Chapter 245 - The Battle for Migul and the Pursuer
The pain was so intense I couldn't straighten my back, couldn't even sit up. Every step was a stumble; running in a straight line was impossible.
I had to get away from the House Leafclout mansion. That was all that mattered. My desperation grew, but my body only felt heavier. A glance over my shoulder revealed the mansion was still in sight. I ducked around a random corner, just needing to get out of view.
Though I hadn't run far, I was already out of breath. When I tried to take a deep breath to steady myself, a sharp pain shot through my lungs, sending me into a coughing fit. Even that movement sent a jolt of agony through my entire body.
"Damn, that hurts…"
I leaned against a wall, trying to calm down. The pain seemed to be getting worse. The numbness from the fall must have been dulling it before. Was it just going to keep intensifying?
Peeking out from the shadows, I saw street battles raging in pockets throughout the city. No ordinary citizen would be walking around in this chaos. They were all probably hunkered down in their homes, confused and terrified by the sudden violence. There was no sign of my pursuers, either.
The closest place I might find my companions was our house. I started running again.
I stopped short as I neared the house. The guards were gone. The gate was thrown wide open, and I could see flames rising from the thick trees that filled the property. I could only stare, stunned, at the scene.
"Hyakka… Patricia…"
Just as I took a step to get a better look, I heard footsteps behind me. I spun around to see two armed soldiers charging toward me.
I couldn't pull a weapon from my storage. The magic-sealing bracelet was still effective—a metal band with a magic seed embedded in it. I tried to pull it off, but it was clamped firmly around my wrist. I even tried smashing the magic seed against the wall, but it didn't leave a single scratch. While I struggled, the two soldiers drew their swords and closed the distance.
"Don't make this difficult. You're coming back to the mansion. Our orders are to kill you if you resist."
One of the soldiers circled around, cutting off my escape.
"Guh…"
I stumbled back to stop him, but the soldier was faster. Before I knew it, they had me pinned between them. I was completely unarmed, with no way to fight back. I clenched my fists and raised them, but I knew I couldn't do any real damage to armored soldiers with my bare hands.
It was then that someone landed between me and the soldiers with a light, dance-like step. She had short black hair, with sharp black ears poking out from the top of her head. Her skin was tanned, her eyes were silver, and a long black tail swished behind her.
"It's been a while. I've missed you."
A smirk played on the lips of the black panther-kin girl. A black tank top revealed slender yet toned, muscular arms. A slave crest was carved into one of them.
The soldiers shifted their stances, aiming their weapons at her. The girl responded by bending her knees slightly, lowering her center of gravity, and crossing her arms in a ready stance. With a flick, four sharp claws extended from the backs of her hands.
The soldiers moved first. One swung his longsword down, a crushing blow aimed at the girl. With swift, graceful footwork, she took a light step back, letting the sword pass harmlessly in front of her. She countered with a thrust of her claws, but they skidded across the soldier's metal armor, the attack glancing off.
"Tch, what a pain."
As she clicked her tongue, the other soldier moved to attack her from behind.
"Hey, behind you!"
"I know! Mash, just drink this and take it easy for a bit."
A small vial flew through the air toward me. A health potion. The girl had completely read the soldiers' movements. Without even looking back, she dodged the rear soldier's slash with minimal effort. As she turned, the first soldier followed up with a horizontal swing, but again, she evaded it as effortlessly as a falling leaf.
Then, shifting from defense to offense, she closed the distance with a sharp, sudden charge.
"Nngghhhaaaaa!"
With a fierce kiai, she put her entire body weight behind a devastating claw strike. The sharp blow met the soldier's armor with a dull clang, piercing straight through it.
"Gah!"
The soldier cried out and collapsed. As the girl tried to pull her claws free, he grabbed onto them in a last act of resistance. The other soldier was already closing in on her exposed back.
"Kuh!"
She twisted and pulled, trying to free her weapon, but the soldier clung to it, hugging her arm. The claws had run him through; normally, that would have been an instantly fatal blow. Even if he had survived, he shouldn't have been able to resist with such a grievous wound. Have Zeno's experiments made the soldiers immune to pain?
I shook my head, snapping out of it. This was no time for idle thoughts. Thanks to the potion, the discomfort and lingering pain were still there, but I could move much more easily. On pure instinct, I threw myself at the soldier who was raising his sword.
"Get out of my way! You want to die?!"
The soldier yelled, shoving me aside. In that brief opening, the girl kicked the other soldier away and wrenched her claws free. Bright red blood dripped from the tips. She flicked them, shaking off the blood, and a grin spread across her face.
"You're the one who's going to die."
The soldier swung his sword in a wide arc. The girl ducked low, slipping under the blow and closing in. Twisting her whole body like a coiled spring, she swung her claws around. They caught the soldier's head with a high-pitched metallic shriek. His helmet split open and fell to the ground, revealing the face of a middle-aged man. The girl drove her claws straight into his exposed face. The soldier collapsed as if in slow motion. Watching him fall, the girl retracted her claws.
"Riley!"
Overjoyed at our reunion, I ran to embrace her, but she put a hand out and stopped me by my forehead.
"Why the hell are you naked?!" Riley yelled.
"Between you and me, what need is there for clothes?!"
"You pervert! I'm a woman, you know! A little atmosphere would be nice!"
Her nose twitched.
"You smell like a woman… Were you caught cheating and got chased out?! Dammit, I helped the wrong guy! And I even killed them for you!"
"No! It's a misunderstanding! I'm the one who was attacked. You have to believe me!"
I tried to get closer, but she held me at arm's length.
"You think I'm going to believe a naked guy who's waving that thing around while he's running at me?!"
As she yelled back, the soldiers who had been lying on the ground began to stir. Riley's eyes widened in shock.
"Wh-what the hell? These guys…"
She kicked one of the soldiers back down.
"These soldiers just keep getting back up. I've got questions for you, and I need to explain things. Let's find somewhere else to talk."
"Fine, but I'm not walking through the city with a naked guy. Let's go separately."
"Why not?!"
"What do you mean, 'why not'?!"
"You're so loud. Look, I can't get my clothes because my magic is sealed. Lend me your pants."
"Like hell I will!"
Riley shrieked back at me. For a long-awaited reunion, she was being awfully noisy. I sighed and, seeing no other choice, stripped a cloak from one of the soldiers and wrapped it around my waist. I also took his longsword.
"How's this?"
"Are you a highwayman now…? You just look like a common pervert, but I guess it's better than nothing…"
Riley frowned and sighed.
"I got into town last night."
We walked quickly through the back alleys to avoid being seen. Unlike the main streets, these paths were narrow and dim. It was quiet here, but on the wind, we could occasionally hear the distant clamor of battle and the clash of metal. Countless lines were strung between the buildings lining the path, with laundry hanging from them. The residents clearly hadn't expected fighting to break out in their city. They had just been trying to live another normal day. Now, an eerie silence had fallen, not a single sound to be heard. After glaring at a line of laundry, Riley leaped, ran up a wall, sliced the line with her claws, and landed lightly along with the falling clothes. She could probably jump from a fifth-story window and walk away without a scratch.
"Hey, what are you staring at? Get dressed already."
I was admiring her agility when she smacked me on the back.
"What? This is stealing!"
"You were just running around the city naked. You're already a criminal!"
I wonder if they have laws against indecent exposure in this city. If so, how does Avea get away with walking around in a bikini? I thought, picking up some clothes from the ground.
"I looked for the Mateo Trading Company, but the woman in charge wasn't there. When I went back to ask this morning, the central building was on fire."
"You met with Claire?"
I breathed a sigh of relief when Riley nodded. If that was the case, then she, Yanan, and Doris must be safe.
"The Mateo Trading Company has that female warrior, Avea, right? And other adventurers gather there too. I heard you, Hyakka, and Karpana were at that house, so I came to check on you."
"Right, Hyakka did say you two worked together to take down some bandits."
Riley nodded. I quickly filled her in on what had happened. After hearing my story, she clenched her jaw.
"I went deep inside to check things out, but the building was destroyed. The only people left were more of those soldiers, and there was no sign of Hyakka or the others. That's when I saw you, running around naked."
I clenched my fists and gritted my teeth. Hyakka and the others had to be safe. They were more experienced adventurers than Levante. I pictured the faces of each New World member, one by one. I was sure they were protecting Patricia, too. I shook off the pessimistic thoughts and started walking. Riley fell into step beside me.
"So, why do you still have that slave crest?"
"…It's what I wanted."
"What?"
"Ever since our fight, Ito has been filled with regret. She says she wants to apologize to you."
"So what? What does that have to do with anything?"
"You get it, don't you? Ito is Emma's clone. She is Emma. If someone doesn't keep her tied down, she'll sever her own attachment to this world."
Emma, the transfer, had tried to kill Mizuki and me. She believed a god's promise that her wish would be granted if she killed the Five Goddesses' chosen. Her partner, Ito, had been killed by Yuuki. Emma had used her special skill to create a clone of herself and named her Ito. Then, realizing her own abilities couldn't counter my special skill, Ito killed Emma out of fear of retaliation, hoping to end our pursuit. It was a complicated story, but Emma and Ito were the same person. For Riley, however, who had served Emma, her master was one of a kind. Seeing her change of heart now was a complex feeling for me, especially after having seen her weep over Emma's body.
"Where's Ito?"
"She came to the city with me. She's at the Mateo Trading Company."
"Yuuki is also involved in the chaos happening in Migul right now."
Riley nodded at my words.
"The mistress of the Mateo Trading Company told me you were involved with Yuuki."
All emotion drained from Riley's face.
"I'll kill him."
"So, where are you headed, Mash?"
We walked shoulder to shoulder. In the distance, we could still see the building sending up black smoke.
"City Hall."
"What's there?"
"Marianne should be there."
I stared at the building on the small hill.
"Tch, it's always about women with you, isn't it?!"
"That's not… well, I guess it is."
I sighed.
"I just helped her become the chieftain of the dog-eared race."
Honestly, finding the scattered members of Levante and Hyakka's group, and reuniting with Claire and Karpana, seemed like the higher priority. But there was something I absolutely had to confirm. I remembered Ilisarie saying she had taken down the head of House Wanland, and my chest tightened. This is my fault. Because I interfered where I shouldn't have, she got dragged into this mess. If I hadn't done anything, she would have been safe.
"Don't make that face."
Riley nudged my shoulder. I glanced at her, and she grinned widely.
"I'll go with you."
"…You could die."
"It's you and me. We can do anything."
"Have you forgotten? About that day, in the heavy rain?"
We both looked up at the sky. The city was in turmoil and our hearts were in a storm, yet the sky above was a high, clear, piercing blue.
"It's okay. We'll make it in time. So don't make that face."
It was an irresponsible thing to say. But her words resonated deep within my heart.
"Riley, thank you. I'm glad you're here."
My voice was thick with emotion, and I felt like I was on the verge of tears. She nudged my shoulder again.
"I don't mind you talking about other women in front of me, but will you feel the same way about me when I'm in trouble?"
This time, I nudged her shoulder back.
"I'm always thinking about you. I was lonely without you. Riley, I've missed you."
I opened my arms, and she jumped into my chest.
"Me too. I came all the way to this city chasing after you. I've missed you too."
I held her close and we shared a gentle kiss.