“Ahyahyahya!! This is how I killed the others, too!”
With his arm still impaling Soulgros’s stomach, the man laughed a horrifying, gleeful laugh. She moved her eyes to glare at the man behind her.
“Y-You are…”
“Oh? You don’t know who I am?” he sneered, eyeing the stricken Soulgros like a predator savoring its prey.
Twisting his arm to widen the wound, he elicited a pained moan from her. Her anguished cries only seemed to heighten his pleasure.
“Ahyahyahya!! I’m in a good mood, so I’ll give you a special treat and tell you!”
With a swift motion, he withdrew his arm from Soulgros’s abdomen. Finally free of the foreign object, she collapsed to the ground. Uninterested in her plight, the man turned his attention to Lucil, who was staring in disbelief, and Master, who wore a faint smile despite his comrade’s dire state.
“I am Luscelt, Guildmaster of Heinichen the Steel Matriarch, a dark guild such as yours! I hope you’ll enjoy your deaths!” Luscelt laughed heartily, thoroughly entertained by his own announcement.
“Next, it’s your turn. Are you ready to die?!” His eyes, wide with excitement, darted toward Master and Lucil as he prepared to strike.
“It is you who shall die,” came a voice.
“Huh?”
Soulgros, who had been writhing in pain on the ground, stood up as if nothing had happened. With a swift motion, she plunged a dagger into Luscelt’s chest. He looked down at her in stunned disbelief, not comprehending what had just happened.
“You shouldn’t be so confident just because you made a hole in my stomach,” Soulgros said coldly, glaring up at him with icy eyes and a mocking smile hidden beneath her mask.
To return the favor, Soulgros twisted the dagger embedded in Luscelt’s chest.
“Y-You!” he gasped.
“Don’t touch me. You’re disgusting,” she snapped, slicing the dagger sideways through his chest. A gaping wound opened, and Luscelt fell to the ground without a sound.
“Making a hole in a maiden’s body… Unforgivable. Die,” Soulgros spat angrily.
Her abdomen, however, still had a gaping hole in it.
“Wh-What? How are you okay?” Lucil stammered, trembling. He had been sure Soulgros would die from such a wound. Having an arm-sized hole in the stomach was undoubtedly fatal.
“Well, it’s a wound that would kill a human, but I am not human. While it’s not as if this injury doesn’t affect me at all, it’s not fatal,” Soulgros explained, patting her wounded stomach and laughing heartily. Blood continued to pour from the wound, making Lucil’s unease palpable. Master’s smile also seemed strained, his face pale.
“Quite the coincidence,” a voice rasped.
A hand grasped Soulgros’s leg with incredible strength, almost crushing her ankle.
“What?!”
For once, Soulgros’s perpetually calm and mocking demeanor cracked. She looked down at Luscelt, who should have been dead, as if she were seeing a ghost. He grinned up at her, relishing her shock.
“Impossible! I pierced your heart!” she exclaimed.
Indeed, she had felt the sensation of her blade stabbing through Luscelt’s heart.
Soulgros had gouged out his heart, ensuring he should be dead. It was impossible for him to cling to life like this, like some sort of undead.
“I won’t die that easily!” Luscelt snarled.
“Gah!”
Luscelt sprang up with tremendous force, still gripping Soulgros’s ankle. His grip was so strong that she couldn’t break free. Using her ankle as a pivot, he twisted her body around.
“Take this!”
“Ugh!”
With a swift motion, Luscelt’s sharp kick struck Soulgros’s side, sending her flying through the air. The force of his kick produced a sound that seemed impossible for a human body to make, as if his leg was sinking into her flesh. She was flung like a ragdoll, hurtling toward the lake.
With a massive splash, Soulgros plunged into the water.
“Soulgros!” Lucil shouted, but there was no sign of her resurfacing.
“Ahyahyahya! There’s no way she could survive that. That kick must have crushed her bones and organs. And now that she’s in the water, she’s done for.” Luscelt laughed, finding amusement in Lucil’s distress. The young man stared at him, bewildered.
“Well, I’m not human, just like that woman. I don’t know what she is, but I’ll tell you my species,” Luscelt said, tapping the wound on his chest where Soulgros had cut him. Lucil’s eyes widened in shock.
“The wound… it’s healing?!”
With a hiss and a puff of smoke, Luscelt’s wound closed up. In no time, the injury disappeared without a trace.
“I’m undead. Cutting my heart won’t kill me. Ahyahya!” he cackled.