Chapter 19
Chapter 19
As soon as it became clear that the pincer attack had failed, several arrows came flying from Kurats’ left and right.
Then, a man whose presence was clearly different for the other a.s.sailants, started running towards Lunaria while wielding a two-handed sword. He was likely the commander of the a.s.sa.s.sins.
Perhaps he had judged that he could no longer afford to start by neutralizing Kurats.
【”Hey, c’mon, you can’t switch opponents in the middle of a fight, that’s just rude.”】
Normal arrows without any mana in them were absolutely not a threat for Kurats.
However, the two-handed sword of the man who seemed to be the commander was radiating with mana.
Although there was no telling what kind of effect was added to the sword by the mana, this was undoubtedly the enemy’s last remaining trump card.
『If you can, try to catch him alive and make the best use of him. If there is anyone among the a.s.sa.s.sins who has communicated with their employer, it must be this man.』
(Alright, alright… Hmm?)
At that moment, a strange power twined itself around Kurats’ foot.
(―― Now’s the time! )
Thought Mordred, who was clenching his teeth as he watched the progress of the fight.
Even though Kurats was a mage, it looked as if he was even stronger than knights in physical combat. In Mordred’s case, the first surprise attack alone would have been enough to end him.
Sicne he was well aware of that, Mordred’s irritation and jealousy towards Kurats was growing more and more.
With the way things were, it seemed like the battle could end without Mordred having any time to intervene.
But Mordred’s inner-crisis had only lasted a few moments before he saw the head of the a.s.sa.s.sins rush towards Lunaria.
For a brief instant, he hesitated.
(Should I defeat the a.s.sa.s.sin now and save the princess?)
However, as soon as Kurats moved Lunaria towards his back in order to protect her, Mordred made his decision.
―― “He came to the palace out of nowhere and suddenly obtained the rank of baron, he’s a mere commoner and yet he ended up becoming a close retainer of the king, like myself…
as long as he is alive, this frustration and this hatred that seems to be fated to burst out of my chest will never disappear!”
【” ‘Bind’ “】
With a low voice, Morded whispered the incantation of a spell.
Although he was lacking, Mordred was the still the head of the royal court’s mages, and his “bind” spell was so powerful that it could even bind a top-notch knight.
“I’ve never tried it but I’m sure even the leader of the knights, Rosberg, would never be able to get rid of my bind spell without using his magic sword Gerlach” Thought Mordred.
However…
【”And there it goes.”】
Kurats only had to use a little bit of extra strength to get rid of the magic net that was binding the lower half of his body.
To Kurats, who had not been using more than 10% of his strength since the beginning of the fight, Mordred’s magic restraint was no trouble.
After that, Kurats caught the a.s.sa.s.sin’s sword with his thumb and index finger, and then drove a merciless low kick towards his lower leg.
The kick was so nonsensically powerful that at the moment of impact, the man’s leg did not simply break, it was torn off and sent flying.
【”Woops, sorry. I didn’t hold back properly ’cause a certain fellow did something unnecessary and distracted me.”】
Kurats smiled wryly at the man who was feeling an intense pain and had fallen to the ground after losing both his leg and his balance.
『The head of the royal court’s mages is pathetic. Is a restrictive pressure spell the only thing he can use in a range of at most a few hundred kilometers (miles)?』
(No, I think it would probably be plenty enough against a normal person.)
Kurats suppressed his desire to mock Mordred, who was likely very confused by this outcome which completely differed from his expectations, and he instead turned towards the a.s.sa.s.sin on the ground, who was glaring at him with an expression of anguish.
【”Ugh!”】
With a single leg left, it was impossible for the a.s.sa.s.sin to escape.
Nevertheless, his eyes did not show any will to give up on fighting, he was ready to attack
attack again.
【”Look, even needles can’t pa.s.s through my skin. So how could a normal sword ever wound me?”】
【”You… you freak of nature!”】
Realizing that his last method to counterattack had been seen through, the a.s.sa.s.sin hurled abuses at Kurats with great venom in his voice.
At the same time, he completely switched his task. His goal was no longer to a.s.sa.s.sinate the princess, but to destroy the evidence instead.
【”Yeah, sorry, I can’t let you kill yourself.”】
As soon as the man prepared to bite the poison hidden in his back tooth, Kurats grabbed his head with his left hand and then shook it heavily.
The man’s brain was shaken at lightning speed, and before he could realize it, his consciousness had already fallen into darkness.
【”Kurats! are you are alright?”】
When Lunaria finally came to reality, everything was already over.
She could still feel the touch of Kurats’ rugged hand on her right shoulder, even though he had let go of her already.
Her heart continued to beat very fast, informing her that what she had just witnessed was not an illusion.
There was no word to describe how amazing Kurats’ overwhelming strength truly was.
It was safe to say that no one would think that Kurats was a mage after watching that fight.
He was a one-man army.
(That fortuneteller did say that he could rise to my status all by himself――)
In her mind, Lunaria suddenly started having delusions of Kurats wearing a formal attire and of herself wearing a wedding dress while being princess-carried by him.
―― Pouf!
It once again seemed like steam was coming out of her head.
(What in the world am I thinking!)
【”n.o.body was hurt in the end. But still――I suppose I have to go give my greetings.”】
【”Why why why why why why WHY?!”】
Mordred did not have a single doubt that he had used his binding magic.
That was made clear by the change in Kurats’ expression at the moment the spell was used.
And yet Kurats had still slayed the a.s.sa.s.sin like he had not been affected at all.
Mordred wondered, had his magic been cancelled?
But he believed that was not the case since Kurats would not
would not have been able to counter-attack if he had used a cancelling technique at that moment.
If so, then how on earth was he still alive and able to calmly walk towards Mordred’s direction with a calm expression on his face?
(W-wait, he’s walking towards here?!)
This time around, a terrible chill ran through Mordred’s back, as if he had been punctured by an icicle; he was extremely scared.
(He couldn’t possibly have managed to see through my concealment technique, right? If he did, does that mean he noticed that I’m the one who used the binding spell on him?)
Mordred hurriedly looked towards his left and right to check, and no one among the people pa.s.sing by seemed to notice his existence.
There was no doubt that he had properly used his concealment technique and that it was working normally.
This was supposed to be the most advanced concealment technique in all of the Jormungand kingdom.
【”I did not expect to meet the head of the royal court mages in such a place, what a coincidence.”】
Mordred wondered, what on earth was the real ident.i.ty of this man who was calling out to him without any hesitation despite his concealment?
【”Y-you saw me…?”】
Answered Mordred, with a hoa.r.s.e voice; it had taken him everything he had to let out those words.
This moment was the first time anyone had ever seen through Mordred’s concealment.
【”I have to say I was pretty curious since you’ve been following us ever since we came out of the castle. By the way, someone used a binding spell on me earlier but…”】
【”Are you suspicious of me? Be careful with your words, there will be consequences!”】
Mordred was enraged on the surface, but in his mind, he was terrified.
Kurats was not the only one present, Lunaria was with him.
Given the situation, if the fact that he has used the binding spell on Kurats was revealed, then there was a possibility that Modred would be executed, regardless of his status as the head of the court’s mages.
Because of his absolute confidence in his concealment, Mordred had not prepared any countermeasures in case he would end up being discovered.
【”No, how could Ihow could I be suspicious of you! The biding spell had the strength of a child pulling at my sleeve, there is no way that would be the doing of the head of the royal court’s mages.”】
For an instant, Mordred wanted to throw everything away and launch an attack spell at Kurats for insulting his technique.
【”I’d sure like to see the face of the person who tried to use such a lousy spell on me. But I suppose there is no point in telling you about it, sir; I am merely babbling, don’t mind me.”】
Mordred gritted his teeth and bit his lip so hard it lost its color and turned light purple, but even then, he kept on enduring.
(I’m going to kill you. No matter the price, no matter the means, even if I have to sell my soul for it, someday, without fail, I will make you beg for your miserable life. I will take away your honor, your position, your everything, I will make you despair, I will make you suffer as much as humanly possible, and then, I’ll let you suffer a gruesome death. So, for now, I have to endure.)
However, Mordred’s determination and hatred were of no importance to Kurats.
Why would a lion be wary of a rat’s killing intent?
【”Anyway, try not to play hide and seek too much, sir. People might get ideas.”】
【”―― I will not forget the disrespectful way you’ve spoken to me today.”】
Kurats sneered while looking down at Mordred.
(This man’s pride is his everything. But at least, with this, he probably won’t try to attack me upfront like he did today. )
『He will still hinder you in various ways from behind your back.』
Even though Kurats was not familiar with the inner workings of human nature, he was still aware that Mordred would never become his ally under any circ.u.mstances.
Until the very moment of his death, Mordred was certainly going to be Kurats’ enemy.
『But he’s not worth killing. If his hostility ever turns into actions again, you’ll just have to crush him then and there.』
Kurats gave a small nod to Bernst after seeing Mordred turn around a leave in a hurry.