Baltzarond’s voice emerged from the collective. “Prey trapped in the hunting ground shall be blinded by their fear. The more you struggle, the more you corner yourself.”
I took a large step forwards and thrust my fist out.
“Fool! Your fist is useless at this dista— Gwaaaaaaaaaaaah!”
A fist accompanied by magic power shattered the countless arrows aimed at us and blew apart the Rarze field entirely, sending Baltzarond and the other hunters flying into the air.
“S-Sir Baltzaroooooond!” cried his soldiers.
Some subordinates were blown completely off the mountain, falling headfirst into the woodlands.
“Didn’t I tell you to stop? If I can’t see clearly, I can’t tell who I should hold back against,” I said. There were only a dozen-odd soldiers now—roughly half of the group.
They exchanged looks with each other before rising with Fless and fleeing. Not a bad decision. Once they lost their advantage against their prey, running away was their best option. They only acted when sure of their skill.
“After them. What we want is their information and ship.”
“Understood,” Shin said. He flew after them with Lay, leaping into the Rarze that had been deployed in the sky after the soldiers’ departure like a trap.
“The people of this world are powerful. Don’t chase them too far,” I warned them as I flew down to the woodlands.
“We know,” Lay replied through Leaks.
A sea of overgrown trees filled my entire field of view. It looked like the soldiers had fallen right here, but these woodlands weren’t normal. I could feel a far more powerful magic here than in the enchanted forest of Midhaze—one that prevented my Magic Eyes from seeing properly. When I cast my gaze around, I could see one of their comrades hanging from a tree, unconscious. But there was no one else around. Finding them all like this would be a pain.
But then the problem resolved itself rather simply.
“Where are you, Finn? Reply if you can hear me!” Baltzarond yelled indiscriminately through Leaks. I approached from above to find him and his soldiers carefully searching through the trees for their comrades.
“Sir Baltzarond, we can’t spend any longer doing this...” one of his subordinates said.
“The Lion of Ruin is still an issue,” a second soldier agreed. “But we cannot linger in these woodlands for long. If the Two-Law Usurper appears, we’re done for!”
A third nodded. “Finn is a fellow hunter. He has always been prepared for the worst.”
“Fools! I, Count Baltzarond, would never forsake a subordinate! If your fear is truly so overwhelming, you may leave first!”
Baltzarond continued marching into the woods.
“S-Sir Baltzarond!”
“Please wait!”
His subordinates hurried after him.
“Hmm. If we ever get our misunderstanding cleared up, I think we’d get along quite well,” I said, landing in the woodlands beside them. The hunters immediately raised their bows. “Well? Feel like talking before we go another round?”
I folded my pale blue fingertips in front of me, and the soldier I had seen caught on the branch came flying over. I threw the soldier at Baltzarond, who had been watching with a grim expression. He immediately caught him with both arms.
“What are you trying to do?” he asked warily.
“You should understand my strength by now. Even if your head isn’t entirely there, you should realize you’d have a better chance of getting out of this by negotiating.”
Baltzarond struggled for words. He still looked extremely skeptical. “How can I trust you?”
“Everyone starts from the same place.”
He glared at me without lowering his guard. The soldier in his arms—Finn, if I recalled correctly—appeared to be seriously wounded. He was healing him with magic, but the wound wasn’t healing very fast.
“Let us leave unconditionally,” Baltzarond demanded.
“I can’t do that. This is an unknown world to me,” I said calmly, standing there without showing any hostility. “Let’s have a discussion. I can guarantee your lives will not be forfeit.”
Baltzarond gritted his teeth without responding. Was he searching for an opening, or was he actually considering negotiating? The silence continued for a few more moments.
“In that case,” he eventually said, but then—
“Wh...”
A drop of blood fell on the ground.
The blood had fallen from my lips. Someone had stabbed me from behind. I hadn’t detected any magic near me until the very last moment. But right now, whoever was behind me had far more magic power than Baltzarond.
“The Two-Law Usurper...” Baltzarond muttered, turning pale. “Take Finn and retreat now! I’ll buy you time!”
His subordinates were silent, trembling in fear. Baltzarond grabbed his golden hilt and ran forwards, drawing a magic circle and pulling out a hiltless blade. He connected the hilt to the blade and was just about to send magic into it—when his right arm fell off.
“Urk... Gwaaaaaaaaahhh!”
Whoever had been behind me had instantly teleported before Baltzarond. I could see them now: A tall man in a dark, dark cloak, with unnaturally long silver hair that swayed around him like it was floating on water. He watched Baltzarond groan in agony with colorless eyes.
“Gah... Urgh...”
The silver-haired man stepped on Baltzarond’s shadow. That action alone was enough to make him spew blood and collapse on the spot. The man stared down at him and mercilessly gathered magic in his hand as though to finish him off.
He swung, but his hand stopped right before Baltzarond’s eyes.
“Not so fast. He and I have things to discuss,” I said, having grabbed the man’s arm from the side. “But first, I have a question for you.”
Colorless eyes slowly turned to look at me. There was no surprise in them, no fear—the eyes of someone with no doubt in their strength.
“Is it customary to greet people in this world by opening a hole in their chest?”