"Gah...hack..."
Collapsed on the ground, Antelme vomited blood, his expression that of someone unable to comprehend what had just happened to him.
He tried to stand, but both his arms and legs were already gone.
If Antelme had heard the rumors about Rei, he might have also learned that Rei had once cut off the limbs of a noble he crossed. In reality, he had only severed both arms, though.
Even so, cutting off both arms of a noble—and not one like Antelme who worked as an adventurer, but a true noble functioning in that capacity—was something an ordinary person could never do.
And yet Rei performed such acts without a flicker of hesitation.
This was precisely why Rei was feared even among nobles.
Normally, even if someone got into trouble with a noble, fear of the noble's power kept almost no one from actually daring to harm them.
The fact that it was "almost" and not "none at all" was proof that others besides Rei would raise a hand against nobles.
Given that, there was no way Rei would show mercy to someone like Antelme, who had noble blood but currently worked as an adventurer.
Much less someone who had tried to find the fairies' home and slaughtered wolves—beings close to Rei, ones that might have even become Tamed Monsters like Set had they monsterized for some reason—as if toying with them.
Above all else, this was the one responsible for the Zolgela Count House incident, someone who coveted Set and might attack at any moment. The option of keeping him alive did not exist in Rei's mind.
"Im...possible... I... in a place... like this..."
It seemed Antelme finally understood his current situation.
He opened his mouth in disbelief.
"The people you killed at the Zolgela Count House mansion probably felt the same way. ...Hah!"
With a short shout, Rei slammed Death Scythe's pommel onto the blade of the Magic Sword right before Antelme's eyes. The blade snapped in half.
Originally, Rei's hobby was collecting Magic Items that could be used in combat.
In that regard, the Magic Sword Antelme possessed was an item capable of stimulating his collector's desire.
It could fire slashing attacks like Flying Slash and freely change its blade length—though there were presumably limits.
On top of that, perhaps due to Antelme's own skill, it had enough performance to clash with Death Scythe.
Thinking about it normally, Antelme's Magic Sword could be called a highly valuable Magic Item.
Then, did Rei destroy it because it belonged to Antelme?
No.
Among the Magic Items Rei possessed were some that had belonged to bandits.
A tool was ultimately just a tool. What kind of existence it became depended entirely on its wielder.
In that sense, the fact that it was a Magic Sword was not reason enough for Rei to destroy it.
Honestly, Rei had agonized quite a bit over whether to destroy it.
It was an exceedingly rare item, and he thought it would be somewhat convenient even for his own use.
Granted, Rei used Death Scythe and the Twilight Spear, Elena used Mirage, Ara used the Power Axe, Marina used a bow, Vihera fought barehanded, and Byune used a short dagger—so quite unexpectedly, no one in Rei's group used a longsword.
If he had to name someone, it would be Elena, who used Mirage... but a whip-sword and a longsword had many differences.
In particular, the signature strike of a whip-sword—unleashing the blade in a whip-like form—was something an ordinary longsword simply could not do.
For that reason, even if Rei obtained Antelme's Magic Sword, there was no one to use it.
Fundamentally, a longsword was the most common of weapons, and normally there would be a considerable number of people who used one.
And yet no one in Rei's party used a longsword.
In a way, this was a rather peculiar phenomenon.
Regardless, it was not as if there was no use for it at all, and selling it was always an option in the worst case.
Despite that, the reason Rei broke the Magic Sword's blade was to give Antelme an even deeper and greater despair.
In fact, the gaze of Antelme, who had watched the Magic Sword destroyed before his eyes, harbored a greater despair than before.
Having lost both arms and legs, Antelme had probably still believed that with the Magic Sword, he could somehow manage against Rei.
But that Magic Sword had been destroyed by Rei's own hand.
Considering that, Rei's goal of instilling despair in Antelme could be said to have been splendidly achieved.
It's true that losing the Magic Sword is a bit of a shame. Still, I hope this at least makes them feel they've avenged the wolves.
After glancing at the broken Magic Sword, Rei touched Death Scythe's blade to Antelme's neck and pressed the Twilight Spear's tip against his heart.
This was truly a fatal position for Antelme.
"So, how is it? Your impressions of having your life targeted by me. Though considering your blood loss, you'll definitely die if things continue like this."
"Guh..."
At Rei's words, Antelme's consciousness grew hazy from the pain, the bleeding, and above all, the mental shock of having lost to someone like Rei.
Rei looked at Antelme's state and thought that collapsing at this degree—despite having all four limbs severed—was pathetic, then gently pulled Death Scythe and the Twilight Spear away from Antelme's body.
From his Misty Ring, he took out a relatively cheap potion—one only good enough to stop bleeding—sprinkled it over Antelme's wounds, and forcibly made him drink the rest.
"Guh...gah...ha..."
Potions were effective even when poured directly onto wounds, and drinking one provided a continuous recovery effect, but they were extremely foul.
So foul that one would think their sense of taste had been destroyed.
Even in his hazy, injured state, Antelme groaned at the wretched taste as Rei forced him to drain it.
Rei had never intended to kill Antelme and put him out of his misery from the start.
His limbs had been severed, and on top of that, there was the Zolgela Count House incident.
He would undoubtedly face harsh interrogation.
Well, it would be troublesome if he talks about the fairy matter, but I can leave that part to Lord Daskar. If Lord Daskar decides he truly can't use him, he'll have him killed without letting any information leak.
Since it was an incident at the mansion of the Zolgela Count House—a noble house belonging to the King's Faction—when it came to interrogation, the Zolgela Count House members, and potentially other King's Faction members, would naturally want to know the details.
However, as long as the interrogation took place in Gilm, that was entirely up to Daskar's judgment.
If Daskar decided they could not be permitted access, the other nobles would not be able to participate in the interrogation.
What would be problematic was if Antelme were taken to the Royal Capital for interrogation. But unlike the previous Azoth Firm incident, this was not an affair that would shake the nation, even if King's Faction nobles had been killed.
Then again, Rei had also heard that the Zolgela Count House had lost a power struggle within the King's Faction.
If that was the case, taking Antelme to the Royal Capital was something he would not need to consider as a realistic possibility.
"Anyway. Antelme's matter is settled with this, but... am I really the one who has to take him? I am, aren't I."
Rei exhaled a heavy breath.
Honestly, he wanted to avoid being the one to transport Antelme, the man who had killed the wolves.
But in this current situation, having someone else take Antelme to Gilm in his stead would be extremely troublesome.
Not wanting to do such a thing was Rei's honest feeling.
That said, there was no question that Antelme was needed for interrogation.
"Rei, are you done?"
The one who emerged from the depths of the forest, saying that, was Nielson.
She had vanished to avoid getting in the way while Rei fought Antelme. Judging that the battle was over, she must have decided to show herself.
"Yeah, it's over. Look, he can't try anything strange anymore like this. Though I can't say what would happen if he got his hands on prosthetic arms or legs."
Prosthetic limbs were somewhat developed in this world as well.
This was likely due to the frequency of battles against monsters, dungeon traps, and above all, conflicts between people—compared to Japan, or rather, compared to Earth.
That said, the prosthetics used by ordinary people were not particularly high in performance.
In terms of appearance, the majority could be recognized as prosthetics at a single glance.
However, when it came to Magic Item prosthetics, the story changed entirely.
They could be made to look indistinguishable from human limbs, even connecting to the arm or leg with sensation, and some were designed for adventurers or soldiers with weapons concealed inside.
Given that Antelme was an A-Rank adventurer of noble blood, it was not entirely impossible that he could obtain such prosthetics to replace his lost limbs.
Since he'll be captured and thrown in a cell or something, obtaining special prosthetics like that should be difficult, though.
This was obvious, but even if Antelme were to obtain prosthetic arms or legs, there was no way he could get his hands on special Magic Item prosthetics that doubled as weapons while in custody.
In the first place, considering the Zolgela Count House incident and the fact that he had learned about the fairies, Rei felt that executing him as swiftly as possible would be the most sensible course of action.
Antelme had been overwhelmed before Rei, but he was still an A-Rank adventurer.
Even without his limbs, there was no guarantee he would not come up with some method to harm his opponent.
"I guess I have no choice but to take him. Set, I know you're not happy about it either, but we're taking this guy to see Lord Daskar. He's unconscious now so it's fine, but if he wakes up at a bad time, it'll definitely be trouble."
"Gruu? ...Grurururu..."
At Rei's words, Set showed a moment of hesitation.
For Set, Antelme was the one who had tried to separate him from Rei.
Being made to carry someone like that—if asked whether he wanted to transport him, as Rei put it, the answer was no.
If anyone other than Rei had made such a request, Set would have killed Antelme on the spot.
Whether Rei understood Set's feelings or not, he stroked him to calm him down and continued speaking.
"I understand that you hate Antelme, Set. But if we take him to the Lord's Manor like this, you should never have to see his face again."
Even hearing Rei's words, Set did not nod immediately.
Normally, he would nod right away at anything Rei said. The fact that he still would not nod here was proof that Set truly found Antelme unforgivable.
Even so, as Rei stroked him and said that they would pass final judgment on Antelme themselves, Set reluctantly—truly reluctantly, but still—nodded.
"Nielson, I'm heading back to Gilm for now, but what about you?"
"Hmm... sorry, but I'm staying here."
Nielson's words came as a surprise to Rei.
Given her personality, he had assumed she would say she was returning to Gilm with him.
"Is that so? That's unexpected. I was sure you'd say you were going back to Gilm."
"Listen, I'll have you know I'm fairly important among fairies, you know?"
"I figured. Honestly, I find that hard to believe, though."
Nielson looked displeased at Rei's words, but although she could only communicate with the Chief via Magic Item, the fact that she had been entrusted with full authority over negotiations made it clear she held a position of considerable standing.
Unfortunately, Rei had no concrete understanding of what the hierarchy among fairies actually looked like.
"What do you mean, hard to believe, hard to believe... Well, whatever. Anyway, I need to report and consult on various things, so come pick me up again tomorrow."
"And if I say I won't?"
"Then that's fine too. I'll just go to Gilm on my own."
"That's unfair!"
"Take us with you too!"
"Greedy!"
After Nielson's words, such voices rang out through the air.
There was no need to think about who was saying them. The other fairies.
Nielson fired back various retorts at those fairies, but Rei decided that, for now, he would talk with Grimm in the Underground Space tomorrow before coming here.
After all, tonight—or should he say last night, since the date had already changed—he had been unable to reach Grimm through the Paired Orbs, likely because Grimm was focused on his research, and that had been weighing on his mind.