Chapter 22 | The Assassin Runs to His Princess
I killed a large number of soldiers as I went along.
Not all of them had been bad people. Many had merely been ordered against their own will to wage war.
Such a thought pained me. I never would’ve cared about something like that in my previous life.
After the diversion had been created, I’d resolved to kill anyone who tried to steal Dia away. Rescuing her would’ve been impossible had I refused to do so. There was no time for regret. If I felt the need to repent, it was going to wait until after Dia had been secured.
“At least the worst-case scenario didn’t happen.”
The enemy force laying siege to the castle was larger than I expected, but I’d feared something even worse.
Using the Balor Company information network, I’d been gathering information to try to find the hero and seek out divine treasures. With some effort, I found intel on a man I believed to have the highest chance of becoming the hero, as well as the divine treasure he wielded.
It was a man known as Kran’s Hound, and the powerful magic spear he carried was called Gáe Bolg.
That man was known to be in Soigel.
His involvement was my speculated reason for the noble faction’s rebellion having been so successful. While there wasn’t much proof to that, I had hit upon some evidence.
If my theory was correct, there was a chance that a man with a divine treasure and a tremendous amount of strength could’ve been present on that battlefield.
Thankfully, my fears went unrealized. If Kran’s Hound had been there, he surely would’ve shown himself already.
“Now things get tricky,” I said. Sneaking into the castle had been easy because of all the confusion on the battlefield, but getting to Dia was going to be difficult.
The true nature of Dia’s assassination could never be publicized. Only a very small number of vassals knew that her death was to be faked.
Even with my help, House Viekone could not escape defeat. Many of the vassals were going to be taken prisoner, after which they’d be subjected to questioning and execution. The reason so few people knew about this plan was to prevent the secret from getting out.
For that reason, they needed someone who could sneak into this castle. A castle that the noble faction failed to infiltrate after three days of siege.
It would have been impossible for a normal person, but I could manage it using my skills as an assassin.
During a stealth operation, it was imperative that you did everything you could to avoid detection. This was much more difficult than it seemed, and it involved more than just staying out of sight or ensuring you made as little noise as possible.
No matter how covert you were, it was impossible to stop yourself from breathing, or to keep your body from emitting heat or any sort of scent. So long as someone was alive, they continued to leave traces of their presence.
True stealth required you to repress those giveaways to the best of your ability while using your skills to avoid detection by others. Success demanded that your awareness and perception had to be superior to anyone else’s.
To erase anything that would alert another to my location, I used one of my custom spells.
Wind began to flow around me.
The flood of information being carried to me by the wind would be enough to fry the brain of a normal person. However, I dealt with a level of information that would break a normal person on a daily basis. Plus, Rapid Recovery and Limitless Growth had worked to increase the capabilities of my brain. As a result, I could bear any intel my magic brought me.
The spell I used had created a gust of wind. By altering the flow of that breeze, I could obtain three-dimensional visual information for places that were otherwise beyond my sight.
Coupled with this bit of magic, I also got a sense for my surroundings by picking up on certain sounds, listening for breathing and heartbeats, and using body heat to read the movements of those around me. These were all tricks I’d picked up in my previous life.
With so much information on my enemies at my disposal, it was almost like being able to see the future.
Using my many skills, I discerned the best route of infiltration. It was time to begin.
I sneaked through the mansion, weaving through gaps in those keeping watch.
There was only one place she could’ve been. The Fahr Stone explosions hadn’t only been to turn the tide of the battle—they’d also been a signal for Dia.
I was confident that if I used Fahr Stones, Dia would notice that I’d arrived, and she would stick her head out her window. As anticipated, she had done just that after the fourth explosion. That was how I knew what room of the large estate she was in.
Without giving away a hint of my presence, I arrived at Dia’s room and put my hand to the door.
It was locked, of course, but that was hardly a problem. Manipulating the metal mechanism by way of magic, I picked the lock.
The door opened to reveal Dia and a middle-aged man.
“Lugh! You really came for me!” Dia threw herself into my chest, with her beautiful silver hair trailing behind her.
It was only in that moment that I realized I’d finally surpassed her in height, a fact that made me a little happy.
I hugged Dia tightly, basking in her warmth, her smell, her softness.
Dia, my love. I’m so glad you’re safe.
Her face looked ghostly pale, however. With my Tuatha Dé eyes, I instantly understood the reason. She’d used almost all of her mana. Any more, and she would’ve collapsed from mana deficiency.
Dia had probably been giving everything she had to protect her vassals, even if she knew saving them all was impossible.
“I promised, didn’t I? That I would come running when you wanted to see me,” I said.
“…You remembered that promise, after all this time,” Dia replied.
I nodded. There was no way I was going to forget my promise to her.
The middle-aged man watched us with a mixed expression on his face.
There was nothing showy about his dress, but his dignified demeanor betrayed his status as a nobleman.
“I’ve always thought her to be a virtuous girl, but to think she would have her heart stolen by someone like you. It’s nice to finally meet you. I am Dimor Viekone, Dia’s father.”
“I am Lugh Tuatha Dé. I came here to fulfill your request.”
“While that was my request, this isn’t exactly what I had in mind… If only my vassals had listened when I told them to leave us and run. They said they couldn’t abandon me and Dia, and once they found out I was planning to surrender, they shut us away in here,” he explained softly. The count sounded proud, sad, and a variety of other emotions all at once.
One of the biggest reasons he wanted Dia spirited away to safety was surely because he didn’t want his subjects to fight. If Dia died, there would be no reason for his people to remain. They would be able to leave this losing battle and escape to live another day.
“What do you plan to do, Count Viekone?” I asked.
“I’ll be able to manage on my own… After watching all this fighting, I’ve built up a bit of an urge to get in on the action myself. I’ll cause as much destruction as I can in order to draw enemy attention away so others can escape. Once they’re free, I’ll make my own getaway. I plan to lay low for a while and make preparations to expel the traitors from these lands so that one day this country can be returned to its rightful ruler.”
As expected, given the man’s high-ranking position as a count, Dimor Viekone was a very strong mage who had a lifetime of training behind him. My dad even considered him a good friend.
If his plan involved his own survival, I had no doubts he was capable of pulling it off.
“Understood. Count Viekone, I’m going to start a fire in this room. We’re going to make this look like a suicide. I even brought a small corpse that could pass as Dia.”
“So that’s what that large bag you’ve got is for. There’s really a corpse in there…?”
My third reason for using the Fahr Stones had been to obtain a burned cadaver. I’d collected one of the bodies that’d been sent flying from the explosion and altered it a bit to pass for a double of Dia.
“That’s right. I’m going to put the ring that Dia always wears on this body, and once it’s fried to a crisp, no one will be able to tell that it’s not her.”
In my previous world, this kind of trick wouldn’t have worked because of dental records. This world didn’t possess such identification methods, however, so it wasn’t a concern.
“I’m jealous of Cian for having such an amazing heir,” Dimor admitted.
I pulled a container of oil out of my backpack. Starting with the bed, I doused the entire room.
“The last part requires a bit of performance on your part, Dia. I want you to open the window and address your vassals. These are the lines I’ve prepared for you. ‘I can’t stand anyone else getting hurt for my sake, and I will not become another’s property.’ Once you finish that, close the window. That’s when we’ll start the fire.”
“Hmm, that sounds like it could work. Those taking command on the front lines know that we’re faking your death. They should be able to take advantage of the situation and get the others to safety. It’s best for you, too, Dia.”
“Yes, Father.”
Not all of the vassals were going to make it out safely. Once they stopped fighting and tried to run, some were undoubtedly going to be captured, and any who did escape faced a rather uncertain future. Still, escape held more hope than continuing a losing battle.
Dia didn’t object to the plan because she understood that. The girl was determined to do what was best for her people. There was likely still some part of her that wanted to win, and she had to have known victory would’ve been possible if I went all out.
With the spell we’d designed to kill the hero, we could’ve wiped out every last one of the invaders. Dia must’ve been dying to ask me to use it on the noble faction’s forces. I knew she wouldn’t request such a thing, though, because Dia understood that winning this battle would solve nothing.
My plan was the one that would save the most lives, after all.
“Lugh, I’m ready when you are,” Dia declared. With determination in her eyes, she turned around and put her hand to the window. She opened it and confidently began her performance.
With this, my work was almost done. All that remained was to return to the Tuatha Dé domain with Dia. So long as there were no complications, we were going to get out just fine. No sooner had that thought crossed my mind than a chill ran down my spine.
I raised my mana as high as I could, grabbed Dia by the shoulders, and pulled her behind me.
This is bad.
As soon as Dia had opened her mouth to deliver her message, I was struck with an ominous sensation. It was an unexplainable, sixth sense kind of feeling. My experience as an assassin had given me a special sense for danger, and my alarm bells were ringing.
Driven by instinct, I grabbed Dia by the shoulders, pulled her behind my back, filled a Fahr Stone with mana to near bursting, and stuck my body out the window.
A good distance from the rampart, a large man turned toward Dia and hurled a long spear.
He had spiky red hair and the physique of a bodybuilder. The savage, bestial smile he wore suited him almost uncomfortably well. The air around this strange person was rich with mana so sinister, it seemed unnatural.
Is this guy human?! I thought, utterly incredulous.
By using my Tuatha Dé eyes, I could tell right away that the spear was loaded with an enormously high instantaneous mana discharge that far exceeded anything I was capable of.
I drew an arrow with a Fahr Stone that had been filled to the brim with mana and fired.
The spear transfigured as it traveled through the air, increasing in speed as the tip divided into multiple points. Such swiftness far outstripped the speed my tungsten bullets traveled at via Gun Strike. Without my Tuatha Dé eyes, I don’t think I’d ever have been able to spot the incoming projectile.
The force of the spear gouged the earth as it sailed through the air. Soldiers of the noble faction and Viekone vassals alike were indiscriminately torn to shreds. Numerous invisible blades formed around the spear, causing additional damage.
This was more than some polearm—it was a weapon of mass destruction.
The red-haired man’s spear and my Fahr Stone collided.
I’d used a special sort of Fahr Stone that’d been made to focus its blast forward when it detonated.
The spear, now traveling at supersonic speed, collided with the Fahr Stone, releasing an explosion born of a force equivalent to the mana of three hundred mages. The iron scraps formed by my earth mana went flying in all directions.
Undaunted, the man’s spear slipped through the blast, reduced the rampart to rubble, and pierced halfway through the wall of the castle.
Had it not been for my counterattacks slowing it down, that attack would have reduced the entire estate to rubble, and we would’ve been in dire straits.
The spear began to rattle, then pulled itself out of the castle wall and returned to its owner.
… So this is the power of a divine treasure.
I’d been gathering information on such objects and had recently started the preparations on finally purchasing one, but this was the first I’d ever seen in person.
The man and I locked eyes. He was about six hundred and forty meters away, a distance technically within Gun Strike’s range, but hitting a target that far with any sort of reliable accuracy was impossible for me.
Such was not the case for the red-haired man.
Perhaps that could’ve been chalked up to the divine treasure, but that wasn’t all. His skill and impossibly large instantaneous mana discharge were what had made the attack possible.
I entertained the thought that it would be nice if it turned out that the man’s only abnormal capability was his instantaneous mana discharge, but I knew that was wishful thinking.
It wouldn’t have changed my course of action anyway. I needed to retaliate—and soon.
Chanting a spell, I created a cannon. Against an opponent of such strength, it was clear a gun wasn’t going to cut it.
The weapon I created was a 120 mm cannon with rifling carved on the inside.
The barrel of such a weapon was very thick, and the bullets were equally large—each one was about the size of a milk bottle.
Such a dense barrel enabled it to withstand more intense explosions. I trusted this one could even take an explosion born of my full strength.
“Both of you, cover your ears and open your mouths! Cannon Strike !”
This was the fourth deadliest spell in my magic arsenal.
An extremely hard and heavy bullet shot toward the man. It spiraled rapidly from the rifling.
Gun Strike couldn’t compare to the strength of Cannon Strike. If the former was at the power of a rifle, then the latter held the force of a tank cannon. The firepower needed to push out a tungsten bullet of that size could be achieved only with a full-strength explosion.
People commonly had this the other way around, but large cannons were actually more accurate than rifles. The faster speed of the bullet meant it took less time to reach its destination, reducing the effect gravity had on it. Furthermore, the larger kinetic energy and mass of the cannon’s ammunition reduced the effect of other factors like wind. It was because of such factors that the attack held greater accuracy than a smaller round.
Gun Strike was effective only from about four hundred meters away, but with Cannon Strike, I could reliably hit a target from a distance of up to a kilometer.
The only hitch was that such a weapon was a little too abrasive for assassination.
Bullets fired by Cannon Strike had an initial velocity of 1,650 meters per second, and they reached Mach 4.8.
The bullet reached its destination in just 0.4 seconds, where it landed over six hundred and sixty meters away with a thunderous roar that kicked up a giant cloud of dirt.
While the cannon’s spike and anchor had been fastened to the floor, the force of the explosion had torn cracks in the walls and shattered all nearby windows.
Dia and Count Viekone stared with their mouths agape.
“Whooooooaaaaaa, it’s been a while since I’ve seen your Cannon Strike! There’s no way there’s even a trace of that guy left,” Dia exclaimed.
“What in the world was that?” asked her father.
“An assassination trick of mine. I use it to kill long-distance targets,” I answered.
“That’s not like any assassination technique I’ve ever heard of…”
While I’d hoped it had indeed been enough to kill the red-haired man, it didn’t take long to get my answer.
When the dust settled, the man was still standing and looking mostly none the worse for wear. Blood was running down his face from a spot on his forehead, but the same savage grin was still plain on his face.
It was enough to make me want to laugh. If only I’d missed. At least there still would’ve been some hope then.
This man had survived a direct hit from Cannon Strike, an attack with strength that rivaled a tank cannon.
“THAT HUUURTS! This is the first time I’ve ever felt pain. Not bad!!!” He was yelling so loudly, I could hear his every word even from so far away. His tone was both menacing and joyful.
Dia was trembling in fear.
The man’s already enormous muscles began to swell until they burst through his clothes, and the horns of a demon sprouted from his head.
I was certain I recognized those visual cues to be part of Berserk, an S-Rank skill.
Triggered by rage, Berserk increased your physical strength and mana. An aura of rage also further enhanced your attack and defense. It could activate only under a certain condition, but it made up for that by far surpassing the destructive force of other S-Rank skills.
Another Cannon Strike wouldn’t so much as scratch that guy now.
“Lugh, grab Dia and run. With him here, we no longer have time to fake Dia’s death. That man ended the civil war. The royal family surrendered because no one could stop him. You’re looking at one who has the strength to end wars by himself. I hadn’t expected him to show up so soon,” said Count Viekone.
If it was true that the man ended battles by himself, it still made him inferior to House Tuatha Dé. We ended such conflicts before they could even begin.
Still grinning from ear to ear, the man continued to shout in our direction.
“I came all the way here ’cause I heard some girl was using some troublesome magic, but holy shit, I did not expect to find something this amazing. Hey, you! I could kill every person here, or we could end this with a duel, like knights! If you win, I’ll have the entire army withdraw and never touch the Viekone domain again! Don’t you even think about running. If you pull something like that, I may not be able to restrain myself! I’ve finally found an opponent who can give me a real fight!”
This kind of person was easy enough to understand. He’d been dispatched by the noble faction because they were getting annoyed that the Viekone domain had managed to hold out for more than three days. He then got bored because he was too strong and felt like this fight was beneath him. The ecstatic look on his face was because the red-haired man had finally found someone who could pose a threat.
His was a spirit that had long yearned for a proper duel. To such a person, finding a worthy opponent must have been akin to a child opening presents on Christmas.
I believed that arrogance could be used to catch him off guard, however. This man thought himself invincible, but I’d discovered a fatal weak point.
“Count Viekone, Dia, his mind is set on me. His attributes are significantly higher than mine, so running isn’t an option. I have to accept his challenge.”
“Lugh, please don’t… You can win, though, right?” Dia asked, sounding helpless.
I slowly shook my head.
“There is a one hundred percent chance I’ll lose. If Cannon Strike couldn’t kill him, then I have no hope of beating him one-on-one. I wouldn’t last ten seconds.”
I produced a two-handed tungsten spear. The metal’s natural weight made the weapon weigh more than a hundred kilograms. After I’d created the object, I added two spells to it.
“If that’s the case, then why are you so calm?! If you lose, you’ll die, you know?! This is a stupid idea. I’ll fight with you.”
“I only said I wouldn’t win in a duel… I’m going to announce that I accept his challenge, but I don’t plan on actually meeting him on even ground. That’s why I’m doing this with a spear.”
I hurled the weapon out the window.
Tears began to well in Dia’s eyes.
She probably thought I’d lost it after seeing me throw the weapon I’d just made straight out a broken window. The action was not without a good reason, however.
“Dia, I’m not a soldier or a knight, and I’m certainly not the hero. I’m an assassin. I don’t agree to fair fights. Assassination is the only thing I can do, and that’s precisely the plan here,” I explained, flashing a smile to comfort her.
There was more than one way to go about assassination. Even against such an overwhelmingly powerful opponent, I still had a viable option. My preparations were nearly complete.
“Count Viekone, please follow me. If he wants to decide this battle based on a knight’s duel, we’re going to need you present,” I said.
Surprisingly, in this world, it wasn’t all that rare to entrust the outcome of a war to a single knight.
In a conflict where both sides held a similar amount of military strength, a proper war was liable to drag on and lead to devastation on both sides. To prevent that, both sides would occasionally pick their strongest knight to decide the outcome of such conflicts through a duel.
Truthfully, I’d never expected such a thing to happen during my rescue of Dia. To think that a knight’s duel would be how my operation ended… My plan had truly gone off the rails. My line of work demanded expecting the unexpected, however. Improvisation was a very necessary component of assassination.
Saving Dia was all that mattered. What methods I employed to that end didn’t matter.
“Understood. Let us go. I apologize for dragging you into this, Lugh… I could use the last of my strength to give you and Dia time to escape,” offered the count.
“That would be a bad idea. You wouldn’t last a minute against that man. It won’t be necessary anyway. As I said, I’m going to kill him.”
I couldn’t help but wonder how that red-haired guy had gotten so impossibly strong. If he turned out to be the hero, his death was going to make things very problematic in the future. Unfortunately, he had to die here if Dia and I were going to live at all, so it was hardly much of a choice anymore. I didn’t have the luxury to consider what was going to happen after that.
The assassination had to come first. Only afterward would I spare time to think about anything else.
As a professional killer, that was the best I could do.
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