Chapter 79
Chapter 79
Cecil slowly began to move her steps. Her movements were like the shadows of the night, so the assassins confronting Camille failed to notice her presence.
The man who appeared to be the leader spoke with a sneer. The aura he emitted was far from ordinary.
Camille showed clear signs of exhaustion, yet she still gripped her sword firmly.
“I admit you are stronger than expected. But unfortunately, you chose the wrong side. Your mercenary group and your master will all die here today.”
Camille let out a sardonic smile and spat out her words as if crushing them.
“Pfft. What bullshit are you spouting. Looks like you’re seriously mistaken about something, but the ones dying here aren’t us—it’s you bastards. The one who chose the wrong side isn’t me, it’s you idiots. You have no idea what kind of monster our young master is, do you? Heh heh. You morons…….”
Before Camille’s words could even finish, Cecil’s figure blurred. Her body scattered like mist, and in an instant she disappeared into the center of the enemy ranks.
The man who seemed to be the leader muttered. But before he could finish his words, a shocking sight unfolded.
“What!?”
Cecil’s dagger flashed eerily and in an instant pierced through an assassin’s neck.
“Keuak!”
Her movements were so fast that they were difficult to follow with the naked eye. Only after blood spurted like a fountain did the other assassins finally recognize her presence.
“W-what is that!”
“Where did that bitch come from!”
The assassins shouted in shock, but it was already too late. Cecil moved gracefully between them as if dancing. The daggers in both her hands bloomed flowers of death and cut the enemies down.
Chwajajajajak!!!
Slice! Slice! Slice! Slice!
One assassin aimed for Cecil’s back and swung his sword, but as if she had anticipated it, she lowered her body and avoided it. Then, maintaining that posture, she spun and split the assassin’s abdomen open.
“Kkeuaaaak!!!!”
With a scream, the assassin collapsed. Yet Cecil’s movements did not stop. She stepped on the back of the fallen assassin and leapt into the air.
“She’s up there!”
The assassins shouted as they looked upward. But all they saw reflected in their eyes was a silver trajectory gleaming in the moonlight.
“Where did she disappear to?”
“Damn it! Get a hold of yourselves!”
“What are you doing, you idiots!”
Cecil’s movements grew faster and faster. The trajectory her daggers drew emitted a mysterious light beneath the moon. It was enough to create the illusion that the Goddess of the Moon had descended to dance.
“Where did she go?”
“Be careful! We don’t know where she is!”
While the assassins stood back-to-back on guard, Cecil had already descended among them.
“I am here.”
Along with Cecil’s calm voice, a silver flash burst forth. In that instant, three assassins fell simultaneously. Her daggers had precisely pierced their hearts.
“Uaaaaaak!!!”
“Spare me!!!”
The screams of those whose vital points had been pierced filled the backyard. In less than two minutes, more than twenty assassins had fallen. Fear spread across the faces of the remaining assassins.
Camille’s eyes widened.
It seemed she was seeing this side of Cecil for the first time as well. Naturally so. On the surface, she was merely an ordinary maid missing one arm.
“Cecil. You……!?”
Instead of answering, Cecil gave a faint smile.
Her movements did not cease. Her daggers continued to dance as they drank the enemies’ blood.
Under the moonlight, as she performed a sword dance, her figure created the intense illusion that the Reaper had descended.
An assassin charged desperately toward Cecil. But as if walking on water, she lightly avoided him. In an instant, she moved behind his back and slit his throat.
Slice!
“Kraaaak!”
Another assassin aimed for Cecil’s back. But she seemed to have already seen through his intent. She leaned her body backward to avoid the assassin’s sword, and in that posture, she countered by swinging her dagger and splitting his abdomen open.
“T-this makes no sense!”
The remaining assassins shouted in terror. In their eyes, Cecil now seemed like a living nightmare.
“Fall back! That bitch is a monster!”
“Damn it. Damn it. Damn it. What the hell is going on!”
The remaining assassins tried to flee, but Cecil did not let them go. Her figure blurred, and in an instant she appeared in front of those who were running away.
“I’m sorry, but I cannot allow you to retreat here.”
Cecil’s voice remained gentle, but her gaze was as cold as ice.
“Kraaaak!”
The assassins who had tried to escape collapsed all at once. Cecil’s daggers had pierced their throats.
When the last assassin fell, Cecil slowly straightened her body. The backyard was now filled with fallen corpses, and pools of blood reflected the moonlight, glowing red.
Realizing that something had gone terribly wrong, the man who appeared to be the leader muttered in a flustered voice.
“…T-this can’t be!”
Now left alone, the man faced Cecil and Camille. His face had turned pale, and his entire body trembled.
“Cecil…….”
Camille called her name in a trembling voice. In her eyes lingered reverence, along with a trace of fear.
The martial prowess shown by the woman she had thought was merely an ordinary maid made Camille’s entire body bristle.
Cecil slowly approached Camille. Blood was splattered across her clothes and face, yet her expression was as gentle as ever.
“Camille. Are you all right?”
Her voice had returned to its usual soft tone. Camille hesitated for a moment before finally answering.
“I-I am fine. But you, just what are you…….”
At that moment, I approached them.
I had known that Cecil possessed exceptional martial prowess, but seeing it with my own eyes, I could not help but be astonished by its power once again.
‘How is that kind of movement even possible with one arm?’
I looked at Camille and let out a faint chuckle.
“Did you think Cecil was just an ordinary maid? As you’ve just seen, Cecil is not only the maid who attends me but also my guard. I am, after all, the youngest young master of Winterbell—shouldn’t I at least have a guard with this level of martial prowess?”
“Th-that may be true, but…….”
At my words, Cecil and Camille nodded. Together, we walked toward the leader.
He appeared to have completely lost his will to fight.
I asked him,
“Are you Zephyr?”
“…….”
“You’re a tight-lipped one.”
As soon as I finished speaking, I approached him and broke two fingers on his right hand.
Crack!
“Guhk!”
Looking at his fingers bent into a grotesque shape, I spoke in a low voice.
“After the fingers, it’s the toes. After the toes, the fingernails. After the fingernails, the toenails. And when that’s done, I’ll peel your skin off stitch by stitch.”
At my words, the man’s face turned pale. As if he had gone through countless thoughts in a fleeting instant, he carefully opened his mouth.
“If I speak honestly, will you spare my life?”
I almost laughed but held it in.
How was it that none of these bastards had even a speck of loyalty?
Well, one’s own life was the most important thing.
On that point, I agreed as well.
There were those who lost their lives like dogs over things like honor, pride, and the like. They were the kind I understood the least.
“I will spare you. But only if the information you provide is worth that price. Otherwise…….”
I deliberately trailed off.
Gulp.
The man’s Adam’s apple bobbed up and down.
“You understand even if I don’t spell it out, don’t you?”
The man who appeared to be the leader nodded with a gloomy face.
By now, he was probably envisioning his own future—his entire body torn to pieces.
‘The village chief is nowhere to be seen. Did he already run?’
It was almost certain that this entire village was part of Zephyr. However, one thing puzzled me: even with my perception, I had not been able to gauge their level.
“Are you perhaps wearing artifacts?”
“!”
“So you are.”
The man who seemed to be the leader looked flustered.
“…Yes.”
“What kind of artifact?”
“An anti-detection artifact that artificially lowers one’s mana.”
I let out a laugh in disbelief. A mere band of thieves wearing such artifacts?
And every single one of them?
I became very curious about who was backing them.
“Hahaha! A mere band of thieves, yet every single one of you possesses an anti-detection artifact……. So that’s why we couldn’t notice you.”
“…….”
“It was all planned from the beginning.”
“…….”
“You already knew we would come here, didn’t you?”
“…….”
“Answer.”
I broke one of his fingers.
Crack.
“Uaaaaaagh!!”
Do you know the defining trait of these bastards? If you speak nicely, they do not listen.
“Why not just answer properly?”
“S-sorry.”
“Sorry?”
“…I apologize.”
“Where did you get that artifact?”
“……Th-that is.”
The man was still hesitating. Was the one who gave him the artifact more frightening than I was standing before him?
“That makes sense. I understand. The one who entrusted you with this job must be more terrifying than I am, which is why you tried to kill me. Yes, of course.”
“…….”
Slice!
As I swung my sword, his wrist was cleanly severed and fell to the ground.
“Aaaaaaagh!!!”
“I do not hesitate. I’ll show you clearly who you dared to lay a hand on.”
“W-w-wait! I’ll tell you everything! P-please!”
It seemed he finally understood the situation.
Though he possessed decent martial skill, in the end he was nothing more than a mere bandit.
“I do belong to Zephyr. We already knew in advance that you would arrive here. So we killed the villagers and disguised ourselves as them.”
“Did you also hire the other bandit groups?”
“Yes. We entrusted the task to bandit groups under our command.”
“Then who was it that entrusted you with this mission?”
The man’s lips trembled. He must have sensed his own fate.
“They……. called themselves this.”
“…….”
“Pandemonium.”
My expression hardened.
Cecil and I had heard that name before.
It was the unidentified organization that had attacked us to obtain Attica and had relentlessly tormented us all this time.
In a way, they could also be said to be the cause of my aunt’s death.
And yet their name surfaced once again.
“…They were the ones who ordered us to take on this mission.”