colbert. I thought it was all too convenient. He really was working with our assailants. He slowly approached us, his hands in the air to show that he had no plans of taking us on.
“Sir Colbert! You know her?” Velmeria said.
“We’re acquainted, yeah.”
“So she isn’t working for Marquis Aschtner?”
“Who? Fran?” Colbert said. “Impossible.”
“How can you be so sure?”
“Because she is the Black Lightning Princess. I’m sure you can connect the dots.”
Velmeria’s eyes widened. “R-really? But the Black Lightning Princess is suspected of killing Seldio Lesseps!”
She had certainly been keeping up with the news.
“Really sorry about this, Fran,” Colbert said. “They told me someone was tailing me and that they would deal with them… Didn’t think that someone would be you.”
Colbert and the others had talked to each other through a manatech the size of a jewel. It used the air to send their voices to each other. It was a consumable item, and Colbert’s was destroyed to indicate that it had been used.
“Why were you tailing him if he’s your friend?” Velmeria shouted.
“Because he was acting fishy.”
Velmeria groaned and frowned. She couldn’t deny Colbert’s suspicious activities. Fran wasn’t lying, either. She wouldn’t have needed to stalk him, otherwise.
“Who are these people?” Fran said.
“Uhh, they’re kind of working for my employers,” Colbert said. “I’m living with them at the moment.”
Judging by Velmeria’s surname, Colbert’s employer was probably Count Bayreeds.
“Anyway, I wasn’t expecting to see you in the capital,” he said. “Gammod told me you were in the Beastman Nation. Are you here for the auction?”
“Among other things.”
“Yeah, I figured. But it looks like you got even stronger, huh?”
“Hm.”
“Yep, don’t think I can beat you at this point.”
“What?!” Velmeria was shocked. She couldn’t believe that someone as strong as Colbert would admit defeat without a fight.
“Anyway, could you let them go? I promise they’re not here to kill you.”
“Then why did they attack me? You were staking out the Aschtner mansion earlier. Do they have something to do with that?”
Colbert sighed. “You saw that, huh? Well, no point hiding it now, I guess.”
He knew that Fran had the upper hand in this situation. She had hostages, and Jet was ready to strike at them from the shadows. If they had to throw down, Fran would beat him in a fight. Colbert had gotten stronger since the tournament, but we were way more powerful. He knew his best option was to quietly tell us the truth.
“Yes, I was staking out the marquis’ house. I wanted to lure out one of his spies, you see.”
He was being deliberately suspicious in the hopes of attracting one of the marquis’ informants. Velmeria and Frederick would then grab whoever it was that followed him from the mansion. Unfortunately, the plan ended up baiting Fran instead. The whole thing was a comedy of errors.
“So you’re working against the Aschtners?”
“That’s right.”
No lies here. Wait… That meant Colbert might know something about Garrus.
We decided to let him know about our circumstances.
“I think a friend of mine is being held hostage by Marquis Aschtner,” Fran said. “I came to the capital to look for him.”
“What? Is that why you were in the district?”
“Hm. I just spotted you by accident.”
“Of all the places…” Colbert said. He thought to himself for a while.
“Do you know anything about any hostages?”
“Even if I did,” he said. “We need to get out of here. Someone’s bound to come here after the fireworks display you just performed. I want to hear your side of the story, too.”
“Okay.”
Colbert had a point. We let Velmeria and Frederick go. Frederick was still unconscious, but Velmeria should be able to take care of him.
“Where to now?”
“Well,” Colbert started. “How would you like to meet my employer, Fran?”
“Your employer?”
“Yeah. He might have information you’d like to know. There’s no harm in seeing him.”
Fran gave it some thought. What do we do?
An enemy of Aschtner probably isn’t an enemy of ours.
I wouldn’t go so far as to say that they were our friend, but we were probably on the same side. We decided to go along with Colbert. Any potential intel was good, but I was also interested in seeing who it was.
We were a good distance away from the park before we started talking again.
“So who are you working for?” Fran said.
“I work for a man called Count Bayreeds. He is commander of the Westguard, one of the four knight commanders of the capital.”
Apparently, Bayreeds was more powerful than I’d thought. Colbert was also working directly under him instead of through a middleman. According to Colbert, Count Bayreeds was the rare kind of noble: the kind you could trust.
Velmeria scoffed as she listened to their conversation. She turned back to glare at Fran from time to time as we walked to our destination. She still didn’t trust her, but she wasn’t about to overrule Colbert’s judgment on the matter.
Frederick walked next to her, and unlike Velmeria, I couldn’t tell what he was thinking. He wore a perfect poker face.
We walked through the noble district with our stealth skills on and Frederick covering us with a Shadow spell. There wasn’t a soul around who could detect us now. Ten minutes later, we arrived at a nondescript mansion that looked like it belonged to lower nobility. There weren’t even guards at the gates.
“Is this the place?”
“Yes,” Velmeria said. “This way.” She ignored the front gate and went straight for the back door. I got the impression that the front gate was only there for decorative purposes.
There were guards posted inside the mansion, and one bowed his head to Velmeria as she walked by. He was strong, too. I didn’t know much about guardsmen, but he was definitely stronger than the corrupt guards employed in Alessa by former knight lieutenant Baron Allsand. It made me wonder why this guy wasn’t a knight. Was it because he was a commoner by birth?
We passed more guards along the way, and they were just as strong as the first. I couldn’t help but Identify them and found that all of them were proficient in weapon skills and had pretty high stats. These guardsmen were much more powerful than the capital’s own city guards.
Fran looked at them, having also noticed their strength.
“Something wrong, Fran?”
“These guards are strong.”
“Things are different in this house. Everybody knows how to fight.”
Maybe having a knight commander for a master meant everyone got basic training, including the lowest-ranking soldier.
Velmeria went up the stairs and led Fran and the others to a waiting room. The room was decorated tastefully, though it was nothing fancy.
“Wait here.”
“Hm.”
A maidservant soon arrived with some tea. Velmeria was cautious of us, but we were still her guests.
I guess we’re being watched.
One in the ceiling, another in the next room.
Don’t do anything crazy. We’re still in the house of a noble.
Hm.
Woof.
We felt the energy in the room with skill, spell, and Jet’s nose. We had to be careful about it, of course. We didn’t want Frederick to notice us reading the room. Still, you’d have to be an S-Rank to tell that we were snooping around.
In the meantime, Fran carried on drinking tea. I stopped her from taking curry out of our Pocket Dimension. That would have been a little much. Instead, she busied herself with kebabs. Did you really think I could stop her from eating? Wishful thinking, dear reader.
Ten minutes later, with the smell of kebabs wafting through the room, Velmeria returned. A man who looked to be about fifty was with her. He was dressed in elegant robes, but it did little to conceal his muscular build. He was built younger than his age. He was ripped to the point of putting professional bodybuilders to shame. He had a saber on his belt that emanated powerful mana. I would’ve thought him to be a high-ranking adventurer, were it not for his noble dress.
Between this man and Sword of the West Wind, I wondered if everyone in the capital looked younger than they were.
“Glad to see you’ve made yourself at home,” the man said. His voice was a velvety baritone. He would’ve made it big as a voice actor back on Earth.
“Hm? Who are you?”
“Show some respect!” Velmeria shouted. “This man is—”
“It’s all right,” he said. “We must respect the strong. Though I didn’t imagine I would meet you like this.”
This man was probably who I thought he was.
“I am Count Sydle Bayreeds. Colbert’s employer,” he motioned to Velmeria and Frederick, “and their master.”
He smiled and shook Fran’s hand. No wonder Count Bayreeds was a knight commander of the capital. He was definitely strong enough to hold the office. Still, he hadn’t introduced Velmeria as his daughter. I wondered why.
“Adventurer Fran.”
“I am aware. I’ve always wanted to speak with the Black Lightning Princess.”
“You’ve heard of me?”
“How could I not? Your fights in the tournament were intense. I saw how you beat Colbert, but then you went and defeated Dragon Hunter Phelms for third place!” He laughed. “It was all so wonderful. Your exploits did an old man good.”
So Bayreeds had attended the tournament. He talked about Fran’s battles like an excited child telling his favorite adventure story.
“I could never forget you after that. Also, I hear the Beast King’s taken a liking to you.”
“You know the Beast King?”
“That I do. He and I used to fight together, as a matter of fact. He was my subordinate, and still a B-Rank back then.”
“He was here?”
“He traveled the world when he was a young adventurer. He came under my employ during a skirmish between Granzell and Raydoss. He said it was a good way of making money for the road.”
The Beast King joining wars for the sake of his travel budget was the most Beast King thing ever.
“Raydoss had set up a naval blockade around the Beastman Nation at the time, so maybe money wasn’t all he wanted. I was in charge of the mercenary battalion, and the Beast King was in my unit.”
Count Bayreeds laughed, putting aside all formalities. The Beast King had hidden his royal lineage and the count thought he was just another hot-blooded young adventurer. They hit it off despite their difference in rank and age, and their relationship continued to this day. The Beast King always made it a point to visit Count Bayreeds every time he was in Granzell.
They had met each other again in the fighting tournament, and the Beast King asked Bayreeds to take care of Fran in case she ever visited the capital.
“I can’t say no to His Royal Highness,” Bayreeds said. “Though I never expected we would meet like this…”
It was all true. He hadn’t lied once, despite him being a noble. Was he not trained in the art of making first impressions? Maybe Fran had already won his trust. Either way, the count seemed friendly enough.
“We’ll get along fine.”
“Indeed we will! Sorry to have wasted so much time on small talk. I was excited to finally meet you in person. Please, sit down.”
“Hm.”
Fran sat herself on the sofa again. The count was in front of her, and to her right was Colbert. To the count’s left were Velmeria and Frederick.
“Now, I know we all got off on the wrong foot, but I have no intention of making a mountain out of a molehill.”
Good to know. We did just hit the count’s daughter with more than a few Thunder spells. It would’ve been a mess if he pressed charges.
“But we are currently conducting an investigation on House Aschtner. With how sensitive the situation is, one wrong move could destroy all our hard work. With that in mind, would you mind telling us what your goal is?”
Bayreeds had been tasked by the state to investigate Marquis Aschtner for treason. The marquis was currently suspected of private acquisition and research into Godswords, as well as the production of narcotics.
“None of this would have been possible if you hadn’t brought Seldio Lesseps’ crimes to light, Fran,” Bayreeds said.
Marquis Aschtner had done a pretty good job of keeping everything under wraps, but his secrets started coming out after Seldio’s death and the apprehension of his accomplices.
“He got away with murder one too many times,” Bayreeds laughed. “He got what was coming to him.” He had no love for the Aschtners.
“Colbert told me that you suspect a friend of yours is being held hostage by the marquis.”
“Hm.”
“May I know his name?”
Well?
We might get more information about Garrus with the count’s help. Besides, we definitely wouldn’t want to interrupt a government-sanctioned investigation. Fran might get the worst of it for accidentally obstructing justice.
I think you should tell him about Garrus.
Hm. Okay.
It wasn’t like we needed to find Garrus on our own steam. Fran might have wanted to save Garrus by herself, but I didn’t mind getting help from Count Bayreeds.
“I’m looking for Garrus the blacksmith.”
“Garrus… Granzell’s master smith Garrus?”
“That’s him.”
“Yes, I think I remember him being hired by Marquis Aschtner to work on a project,” Bayreeds said. “Frederick?”
“Sir. Our reports say Garrus was hired to repair Marquis Aschtner’s grand barrier.”
A grand barrier was a manatech which produced a barrier large enough to cover a whole district. The barrier was still being field tested. It was also one of the reasons Aschtner was suspected of treason. The device could be used as a trump card if he ever attempted a coup. The state was still suspicious of the grand barrier even after the project was officially approved.
“Because the marquis is carrying out the project in secret, we don’t know where the grand barrier is or how long it will take for the whole thing to finish.”
“But the reparations are complete?”
“Yes. Garrus should be released by now.”
It sounded like Garrus was being held back, perhaps against his will.
“There’s a high chance he’s being held in Count Olmes’ mansion,” Fran said.
“Oh? You’re sure of this?” Bayreeds said.
“Hm. Garrus is being held in a mansion where the valkyrie is glared at by the manticore,” Fran said, telling Count Bayreeds about the message Garrus left her.
“I see. It certainly fits the bill,” Bayreeds said, recognizing his own mansion in the message. “And how did you come across this information?”
“Garrus told me.”
We told them how Garrus had written a message inside a scabbard he’d put up for sale in the auctions. Bayreeds believed us after we showed him the scabbard.
“I see,” he said. “We’ll look into it. Can you give us a day?”
“Just one day?”
“We have spies posted around the Aschtner estate. Their combined efforts will get us the information we need.”
Count Bayreeds had been watching Aschtner for a long time. He didn’t want Fran to do something that might impede his work.
“Keeping someone hostage who is important to the state—like Master Smith Garrus—definitely counts as treason.”
What now, Teacher?
He has a point. It wouldn’t be good for us to go in headlong without a plan.
For starters, we didn’t know where in the mansion Garrus was being kept. Not to mention the penalties involved with breaking and entering into a noble’s abode. Letting Count Bayreeds look into it was safer for everyone involved.
“The marquis is probably researching Godswords if he’s keeping Garrus locked up. He’ll need smithing materials to do that. We’ll start there,” Bayreeds said confidently.
“All right. I’ll wait.”
“Thank you. I’ll send someone for you tomorrow night.”
“Hm.”
But what should we do the rest of tomorrow?
“Is there anything I can do to help?”
“Espionage tends to get messy if inexperienced people get involved. It would be better if you did nothing, or to be more precise, went about your day normally.”
“Normally?”
“Indeed. We don’t know if Aschtner knows about the scabbard. At worst, he might already have his eyes on you,” Bayreeds said. “You’re safe as long as you’re here, of course, since the villa is under my command. But you never know who’s watching you in the city.”
“I see.”
“I suggest doing some sightseeing to throw off their scent. Maybe participate in another auction day.”
Thankfully, I didn’t have any objections to the count’s plan. Tomorrow was the magicite auction, and I was worried about whether we should take part in it given the current circumstances. Count Bayreeds’ plan put my mind at ease.
“Hm. Then I’ll go about my business tomorrow.”
“Great. Also, I’ll be sticking my spies on you when you leave. Please don’t kill them.”
“You want to spy on me?”
“They are counter-spies, to be exact. They’ll see if Aschtner is keeping tabs on you. If he is, we can get more information out of his spies by tailing them.”
He wanted to use Fran as a decoy. I didn’t mind, since we didn’t have to do anything differently. I would have to tell Fran to only talk to me in her mind, though. I didn’t want her to look like a lonely girl who had to talk to herself in public to keep herself company.
“Munch, munch.”
“Yum, yum.”
We left Bayreeds’ safehouse and were now walking back to our inn. The capital had a lively nightlife, even livelier than its day life. Fortunately, we were familiar enough with its streets by now to not get lost like we did when we first arrived.
The leisure district was littered with food stalls that made money by selling overpriced snacks to unsuspecting drunks. Still, their food was good enough for Fran and Jet to enjoy. The only problem was the lack of flavor variety. Unlike in Bulbola, spices were more expensive inland. Even basic condiments like salt and pepper were affected by transport costs. The people of the capital turned to a bean reminiscent of miso to flavor most of their cooking. But their focus on the miso paste managed to produce a great variety of flavors which wouldn’t bore you even if you had it every day. It certainly won Fran and Jet’s endorsement; they mainly got miso-flavored foods.
Fran had activated her stealth skills, since a little girl walking by herself at night would stand out. We wouldn’t have to worry about getting accosted by thugs now. I remembered Calc, and I didn’t want us to bring about the destruction of the leisure district, which he had so feared. That said, I silently apologized in advance if things happened to pan out that way.
But there should be no cause for concern. We just needed to go through an underpass and we would arrive at our inn. Fran went down the easy slope into the underpass, leaving the food stalls and noise of the leisure district behind her. The silence had an eerie quality to it for an otherwise ordinary underpass.
Teacher…
What’s up?
Fran slowed down her pace.
I just felt something weird.
Weird?
Hm!
Odd. I didn’t feel anything. Weird how? Can you be more specific?
It’s just weird.
Uhh…is it a bad kind of weird?
Hm! I felt my skin crawl!
Was Fran the only one who felt the odd sensation? Was it mana?
Hm…?
Fran thought about it. She told me that she didn’t quite know what the feeling was.
But how come I’m not feeling anything…?
I don’t usually keep my detection skills up at all times, but I knew I should’ve sensed a disturbance in the mana if it really was disturbed.
What about you, Jet?
Woof! Jet replied from the shadows. He sensed something, too.
…Let’s get out of here.
I still didn’t know what Fran and Jet were sensing, but I didn’t plan on sticking around to find out. To me, the testimony of their senses was proof enough. But I was too late.
“Teacher…”
Okay, I felt that one.
A man appeared in front of us, radiating murderous intent as he approached Fran.
Careful. He’s pretty strong.
Advanced Sword Mastery 4 and Advanced Sword Arts 2. Not only that, but he had Intimidate, Stealth, and Flame Magic to boot. Probably an adventurer; definitely stronger than C-Rank.
His name was Hummels. We had never met before, and I couldn’t understand why he was so hostile toward us. He held an enchanted sword in his hand. Did he want to test his new sword on a live target? Did he want to kill Fran to boost his reputation?
I would’ve broken out in a cold sweat if I still had a body. It was like staring down an angry monster that could tear you apart if you got careless. The weapon looked as strange as its mana signature. It was half broken, and a deep crack ran down what was left of its blade. There was a guard on its handle like a saber’s, and the sword appeared to have been snapped from its base.
I Identified Hummels, and his status showed him to be a Fanatic. That was the same ailment that befell Aschtner’s men—Seldio and his party—in Ulmutt.
Fran, I think he’s working for the marquis!
Are you sure?
I can’t prove it, but we should try to capture him alive.
“Hm!”
Hummels was strong, but he was still no match for Fran. I was really interested in his sword; it emitted tremendous mana despite being broken. I tried Identifying it, but failed. Nothing worried me like unidentifiable objects.
Be careful, Fran. I can’t get a read on that sword of his.
All right.
Jet, stay in the shadows and get ready.
Woof!
Simply looking at Hummels was bringing up unpleasant sensations inside of me. It felt like my heart was dropping to my stomach despite my lack of organs. Looking at him reminded me of how I felt when I saw the sword that Seldio and the others had, and that feeling was disgust.
Does looking at him gross you out, Fran?
No. I just want to know how strong he is.
Jet?
Arf.
This feeling seemed to be one that only I felt. Fran prepared to draw me and spoke to Hummels. “Who are you?”
Silence. Hummels ignored her and carried on. There was less than ten meters between them now.
“Come any closer and I’ll assume you’re hostile.”
Silence again, and still the man carried on. He swung his sword to make his intentions known. Fran took that as a sign to go in. She dropped low to the ground, almost like she was slithering on it, and aimed for his legs. She was going to incapacitate him by taking them out.
Fran accelerated too fast for Hummels to react, but she kept up her guard. She trained her eyes on his neck, trying to bait him into thinking she was going for his head. Hummels put up his sword to defend himself. By the time he noticed what Fran was really plotting, it was too late.
Or so I thought.
CLANG!
“Hrm.”
Hummels whipped his sword down to block the ankle breaker. He didn’t manage to react to it in time, rather it felt like his right arm had a mind of its own. Had he buffed himself with defensive spells? Maybe he was so good with his sword that it moved like a part of his body.
In any case, his sword was definitely no ordinary enchanted sword. I had used 500 mana to power myself up for that attack just now. I would’ve cut right through any mass-produced sword on my way to slice into his legs. Instead, the sword had deflected me.
I knew now that my earlier sense of disgust wasn’t purely psychological. I felt goosebumps when my blade came into contact with his. Something about the sword’s mana and aura just felt…wrong.
Hmm…
What is it, Teacher?
Nothing. His sword’s just pissing me off somehow.
Is it an enemy of yours?
I don’t know about that… I know I hate it, though.
Okay. Any enemy of yours is an enemy of mine!
I had inadvertently fired Fran up, but I had no plans of stopping her. The sword made me sick, and I probably would’ve turned green in the face if I still had one. We had to destroy it.
Let’s beat him up, then!
“Hm!”
Hummels probably wasn’t going to explain himself, and that meant this fight was unavoidable. But that was all right. I no longer wanted to take my chances with this agent of the marquis or his repulsive sword.
The sword was stronger compared to when we last faced it in Ulmutt. I focused my energy and used all my skills. It might end up being overkill, but all I wanted now was to wipe that sword from the face of the earth.
“Haaaa!”
The high-pitched shrieking of clashing metal rang throughout the underpass. It was the only noise, since both Fran and Hummels were warriors of few words. We had the advantage, but Hummels dodged Fran’s attacks with unnatural precision. Actually, it was his sword that was doing the dodging.
“Tsch!”
I created an image of myself to bait Hummels into attacking. He fell for it, and thrust out his sword. Fran swerved behind him to deal the final blow when the illusion was destroyed. Hummels couldn’t see her; he was as good as dead.
But the sword wrenched his arm over his shoulder to block the incoming attack. It happened so fast that it was like an auto-guard, but I don’t think I saw anything like that when I Identified him earlier. It must have been the sword’s power.
Hummels himself remained silent as ever.
“Fire Javelin.”
He spoke once, but only to cast a spell. It was creepy seeing his lips move quickly while the rest of his face remained as fixed as stone. He resumed his offense after casting the spell. I was beginning to doubt that he was even conscious. Was he being controlled by someone else?
Hummels suddenly twitched as he advanced toward us. His mana was increasing. His eyes and mouth widened in a silent scream. His muscles started expanding and his stats powered up. He looked a lot like the fiendified people we fought in Bulbola, only I didn’t sense any Malice in him. My disgust for him increased at the same time. That was probably one of the sword’s abilities, too.
Hummels’ sword had also changed. The mana around it was now so thick that it was visible, and it was as sharp as could be.
“Haa!”
Fran wasted no time waiting for his transformation to finish and charged in. His sword defended him even while he was still powering up. It definitely had an auto-guard function of some sort.
Fran remained calm and backed off. She lowered me to her side and got ready. The best way to deal with this kind of defense was to aim at a body part which would be physically difficult to defend. Hummels held the sword in his right hand, so his left foot would make a good target.
Fran launched a Pressurized Quickdraw. The sword reacted to it, but it couldn’t block it in time due to its broken blade. I lopped Hummels’ foot clean off of his body. He crumpled to the ground and twitched, the whites of his eyes showing.
Suddenly, something even stranger happened. Hummels’ wound bubbled over and started regenerating in front of our eyes. Two seconds later, a new foot had replaced his old one. I Identified him again, and found that he now possessed Regeneration, Muscular Hypertrophy, and Martial Mastery. His new skills didn’t surprise me. Fran gained new skills whenever she Awakened, and the Corrupt Humans had achieved Fiendmancy. What was strange was the fact that his race remained Human despite his additional skills.
Looking at his stat sheet, I found that Hummels was under a new status: Unleashed Potential. In exchange for his greatly boosted stats, his life was draining away. Fanatic and Unleashed Potential put him in the same boat as Seldio and the others. Was he related to them somehow? Did he need to be in Fanatic to use Unleash Potential? Either way, he was much more dangerous now.
He’s in Unleashed Potential, Fran! Be careful!
“Hm!”
Hummels stood up, using only the muscles along his spine to do so, and lunged at Fran. He pummeled her with attack after attack. It was clear that he wanted this fight to end quickly.
But there were obvious gaps in his offense. Not only that, but the barrage twisted his body, leaving him open to counterattacks. Being experienced in fighting humanoids, Fran wasted no time in exploiting this weakness. She landed blow after fatal blow, but Hummels’ wounds healed too fast for them to matter. Unleashed Potential was boosting his regenerative capabilities, too.
The best way to take on this kind of opponent was to keep our distance and pummel him with spells. But that was difficult to do in a narrow underpass, not to mention in a densely populated city. The last thing I wanted was for Fran to be charged with destruction of public property.
“I can go even faster.”
Fortunately, Fran seemed to be enjoying this unconventional fight. She sped up and jumped from the walls to the ceiling, attacking Hummels from all sorts of angles. His wounds kept closing up before he could bleed out. In fact, he was attacking with little regard to his own safety. It was a fighting style which took full advantage of his regeneration, but it was a strange one, all the same.
“Urgh!”
Yaaaah!
Hummels’ arm whipped at us from an impossible angle. In fact, I heard his bones crack as his body was forced into the unnatural bend. I knew he could heal from the break, but this was a bit much. I deflected the attack with Telekinesis, and it just barely grazed Fran.
Hummels continued his offense by stabbing his sword into his stomach. The mana blade went right through his back to deflect Fran’s backstab. Blood gushed everywhere as Hummels became a human fountain. The attack was wildly reckless, even with regeneration. He looked like he had lost his mind, and I found it hard to believe that he thought up a strategy like this just for the sake of taking Fran by surprise. The wound in his chest closed up, and he had a look completely devoid of reason and emotion on his face.
Something was wrong here.
I had seen stone-faced fighters before. Hundred Blade Forlund immediately came to mind. Fran was of that sort too, of course, but just because Fran had a hard time expressing her emotions didn’t mean she lacked them. You could see her strain if you paid close attention to her face in battle.
Hummels was different. Nothing we did fazed him. He looked emotionless because he lacked emotions. Could such a creature really be called human?
Hummels continued attacking us as I puzzled over him. His offense was as fierce as before, but he was beginning to run out of steam. Unleashed Potential was taking its toll, and Fran was getting used to his unnatural attacks. Still, he pressed his offensive without so much as a gasp or a grunt of exhaustion.
There’s something up with that sword.
Hm.
We were trying to separate Hummels from the sword during this whole fight, but our attempts were thwarted each time. We tried Pressurized Quickdraw amplified with Fire Elemental Blade and Vibrofang, but Hummels threw himself in harm’s way to protect the sword. We used a Thunder spell to paralyze him, but he refused to let go of the sword despite crumpling to the floor.
Likewise, the sword refused to leave his hand.
Someone had to be controlling Hummels; the mindless man couldn’t keep up with Fran, otherwise. But how? Was it a spell? Some kind of manatech?
Maybe it was the sword.
Maybe the sword was like me. I didn’t think it was an Intelligent Weapon, but I had a feeling that it was controlling Hummels somehow. I felt a vague sort of intelligence when I saw him protect the sword with his body—an intelligence which didn’t come from Hummels. Even more, I sensed something like fear and anger coming from the blade. Hummels backed away, but it felt as if the sword was more cautious now that it knew we were aiming for it. Intelligent Weapons were the stuff of legends, but there was always the possibility of others existing.
Either way, we still had a fight on our hands, although Hummels was running out of life. The sword had yet to fly out of Hummels’ hand to attack us, so I doubted it could move by itself. Autonomous sword or no, it would have a hard time fighting if its wielder was dead.
The sword knew that its host was on his last legs and launched its final attack. Immense mana gathered around the sword, lengthening its magical blade. Hummels brought the sword down and it whipped at us like a snake.
“Hrm!”
Fran avoided the initial attack, but the blade slithered after her. However, this was to our advantage. Whether it was fear or panic, the enemy only had eyes on Fran.
Get ’em, Jet!
“GROOOAR!”
Jet leapt out of the shadows and bit Hummels’ sword hand. He tried pushing the direwolf away, but Jet clamped his jaws tightly around his fist. I heard the sound of crunching bone as Hummels’ hand shattered. He would have to let go of the sword now.
The sword’s mana blade wavered as it lost its support. The best it could do was leave a hole in the ceiling of the underpass. I pretended not to notice it.
Fran readied me at her side and shouted, “Teacher!”
Ready!
I teleported us close to Hummels and Fran released a fully charged Pressurized Quickdraw. We weren’t going to let this chance go to waste!
“Haaaa!”
A shrill ringing went out when I clashed with the sword.
“Hngh!”
This thing is tough!
We had fully charged our attack with mana and packed it with skill upon skill. But the broken blade refused to yield. Whatever this thing was, it was no ordinary sword!
“Urgh!”
Fran grimaced and jumped away. The sword suddenly made itself known.
kmu--/.qn7a@!
A scream of sounds which weren’t words echoed through the underpass.
Aagh! What is that?!
“So loud!”
“Woof!”
The scream was no mere physical scream. It reverberated in our brains with something like Telepathy. Fran held her head and winced, and Jet whined as he retreated to the shadows.
The sword was definitely its source. Was it screaming in pain because we had hurt it? Was this thing really something like me?
Either way, it seemed like this would be Hummels and the sword’s final moments. Hummels’ battered body fell to the ground, dead. He looked like a puppet whose strings were cut. The lack of death throes made the fight we just had seem unreal.
“…Is he dead?” Fran asked.
Yeah.
I didn’t need to Identify him to figure out that his life was at zero. His heart had stopped beating, and his muscles were shrinking back to their original size. It was a pitiful sight.
We collected Hummels’ body and stored it in our Pocket Dimension. It might come in handy later.
All that’s left is the sword.
I Identified it again, hoping that all that damage broke its identity protection.
Give me a name, at least…
Name: c%s:・hj/np
All I saw was a glitched-out name and nothing else. We could’ve tracked down where it was made if we had known what it was called.
But then I realized something. Unidentifiable targets were usually just that: unidentifiable. I had never seen a glitched-out name before, even among the Godswords. Usually, the name would display just fine, while the unidentifiable subjects wouldn’t be displayed at all.
I thought the glitchy name might be a form of protection, but what if it was actually the sword’s name? Or what if it had a name, but lost it after sustaining heavy damage?
“Teacher?”
It’s nothing. Don’t worry about it.
It didn’t matter now. Either way, we needed to destroy this thing.
Ready to blow it up?
“Hm.”
Fran concentrated her energy and I focused mine. This attack was probably going to damage our surroundings, but I decided it would be worth it.
Then…
What?!
“Hrm!”
The sword started glowing. Not in order to blind us, but to destroy us.
Tsk!
I threw a barrier over us just in time, but I could feel a rumble through the underpass. By the time the mana dissipated, the sword was gone. I could see it speeding away. It had used Mana Thruster to attack and escape at the same time.
“It can fly?”
After it!
The sword flew through the air at the speed of one of my telekinetic catapults without slowing down. Teleportation would be too slow—the weapon would be long gone by the time we were transported next to it. I thought about firing powerful spells at it, but decided against it after considering the damage our surroundings would sustain. The best I could give it was twenty Fire Javelins.
But the sword dodged all of them with sharp maneuvers. It spun through the air, making barrel rolls while maintaining its speed. It then blasted right out of the tunnel.
Come on!
“Hm!”
A terrible scene awaited us on the other side of the underpass.
“Waaaah!”
“It hurts! It hurts!”
“H-help me…”
“I-I’m bleeding…!”
People were sprawled out before us, some severely and even fatally injured. I could see a twisted arm here and a dying man there.
That bastard… It cut these people up to get away!
There were screams in the distance. The lunatic sword left a trail of injured people to cover its escape.
“We have to help them!”
Yeah! Jet, you go after the sword!
Woof!
We were forced to stay back to heal the sword’s victims. Now I was sure that the thing had a mind of its own. Its plan required a wicked intelligence to pull off. The sword might just be one of my kind.
“I hate that sword.”
Me too.
“We’ll snap it in half next time!”
Yeah. I hope the next time we meet will be our last.
“Hm! We won’t let it get away!”
Damn right.
When it escaped, the sword moved like it used Telekinetic Catapult, although there were a few differences. Telekinetic Catapult was an explosion of initial speed which slowed down the further it went. On the other hand, the sword must have used Mana Thruster to propel itself and maintain speed throughout its flight. Instead of a catapult, the sword moved like it had a jet engine. The Mana Thruster was probably responsible for all of Hummels’ unnatural movements. It literally bent its host’s body out of shape in order to fight.
The Disaster Pillbug we fought in the dungeons of Ulmutt used its Mana Thruster to facilitate sudden stops and acceleration, but the principle was the same. I understood then why it only used the full force of its Mana Thruster when it needed to escape—the skill used far too much mana. The sword wouldn’t be able to keep its momentum for long, and any change in direction necessitated a fresh use of Mana Thruster. Against a fast opponent like Fran, it would run out of mana before it could graze her. Worse, if one of its attacks missed, both the sword and Hummels would be left defenseless. It was a great weakness of the otherwise powerful sword.
We finished healing everyone and returned to the underpass.
“Huh,” Fran said suddenly.
What’s up?
“That bad feeling from before is gone.”
The thing you felt when we first got to the underpass?
“Hm.”
I couldn’t say for sure, but I had a hunch that bad feeling was connected to the sword. I wonder what it was.
“Hm.”
I was also concerned about what we should do with Hummels’ body. Should we drop it off at a police station somewhere? We probably wouldn’t be arrested for murder, but they were definitely going to ask questions.
As I thought about our next step, people came into the underpass from both entrances. A man. A woman. Ordinary civilians.
I realized how strange it was that the fierce battle failed to attract any onlookers, especially in a quarter as crowded as the leisure district. Was there a barrier to keep the wrong people from coming to the underpass? That would explain Fran and Jet’s unease. The spell probably only worked on organic forms, and I—strictly speaking—was an inanimate object.
Now there were people we recognized coming in from the other side of the sword’s escape route.
“Fran, are you all right?”
“Are you hurt, Black Lightning Princess?”
“Velmeria. Frederick.”
The two approached Fran with worried looks on their faces. We had parted ways with them earlier, but clearly the count had assigned them to observe Fran.
“I’m sorry. We were supposed to keep an eye on you in case someone tried to attack you,” Velmeria said.
“I didn’t think they would do it in a place like this,” Frederick said. “My deepest apologies.”
So there really was a barrier keeping people out. According to Frederick, the barrier only allowed people in if their stats were above a certain number. That number was quite high—high enough to keep Frederick and Velmeria out, at the very least. They had quite a fright when they lost sight of not only Fran, but the underpass she entered.
They looked disappointed with themselves. They had failed to protect Fran or identify her foe.
“What happened?” Velmeria asked.
“I was attacked,” Fran said.
“Attacked? Was it a slasher of some sort? I don’t see him anywhere. Did he get away?”
“I beat him. He’s in storage right now.”
“Right, you can use Timespace Magic. He’s dead?”
“Hm,” Fran nodded.
Velmeria thought for a while and said, “I don’t think the average slasher could put up such a powerful barrier.”
“It certainly is strange,” Frederick said, unknowingly describing the whole situation with Hummels and the sword.
“He had a weird sword with him.”
“A sword?”
“Hm. Enchanted.”
Fran told them about the sword Hummels used—how the sword appeared to be wielding the wielder, how it greatly increased his power, and how it escaped all on its own. Fran also mentioned Hummels being in Fanatic and Unleashed Potential. Even if the two didn’t know what Fanatic did, it got them thinking after Fran told them how Seldio and his party had the same status.
“Do you think he’s related to Aschtner?” Velmeria said.
“Hm.”
“We’ll need to look into the sword,” Frederick said. “But I’ve never heard of this Fanatic status before.”
“And a sword that controls people? Is that even possible?”
“It’s not impossible… There have been cases of Undead Swords possessing people in the past.”
“Undead Swords?”
“A sword possessed by an undead spirit,” Frederick explained. A ghost would occupy a weapon and then possess anyone unfortunate enough to equip it. In some cases, the ghost actually enhanced its user’s powers. It sounded like our sword, if not for the fact that the Undead Sword was technically a monster and not an item.
“Also, Undead Swords are not powerful creatures. They are F-ranked Threats, and most of them are not strong enough to control a human person.”
“Hm? The one I fought was really strong.”
“Therein lies the problem. I’ve never heard of an Undead Sword strong enough for you to call it so. My best guess is that it’s either a Unique or an Elite,” Frederick said, not sounding very confident in his theory. A weak monster shouldn’t have been that strong even if it were a Unique. It would have to evolve many times to achieve that kind of power.
“This requires further investigation—I shall inform the lord count. May we see the body of your attacker? We might know who it is.”
“Sure.”
“We have a safehouse nearby,” Velmeria said. “We’ll head there. We don’t want the authorities getting involved in this. The last thing we want is for any of us to get arrested.”
The two led us to a small apartment in the leisure center. We could safely show them Hummels’ corpse there.
“What?” Velmeria gasped. “Hummels!”
“That’s him,” Frederick confirmed.
They had known Hummels when he was alive. Velmeria approached Fran and said, “What is the meaning of this?!”
“He attacked me,” Fran said. “He died on his own after the sword powered him up beyond his limits.”
Frederick inspected the body. “True. There are no external wounds.”
He remained calm for the both of them. The last thing I wanted right now was a fistfight with our bodyguards. The calm of Velmeria’s subordinate soothed her, and she realized that she was overreacting.
“I’m sorry,” she said. “This isn’t your fault.”
“Do you know him?”
“He was one of us! He went missing during a mission to spy on Marquis Aschtner.”
That didn’t sound good. Did Aschtner make the Undead Sword? Was it somehow connected to the Godsword research?
“In any case, we know now that it was no ordinary sword,” Frederick said. “An Undead Sword shouldn’t be able to control a fighter as strong as Hummels.”
“Hummels,” Velmeria sighed. “What happened?”
She put her hand over his face to close his eyes and put the dead man to rest. But then, her hand stopped.
“What’s this…?”
“What is it, Velmeria?”
“Frederick, look at his eyes.”
Velmeria and Frederick inspected their dead comrade’s body. They noticed something odd about it, and that was enough to postpone their grief. The two took to inspecting his body like professional coroners. They opened his eyes, checked his teeth, and smelled his breath. Finally, they drew blood from the body, apologizing to him beforehand.
“What’s wrong?” Fran asked.
“Hummels’ body,” Velmeria said, “resembles the corpse of a drug addict.”
“He’s quite beat up,” Frederick added. “Like someone injected him with large doses in a short amount of time.”
The mention of drugs reminded me of Seldio. He had also injected his party members with drugs to make them lose their minds. They were all working for Marquis Aschtner.
Marquis Aschtner had probably captured Hummels during one of his missions and given him the drug to become a host for an Undead Sword. Even a powerful fighter would be helpless against an Undead Sword if he had lost his mind.
The problem with that theory was that Hummels didn’t have any drug-related titles. Seldio himself had Drug User. Maybe there was a distinction between “user” and “addict.” I guess addicts don’t get titles.
Did the Fanatic status have something to do with drug addiction? Seldio and his party had it… But the connection between addiction and fanaticism was vague, at best.
The reason behind tonight’s attack was even more important. How much did Marquis Aschtner know about Fran? Did he know she was looking for Garrus? Was the attack meant to warn her, or eliminate her outright? Was it because he suspected her of working for Bayreeds? If he knew we were looking for Garrus, I could only hope for Garrus’ safety.
“Are you injured, Fran?” Velmeria asked.
“Hm? No.”
“Hummels was a great fighter, even if he was being controlled. To come out of it unharmed… You really are strong.”
Though Velmeria complimented her, she wasn’t too enthusiastic about it. She wasn’t blaming Fran for her friend’s death. Instead, she was blaming herself for her own weakness.
“If I were as strong as you, then Father would…”
“Hm?”
“It’s nothing,” Velmeria shook her head. “Forget about it.”
Frederick cast a concerned glance at his companion, but he kept his peace. The count’s daughter must have her own troubles.
“Woof!”
“Jet,” Fran said. “You’re back. How’d it go?”
“Arf.”
Jet whined, and his ears flopped in disappointment. Keeping on the scent was difficult when your target was flying through the air to disperse it. The chase had ended in failure.
The sword stuck out like a sore thumb, but I could only imagine where it was now.
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