novelzi Chapter 126
Chapter 126
Side Story: Eugene 2 (Part 3)
Standing before Kei was a small man. Probably a demi-human, some kind of lizard. I didn’t know his specific race. To be honest, I’m not even sure about the races of my own guild members. It can’t be helped, I guess. There are some habits from my previous life that I can’t get rid of. I’ve always been bad at remembering people’s names. Please try to understand.
“Ugh... you’re slippin’ and slidin’...! Are ya just gonna keep runnin’? Fight me, ya bastard!”
The small man was attacking, imbuing his knives with magic power and then throwing them, but they wouldn’t hit Kei. They were effortlessly evading them, their footwork like a dance. That’s actually pretty amazing. Those knives were aimed at vital points, and there were thirty of them. One hit would be fatal. And the fact that he was throwing them so casually, it showed that he was skilled.
“Eh? May I attack?”
“Ahn!?”
Well, it was a meaningless attack for Kei. They wouldn’t lose to anyone in close combat, unless it was hand-to-hand. But the fact that they weren’t immediately attacking... showed that they were also getting frustrated. By effortlessly evading all his attacks, they were showing him that his attacks were useless, crushing that smug confidence. The small man wasn’t even trying to hide his irritation. He must be spoiled, being celebrated as one of the strongest in this guild. It’s not just his body that’s small.
“Well then, shall we start with a light warm-up? Alright, right hand. Next, left shoulder.”
“Wh-Guh... Gahhh!!”
He was being toyed with by Kei’s whip, even though they were announcing where they were going to attack. It was only natural, because even an ordinary person would struggle to see their attacks. It might have looked like they were attacking at the same time as the announcement, but they were definitely moving after the declaration. Ah, he’s no match for Kei. My condolences.
“Y-You... women should just know their place...!”
Finally snapped, huh, after being toyed with for so long. The small man transformed into his beast form. Ooh, he’s huge. A two-meter lizard. But isn’t it a bit hard to move around in this space?
“Oraaah!!”
“Hmm.”
Ooh, fast, considering his size. Using the walls and ceiling of the narrow corridor, he closed the distance between them in an instant. And thanks to that, the slender Kei had been pinned down by the giant lizard.
『Heh, heh, heh... can’t move now, can ya? Now then, how should I cook ya? Little lady?』
The giant lizard, licking his lips, was convinced he’d won. Ugh, how gross. Even for an old man like me, it’s disgusting. Kei’s discomfort must be off the charts.
“I don’t like close combat, you know?”
Kei muttered this, frowning in disgust. The giant lizard laughed vulgarly, overjoyed.
『Then scream for help, beg for your life, like a good little girl! But before you do that, I’ll crush y...!? 』
The giant lizard couldn’t finish his sentence. Because Kei, who’d transformed into their beast form, had them in a perfect chokehold. Kei could also control the size of their beast form to a certain extent. And they were probably at their maximum size. The giant lizard couldn’t even speak, let alone move, constricted by Kei.
Eventually, the giant lizard went limp. ...They’re down. Rest in peace. The white, supple, beautiful snake reverted to its human form.
“Y-You bastard...!”
Schlie’s provocations were still top-notch. And with that beautiful smile... I’m sure he knew what he was doing. Scary, scary.
“Well then, shall we end this?”
“What did you say!?”
This is what they call an instant kill.
Schlie vanished the moment he said those words. A moment later, his white fist slammed into the man’s left cheek, sending him crashing to the ground. The impact caused the walls and ceiling around them to crumble. Schlie even had the composure to manipulate the wind, so the debris wouldn’t fall on us.
The dust settled, and we saw him standing there.
“I used my fists, especially for you. Manly, right?”
A large man was lying unconscious at his feet, his eyes rolling back.
“I mean, seriously, they’re completely ignoring me. And they don’t even realize they have no chance of winning. Are they delusional?”
That aside, the core members of our guild knew their own weaknesses and had countermeasures prepared. Those who couldn’t even think about such things were losers, that’s all. My, my.
“Well, I’m grateful that they made it easy for us to cause some destruction. Now, we just have to contact the king, leave some evidence where they’ll find it, and make a quick getaway. Let’s have the nation take care of the slaves.”
“...Don, look at this.”
“It was easier than I thought,” I was about to say as I yawned, when Schlie called out to me. I looked and saw a communication magic tool lying by the unconscious man. It was paired with another one. It looked like a fragile glass plate, but it was made of a material that wouldn’t easily break. How it worked was simple, the message you wrote on one would appear on the other. It was easy to use, and convenient.
And this was written on the glass plate:
《 The target is in my possession. 》
“So that’s why they were so confident...!”
“...This is bad. We can’t get a response from Meg.”
Schlie said this, his voice filled with anxiety. He must have tried contacting her through his Wind Spirit.
“Don, let’s go there immediately.”
“Yeah, we can’t just leave them like this.”
We quickly finished up here, and then immediately headed for the village. Just what had happened...!?