Shrieks and screams resonated all over Mount Garank, some from people being attacked by monsters, others from assassins fighting each other.
“Seems like this is working great,” Caim commented, curving his lips in an ironic grin as he looked down the mountain.
Caim and his companions hadn’t climbed the mountain without a plan. They had incited violence among the monsters—and hopefully the assassins as well—in order to reduce the number of enemies. And, of course, such a thing was possible thanks to Caim’s poison. He had created a stimulant that would drive the monsters into a frenzy, making them attack the assassins. Moreover, anyone bathed in the monsters’ poisoned blood would be similarly affected, causing the killers to fly into a rage and fight each other.
Naturally, some monsters also had tried to attack Caim and the girls, so they had scattered monster-repelling incense around them and combined that with Millicia’s barrier.
“Perfect score. A hundred points,” Rozbeth said, starting to descend the mountain, knives in her hands.
“You’re heading out?” Caim asked.
“Yes. Their numbers have decreased enough.”
While many assassins had died—either to the monsters or each other—there still were some left. In order to be certain they were all wiped out, Rozbeth was going to deal with the survivors.
“Also, maybe that poison is working on me, because I really want to hunt some heads.”
“Please be careful...” Millicia said in prayer to Rozbeth, who didn’t turn back. Instead, she only raised a hand before sliding down the slope.
“Once again, though, I am in awe of your plan, Princess.” Lenka praised her master.
As unexpected as it might seem, Millicia had been the one to devise this fearsome tactic. It had come to her when she thought that if it was possible to arouse people with Caim’s poison, then perhaps he could produce one that would stimulate monsters to be more aggressive, causing them to attack the assassins. It frightened Caim a little that Millicia, who was usually so meek, could come up with such a devilish plan.
“I know this is a cruel strategy... But we are not in a situation where we can choose our methods,” Millicia said, looking down the mountain. Her expression was unusually painted with rage. “If we allow those criminals to roam free, the peace of this nation will be at risk. We must use any means necessary to eliminate them as soon as possible.”
A ruler couldn’t simply be kind. They had to be both good and evil when necessary, and possess the resolve to dirty their hands.
“I knew it. You are fit to rule. I guarantee it,” Caim declared. Millicia wasn’t just any kindhearted princess or naive nun. She clearly was part of the Garnet imperial family—she was meant to stand above ordinary people. “Anyway, I should go too.”
“Grrraow. You too, Master Caim?”
“Yeah. It seems we have an important guest. I need to welcome him,” Caim answered, pointing down.
A man was climbing toward them dozens of meters away—the first of their foes to arrive. While his clothes were tattered and soaked in blood, he didn’t seem to have been injured. The man was large and dark-skinned, wearing a bandana on his head and holding a shovel on his shoulder as he walked straight toward the summit.
“From his appearance, I guess he must be Deed the Gravedigger.” Caim had heard the names of several famous assassins from Rozbeth.
Deed looked up and exchanged glances with Caim.
“Oh... He’s good,” Caim whispered. Just a look had been enough for him to understand that the Gravedigger was a powerful opponent. Of course such a man wouldn’t lose to the monsters like the other riffraff.
“Do your best, Master Caim!”
“Be careful!”
Tea and Millicia cheered Caim on.
“Of course. I’m gonna win this quickly and come back, but I’m counting on you if someone else makes it here.” Caim entrusted Millicia to Tea, Lenka, and Lykos before charging at Deed the Gravedigger.
✦ ✦ ✦
〇 〇 〇
Deed the Gravedigger had literally been born in a grave.
His mother had been murdered by a man testing his sword on innocent people during the last month of her pregnancy. When his mother died, Deed should have met the same fate, but that hadn’t happened. Perhaps it was love, regret, or even the grudge she held for her death, but his mother turned into an undead and gave birth to Deed in the grave where she was buried. She then brought her son to the temple before being purified by a priest.
After that, Deed was raised in the temple. Since he was born from an undead, his father was terrified of him and fled. Despite the special circumstances of his birth, though, Deed wasn’t undead himself—he was a fully living human being. It was a true miracle, and yet people shunned him. It didn’t help that his body was different from an ordinary person—he was immortal, but not like an undead was.
Whether he slipped in the mud and struck his head on the ground, or got stabbed in a fight, or was in flames during a magical explosion, or ate a poisonous mushroom by mistake...he never died. Even when his mother’s murderer sliced his chest open, Deed had only lost a little blood before beating him to death in revenge.
Deed’s body was far tougher than other people’s, allowing him to escape the grim reaper every time. Because of that, the inhabitants of his hometown found him strange, rejected him as a monster, and tried to put him back into the grave he’d come from. He’d been insulted, stabbed, burned, and finally pushed from a cliff into the sea, never to be seen again.
The boy’s fifteen years of life had both begun and ended in tragedy.
However, a few years later, an assassin called Deed the Gravedigger started to make his name known in the underworld for his many successful kills.
Strangely, his first official target was his father. After his wife had died and he’d abandoned his son, the man had fled the town and become successful as a merchant in another city. Because of the speed of his success, many people hated him, and eventually someone hired an assassin to get rid of him. Deed didn’t know if he’d been chosen by the mediator out of malice or concern. Maybe it was just pure coincidence. Either way, Deed had bathed himself in his father’s blood and buried him—just as he did with everyone else. After all, he didn’t know any other way to live.
As such, no matter if his target was a princess or anyone else, he would kill them all the same.