Once laughter bursts out, it’s hard to stuff it back in.
Especially when it’s laughter laced with so many anings at once.
But even I knew this wasn’t the ti.
I forced the grin off my face and fixed my attention on the man who’d threatened . He blinked, then asked:
“Why are you laughing? Do you think this is a joke?”
I bowed my head slightly.
“Forgive . A stray thought struck funny.”
“……”
He just stared at , dumbfounded.
I asked him, “Pardon , but who’s the one in front? Your voices are too alike.”
The man ahead replied.
“Regarde.”
“Regarde.”
So the one in front was Regarde. Then the one blocking our retreat at the rear must be Heven.
Regarde spoke coldly.
“The Dagger of Ophosis. Hand it over while I’m still being polite. If you value your life.”
Shushruta, who had been supporting , burst out in protest.
“How dare you!”
While my little sister flared up, I remained calm.
“Very well. I’ll hand you the dagger.”
Regarde’s tone eased slightly.
“A wise choice.”
“Wise? You black-hearted scoundrels! Do you even know what this dagger is?” Shushruta shouted, her eyes blazing.
I gently pushed her behind , my voice low and steady.
“Allow a mont to discuss it with my sister? As you can see, this dagger carries a story.”
Regarde studied us both, then stepped back a few paces.
“…Don’t try anything foolish.”
Heven followed his brother’s lead, also giving us so space. They thought we were cornered, trapped. And in that confidence, they yielded a little ground.
I lowered my voice, addressing Shushruta.
“Sister. As you see, things have co to this.”
“What?”
“It ans we have no choice but to fight.”
She turned to with eyes sharp as daggers.
“You… You did this on purpose, didn’t you?!”
“Now, now. Don’t say it like that.”
“You deliberately dropped the dagger to stir all this up!”
“Shhh. Quiet your voice, little sister.”
“We could’ve passed without trouble, but you—!”
“An accident, nothing more. A slip of the hand.”
Shushruta glared, then glanced back at the Reaper Brothers blocking the path.
“Accident or not, we need to escape. Follow .”
But I caught her shoulder as she prepared to use her lightfoot skill.
“No. Didn’t you hear ? This is a fight we can’t avoid.”
“What nonsense—”
“You think they won’t chase us? They’ll hound us to the ends of the earth.”
She exhaled sharply through her nose.
“Then what do you suggest?”
“We kill them.”
Her shoulders sagged with another sigh.
“…Fine. Then I’ll take the rear. You take the front.”
“No. Both are mine. You stay out of it.”
Shushruta’s eyes went wide.
“You’re serious? You’ll face the Reaper Brothers alone?”
“Didn’t you say their greatest strength was their combination? Then I’d better see it firsthand. What’s the point of splitting them up? Besides—” I smirked. “—you’re weak.”
She scowled.
“I am not weak.”
“You lost to in one strike.”
“…That was because I was careless.”
“Sure, sure. In any case, you’re sitting this one out. Go hide in the bushes and watch.”
“…Fine.”
She relented grudgingly. Then, naturally, she held out her hand.
“Then give the dagger. I’ll keep it safe.”
“……”
“……”
When I didn’t budge, she pulled her hand back with a sulky huff.
“…Tch. Worth a try.”
“As if I’d hand the fish to the cat.”
“I am not a cat.”
“It’s a saying.”
“What if you lose? Don’t you trust your comrade?”
“Don’t you trust ? Do you really think I’ll lose?”
“……”
Her mouth opened, closed, opened again, then shut tight.
“…You’re infuriating.”
“What was that?”
“Nothing.”
“Stay hidden. Don’t get caught trying to play the hero.”
“I’m not you.”
Her curt reply made grin.
With our positions settled, I turned back to Regarde.
“Sir.”
He stepped forward the few paces he had retreated.
“Finished your little talk?”
I nodded.
“I’ve thought it over. Whether we hand the dagger to you or not, you won’t let us live. That’s my conclusion.”
Regarde studied a mont before asking, “What makes you say that?”
“Because you won’t risk word spreading. That we carry the dagger.”
At that, Regarde smiled—thin, cruel.
And in that smile, I saw it clearly. Yesterday’s humble host was gone. Before stood a true devil.
“That’s the trouble with perceptive n…”
The brothers’ lips curled into matching grins.
“Then what will you do?”
“You’ve only two choices,” Heven said. “Hand over the dagger and die swiftly—or resist, and suffer.”
I let my shoulders slump, my tone pleading.
“Then at least… let my poor sister go. Don’t drag her into this.”
“Brother…!” Shushruta cried, clutching my arm, perfectly matching my act.
“She’s lived only to care for . Must she die without ever holding a man’s hand?”
I felt her glare stabbing into like knives, but I pressed on.
The brothers exchanged a silent glance, then answered as one.
“Sorry. That won’t happen.”
“Ah…”
I bowed my head with a sigh.
It was confirmation.
n reveal their truth only at such monts. Everyone wears a mask—but whether it is mask or skin beneath, only they know.
And now the mask was gone. Devils stood barefaced before .
I smiled faintly, raising my head.
“In truth, that wasn’t a plea. It was a declaration.”
At that mont, Shushruta leapt high and vanished into the woods.
“What—?!”
It happened in an instant.
The Reaper Brothers hadn’t even reacted before she was gone.
As the brothers flinched, ready to bolt after Shushruta, I pulled the dagger from my robe and let it gleam in the dim light.
“No need to worry. The dagger’s with .”
“……”
Only then did they seem to grasp that sothing was wrong. Their tone shifted, hard and grim.
“You… what are you?”
“Ah, ?”
I smirked and slowly pulled the cloth from my eyes.
“The Red-Eyed Devil.”
“—!”
“Don’t know if you’ve heard of .”
Regarde tightened his grip on his sickle, his glare never leaving .
“You weren’t blind after all.”
I dipped my chin.
“Afraid so. A pity, isn’t it?”
He raised the sickle, the edge sharp enough to slice not only herbs but arms and legs alike.
“Changes nothing. We’ll just kill you and take it.”
It sounded less like a threat to and more like reassurance to his brother edging closer from behind.
I rolled my shoulders.
“Try and see.”
At his nod, both brothers moved at once, springing at mid-sentence.
To strike while speaking—arrogant bastards.
One blade swept high for my wrist, the other scythed low for my ankles.
‘Tch.’
Two against one. Awkward odds.
I yanked my foot up, letting the blade pass, then stomped down hard.
“—!”
Heven lost his grip, staggering back clutching his wrist.
“Impressive. You’re no ordinary man.”
I scooped the dropped sickle up.
“This is mine now.”
Heven pulled another from his back.
“…Well prepared, aren’t you.”
The ga was over. Their sickles glowed with a thick blue aura—denser than I’d expected.
“Take his limbs!”
They lunged together.
I poured inner force into the stolen weapon and flung it back.
Clang!
He staggered under the weight of the blow. Before he could recover, the second was already upon .
The sickle flashed at my face.
I channeled power into my hand and drew steel.
Clang!
Sickle and sword t with a ringing shock. The curve of his weapon coiled like a snake, wrapping around my blade, twisting suddenly for my wrist.
So that was why he’d aid high—it was never about the head.
“Hmph!”
Unfamiliar, but I played it cool. I dropped the sword without hesitation, stepped in, and drove my elbow—charged with power—straight into his gut.
Crack!
“Ghhk!”
Regarde spat and flew back.
Before I could snatch up my blade, the other one was already swinging.
I flicked my foot, kicking the sword’s hilt upward, and slipped behind a tree.
Skkrrsh!
The trunk split clean through.
A gap opened.
I caught the falling blade with a kick and sent it whistling straight at him.
“Wha—?!”
Clang!
He barely managed to block, stumbling back.
‘Blocked that? Even I didn’t expect it.’
A formidable fighter, no doubt.
But I kept my expression calm, spun the sword through the air, and caught it again, flicking it lazily as though testing the weight.
For a mont, we simply stood there, eyeing each other.
Battles hinge on montum.
I tapped my shoulder with the flat of the blade, voice light.
“You two are trash.”
Their eyes flared. No one wants to be called trash.
I pressed on.
“With skills like that, you thought you could kill ? Pathetic. Learn your place, you pitiful sickle-swingers. Even if you gained the Ninth Blade, you’d never defeat the Knight of Frost.”
They stiffened.
“…How do you know about that?”
“How do you think? You carry yourselves like n with stories, flaunting your so-called weight. Everyone knows—you lost to the Knight of Frost. So now you cling to artifacts, hoping to fill the gap. Pathetic.”
Their faces darkened.
I’d hit the mark.
But instead of charging, they turned wary, exchanging hushed words.
“He’s strong. An aura user.”
“His swordplay’s bizarre. I couldn’t find a form in the few exchanges we had.”
“Kicking his own sword… abandoning it at the right mont… then using his elbow… who fights like that?”
“Doesn’t matter. Take one wrist or ankle, and he falls.”
So much for praise—ended with a death sentence.
Still arrogant.
While they sched, I plucked a stone from the ground, rolling it lightly in my palm, watching them.
“Done with your eting?”
One of them—Regarde, or was it Heven?—nodded. I still couldn’t tell them apart.
“Yes. Sorry to keep you waiting.”
“No harm done.”
“We’re coming again.”
I crooked my finger, the pebble clicking in my palm.
“Co, then.”
That was just the appetizer.
Ti to show them real martial arts.
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