The sunlight streaming down was now decisively different from that of summer, carrying almost no heat at all.
Many of the clouds drifting across the sky were wispy, as if swept by a broom.
Amidst this clear autumn weather, Rei walked through the Imperial Capital toward the site where assassins had previously attacked him during his training session with Rhodos.
Likely because the fighting tournament’s main tournament was underway, the crowds in the city were noticeably thinner than before. Furthermore, since Rei was intentionally heading toward a sparsely populated area, the number of people dwindled even further with every step.
(Still, it would be trouble if things were any other way.)
Muttering inwardly, Rei checked to ensure that his Dragon Robe’s hood was firmly concealing his face before continuing down the road.
While there were still a few passersby, none seemed to realize the figure walking near them was the famous Rei. They simply went about their daily lives, paying him no mind.
Rei’s reason for acting alone and separating himself from Rhodos and the others was simple: he was being targeted by an organization called the Moonlight Bow. In fact, he was actively hoping to be attacked.
However, Rei himself did not yet realize that his pursuers belonged to the Moonlight Bow. He remained under the impression that they were operatives of the Requiem Bell.
Regardless of their identity, seeing Veikyul’s life targeted during her match the previous day made it clear that his enemies were willing to use any means necessary. The sheer abnormality of a blatant assassination attempt during the tournament—and the decision to target those around him rather than Rei himself—left him with little choice.
If he were to be ambushed in the middle of a crowded street, the collateral damage to the surrounding area would undoubtedly be catastrophic.
…At least, that was the pretext Rei used to justify acting as a decoy.
Of course, the pretext wasn't entirely a lie. In fact, it was almost entirely true. But if Rei were being honest with himself, his primary motivation was the desire to fight stronger opponents and sharpen his combat experience.
His combat history was already diverse and intense enough to put ordinary adventurers to shame. He had no trouble dealing with average foes. But…
(My opponent is Noise. One of only three S-Rank adventurers in the world.)
Recalling the match he had seen Noise fight the previous day, he focused his thoughts on his future adversary.
Rei had sensed it instinctively when he first crossed paths with the man: as he was now, he lacked the strength to face Noise, the man who held the alias of 'Immovable'.
In his first-round match, Noise had barely shown a fraction of his true power. His opponent had simply collapsed under the sheer pressure of facing an S-Rank adventurer, piling up mistakes until they were defeated. Even so, Rei felt fortunate to have caught even a glimpse of Noise’s capabilities.
This hunger for power was why he looked forward to clashing with strong enemies.
His choice to lead the assassins to a deserted area wasn't just to protect bystanders; it was also to ensure that no one would interfere with his battle.
Whatever the reason, the end result was the same: Rei was luring his would-be killers into a secluded place to challenge them.
(Now then, let's see what kind of fish I’ve hooked. Hopefully it’s a big one and not just small fry. …Though, given how obvious these presences are, I can’t expect much from their combat strength.)
Rei noted the number of signatures trailing him and sighed inwardly.
For Requiem Bell operatives, their skill was strangely subpar.
Whether it was a lack of intuition or simply bad timing, Rei still failed to realize that his pursuers were not from the organization he suspected.
Gradually, the few people remaining in the area thinned out until, one by one, every soul had vanished from sight.
Rei continued down the path, but even once he was entirely alone, the attack did not come.
(…What’s the hold-up?)
He tilted his head in confusion. The people currently surrounding him were merely scouts tasked with monitoring his movements. Naturally, this included agents of the Bestia Empire’s nobility and even the Imperial Family. Rei was an existence so specialized in combat power that they could not afford to take their eyes off him.
Unaware of this, Rei grew puzzled by the assassins' hesitation. He had assumed that once he was isolated, they would show themselves immediately without fear of restraint.
His plan was falling through.
Eventually, he arrived at the location in question—the spot where he and Rhodos had been ambushed during their training. Rei had worried that the guard force might still be investigating the area due to the smokescreen from the previous incident, but fortunately, the place was deserted.
"Well, it works out in my favor," he muttered.
He withdrew the Death Scythe from his Misty Ring and gripped it, scanning his surroundings. He stood in a ready stance, as if waiting for a dueling partner. However, the presences he sensed remained at a distance, refusing to cross a certain threshold.
He waited for about 5 minutes, but when no one appeared, Rei finally shouted out in irritation.
"To those targeting my life! I’m standing right here! Show yourselves and fight!"
His voice echoed through the clearing, but silence followed.
His enemies were assassins. Their expertise lay in surprise attacks, ambushes, and poisons; fighting fair and square was supposed to be out of the question.
…Or so it should have been.
"Heh. Coming to a place like this all alone when you know you're being hunted? You’ve got a lot of nerve, kid."
"Don't give him too much credit. It's thanks to his ego that we can finish this job so easily."
"True. Besides, there’s nothing more satisfying than breaking the pride of a brat who thinks he’s hot stuff."
"Is that so? Personally, I prefer the sound of women and children screaming in terror."
Two figures emerged as they spoke.
Rei judged them to be the assassins, but their appearance was far too eccentric for the profession. Normally, an assassin would strive to be as inconspicuous as possible. Standing out was counterproductive to the art of silent killing.
However, one of the two men had a crest-like tattoo carved into his face and wore his hair in dreadlocks. The other sported a mohawk. The latter also had ears like a dog or wolf sprouting from his head, marking him as a beastman.
The dreadlocked man carried a morning star, while the dog beastman gripped a giant machete with a blade nearly a meter long.
"…Well, you’re certainly not what I expected. Is the Requiem Bell just a freak show now?"
At Rei's remark, the dreadlocked man's tattooed cheek twitched.
"You think we're with the Requiem Bell? Don't lump us in with those lapdogs."
The man's voice dripped with genuine loathing. He clearly despised the fact that a rival organization in the underworld placed such value on discipline.
Of course, compared to a knight order, the Requiem Bell’s discipline was minimal at best. Otherwise, someone like Mura wouldn't be able to brainwash people and discard them like broken dolls.
But the men of the Moonlight Bow were those who would not—or could not—follow even the most basic rules. They would kill for the slightest offense: an annoying word, an impudent attitude, a look they didn't like, or simply because they were in a bad mood. They were even known to kill their own clients on a whim.
"…You’re not? I was told the ones after me were the Requiem Bell."
Despite the confusion, Rei shifted the Death Scythe into a combat stance. Seeing that he was ready for a fight, the two assassins grinned with sadistic delight.
"Tell you what. If you survive us, maybe we'll tell you a thing or two. …I'll even let you choose which one of us you want to die by first. What'll it be?"
The dog beastman spoke, and Rei considered the offer for a moment before a ferocious smile spread across his face.
"Dealing with you one by one is a hassle. Just come at me together."
"Pffft! Are you for real!?"
The dreadlocked man burst into laughter, nearly dropping his morning star.
"Look, if you’re asking us to kill you quickly because you've realized how screwed you are, I can respect that."
"Ah, I see. So that’s what he meant," the dog beastman added with a grin, though murderous intent began to seep from his pores. "For a second, I thought he actually believed he could win against both of us at once…"
To have a brat suggest he could take them both on was a blow to their pride, even if it was a joke.
But Rei's expression remained perfectly serious.
"That is exactly what I meant. There’s no way either of you could handle me alone. If you team up, you might just be able to serve as decent practice partners."
The dreadlocked man’s forehead pulsed with an engorged vein.
"Don't you… mock us, you little brat!"
He kicked off the ground mid-sentence, closing the distance while swinging his morning star. The iron ball, the size of a human head and bristling with sharp spikes, possessed enough power to crush anything in its path. The dreadlocked man had ended countless lives with this weapon; he had no doubt this time would be any different.
He knew Rei’s reputation, but he was convinced that it wouldn't matter. Common sense had no place in his mind, which had been dulled and distorted by a heavy addiction to drugs.
"A morning star? I haven't fought one of those before!"
Rei used the Death Scythe to parry the iron ball meant for his skull. He chose this specific maneuver to test the feedback he had felt during his first match in the tournament. The iron ball slid along the scythe’s massive blade toward the tip and was diverted harmlessly away.
(Good. I thought it might be tricky to deflect a weapon like that, but it's no problem.)
Using the momentum from the parry, Rei swung the Death Scythe's butt end around, aiming to shatter the dreadlocked man’s ribs—
"Not happening!"
Suddenly, the crest-like tattoo on the man’s face flared with a blue light. His movements accelerated unnaturally as he leaped backward to safety.
"What!?"
Rei blurted out in shock at the unfamiliar skill or magic.
The dog beastman did not miss the opening. Capitalizing on his innate speed, he lunged from Rei’s side, swinging his giant machete upward.
Rei snapped back to his senses instantly. He thrust the butt end of the Death Scythe toward the beastman approaching from his left.
"Waooooooon!"
The beastman let out a roar and dropped low, slipping beneath the scythe’s reach. He swung his machete in a horizontal slash, aiming to take Rei’s legs off at the knees—
"As if I'd let you!"
"Gyan!"
Just before the machete could connect, Rei spun the scythe in his grip. The Death Scythe’s butt end caught the dog beastman under the jaw in a brutal uppercut.
Powered by Rei’s immense strength and the scythe’s own massive weight of over a hundred kilograms, the strike shattered the beastman’s jaw and launched him into the air.
Slash!
In the next breath, the Death Scythe’s blade swept through the air, bisecting the beastman’s torso.
The two halves of the body hit the dirt simultaneously. Blood and viscera spilled onto the ground, filling the air with the pungent, metallic scent of iron rust.
"…Heh. You kill without a second thought. I’d heard you were decisive, but you’ve certainly got the stomach for it."
Despite seeing his comrade slaughtered, the dreadlocked man seemed entirely unbothered. If anything, he sounded like he was praising Rei. The blue glow of his tattoos intensified, giving him a truly ghoulish appearance.
Rei readjusted his grip on the Death Scythe.
The dreadlocked man smirked, his tattoos burning with a deep blue light. He kicked off the ground and charged, moving even faster than he had when he evaded the previous strike.
"Uoryaaaaaaaaaaaa!"
He raised his morning star as he closed in. However, because of the chain connecting the iron ball to the handle, a morning star’s trajectory is generally easy to read.
Rei prepared to dodge the descending iron ball and deliver a finishing blow, but he felt a flicker of suspicion when he saw the man reach his left hand toward the base of the morning star's handle.
The dreadlocked man made a show of swinging the morning star down, but at the last second, he lashed out with his left hand.
He had pulled a hidden blade from the base of the morning star’s handle.
But Rei, having anticipated a trick, didn't flinch. He swung the Death Scythe in a clean arc—and the dreadlocked man’s right hand, still gripping the handle, was severed at the shoulder and sent spinning into the sky.