The servants will eliminate
(The capture target shows up here, huh!)
I glared at Leon through the knife I was pressing into him. Frankly, there's no point in entertaining his nonsense.
I thought that a knight might come for the sake of security, but it seems I've got someone more troublesome than I expected.
You see, Leon is one of the capture targets from the original game, which means he's been given preferential treatment. What's making this situation even trickier is that this game includes character growth as an element. By increasing parameters through events and items, you gain advantages in other events, and it's easier to increase the favorability of your target. The basic strategy for the game is to build up Maria, the main character, to make her more appealing to the character you want to capture.
Furthermore, as the favorability of the capture target increases as the capture progresses, it's possible that their strength is equivalent to or even surpasses Maria, who overwhelmed Milady during the magic competition.
"Sorry!"
Taking advantage of the standoff between us, Serena moved. Using her magically enhanced leg strength, she slipped through a gap in our encirclement that Leon had broken. In no time, she disappeared from view.
"Tsk... after her!"
"Understood."
As soon as I ordered my subordinates, who had quickly regained their composure amidst the chaos of the attack, Eins and the others, who were as competent as ever, disappeared to chase after Serena, who had escaped.
I believe the girls over there can handle it.
Now, for the rest...
"Halt, I won't let you go!"
"Where are you looking?"
"Ugh..."
I tried to kick Leon, who was trying to stop the pursuit by diverting his attention from me, but he deflected it with one hand. However, that was enough to make him aware of me again.
In any case, I have no magical power, so I can't pursue them. Instead, I'll keep this guy here until Eins and the others catch Serena.
"Defending a criminal, even the son of a hero has fallen."
"A criminal?!"
"Yes, she is a criminal who stole confidential documents from our Valiaz family. Did you intervene without knowing that?"
As we faced each other again with our blades ready, I spoke to Leon to buy time. I didn't forget to mention his father, whom he seems to have a complex about, so he couldn't ignore my words.
In the first place, we're simply chasing a criminal who stole confidential documents, and there's nothing wrong with it. It would be best if he just backed off now...
"But His Highness never said a word..."
My words seemed to affect Leon, who showed a slight hint of agitation. I had already known that he should be guarding the prince, which explained why he was here at this unusual hour. Nevertheless, it appeared that the prince was, unsurprisingly, the one who gave him orders.
"Even so, killing her is going too far!"
"What nonsense are you spouting? By defying the Valiaz family, she's already sentenced to death. Dispatching her here is the least merciful thing we can do."
I thought we might convince him, but he seemed to have regained his resolve and prepared his sword with determined eyes, which annoyed me greatly. In this world where life is cheap, stealing confidential documents is usually punishable by death. If she had obediently followed our instructions, we might have considered letting her off the hook, but it was her who chose to gouge out her own eyes.
There's no room for sympathy. Despite that, this man...
"I'm not going to let that happen!"
"Damn it, that's why you're such a brute..."
I closed the distance in an instant, deflecting his sword strikes with my knife. Each of his blows carried a lethal force that could obliterate me if I took them head-on.
In fact, wasn't killing her going too far?
As I desperately deflected his storm-like swordplay, I felt my anger rising at his foolishness.
"Your sword is too classy!"
"Argh!?"
Although he was undoubtedly strong, his fighting style lacked the ruthlessness and cunning I had expected. It was a textbook display of swordsmanship, powerful but highly predictable. Having encountered this style many times before, it was easy to anticipate his moves.
With each attack I evaded, I seized the momentary opening. Stepping forward, I delivered a headbutt to his frustratingly handsome face, causing Leon to stagger back, visibly disoriented.
"Take this!"
"Ugh...!"
I tried to follow up with a knife strike, but Leon instinctively leaped backward, narrowly escaping my blade.
However, my response was swift. Activating the wristband, I summoned throwing knives from the void and unleashed them in rapid succession.
Leon defended himself against the onslaught of knives with just one sword. Unfortunately for him, our supply of throwing knives seemed endless. I continued to throw them, occasionally incorporating feints into my barrage.
"Darn it, I can't afford to be held up here..."
As the space around us filled with the knives he deflected, Leon's expression grew increasingly intense. Unlike me, who only needed to stall for time until Eins and the others captured Serena, Leon had to defeat me as quickly as possible to proceed with Serena's rescue. This deadlock wasn't working in his favor.
"Then take this!"
"... 『Explode』!"
It was quite predictable that Leon would eventually abandon some of his defenses to launch an offensive. Just as he was about to switch to an attack to finish me off, I shouted the command.
The order instantly reached the explosive knives mixed among the ones scattered around Leon. I triggered the prepared enchantments all at once.
"Damn...!"
Surprised by the sudden surge of magic around him, Leon had no time to react after shifting to an offensive posture.
──Right after that, there was a thunderous explosion, blowing apart a part of the warehouse district.
◇◆◇◆
"I've got you!"
At the same time, Eins and her team, running nimbly across the warehouse rooftops, finally spotted Serena making her escape down an alley.
"What a hassle. Let's end this right now!"
"Eek.....!"
Drei, known as the most hot-tempered among Eins's subordinates, revealed a fierce grin, kicked off the roof, and leaped down toward Serena. Serena noticed the attack, but Drei's murderous intent left her paralyzed in fear.
"......Drei!"
"What... Gah!"
Just as Drei was about to strike Serena with a magically enhanced blow, a figure suddenly emerged from nowhere and attacked him.
Without time for Zwei's warning, Drei was sent flying by the mysterious assailant's attack, crashing through a nearby warehouse wall. Serena, narrowly escaping danger, resumed her escape.
"This can't be real..."
"Zwei, retrieve Drei and continue the pursuit. I'll handle that person."
"Alright!"
Though bewildered by how easily their most combat-ready member, Drei, was defeated, Zwei quickly refocused upon Eins's orders. Recognizing that her presence would only hinder in direct combat, she followed the instructions and moved to recover Drei.
"Who are you?"
"... "
"No intention to answer, I see."
Eins stood alone, confronting the figure that had just descended before her. Despite her questions, the person remained silent. Their entire body was obscured by a black mist-like substance, most likely achieved through concealment magic. It concealed not only their age and gender but also their physique.
Their face was barely visible, covered by a white mask.
"If you're here to interfere with my master, I'll have to remove you."
Eins drew a knife from the void. In response, the masked individual prepared themselves with bare fists.
Fighting without weapons was quite unusual in this world. Martial skills had primarily evolved for combat against magical creatures, and humans, who originally had lesser physical strength than their monstrous counterparts, commonly wielded weapons to compensate for their lack of power.
However, this rule mainly applied to battles against magical creatures. In personal combat, fighting unarmed was advantageous in confined indoor spaces and allowed for silent eliminations.
"Although I was aware, are you a spy of some sort?"
Engaging in unarmed combat suggested that the masked figure was not a traditional knight but more likely a covert operative, specialized in clandestine work. It was safe to assume they were a part of the shadowy organization that Crow had mentioned.
"『Shadow Lance』.....! How fast"
Eins cast a diversionary magic, and her opponent charged without hesitation. They narrowly dodged the dark spear she released and deflected the second one before quickly closing in on Eins, delivering a powerful punch.
"Ugh..."
With a knife in hand, Eins barely managed to defend herself, but the relentless assault left her no room for counterattacks. Close-quarters combat with no time for spellcasting was proving difficult.
"This close combat doesn't favor me, so..."
Eins infused magic into her legs and leaped backward. She appeared to have the upper hand in terms of magical power, judging from the magic-infused punches her opponent was using.
"I'll just keep knocking you down like this."
Keeping a certain distance, Eins prepared to strike with area attacks that her opponent couldn't avoid. However, her plans were interrupted when a spear of wind came from a different direction.
"Reinforcements?"
A group of individuals dressed in black robes appeared out of nowhere. They wore masks similar to Eins's initial adversary and quickly surrounded her, cutting off her escape routes. Caught off guard by the new arrivals, Eins found herself in another close-quarters confrontation, unable to cast spells. In this situation, she couldn't distance herself to use magic without being disrupted by waiting foes, nor could she focus on defeating the surrounding enemies while her initial opponent continued to attack.
"How troublesome..."
In this battle, the most significant threat was undoubtedly the opponent relentlessly engaging Eins in close combat, leaving her no time to deploy her magic. The continuous coordination with her surrounding comrades proved to be a vexing interference, preventing Eins from making any effective moves. While she managed for now, a prolonged battle would surely drain Eins's strength.
(No, but why are they going through these convoluted maneuvers?)
The surrounding enemies were merely focusing on obstructing Eins's magic, and the primary adversary was the one right in front of her, striking with their fists. Given this opponent's strength, it should have been a simple task to keep the other magic users at bay while dealing with Eins. Their intention wasn't solely to defeat Eins but to keep her in this place for some reason.
"Everyone, can you hear me? How's the situation on your end?"
During a brief opening when she distanced herself from the opponent, Eins activated her communication earring to contact her companions, who were also supposed to be tracking Serena.
"Yeah, damn it! Who the hell are these people? They've been interfering with us non-stop!"
"We were attacked by some unknown group, and I've lost sight of the target! Someone, please!"
"We're also currently facing interference from an enemy group. We need backup urgently!"
Eins received reports from her comrades, all of them encountering attacks from unknown assailants. The enemies were not limited to the group currently present. Most likely, all the team members tracking Serena were facing similar interference.
Did we lack the manpower to bring them here? No, this time, we've mustered our maximum available force to handle any situation. But, our adversary's organization still dwarfs ours.
"What a disgrace..."
Our leader put their trust in us, and yet, here we are in this sorry state.
We're repeating the same mistake once again.
A decade ago, on that fateful day, Eins and her team were defeated by an overwhelming enemy force, losing our revered leader.
Eins vowed that such a tragedy wouldn't happen again. She expanded our organization, cultivated talents, and still, we find ourselves impeding our leader's efforts.
If nothing else, we must deal with the adversaries here, and now!
"...I'll inform everyone. I'm going to use my magic to clear out the enemies surrounding us."
"""What?"""
Upon Eins's announcement, everyone over the communicator held their breath.
"Those within the affected area, evacuate quickly. I can't guarantee your safety if you get caught."
"Hey! That's dangerous! Using it in the middle of the city—"
"Communication terminated," Eins said, ignoring Drei's frantic voice. She moved in the direction Serena had gone, keeping a safe distance to avoid involving their leader, Crow.
"Is this spot good enough? Now, it's just a matter of timing..."
Eins reoriented herself toward the enemy as they continued their relentless assault. She couldn't concentrate enough to use 'that magic' while continuously defending against the opponent's attacks. So, she had only one option.
"...Now!"
"What?"
"Ugh!"
Eins intentionally took a kick from her opponent that she'd been managing to avoid until then, sending her body flying backward. Though she sustained significant damage to her abdomen with minimal defense, she clenched her teeth and fought to remain conscious. She couldn't afford to expose any more vulnerability.
Thrown helplessly through the air, nearly rolling off the warehouse roof, Eins finally managed to deploy her one and only magic.
"『Catastrophe』"
Eins's immense magical power fueled the massively enlarged spell, and it was finally unleashed.
There was no flash or deafening roar—just an oppressive darkness forcibly smothering the world.
That day, in a single night, a third of the warehouse district disappeared without any fanfare.
"Did one escape?"
After everything was said and done, Eins stood in the center of a massive crater, assessing her accomplishments. She had a sense of taking a few lives, but that particular opponent wasn't among them. Given their remarkable abilities, they probably managed to escape just beyond the range of her magic. It was frustrating to have let the target get away and leave some of the enemies behind. Although she had managed to weaken the enemy's forces and make a final stand, when you looked at the results, it was undoubtedly a complete defeat.
"Can't be helped. I should report to Sir Crow for now."
Eins, appearing uncharacteristically disheartened, showed no concern for the destruction she had caused. She left the area to rejoin their leader, Crow.
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