Chapter 54

Ariel, who had dealt with the leader of the Crow Mercenary Group, untied the chains binding Ghost and also freed Roo from the Magic Cage.

Ghost had a wound on her side, but when Roo sprinkled Healing Powder, it quickly healed completely.

“Ah, as expected, big sis! I knew you’d come to save us! I believed in you!”

Roo clung to Ariel’s face, rubbing against her, while Ghost also began licking one of Ariel’s cheeks in gratitude.

“……”

Ariel quietly stroked Ghost and Roo with her hand.

She had been very shocked to see the blood-soaked courtyard of the lodging earlier, but she was relieved they were safe.

“Um, Lady Ariel…”

Rakia’s voice came from behind.

“I took care of the humans over there.”

As she said this, Rakia suddenly poked her head forward.

“……”

After briefly looking at Rakia’s head, Ariel soon realized her intention.

Rakia also wanted to be praised.

Ariel reached out and gently stroked Rakia’s head as well.

“Ehehe.”

Rakia curled up and let out a happy laugh.

“…By the way, what were these guys trying to do anyway?”

Roo fluttered her wings and asked.

All around, numerous humans lay fallen.

They were all members of the Crow Mercenary Group, and not a single one survived, including the leader.

The leader had his forehead pierced by Ariel’s Magic Missile, and the members were wiped out by Rakia’s magic.

The most infamous group in Goldcastle had vanished in an instant.

“They kidnapped Ghost and me to lure big sis here… Oh, now that I think about it, there was some human brat who seemed to be the mastermind.”

At Roo’s words, Ariel turned her gaze to where Cobin had been flung earlier.

The wall Cobin had crashed into had collapsed, and only the shattered debris remained piled up. Cobin was nowhere to be seen.

He was probably buried under the rubble.

“Hmph, whatever they were trying to do, it doesn’t matter. These lowlifes were rude to Lady Ariel and even touched my friends, so they deserved to die.”

Rakia crossed her arms and spoke.

“If it were up to me, I’d turn this entire city into ashes, but since Lady Ariel wouldn’t like that, I’ll hold back for now.”

Rakia spoke as if throwing a tantrum.

There were indeed past instances where dragons had turned human kingdoms to ashes overnight.

Even though Rakia was still a young dragon, it was entirely possible for her to reduce a city to ashes.

Anyway, since Ghost and Roo were safe, they decided to head back to the lodging.

Ariel, Roo, and Ghost left the abandoned building first, while Rakia used magic to gather the bodies of the Crow Mercenary Group in one place and incinerated them, then completely demolished the abandoned building.

It was an act of evidence destruction.

Even if it was a remote abandoned building, leaving dozens of corpses unattended would prompt the city’s Patrol Office to investigate.

If they didn’t destroy the evidence, troublesome incidents might arise.

*Crash!*

With the collapsing abandoned building as the backdrop, Rakia came running over.

Rakia smiled brightly and said to Ariel,

“Let’s go take a bath together when we get back, Lady Ariel. I’ll wash you clean!”

*

After Ariel’s group left, a figure rose from beside the collapsed abandoned building.

A tall man with a spear strapped to his back.

It was Marcus, Cobin’s bodyguard.

Marcus silently watched the direction Ariel had left. Fear was evident in his eyes, and his fingertips trembled slightly.

He had witnessed Ariel and Rakia slaughter the Crow Mercenary Group.

The infamous Crow Mercenary Group of Goldcastle had been wiped out without even leaving a trace.

It had taken less than ten minutes.

In just ten minutes, an entire mercenary group had vanished from the continent.

A group of over fifty members.

The root of this incident was Cobin.

Cobin had lost a duel to Ariel and, harboring resentment, sought revenge.

Moreover, he had done so secretly without informing Marcus.

Perhaps Cobin thought Marcus wouldn’t agree, and that was true.

To Marcus, this act was dishonorable and despicable.

Seeking revenge after losing a duel, even going so far as to hire a notorious mercenary group to stage a kidnapping—Marcus could never agree to such a thing.

Of course, even if Cobin had acted in secret, Marcus couldn’t have been unaware.

Marcus was Cobin’s bodyguard.

As someone who guarded Cobin 24/7, Marcus naturally noticed Cobin’s plans.

Yet, he pretended not to know and didn’t intervene because he saw no need to stop it.

Marcus’s duty was solely to guard Cobin, not to correct his actions.

Of course, he had given Cobin some advice in the past.

But Cobin didn’t even listen with half an ear.

No matter how much Marcus advised that techniques like Mantis Fist were of little use in real combat and that he should focus on swordsmanship, Cobin stubbornly spent all his time perfecting those bizarre movements.

As a result, he was utterly defeated in the duel with Ariel… but now it seemed that wasn’t the case.

Even if Cobin had diligently trained in swordsmanship, he still wouldn’t have been able to defeat Ariel.

Marcus had been hiding near the abandoned building even before Ariel and Rakia arrived.

He had completely concealed his presence, so neither Cobin nor the Crow Mercenary Group noticed he was nearby.

Eventually, Ariel and Rakia arrived, and Cobin tried to force an apology from Ariel by threatening Ghost’s life.

“Kuhaha! Kneel down right now and apologize sincerely! Say, ‘I’m truly sorry for that time!’ No, that’s not enough! Lick my shoes! Crawl between my legs like a dog! Then I’ll spare your friends! Got it? Do it now!”

Cobin shouted like a despicable villain.

Ariel stared at him with an expressionless face.

A moment later, Ariel moved.

*Wham!*

She punched Cobin square in the face.

Marcus couldn’t even react. Ariel’s movements were too fast.

Before Marcus could respond, Ariel’s fist had already struck Cobin’s face, sending him flying into the wall.

Marcus watched the scene in disbelief.

What followed was pure horror.

As the Crow Mercenary Group members hidden throughout the building rushed out, Rakia began unleashing high-level magic on them.

It was a one-sided massacre.

Explosions, lightning strikes, and pillars of fire rose—it was a scene straight out of hell.

Marcus stood frozen, unable to move.

Even if he had intervened, he had no confidence in defeating Rakia.

He decided to continue observing the situation.

As Rakia killed all the Crow Mercenary Group members and Ariel flicked her finger to kill the leader, Marcus thought to himself.

“Absolutely do not intervene. If I do, I’ll surely die.”

Shortly after, Ariel left the abandoned building with Ghost and Roo.

Then Rakia gathered the bodies of the Crow Mercenary Group, incinerated them, and finally demolished the abandoned building, all using high-level magic.

Magic so powerful that ordinary mages could only dream of it.

Yet, Rakia showed no signs of exhaustion.

She cast such spells one after another, then cheerfully ran over to Ariel.

And now, even after Ariel’s group had left, Marcus still couldn’t believe what had happened.

To Marcus, both Ariel and Rakia were monsters.

Could anyone in the Empire possibly stand against them?

Could the Empire’s greatest swordsman, Sir William, or the grand mage, Duke Raigar, defeat them?

Or perhaps the hero who recently drew Excalibur?

Marcus couldn’t be sure.

What was certain was that Ariel and Rakia were incredibly strong and dangerous. Perhaps even more dangerous than demons.

“Hmm…”

Marcus sighed and began to move.

For now, there was only one thing for Marcus to do.

Confirm Cobin’s survival.

When Rakia incinerated the bodies of the Crow Mercenary Group earlier, she hadn’t touched Cobin.

Perhaps she hadn’t noticed Cobin buried under the rubble of the collapsed wall. Or maybe she had noticed but didn’t care.

At the level of Ariel and Rakia, someone like Cobin wasn’t worth their attention.

Marcus began clearing the rubble where Cobin was buried.

Cobin might already be dead.

He had been punched by Ariel and buried under the rubble.

A frail boy like Cobin could easily die from such an injury.

But even so, Marcus didn’t particularly care.

This was something Cobin had brought upon himself.

In that sense, the same went for the Crow Mercenary Group.

The Crow Mercenary Group was a vile organization that engaged in despicable acts like kidnapping and murder, so their deaths elicited no sympathy.

In fact, with them gone, Goldcastle would become a more pleasant place.

As Marcus cleared the rubble, Cobin’s figure was revealed. His face was caved in from Ariel’s punch.

But he was still breathing faintly, so it seemed he wasn’t dead.

Compared to the Crow Mercenary Group, who didn’t even leave bodies behind, Cobin was lucky.

Marcus took out a potion from his pouch and poured it over Cobin’s wounds. He also fed him a few bottles directly.

It was an extremely expensive potion, but since it was provided by the Baraton family, there was no need to be frugal.

The potion worked, and Cobin’s condition improved.

His breathing stabilized, and his caved-in face returned somewhat to normal. Though not completely.

He would likely have to give up on his face. Even if he returned to his family for treatment, his face wouldn’t return to its original state. The damage was too severe.

But at least he had survived.

Besides, Cobin wasn’t particularly handsome to begin with, so having a slightly caved-in face wouldn’t make much difference.

“Huh, huuuh!”

Eventually, Cobin exhaled and opened his eyes.

Marcus looked down at him quietly and asked,

“Young master, are you conscious?”

“……”

Cobin blinked a few times, looking up at Marcus, then cautiously opened his mouth.

“Old man, who are you?”