Chapter 415

Through failure, hone yourself, and through strength, carry out your will.

Then, everything will fall into place as it should.

That was my belief.

Now, it was time to prove that belief.

—

The longsword I gripped emitted a chilling light.

Jin’s unique pale glow flashed vividly even in the darkness lit by a single candle.

“Hey, she drew her sword! Is she trying to start something?”

“Why don’t you just surrender quietly? Before you get hurt!”

As I drew my sword, the men who had been snickering also stiffened their expressions and tightly gripped their weapons.

True to their lowly nature, their weapons were quite varied.

From crude iron swords that soldiers might use, to gauntlets with blades and spiked maces.

The guy smoking outside pulled out a crossbow from his cloak, and the bald guy who had guided me here trembled as he drew a single dagger.

“Brave of you to charge in, but aren’t you starting to regret it, Sir Knight? If you back off now, I might spare your life.”

The man who seemed to be the leader pointed a Black Iron Sword at me and laughed.

As if a knight or two were no match for him, his confidence was overflowing.

Unlike the lightly dressed enemies, he was clad in sturdy steel armor, shoulder guards, gauntlets, and greaves.

Probably looted from some wandering knight who had stumbled into this place.

“―Let me ask you one thing.”

I raised my head and spoke directly to them.

“W-what is it, you bitch…!”

The man who met my eyes flinched and took a step back.

Well, honestly, even I would be startled by my own appearance.

A voice mixed with metallic tones, eerily cold, and glowing blue eyes.

A metallic mask resembling beastly fangs flashing from the shadows of the hood.

Just as they looked like professional serial killers, I too resembled a mythical human butcher.

“…You don’t seem like an ordinary knight. Who sent you?”

“Never mind that, answer my question. Was it you who spread drugs in the slums?”

Given the scale, it couldn’t have been just them.

Earlier, they had mentioned something about ‘that person.’

“Ten people couldn’t have done this alone. I need to know who’s behind you.”

“Well…why should we tell you?”

The presumed leader with the longsword shook his head and laughed leisurely.

Emboldened by their leader’s confidence, the others also started snickering.

“Nice mask. If you take it off and kneel naked, maybe we’ll tell you.”

“Hahaha! Right. When you want to ask questions, you should open your lower mouth, not the upper one!”

The men started slowly advancing towards me, pointing their blades.

…Looks like they have no intention of answering peacefully.

How foolish.

“If you don’t want to talk, then just die.”

– Crash!

I kicked off the tavern floor and lunged towards the enemy on the far left.

Like a bolt of lightning.

“Guh…!”

The distance closed in an instant.

The man couldn’t even react properly, letting out a single gasp of shock.

First one.

I thrust my left arm towards his lower abdomen.

A crimson blade, wrapped in frost, spiraled like a drill.

– Splat!

The skin of his belly burst open like angel wings.

Blood, flesh, torn organs, and shattered spine painted a colorful scene behind him.

“Kyaaa-!”

“Shut up.”

As the thug, with a gaping hole in his lower abdomen, tried to scream,

– Crunch!

A blood-red vortex erupted from the frost, turning into a blade storm that shredded his entire body.

Hersela’s technique, executed not with the blade but with my left arm.

Minced flesh poured down like an overturned table.

“Ben-!”

“You bitch-!”

The men, reacting a beat late, shouted in a panic.

Two men stabbed towards my back with their swords. I could feel it clearly without even looking.

“Max! Tian! Fall back! You can’t handle-”

Finally realizing something was wrong, the leader urgently shouted.

But it was far too late.

I stomped my right foot, spreading the Life Force like unfolding shadows.

Thorn Shadow.

Red thorns extending from the shadows.

The Life Force stakes pierced the approaching men.

“Guh…!”

“Gyaaak-!”

The two men let out grotesque screams as they were lifted two stories high.

One, with his lower jaw pierced, dangled his bulging eyes and wet himself, while the other, impaled from his anus to his mouth, writhed in mid-air.

I changed the nature of the Life Force to be more blade-like, tearing them apart, and charged towards the next enemy.

Behind me, a rain of flesh fell.

“Guh! What is this!? A monster, a monster!”

“Is he a master?! Why is a master here!!”

With three of their comrades turned into minced meat in an instant, the men panicked.

“A master, my ass! He’s clearly a magician! Milon! Do something!”

At the leader’s command, the magician named Milon frantically retreated and gathered mana.

The others simultaneously hurled their weapons at me.

How tedious.

I yawned as I methodically slaughtered them.

I sliced the man swinging a mace at my head into four pieces and stomped the idiot trying to stab my ankle, bursting him open.

A wave of blood surged.

That makes five.

– Thud!

A killing intent aimed at my temple.

Reflexively, I raised my left hand and caught the source of the killing intent.

A short arrow trembled at my fingertips.

A crossbow bolt. It was the work of the lookout who had climbed to the second floor.

I threw the arrow back at him, and the man, pierced through the forehead by his own bolt, staggered and fell to the ground.

– Crack!

His head slammed into the ground.

His neck bones, unable to withstand the impact, split in half and burst through his skin.

“You monster-!”

The next moment, the surroundings brightened as the magician hurled a fireball at me.

A fireball, quite classic.

I quickly yanked out the bald man’s limbs, who was trying to stab me with a dagger, and hurled him towards the fireball.

– Boom!

The fireball collided with the bald man and exploded.

The concentrated flames burst out, engulfing his torso.

“Gyaaaaaaah!”

A piercing scream. The bald man, now on fire, thrashed on the ground.

The smell of roasting flesh filled the air.

Fortunately, the blood gushing from his severed limbs prevented the fire from spreading to the tavern floor.

“Damn it…!”

Cursing, Milon gathered mana again.

I threw the dagger left by the bald man towards his head.

“Milon!”

“I know!”

A blue barrier formed in front of Milon just as the presumed leader warned.

– Crash!

The dagger, shot like a bullet, shattered upon impact with the barrier.

Even though I hadn’t thrown it with full force, the entire blade was destroyed.

It was more like trash than a weapon.

Milon, the magician who blocked the dagger, sighed in relief behind the barrier and began gathering mana again.

He’s quite skilled.

Maintaining the mana barrier while casting another spell.

But…it’s too early to relax.

“Blocked it, huh?”

I chuckled and charged towards the magician.

You blocked my dagger? Then I’ll just get close and smash it.

“Stop him!”

“You monster!”

The two remaining men swung their swords at me head-on.

A Black Iron Sword with strength surpassing that of an average knight, and a steel sword, less impressive but still sharp.

True to being the last thugs standing, they were better than the others.

But in the end, they were still just at the level of knights.

I grabbed the leader’s Black Iron Sword with frost and snapped it, then swung Durandal at the steel sword.

– Crack!

Jin’s blade, like tofu, sliced through the steel sword.

“What the…!”

I was too bored to play around anymore.

– Splat!

“Gyaaaah!”

I kicked the man in the groin with all my might, and he shot up like a rocket towards the ceiling, screaming like a crushed frog.

Instead of rocket flames, a fountain of blood spurted from between his legs.

A sound like a water-filled leather pouch bursting echoed.

The corpse, resembling a thrown tomato, stuck to the ceiling, with crushed flesh and burst organs oozing down.

I ignored him and charged towards the magician.

“D-don’t come any closer!”

Milon stretched out his arm towards me and shouted frantically.

As his fingertips flashed, a flow of mana wrapped around my limbs.

A binding spell, huh?

Too bad. Fire or ice would have been better.

– Crash!

The anti-magic blessing shattered the mana flow.

The binding spell aimed at my limbs disintegrated before it could fully form.

“Anti-magic?!”

The magician’s mouth hung open in shock.

Surprised? Is this the first time you’ve seen someone with anti-magic?

Well, I haven’t seen anyone else with it either.

It’s a rare ability.

“You know it well!”

The mana barrier was just a step away.

The magician, having failed the binding spell, frantically prepared another spell, but it was already too late.

Durandal’s blade drew a blue arc as it flew towards his body.

The mana barrier? It was shattered the moment it touched.

Milon’s body was split vertically.

—

“How about it? Feeling like talking now?”

I shook off the blood and fluids soaking my robe and spoke to the leader, who was still alive…more like spared.

“W-what the hell is this…!”

The man looked at me with a mix of confusion, fear, and incomprehension.

Like a child facing a monster under the bed. Not a trace of confidence or fighting spirit remained.

Of course. In just thirty seconds, all his subordinates had been sliced into pieces like a hellish breakfast.

Blood and chunks of flesh were everywhere.

Organs and brain matter stuck to the walls and ceiling, mixed with blood and bile, oozing down.

The corpses rolling on the floor were mangled beyond recognition.

The stench of blood, bile, and burning fat was overwhelming.

A nightmare scene crafted by a vengeful spirit filled with endless hatred for the living.

Thanks to the purification device, I was enjoying fresh air.

“Damn it…looks like you’re not ready to answer yet. Let’s start with your ankles then.”

“A-ankles…?”

The leader asked in a terrified voice.

Why so scared? You were so confident earlier.

As soon as I started playing, you tucked your tail.

“Yeah. I have a lot of questions for you. That’s why I spared you. You don’t seem like the tight-lipped type, so if I start cutting, you’ll talk, right?”

I wiped the blood off Durandal and approached the leader.

Having warmed up, it was time to start the real interrogation.

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