For me, Force Granz, the day began like any other. Erin was in charge of making breakfast in the morning, and then Note and Sofie took off with Roslia to go play holy sword practice in the dungeon. That left Erin, Neme, and me at home together. I wasn’t on particularly chatty terms with either of them, so I was thinking of doing some sword training or going out to shop for a replacement sword... But then the doorbell rang. I peered out the window curiously to find men and women in religious garb on our doorstep.
“What do these guys want...?”
I didn’t know them. No way was I friends with such a suspicious-looking group of weirdos. They were clearly dressed like Cecinaists, though, so I figured they might be here for Roslia or Neme. I warily opened the door, and the man at the head of the group addressed me.
“Neme Pargin is in this house, isn’t she?” he asked.
“Who are you people?” I asked right back.
The man raised his hand. I grimaced. Shit. My instincts... No, my Mind’s Eye was telling me an attack was coming. I could see a ray of light.
The man opened his mouth and uttered, “En Charl.”
I immediately moved out of the path of the ray and reached for my sword with my right hand.
“Tch!”
I instantly realized my mistake. I wasn’t wearing my sword right now—I was still in my house clothes. So instead, I hurriedly reached out for whatever was nearby. I ended up grabbing an umbrella resting in the entryway and thrust it forward between the ray—now rays—of light. Everyone behind him was now casting spells too. The rays I saw were actually magical chains.
Not even Superior Sword Mastery could handle six spells at once with only an umbrella. I managed to deflect three and entangle another, but that was the best I could do. The remaining two chains caught me by my arms and legs, then coiled around my whole body.
A binding spell, huh? Magic like this was hard to struggle against. Impossible, actually. It was a fairly advanced holy art, and I was dealing with it from two casters. I couldn’t move my limbs at all. I collapsed by the front door, cocooned like a caterpillar.
“I’ll cast another just in case. En Charl,” said the man at the lead.
With a third binding spell from him personally, I was restricted even tighter. There was absolutely no way for me to break out of this now.
“The greatest threat, Force Granz, has been neutralized. Sofie Deanlurk, Roslia Minkgott, and Note Athlon are currently at the dungeon. Suppress Erin Fortlord immediately and retrieve the target.”
“As you command!”
The group behind the leader bowed their heads before promptly barging in. I had no idea what was going on here, but no well-meaning houseguests greet you with binding magic.
My mouth was still free, so I loudly yelled, “Erin, we got a situation!”
“What now? I’m busy washing dishes!” She came out of the kitchen, still holding a dish she was drying.
“En Charl!”
“Huh?!” As I expected, she immediately fell prey to the binding magic too. “What the hell is this?! You made me drop the plate!”
So useless... Erin rolled around the hall, kicking and struggling. We were completely done for. Damn it!
Thinking about it, this couldn’t have happened at a worse time. Erin and I used weapon-dependent battle styles. Without a sword and staff, we were pretty much useless. Roslia and Sofie could hold their own unarmed—maybe even Note too. If just one of them had stayed behind, we might’ve stood a chance. But there was no use in crying over spilled milk. I had to think of a way to clean this mess up.
“What do you want with Neme?” I asked.
Figuring there was nothing more I could do on my own, I switched to prying as much information as I could out of the intruders. The man in charge had said something about retrieving a target, not eliminating one. So, at the very least, they didn’t plan on killing Neme. That meant there was a chance we could rescue her later so long as we could identify these people. Too bad their leader didn’t fall for it.
“What makes you think I’ll answer?” he said, barely sparing me a glance before giving his subordinates more orders. “We need to leave before anyone notices the commotion. Squad A will search the first floor and Squad B will take the second. Make sure you obtain the vessel of the saint no matter what.”
“Vessel of the saint”? That caught my attention. Neme had a skill called Saint’s Authority. I didn’t know much of the details—mostly thanks to Neme’s terrible explanations—but I could only guess these creeps were after Neme’s power rather than Neme herself.
“I’ve got her!”
A man came down from the stairs with Neme over his shoulder, magically bound just like Erin and me. She was struggling with all her might against the restraints.
“What do you want with Neme now?! Let go of me!”
That almost made it sound like she knew these guys. Even if they weren’t willing to talk, I was willing to bet that Neme would. So in spite of the risk involved, I went all in.
“Neme! Who are these guys?!”
“They got you too, Force?!”
“Forget about that! Answer me quick!”
“Cardinal Fuge is my old—”
“Silence.” With that single word, the man in charge used a spell to knock out Neme. He proceeded to do the same to Erin, then walked over to me. “I will spare your lives this time. You can thank God later.”
I could tell he was about to use the spell thanks to Mind’s Eye, but I was bound up so tight that I couldn’t even wriggle out of the way. The impact rattled my brainpan, and as I slowly lost consciousness, I glared up at the man coldly.
Just you wait. I won’t forget your face. You’re gonna regret laying a hand on my teammates.
The flames of vengeance were stoked within me as everything faded to black.