234 - Arrival
――Most adventurers called first-class were expected to master multiple skills, combining their own skills with those provided by magic tools.
There were those who trained only a single powerful skill, but those were special cases, typically specialists. The adventurers were fleeing. A group of four, including their leader, were heading toward Beim, attempting to avoid the crowd waiting for them.
Everyone, starting with the leader, was using physical enhancement skills via their own abilities or magic tools. The four of them carried weapons and ran, having discarded all other unnecessary luggage. Due to their enhanced bodies, their speed was far greater than that of an ordinary person running.
Every member was a mainstay of the party, and they were fortunate to have a complete set, a leader, a scout, a vanguard, and a mage. With such a good balance, the leader believed they could break through if they pushed themselves, provided the group they were facing was of a reasonable size.
"Hurry up. Once we get through here—"
The adventurer specializing in scouting, who was running alongside him, clicked his tongue.
"—Tch, leader, pursuers. They've got us completely pinned. There's only one of them."
Told that their position had been accurately pinpointed and that the enemy was moving faster than they were, the leader made a decision.
"Any other pursuers around?"
"None. They're moving alone. Maybe they're confident. I hope they're just an idiot... but they don't seem to be an ally."
The man acting as the vanguard, who carried a greatsword like a slab of iron, reached for the hilt.
"Hey, then why don't we take them down before they catch up? Better than being caught and taking an attack, right?"
He was a crude man, but what he said was correct. It was hard to imagine the opponent being superior to them in combat. In labyrinths, there were monsters twice the size of a human, and monsters many times faster than a human. These were adventurers who fought such monsters.
It was only natural they were confident in their own abilities.
The mage backed the vanguard's opinion.
"It is more prudent to wait and attack or defend than to leave our backs exposed and be hit by magic. We can deal with them while running, but there will be casualties."
The leader spoke.
"...Everyone stop. Ready your weapons."
Choosing to wait, everyone came to a halt and took up their weapons. The leader showed a dual-wielding stance, holding two of his prized swords—one in each hand.
The scout said, "I'm a specialist, you know," while checking his gear, then drew a crossbow from his back and aimed it.
The vanguard stepped slightly ahead of the leader, drew his greatsword, and rested it on his shoulder. The mage readied his staff and began preparing magic.
Everyone secured their own spacing and moved to wait for the reaction of the approaching enemy.
The scout informed everyone of the situation.
"They're coming... from over that small hill. Five, four, three, two... here they come!"
Seeing a single adventurer leaping from the hill, the scout pulled the trigger of the crossbow. The expensive crossbow was designed to allow for rapid reloading.
As soon as he fired a bolt, he loaded the next. The mage shouted.
"Lightning!"
A pale blue flash was unleashed toward the enemy. Rather than aiming for a single point, the magic was cast over a wide area, swallowing the swift enemy and crashing into the ground, kicking up a cloud of dust. The four felt the explosion and vibration, but they did not let their guard down.
The scout shouted.
"Not yet! They're coming!"
They fired another bolt and saw a man leaping from the smoke. As the hood fell back, the figure of a youth with blue hair and blue eyes appeared.
"The enemy boss!"
The muscles of the vanguard with the greatsword bulged, and he leaped forward, holding the sword in one hand. The leader also stepped forward to advance. Then, Lariel, who held no weapon, grasped the blue jewel on his chest with both hands—.
Having dodged the cast magic and leaped from the smoke, the adventurers who had been pursuing him were waiting.
As he gripped the jewel with both hands as if enveloping it, the voice of the Fifth Generation echoed from within the jewel.
'First time showing this off, huh.'
A blue light was emitted, and silver daggers were now gripped in my hands. The daggers, the weapons of the Fourth Generation, were reborn in my hands as silver daggers.
The reason I went out of my way to pursue them alone was—to fight first-class adventurers. The previous heads of the family had recognized that I possessed that level of ability.
Normally, no matter how strong a person is, they can be handled if surrounded. Even if enhanced by skills, it is difficult to remain unscathed when surrounded. But what if one could break through a surrounding situation without a scratch?
I possessed several such skills.
Among them, the skill left to me by the Fourth Generation—.
"Full Drive."
As I whispered the skill's name, the movements around me slowed down. It was a skill I had experienced within the jewel, but using it also chewed through my magical power rapidly.
Thinking that I couldn't use it for very long, I dodged the attack of the adventurer with the greatsword who had leaped in front of me. It looked like a wide swing, but the swift slash brought down from above still swept up the surrounding air and bit deeply into the ground.
I moved sideways to dodge, but he immediately pulled the greatsword from the ground and swung it horizontally, splashing dirt and debris toward me.
He likely had a plan for when his attack was dodged.
As a vanguard with a simple enhancement type and skills to supplement it, he seemed to be a quite excellent adventurer. It was impressive that he could react even though I was moving swiftly.
He must have been a reliable adventurer who led the charge in labyrinths.
"One."
However, the daggers I threw pierced the adventurer's head and chest. From the adventurer, who looked as if he didn't understand what had happened, I turned my gaze to the adventurers positioned in the rear.
Three remaining.
The dual-wielding man who seemed to be the leader, and in the back, the adventurer with the crossbow was firing bolts at me. But the most troublesome was the mage.
He probably wouldn't cast a wide-area spell while his allies were present, but I still needed to crush him first.
I dashed forward and opened my hand, and a dagger appeared. Dual-wielding daggers—that was the style of the Fourth Generation, but it didn't mean he only had two daggers.
Multiple daggers appeared behind my back, floating in a circle and rotating. They would come to my hand if I willed it.
As I tried to pass the left side of the man who seemed to be the leader, he swung the sword in his left hand. His reaction was fast, it seemed everyone was an adventurer of a certain level.
I parried with a dagger, reached the mage, and pierced his chest through his armor with a dagger.
"Two."
The man with the crossbow beside him fired a bolt.
I dodged the bolt as it slowly passed by my side and approached the man with the crossbow. Then, he pointed his left arm toward me.
It seemed to be a hidden weapon installed in his arm. I cut off the arm along with the hidden weapon with a dagger, and then plunged a dagger into his heart.
"Three."
However, the flow of time around me slowly returned to normal.
The man who seemed to be the leader looked around at the situation in confusion. The man with the greatsword lay on his back, and both the mage and the man with the crossbow had been pierced through the chest, collapsing to the ground coughing blood, looking as if they couldn't comprehend what had happened.
The leader, holding swords in both hands, looked at me.
"What... what did you do!"
The daggers I had plunged into the adventurers returned to the line of daggers floating in a circle behind my back.
The Third Generation spoke from within the jewel.
'You could have gone all the way if you pushed yourself... well, I guess this is about it. Lariel, it's one-on-one, but don't let your guard down.'
"Yes."
Saying so, I gripped daggers in both hands and dashed toward the man who seemed to be the leader. Perhaps thinking he couldn't outrun me, he ran toward me as well.
The way he manipulated the swords in both hands was different from the Fourth Generation, rather than using one for defense, he used both for offense and defense. He was similar to me.
As I approached, purple lightning ran along the opponent's swords. When I blocked a slash, I felt a numbness in my hand, so I threw my daggers and created distance.
"I won't let you get away! As long as I don't let you keep your distance!"
Whether it was the opponent's skill or the effect of a magic tool, purple lightning was generating on the two swords, and I focused on dodging the slashes.
Since blocking them caused numbness, I gripped my daggers and threw them. However—.
"With just that!"
"Oil?"
They should have pierced. The Second Generation's skill—Select—had certainly aimed for the opponent's vital points. However, the daggers did not pierce but instead slid off. The man who seemed to be the leader had shifted his body slightly to the side and was wearing rounded armor.
However, when the daggers slid, I saw something like a liquid.
The leader, who had begun discharging purple lightning around him, closed the distance to capture me. The grass growing on the ground scorched, and some of the lush green grass caught fire.
I threw the daggers in both hands, and when the opponent swung his swords to deflect them, his torso became wide open.
I drew the handgun from the holster at my lower back, interrupted the use of other skills, and fired the gun.
The handgun, a magic tool, fired a bullet powerfully, which surged toward the man who seemed to be the leader.
However—.
All six bullets stopped, embedded in the surface of the opponent's armor.
The power of the handgun magic tool was enough to penetrate even monsters with hard skin. No, it had enough power to blow them away. It looked as if that power was being absorbed.
"Even projectile weapons—but!"
The man who seemed to be the leader stepped in, so I instinctively leaped back. The purple lightning was gradually increasing in power, and the swords began to glow.
Even as I dodged, the surface of my clothes was burned by the purple lightning, emitting a scorched smell.
"It's your fault. That I lost my comrades and equipment like this... it's all your—!"
It seemed he was launching desperate attacks, halfway just to vent his anger on me. While the surroundings scorched and the ground turned black, I threw daggers one after another.
The man who seemed to be the leader deflected them and made them slide, blowing everything away around him.
"It's useless! No matter how many of those attacks you try—"
"—Sorry. These daggers are special."
All the daggers had been positioned around him, but when I raised my right arm, they floated up and pointed their tips toward the man who seemed to be the leader.
Then, as they were fired one after another toward the leader, the man who seemed to be the leader tried to handle all the simultaneous attacks from all directions.
Even if he deflected them, the daggers would float up again and attack. The man who seemed to be the leader showed signs of panic at the endless continuous attacks.
I prepared magic. I bought time to cast magic by pointing my right hand at the enemy, and then I used the largest scale magic.
"Flame Burst."
A giant pillar of fire appeared centered on the man who seemed to be the leader, and then it swept up the wind, becoming a storm of flames. It then exploded, blowing away the surroundings.
The daggers rotated to form a shield to protect me. Using a shield made of magic as well, I endured the impact, and a crater was formed in the surroundings.
It had power, but because it required that much preparation, I needed to seal the opponent's movements.
At the center of the blast, the man who seemed to be the leader was on his knees, still holding his swords. He seemed to have endured it, but he had burns all over his body. Half of his face was in a terrible state.
"You endured that?"
"...Kuh."
The adventurer who seemed to be the leader collapsed, unable to endure any further. However, there was no liquid on the surface. Whether it was lost to the flames or an effect of a skill, I couldn't judge until the end.
Then, the opponent spoke while gasping for breath.
"Why. With that much power... why were you targeted by the guild? If I had known, there would have been different means."
Indeed, from an adventurer's perspective, it would have been better to assassinate me. In fact, that was likely their intention. However, from the guild's perspective, they couldn't assassinate me in Beim. My fame and the situation did not allow it.
The leader before me didn't seem to understand that.
"Are you making excuses after attacking someone's comrades and being countered?"
Then, the opponent began to laugh.
"Ku, kukuku, that's right. That's how it was. I was just countered. A fitting end for me. I'd forgotten because I was called first-class. I'm just bottom-of-the-barrel scum. ...No matter how high I climb, I remain at the bottom, huh... what will you do with our corpses?"
"I'll display your heads. As a warning."
Hearing that, the adventurer laughed a little, even starting to joke, "Then, it would have been better if I were in a prettier state. These burns are terrible, it's embarrassing."
"Hey."
The adventurer's eyes lost their light, and his voice grew small, as if he could no longer move.
"What is it?"
"It can't be helped that I'm stripped of everything. I lost. Take the magic tools too. I've done the same until now. But, this..."
Looking, there was a dagger that seemed out of place for a first-class adventurer to possess.
"The man with the crossbow has one too. Please collect his as well. They're poor quality and won't fetch any money, but to us, they're important... just bury them. Anywhere is fine... five in total."
The adventurer breathed his last.
I picked up the dagger, there were no tricks installed. When I drew it from the sheath, letters were engraved there. It was old but well-maintained, and the name of the party was engraved in the letters.
The Third Generation saw that.
'Memories with comrades from when they were rookies, I suppose? Honestly, asking for a favor even though they're an enemy. What will you do, Lariel?'
I looked around. The adventurers who had been blown away by my magic. The man with the greatsword was charred black, and the adventurer whose left arm I had cut off had been blown away but wasn't burned.
"...I'll have them collected. Five in total, was it? I'll have the Valkyries look for them among the collected luggage. They're not worth any money, so if they're found, I'll bury them in the same place."
Mireia-san watched my actions.
'I don't think you need to, but? Well, it's a matter of Lariel's feelings, so do as you like. Things are proceeding as planned, so it's not a problem if you do that much.'
My actions were apparently unnecessary. However, it seemed I could do them as long as they didn't interfere with the plan. Conversely, it meant that if they did interfere with the plan, I shouldn't do them.
The Seventh Generation muttered displeasedly.
'Hmph, this is what happens when you polish your skills this much but remain content as an adventurer. If they had become an officer in some house, there might have been a different path.'
I agreed. However, not everyone can live a wise life. I myself have not chosen a wise way of living.
It wouldn't be strange if I were to meet the same end as the adventurers I defeated at any time.
――Lariel had dashed off, and Ludmila, uninterested, sat in a simple chair and gave instructions to the surroundings.
If there were mercenaries or those related to adventurers who had fled, the East Branch welcomed them warmly and disposed of the others. Occasionally, she intentionally let some escape and send them toward Beim.
Ludmila had been entrusted with command by Lariel, but with things being so decided, the person giving instructions was bored.
"He should have just brought them along. I wanted to see Lariel's true ability with my own eyes."
Erhart was watching the Queen as she sighed.
Damian and Maxim were acting with other units, and Erhart, with nothing to do, was helping Lariel.
He intended to work at least as much as the value of the magic tools he had received. From the start, he had received a considerable amount of money by accompanying them under contract. The right to collect magic tools belonged to Lariel, so he had felt a bit hesitant.
Having gained knowledge as an adventurer, he could understand the value of magic tools to some extent. This was a magic tool that clearly looked like it would exceed a thousand gold coins. Erhart was not so ignorant as to simply be happy about receiving it.
He wondered if he would be asked to do something outrageous because of this.
"No, he said one person is enough, so one person is enough, right? I mean, is it okay for you, the Queen, to be here?"
At Erhart's question, the surrounding knights and soldiers nodded slightly. Then, Ludmila drew her sword and pointed the tip at Erhart's throat.
"Hey, I am still the Queen. I'll lose that position in a little while, but I'm still royalty, you know? Watch your tone. If this were a public place, I would have cut your head off already."
"Y-Yes! I'm sorry!"
As Erhart apologized, the extended longsword shrank back to its original length. Then, Ludmilla sheathed her sword, looking displeased.
"It was a joke,"
she muttered.
(It didn't sound like a joke at all. Jokes from people with power aren't funny!)
While Erhart was feeling angry internally, one of the knights approached.
"Lady Ludmilla, a group that appears to be allies is coming from the direction of the forest. It seems to be the units of Galleria and Lusworth, and they are heading this way. It seems the representatives of the two nations have also come, and they say they have business here."
Ludmilla stood up, shouldered her sword, and began to walk.
"Galleria and Lusworth, huh. The two great Valkyries? I heard they were coming, I'd like to meet them. I'm curious about how great of female paragons they are."
Hearing that, Erhart thought that female paragons might get along. However, one of Erhart's comrades grabbed Erhart's arm as if remembering something.
"What is it?"
"Hey, this is bad! If I remember correctly, the representatives of Galleria and Lusworth are!"
Erhart remembered as well. If he recalled correctly, rumors had spread that Lariel had seduced them on the battlefield. Breaking into a cold sweat, Erhart asked.
"...Hey, do you think a female paragon's scene of jealousy is scary?"
Erhart's comrades began to think of how to escape this place by any means possible――.