46: Broken Swords
“There are two inside. …They’re probably the ones.”
“Let’s go.”
A shiver of fear ran down my spine.
I glanced at Liz, and the light had vanished from her eyes again. She held her fighting knives at the ready.
“I’ll eliminate them.”
“Liz, let’s run.”
Liz shook her head.
“They’ve locked onto our mana signatures. I can’t escape in my current condition. But Master, now that the perimeter is clear, you can still escape.”
“Don’t be ridiculous. I can’t escape alone. And honestly, even you can’t escape.”
Blood was still flowing from my untreated wound, and I felt myself losing consciousness.
“Besides, can you even fight in your condition?”
Liz was already breathing heavily.
She’d maintained a facade of composure during the fight, but she must have been pushing herself incredibly hard, injured as she was. Furthermore, the fact that they’d locked onto her mana signature at this distance meant she couldn’t rely on her usual stealth tactics.
“I can buy you some time.”
“No.”
“Then what do you suggest?” It seemed the two enemies had gone to the front door.
“I have a plan.” I whispered into Liz’s long ear.
“—Who are you?”
A few moments later, two men entered the room, their voices sharp. One, in blue armor, had short, brown hair and a serious expression. The other, in red armor, was a blond young man.
They were more lightly armored than the white knight, but unless their armor was exceptionally high quality, it wouldn’t offer much protection against magical weapons or offensive spells. Prioritizing mobility while protecting their vital organs was a rational choice.
According to Liz, even good armor was heavy and required a lot of mana to maintain its enchantments, so many opted not to wear it.
“I am in charge of this mansion, by order of the Lord of Disease… Don’t move! If you take another step, this woman dies.”
Liz pressed a knife against my neck.
“H-help me…” I whimpered, my voice weak and trembling.
I’d removed the heavy hooded robe and shoulder cloth, wearing only the thin green robe beneath.
“…Who is she?”
“A hostage. The Lord of Disease’s… plaything.”
That would be me.
This was my plan. The “They’ll never suspect I’m actually holding the real Lord of Disease hostage” plan.
A rather foolish name for a rather foolish, hastily devised plan.
“You…”
“Wait.” The young knight in red armor started forward, but the older knight in blue armor held him back.
That was dangerous. To step forward when someone was threatening the hostage’s life…
In these situations, ignoring the hostage was usually the best course of action, but I wasn’t sure if they were that rational. I wanted to believe in their human decency, but considering my own beliefs about the illusory nature of such things, I was walking a tightrope.
“Where is the Lord of Disease?”
“I’m not at liberty to divulge that information.”
I’m right here.
“…Our… comrade…”
“It seems she was killed in a duel with my comrade. I was delayed securing her safety.”
I wasn’t lying, not entirely. While ‘duel’ was a bit of a stretch, it wasn’t a lie that Samarkand had bought us time by sacrificing himself.
“I can’t pursue you. I’ll let you go. Just leave.”
Liz’s haughty tone, so different from her usual demeanor as my subordinate and vice-commander, was… refreshing.
I needed to distract myself with such trivial thoughts to avoid losing consciousness. It was probably similar to thinking about your enemies to stay awake in a blizzard.
“…Release the hostage. We’re taking her with us.”
“I can’t accept that. It would compromise my safety.” Liz pressed the knife harder against my neck. While I trusted her, the cold steel made me shiver.
“Do you really think you can afford to carry extra baggage?”
“Even so. We are here to save humans. We won’t abandon anyone, especially not a defenseless woman asking for help.”
How noble.
But please abandon that belief. Please.
“…We’ll spare your life. But release the hostage.”
“I told you, I can’t.”
“We are knights. We keep our promises.”
I could sense Liz’s hesitation. Both she and I knew enough about reality not to blindly trust the word of a knight. But if this standoff continued, we might bleed out before they did anything.
I’d assumed they would prioritize escape once they realized their target wasn’t here, but I hadn’t expected them to be so… honorable. It was almost… touching.
Humans had waged war, even with people like this among them.
“—Wait. I sense something.”
“Reinforcements? Damn…”
“—Surround the area.”
A male voice. A calm, steady voice. This voice…
“I’ll handle this. This place is dangerous.”
I cautiously peeked out the window, maintaining my act. Silhouetted against the full moon, landing gracefully on the narrow ledge of the fence, was a wolf-faced beastman—Lathus, the Broken Fang, leader of the Beastman Army.
“Well, well, maid. Looks like things are getting interesting.” Lathus laughed heartily.
“Step aside, lass.”
Liz, still holding me hostage, moved to the side.
Lathus kicked off the fence and leaped through the second-story window, his movements fluid and powerful, not even touching the window frame.
His dark blue coat billowed around him as he landed, his wolf-like feet tearing at the carpet.
“—State your name!”
“Lathus, the Broken Fang.”
Lathus drew both swords from his hips. A rapier in his right hand, a dagger in his left. The rapier was a simple, utilitarian weapon, with only a few markings on the hilt and guard. The dagger, however, resembled bone, its blade like a coarse saw.
“Two at once is fine. Come at me.”
“…I challenge you to single combat. If you swear that your subordinates will not interfere. And if you do not use the hostage.” The knight in red armor raised his sword and shield.
“Fine by me. Maid, don’t use that ‘hostage’ until I’m dead.”
“Understood. But be careful. One of the three we fought could still move even after his brain was destroyed.”
“Huh? What’s that about? So, he died when you killed him again?”
“His regeneration limits are unknown, but yes, he died.”
“Good. —You lot heard that? Don’t interfere, no matter what happens, until I’m dead.”
Lathus addressed his beastmen subordinates, some visible on the roof beyond the fence.
“I don’t care what happens after I’m dead.”
“We will take as many demons with us as we can.”
“Unfortunately for you, that won’t be happening.” Lathus grinned, baring his fangs.
“It ends with me.”
They faced each other, weapons raised, taking a step forward.
“Let’s go.”
“Anytime.”
With a brief exchange, they moved simultaneously.
Lathus was fast. He parried the knight’s thrust with his left-hand dagger, trapping the blade between its serrated edges, snapping it in half. He ducked under the shield and plunged his right-hand rapier into the knight’s throat.
Just like that, a skilled warrior was dead.
There was no green light.
“…Gah…!”
“Now it’s a true duel.” Lathus flicked the blood off his rapier.
The blue knight switched his sword and shield to his other hands.
“Oh? You knew.”
“…I remembered. The Tooth Breaker. That dagger weakens the weapons it touches… and the beastman warrior who wields it is the Broken Fang.”
“If you only remembered after I introduced myself, I still have a long way to go. I am a supreme commander, you know. You’d think the Lord of Disease would know that, considering she came all this way to assassinate me.” Lathus glanced at me.
I’m not a supreme commander right now. I’m a hostage.
So please stop looking at me.
“Your shield won’t fare as well as your sword.”
“Probably not.” Lathus grinned, baring his fangs again. He held both weapons at the ready.
“I’ll make the first move.”
He pushed off the ground lightly and lunged forward. Without switching his grip, his left dagger struck the knight’s shield, his right rapier clashing against the sword, sending sparks flying. Then, as their weapons locked, he lunged, sinking his wolfish fangs into the knight’s neck.
“…Gah…”
A sickening crunch, the sound of flesh tearing, followed by the snap of bone. The knight gurgled, then went limp.
Lathus released his grip, and the body slumped to the floor. There was no green light.
“…I got my title because I kept breaking my fangs doing this…” Lathus spat out blood, flesh, and bone fragments. Then he looked at me.
Liz lowered the knife she’d been holding against my neck.
“Well, well, Earless. You look like hell.”
Lathus grinned, his bloodstained fangs bared, his mouth smeared with fresh, crimson blood.
“Yeah…”
“You don’t sound very grateful, considering I just saved you. Hey.”
“That’s because… I think… I’ve lost too much blood…”
As I spoke, the knife slipped from Liz’s grasp and clattered to the carpet.
My vision darkened. Now that the danger had passed, I couldn’t stay on my feet.
Liz and I slumped to the floor, supporting each other.
“Hey! …Someone get a healer! Over here! Two seriously injured! And watch out for the traps!”
My eyelids felt heavy. I couldn’t keep them open. As Lathus’s panicked shouts faded, I closed my eyes.
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