A gasp spread through the air.
“!”
The orange-haired guy’s eyes widened in shock.
He probably didn’t expect that a comrade would die in one hit. That’s why you should never let your guard down.
You never know when or how you’ll get stabbed.
Perhaps due to the sudden killing, our team’s Chaerin was just as startled.
“Whoa!”
I smirked slightly to myself. After all, it was my first time killing someone in front of others.
Sure, the opponent did try to eat me first.
In this brutal world, that was more than enough reason to kill.
But just because the reason is valid doesn’t mean I understand her mentality.
After all, Chaerin was from the modern world. She might have reservations about such an instinctual killing scene.
“Wow… as expected. Yor’s skills are really impressive.”
…Or maybe not?
I mean, from her perspective, this was just a game. She might be fine with it.
Predicting the psychology of Otherworlders is always difficult.
They can feel just like normal people, yet they ultimately view the world from a distance.
There’s this subtle sense of separation.
‘…Let’s not think about that.’
But just as I had that thought, I focused back on the situation in front of me.
Now is not the time to get lost in thought. The opponent, starting to recover from the shock, readied herself for battle.
“This bastard…!”
With a small curse, the orange-haired girl lunged at me.
I raised my spear to block her short sword.
Clang-!
Her attack was heavier than I expected. Thinking back to that one-hit wonder, the red-haired guy, this was quite an unexpected strength.
‘Is she actually somewhat skilled?’
I guess that’s why she seemed so relaxed with her subordinates.
“How dare you! How dare you kill my subordinate!”
It seemed that she was even stronger than the one I had killed.
In fact, there was not a trace of fear in her expression. Despite showcasing her power by effortlessly killing someone, she wasn’t intimidated at all.
Then she took a step back and unleashed a flurry of attacks.
I couldn’t help but be a little surprised.
A blue aura surrounded her short sword.
In other words, it was a sword aura.
This prompted an involuntary question.
‘What kind of group is Lemegaton, anyway?’
That guy I met last time, Rian, was the same.
There were too many strong people among a mere group of criminals to raise suspicion.
If someone could use a sword aura, it meant they were at least an A-level adventurer. Why the hell are such people coming at me one after another?
Is the standard for A-level lower than I thought?
I don’t know. I would have to have been an adventurer myself to understand. Either way, this wasn’t good news.
‘A sword aura… that’s a bit tough.’
Of course, I could use a sword aura too.
But like I said before, I was somewhat inexperienced with using a sword aura.
After all, there’s demonic blood, which is far more efficient and lethal. Why bother using a sword aura?
But right now, I might just have to go through that hassle.
There was a spectator right beside me. I had to use only a sword aura to clear this without a hit.
I used to love pushing my limits in the past, but having to force myself into becoming a powerful player is pretty frustrating.
‘…Wait a minute.’
But just as I had that thought, a good plan suddenly struck me.
If the spectator was a nuisance, why not just eliminate the spectator?
So, I asked her just in case.
“Chaerin, can you die right now?”
“Yes, what?”
She looked at me as if I was crazy.
Damn, that’s a no-go. Witness elimination failed.
Then suddenly, I recalled another method.
Come to think of it, Otherworlders have ways of not just dying, don’t they?
I was so wrapped up in witness elimination that my brain had briefly shut down.
Clang-!
Blocking her sword again, I shouted at Chaerin.
Damn, that sword was weighted down with a sword aura.
“Or you could just log out. Just for a bit!”
“Y-Yeah? But logging out will take at least 20 minutes to get back in…”
“That’s plenty of time. No, just perfect!”
Twenty minutes would be enough to deal with the opponent and even make a quick snack.
She showed a worried expression for a moment at my words.
But that didn’t last long, as she nodded and prepared to log out.
She trusted my skills.
After all, she knew that I could take on Seere one-on-one.
“…Just don’t get too hurt.”
With that, she vanished from the scene. The sense of presence faded away.
I momentarily created some distance and looked around.
“……”
It was eerily quiet. Aside from the guy in front of me, the only sound was the rustling of leaves. There was no sense of presence at all.
In other words, the only one watching me here was the guy in front of me.
And since he was about to die, it was effectively like no one else was here.
A strange sense of liberation washed over me. How long had it been since I felt this freedom?
“Take your eyes off me!”
Suddenly, he charged at me, thrusting with his short sword.
I could see the fierce mana gathering at the tip of his blade.
Having assessed it, I could dodge.
But instead, I extended my right hand toward the tip of his sword.
Thwack-!
With a sound of fabric tearing, intense pain welcomed me.
For a moment, I grimaced at the surge of pain.
Still, since I was used to piercing my own flesh every month, I could hold on for now.
As he succeeded in hitting me, he let out a vile laugh.
“Ha ha, what a foolish idiot. Thinking I’d let you off just because you have a nice look? You’re dead meat now.”
“………”
I didn’t bother responding. I didn’t particularly enjoy chatting with the dead.
For the first time in a long while, I manipulated my blood.
Slowly… the blood that was about to drop began to rise into the air, defying reason.
As long as my will and ability allowed it,
I could manipulate and exert power over my blood however I wanted.
The blood trickling from my hand enveloped the entirety of my spear like a cloak.
It was best to dispose of unnecessary weapons quickly.
I applied pressure on the spear itself, twisting it.
Twist-! Crunch-!
The sound that shouldn’t have come from the sword resonated, and his short sword crumpled like paper.
I couldn’t help but let out a short murmur.
“Hmmm…”
Sure enough, it required a lot of strength to crumple steel like that. It was only possible because it was a thin, compact short sword.
This tactic wasn’t something I could use often. This ability came with its own drawbacks.
Anyway, with that, I got rid of the excess.
“Uh, uh?”
Seeing this, the guy stumbled backward, dumbfounded.
Confusion and terror spread across his face.
“N-No, what the hell… what’s that? Is this… dark magic? Who the hell are you to do something like that?”
“What does it matter to a soon-to-be-dead human?”
I tossed away the now-ruined sword and approached him. I reclaimed the blood that had been on the weapon.
Drops of vivid red blood began to float in the air.
If only it didn’t trigger a berserk state, it would be a truly useful ability.
“Yikes, don’t come any closer…!”
He shouted in a voice laced with fear.
The bravado he had when he tried to eat me just moments ago was nowhere to be found.
Fortunately for him, I had no interest in torturing someone who was about to die.
So I intended to send him off in one blow.
I began to shape the blood.
What I wanted was a simple thrust.
The blood that had been floating around began to move, turning into a spear that shot toward him.
Panicking, he hurriedly raised his round shield.
But it was all useless. If I could crumple steel, there was no way that a mere round shield could withstand it.
Anyway, this is where it ends.
“Gah!”
With a short cry, a hole appeared in his neck. Through the gaping hole, the serene forest scenery could be seen.
Since he seemed to care for his subordinate, I delivered his end the same way.
Thud!
As he collapsed to the ground, I found myself pondering for a moment.
“Hmmm…”
Now how am I supposed to deal with the rest?
*
Wham!
After logging out, Chaerin emerged from the capsule.
While waiting to log back in, she trembled with anxiety.
“What am I going to do…!”
Of course, she knew well that Yor was strong. He had shown many impressive feats and was a human who remained unscathed even after battling a demon.
But judging by the situation, it was just a ‘man’ and a criminal left alone. If something went wrong, there would be no one to help her.
Though it was he who had requested the ‘log out.’
Why did he suddenly make that request?
He seemed to look a bit desperate, so she followed suit without thinking, but that only made her waiting time feel excruciating.
To re-log into [Demon’s Saga], you had to wait about 20 minutes.
It was to prevent sneaky players from logging out mid-battle.
Of course, logging out didn’t grant any sort of invincibility period upon logging back in, but it could at least confuse the monsters.
Anyway, that meant Chaerin had no choice but to wait those 20 minutes.
After the time passed, she logged back into the game.
“Yor!”
As the strange feeling of floating disappeared, she looked around.
And she could see it.
That scrap of metal rolling on the ground and Yor, working diligently to bury two corpses.
“Oh, you’re back?”
He said, glancing at Chaerin.
“Sorry, night is approaching. Right now, I need to dig this hole. You should be able to walk out of here alone, right?”
Seeing her friendly NPC hiding the bodies, Chaerin felt relieved of her worry.
And she seriously began contemplating.
No matter how much it was a game and the opponents were criminals…
Was she really just going to stand by and watch a major crime scene?
