Instant Death

Well, I’d say things turned out pretty well in the end.

Sure, they only won because I buffed them with my own magic power, and now everyone’s giving the credit to the "Black Rose," but hey, I can work with that. Maybe it’ll come in handy later?

For now, I’ll just call it a success.

The "Oath of the Black Rose" crew is busy with the cleanup after taking down Count Ragitta’s castle. Apparently, Tsurupikano bit the dust, so Goldoh-san is the new leader. I wasn’t really paying attention, but according to Goldoh-san’s explanation, they’re planning to link up with the Royalist Faction soon.

Which meant it was time for me to do some "cleanup" of my own.

The sun hadn’t risen yet, and the moon was still hanging high in the sky.

I pinged the area with Magic Power Detection and picked up two familiar signatures for some reason.

The first was up in the Castle Upper Level. It was emitting a pretty sinister vibe...

“Wait, isn’t that Violet-san?”

She’s a friend I made back in the Sanctuary—sort of a fantasy-style ghost girl. She faded away back then, but apparently, the real her is still out there somewhere in this world.

This signature felt like a fragment of her. There were too many people around for me to get close right now, so maybe I’d go say hi once things quieted down.

Then there was the second signature, located deep in the Castle Underground.

“What are they doing down there?”

I ditched the cleanup duty and slipped into the basement.

◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇

Epsilon felt a massive Magic Power Wave pulsing through the Castle Underground.

This magic power is...?

Something was going down on the surface.

Epsilon didn’t know anyone besides her Master who could put out that much magic power. However, because her Master always masked his Magic Power Wave, she couldn’t be sure it was him—besides, she couldn’t imagine her busy Master visiting a backwater castle in such a remote region.

That left a few possibilities: a powerhouse on par with her Master, an Artifact, or some freak natural phenomenon.

Regardless, it meant some major incident was occurring on the surface.

“This is bad...”

Epsilon pressed down on the massive wound carved into her chest.

She’d been in the Oriana Kingdom on a Shadow Garden mission. Having gained high acclaim even in the Land of the Arts as one of the world's leading pianists, she’d managed to slip into the inner circles easily enough and gather information.

But while she was deep inside the Royal Castle, Mordred had sniffed her out.

The fight had started with an ambush. Mordred’s first strike had carved a deep line across Epsilon’s chest.

Usually, that would’ve been the end of it.

However—

“Ugh... if it weren’t for the slime, it would have been instant death...”

Her defensive performance was top-tier. In particular, she’d been sure to pack on extra protection around her heart.

Even so, having been caught in a total surprise attack, Epsilon hadn't been able to demonstrate her true defensive potential, leaving her with a serious injury.

Effectively, the match had been decided by that one blow.

The situation had then devolved into Epsilon fleeing upon realizing her disadvantage, with Mordred hot on her heels. Escaping with a serious injury wasn't easy, so she’d been forced to make a bitter decision.

She’d triggered the explosives she had planted as part of the plan, blowing up a part of the castle.

Epsilon had escaped from the castle by taking advantage of the explosion and shook off Mordred, but the Cult Pursuers were relentless.

It was winter, and snow was piled up everywhere in the Oriana Kingdom, making Epsilon’s escape a nightmare. Every step left a footprint... and in her case, a trail of blood and the metallic tang of injury.

Even if she endured the pain and put distance between them, the pursuers caught up immediately.

Her strength was flagging. In a desperate gamble, she’d decided to hole up in Count Ragitta’s castle to wait them out. The darkest place is under the candlestick, as they say. They probably never expected her to hide in a Cult Executive’s own home. Epsilon had managed to buy a few days of time there.

But the ruckus upstairs changed everything. A mana surge like that would draw eyes. Once people started swarming the place, her window for escape would slam shut.

Epsilon had to move immediately.

But she hadn't had enough time to heal her wounds.

“Kh...”

Mordred’s blow had wounded her that deeply, robbing her of her stamina and magic power.

She propped herself up against the tunnel wall and stood up.

She walked slowly to keep her wound from reopening—at that moment, she felt them.

Multiple presences were closing in from the front. A second later, she heard footsteps approaching from behind as well.

“Oh, you’ve got to be kidding me...”

Talk about bad luck.

Epsilon drew her Slime Sword and pushed forward. Her only choice was to break through before they pinned her down.

Then, she encountered the enemy.

“We felt a massive surge of magic power and came to investigate. To think you were hiding here the whole time.”

Cult Pursuers.

And five named ones at that...

“To send five after me, the Cult must have plenty of free time.”

“It means we view you as that much of a threat. Do you have any idea how much you’ve derailed our plans?!”

“I’m flattered.”

She kept her tone light, but facing five named members from the Cult while half-dead was a tall order. The footsteps behind her were getting louder.

Epsilon let out a soft click of her tongue.