Chapter 201: Episode 201

“Wow! Whoa!” Dick exclaimed, his eyes wide with wonder as the birds soared in perfect unison at Wichasha’s command. “Incredible! So that’s the power of a druid!”

Meirin felt tears welling up. Not from the fear of being kidnapped, but from the sheer, agonizing frustration of being captured alongside ’that’ idiot.

Ignoring Meirin’s withering glare, Dick had already started chatting with the Hupa tribesmen. His reaction was hardly that of a man tied to a chair with his life hanging in the balance.

“Wow, I never knew different druids could control different animals!” Dick’s natural sociability was on full display, regardless of the circumstances. “But I heard this Byulya person you’re after controls rats and insects, right? If that’s true, wouldn’t finding us in this city be a piece of cake for her?”

Meirin shot him a furious look. ’Why in the world would you tell them that?!’

“She will not be able to find us with her power,” Wichasha stated flatly. “We have placed two hundred totems throughout the city. It is a druidic art that severs an animal’s connection to its master. Unless she runs around and uproots every hidden totem before the day is out, she cannot pinpoint this location.”

“Whoa, you guys really took everything into consideration, Chief!” Dick praised.

“It does not matter if she finds us. Then, we will simply fight,” Wichasha declared, his fist tightening. “However, attacking someone Kizen has recruited could cause problems. We will take her life cleanly, after she has officially resigned from her teaching post.”

“Aha! So that’s how it is!” Dick nodded, heaping on the flattery.

Meirin could only sigh in exasperation.

“Chief!”

Just then, a Hupa man rushed in and whispered in Wichasha’s ear. Wichasha’s expression turned to ice as he shot a sharp glare at Dick.

“What a pathetic trick…”

Dick simply maintained his bright, unwavering smile.

“We’re moving the hideout immediately!” Wichasha ordered.

“Yes, sir!”

One of the Hupa men effortlessly hoisted Dick, chair and all, upside down.

“Ugh!” Dick grunted, then laughed. “All the blood’s rushing to my head, Chief!”

“We’re moving because of you!” the man snarled.

Another tribesman approached Meirin. She flinched, glaring at him. “Hey, let me make one thing clear! If you lay a single finger on me—!”

The man, however, had no time for arguments. He ignored her warning and seized her shoulder.

’Ugh, that hurts!’

Just as he was about to lift her and the chair, a deafening roar tore through the ceiling, raining down debris and filling the room with thick smoke and dust.

“Wh-what’s happening?!” the Hupa tribesmen cried out in confusion.

From above, a figure descended.

Silver, tentacle-like blades whipped through the thick dust, sending the tribesmen flying. The man who had been reaching for Meirin was thrown back as well.

Her eyes widened. “Simon!”

Simon landed on the floor, his cold gaze sweeping over the Hupa. Then his eyes found Meirin, and a smile broke across his face. “Thank goodness. Are you hurt?”

—

Thirty minutes earlier, in a slum tavern…

“What a pain,” Byulya grumbled, scratching at her messy hair. Her expression soured, suggesting things weren’t going as planned.

“What’s wrong, Professor?” Simon asked quickly.

“I can’t control my children properly. It seems those Hupa bastards have set up totems.” She rose from her seat, a dangerous, chemical scent wafting from her. “I’ll have to go myself. Leave finding your friends to me. You go hide somewhere, like with the city guard. Don’t get yourself caught running around like an idiot.”

With those words, she vanished through the gaping hole in the tavern’s ceiling.

Left alone, Simon sighed. ’I should start looking again, too.’

’Screeeeeeeeeeeeech!’ Just as he was about to leave, a piercing, scream-like sound echoed from a distance.

’That sound!’

It was Dick’s new music box—a signal that Kamibarez had found something. Simon bolted from the tavern, running toward the sound.

’A lantern! Where is it?’

He spotted it quickly. The thousand lights of the festival had not yet risen, making the lone lantern floating in the night sky easy to see. He ran frantically toward it.

“Kami! Where are—!”

“Simon!”

He saw her gesturing, a finger pressed to her lips. He hurried to her side and whispered, “Did you find them?”

“Yes, I think so.” She pointed to the ground with the same finger. A bright red drop of blood had dried on the pavement.

“Blood?”

“Yes. It smells like Dick’s blood.” Being a vampire, Kamibarez was highly sensitive to the scent of blood; distinguishing people by their blood’s scent was a simple task for her. “I think Dick intentionally cut his finger while they were dragging him away and left a trail! I followed the scent and saw some suspicious men.”

“That’s Dick for you,” Simon said with a smile, thinking that no one could beat his friend when it came to clever tricks. “Lead the way.”

“Okay!”

The two moved stealthily through the dark streets.

“Over there,” Kamibarez whispered, pressed against an alley wall.

Two robed men were loitering near an old building. They were tall, with broad shoulders and powerful builds—clearly skilled warriors, not mere lookouts. If they weren’t taken out in one go, they would alert their comrades inside.

“Let’s hit them with a curse and then go in,” Simon suggested.

“Good idea! But they’re a bit far. What if we miss?”

Simon raised his arm, checked his watch, and grinned. “I have an idea.”

—

The two robed men were guarding the entrance to the hideout. Their mission was simple: if anything happened, they were to respond while sending someone inside to report. Other than shooing away the occasional drunk, it wasn’t a difficult job.

“Here we go again,” the man on the right said in the Hupa tongue as the thousand lights of the festival began to rise into the night sky.

The man on the left replied, “Brother, why do they do that stuff, anyway?”

“I don’t know. Maybe because you can’t see the stars well here.”

“More importantly, this neighborhood is suffocating. I can’t wait to kill that woman and get back to the plains.”

As they chatted, two lanterns that should have been ascending seemed to lose their strength and drifted down.

“Well, I’ll be damned,” one man chuckled as the lanterns fell near them.

“Some people can’t even get these things to fly right.”

“Looks like it’s got a hole. Must’ve snagged on something.”

The men talked idly, picking their noses. Just then, the magic circles hidden inside the lanterns flashed.

‘Sickness’

‘Blood Pressure’

Simon’s and Kamibarez’s curses spread like smoke and pierced through the men’s bodies.

“Ugh…!” Both men staggered, overcome by a sudden wave of dizziness. Moving like the wind, Simon exploited the opening and slammed his fist into the right man’s abdomen.

“Ugh!”

As the man doubled over, Simon vaulted onto his back and brought his elbow down on the back of his head, knocking him unconscious.

“Bro!” His partner had been taken down in an instant. As the man on the left turned to face Simon, something clung to his back like a leech, covering his mouth and nose.

Something from his attacker’s hand shot into his nostrils. A sharp pain seared through his nose and mouth. As blood began to pour from his nose, his consciousness started to fade.

’An intruder!’

He desperately held on, reaching behind him. He tore off whatever was clinging to him and threw it to the ground. A small girl with light purple hair let out a faint groan as she collapsed.

“You little—!”

Just as he was about to stomp on her, his vision spun.

’Smack!’

Simon’s fist had crushed his face. He flew several yards and landed hard. Before he could get up, Simon rushed in and delivered a sharp kick to his jaw. The man’s eyes rolled back, and he went limp.

“Kami! Are you okay?” Simon asked, running to her side.

She nodded bravely, taking his offered hand to stand. “Yes, thank you, Simon.”

Once she was on her feet, Simon quickly stripped the robe from the downed man and yanked up his shirt.

Kamibarez gasped and covered her eyes. Bizarre patterns painted with natural dyes covered his chest and abdomen.

“They’re Hupa. I’m sure of it,” Simon confirmed.

“So Dick and Meirin are being held in here.”

“Yeah. It’s only a matter of time before they find out the guards are down. Let’s move these guys and prepare to go in.”

“Okay!”

Clenching her fists, Kamibarez nodded and grabbed the body of the man lying farther away, grunting with effort.

He didn’t budge.

In the end, she had to activate her internal Jet-Black to enhance her strength and drag him into a corner. Simon had already moved the other man and was calculating their entry route.

’This is…!’

His eyes lit up as he examined the building’s ceiling. He could see a magic circle on the roof.

’Meirin’s black magic.’

Reading the formula, he saw the components for ‘cold’ and ‘condensation’. If it was Jet-Black elemental magic, it was definitely Meirin. To think she was secretly channeling her Jet-Black while captured to draw a magic circle on the roof from a distance. Her skill was worthy of someone from the Ivory Tower.

’Then I’ll go in from here…’

Simon signaled the infiltration route to Kamibarez with his fingers. She nodded and began preparing her own black magic. Next, Simon summoned two zombies from his Subspace and stuck them to the roof before stepping back to prepare a Corpse Explosion.

Just then, he heard voices from inside.

“You’re saying there was a trail of blood in the hallway?”

“Yes!”

It seemed they had finally discovered the blood Dick had left. The men were coming outside. At this rate, he and Kamibarez would be discovered.

’We’re going in now.’

Simon gave Kamibarez the signal, then clenched the fist he had extended toward the zombies.

’Corpse Explosion!’

’BOOOOOOM!’

The two zombies erupted in a massive explosion. The steel-framed ceiling collapsed with a roar, filling the interior with thick dust. Simon threw himself inside.

The room was barely visible through the smoke and dust. He could hear the panicked shouts of the Hupa tribesmen. After landing safely, Simon stomped his left foot hard on the ground.

’Open Gate!’

Silver, tentacle-like blades whipped through the thick dust, sending the tribesmen flying.

’Done! Now, where are Dick and Meirin?’

Simon looked around. One man was lifting Dick, who was still tied to a chair, while another was about to lay a hand on Meirin. Simon sent his Overlord toward Meirin’s captor, sending him flying, while simultaneously opening his Subspace to summon a skeleton.

’Go.’

’Clack! Clack! Clack!’

The bones flew like magnets toward Dick’s chair, embedding themselves in it before pinning him to the wall.

“Simon!” Meirin cried out.

Simon turned to her, saw she was unharmed, and smiled. “Thank goodness. Are you hurt?”

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