“You! You’re the ones who…” I murmured.
I recognized our attackers. It was the pair of Hades worshippers who were at Aigis’s mansion that day—the thin man and the large man. Had they realized that I was trying to make a cure?
Sweat started to prickle on my forehead. The Hades worshippers were enemies you fought during the middle portion of the game, and each one of them had a power that was extremely annoying to deal with. We didn’t have the strength to go up against them right now. There may have only been two of them, but there was still no guarantee we could win.
Amid my confusion, Aigis elegantly stepped between us and our attackers. She felt intimidating, which made sense considering she was the daughter of a warrior.
“Why are you two here? He is my friend. Lay down your weapons and apologize.”
“Aigis?!” I wanted to stop her, but instead of listening to me, she pointed her hand at my weapon.
She was telling me that she’d buy time for us to catch them off guard. She really was a daughter of House Bloody.
The slender man smiled, trying to look like he was on Aigis’s side. “We were so worried when we saw that you’d left the mansion, we came looking for you, Lady Aigis. Let me guess, they were trying to kidnap you, right? That’s the only reason they would bring you to such a remote place. That man is famous for being a corrupt hack of a lord. He’s only going to use you.”
Yeah, my bad reputation preceded me for sure. This would’ve definitely been dangerous had we not already formed a relationship built on trust—but we were real friends now.
“So, you followed me?” Aigis said. “Sorry, but I already know why my mother is sick. You made her drink mandrake poison! Now, apologize for insulting my friend. If you do that, I promise to spare your lives.”
“How did you find out?!” yelled the large man, shaken by the sudden reveal.
Honestly, I was just glad that Aigis was willing to go to bat for me, especially considering that she never opened up to anyone in the game.
“Idiot! You should’ve kept a straight face.” The slender man’s flattering tone vanished as he laid his own bloodlust bare. “As for you, well, I suppose we have no choice. We’ll have to kill every last one of you!”
“Yeah, sorry.” The larger worshipper raised his arms. “We can’t let you escape. I’ll crush you with the muscles I received from Lord Hades!”
There was no way we’d keep breathing if we got hit with those arms of his, but that relied on his hits making contact.
“Not on my watch! Ice, come forth!” Rosalia shouted as she slipped between Aigis and the worshippers, using her ice to freeze the large man.
“Shadow!” I unleashed the magic I had prepared in secret and restrained the slender man with my shadow.
Normally, this would’ve spelled victory for us, but this wouldn’t be that easy. In fact, the slender man was grinning ominously.
“Ha, don’t underestimate us. We have been blessed by Lord Hades! I summon you, kin.”
“That ice is meaningless in the face of my muscles!” The larger man hugged the ice in his arms and crushed it.
“My ice!” Rosalia gasped.
“What’s with these guys?!” was all I could exclaim.
Meanwhile, the slender worshipper’s hand glowed, and he summoned a sinister crow that almost looked like it was made of condensed darkness.
The Divine Beast on my shoulder let out a worried sound: “Kew…”
“Summoning magic? Not bad,” I said to myself. Unfortunately for these guys, I now had a good idea of what type of characters they were, and I had experience with fighting them in the game!
“The large guy is strong, but that’s it,” I told my comrades. “His speed and defense aren’t anything to write home about. Just stay away from his attacks! The slender guy uses his crow to quickly strike your vitals, but he’s not a big deal otherwise!”
“Got it. Then we just have to take them down fast, right?” Aigis said. “Allow me to fill you in on a little secret, big man. There are times when well-trained might surpasses pure strength!”
“Ha! Your speed stands no chance in the face of my Mireille’s tentacles!” Nyarl said.
“Er, what?” I asked.
Aigis sped toward the large man who was gloating after smashing Rosalia’s ice, then swung her sword into him so violently that he was sent flying through the trees. It was almost comical.
“But my muscles!” he called as he went.
Meanwhile, Nyarl cockily snapped his fingers, producing countless tentacles from the cuffs of his clothes, which ensnared the shadowy crow and crushed it.
“It’s meal time, Mireille,” he said calmly. “Eat your fill, honey.”
“Impossible! How could you catch my kin like that?!” the slender worshipper cried.
“You guys are this strong?!” I asked the pair as I choked the worshipper I had in my shadow’s grasp and knocked him out.
“Of course I am. I’m a warrior of House Bloody,” Aigis said. “This is just good etiquette for a lady.”
“All nobility must be able to at least protect themselves,” Nyarl said.
Their responses sounded proud.
“Well done, both of you. But Lord Weiss is also very strong,” Rosalia added.
I should have figured Aigis could do this much. She was one of the most powerful enemies in the game. Maybe her crazy stats weren’t from having a magic sword equipped but because of her own abilities. I made a mental note never to make her angry.
As for Nyarl, I didn’t really know one way or the other. Maybe he was a character who’d be added into the game in a future update or something. Either way, if I had these two on my side, we might be able to gather comrades even stronger than the hero’s party and develop our territories together. I could feel my heart beat faster just thinking about it.
Weiss, I’m going to make our territory the best in all the land and help your dream come true.
“Lady Aigis, can you go fetch the large worshipper you sent flying?” I asked her. “Let’s hand him over to Lord Reinhard when we finish up here. I’ll keep an eye on this guy in the meantime.”
“’Kaaay!” she replied enthusiastically. “Nyarl, come with me. I sent him way farther than I thought.”
“Ha ha, well, you are as strong as a beast… Eek! Don’t glare at me like that!”
I listened to the two of them chattering while I kept an eye on the other worshipper. If I handed these guys over to Lord Reinhard along with the medicine for his wife, he would probably believe what I had to tell him regarding the stampede.
“Lord Weiss, I can handle this one,” Rosalia said, indicating the Hades worshipper I was holding with my shadow.