The ten intruders each drew their weapons.
To be precise, seven men and three women.
Watching how they moved, Rei found himself with a question.
Though they wore different clothes and carried different weapons, their body movements were all nearly identical.
Adventurers each move differently in combat. Even if someone had trained at a dojo, the experience of actual battles—whether consciously or not—inevitably altered the movements they had learned there. Considering that, having all ten people move in exactly the same way was something that should have been impossible.
"It doesn't look like you're just poachers. ...But you pointed your weapons at me in this situation. You understand what that means, right?"
Seeing Seto appear behind the enemies, Rei must have judged there was no longer any need to hold back. He pulled Death Scythe and the Twilight Spear from his Misty Ring as usual.
"Wh... No way... A scythe and a spear... Crimson Rei!?"
The creature that could be called Rei's trademark—Seto—was absent, and thanks to the Dragon Robe's effect, he had looked like nothing more than someone wearing an ordinary robe. Then he suddenly produced a scythe and a spear from out of nowhere.
It would have been more unreasonable not to be surprised—and above all, there was only one person who wielded those two weapons simultaneously.
...Well, in reality, it wouldn't be strange for someone other than Rei to carry two polearms. But when it came to famous figures who wielded two different polearms—a scythe and a spear—Rei's name would inevitably come to mind first.
"It seems you knew my name. Then you know my partner too, I assume? There's no escape."
"Grrrrrrr!"
As if to punctuate Rei's words, Seto unleashed King's Intimidation.
However...
"What?"
Seeing that all ten showed no sign of being affected by King's Intimidation, that involuntary question slipped from Rei's mouth.
King's Intimidation was Seto's Skill, which had the effect of immobilizing opponents of lower rank. From what Rei could see, the ten intruders were decent fighters, but that was all they were. He couldn't imagine they could withstand Seto's King's Intimidation at all.
If one or two out of the ten had resisted, he might have been able to make sense of it. But all of them? That was strange.
At the same time, Rei noticed something else. The people before him showed no sign whatsoever of having endured King's Intimidation. It was as if they themselves didn't even understand what had just happened—their expressions said as much.
What's going on? If they withstood Seto's King's Intimidation, there should have been some kind of reaction. The fact that there's no reaction at all means something is definitely going on.
While Rei harbored such doubt—no, not mere doubt but the most intense doubt imaginable—the intruders, on the other hand, were surprised and simultaneously convinced by the sight of Gryphon Seto behind them.
The fact that the person before them was Crimson Rei was all but confirmed by his carrying two different polearms—a scythe and a spear. And on top of that, Seto had now appeared behind them. There was no mistaking the Gryphon Tamed Monster, one of Crimson Rei's symbols. They had already known the person before them was Crimson Rei, but Seto's appearance served as the final nail in the coffin.
"Who are you people? Seto used its Skill, and it had no effect at all. No—more than that. The fact that you don't even recognize a Skill was used is strange."
Rei pressed them, harboring doubts about their identity, but they only directed wary gazes at him without showing any intention of answering. They probably thought there was no need to say anything that would disadvantage them. In truth, that was the correct judgment. Rei hadn't expected to get any information out of them either, but even so, he hadn't anticipated they would stay completely silent.
Well, the poacher theory is out. I don't know what method they used to block Seto's Skill, but I can't imagine ordinary poachers pulling off something like that. A Skill or a Magic Item... hm?
Rei had been pondering what kind of existence his opponents were when he suddenly felt a sense of incongruity—or more precisely, déjà vu. This current line of thinking—hadn't he thought something like this somewhere before? Once his thoughts reached that point, the answer came immediately.
The ones who targeted Bob!?
He thought it, but he hadn't arrived at certainty. Still, considering the circumstantial evidence, there was no mistaking that the enemy's abilities pointed in that direction.
Should he mention Bob's name and observe their reaction? Rei considered it, but if he did, they might conclude Rei had learned their identity and try to flee. Of course, if that happened, dealing with it wouldn't be particularly difficult. Since Seto had circled behind the enemies, Nielson was naturally already prepared and ready to use her magic at any moment. Even so, he would prefer to capture everyone without that happening if possible.
"Blocking Seto's Skill is impressive, but you don't think that means you can get out of this situation, do you? And given that you know who I am, I advise you to surrender quietly."
Saying so, Rei planted Death Scythe's butt end into the ground. A heavy thud echoed through the air—the impact could be felt even by those standing some distance away. That alone made it clear there was no chance the intruders could win in a head-on fight against Rei.
The intruders surely knew that as well, yet they showed no sign of fleeing. Although Seto was behind them, this was inside a forest. If they wanted to run, there were plenty of places to escape. With Nielson present, it was actually impossible—but that was only something Rei knew because he had asked her to be there. To those who didn't know that, it wouldn't have been strange to think they could manage somehow if they all fled at once.
And yet, without any sign of fleeing, they stood facing Rei.
Amidst all that, the man at the front eventually opened his mouth.
"If you're Rei, I have something to ask."
"...Saying something like that in this situation is rather surprising. From the look of it, you think you can do something about me?"
While saying so, Rei gradually let killing intent seep out. Several of them likely noticed—many of their expressions grew stern.
"Don't cower! We won't die in a place like this. You should know that!"
Knowing that they won't die. While exuding killing intent, Rei questioned that choice of words. He didn't understand what the man was saying, but he could at least grasp that those words were the reason for their composed attitude in his presence.
"You know that, huh. I'd appreciate it if you could tell me what that means specifically."
Rei asked, but naturally, there was no way they would reveal their trump cards so easily. Ignoring Rei's words, the man spoke.
"Go! Escape this place by any means and kill him!"
Along with the shout, the man slammed something he had pulled from his pocket onto the ground. Blue smoke billowed up around the area.
"Tch—Nielson!"
Understanding the purpose of the smoke, Rei called out Nielson's name. At the same time, multiple confused voices rang out from within the haze.
"What is this!? I can't move!"
"What, you too!? Damn it, what the hell is going on!"
"It's Rei—Rei did something! My legs are tangled up in something!"
"Gah, this... plant!? These are plant vines!"
While those voices reached him, Rei backed away from the blue smoke, looking relieved. The enemy had generated the smoke to deceive Rei's eyes, probably intending to slip into it and flee from his presence. But... unexpectedly for them, Nielson was there.
"Seto, capture anyone who escapes the blue smoke!"
While shouting, Rei kept watch for anyone emerging from the haze. At the same time, a question nagged at him about the earlier words.
Escape this place, then kill him. That's definitely what they said, right? If so, the one they're trying to kill isn't me. Thinking about it normally—it must be Bob.
Bob had originally been targeted by people connected to the defilement. The ones here weren't the same opponents he had fought in the forest before, but there was still something about their words and actions that felt faintly similar. Given that they had explicitly stated their intention to kill, it wasn't difficult to guess that their target was Bob.
Of course, that was merely Rei's assumption, and the reality could be different.
"Grrrr!"
"Gyaaaah!"
A scream rang out alongside Seto's cry. Either the man hadn't been caught by Nielson's magic, or he had cut through the vines with a dagger or something. Regardless, one of the men who burst out of the lingering blue smoke was sent flying by a single blow from Seto.
As Rei watched, he soon spotted a figure leaping out of the blue smoke from a spot not far from him.
"You think I'll let you escape?"
He kicked off the ground and closed the distance to the man in an instant. For the escaping man, having Rei arrive that quickly must have been completely unexpected. His eyes went wide—and the next moment, a strike from Death Scythe's shaft to his torso sent him flying.
Although Rei handled it as if it weighed almost nothing, Death Scythe weighed roughly a hundred kilograms. Being struck by something like that—with Rei's strength behind it—sent the man flying through the air as a matter of course. To make matters worse, he slammed into a nearby tree trunk and lost consciousness instantly.
"Rei, should I let a few more go?"
After glancing at the unconscious man and turning her gaze back to the blue smoke, Nielson flew up beside Rei's head and asked. From her perspective, if left alone, they would simply cut through her vines and escape. So she figured it would be better to release them one at a time—or in slightly larger groups—and whittle down their numbers that way.
"That's right. Those people seem to belong to the same organization as the ones who tried to kill Bob. If that's the case, I'd like to capture as many alive as possible."
"...Is the person you sent flying still alive?"
Nielson asked, sounding exasperated. From where she sat, the man Rei had struck didn't necessarily look like he was still breathing. In reality, though, his fingertips were faintly twitching against the ground—whether moving or in spasm—so he was at least alive for the time being.
"He's fine."
Whether Rei's "fine" meant the man was still alive or that he would be more careful next time, Nielson couldn't tell. But she decided there was no point worrying about it now and let the matter drop.
"For now, release the next ones."
At Rei's words, Nielson, without any particular reply, released the plants entangling two of the people inside the blue smoke. But no one came running out.
What? ...No—they must have figured out from the sounds that their comrades got taken down the moment they left the smoke. If so, their caution makes sense. But in that case...
Could it be. Rei had barely formed the thought when Nielson spoke up, confirming his suspicion.
"Ah, the plants are being cut."
"Figured they'd do that."
Rei had asked Nielson to release the magic a little at a time mainly so he could defeat them in small groups. But those she released must have anticipated what would happen based on the pattern so far. Rather than coming out two at a time, they were trying to free the other captured members and escape all at once.
That said, with several already defeated, the remaining numbers weren't that large. Even if that many tried to flee simultaneously...
"Nielson, if the numbers get too large, use your magic again."
"Leave it to me! I absolutely won't let them escape!"
Rei couldn't tell what had filled her with such enthusiasm, but Nielson shouted with unmistakable delight.