Chapter 497
"This doesn't seem like a matter you can brush off with such talk, does it?"
Ttak–
At the snap of Simon's fingers, bones shot up into the air from all directions.
The soaring bones knocked away the bandits' weapons, including the sword that had been aimed at Simon's neck by the bandit leader. Taking that chance, Simon spun his body and kicked the leader's head.
Crackkk!
In that instant, time seemed to stretch. The bandit leader's face, struck by Simon's foot, rippled like liquid in slow motion.
Then time snapped back. His body, flung like a streak of light, smashed through a nearby stall, crashed against the wall behind it, and was swallowed by a cloud of dust.
Rumbleee–!
The moment the leader was shattered, his subordinates froze in place.
Simon planted both hands on the wagon and vaulted upward, kicking the face of the first bandit he saw.
In one fluid motion, he flipped to the other side and struck the ribs of a second bandit, then smashed his foot into the jaw of a third. He bent backward to dodge an axe swing, seeing it clearly with his eyes.
Whooosh!
The axe missed. As his body snapped back upright, Simon lashed out with Cloud, coiling it around the attacker's leg and yanking hard.
Thud!
"Guhhhk!"
"Ughhh!"
The sound of bandits colliding clumsily with each other echoed.
Simon dashed to the flank just a beat faster than expected, sweeping the knees and legs of several more bandits, dropping them before slipping past the wagon again.
"?!"
"W-what did I just see?"
It had all happened in scarcely a breath or two.
Simon grabbed the hem of his robe, gave it a light flick, and launched himself forward again.
Whump! Whump!
Each time a dark blur swept past, bandits collapsed helplessly. He vaulted over and around the wagon in rapid succession, his legs spinning like windmill blades.
The bandits screamed in agony, clutching broken bones as they rolled across the ground.
"Get in! Surround him!"
"Don't give him space, close in!"
As Simon fought ferociously, a blade came stabbing for his back.
But as if he had eyes on the back of his head, a skeleton bone shot out to block it, and another struck the assailant's face.
Ssshh—
Simon turned, curling three fingers in a strange gesture. Three bandits were instantly clad in Bone Armor—and without warning, they began attacking their own allies.
"Y-you bastard! What the hell did you do?!"
"It's not me! My body won't obey!"
As Simon's fingers danced like a pianist over invisible keys, bandits fell one by one to the hands of their own comrades.
Against a Grand Necromancer this wouldn't have worked, but against common rabble? There was no more vicious technique than Bone Armor.
'!'
While controlling his puppets, Simon ducked abruptly. Arrows whistled past and thudded into the wagon.
'Fast.'
Up on the rooftops, bandit archers had taken aim at him.
"Good shot!"
"Keep firing!"
Twang! Thunk!
Arrows rained down, forcing Simon to take cover behind the wagon. He stretched out his right arm, and bones flew in, layering themselves over it.
Simon burst out from cover, raising his bone-crafted handgun. Each shot sent a bone bullet snapping through the air, striking down an archer like a target dummy.
He twisted his waist to fire, fired again mid-run, and even shot blindly with just the movement of his arm. His marksmanship was uncanny, beyond human.
'Even if he's from Keyzen…!'
Is he really this strong?
The bandits' morale broke in an instant.
Some began preparing to flee, but Simon flicked his fingers.
The three bandits clad in Bone Armor leapt to block the deserters' path.
Crunch!
Crack!
Those armored bandits savagely pummeled the fleeing men. Their allies, enraged, swung weapons at them—but the Bone Armor moved of its own accord, shielding and retaliating.
"O-ooohhh!"
Thudd!
One thug, usually so arrogant with his bulk, smashed a wagon to pieces and flew back from his own fist's rebound. He looked down at his armored fists, awestruck.
"This suit is incredible! With this, I could—!"
At that moment, two armored bandits turned on each other. Their skull-helmets tilted back, revealing empty husks.
Their weapons rose simultaneously.
"N-no, stop!"
With a sickening crash, they struck each other down. Simon simply shifted the Bone Armor to another bandit and repeated the cycle.
"Hahaha! Well done, everyone!"
"?"
Simon's eyes narrowed upward.
Atop a wagon stood a bandit with both arms raised high, grinning. Above his head, a vast magic circle unfolded.
'A necromancer among them?'
"Farewell! Witness the Original Black Magic I've devoted my life to!"
From the magic circle, six black orbs dropped, ringing with metallic resonance.
Simon quickly retreated as the orbs, forged of Darkness, smashed through the wagon before him and surged forward.
"He's trapped now!"
"There's no way out of that!"
The bandits cheered. But Simon calmly traced his fingers through the air, then smiled.
"Too easy."
"?"
He halted in place, raising his palm to the oncoming orbs. A black circle blossomed instantly, crammed full with symbols and formulas.
Six spinning black orbs erupted from Simon's magic circle, colliding with the others midair and canceling them out. The bandit necromancer's jaw dropped.
"H-how could you copy the Original I spent my life on?!"
"The formula was obvious the moment I saw the circle."
"Impossible! I cloaked the core equation in Darkness!"
"Obvious. It's a circulation rune combined with a scatter formula, isn't it?"
"H-how could you possibly—!"
This time Simon raised his left hand, drawing another magic circle.
"If it were me, I'd do it like this."
Six orbs, far larger and faster, spiraled out. Finral hastily unleashed his own Original, but Simon's orbs shattered them and surged onward.
"This can't beeeee!"
Boom-boom-boom!
The bandit was struck head-on, his body blasted skyward. Simon lowered his arm with a cool smile.
"That's the end."
Clack!
Simon turned his head. The bandit leader, the one he'd first kicked away, stood there with blood dripping from his mangled nose.
In his hands was a grotesque bio-weapon, seemingly made of corpses—eyes, flesh, and a central firing mechanism cobbled together hideously.
His arm muscles trembled violently under its weight.
"This weapon was meant for a client, but no matter! If you don't want to die, raise your hands—now!"
Simon shrugged as if to say try me if you dare. Veins bulged on the bandit leader's forehead.
"I'll blow you to pieces without leaving even a scrap of flesh!"
Whiiirrr!
The grotesque bio-weapon in his hands whirred like an engine, its mouth splitting open to reveal a cannon muzzle. Just as it was about to fire—
[Der König ist Zurück――!!]
A song spilled from Simon's lips.
The bio-weapon shuddered violently, malfunctioning, firing its projectiles wildly into the air and empty space.
"Ghhhkkk! W-what did you do?!"
"That technique is called Funeral Song. More importantly… quite an amusing weapon you have there."
Simon's black robe billowed as he appeared before the bandit. The next instant, the sole of his shoe was already at the man's eye level.
"I'll be taking this for myself."
Wham!
The bandit leader's consciousness was snuffed out on the spot.
With their leader captured, the Ganes Guild bandits surrendered entirely.
Simon's skeletons tied them up tight with ropes and sat them down on the ground.
"You always find the most troublesome way to do things, Simon."
Kajan, who had vanished earlier, returned. He held two bandits' heads under his arms like melons, ignoring their frantic cries for release. Behind him, more unconscious bandits were being dragged along, tied to ropes fastened to Kajan's body.
"Good work, Kajan."
"Let me remind you, it's best to fight in a place where you can guarantee total suppression. If even one gets away and warns their comrades, it'll be a headache."
Simon gave a bright smile.
"Of course. I believed you'd cover that part for me."
"…You sure talk smoothly."
Kajan scratched at one of his scars, looking awkward.
While he finished binding the stragglers, Simon approached the chest he had first noticed.
It was locked with an old key, but Simon simply sliced it open with black magic and lifted the lid.
Thud-thud!
A hand suddenly shot up from inside, pressing against the lid to keep it closed. Startled, Simon softened his expression and spoke gently.
"It's alright. The bad men have all been captured. You're free now."
"..."
The fingers trembled, then slowly loosened their grip. Simon lifted the lid.
Inside was a grimy, ragged boy, gagged with cloth.
Rage surged in Simon's chest, but he drew in a breath, forcing himself to stay calm.
Click! Click!
He went to the other wagons, opening each chest. Children spilled out one by one, crammed tightly inside wooden boxes.
They clung together, shivering, darting fearful glances around them.
"Are you all alright?"
Simon knelt, patting one boy's head.
"Where are you from?"
"..."
They rolled their eyes anxiously, unable to speak. Even the smallest gesture from Simon made them flinch. Bruises and scars from beatings marred their skin.
At last, a little girl whispered, "Lendran".
So there was a place called Lendran Fiefdom.
One by one, the children began to speak—naming unfamiliar fiefdoms and even major cities like Langerstine. They had been kidnapped from all across the Dark Alliance.
"Simon. Over here."
Kajan tore away the tarp covering the rear of a wagon, revealing iron bars. Behind them, adults sat gagged and bound.
"Get them out too."
"Got it."
Kajan gripped the bars and twisted them aside with Darkness, opening a gap wide enough for the captives to crawl out one by one.
"Hey!"
"What's this commotion?!"
City guards arrived, responding to reports from residents. Their eyes went wide at the sight of captured bandits and freed prisoners.
"Please cooperate."
Simon and Kajan held out their 2nd-year student IDs.
At once the guards grew respectful. Simon tucked the ID back into his robe and continued,
"I'd like to speak with the highest authority in this city regarding this incident."
The investigation results:
All the captives had been taken from other regions. Most of the children were orphans. The adults were either familyless, homeless, or mentally disabled.
When the Ganes Guild bandits were interrogated, they insisted they were only couriers—they knew nothing, only delivering the captives to their client and collecting payment.
"I'll notify the Dresden Kingdom."
Said Simon, after meeting with the lord who governed Eplun.
"Once the kidnapped children and others recover, they should be sent back home or helped to resettle somewhere safe. As for the captured bandits, please arrange for them to be transferred to the capital, Langerstine."
"Ah, y-yes. Of course."
The Eplun lord agreed, but his expression was bitter.
Understandable.
He was afraid of retaliation.
Because Simon had chosen to intervene here in Eplun rather than elsewhere, the aftermath might fall on this territory.
"Interesting."
Thud!
Kajan planted his boot on the table.
"He seems to be asking: why stir up trouble specifically in his fiefdom."
The lord flinched, stammering.
"N-no! I would never dare!"
"The neighboring Tarados became what it is in part due to Eplun's neglect and indifference. I wondered how news of such things never spread. Then I discovered you'd even ordered all information guilds here shut down. Perhaps it's only suspicion, but—"
Kajan's eyes flashed.
"Could it be that Eplun is a 'co-conspirator'?"