Chapter 237: I Am Going to Kill You (4)

If someone was about to fall, it was only right to catch them. And if it were a man and a woman, it would be the perfect romantic situation, but...

Whoosh.

Anis stepped aside, avoiding Aru, who was falling. She clearly hadn’t expected him to dodge and instinctively righted herself. In that instant, Anis grabbed Aru’s wrist and twisted it. Normally, a snapped wrist would cause pain and fear, but Aru was different.

Swish!

Using the recoil from her twisted wrist, Aru kicked Anis. However, Anis seemed to have anticipated it. He bent down to dodge, then unfastened his belt and swung it.

Whoosh. Click!

The belt straightened and became a bow. It was a garment weapon, a bow forged by Volkanus after being inspired by the Doppleganger, Sefira’s Three Divine Artifacts.

Crack!

The bow struck Aru’s waist, arching her back like a drawn string. Anis showed no mercy, whether Aru was a woman or not. He swept her legs from under her and swiftly pulled restraints from his coat to bind her arms and legs. In an instant, the subdued Aru changed tactics.

“Save me! Anis is trying to sexually assault me!”

Having failed at physical assassination, she aimed to inflict psychological harm. And it worked: Sefira’s soldiers who were patrolling nearby hurried over.

“Lord Anis.”

“Take her.”

“Thank you for your hard work.”

“What...?!”

Anis, the assassin who was disguised as the daughter of a noble family, couldn’t make sense of the situation. She hadn’t even explained anything, yet the soldiers acted like they already knew and started to haul her off.

“How... How did this happen...

ugh!

”

With a gag stuffed into her mouth and a blindfold over her eyes, Aru was dragged away. Anis picked up the dagger the assassin had dropped.

“A dagger thinner than a strand of hair.”

The dagger looked extremely fragile. He pressed on it slightly with his fingers, but that was enough to split the sword into two. Its small and thin size made it easy to hide, but its durability was worse than a twig.

“Poison.”

The tip of the blade had a bluish sheen. Even without testing it, it was obvious Aru had coated it with a deadly toxin.

“So she wasn’t merely spying after all.”

Crunch!

Anis stomped the dagger into shards with his foot, his face hard with anger. The party had been organized by the Ultima Trading Company and Veiga. However, Sefira wasn’t just standing around. They had poured everything into security and guard duty, preparing for an incident like this.

During the checkpoint at the main gates, they had already filtered out suspicious people. Anyone with an uncertain identity or even a slight discrepancy from their papers had been put under observation, one knight and four soldiers assigned to each. If they simply watched and left, the plan had been to throw them in prison. But...

“Let’s see what they want.”

Now that they knew these were assassins, Sefira wouldn’t stay passive. They were no longer timidly defensive; Sefira had changed.

“There will be no mercy.”

Anis moved to a less-traveled area to draw out any other assassins.

* * *

There were no blind spots in Sefira’s security... except for one: Keter’s residence. It was the only place where the guard presence was notably light and patrol routes were sparse.

“So this is where Keter stays.”

Among the two men dressed in black, the one with no eyebrows looked at the mansion with a tense face. Yet despite his nervousness, they slipped into Keter’s place extremely easily.

The smaller man grinned slyly.

“A bastard son living apart from the main estate, with barely any guards around... looks like Sefira can’t stand him.”

There were even fewer guards inside the mansion, so the two men didn’t even need to hide. Still, they didn’t let their guard down. Even though they felt no sign of life, they crept carefully down the corridor.

𝐟𝕣𝗲𝕖𝕨𝗲𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝗲𝚕.𝗰𝚘𝐦

“It’s unnervingly quiet.”

Their target was Keter’s bedroom, where they planned to uncover his secrets. Keter was reveling at the party, and all of Sefira’s forces were gathered there; this was the perfect time.

“But still, how can there be no guards at all...”

That made them even more nervous. Reaching the bedroom door so easily felt almost unreal. But turning back out of fear wasn’t professional.

The eyebrowless man grasped the doorknob and turned it. It moved smoothly, meaning that it was unlocked.

Creak...

He opened the door slowly, making sure not to let a single sound escape. Behind him, the smaller man waited, holding a dagger in reverse grip, ready for anything.

Poke, poke.

“What was that?”

“What?”

“What do you mean, ‘what’? You just poked me.”

“What nonsense? I didn’t.”

Poke, poke.

“Hey, stop playing around! You just poked my back again!”

“What the hell are you talking about? My hands are right here.”

The smaller man raised both arms in front of him.

Poke, poke.

“Huh?”

The eyebrowless man felt another sharp prod at his waist. Cold sweat poured down his face.

“Wait, what’s going on...?”

The smaller one turned, irritation on his face.

“Huh?”

He saw a girl standing behind him. She had appeared out of nowhere, without a sound or the slightest trace of presence. She was incredibly cute, so much so that she seemed to glow, even in the pitch-black corridor. Had they met her in a city street, they might’ve bought her candy without thinking. But the smaller man knew that the girl before him was no human—she was a monster.

Swish!

The small man in black was a trained assassin; instead of being flustered, he thrust his dagger at her throat without hesitation. Even if she looked like a child, mercy was for amateurs.

Clang!

“...Clang?”

The dagger shattered against her neck like brittle sugarcane.

The smaller man stared, muttering in disbelief. “That was an amantir dagger...”

Elise, the girl with white hair, pointed at the man. At that moment, a hole appeared in his forehead.

Whoosh!

The eyebrowless man bolted, sprinting down the corridor he had crept through moments ago.

I can’t fight that thing. I can’t win.

Realizing that, he had already accepted his defeat and fled.

“Ugh!”

Suddenly, he fell flat on his face. The floor was level, nothing to trip on, yet something had grabbed his ankle.

“Wh-what is this?”

When he touched it, his fingers were smeared with something thick and sticky.

Drip... drip...

The same substance dripped from the ceiling. He looked up instinctively and froze.

“H-hahaha...”

A mass of green slime filled his vision, descending toward him.

Thud!

He was crushed before he could scream. Every bone in his body shattered instantly under the weight of Popo, so there was no time for pain.

Rumble...!

Popo shuddered once, and what had been a man moments ago turned to bone fragments from the digestive fluid. It was so strong that those bone fragments immediately turned to dust.

Gluuuurp...

With a faint ripple, Popo climbed back up to the ceiling, leaving not a trace behind. It seemed somewhat disappointed.

Scenes like this were unfolding throughout Sefira’s estate. They were all different in circumstance, yet identical in outcome. As the party reached its peak, spies and assassins carried out a coordinated strike, aiming to bring Sefira down. But Sefira, having prepared meticulously, intercepted and neutralized every one of them.

The nobles at the party remained blissfully unaware of what was happening outside, and that was exactly how Sefira wanted it. To them, nothing had happened, and that alone was proof that Sefira had the strength to crush such threats with ease.

But assassins weren’t the only ones targeting Sefira that night.

* * *

“Pleasure to meet you, young man. I am Arthur El Inghardt, a schoolmate of Elder Reganon.”

At the old man’s introduction, Keter wore a bored expression.

“So what?”

“I introduced myself as a member of Inghardt, but I’m not here representing the family. I’ve come on behalf of the Old Nobles' Circle. I have a proposal for you.”

“The Old Nobles' Circle, huh...”

“If you’ll spare me just a moment of your time, I promise it won’t be to your disadvantage.”

“You have five minutes.”

“Much obliged. This way, please.”

Arthur led Keter to a secluded tent. It was empty inside, but on the table sat two glasses of wine, already poured.

“As the one making an offer, I couldn’t come empty-handed, so I brought the finest wine I have. Please, have a drink.”

“Hm?”

“It’s a fifty-year-old Egmagne from Gethia. A single sip costs more than its weight in gold.”

“Couldn’t care less. Old man, did you poison it?”

“Hahaha, do you suspect me? Well, I suppose you would.”

Arthur calmly switched his own glass with Keter’s and offered it to him.

“There. No reason for doubt now.”

“Your effort’s commendable. I’ll drink it.”

Keter didn’t even wait for Arthur to drink first and downed the wine in one gulp. Arthur’s face twisted instantly.

“Heh heh heh... you’ve fallen right into it, Keter.”

“Sure have. So why don’t you tell me what your plan is?”

“So confident. You must’ve thought it was poison and prepared an antidote, hm? But it’s useless. What you drank wasn’t poison; it was vermin. Ever heard of vermin poison?”

“That’s black magic.”

“You know about it? Impressive. Then you must also know this: vermin poison cannot be cured. From now on, you have to obey my orders. Otherwise, the vermin inside your heart will burst.”

“Oh, how terrifying,” Keter said sarcastically.

“Seeing that you’re denying reality, you’re no different from the others. Fine, I’ll show you who your master is.”

Arthur closed his eyes and began to chant in a strange language. Then, he extended his palm toward Keter.

“I’ve awakened the vermin poison. From today on, unless you take this pill once every week, it will slowly eat away at your heart. Don’t even dream of removing it. The moment you try to tamper with it, it’ll self-destruct.”

“So, what exactly do you plan to do with me, old man?”

“You insolent brat! It seems you still don’t understand your situation. Let me start by teaching you this: when you see me, you kneel.”

Arthur pointed at the ground.

“...”

Nothing happened.

“Defying me? Let’s see how long you can keep that smug look when there’s a hole in your heart.”

Arthur glared at Keter, his finger trembling with force. Keter just yawned, then...

Smack!

...he slammed his fist into Arthur’s face.

“Guhhh!”

Keter’s punch was so strong that the wrinkles on Arthur’s face straightened as if rejuvenated. Arthur tumbled across the floor, crashing through furniture.

Keter stepped closer and said, “I’ll ask three questions. You don’t have to answer if you don’t want to. First, who sent you?”

“

Cough!

Y-you bastard! You think you’ll get away with th...”

Crack!

“Gaaaah!”

Arthur clutched his groin as drool spilled from his mouth.

“Second, who sent you?”

“W-wait! I can’t breat...”

Crack!!

“Aaaaghh!!!”

Keter kicked him again in the same spot, even though Arthur was covering it with his hands.

Without giving him even a second’s respite, he asked the final question, “Last one. Who sent you?”

* * *

Keter walked over to the table where the elders of the Old Nobles’ Circle were gathered and chatting.

“Ah, Lord Keter! Long time no see. You remember me, don’t you? I’m Butler Hans.”

Hans, Sefira’s butler, made a show of acknowledging Keter. He was the butler in charge of finances. He felt considerable goodwill and fear toward Keter, who cut his cursed ties with Ultima. But now, in his drunken state, the fear seemed to have vanished, and Hans looked relaxed.

“This is Lord Gerald El Underhill. He used to be a royal magistrate and now serves as an adviser. I happened to owe him a favor long ago, so we were just talking.”

At Hans’ remark, Gerald rose and greeted Keter.

“I’ve been waiting for your visit. I’m Gerald.”

“You haven’t had any yet?”

“Hm?”

“The wine I gave you.”

“Oh, this.”

Gerald eyed the bottle of the Fist Emperor’s liquor on the table and blanched slightly.

“Forgive me. I’m abstaining from alcohol right now.”

“You’re going to have to drink.”

“I’ve heard you must drink to speak with you. But indulge me a little. If I were to drink something this strong in my old age, I’d be laid up for a week,” Gerald said jokingly.

Keter smiled in return.

“You won’t be laid up for a week. There’s no room for lying down in Sefira’s prison.”

“...?!”

The elder nobles of the Old Nobles’ Circle, who had been watching calmly, were shocked. Gerald also blinked, unsure of what he had just heard.

“L-Lord Keter, what’s gotten into you? Have you had too much to drink? Hahaha...”

Hans grabbed Keter’s arm, trying to restrain him, but Keter tapped Hans on the shoulder.

“Grandpa Hans, step aside if you don’t want to die.”