“Ugh... You’re not...taking my head...?”
“You helped me a few times, so I’ll let you off with this.”
Rozbeth and Mistress were almost the same age and in the same profession. They had been rather friendly, drinking together and sometimes teaming up for jobs. But they were professionals—and they were merciless against their enemies.
“I see... Thanks...”
“It’s nothing. Don’t worry about it.” Rozbeth pulled her knife out and Mistress collapsed. With her heart pierced, she would never wake up again.
Rozbeth looked down at Mistress’s corpse, her expression slightly sad. When was the last time she had felt sorrow over killing someone? Had she been influenced by Caim and the girls? If so, the woman once called the world’s strongest assassin had become quite softhearted.
“Farewell,” Rozbeth whispered before walking away to find her next prey.
“Hiyaaaaaaa!”
“Grrraaaaow!”
A little after Deed’s arrival, other assassins had started to arrive at the summit. However, Caim was still fighting Deed, so repelling them fell to Lenka and Tea.
“Ugh... How annoying!” Lenka complained as she avoided one rope and knocked another away.
The one who had attacked her was the Hanging King, an assassin who fought with ropes. While this was a strange way to fight, he was very skilled at it, controlling the ropes like living beings, which troubled Lenka greatly.
“You’re...strong...!” Lenka said, panting.
“You shouuuld just give uuup alreeadyyy! I shaaall wring youuur beautiful neeeck!” The man spoke in a very annoying manner as he twirled his ropes, preparing to launch them.
“I am the princess’s shield! I’ll never give up!” Yes, the opponent was strong—but Lenka didn’t retreat and faced him bravely. “Hiyaaaa!”
“Whaaaat?!”
Lenka propelled herself with a burst of mana from under her feet, closing the distance between them in an instant. The Hanging King may have been a troublesome enemy at a distance, but not so much at close range. There, Lenka had the advantage. He was unable to escape due to Lenka’s unexpected speed, and she stabbed him in the chest.
“Gah... Spleeendid...” The Hanging King collapsed. As he did, his ropes twitched, but they didn’t attack Lenka.
“I won...” Lenka said in between heavy breaths.
“Are you done, Lenka?”
“Tea... What about you?”
“No problems here. I killed them all,” Tea boasted, showing off with her three-section staff. She had taken care of her enemies while Lenka fought hers.
Thus, all the assassins who had reached the summit had been dealt with—well, everyone but Deed, who was still battling Caim.
“Master Caim doesn’t need our help. I’m certain he’ll win.”
“Yeah, there’s no way Sir Caim would lose. We should focus on playing our own parts.”
Tea and Lenka nodded to each other and were going to return to Millicia when suddenly...
“It appears you truly believe in that boy,” said a voice.
“Of cou—” Tea almost answered by reflex, but then she and Lenka realized what was happening, and a chill ran down their spines. They hastily looked around, searching for the voice’s owner.
“Lenka! Tea! Above you!” Millicia shouted, and Lykos barked next to her, pointing upward.
Tea and Lenka listened, and both of them looked up.
“Who is that?!”
“Is that...the Immortal Butterfly?!”
A girl wearing a Gothic Lolita dress was standing in midair. She had red-and-black pigtails and stayed in the air without any wings, looking down at Tea and Lenka. Based on what they had heard from Rozbeth, they deduced that this girl was the Immortal Butterfly, the oldest assassin in the underworld.
“We need to protect Millicia!”
“Ugh... I was careless!”
Tea and Lenka hadn’t thought about surveying the sky and thus had been taken by surprise. They hurriedly headed toward Millicia, but...
“You don’t need to be so hasty, girls.” The Immortal Butterfly waved her hand and hundreds of black butterflies with a red pattern on their wings swarmed over Tea and Lenka, stopping them in their tracks. “That should do it. Be good little girls and stay there.”
“No...!” Lenka tried to stretch out her arm, but it did nothing.
The Immortal Butterfly waved her hand again and another slew of black butterflies flew toward Millicia. With a noise like breaking glass, they easily destroyed the barrier Millicia had conjured.
“Ah...” Millicia feebly blurted out. She couldn’t fight and had nowhere to flee.
The black butterflies swallowed her up, and she vanished.
✦ ✦ ✦
〇 〇 〇
“Ooooooh!” After activating Shiyuu, Caim had been continuously punching and kicking his opponent. His eight chakras had opened, and his mana erupted out of him like lava from a volcano. Freely using its destructive power, he showered the immortal assassin with a barrage of attacks.
“Aaaaaaah!” Deed was also fighting back with every single one of his limbs. Blows as powerful as cannonballs struck him, but his otherworldly life force refused to allow him to die. Before he knew it, Deed had lost his shovel. Perhaps one of Caim’s attacks had knocked it away, or even destroyed it entirely.
The sounds of bones breaking and flesh tearing echoed as blood sprayed everywhere—and yet, Deed continued to fight.
What is this feeling...?! A strange exultation overtook Deed as he suffered more wounds than he ever had before. Not only was his body nearly immortal, but he also felt no pain. Even when his fellow villagers had stabbed him as a child, or during any of the battles he’d fought as an assassin, he had never felt that death was close.
This man... He’s different! He’s amazingly strong! Caim was stronger than anyone Deed had fought before, and for the first time, Deed finally began to sense that the grim reaper was looming over him.
“Hah!” Caim aimed a high kick at Deed and struck him right in the face, breaking his nose and making his neck produce an ominous crack.
“Ugh...” It hurts. It’s painful. I’m scared... Ah, I see. This must be what it means to live! Deed thought. Despite being born from a grave as a living human, he had always suspected that he was actually already dead. True, he had a warm body and a beating heart, but the way he could resist any damage had made him think that he might not truly be among the living. I was wrong, though! I’m alive! Yes, I am!
By getting closer to death than he had ever been before, Deed felt he was well and truly a living human for the first time. He had been born from an undead mother, but he was human...just a really tough human.
“Aha ha ha ha ha ha ha!” Deed cried out in joy at the endless pain that assaulted him.
“Don’t laugh as I punch you! That’s creepy!” Caim said as he continued his onslaught. He struck Deed in the stomach, kicked him in the crotch, grabbed his hair, and punched his face—Caim kept attacking him without rest, and Deed’s movements gradually slowed as time passed.