NOVEL NEXT Chapter 13: Unexpected
“—Phew… It’s finally over.”
“Yeah, good job for now. Are you… okay?”
As I exhaled deeply on the blood-soaked carpet of corpses, Eresdia-Sama approached, her eyes filled with concern.
She seemed worried about me, having just killed someone for the first time.
Seeing her expression, which was hard to describe, I replied,
“I’m totally fine. Don’t underestimate the mental strength of Lord Zero! It’s made of special diamonds, after all.”
“…Well, if you say so.”
I let out a small chuckle and tried to act tough so she wouldn’t notice what I was really feeling… But honestly, yeah, it hit me a little.
The sensation of cutting through flesh and bone wasn’t exactly pleasant.
I mean, I was raised in a peaceful, sheltered environment as a former Japanese person.
Naturally, I have some aversion to killing.
But, well, I’m not going to throw up or anything… I’ll probably get used to it eventually.
If I were more sensitive, I’d be done for.
“By the way, are *you* okay? If you were going to say, ‘I can’t kill people,’ I’d knock you out.”
“I’d never say that! Besides, I’ve been dragged into these situations by my master since I was young, so I’ve gotten used to it… or rather, I’ve come to terms with it.”
“Huh… That just makes your master sound terrifying…”
If it were me, I’d run away with all my strength.
I mean, anyone involved with someone like that is definitely bad news.
Just as I was thinking about how scary Eresdia-Sama mysterious master must be…
“There they are! Enemy attack!!”
“Let’s get them!!”
The bandits started to gather.
There were probably about 30 of them.
All muscular men wielding weapons… but none of them seemed to use or even know any kind of strengthening magic.
In that case… there’s no way we could lose.
“*Sigh*… So noisy, seriously.”
Eresdia-Sama furrowed her brows in annoyance, and in the next instant—*tap*—with a sound far too light for the situation, she dashed forward, leaving everyone behind at a speed that was impossible to follow with the naked eye.
To the bandits, it must have looked like a crimson-aura-clad woman left nothing but an afterimage as she vanished.
They were thrown into confusion at the sight of her supernatural speed.
And then, in the blink of an eye, their movements suddenly froze… a line appeared on each of their necks at once.
—*thud, thud, thud…*
Heads rolled to the ground one after another.
Headless bodies collapsed, blood gushing out.
That’s right, she didn’t just run past them—she weaved between them in a zigzag pattern, severing all their heads.
In mere seconds, 30 strong men were decapitated.
…Shouldn’t she be aiming to become a grim reaper instead of a knight?
If she donned a tattered robe and surrounded herself with that crimson aura, she’d be the perfect image of a reaper. Yeah, I think I’ll avoid getting involved with her.
“Nice job, Reaper—er, I mean, Eresdia-Sama.”
I raised a hand as I caught up to Eresdia-Sama, careful not to step on the rolling heads in the cave. She glared at me with a pout.
“Don’t you dare call a maiden a reaper, you jerk.”
You’re the one who caused this massacre, though?
Not that I can say much, considering the mess I made outside.
Speaking of which…
“Now that I think about it… you’re really strong. I almost forgot how obsessed you are with magic, and how much of a masochist you seem.”
“I’d love to deny that outright, but… I can’t, which is frustrating.”
Eresdia-Sama gritted her teeth in frustration.
Oh, so she’s self-aware… That’s actually worse.
Why am I a little relieved, though? It’s definitely worse to be self-aware than oblivious.
—We had just defeated the monster tamer, and the bandits turned out to be weaker than expected, so we let our guard down slightly.
“Hmph… you seem to be quite capable.”
A deep, dark voice, resonating from within, reached my ears. By the time I realised it… it was already too late.
“Guh…!?”
At the same time that my chest ignited in burning pain, the metallic taste of iron and the overwhelming scent of blood filled my mouth, and blood began pouring out.
Seeing Eresdia’s wide-eyed expression filled me with dread. Nervously looking down, I saw a curved sword—a shotel—piercing straight through my chest, like paper.
Judging from the fact that I couldn’t hear my heartbeat at all, it had probably pierced my heart precisely.
…Turns out, when something hurts too much, you can stay surprisingly calm.
I think I’m just losing too much blood, though… Also, this guy definitely poisoned his sword.
My regeneration is way slower than usual.
“Heh, that’s one down…”
“Zero!? You bastard—haaahhh!!”
My vision, now on the ground with a heavy thud, was filled with Eresdia-Sama, who flared up with a crimson aura. She rushed at the man wrapped in a pitch-black aura and worn-down robe, who had just pulled the shotel out of me.
However, despite Eresdia-Sama fighting with everything she had, the man seemed entirely unfazed.
“Hmph… You’re quite capable, but… heh, too soft.”
As the man spoke, he skillfully used the shotel to break her sword and landed a precise kick to her solar plexus.
With a silent scream, Eresdia-Sama was sent crashing into the cave wall… and slumped down, unconscious.
She probably fainted.
However, just before she was kicked, she had focused magic into her abdomen, so she shouldn’t be dead.
…Now, what to do?
Lying in my own pool of blood, I began to think.
My wound was healing, but… standing up and fighting doesn’t seem like a viable option.
If someone as strong as Eresdia-Sama got taken down, I don’t stand a chance.
However, playing dead isn’t going to work here either.
If I get found out, it’ll only raise their guard.
Besides, now feels like the best chance to strike.
He probably thinks I’m dead and has let his guard down.
There’s just one problem.
I’m not sure if my sword can break through his strengthening magic.
The ability covering his body seems to be the same one my instructor used in training: *All Stats Boost*.
With my level of strengthening magic, it’s impossible to penetrate that and deal a fatal blow.
Of course, there is a way to get past it, but… it’s too much of a gamble.
I’ve never even tried it before, only seen it done once. I’m not confident I could use it, let alone properly.
But still… it feels like my only option. If I could scare him enough, that might work too.
…I really don’t want to do this. I hate pain.
If I could, I’d take Eresdia-Sama and run back to safety right now.
But, I did promise the village chief that I’d rescue the hostages. And to do that, I have to take this guy down.
Man, this world is so unfair and awful. Damn it!
“Well, since the knights are here, I should probably move—”
Oh no, you’re not getting away.
If you escape, Eresdia-Sama will be mad at me.
I suppressed the myriad of complaints and fears swirling in my chest, and…
“—Hey, wait a minute. Don’t end this on your own.”
“!?”
I stood up as if nothing had happened and called out.
The man, who had clearly assumed I was dead, was visibly shocked. Though his face was hidden by a hood, his surprise was evident.
“How… how are you still alive…? No, how did you come back to life? I’m certain I pierced your heart.”
“Who cares, idiot. And—I’ve got something good to show you.”
I flipped him off as I began to chant.
“*I, who abandon all instincts for survival. I, who seek power beyond human limits. I, who offer up my very body. Bestow upon me the transcendent strength that cares not for this mortal coil.*”
“Y-you… could it be!?”
The man, seemingly recognizing the chant, tried to pierce my heart again, but I grabbed his shoulder, smirking even as my heart was skewered once more.
“Yeah, that’s right, moron. Too bad for you, I’m not done yet. —*Extreme Enhancement: Grenzen Vi Att Verstärken*.”
He had spun the name of a strategic-level strengthening magic, even higher than advanced.