Several hours had passed since I parted ways with Mikoto and Chigusa. I was still wandering aimlessly through the entertainment district.
Orario, known as the"center of the world." has a massive entertainment district. Specifically, the entire third and fourth districts fall into this category. Given the late hour, any acquaintances in the area were likely busy with work, making it impossible to ask for their help. My search relied entirely on my own feet.
Not that I couldn't ask, but approaching anyone here felt like a surefire way to get devoured, figuratively or otherwise.
Having already scoured most of the third district, I concluded that if Hermes-sama was anywhere, it had to be in the fourth district. With that in mind, I headed there.
"Toki."
It was on the way that I heard it, a faint murmur of a voice.
Ordinarily, it would've been impossible to hear at such a low volume, yet the sound reached my ears clearly. It was a voice I never thought I'd hear again, nostalgic and haunting.
I turned toward the direction it came from. In a shadowy alley untouched by the light of magic stone lamps, I spotted a small figure clad in a dark robe that seemed to blend with the surrounding darkness.
The figure noticed my gaze, then darted deeper into the alley.
"Wait!"
I immediately gave chase. My Level 3 agility skill quickly closed the distance between us.
But just as I was within five meters, a cat suddenly dashed out of the shadows, blocking my path. Brushing aside the unusually persistent animal, I resumed the chase, only to have a dog obstruct me next.
This frustrating game of cat-and-mouse repeated itself over and over. Before I knew it, I'd wandered far from the entertainment district and found myself in the labyrinthine streets of Daedalus Street, still in pursuit of the figure.
The chase abruptly ended in a quiet corner of Daedalus Street. The area was devoid of magic stone lamps, leaving only the moonlight to illuminate the figure standing ahead.
"...I heard you'd changed quite a bit." the figure said, turning to face me and pulling back their hood.
I recognized the face immediately.
Sharp features that could easily be mistaken for an elf's beauty. Her short, ash-blonde hair glimmered under the moonlight.
"Svartá..."
"It's been a while, Toki."
Svartá Macul, a former colleague from my days as an assassin. She had been like an older sister to me, a Pallum who stood out even among our group.
Thinking back, she had likely been one of the few with a sense of normalcy in that twisted orphanage. Without her influence, I might never have fought to survive after losing to Ottar. I would've simply accepted death, like a lifeless puppet. In many ways, she was the one who set me on the path to becoming who I am now.
"Why...?"
"You know why. His preparations are complete." she replied matter-of-factly.
'Him.' Svartá referred to the man we used to call "Sensei" as simply "him." I hadn't understood why back then, but I did now. She called him that because his actions were utterly depraved.
But her presence raised one glaring question.
"Svartá, why are you still with him?"
"Running would only get me caught. It's better to stay compliant. He promised to leave me alone as long as I follow orders."
So, if she betrayed him, he'd likely use some method to forcefully reprogram her mind. As despicable as ever.
"But Toki, you really have changed." she said, her tone lighter.
"Huh?"
"I mean, you fell for such an obvious trap."
The moment she spoke, I felt multiple presences closing in around me. I froze.
"To be honest, we might've failed without Solon's animals, but I never expected you to come this far." she added with a wry smile.
Glancing around, I noticed the animals that had been hindering me earlier now mingling with the figures surrounding us.
"Solon, huh... now there's a name I haven't heard in a while." I muttered, drawing a dagger from the shadows.
Fighting here wasn't ideal. I was outnumbered, and Svartá was among them, a foe I wasn't sure I could defeat even now.
However, if a fight broke out, the noise would attract attention. Even in this quiet area of Daedalus Street, a battle would surely draw people. Svartá and her group would want to avoid that, meaning they'd aim for a quick resolution. If I could hold out until help arrived...
"Don't think you can just wait this out." Svartá interrupted, her voice cold.
As if on cue, one of the figures chanted.
"Silent Prison!"
A transparent barrier enveloped the alley, cutting off all sound.
"In case you're wondering, this is a soundproof barrier spell. No matter how intense the battle gets, no sound will escape." Svartá explained, her words filling me with dread.
"Magic...?" I muttered, shocked.
But it wasn't the spell's effect that surprised me. It was the fact that they could use magic at all.
"Don't tell me, you've received divine blessings?"
"That's right." Svartá replied nonchalantly.
Despair threatened to overwhelm me. The odds, already slim, had grown even bleaker.
"Now, what are you waiting for?"
Before I could react, Svartá closed the distance between us. I leapt back, but she followed relentlessly, thrusting a short spear she had drawn at some point. I parried with my dagger, but the blade grazed my clothes.
This was why I couldn't beat Svartá. She was simply better at combat than I was.
To make matters worse, the other figures and animals joined the fray, their attacks coordinated and relentless. The animals, likely enhanced by statuses, struck with unnatural force.
And then there were the short-chant spells, which I had to block at all costs, leaving me vulnerable to other attacks.
"I've been told to bring you back. Of course, they didn't say you had to be unharmed. So I'll push you to the brink until you're incapacitated." Svartá whispered.
Her words chilled me to the core as I desperately searched for a way to turn the situation around.
The only reason I'm still standing now is due to the boost from my "Status." But even that might not hold up much longer against someone like Svartá. I need to think of a way out of this situation, fast.
But under these circumstances, it's impossible to think clearly.
...No choice.
Amidst the battle, I reached into the shadows and pulled out the jet-black helmet, Hades Head, placing it firmly on my head. As its effects activated, I turned invisible. Svartá and her group momentarily stopped in their tracks, having lost sight of their target. I seized that brief window to slip through the encirclement.
The animals, dogs, cats, rats, attempted to block my path, relying on their superior senses to detect my presence despite the invisibility. While they hindered my movement, I managed to shake them off and break free from the encirclement.
"There!"
No sooner had I escaped than Svartá hurled her short spear at me. I twisted my body to narrowly avoid it.
Finally, with a bit of breathing room, I started thinking.
How can I escape this situation? The biggest obstacle is undoubtedly the soundproof barrier surrounding us. If I can deal with that, I might just have a slim chance of turning the tide.
Two ideas came to mind immediately.
The first: destroy the barrier itself.
The second: take out the person maintaining it.
But if it's a proper barrier, it's likely to have considerable durability. On top of that, all of Svartá's allies are cloaked in robes, making it impossible to identify the caster amidst the chaos.
As I racked my brain, a sudden idea occurred to me. Though unconventional, it just might work.
Still hidden, I smirked to myself before putting the plan into action.
I canceled my invisibility and revealed myself to Svartá and the others, even going so far as to sheath my dagger back into the shadows.
"...Have you decided to surrender and come quietly?"
Svartá asked, her expression a mix of suspicion and surprise as she watched my movements.
"Svartá, I just want to ask you one thing. Which god granted you all your 'blessings'?"
"...You should be able to figure that out with a little thought." she replied, deflecting my question with another.
A little thought, huh? That means it's a god I'm familiar with.
But none of Orario's gods would willingly ally themselves with a shady group like theirs. That leaves only the gods outside Orario.
The first to come to mind is Apollo, who was recently exiled from Orario. But knowing his personality, it's unlikely he'd grant blessings to this entire group. In that case...
"Of course, it's Ares, isn't it?"
Ares, the god of war. It's not hard to imagine him hiring someone like him to gain an advantage against Orario. War is, after all, an endeavor where any means can be justified. He must've sold that line to Ares and convinced him to grant blessings.
Svartá nodded, as if confirming my deduction.
"So, you're spies from the Kingdom of Rakia. How far you've fallen." I said, letting a hint of derision slip into my voice.
"Do you really have time to joke around?"
Svartá pulled a new collapsible spear from her cloak, unfolding it with practiced precision.
"Maybe not."
I responded while drawing a crimson longsword from the shadows.
"Svartá."
"What?"
"Don't die. Even if we're enemies now, I don't want to be the one to kill an old comrade."
As I spoke, I raised the blade, the magic sword I'd received from Welf during the War Game.
In an instant, a searing beam of heat illuminated the narrow alleyway, followed by screams from Svartá's allies.
"What the?!"
Svartá barely evaded the heat ray, her expression twisting into frustration as I swung the sword again, sending another blast her way. Though she dodged, the ray struck several of the cloaked figures surrounding her.
"Retreat!"
Svartá's decision was swift.
"B-but!"
"That sword, it's likely a Crozzo's Magic Sword! We don't know how many of those he has. If we stay, we'll just get picked off!"
Her sharp tone silenced any objections.
"Seeka, drop the barrier!"
At her command, the soundproof barrier was dispelled immediately. I remained ready, gripping the sword tightly in case they launched a final attack.
But Svartá and her group retreated with remarkable speed, vanishing into the night.
Only when their presence faded entirely did I finally exhale.
"Damn, that was the textbook definition of a dirty fight..."
I muttered to myself, gazing down at the still-intact magic sword in my hand.
Despite firing two powerful blasts, the sword remained unbroken. A magic sword's durability usually correlates with its strength, ordinary ones wouldn't have survived even a single attack of this magnitude. Yet, this one still held strong.
No wonder Welf feared these weapons so much. They're far too tempting for anyone who wields them.
Sighing, I returned the sword to the shadows.
So, he's finally made his move.
This is my problem to deal with. I can't drag anyone else into this mess. I need to put an end to it, and fast.
With those thoughts in mind, I started heading home, only to encounter a crowd of people gathering along the way.
"What's going on here?" I asked a nearby man, who turned to me with a shocked expression.
"T-Toki! Something terrible's happened!"
"What is it?"
"Y-your house, it's on fire!"
...It took a moment for the words to sink in.
Shoving my way through the crowd, I ran toward home.
Sure enough, flames were consuming the building.
𓂀═════════════𓂀
A/N: From this point onward, the story delves into an entirely original arc.
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