ONCE back, I found Eric, Sophia, and Milia waiting in the main hall with Bela and Isha and Sophia’s guards. The rest had gone off to their posts.
“We don’t get visited by someone like this often,” greeted Eric.
I’d told him in advance via Message about Alisa, but Milia and Sophia looked concerned. I hadn’t told them anything about the hero’s party.
“Arius, who is that…?” began Milia.
“I’ll explain once the fight’s over. She can’t do anything, so she won’t be a problem,” I answered. I cast Sound Isolation around Alisa and then told them everything I’d learned about the attackers using Evaluate.
Eric remained unruffled, but everyone else looked shaken, even Bela and Isha.
“Eric, I know this is your fight, but the reason Altana sent such a huge force was to learn more about me. Alisa is after me.”
“I know what you’re getting at. This is also your fight,” he smiled fiercely. “So let me ask for your help. Will you fight with me? I’m not such a fool that I’d sacrifice more people just for my pride.”
“I know. Show me how well you can put me to use.”
Eric sent the attackers’ information via Message to the two squad captains and the Ministry agents.
I had real-time information on the enemy’s location using Scan. They were about a half a mile away from the manor—the battle was about to begin.
“Arius…” Sophia softly said. She and Milia were putting on brave faces, but they couldn’t completely conceal their unease.
“It’s all right,” I told them. “We’re going to win, I promise. I’m not going to let any of you die.”
Sophia looked straight into my eyes. “Then I believe you. You don’t lie. But you’re planning to put yourself in danger to protect everyone.”
“I know you said you’d protect me and Sophia no matter what, but if doing that puts you in danger…” started Milia. She looked like she was about to cry. She probably thought it was her fault I was doing something extreme.
“Sophia, Milia. I told you. I’ll be fine. A fight like this isn’t that extreme to me,” I replied, taking my glasses off and giving them a confidence-filled smile to reassure them. Now I was in serious mode.
“Arius, your glasses…” Sophia gasped as she and Milia stared at me, their faces turning red for some reason.
“They’re not prescription. It’s fine. I’ll explain later why I wear them, but for now, you don’t have to worry. Focus on what you’re doing.”
Could they tell how much I meant it? They looked at me and nodded. There was heat in their gaze. That was probably because of how seriously they were taking this.
✦ ✦ ✦
IN the dark swath of forest near the manor was a force of over 500 people, a mixed group of criminal cleaners and mercenary dropouts. Eight cleaners stood out among all of them, each of whom boasted as much power as an SS-rank adventurer.
“The Merchant of Death has lost their marbles, getting together all these people for one job. It’s obviously overkill,” grunted Garow Stingray, the King of Crush. He was bald with muscles like a suit of armor. He was so insanely strong that he could tear metal armor apart with his bare hands.
“That just means our enemy is that strong. They did easily defeat Blast Garland the Fallen Dragon Knight,” offered Laguna Burst, the Crimson Blade. He looked like nothing more than a long-haired gentleman, but it was said there was nothing his crimson blade, burning with flames, couldn’t cut.
“Laguna, don’t make it sound like we’re anything like Blast. He was a fool, and the only thing strong about him was his pride,” Hysteria Blue, the Sadist Queen, chided. She was the kind of beauty who stood out from a crowd with curly blonde hair and a set of black leather bondage armor with a daringly exposing neckline, which drew the eye, but she was a top-class assassin.
“Just shut up and do your job. You’re getting paid, aren’t you? You’re all nothing more than my opening act anyway,” spat Hanoin Sahas, King of the Underworld. He was an old man with white hair and a beard, wearing a gray robe. He was said to be the most powerful magic user in the criminal underworld, and his kills counted well into the five digits.
“Shut up, you senile old man. If you don’t…my cute beasties are going to eat you,” Rost Clause, the Fresh Blood Monster Tamer, sneered. He was a little boy with an innocent face, but he controlled violent monsters fed with blood.
Hans Isen, the Devil Worshipper with bloodshot eyes, impatiently said, “Nobody cares about all that. When can we start killing people?” It was said he became one with a devil using forbidden magics.
“Hans, you are seriously broken. Have you considered just dying?” suggested Rosen String, the Massacre Doll. Despite her adorable girlish features, she’d merged herself with a golem, giving her inhuman physical capabilities.
A refined, good-looking man with a neatly trimmed beard tried to bring order. “Stop fighting. God treats us all equally,” intoned Robert Austin, Priest to the Cruel God. He was a priest in a cult that sacrificed babies, and it was this evil god of his that granted him powers.
These eight people led a group of more than twenty high-level cleaners. With the levels they were at, they could destroy small countries if they wanted to.
“You worthless lot! Are you so bored you’ve got time to chat? I’m paying you lots of money. Can you really take out that brat Eric and his friends?” shouted Duke Jordan, coming up with his squad of twenty knights.
Having been pushed to the edge by Eric, those twenty knights were all the duke had left. He’d borrowed money from shady money lenders just to scrape together enough mercenary rejects to increase his numbers. He had no future, and he couldn’t hide his irritation.
The eight high-level cleaners all shot the duke a hostile glare.
“H-Hey, wh-what are you looking at me for?” he demanded.
“I won’t just kill them, I’ll crush their bodies to dust until nothing remains, so stop your complaining and shut it,” the King of Crush retorted.
“The contract I agreed to was to kill all the enemies, not protect you. If I get a little crazy, I might accidentally kill you, too,” said the King of the Underworld.
“If you’re a good boy, I might show you a nice time later, so shut that mouth and smelly breath of yours,” shot the Sadist Queen.
Feeling pressured by the intensity of the high-level cleaners, Duke Jordan gulped and said, “F-Fine, just, you remember that!”
They continued advancing for some time and reached the edge of the forest, providing a better field of view. About three hundred feet ahead of them was the wall surrounding the royal manor, which was more of a sturdily built castle.
Leading his knights, Duke Jordan moved to the front of the army.
“Eric,” he shouted. “You think you’ve got me cornered, but you failed to finish me off. You cannot possibly fight off a force this size. Kill every last person in that manor!”
“No need to tell me. My magic won’t even leave ashes behind,” the King of the Underworld gleefully jeered as he raised his dragon-bone staff high.
A cluster of white compressed mana meteors appeared over the manor. That was the tier-ten, area of attack combined-elemental spell Meteor Shower. A Meteor Shower cast by the King of the Underworld was equivalent in power to a weapons system. It was powerful enough to blow away the entire manor, leaving nothing behind.
The white meteors plummeted toward the manor and exploded in a burst of light. After the light faded and the blast of air calmed, left in its wake…was the unscathed manor surrounded by a wall of light.
“A-Absurd… That’s impossible! How can it be undamaged after taking a hit from my Meteor Shower?!” the King of the Underworld howled.
“Well, you’re annoying. All I did was block it with an Impenetrable Defense.”
He looked toward the sudden voice to see a young man with silver hair and ice-blue eyes holding two swords.
“You’re—” His severed head hit the ground before he could finish.