A cold wind blew through the cavern.
One might say it was only natural since we were underground in the dead of night, but that wasn’t the only reason.
“…”
Bickerd and Rodelin were both staring at us with icy expressions.
Even Dolores, who was still tied up, was looking at us like we were pathetic. At this point, it was no wonder the atmosphere had turned frigid.
“That was perfect!”
“W-We really practiced for this, and it paid off!”
Meanwhile, Luna and Rezé were jumping around in excitement.
It seemed like their first-ever ‘Heroic Entrance!’ performance had been a blast for them.
Wait… they actually practiced this? I’m losing my mind.“What the hell happened while I was tied up? If this kind of thing is trending, I’d rather stay here.”
“I feel the same way. What the hell happened in the half a day I was gone?”
“…Nothing unusual happened until dawn, at least.”
At Rodelin’s words, Bickerd nodded in realization.
“So the only weirdos here… are them?”
“If eliminating these guys can save the world, that’s actually good news.”
“We must eliminate them. If they’re allowed to roam free, the world is doomed!”
What the hell, guys!? What did we even do wrong!?
Cosplay isn’t a crime!
Also, weren’t you two just fighting each other? Why are you suddenly so in sync!?
Perhaps realizing this as well, Rodelin tensed up again and spoke warily.
“Now that I think about it… this is strange. Weren’t you two allies?”
“Don’t insult me! I’d rather die than side with these fools!”
“My apologies for the misunderstanding.”
Rodelin even bowed her head in apology.
Apologizing to the enemy? Yeah, she’s definitely not normal either.
“So, they’re not your allies. But there haven’t been any reports of people like them near the village.”
“Then who the hell are they?”
“We’ll have to find out.”
Bickerd and Rodelin shifted into a 45-degree stance, keeping an eye on both us and each other.
The sudden appearance of a new faction—Dark Beast Squad.
It was only natural that they put their fight on hold. In fact, they seemed more wary of us than of each other.
‘Yeah, no surprise. We look shady as hell.’
Animal masks. Cloaks embroidered with crimson clouds.
If I were in their shoes, I’d be just as suspicious.
One wrong move, and we’d have to fight both Bickerd and Rodelin at the same time.
“Why is our senior suddenly treating us like a threat?”
“A-Ah! Maybe she’s been brainwashed by evil forces!”
No, this is YOUR fault.
Because you two ran your mouths, we’ve ended up in one of those classic ‘I have no choice… We’ll form a temporary alliance!’ situations!
But—
‘There’s still a chance.’
That 45-degree stance proved it. They weren’t fully trusting each other yet.
“Luna, you’ll come with me. Rezé, I’ll give you some simple instructions to follow.”
“W-Wait! Not only do I not get to stay out of this, but now I’m getting orders, too?! F-Fine! Just tell me what to do!”
“Do not use Overcharge. Use only half your usual mana output. Relocate after every attack, and… oh, for timing, make sure to—”
“Th-This isn’t simple at all!!!”
I kept whispering into Rezé’s ear as she frantically tried to write everything down in her notebook.
The strict, memorization-based learning method—Korean-style education!
“Kkii… Kkiik… M-Mana at half… M-Movement… T-Timing…”
Rezé clutched her Magic Gun and scurried off to position herself.
She didn’t look great, but she’d get the job done.
I made sure to remind her—if she failed, she’d be turned into rabbit stew.
“Now then… shall we move, Cat?”
“Of course, Snake.”
Using our real names while masked was out of the question.
Reaffirming this, we headed toward Bickerd and Rodelin.
As soon as we got close enough, their guard went up.
“Keke, relax. We’re allies.”
“Allies to who?”
Well, obviously—
“To this righteous student right here.”
I moved closer to Rodelin with Luna at my side.
But Rodelin didn’t lower her guard at all.
“Allies? What kind of nonsense is that?”
“Keke, the enemy of my enemy is my friend. Isn’t that how it works?”
“So you’re saying you’re also my enemy?”
Huh, is that how that sounded? Well, whatever.
“In that case, are you really going to hand that girl over to an ugly, cruel, ill-tempered pervert who enjoys getting stabbed by women?”
“Oi! How the hell did you pack in so many insults in one sentence!? And take back that last part!”
Bickerd shouted, but I ignored him.
I don’t talk to perverts.
Rodelin stared at us intently.
Figuring out what she was thinking wasn’t hard.
A fight she couldn’t win alone.
A group claiming to be allies, but way too suspicious.
Sure, we looked shady, but we could be useful. The hostage’s life was the priority.
Maybe we were just weirdos cosplaying as heroes.
The problem was—
‘She doesn’t trust us.’
If we turned on her, she’d be screwed.
Better to turn this into a three-way battle and escape with the hostage while we fought each other.
This was likely the conclusion Rodelin had reached.
“That won’t do. If you escape, you’ll just bring reinforcements.”
Rodelin flinched. That meant I had hit the mark.
“…If you are truly my allies, wouldn’t that benefit you as well?”
“Keke, secrecy is the lifeblood of operations like ours. We only just got started… It would be such a shame to quit so soon.”
For the record, the [Legendary Phantom Thief Set] we were wearing had automatic voice modulation and speech correction effects.
That meant the ‘keke’ and the polite speech I was using sounded completely different to Rodelin’s ears.
“You’re telling me to trust you unconditionally? Don’t make me laugh.”
“Think about it logically. If we were truly your enemies, we would have dealt with you the moment we led you outside the village. Wouldn’t we?”
“…”
“There’s no time. Make your choice. A suspicious ally, or a definite enemy. Which hand will you take?”
I reached out my hand toward Rodelin.
She wouldn’t like it, but she had no choice but to accept.
Rodelin was a smart girl.
“…I have no choice.”
Still maintaining her 45-degree stance, keeping an eye on both us and Bickerd, Rodelin finally turned toward Bickerd.
A silent declaration—she would fight alongside us to take him down.
‘She didn’t actually take my hand, though.’
I shook my empty hand in the air, as if completing an imaginary handshake.
A solo handshake.
Rodelin sighed and shook her head, looking exasperated.
“Now that I think about it, how strong are you people? Can you even take him down?”
“Well, you can tell since we’re siding with you, right? Obviously, we’re weaker than him, which is why we joined your side.”
“…Don’t make it sound like a flex!”
But it’s the truth—I am a fragile pretty boy, after all.
I drew a sword from my pocket dimension.
Not my usual one, though.
[Crude but Sturdy Sword: D]
A sword made from high-quality Trash Village iron ore.
Its base stats aren’t great, but thanks to the good materials, it is quite durable.
Attack Power: 5
Durability: 9,970/10,000
Why did I buy a sword with such bad stats?
‘Because if I use the sword from the academy, my identity might be exposed.’
Right now, we were acting as Dark Beast Squad.
Keeping our identities hidden was the top priority.
“Let’s go!”
“Come! All of you! I’ll show you what it means to be a knight!”
With Rodelin leading the charge, the battle began.
Bickerd’s gimmick was surprisingly simple.
‘He targets the character who dealt the most damage that turn.’
More specifically, the character who broke his [Mana Armor] and inflicted actual damage.
Once that happened, he would relentlessly chase them down.
Basically, he was a boss who could be easily defeated with proper aggro management.
The problem was—
“You call that an attack? Pathetic.”
“Damn it! Why is he so tough!? My sword won’t even go through!”
Luna grumbled as she backed away.
Knights who had mastered mana control could reinforce their bodies with mana.
I couldn’t see it, but Caron and Lucia were probably maintaining mana reinforcement all the time.
Anyway, Bickerd’s [Mana Armor] had 1,000 durability.
Luna could easily break through it with her family’s secret skill, [One Flash].
But that wasn’t an option.
‘It would expose her identity.’
If Luna used her signature technique right now, Rodelin would immediately recognize her.
So [One Flash] was off-limits for this fight.
And Luna wasn’t the only one who had to hold back—I did too.
‘Considering how casually I’ve used techniques from other families…’
I couldn’t use Teron’s, Rodelin’s, or any other techniques Rodelin had seen me use before.
Essentially, my strongest ability, [Divine Imitation], was completely neutralized.
“This is the ally you brought?”
“I didn’t bring him!”
As a result, Rodelin was the only one tanking Bickerd’s aggression.
Wounds started accumulating on her body.
Ideally, we should have rotated aggro while breaking his [Mana Armor], but since that wasn’t possible, she was taking all the hits herself.
To everyone else, it probably seemed like—
‘Rodelin is the only one who can break through his defense.’
But they were wrong.
We had one person capable of piercing through [Mana Armor].
And not just any weapon—a spear that could obliterate it.
“This is all you’ve got?”
“Keke, you truly live up to the title of knight.”
But—
Thunk!
“Can you block a spear flying at you?”
“What?”
The moment Bickerd turned his head—
BOOOOOOM—!
“GRAAAAAHHHHH!!”
A mana bullet slammed into Bickerd, sending him flying into the wall.
Ah, right. Not a spear—a gun.
I forgot for a second.
“A magic gun… Truly formidable.”
Rodelin murmured.
She used magic guns herself, but that alone wouldn’t be enough to identify Rezé.
‘Magic guns are rare, but not unheard of.’
Besides, Rodelin knew Rezé better than anyone.
Could she really believe that the shy Rezé would sneak out in the middle of the night just to attack a knight?
That was unthinkable for Rodelin.
‘Well, I did tell Rezé to hold back on purpose.’
That’s right.
Just earlier, I had specifically ordered Rezé to use only half of her usual mana output.
If [Overcharge] had been used to launch a nuclear strike, there would have been no doubt that Rezé was responsible.
‘With Rezé’s attack power… she probably could’ve killed him in one hit.’
Of course, given Rezé’s absolute inability to kill, the actual outcome would have been unpredictable.
I shook my head, pushing aside unnecessary thoughts. This wasn’t the time to be worrying about that.
“GRAAAAH! Rabbit mask! YOU’RE DEAD!”
Bickerd charged toward Rezé’s position.
But—
He didn’t get far.
Lucid Family Style: First Secret Skill.
Earth Flip.
“GRAAAAAAAAAH!!”
A burst of blue mana scattered into the air.
Bickerd’s [Mana Armor] had been shattered.
“You damn wench!”
Enraged, Bickerd immediately lunged at Rodelin, who blocked with her crossed swords.
BOOM!
“GRAAAAH!!”
Rezé followed up with another shot.
Bickerd, completely overwhelmed, was being knocked back and forth between them.
Realizing that she had no role in this fight, Luna approached me.
“Hey, what am I supposed to do?”
“Hmm… How about rescuing Miss Dolores?”
“As the Captain of the Dark Beast Squad, I approve of this plan.”
“What about Group Captain?”
“Ooh! That sounds even better than ‘Captain’! I approve of that too!”
Luna, Group Captain is actually a lower rank than Captain… (TL Note: The joke here is that she calls herself Daejang, which is Commander. Zero says Daedaejang, which means Battalion Commander. The Commander stands above the Battalion Commander.)
But since she didn’t know that, she just started humming a completely nonsensical tune—
“Group Captain~ I am the Group Captain~ of the great Dark Beast Squad~”
“GRAAAAAAH!!”
By the time Rodelin and Rezé had successfully ping-ponged the aggro about five times, Bickerd let out a furious roar.
“You brats… I’ll show you my true power!”
Phase 2 had begun.
A simple yet deadly effect—20% increased attack power, 20% decreased defense.
‘It’s time.’
I climbed up onto a high rock.
I could end this normally, but that wouldn’t be dramatic enough.
‘Rodelin needs to realize we’re on a different level.’
If she understood that she was up against someone untouchable, she wouldn’t dare come after us.
The plan was simple—hand Dolores over to Rodelin and disappear.
Oh? How am I going to finish him off without using any forbidden techniques?
‘No, I still have one left.’
The most impactful skill in my arsenal—
A skill Rodelin had never seen in person.
BZZZZT—!
As I activated the skill, lightning crackled around my hand.
It felt like I was holding real thunder in my palm.
I leaped from the rock, taking a throwing stance.
Originally meant for a spear, but also usable with a sword—
A technique belonging to the strongest person in this world, Adonis.
Adonis’ Third Original Secret Skill.
Gáe Bolg.
Brace yourself.
This time, a real spear is flying at you.
…Or wait, is it a sword?
–TL Notes–
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