————
Chapter 142: False Appearance (3)
The rcenaries, after eting their target’s gaze, silently exited the academy grounds.
In the secluded forest where few ventured, they paused for a mont, breathing heavily as if they had been holding their breath.
“Pant, pant!”
These were no greenhorn amateurs.
They were seasoned rcenaries who had seen their fair share of bloodshed and battles for at least a decade.
Yet, the current situation felt incredibly unfamiliar to them.
While they had felt danger during previous missions and had retreated, they had never experienced such fear or panic that led to fleeing.
Their current actions were undoubtedly not a strategic withdrawal but outright flight.
They couldn’t easily shake off this strange feeling they had never experienced before.
“I have a bad feeling about this! For now, let’s retreat and observe the situation for a while! We might need to reconsider this mission.”
Leader Gerrick’s face was contorted with worry, perhaps sensing the danger in the current mission.
To this, Jason chuckled strangely and said.
“Why? We’ve already been spotted, haven’t we? So what’s there to think about? Didn’t we agree to strike while the iron’s hot? Let’s just go and attack them now!”
“Get a grip, Jason! We still need to assess the situation…”
“……!”
Suddenly, the rcenaries, all feeling a strange presence, turned their heads in unison.
About ten steps away from where they stood, partially concealed among the thick branches, they saw the figure of a young boy.
The mont they realized the boy’s identity, the rcenaries froze in place.
“W-What… How did he…?”
The target of their mission, Cyan Vert, the youngest son of Duke Vert, emitted a strange red aura as he stared at them.
“……”
However, he remained silent, just observing them without a word.
After a minute of silence, one of the rcenaries, Jason, broke the silence.
“Looks like the noble young master has a good sense. Not only did he spot us from a distance, but he’s co to us personally. I’m not sure what to make of this.”
“Jason!”
Despite objections from the leader and his comrades, Jason continued to approach the boy slowly.
“I suppose you’re curious about our identity, right? Let tell you straight. We are rcenaries hired to kill you, the youngest son of Duke Vert. I don’t know why, but so royal family mbers wanted you dead, and they asked us to do it. And not just any death… they wanted it to be particularly brutal…”
While revealing their identity, Jason also spat out harsh words, but the boy didn’t bat an eye.
This only piqued Jason’s interest further as he continued to move closer.
“Bit random, but can I tell you one of my hobbies? Before killing soone, I like to peel off their skin and inspect their flesh underneath. It’s fascinating to see the inner beauty that people hold. It’s not just about appearances. Others might think it’s bizarre and grotesque, but I always want to see the inner beauty a person possesses. Of course, I’m not interested in just anyone. I’m only interested in n.”
Approaching the boy until they were face to face, Jason grinned eerily.
“Moreover, if soone as perfect as you on the outside, I can’t wait to see the beautiful flesh you have underneath… I’m really excited, I can’t hold back anymore.”
– Snicker
Suddenly, he stuck out his tongue, almost as if tasting the air, and even just looking at his eyes, it seed like he was no longer in his right mind.
But then, he laughed.
The boy, who had been standing there like a doll, finally opened his mouth wide and smiled.
It was a very childlike smile, not fitting with his indifferent yet sharp features.
“You’re laughing? You’re smiling? Wow? This is sothing new! Aren’t you scared even if I say this?”
Jason showed a reaction to this friendly response he encountered for the first ti in his life.
Whether he intended to or not, he started sniffing around with his pointed nose.
“Sll…”
The rcenaries were puzzled.
The first words coming out of the boy’s mouth were about sll.
They couldn’t yet understand the intention behind his words.
“Sll! Sll! Bad sll! Evil and wicked sll! Yet…”
The boy extended his tongue and licked his lips.
“A very delicious sll…”
– Bang!
At that mont, with an inexplicable sound, smoke rose from the boy’s body.
As the smoke dissipated, the boy who had been concealed reappeared, but…
“……?! ”
What appeared from the smoke wasn’t the boy they knew.
It was a girl of a similar age, but so rcenaries were so shocked that they either sat down or took steps backward.
“Horns?”
She had unfamiliar and strange body parts that humans shouldn’t possess.
So of the rcenaries were so frightened that they couldn’t move, and others started to retreat.
“How should I eat it? Swallow it whole? Chew it thoroughly? Or suck on it like candy?”
She looked like an innocent child contemplating how to eat delicious food right in front of her.
Witnessing this right before his eyes, Jason couldn’t bring himself to speak, and his trembling lips were the only movent he could make.
His feet were stuck to the ground, and he could only tremble, overwheld by fear and helplessness that seed impossible to escape.
Even soone like him, who had killed and ravaged countless humans, could do nothing in this mont.
He could only ponder why this situation had occurred.
The expression on his face mirrored those of the countless humans he had preyed upon just before their deaths, now reflecting on his own face.
“Well then, bon appétit~!”
– Swoosh!
With a rciless sound that sliced through the flesh, half of Jason’s body disappeared in an instant.
“Eeek!”
The remaining rcenaries scread in a panic, and without any order, they all started fleeing in haste.
“What, what’s happening? Why are there monsters like that in the academy?”
“Abort the mission! Stop daydreaming and get out of here now! There won’t be any more missions for a while! Disperse!”
Gerrick shouted at the fleeing rcenaries, but they didn’t hear his voice.
“What on earth is that thing supposed to be? It’s not a human, it’s like a dragon…!”
– Swoosh
As the chilling sound of flesh being sliced echoed, their footsteps abruptly halted.
As the rcenary at the forefront stumbled and collapsed, his neck twisted grotesquely forward.
“…”
A strange black mist, from an unknown source, brushed against their skin, causing cold sweat to trickle down between their chests and backs.
Suppressing their surging fear as best as they could, the rcenaries slowly raised their heads.
– Swoosh
In the brief mont when the sweat trickled down their backs and reached their tailbones, preceded by a sound of devastation, the heads of the rcenaries ahead began to fall like rain.
Gerrick, the leader of the rcenaries who were now left alone, his strength drained, collapsed to his knees.
The woman with the black mask whispered to him.
“Take him away.”
– Thud!
Before long, a dull impact struck his head, and he collapsed unconscious.
* * *
“Th-the leader! How should we even begin to assess this…?”
Even the assassins, who had experienced countless situations, couldn’t help but gape at the scene before them.
If they were ordinary civilians, they wouldn’t even be able to bear to keep their eyes open.
“Did I beco complacent? Or was I ignorant?”
Silica grimaced bitterly, her expression filled with discomfort.
The bodies of the rcenaries had already disappeared, leaving only scraps of flesh and bone scattered with blood in their place.
In the center of it all, Nana sat, smiling contentedly as if she had just finished a al.
“Hehe…”
Her bloodshot eyes and trembling pupils made it clear that she was no longer in her right mind.
She was not the innocent and cute human girl she once seed to be, but a vicious dragon awakened by her dormant appetite.
Just looking at her was enough to evoke an overwhelming sense of aversion.
“First, dispose of the bodies, and erase all traces from the surroundings. Not a single drop of blood should remain.”
“What about that dragon?”
Silica stared intently at Nana’s face, filled with a happiness that bordered on madness.
She wasn’t just a delicate and tender little being.
If left unchecked, she could pose a very dangerous threat, so she must not be left alone near Cyan.
“I’ll handle it. Focus on disposing of the evidence and covering our tracks.”
“Yes! Understood!”
The enlisted mbers imdiately began the cleanup.
As Silica approached Nana with determination, ready to act, a voice interrupted them.
“Hey, who’s there?”
“…!”
A strange voice, followed by the voice of a young girl.
“It’s dangerous if you go alone, Arin!”
She wasn’t alone.
Behind her, there were signs of a girl presud to be a student, followed by heavy footsteps that suggested several knights.
“Leader! Soone’s coming!”
“Cease all activities and retreat imdiately!”
Without any hesitation, the mbers began to leave.
As Silica, the last one remaining, approached the sitting Nana to pick her up, she muttered softly.
“This situation is getting ssier.”
And so, all the assassins vanished, leaving only the empty silence in the forest.
Gradually, the sound of rustling bushes revealed the figures of Arin and Ressimus.
“Could it have been a misunderstanding? Is there really sothing in this forest?”
“W-well, it seems like it, but… I’m not sure either. I just felt a presence, like a hunch…”
After parting ways with Nana and returning to the dormitory, Arin suddenly sensed a strange presence in the middle of the forest.
Leading the curious knights, she ventured into the forest, but found nothing visible.
As they were about to turn back with puzzled expressions…
“…!”
A thick liquid-like substance touched her foot, causing her gaze to instinctively turn towards it.
Though the identity of the liquid was still unknown, the reddish hue reminiscent of blood sent shivers down Arin’s spine.
Before long, as they followed the trail of the liquid, they witnessed sothing horrifying.
“Kyaaaah!!”
A scream tore through the entire forest as if it were being torn apart.
* * *
“So far, a total of four bodies have been found. One of them is so mutilated that it’s barely recognizable as a body. These were mbers of an imperial rchant group that arrived in Luwen the day before. According to the investigation, they were rcenaries registered with the Continental rcenary Guild.”
The instructors who received the report couldn’t hide their astonishnt.
“Why would rcenaries infiltrate the academy?”
“If we speculate, they may have been sent to monitor or assassinate a specific target. Whether that target is a student or a staff mber, we can’t be sure. But regardless, it seems like they were involved in a significant operation.”
The instructors nodded in agreent.
“As we continue the investigation to find the one person whose whereabouts are still unknown, what we should focus on most…”
“Is who killed those rcenaries.”
Silica, who had remained silent throughout the ergency eting, finally spoke up.
“After the incident was first reported, the administration imdiately inford the Chancellor, and we just received his response a while ago.”
Vice Chancellor Satwell wasted no ti in presenting the Chancellor’s response to the instructors.
“As of now, all classes are suspended, and all students are to remain in their dormitories until the situation is resolved. All outdoor activities, including exercise and sparring, are strictly prohibited, and students are not to have any contact with other students or instructors.”
The asures were more stringent than expected, leaving everyone surprised.
Silica watched the situation closely, swallowing her dry saliva.
“Is the Chancellor returning now?”
“He seems extrely displeased with the recent unfortunate events at the academy. Furthermore, it seems like he suspects soone from within the academy as a key suspect in this incident.”
“Soone from the academy?”
“Yes, particularly…”
A slight tremor ran through Silica’s pupils as she sensed a sudden unease.
“He instructed us to keep an eye on the area near the Royal Quarters where the royal students are staying.”
————
Reviews
All reviews (0)