Chapter 20 - The Counterattack (2)
“How much farther?”
“If we run, it'll take about 35 more minutes.”
“Son of a bitch.”
Even with my equipment helping, being tired was still being tired.
It was only natural, a forced march after such a fierce battle.
Though not as much as me, Namyr, who was leading the way to guide me, also showed clear signs of exhaustion.
But what could I do?
If I didn't step up, those guys would push in first.
To survive tomorrow, I had to be busy today.
Wasn't it the way of things that if you put off today's work, it comes back twofold tomorrow?
Of course, it was still impossible not to be tired.
Namyr and I stopped running and began to walk slowly.
“Captain!”
“Maletta!”
Just as we were walking like that, a voice like welcome rain in a drought reached my ears.
My face lit up as I raised my head, and there was Maletta, flapping her flame wings and floating in mid-air.
She grinned at me, then folded her wings and landed in front of me.
“You’re here.”
“Yup! I took care of everything you asked!”
I walked up to her as she landed lightly and patted her shoulder.
Maletta nodded her head fervently in affirmation.
She was so reassuring in the game, and now that this was reality, she was just as reassuring as ever.
“Here, the thing you mentioned, Captain!”
Maletta immediately held out her hand to me, and I took what she offered and carefully put it in my pocket.
These were important things that could become today's variable, so I had to handle them with care.
I was about to pat her shoulder once more and hurry on my way.
When I suddenly noticed the scythe slung across Maletta's back.
The scythe was drenched in blood.
So much so that not only I, who was close, but even Namyr, who stood far away out of fear, could tell.
I knew it, those bastards.
“N-No, that, that is….”
Namyr, of course, must have known what those bloodstains meant.
Indeed, he stammered as he asked back with a very flustered face because of it.
But Maletta simply winked one eye like a mischievous child.
“Hold on tight, both of you!”
As if to cut off his words, Maletta shouted so, then wrapped one arm tightly around my waist.
She also ran to the far-off Namyr and roughly grabbed his arm.
“Whoa, you scared me! What are you doing?”
“Ah, that should be possible too. Good!”
Neither she nor I paid any mind to Namyr, who was dumbfounded, not knowing what was happening.
On the contrary, since I could save time, it was only natural for me to nod my head.
Maletta, after confirming she had a firm grip on both of us.
She flapped the still-remaining giant flame wings on her back, then.
“Yup! We don't have time, let's fly!”
“No, wait! What are you doin—Uwaaaaaaah!?”
Fwoosh.
She kicked off the ground.
And just like that, soared into the sky.
“Wow! The sky is amazing!”
“Right? I wanted to show you this view too, Captain!”
Today’s scenery was quite different from the one I saw when I was chased by the Dark Dogs last time.
It was the same in that both were urgent situations, but perhaps because I had some leeway, I could at least look up and down.
In the sky above, clouds zipped by as if in a race.
On the ground below, countless things like trees, ruined buildings, and Dark Dogs flashed past.
It was like a day I had set off on a trip, speeding down the highway.
There was the same excitement as watching cars move to and fro outside the window.
I couldn't help but let out a cheer like a child.
And suddenly, I was grateful to Maletta for showing me this view.
Grateful to her, who flew with me and always thought of me.
If it weren't for her, I would have already been killed by the Dark Dogs.
I wouldn't have been able to endure that series of events.
When all these quests were over, I really wanted to hear her story.
There were things I was curious about, but there was just as much gratitude.
“Uwaaaargh!! Bleeegh!!”
Unfortunately, it seemed Namyr was not the same.
He threw up twice even during that short flight.
“Ri-right ahead, if you go into the forest….”
“You okay?”
“I'm dying.”
Namyr was out of his mind, but as if he would still do his duty, he pointed toward the inside of the forest.
It seemed their headquarters was in the forest we had reached after flying for several minutes.
“You’re coming all the way in with me, right?”
“I will guide you down to the 2nd basement floor.”
Moreover, it seemed the base was structured with an entrance dug on the surface, leading down underground.
Fortunately, Namyr wasn't being stubborn, so I could be relieved of the worry of having to wander through the underground.
But I couldn't even take many steps.
“So you've truly betrayed us, Namyr Anas.”
“……”
I didn't know if they came out because they heard the noise, or if it was simple intuition.
Even though not even a part of the facility was in sight, two people in their respective outfits and gear stood blocking the path ahead.
“Are they just simple underlings?”
“They’re Aides.”
“Aides?”
Thinking they were just two reasonably strong underlings, I asked Namyr.
But Namyr opened his mouth, breaking out in a cold sweat.
Certainly, if they were Aides, they would be at least the third-in-command.
Whether their field of control was intelligence or military power.
But it seemed that wasn't the only reason Namyr was sweating.
“The Leader’s Aides.”
“Then who’s that next to them?”
Usually, don't the Aide and the Leader come out together?
So I asked, thinking that person was also a vice-captain or some such role, but Namyr instead showed reluctance and hesitated to answer.
“I’m not sure.
I don't recall anyone like that in our guild….”
As if that was a signal, the man standing next to the Aide adjusted his glasses with his middle finger.
He then took out two pistols from his coat and twirled them around.
“A pleasure to meet you, I am Bershut Andres, a Grade 4 of Rekenhate.”
I thought something was up with how stylish he looked from his fine black uniform, but to think a guy like this would show up.
Grade 4.
The one I barely defeated using Erin, my underlings, and the power of the coin was a Grade 5.
And now a Grade 4, who was at least four times stronger than that Grade 5.
Even though I had Maletta, the threat of the quest was always lurking, so even I couldn't help but be momentarily flustered.
“Rekenhate!?”
Thanks to Namyr, who was even more startled than I was, I was able to hide my bewilderment.
My thoughts were buried by his scream-like shout.
“Wh-why is Rekenhate here…!”
Namyr almost collapsed as if the strength had drained from his legs.
His whole body trembled like an aspen tree, and his gaze wandered, having lost its place.
That must be exactly what prey before a predator looks like.
“No, what the hell is Rekenhate.”
But even if I wanted to sympathize, I knew nothing about Rekenhate, so I couldn't.
From what Arges mentioned earlier, I could infer that it was a roughly incredibly strong group.
The problem was, that was the limit of my knowledge.
“Surprising, that there is someone who does not know of Rekenhate.”
“Then will you tell me a bit about it?”
“I'm a bit busy myself.”
I asked, wondering if I could get a little information out of the guy.
But it seemed the opponent had no intention of talking about it either.
In that case, it meant we had to fight after all.
Fortunately, we had Maletta.
I thought that against a Grade 4, even Maletta might be stalled for a little while.
But that thought was brief.
Because the damn quest window, of all times, made an ominous sound at that exact moment, signaling an update.
[ Erin's Request ]
A new enemy has begun to block your path.
In the next…
“Damn it, the quest!!”
No! A Grade 5 was one thing, but a Grade 4 is impossible!
It's going to restrict Maletta or something again, and then I really have no chance of winning.
“……!”
Maletta, too, looked flustered upon hearing my words.
I knew from her eyes when our gazes met as she frantically turned her head.
But.
This time, she didn't just stay flustered.
As if to vent her resentment for being deliberately excluded by the quests until now.
“Well then, let’s….”
“Get out of the way!!”
Bershut cut his business short and raised the muzzles of his guns, aiming at us.
No, he tried to aim.
Maletta, faster than Bershut could raise his arms, leaped into the air.
“G-uack!?”
Before he could even finish his sentence.
She readjusted her grip on her scythe, descended just like that, and blew away the forms of those two along with the forest.
Immediately after the crisp sound of slicing meat, swish, a thunderous roar like an explosion, kwaang, resounded.
Soon, the area in front of where she had swung her scythe was dyed in crimson flames.
Everything that existed in the trajectory of Maletta's giant scythe was cleanly severed.
And was it only severed?
The upper bodies of Bershut and the Aide, severed from the waist up, were completely turned to ash and vanished.
The trees were the same.
Only the trees far from the slash's influence barely preserved their form as charcoal.
“Ugh! Eu….”
“Huuuaaargh!”
It was truly a formidable power.
Thanks to my equipment protecting me, there was no damage, but the ‘scorching’ heat itself was fully conveyed.
If Namyr hadn't hidden behind me, he would have been burned like that too.
Seeing as he was screaming like this even while hiding behind me.
The enemy neatly vanished, the situation resolved.
As if to prove it, the quest window stopped updating and displayed a dumbfounded message.
[ Erin's Request ]
…
The sudden quest is canceled.
“Serves you right, you bastard.”
Don't think you can keep being unreasonable forever, quest window.
I approached Maletta right after the heat passed and patted her on the shoulder.
Maletta, who had also confirmed the still-floating quest window, answered with a sigh of relief.
“Maletta, you did well.”
“I'm sick and tired of that quest thing too.”
It seemed Maletta had found a solution:
grind the opponent to dust before the quest could be assigned.
In fact, it was effective.
If not for her improvisation and strength, I would have had to fight a Grade 4 with my hands tied.
“Let's go, Captain.
There shouldn't be any more obstacles.”
“Even if there are, it won't be a problem.
So reassuring.”
“Haha!”
With the formidable enemies, the quest and the Grade 4, gone, it was true that I felt a bit more relaxed.
Thanks to that, she and I could unwind with that silly conversation.
“Th-that person… just how strong is she…?”
“She’s incredibly strong.”
Though he couldn't relax, it seemed Namyr too was relieved that the situation was over.
Judging by his question.
So I answered playfully and patted his shoulder.
Namyr nodded once and began to lead the way again.
At this rate, I could finish this tiresome quest quickly.
I could easily kill Arges, who had left a trail of so many ill-fated connections, and put an end to it.
So I thought.
Yes.
Because the momentum had completely shifted to my side.
***
Arges paced around the leader's office with his hands clasped behind his back.
But it was markedly different from the anxious steps he had taken just after his aide had left.
There was a sense of ease.
Unlike before, when he had restlessly roamed the room with quick steps, he was now circling the room slowly with wide strides.
“Leader!”
A voice that interrupted the pondering of the walking Arges was heard.
The voice of a subordinate who had roughly thrown open the door and knelt on one knee.
At that voice, Arges stopped walking and looked down at him.
“We've lost contact with Sir Bershut, who was dispatched from Rekenhate!”
“Is that so.”
The subordinate surely had a reaction he was hoping for when he delivered the sad news to the leader.
Because Bershut's death also meant the death of the aide, the strategist.
The aide's contribution to this organization's growth to this point could not be ignored.
But the subordinate soon felt a sense of unease.
Even at the serious news, the expression of Arges, whom he looked up at, hadn't changed one bit.
“Indeed, they weren't beings I could rashly touch.
I was lucky.”
Rather, the corners of his mouth lifted into a smile.
He smiled, looking into the void like an enlightened sage who had comprehended something.
“Leader?”
It was humility.
The subordinate even thought that the leader had sensed defeat and accepted death.
But looking at his eyes, which still held their light, that wasn't it.
It was different from resolve.
It was something similar to the composure of one who has prepared for everything.
It was hard to think this was the face of a defeated general who had lost all his men and returned in defeat an hour ago.
It was different from when he was almost screaming orders right after the aide left.
“Move as previously instructed.
They will come.”
“Ye-yes, sir!”
Arges gave a concise order, and the subordinate, while harboring questions, withdrew.
Arges watched the subordinate's retreating back, then let out a smirk.
“Yes.”
He looked into the void.
He looked at the ‘window’ that had ominously appeared, translucent.
[ Reversal ]
We have informed you of the abilities of your adversary, ‘Kang Woon’.
Furthermore, we will eliminate the enemy's ‘Joker Card’.
You must eliminate ‘Kang Woon’.
“Interesting.”
And also.
Arges fiddled with a single coin in his hand.