LEGEND

Chapter 34

At the back of the Orc hut, they were attacking a man, who seemed to be taking a break, without alarming him. Sunyi drew her bow to the fullest while aiming at the man.

(In the end, his ability is only to tame a Griffon. Though there’s a bow aimed at him, he can’t even feel the blood lust. Really, Al worries too much.)

Completing her preparations to shoot at any time, she turned her eyes to Seryl, who was on the roof of the building opposite.

Catching Sunyi’s glance, Seryl gave a small nod. Al and Murgas signaled that they were ready as well.

(Rookie-chan, you can only have a grudge against yourself for owning a rare magic item you don’t deserve. We’ll sell off the item box to provide for our living……right!）

Holding her breath, she took aim and released the arrow from her hands, the arrow shot from the bow cut through the air, the next moment it tore towards the target who seemed to be resting. As it hit the body, Rei fell to the ground without a sound.

「Right, everyone attack!」

Seryl’s voice echoed at the same time. At that voice, Al and Murgas jumped out from the darkness with their bastard sword and dagger. Seryl also jumped from the roof, casually, holding a long sword and shield.

While checking the states of her three companions, Sunyi drew her bow again in case of an unforeseen event.

The moment the arrow aimed at him a distance away was fired, Rei’s eyes captured the arrow.

Though he thought of evading it or cutting it down with the Death Scythe if it was aimed for his head, the arrow was targeted at his body. It was probably aimed there as they judged it would be easier to target. Though the arrow shot at his right side was blocked by the Dragon Robe, he pretended to fall to the ground.

The next moment, he heard Seryl’s voice from the top of the opposite building as well as the sounds of two more people. Including Seryl, the footsteps of 3 people approached him.

(According to the information from Hobbes and Elk, Dark Night’s Star should be a party of 4. An archer, 2 warriors and a thief. In this case, the archer is the most troublesome as it’s a long range attacker, fortunately, it doesn’t have enough power to pierce the Dragon Robe. The next most troublesome would be the thief as he can hide in the dark.

While listening to the three footsteps coming closer to him, he looked for the thief’s position.

There was a slight difference in footsteps between a warrior and thief due to the weight of the equipment they carried. He listened.

(Left, is it?)

Seryl was at the front. Judging from the foot steps and speed, the other warrior of Dark Night’s Star who wore heavier equipment, Al, was at the right. He firmly gripped the Death Scythe that he had held onto as he had fallen.

Naturally, there was a difference in speed between a warrior and a thief, the first to reach him was Murgas who wore light armour, the thief of Dark Night’s Star.

「Murgas, how is it?　Was he killed neatly with Sunyi’s arrow?」

Seryl’s voice was a bit further away. Rei heard the footsteps near slowly.

「Wait a moment big sis. I’ll check now.」

Hehe, he grinned and smiled in his heart as he heard the footsteps approach.

Originally, the best way to check if the other party was alive or dead would be to throw a stone or dagger at it to see the reaction. In fact, if they did throw a stone or dagger at his head, he wouldn’t be able to counterattack immediately, but maybe Murgas didn’t have a spare weapon, or maybe he found it too troublesome, he just approached Rei cautiously. And……

(Now!)

Rei judged that Murgas had entered his attack range and acted quickly. He grasped the Death Scythe that had fallen to the ground when he fell and made a sweeping attack. Because he had attacked without putting in any magic power, his attack wasn’t anticipated. The Death Scythe cut through the flesh with ease and the bone with a bit of pressure, cutting off both of Murgas’s ankles.

「……Eh?　Ah, ah, ah……Gyaaaaaaaaa~!　Ah, my legs, my feet are, aaahh~!」

For an instant, he couldn’t believe he was attacked. Speaking while seemingly preoccupied, Murgas collapsed to the ground as he couldn’t stand without both ankles. He screamed while lying on the ground as the intense pain hit him a few seconds after the attack.

「Tch, he’s still alive. Al, let’s go. This is his final resistance anyway. Sunyi, cover us with your bow!」

Seryl had thought that the only magic item Rei had was the item box, Misty Ring. The Dragon Robe that he usually wore, even if you searched the entire Mireana Kingdom……no, not even the entirety of Elgin would have a magic item of this high quality, therefore, she thought that his attack on Murgas was a desperate attack of the verge on death after receiving a mortal wound from Sunyi’s arrow.

However, maybe that wasn’t unreasonable. After all, the Dragon Robe was made by Zepairu’s organization, in other words, it’s concealment effect was given by the greatest Alchemist of that time, Esta Nord. Others could not see its true value. At the frontier, it would be an impossible event for a rank C adventurer to see through it.

While thinking of this in a corner of his mind, Rei sprung up, using the momentum from the attack that cut Murgas’ ankles. He went closer to Murgas who was rolling on the ground crying unsightly and struck with the Death Scythe in a scooping motion, cutting him in two.

「Gah~!」

He raised a small scream as his internal organs such as his stomach and intestines spilled onto the ground, the light faded from Murgas’ eyes. Seeing the ankles, still in their shoes further ahead, a wry smile floated onto his face for a moment.

(I don’t have any particular guilt even though I killed a person, it seems. Well, I’m thankful given the present situation.)

「Murgas!?　Tch, he’s still okay even though the arrows hit!　Al, we’ll do it at once!」

「Big sis!? We should retreat!」

「Don’t say stupid things!　It has already begun. Since it’s become like this, we have to kill the rookie, if that guy gets away, the guild will give us a bounty. Be prepared for that!」

「……Sheet, I understand!」

Matching their timing, the two people swung their swords from the left and right. Rei judged that Seryl, the leader of Dark Star, was more formidable and decided to aim for Al first to decrease the number of enemies. With the handle of the Death Scythe, he swept up some of Murgas’ organs which were scattered around and flicked them at Al.

「Tch!」

Al was sweeping his bastard sword from the side at that moment but was blinded by Murgas’ organs coming at his face and evaded. However……

「Fool!　You’re careless!」

Seryls voice sounded through the area, but it was too late. For a bastard sword, its high power lay with its weight, However, at the same time, it was difficult to maneuver. For example, as when someone got close, as Rei did now.

As Al swung the bastard sword, he suddenly felt a wind and turned his eyes, the small figure of Rei and his robe was no longer at where he was before.

「Al, your chest!」

Seryl set her long sword towards Al while shouting, but it was too late. The huge scythe like the scythe of the Grim Reaper was about to swing down and take Al’s life.

(Sheet, big sis won’t make it in time. My sword isn’t enough……this, ending up in a place like this!)

Because of the possibility of his own death approaching him, Al’s head spun, he asked himself about the meaning of the life he had lived, regretting being cajoled by Seryl into attacking Rei……

「Fool, don’t give up!」

The moment he heard that voice, he returned to reality.

「……What?」

It was strange, he was on the verge of dying. Yet why was he still alive?　While doubting, what entered his vision were a few arrows stuck in the ground in the area where Rei and his large scythe were just before.

The moment he say the arrows and heard the shout of ‘don’t give up’, he realised it was Sunyi.

「Are you okay?」

The figure of Seryl appeared nearby, her sword set up to restrain Rei. Checking his surroundings, he finally realised he was still alive.

「Big sis, he’s strong. It seems the Griffon isn’t with him just for show.」

「It looks like it. Tch, isn’t that rookie rank G?　Who would think that he’s so strong.」

While listening to the exchange of the 2, a smile floated onto Rei’s face.

「I’m strong, is it? That’s right. Although it’s not much, I take pride that I have the strength to subdue a C rank monster.」

While swinging the Death Scythe, with a hyun~ hyun~ sound, at the two people before his eyes, he didn’t forget to check the state of the archer, Sunyi.

Being hit by an arrow before was just part of his plan. Being able to avoid the attack demonstrated that Rei’s body was close to a monster, if it were a normal person, the arrows would have hit his body without fail.

(I was surprised about that, that man called Al was clearly a decoy. When I swung the Death Scythe, I was attacked the moment I attacked. Still, he responded when she shouted out not to give up. ……I see. Trust, is it?)

After Rei participated in the subjugation quest, he was convinced that Dark Night’s Star was a party made up of thugs. However, though thugs may behave as so, there was still trust between them, he understood this for the first time.

(Still, I can’t be killed quietly. Their deaths were decided when the surprise attack began.)

Al, who somehow narrowly avoided death, was covered in cold sweat as he glanced at Rei. At the same time, Seryl, who was next to him, was in a similar situation. Sunyi pulled back her bow to shoot her arrows at Rei, given a chance.

He held the middle of the Death Scythe with his hands and swung it with a hyun~ hyun~ sound to restrain the enemy, he worked out a strategy against Dark Star while looking like a dance performance.

( In this case, the most troublesome aren’t the two people who can fight in close combat, it’s the woman called Sunyi who can support from long range.)

While brandishing the Death Scythe, Rei turned his gaze to Sunyi. On the top of the roof of an Orc house, attacks normally wouldn’t reach. Even if he used fire magic, the two people, Seryl and Al, wouldn’t give him a chance to say the incantation. So, there was no way to attack Sunyi. If he were a normal person…… But, Rei wasn’t someone you could call a normal person.

Using the centrifugal force from swinging the Death Scythe, he scooped out the dirt and stones on the ground and and flung them at the people in front of him with the handle, he then made a long jump backwards.

The next moment, he invoked the Shoes of Sleipnir while seeing arrows hit the position he was at just before.

Rei jumped to the highest point and used the Shoes of Sleipnir to step further into the air before falling.

At that moment, a few arrows flew towards Rei’s feet as he began to fall. If it weren’t for the Shoe of Sleipnir that let him step on the air, perhaps several of the arrows would have hit him. However, the magic item Shoes of Sleipnir overturned Sunyi’s calculations.

Sunyi saw her attack had missed and tried to to draw an arrow for her bow from her quiver in a hurry……

「That’s a shame.」

Rei was already in front of Sunyi’s eyes, swinging the Death Scythe.

「!?」

Though Sunyi tried to shout something, the magic boosted Death Scythe was swung down before the words left her mouth. The huge blade cut through Sunyi diagonally from shoulder down……the next second, her body slid down, internal organs and blood scattering onto the roof.

『Sunyi!?』

Though Seryl and Al, who were watching, shouted out Sunyi’s name, the light had already faded from Sunyi’s eyes.

「You!　How dare you do that to Sunyi!」

Though Al raised a vehement shout, Rei just stared back at Al and Seryl with cold eyes.

「What, so it’s acceptable for you to kill me but not okay for me to kill you?　Is the fact that the person you try to kill is fighting back something bad? Or are you going to say you are the only people with the right to kill me?」

「Shut up!　Get down from there now!　I’ll cut you down with my sword like you did to Murgas and Sunyi!」

Although Al burst out with an angry voice, Rei had no intention of coming down.

「What, even if you can take out a thief and archer, it’s too hard to fight someone the same as you in close combat?　If you’re a man, come down and fight fairly!」

「Kuku~. Fair and square, hey. Attacking someone by surprise and 4 against 1, I can’t help but laugh……no, talent as adventurers aside, you have talent as comedians, you guys.」

「Don’t joke around!」

「I’ll stop, incidentally, joke asides, let me correct your joke. I’m not a warrior. It suffices to say……I’m a 『Magic Warrior』」

「……What?」

Ignoring Al, who unintentionally asked again in a defiant tone, Rei started an incantation.

『Flame, thou exists in my domain only and cannot in other domains. My magic power in my domain in exchange for your short life, sublimate your life for a moment.』

At the same time Rei started his incantation, a scarlet line of magic power drew and enclosed the place Al and Seryl were.

「Tch!」

Perceiving the danger of the line, Seryl escaped from the magic lines by jumping backwards. However, Al, who’s rank was lower than Seryl, didn’t have that judgement. No, maybe he knew but seeing his companions killed made the blood rush to his head and his crisis perception ability fell.

If had his usual carefulness, he might have felt the overwhelming presence of death approaching. However, that would be another story. Al was already surrounded by the magic lines, his fate decided.

『Dancing Wild Flame』

The incantation was completed and the magic activated. A bright, translucent, red dome covered the marked area the crimson line cut through. Al’s cheeks cramped when he finally realised he was in a dangerous place……a myriad of lizards appeared inside the crimson dome. So many that it was difficult to count, the next moment, the lizards exploded simultaneously, turning into fire. One of them exploded, turning into flames, similarly, the lizards touched by the flame exploded the same way……so the number of flames and explosions increased like a chain reaction, the last one exploded, turning into flames and rampaging inside the dome, the scorching flame was so dazzling you couldn’t open your eyes. Al was instantly burned without being able to say a word.