kscans

Chapter 245 - The Siege of Miglutt and the Pursuer

The pain was so intense I couldn't straighten my back, couldn't even sit up. Every step I took sent me stumbling; I couldn't even run in a straight line. I just had to get away from the Leafkraut family's estate. My mind raced with panic, but my body only grew heavier. When I glanced back, the mansion was still visible. Desperate to hide, I ducked around the nearest corner.

I hadn't run far at all, but 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 small movement sent a fresh wave of agony coursing through my entire body.

"Damn, that hurts..."

I leaned against a wall, trying to calm down. The pain seemed to be getting worse. When I first fell, there must have been a numbness that dulled the agony. Was it just going to keep intensifying?

I peeked out from the shadows onto the street. Urban warfare was breaking out all over the city. No ordinary citizen would be walking around in a situation like this. They were probably all huddled inside their homes, terrified by the sudden chaos. And there was no sign of my pursuers.

My house was the closest place where my allies were likely to be. I started running again.

As I neared the house, I froze. There were no guards. The gate was wide open, and I could see flames rising from the thick trees on the property. I could only stare, stunned at the sight.

"Hyakka... Patricia..."

Just as I started to move forward to get a better look, I heard footsteps behind me. I spun around to see two armed soldiers sprinting toward me. I couldn't summon a weapon from my storage; the magic-sealing bracelet was still active. It was a metal band, inlaid with a Mana Seed. I tried to pull it off, but it was clamped firmly around my wrist. I considered smashing the Mana Seed and slammed my wrist against the wall, but it didn't even leave a 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 moved to cut off my escape route.

"Guh..."

I backed away to stop him, but the soldier was faster. Before I knew it, I was trapped between them with no way to resist. I was completely unarmed. I balled my fists and took a stance, but I knew I couldn't damage an armored soldier with my bare hands.

It was at that moment someone landed between me and the soldiers with a light, feathery step. Black, cropped hair, with two pointed black ears sticking out from the top of her head. Tanned skin and silver eyes. And a long, black tail.

"Long time no see. I've missed you."

A girl from the black panther tribe smirked, her lips curling into a grin. Her arms, extending from a black tank top, were slender but toned with lean muscle. A Slave Mark was etched into one of them. The soldiers readjusted their grips, aiming their weapons at her. In response, the black panther girl bent her knees slightly, lowered her center of gravity, and crossed her arms. Four sharp claws shot out from the back of each hand.

The soldiers moved first. One of them swung his longsword down, a crushing blow aimed at the panther girl's head. With lithe, swift footwork, she took a light step back, letting the sword whistle past her. She countered, thrusting her claws at the soldier, but they scraped across his metal armor, the attack deflecting harmlessly.

"Tch, what a pain."

As she clicked her tongue in annoyance, the other soldier came at her from behind.

"Hey, behind you!"

"I know! Mash, you just drink this and take it easy."

A small vial flew through the air toward me. A health potion. The girl had completely read the soldiers' movements. Without even turning around, she dodged the second soldier's slash with minimal motion. As she turned, the first soldier followed up with a horizontal swing, but she evaded it as gracefully as a falling leaf. Then, shifting from defense to offense, she closed the distance with a sharp, sudden charge.

"Hraaaaaaaah!"

With a ferocious battle cry, she put her entire body weight behind a single thrust of her claws. The piercing strike tore through the soldier's armor with a dull, metallic crunch.

"Gah!"

The soldier collapsed with a choked cry. When the girl tried to pull her claws free, he grabbed onto them in a desperate act of resistance. The other soldier was already closing in on her exposed back.

"Kuh!"

She struggled to wrench her claws free, but the soldier clung to her, pulling her into an embrace. Her claws had pierced straight through his body; normally, a blow like that would have been instantly fatal. Even if he were alive, he should have been too gravely injured to fight back. Zeno's research must have made these soldiers immortal, immune to pain. I shook my head, forcing the thought away. This was no time to be analyzing things. Thanks to the potion, the discomfort and lingering pain were mostly gone, and I could move much more freely. On pure instinct, I charged the soldier who was raising his sword and tackled him.

"Get out of my way! You want to die?!"

The soldier roared and shoved me aside. In that brief opening, the girl kicked the other soldier away and finally freed her claws. Bright red blood dripped from their tips. She flicked her hand, shaking off the blood, and a smile spread across her face.

"You're the one who's going to die."

The soldier swung his sword in a wide arc. Ducking low under the slash, the girl rushed him. Then, coiling her body like a spring, she unleashed a vicious swipe with her claws. They connected with the soldier's head, ringing out with a high-pitched clang. 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 unprotected face. The soldier crumpled in slow motion. As she watched him fall, she retracted her claws.

"Riley!"

Overjoyed at our reunion, I rushed to embrace her, but she stuck out a hand and planted it firmly on my forehead.

"Why are you stark naked?!"

Riley yelled.

"Between you and me, clothes are unnecessary!"

"You pervert! I'm a woman too, you know! A little atmosphere would be nice!"

Her nose twitched.

"You smell like a woman... Were you caught having an affair and got chased out? Ugh, I can't believe I helped the bad guy. And I even killed someone 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 kept me at arm's length.

"You expect me to believe a naked man with that thing dangling out in the open?!"

As she shouted back, one of the soldiers I thought was dead began to stir. Riley's eyes widened in shock.

"Wh-What the hell are they...?"

she muttered, kicking the soldier back down.

"These soldiers just keep getting back up. I have 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 split up."

"Why?!"

"'Why?!' you ask me 'why'?!"

"You're so loud. Look, I'm sorry, but my magic is sealed, so I can't get any clothes out. Lend me your underwear."

"Like hell I will!"

Riley screamed back. For a long-awaited reunion, she was certainly a handful. Resigned, I stripped a cloak off one of the soldiers and wrapped it around my waist, then took his longsword as well.

"How's this?"

"Now you look like a mugger... Just a different kind of pervert, but I guess it's an improvement..."

Riley sighed, frowning.

"I got to the city last night,"

she said as we hurried through the back alleys, trying to stay out of sight. Unlike the main streets, these paths were narrow and dimly lit. The alleys themselves were quiet, but the wind carried the distant sounds of shouting and clashing metal. Countless lines were strung between the buildings, hung with laundry. The residents clearly hadn't expected a battle to break out in the middle of their city. They had been trying to live another ordinary day. Now, an eerie silence had fallen.

Riley glared at a clothesline, then leaped, scrambling up the wall. She slashed the line with her claws and landed lightly amidst the falling laundry. She could probably jump from a five-story building and walk away without a scratch.

"Hey, what are you gawking at? Get dressed."

As I was admiring her agility, she slapped me on the back.

"What? This is stealing!"

"You were just wandering around the city naked. You're already a criminal!"

I wondered if this city had laws against indecent exposure. If so, what about someone like Avea, who walked around proudly in a bikini? Pondering this, I picked 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, I saw fire breaking out from a building in the center of the city."

"You met Claire?"

I asked. Seeing Riley nod, I let out a sigh of relief. That meant she, Yanan, and Doris were probably safe.

"There's a female warrior named Avea at the company, right? And a bunch of other adventurers are gathered there too. I heard you, Hyakka, and Kalpana were there, so I came to check on you."

"Right, Hyakka mentioned you two worked together fighting bandits,"

I recalled. Riley nodded. I quickly gave her a rundown of what had happened. After hearing my story, she clenched her jaw.

"I went deeper to check things out, but the building was destroyed, and the only people left were those soldiers from before. There was no sign of Hyakka or the others. That's when I spotted you, wandering around naked."

I balled my fists and ground my teeth. Hyakka and the others had to be safe. They were more experienced adventurers than anyone in Levante. I pictured the faces of my New World party members, one by one. They had to be protecting Patricia, too. I started walking, shaking off the grim thoughts. Riley fell into step beside me.

"So, why do you still have that Slave Mark?"

"...It's what I wanted."

"What?"

"After my fight with you, 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 cut her own attachment to this world."

The transmigrator, Emma, had her partner, Ito, killed by Yuki. Believing the god's promise to grant a wish if she killed the five goddesses' transmigrators, she tried to kill me and Mizuki. Emma had used her special skill to create a clone of herself, which she named Ito. Fearing my retaliation once she realized Emma's abilities couldn't counter my special skill, Ito killed Emma to cover her tracks. It was a complicated story, but Emma and Ito were the same person. Yet, for Riley, who had served Emma, her master was one of a kind. Seeing this change of heart was complicated for me, especially after I had seen Riley crying hysterically over Emma's corpse.

"Where's Ito?"

"She came to the city with me. She's at the Mateo Trading Company."

"Yuki is involved in the chaos happening in Miglutt right now,"

I said. Riley nodded.

"The mistress of the Mateo Trading Company told me you were involved with Yuki."

All emotion drained from Riley's face.

"I'll kill him."

"So, where are you headed now, Mash?"

We were walking shoulder to shoulder. Up ahead, I could still see the building, smoke rising from it.

"The government building."

"What's there?"

"Maryanne should be there."

I stared at the building on the small hill.

"Tch, all you ever talk about is women!"

"That's not... well, maybe it's not untrue,"

I sighed.

"She just became the leader of the dog-eared tribe with my help."

The priority should have been finding the scattered members of Levante and Hyakka's group, or reuniting with Claire and Kalpana. But there was something I had to confirm. I remembered Irysalie saying she had killed the head of the One-Land family, and my chest tightened.

It was my fault. Because I meddled in this city's affairs, she got caught up in all of this. If I had done nothing, she would have been safe.

"Don't make that face."

Riley nudged my shoulder. I glanced at her, and she grinned, her lips stretching wide.

"I'll go with you."

"...We could die."

"It's you and me. We can do anything."

"Have you forgotten? That day, in the pouring rain."

We both looked up at the sky. The city was in chaos, our hearts in turmoil, yet the sky above was a vast, clear, serene blue.

"It's okay. We'll make it in time. So don't make that face."

Her words were reckless, but they resonated powerfully within my heart.

"Riley, thank you. I'm glad you're here."

My voice was thick with emotion, and I felt tears welling up. She nudged my shoulder again.

"I don't mind you talking about other women in front of me, but will you still feel this way about me when I'm in trouble?"

This time, I pushed her shoulder back.

"I'm always thinking about you. I was so lonely without you. Riley, I missed you."

I opened my arms, and she threw herself into my chest.

"Me too. I came all the way to this city for you. I missed you, too."

I pulled her close and we shared a gentle kiss.