80 – Imperial Capital Ethelmarion (8)
A lantern rose in the pitch-black darkness.
It was a scarlet-colored lamp. Sirien gently waved the lantern, and several of the assassins who were narrowing the siege were distracted.
The focus disappeared from their eyes.
It felt like a calm voice was ringing in my head.
“A guiding light. Rest in peace at the end of your journey.”
The illusion did not last long.
Because some of the other assassins were alert and awakened the minds of those who were possessed.
You could call it an instinctive area. Some animal sense seemed to have signaled a crisis.
You shouldn’t look at that light for too long.
Some people were seen awakening their minds by inflicting injuries on their bodies.
Even on the battlefield, there were sometimes people who escaped mental interference in this way.
The assassins consciously looked away from the lantern, but this time they heard a clicking sound from their feet.
“Water…… ?”
One of the assassins looked at her feet in surprise.
The floor of the cemetery was obviously covered with dry dirt.
The ridge where the sun had set suddenly disappeared, and the land of red stone mountains spread out ominously.
Stagnation of water. I couldn’t tell how far the long river continued.
I knew the identity of that river.
On the outside, it looks like just clean water, but it was the death that was flooding this graveyard.
Yes. No matter what anyone says, this is a graveyard.
This is a place where the divinity of Hybras, symbolizing rest and death, is maximized.
For us, this place was very close to a sanctuary, and since ancient times, dealing with priests in a sanctuary was not recommended.
A river in the underworld that purifies souls.
Washing away all the sins and memories accumulated in this life – the last gateway to pass before entering into rest.
The place where Hybras’s lamp finally reaches has been overlaid in reality.
‘Well, half of it is fantasy.’
Sirien’s power had many tricks.
Due to the nature of interfering with the soul rather than the body, it is more efficient to interfere with the mind rather than powerful physical force.
The death given by the Saint of Hybras is not unconditional.
For an intelligent being capable of communication, there is a huge cost of consumption, and when dealing with a high-level soul, it is accompanied by very fatal internal injuries.
It is much more efficient to use ordinary sacred methods against humans.
However, humans consumed by fear or anger are no different from animals.
The moment reason becomes dull in any way, Hybras determines that the soul’s status has temporarily been lowered.
When the soul’s status reached the bottom, it was possible to force a person to die or commit suicide without much waste.
However, this sanctuary is not only for deception.
This coastal area was also an area for me.
Considering their skills, it seems like a somewhat excessive investment.
In the deep darkness, my vision became brighter than during the day.
As the forced night deepens. And as the divinity spread by Sirien took over the surroundings, I felt as if my five senses became clearer.
‘Three towards Sirien. Four toward me. Is the captain coming towards me?’
The weight of the sword held in the hand is clear.
Very slightly distorted center of gravity. The air flow that occurs when my body and sword move, or the habits felt in the assassins’ steps and gaze.
Everything came into my awareness,
“Keep what you said yesterday.”
“Don’t get hurt?”
“Yes.”
“You too. “I will definitely leave the last three in charge.”
Soon, the assassins arrived at the fighting distance.
As if he was quite confident with his sword, the sharp blade rushed in like the wind.
The sound when the swords meet is quite clear.
A quick and sharp blow. At the same time, there was no lack of heavy power.
I don’t know where they were raised, but they were quite good.
However, there are some problems that cannot be solved by saying ‘it is not enough’.
The days of using catching techniques due to lack of strength are long gone.
I moved forward, roughly pushing the sword in front of me, and the assassin, who lost strength, naturally took a step back.
That’s exactly what I was trying to do.
He took a step back, but could not achieve his goal.
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It was because the chains rising from the ground bound his feet.
Naturally, the price of being hit by a sword that should have been avoided was death.
The body, cut in half, fell to the ground, and the red stone mountain was soaked in blood.
One has died helplessly, so there are three left.
When many people fight against one person, the basic rule is to spread out so that the blind spots can be used.
One quickly escaped to my side. I could have stopped it, but I didn’t.
“If you go that way, you’ll die.”
Because, as I said, it was a dead place.
I thought it would come anyway, so I was gathering the shins in advance.
When I cut the air with the tip of my sword as a signal, a black blade rose from the floor.
After all, at least one of them should be saved, right?
I wiped the blood off the knife.
* * *
The feeling of touching the tip of the sword was quite eerie.
The feeling of a blade cutting into the human body.
The blood pressure pumping out of the hard muscles and the vibration of the bone being cut rang through my fingertips.
The feeling of cutting a human was different from cutting a demon, so there was something quite uncomfortable about it.
Even though the time to feel guilty about murder has long passed.
‘As expected, it was a good thing I saved one.’
Sirien’s three men died very quietly.
One was lying helpless, as if he had been killed instantly, and the other committed suicide by stabbing himself in the neck.
The remaining one trudged in front of Sirien and knelt down before her.
Looks like a prisoner waiting for execution.
Sirien lifted her ax and cut off her bastard’s head.
To be clear, there are three of me. Sirien killed all three, so there was only one assassin left.
He was the one who gave instructions unnoticed. He must be the leader of these assassins.
Although one of his arms was blown off, it was not immediately life-threatening.
The reason he was kept alive was, of course, for interrogation.
Usually, those raised to be assassins tend to be soft-spoken.
However, it did not mean that absolute silence was maintained as seen in the cartoon.
People are less immune to pain than one might think, and endless torture devastates the human spirit.
Assassins who are trained to withstand any torture are mostly illusions.
However, it was true that the act of torturing the assassin itself was not particularly useful.
In the first place, assassins don’t know much about anything other than what is necessary for the mission.
No matter how much torture you try, you won’t get information you really don’t know.
Still, in this situation, I couldn’t not even try.
I aimed my sword at his leg.
“I don’t want to bother each other, so I’d like you to answer my question. “Who is behind you?”
“…… It’s a monster. “You both look young.”
“Did I ask you to evaluate your skills?”
The tip of the knife pierced the assassin’s thigh.
The assassin gritted his teeth and did not even groan.
Are you trying to appeal that it is poison?
It seemed like he had no intention of going smoothly.
Sirien, who was watching, said angrily.
“It’s better to stab a little higher, not there.”
“Huh?”
“About one inch above my little finger. It’s more painful to stab that side. “There’s no point in stabbing the same place twice, so stab the other side next time.”
“Uh…… Huh.”
The assassin smiled bitterly.
I aimed the knife in the direction Sirien pointed at her.
I don’t know why I know this so well.
Where on earth did you learn this? Anyway, Sirien said so, so I decided to do as she was told.
After making a shallow wound with the tip of her knife, she asked again.
“What’s behind it?”
“Do you think I’ll say it?”
“Then let me ask you something else. “What is the location of your colleagues?”
“… ….”
The assassin was silent.
As if there was some sense of camaraderie, I kept my mouth shut this time.
There was no way to force someone to say something they didn’t want to say.
If that had been possible, the Inquisitors would not have learned the cruel methods of torture.
However, stealing our time comes at a cost.
Puuk. The blade cried again.
When I asked him several more questions, surprisingly, he did not remain completely silent.
However, no significantly nutritious answer was returned. There seemed to be a clear line to answer.
As expected, the interrogation had little meaning.
If you want to do more, you can do it, but if it continues like this, it will be tiring for both of you.
I glanced towards Sirien.
Nodding head. The idea was to end it quickly.
“It’s the last time. Anything is fine, so tell me what you know. Then I will kill you in peace. I’m not really good at torture, but I know friends who are good at it. “If you don’t answer, I’ll hand you over to them and I’ll take care of them.”
“…… We are not the only ones who decided to have blood on their hands today. “I don’t know any more than that.”
“That’s enough. That’s enough. “Just let me go, Razen.”
“Yes. “Keep your promise.”
Suddenly. The assassin’s throat was cut with the sound of the wind cracking.
Since the expression was not distorted, there would have been no pain.
I pushed his collapsing body to the side.
Sirien’s divinity sent his soul to rest.
Talk knock. As she tapped her fingers and thought about it, she quickly came to a conclusion.
“This guy didn’t seem to know who was behind it either, which means he has a target no matter where he is. Our lodgings are where other nobles also stay, so you can’t touch them. Isha is with Count Eshik So. Then, by the method of elimination, only one person remains.”
“Baron Isquente?”
“Yes. He said he was going outside the outer castle today. “Wouldn’t that be the easiest to target?”