"Sagitta Fulgon."
"Kill! Kill!"
With my mother's cheerful voice ringing out—declaring that he was totally scared—I swiftly swung my froststeel sword.
The blade cut through the air, eting the neck of the man who had burst through the tent. The solid steel edge sliced cleanly through flesh and bone. His severed head tumbled to the ground.
Thunk.
Two corpses already lay collapsed, half-hanging inside the tent. Murmurs could be heard from outside.
"F-fuck! He died the mont he walked in! What the fuck!"
"What, is there a monster inside with its jaws open?!"
"I—I'm not going in! You go first!"
"Don't push , asshole! I'm not going in either!"
They were far more disorganized than I expected. I'd been on edge, thinking that a rcenary group of this size would at least have so structure.
I tapped the broad-shouldered man—grunting while clutching the stump where his arm had been severed—and said,
"If that wound isn't treated imdiately, you'll die. But if you tell who hired you, I'll give you ergency treatnt right away. If there's a skilled doctor in the village, your arm might even be reattached."
This middle-aged man was all size, with fat clinging to his fra and starting to sag. Maybe he had once been sothing in his pri, but now he was just another run-of-the-mill rcenary. And with a missing arm, he wasn't even that anymore.
The one I really needed to watch out for was the leader of this rcenary band, standing a short distance away.
His physique was a perfect balance between rugged and agile. Though he stood there, seemingly frozen and wide-eyed, it was clear he was ready to counter if I charged at him. The armor he wore was not just protective but thoughtfully designed—tal plating on the vital spots, without sacrificing mobility.
"S-Sagitta! What are you doing?! Help already! I'm gonna die here! I'm dying!"
The man, who had earlier been calling "brother," now begged pathetically for his leader. Clearly, he had no intention of answering my question.
There was another entrance on the other side. No need to keep him alive.
I swung my froststeel sword toward the fallen man's neck. A swift, painless death—that was the best rcy I could offer.
Clang!
But my blade was deflected by an incoming spearhead. A sharp follow-up attack ca next—the spear slithered in like a snake, aiming for my vitals. I calmly stepped back, striking the shaft away with my sword. The spear retracted smoothly, as if it had never ant to strike.
Suddenly, the man called Sagitta had positioned himself between and the wounded one, raising a shield on his left arm.
Clang!
A heavy impact. I held the advantage, but his spear ca darting in again. I had to retreat once more.
"I thought you'd just stay still," I said.
He looked to be in his early thirties. With his tousled platinum hair and helt lowered, Sagitta responded in a low voice.
"I wanted to. But we've been together fifteen years, whether I like it or not."
He shouted at the top of his lungs:
"Soone get in here and carry Pelgwin out! Now!"
But no one responded. No one dared enter the tent. Just nervous murmuring outside.
"S-Sagitta says go in..."
"Screw that! What if I die like the others?! I'm not going!"
"Don't push , bastards! I don't want to go in either!"
Sagitta gritted his teeth and asked ,
"Would it be alright if I took him out of here?"
I smiled gently and drew the Butcher.
"No."
Showing rcy to a living enemy was foolish. Even more so when I was alone in enemy territory. I activated the Butcher. Its tal blades spun at high speed, screaming.
Whirrrrrrrrrrrrr!
I lunged at Sagitta, swinging the Butcher. He raised his shield with unnerving calm. A shield like that would be torn like paper by the Butcher.
GRRRRRAAAAKK!
But to my surprise, the Butcher didn't shred his shield.
Was it pure froststeel?
A simple solid froststeel shield could still be destroyed by my Butcher if I put enough power into it. But this man hadn't relied on the shield's material alone—he had redirected my force with exceptional technique.
Sparks flew violently.
Sagitta wasn't content with re defense. As he deflected the Butcher, he thrust his spear precisely at my opening.
This man... He was clearly more skilled than I in technique. But I had the physical prowess to ignore such minor gaps.
I stepped down. Using my planted foot as a pivot, I forcibly changed the Butcher's path. A crude move, perhaps, but one powered enough to tear a person apart with ease.
WHIRRRRRRRRR!
The Butcher howled, hungry for flesh. Sagitta didn't hesitate—he let go of his spear and fell back. That unflinching decision saved him. The spinning tal teeth grazed him by a hair's breadth.
His dropped spear clattered on the floor. Sagitta ran out of the tent, flinging the flap open and shouting:
"Don't block the way! Move aside!"
I chased him out of the tent. Around us, rcenaries had the place surrounded. I needed to assert dominance—fast.
And the Butcher was perfect for the job.
"Stand down! Now!"
Ignoring Sagitta's desperate cry, I swung the Butcher at the nearest rcenary. The spinning blade tore the stunned man diagonally apart.
Organs and flesh flew. Blood poured. The snow beneath turned red.
But I wasn't done. Before the others could even scream, I charged into their ranks. If there were any archers, they wouldn't dare shoot now.
WHIRRRRRRRRRR!
The Butcher scread with glee as it feasted. The rcenaries were more of a ss than I'd expected.
Watching their comrades get shredded, none of them tried to counterattack. They panicked and fled.
"F-fuck! Move! Get out of the way!"
"I don't wanna die! I don't wanna die, goddammit!"
Like a wolf in a pen of sheep, I tore apart everything I touched. My white cleric's robe was once again soaked in blood and flesh.
"Get out of the way!"
The spearhead aid for my side and pierced in. It was Sagitta. I blocked the spear by grabbing the upper half of a rcenary I had just cut down. The spear lodged itself in the corpse's body. Letting go of the corpse, I swung the Butcher.
The Butcher ground through the corpse and the spear shaft alike and once again surged forward to swallow Sagitta whole.
He discarded his spear again. I genuinely admired the way he treated his weapons as re consumables, skillfully using his body to stay alive.
It's been a while since I fought soone this skilled.
Sagitta, rolling on the ground, picked up a new spear from among the corpses and shouted:
"Felguin is inside my tent! Grab him while I take care of this priest! You bastards!"
Clang!
His thrown spearhead struck the Butcher squarely in the side. This ti, I didn't bother to twist the Butcher's trajectory. Instead, I charged at Sagitta and threw a punch with my left fist. Aid at his jaw, the punch was blocked when he saw its trajectory and raised his shoulder, reinforced with iron plating.
Crash!
The tal plate crumpled under my punch, sending Sagitta flying through the air and crashing into the snowy ground. I raised the Butcher once more. Sagitta, lying on the ground, quickly sprang up and shouted:
"Fire!"
'Murder!!!'
A sharp warning from Mother. Was there really an archer? It'd be a huge problem if an arrow hit a joint.
Because Sagitta and I had gone wild, there was no one else standing near . Which ant I was now a perfect target.
But no arrows ca.
'Murder...?'
In the stillness, I heard Mother's voice, unusually confused. Sagitta's face turned red with rage, teeth clenched.
"You goddamned sons of bitches! Seriously?!"
He had been abandoned.
The rcenaries who had surrounded were already long gone, having taken whatever valuables they could carry. The archers likely ran off with them too.
I shut down the Butcher and smiled faintly.
"Would you like to continue?"
Sagitta silently stared at , then threw away the spear in his hand and let out a deep sigh.
"I surrender. I'll tell you everything, just spare my life."
As I happened to need soone to explain the situation, I accepted Sagitta's surrender. As soon as I did, he showed no intention of resisting and walked straight back to his tent.
He checked on the big guy whose arm I had cut off and said in a somber voice:
"He's already dead."
Standing a little apart, I asked:
"Have you changed your mind?"
Sagitta closed the corpse's eyes and shook his head.
"No. I always wanted to catch him and beat him to death myself, but now that he's actually dead, it feels... strange. Do you mind if I bury Felguin?"
"I don't mind if you bury him, but I'd appreciate it if you answered my questions first."
"Of course."
He slowly began to speak, laying out everything. The only useful piece of information I gained was that the organization chasing Dacia was called 'Illech'.
Whether Illech wanted Dacia for themselves or soone else had hired them—I couldn't tell. This rcenary band had only subcontracted a job from Illech anyway.
Having confessed everything, Sagitta began to dig graves for the dead rcenaries, burying them one by one himself. I picked up a shovel and helped.
"You don't need to help."
I smiled and replied:
"It'll go faster if we work together."
Murmuring 'Together...', Sagitta went back to silently shoveling. Once the cleanup was done and he had packed up his belongings, he turned to .
"May I go now?"
Honestly, I debated whether it would be better to kill him after getting all the info, but seeing him do the cleanup alone helped make up my mind.
"Don't you hate ?"
Sagitta looked at my face and chuckled softly.
"If I say I do, will you kill ?"
I smiled.
"Is there any point in letting soone live who hates ?"
"You have a point."
He seed like he wanted to say sothing, but swallowed his words several tis. I waited silently for his reply. Finally, the abandoned rcenary leader opened his mouth.
"I'm not good with words, so this might be hard to explain. But being a rcenary ans killing and dying. So, when things go wrong, you might find yourself working alongside people who smashed your comrade's head in just the day before. Of course, I'm not so heartless that I'd get chummy with them, but I don't rush in to kill them on sight either."
Running his hands through his shaggy hair, he gave a sorrowful smile.
"So no, I don't hate you. I just feel a bit lonely that things turned out this way. And besides, this rcenary band was on its way out anyway."
"What are you going to do now?"
"I don't know. It's been fifteen years since I've been on my own. The future looks pretty bleak. But since the only thing I know how to do is fight, I'll probably end up back in the rcenary trade."
"Then how about using this opportunity to find a new employer who pays well?"
"Huh?"
He looked back at , startled, and—uncharacteristically—seed rather innocent.
'Murder!'
Following Mother's reminder not to forget to harvest the bodies, I told Sagitta I'd say a prayer for the dead and harvested the divinity.
[Divinity: 2023]
When I opened the door to the inn, I saw Dacia half-asleep, chewing slowly on her food. It was a bit late for breakfast, and with no sign of Carn, it seed Carn had eaten earlier and Dacia was now having hers alone.
She was chewing on so bread absentmindedly, then looked up and widened her eyes in shock.
Which made sense—my priest robes had returned to a pristine white thanks to the Blessing of Maintenance, but my face and hair were still caked in blood and bits of flesh.
"Bwuh—!"
She tried to shout sothing, but choked on her bread and coughed for a while. After gulping down so water, she finally managed to speak.
"Wh-what in the world did you do to co back with your face and hair covered in blood?!"
"Would it be alright if I explained after washing up? It's all mostly taken care of now."
She stared at my face, then nodded.
"Sure... But who's that behind you...?"
I pointed to Sagitta, who was standing behind awkwardly like a cat in soone else's house, and smiled.
"Milady, would you happen to be in the market for a rcenary who can handle himself in a fight?"
Reviews
All reviews (0)