«Laura, we have to go back!»
«Didn't you see that? That woman uses an aura. And that man named Lüchenprague is an even bigger monster».
«But...!»
«There is nothing we can change by coming back. This is the rational option».
Amelia gritted her teeth as she ran, dragged by Laura's arm. For some reason, he felt like crying. »Rational choice»? You're crazy? How can it be a rational choice for you to die and me to live?».
When Amelia shook her sister's arm, Laura stopped running. Laura sighed. «Amelia, listen to your sister today. We don't have time to...»
«What is that?! Stop talking like it's the last time!»
«...Not that.»
«So what is it, why do you run away instead of at least trying something?!»
«Because this has a better chance of surviving!» Screaming angrily at her disobedient little sister, Laura continued like rapid fire. «Amelia, that woman didn't kill Felic. She used a paralyzing needle. He carried it as if he had a mission to fulfill. It means she doesn't plan to kill him now. And I'm still alive and well, too «.
«Ah...» Amelia exclaimed involuntarily. Even in the midst of that emergency situation, his sister had considered all of these things before making her decision.
«I may feel uncomfortable, but it's still the best option. Instead of getting killed for attacking that woman, this has a better chance. Now, if you understand, follow me». Laura resumed her movement as if even this was a waste of time, and Amelia was quick to follow her example.
After who knew how long of that, the Rainwales sisters met familiar faces.
«Hey? Laura, Amelia? Were you alive?»
«...Mr. Durbon.»
It seemed like something had happened in the middle or that they had dispersed because only half of the clan members who fled were there.
«I'm glad you're here. You have been lucky. We were about to escape from this city».
«Excuse me...? Escape?»
«Don't you see it? Lüchenprague has left the eastern district. What do you think that means? That side is already resolved and he is on his way to catch the lord of the castle. This city is finished».
When Durbon finished his explanation, the two men next to him added as if they had chills: «That man is not human. Did you see how his expression didn't change even once as he massacred dozens of people? I still get goosebumps remembering what I saw earlier».
«I heard that if Traitor sticks out his tongue it means he is very angry».
«If this city falls into his hands, it will be our heads on the castle lord's side that will be cut off».
Although it was a sudden suggestion, Laura calmly asked for the information she needed. «But how do you plan to escape? Through the front door...»
«Yes, the gatekeeper is watching her. But there seems to be a hidden side road. Apparently, it is the path that the commercial company Melta uses to travel to the other world and this guy knows it.»
«...I see.»
«Do you want to come with us?».
Laura accepted the offer without further questions. «We will go».
«L-Laura?»
His original plan was to head west, relatively safely, and hide until the situation was over, but this changed things. If she died, her younger sister would be left alone in this world. At least Laura wanted her sister to live like a human. This could be the last chance.
«Ah, I say it in advance but in exchange for taking you with us-»
«I know. If something dangerous happens, I will intervene».
«Ahem, sure... I'm glad we agree». The man nodded embarrassedly, then began to lead the group.
***
With shiny silver hair, pale skin, knight armor with the palace symbol, and a long sword once and a half times larger than normal, although he had never seen it before, he was a person he knew well.
Jerome Saintred.
He was the head of the First Royal Guard, the strongest knight of royal blood, who had the nickname Knight of Light. The question was why the hell was this bastard here now. This guy never appeared in the stories Amelia told me.
«Give me the Stone Fragment of Records».
Thanks to this phrase, the situation was drawn roughly in my head, why the Knight of Light who should have been sweeping the eastern district was here. It became very clear that the palace's objective was not to exterminate Orcules.
Defeating him... it wouldn't be easy.
I was on a different level than Rick Omanus, who I faced earlier on the stairs. He would surely have reached level 5, the maximum that could be raised with the secret medicine that knights took. At the commander level, he would have completed the level 7 awakening, not to mention the level 6 advancement event, and that was not all.
Considering the wealth of the palace, it would be safe to say that its seven essences are at least rank 3.
In terms of number of essences and mid-range, they surpassed me. Not to mention the difference in stats as a result of that, and he was also at a disadvantage as a tank against a knight. However, if I had to find something that could match him, it would be team.
Whoooom!
Starting at double digits, numbered items came with an indestructible low-level option.
Kwaang!
I stopped the sword without saying a word with my hammer.
I had never gotten into a fight like that. He always blocked first with a shield and then attacked with a weapon.
Seeing me block the blow, the enemy frowned. As a knight who could cut anything, I assumed he never expected his sword to be stopped by anything.
«Wait». I took advantage of the brief gap that was created after the coup and tried to talk. I didn't think it would work, but there was nothing wrong with trying, right? «There is a misunderstanding. Stone Fragment of Records? I don't know anything about that».
«You lie. There have been testimonies that you came from hiding and headed here».
Hmm, I see...
The wrong person's strategy didn't work, but I ended up with some unexpectedly useful information.
«But... you may have caught it without knowing what it was. Give me the necklace that the lord of the castle was wearing».
That method of speaking created something to dig into. «If you mean what the lord of the castle was wearing, do you mean this necklace?». I pointed to the necklace she was wearing and asked just in case.
The knight nodded. «Yes, if you give me that item, I promise there will be no unnecessary bloodshed».
It was a great victory. I had long ago put the Record Fragment stone into my subspace.
This guy, he doesn't know what the Record Fragment Stone is.
The necklace he was wearing was an ordinary necklace. With a large refined stone embedded in it, its entire effect was only to reduce the casting time when carried by mages. It was something I secretly embezzled during a past looting and carried as an accessory.
It's interesting that you can use it like this.
Humans were a communicative species. It was good that he tried to talk.
Tear.
I took off my necklace tightly. «Well, if you want it I can give it to you. Anyway, I only wore it as a souvenir».
«Souvenir?»
«He is the lord of the castle, after all. He ordered us to go out and fight and yet he went to hide in the basement. I followed him but there was nothing to take away other than this necklace».
«Hmm, so you were just looking for money», the gentleman murmured as if accepting it. I suppose that on the way to the lord of the castle he saw Omanus, who was stripped of all his equipment.
«Isn't it obvious to someone like me? Of course, seeing as someone like you wants it, this necklace seems quite valuable... But I don't see why it's worth risking my life».
Talkative bastards used to have ulterior motives, but this young knight who had probably only wielded a sword in his entire life did not consider me suspicious. He just looked at me with disdain. «Enough explanations. Surrender».
«Ah, but I need a warranty before that».
«Guarantee?»
«Guarantee that you will let me go if I give you this».
«I don't break my promises.»
What, because you are an honorable gentleman?
If I didn't really know how to lie, I wouldn't have been here in the first place. The lord of the castle did not know that he was deceived by the palace even at the time of his death.
Jump.
I broke the wall window and jumped high. Jumping from the fourth floor, I had a clear view of the city from the castle in its center. The eastern district, where the battle broke out, was burning brightly, and the western one was relatively quiet.
Flash!
With no time to observe him, a light flickered behind me and the knight appeared. It was an ability that could be recognized only by the effect: Gate of Light. He was of a rank 3 essence, and was ranked at the highest level among all transportation skills. It wasn't a half-hearted teleportation skill that sent you to a random location, but rather a trap skill that could specify a destination.
Ugh, how long...
I used this long before raising a barbarian.
«Did you think you could run?» As soon as I turned around in the air, the bastard brandished his sword and once again I blocked this with the hammer.
Wow, what a rush. It's not like I said I wouldn't keep my promise. Anyway, this is my first fight in the air.
Using the recoil of blocking the sword, my body was pushed back into the air once again. After that, our distance widened.
Flash!
The moment the knight used the Portal of Light to reduce the distance again, I threw the necklace in my hand with all the force I could. He quickly stretched out his hand, but it wasn't close enough to grab the necklace. For a brief moment, I could see the contemplation in his eyes. I was deciding whether to kill myself here or not. Thanks to that, I realized one thing.
Don't break the promise? Yes of course.
This guy planned to kill me as soon as I gave him the necklace from the beginning, probably to get rid of the witness. Well, it didn't seem like he was going to continue being stubborn.
A slap!
I kicked the gentleman in the stomach while he was distracted by the necklace. The man didn't even let out a moan, but that was nothing to be disappointed about. First of all, I didn't kick it for that purpose.
Voom!
According to the laws of physics, our distance widened again. Even as I fell, the guy looked at me and asked, «What's your name?». His voice expressed pure curiosity towards his opponent.
«You're stupid?»
«...What?»
Oh, I said it.
I realized my mistake immediately, but the knight did not take the Portal of Light back to me. There was a maximum number of times it could be used at a time. After the third use, you had to wait for it to cool down.
Flash!
Soon, his body was enveloped in light and disappeared from my sight. Without needing to look far away, I could see him appear in the direction I threw the necklace.
Well, I got rid of that guy...
When I used the Transcendent Leap to follow it, I felt as if an invisible platform had formed at my feet. When I kicked it with all my might, my body shot out in a straight line like an arrow. My destiny was approaching at great speed.
This makes me feel like Superman.
I chuckled and reviewed the brief fight that had just taken place in the air. The more I thought about it, the stranger I felt.
I should get stronger soon.
Approaching the center of a cemetery outside Noark Castle, I performed a fall technique upon landing.
Kwaang!
«Whaaaaaa!»
Simply put, that meant I smashed all the tombstones and rolled around for quite a while.
«...Wow, I almost died there».
I passed directly from the castle located in the center of the city on the outskirts, and the price was clear. Was it because I accelerated and pushed myself from above? Beyond the numbness, I felt a surge of electricity running through my legs. Considering my resistance to pain, it meant that they were truly destroyed.
...Still, I don't need to use a potion.
The penalty of an ogre essence was -40 natural regeneration. Because of this, my wounds barely healed in the past if I didn't take a potion, but the Storm Jet essence I took combined with the regeneration I received from the Immortality Imprint far exceeded this penalty. Now minor wounds healed naturally even with a simple lick to the wound.
Slip.
After a short rest, I stood up. When I looked around, I was able to locate the place I was looking for, because I had visited it before. It was a passage hidden under a giant tombstone, high and wide enough for a carriage to pass through. The first thing that caught my attention was a corpse.
He is the cemetery guard.
The man who had been residing here in the role of security guard of the secret passage was now dead with his body full of stab wounds.
Since I slept for six whole hours, Laura's side would have passed a long time ago... By now, Amelia would have joined them.
It seemed like I could only get there before this whole incident was over if I hurried now, so I quickly entered the passage. No, I was about to enter.
...Eh?
I stopped walking.
Step step.
I could see an old man in neat clothes walking towards me from the other side.
Hit.
The moment I made eye contact with the old man, my heart began to beat strongly. It seemed like he was dreaming.
Seeing me, the old man greeted me. «Haha, good to see you». It was Auril Gavis.