Chapter 285: Episode 285

The night’s battle continued. Amidst the chaos of flashing flames, gleaming swords, and splattering blood, Kamibarez held Sasha’s hand and ran for her life.

“Are you okay, Sasha? Can you keep running?” Kamibarez asked, glancing back. Sasha, clutching her hand, gave a small nod. Kamibarez was breathless herself, but she forced a bright smile.

“The kid’s over there!” a gangster wielding a crude mace shouted as he charged. Kamibarez quickly shaped her hand into a gun and aimed at him.

’Blood Bullet’

’Twang!’ A red bullet shot out and struck the gangster’s chest plate. With a loud ’bang’, his body was thrown back as if repelled, crashing into a tree.

“Where’s the kid!”

“Just grab that monster kid and use her as a hostage! Then it’s over!”

The gangsters kept swarming in. Kamibarez glanced around frantically before darting to the side.

“Where do you think you’re going, our cute little ladies—”

But another one was already there. Kamibarez froze, her expression hardening. A gangster with a rugged face approached, blood dripping from his arm. He licked his lips.

“I will buy you a treat. Want to come along?”

Sasha trembled and buried her face in Kamibarez’s arms.

“It’s okay,” Kamibarez said bravely, aiming her gun-shaped hand at the approaching man. “D-don’t come any closer!”

“Oh my.” The gangster playfully raised his hands in mock surrender. “Our little lady looks pretty tired, too. Are you okay? With uncle…”

’Swish!’

Suddenly, a rope wrapped around the gangster’s neck and yanked him into the darkness of the forest. A sickening ’thwack’ echoed, followed by silence.

Kamibarez and Sasha, still clinging to each other, stared in bewilderment.

“Kami! Get down!” a voice yelled from above.

Kamibarez immediately flattened herself on the ground, shielding Sasha.

“Hahaha!” Dick swung down on a rope tied to a tree like Tarzan, kicking an approaching gangster with both feet and knocking him over. “Here I am!” After toppling the man, he landed with a stylish double spin and swung the sword in his hand. ’Clang!’ He deflected a blade aimed at Kamibarez. ’Clang! Clang! Clang!’ Dick and the gangster clashed swords repeatedly before locking them in a test of strength.

The gangster’s face turned crimson with effort, but Dick, wearing his characteristic smirk, seemed to have energy to spare.

“You’ve taken good care of it, but your sword seems a bit old—”

’Enchant’

The blade of Dick’s sword turned black, and the darkness spread to the gangster’s sword as if it were an infection. The weight of both weapons became immense, and with a ’thud’, they both dropped them.

“You should buy a new one,” Dick said, already holding a new sword in his other hand. “I’ll give you a good price!”

The gangster collapsed, a stream of blood spraying from a fresh wound. Dick lightly swung his sword to readjust his grip and looked back.

“Kami! Take the kid and keep running!”

“Thanks! Can you keep running, Sasha?”

“Yeah!”

Kamibarez and Sasha took off again. Dick, having seen them to safety, turned to face the horde of gangsters rushing in from behind.

“Shall I try using some of what I learned at Kizen!”

He dropped his sword and clapped his hands together. Then, timing it with the gangsters’ charge, he pressed the completed magic circle on his palm firmly onto the ground.

’Venom Swamp’

Green liquid erupted from the ground like a geyser, quickly flooding the area. The approaching gangsters flinched, suddenly ankle-deep in the viscous fluid. They tried to retreat, but their feet were already stuck fast. Dick grinned and placed his palm on the swamp again.

’Enchant’

The liquid on the ground turned pitch black and hardened. Now, even if the gangsters tried to cut through the sticky substance, their swords couldn’t make a dent.

“That damn necromancer bastard!”

“Now then.” Dick pulled something black and round from his Subspace. He casually tossed it in front of the trapped gangsters, then waved and ran away. “I hope you have a good time with my friends!” He snapped his fingers.

’Dispel Enchant’

As the black energy vanished, the gangsters belatedly realized what he had thrown.

“A-a hornet’s nest?!”

With Dick’s enchantment gone, the holes on the nest’s surface grew larger, and a swarm of furious hornets poured out.

“W-WHOAAARGHHH!”

—

Kamibarez and Sasha ran for their lives, their pursuers just as desperate. The gangsters knew their only chance of winning was to capture Sasha and use her as a hostage.

“Hah! Hah!” More men poured in from all sides.

Just then, Sasha, running while holding Kamibarez’s hand, cried out, “Ah!” and fell to the ground.

“Sasha!”

She had sprained her ankle. Kamibarez quickly raised a wall of blood to block a volley of arrows and checked on her.

“…You go on ahead, sis,” Sasha whispered.

“No! I could never do that.” Kamibarez shook her head vigorously, then knelt down, her back to the girl. “Get on!”

She started running with Sasha on her back, but she was exhausted. The raid had started with her, and she had already lost too much blood. The gangsters were climbing over the wall of blood she had made, the distance between them closing with terrifying speed.

“Gotcha!”

Just as a gangster reached out to grab Sasha’s hair, an ice awl flew out of nowhere and struck him squarely in the face.

’Cruel Blizzard’

Absurdly large chunks of ice began to rain down from the sky, crashing onto the gangsters. Kamibarez knew only one person who could wield such a powerful Jet-black Freezing Field.

“Meirin!”

Meirin walked toward them, giving Kamibarez a wink. She swung the hand that wasn’t casting the blizzard.

’Dark Flare’

’FWOOOOSH!’

Black flames erupted across the grass, forcing the gangsters to halt.

“Come on, bring it on. I’ll take you all on,” Meirin declared with a leisurely smile, spreading her arms. Different types of magic circles were already forming in both her hands.

“Damn it!”

“Don’t flinch! Get her while she’s preparing her spell!”

Two gangsters charged at Meirin. With a slight glance from her, a pair of skeletons intercepted them, swinging their swords.

“Tch!”

Controlling undead while preparing black magic—Meirin was better than most at Summoning, too. Having safely completed her next magic circle under the skeletons’ cover, she sent it floating into the air.

’Pierce of Blizzard’

Sharp shards of ice shot out from the magic circle in all directions. Enhanced with Meirin’s unique active-targeting formula, their accuracy was high enough to track each and every one of the charging gangsters. Having single-handedly turned the tide of battle, Meirin let out a light breath. ’They’re just small fry, but it’s annoying that some of them are using mana or Jet-Black.’

’Crack!’

Just then, the ice wall she had erected earlier began to fracture.

’Crack-crack-crack! Crack!’

’CRAAAAAASH!’

The thick ice wall finally shattered. A man flew through the opening and collapsed on the ground. Meirin jumped back in surprise.

“What was that?”

’WHOOSH!’

Another boy flew through the air after him, stomped on the man’s face, and slid several more meters, leaving a long gash in the earth. The man let out a pained grunt. The identity of this boy, whose eyes glowed in the darkness, was…

“Simon!” Meirin cried out.

Simon, who had been looking down coldly at his foe, spotted her and broke into a bright grin, waving his hand.

“Hey! Below you!!”

Without even looking down, Simon stepped on a platform of Jet-Black and soared into the air. The slicked-back-haired captain, who had been lying on the ground, had conjured claws of Jet-Black and slashed at the empty space. Simon did a full rotation in the air and landed silently.

“You’re a damn good fighter for a kid,” the captain mumbled, wiping blood from his nose.

Seeing Simon suddenly appear, the surrounding gangsters gripped their weapons and charged.

“Stay back! He’s not an opponent you can handle—!”

’Open Gate.’

Six voids tore open around Simon, and the tentacle blades that shot out from within them whipped through the air. In an instant, a dozen gangsters were cut down, tumbling to the ground.

“A-a monster…!” a gangster who had survived due to his slow reflexes stammered, staring at the back of Simon’s head in terror.

When Simon heard the word and turned around, the gangster let out a yelp and collapsed.

“…Looks like we drew the short straw,” the captain said, getting to his feet. “You’re a Kizen necromancer, right? Can’t you monsters from Efnel and Kizen just fight each other? Is it really okay to bully us common folk in this minor league?”

“You people,” Simon said, clenching and unclenching his fist, “are involved with Efnel, aren’t you?”

The captain let out a long sigh.

“Are you going to deny it? You were trying to kidnap that girl without even knowing who she is?”

“The client paid too well. I had a bad feeling, and I was right. Sorry, but we don’t know who the client is. We were paid, so we just did what we were told.”

“Is that so?”

“We’ll give up on the girl. Won’t you let us retreat?”

Simon smiled brightly.

“Why should I?”

“Ha! I figured as much!” Even he knew it was an absurd request. The captain grinned and charged, his sword shimmering with Jet-Black. “We may not have had an elite education like you…” The shimmering Jet-Black clung to his blade, transforming it into a serrated saw. “But the experience of living by the sword doesn’t just disappear!”

The moment the distance between them closed, Simon casually extended a finger. ’Swish!’ A cyan smoke shot out and wrapped around the captain’s legs. Simon pulled, and the man’s body was helplessly dragged forward.

Forcibly lifted into the air, the captain swung his sword wildly, but Simon easily dodged by bending at the waist. The moment the man’s feet staggered to the ground, Simon charged.

’How many damn attack patterns does this bastard have?!’ the captain thought in a panic.

Simon’s knee slammed into his face. A stream of blood and a tooth, glinting in the moonlight, flew from his mouth. He collapsed in a heap. Simon pulled the Cloud connected to his finger and threw it upward, where it wrapped around a sturdy tree branch. He grabbed the other end with both hands and pulled hard.

Like a pulley, the captain was hoisted into the air by his legs.

“U-ugh!” he choked, his face a mask of terror.

Simon’s fingers danced through the air. The skeleton bones scattered on the ground floated up around him.

’Bone Nail’

The bones rained down all at once on the suspended man.

’POW! THWACK! THUD!’

After a series of sickening impacts, Simon released the Cloud. The captain, riddled with piercing wounds, fell headfirst to the ground, unconscious.

“Easy,” Simon muttered, looking around.

“Th-the captain’s been taken down!”

“So easily…!”

“Nice one, Simon!” Meirin called out, snapping her fingers at him as she walked over. Then she spread her arms wide. “If you’re going to drop your weapons and surrender, now’s your last chance, fellas.”

’Clank.’

’Thud.’

As if on cue, the remaining gangsters dropped their weapons.

“To take down the Sentinel Gang so easily…” Sasha, held in Kamibarez’s arms, trembled in disbelief.

“That big bro is strong, isn’t he?” Kamibarez asked, her face flushed with excitement.

Sasha looked at her, then at the group.

“W-who are you people?”

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