Otome Game no Heroine de Saikyou Survival (LN) - Book 6: Chapter 8

Desert Rose

「Lena. Just in case, bring the children and evacuate to outside.」

「……I understand.」

Elena guessed what I meant by outside and she nodded with a conflicted face.

The wounded dark elf boy Noi was healed by Elena’s light sorcery. We were waiting for him to wake up because even our inn couldn’t be said as safe anymore.

We had created a simple base outside the town in preparation for when it was needed. It also had food though few so there would be no problem to stay there for several days.

When Noi woke up, he said that he would also come with me when he heard that Chako was kidnapped but…….

「No need.」

「B-but……」

There was anxiety in Noi’s face. He was the big brother of the small children. He must have believed that he had the duty to save the big sister of their family. But, he was mistaken.

「Your responsibility is protecting these children. Don’t mistake the place where you should risk your life.」

「……Yes.」

My worry hadn’t disappeared even after the children had showed the will to fight. Noi nodded to me firmly after looking at the small children clinging on his clothes while desperately holding back their tears.

I saw off the back of Elena bringing the children away from this place, then I walked toward the other person still remaining in this place.

「Sorry to make you wait.」

「Bitch……tsu!」

His position was slightly different than before. Perhaps he tried to escape. The tiger striped man whose right knee and right wrist were broken was lying on the ground. Even so he growled like a tiger when I approached him. He used his remaining left foot to kick at me.

Combat strength wise he was around lower rank 3. It was splendid that he still had the will to fight with that injury, but in that case I would treat him accordingly.

I kicked up his foot that tried to kick my right leg. And then the same foot stamped down to crush his ankle.

「GUGYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!」

「Where did you take Chako?」

My tone contained no anger or hatred. I simply emitted pressure while asking the question. The man’s face convulsed with anything other than pain for the first time.

「Y-you……」

「You planned to show me the way from the start right? Also where did you hear that we healed the sickness from?」

「After doing this to Munza Gang, this town──GYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!?」

「That’s not what I asked.」

I grinded my foot on his broken ankle. The man wouldn’t talk even with this because he feared retribution from Munza Gang. I broke his left knee next with a kick.

「Gugii…………GYAAAAAAAAAAH!?」

The tiger man fainted from intense pain. I woke him up forcefully with different pain. The man’s killing intent dispersed from the terror of his body getting broken bit by bit.

「……S-sto……I don’t know……the young head……」

「There was someone who came to you right?」

The tiger man’s heart finally broke after I crushed his last remaining safe left arm.

After asking the necessary information, I thought that there was defect in that information. I kept the man alive and dragged him by his collar toward the town.

***

「Aria!」

When I got close to the town, I heard my name got called by a silhouette that was running this way from the town.

People who called me by name in this town were few in number. And the number of people who would walk on the path toward that small hut was even fewer.

「Kamil and……Ron?」

Kamil’s face was exposed but, the other person whose face was hidden under the hood must be Ron. The two ran toward me and their eyes slightly widened seeing the tiger man with broken limbs.

「I heard that Munza Gang went to the hut of Chako and others-」

「Don’t tell me, this man-?」

It seemed the two ran this way after they heard the danger approaching the children.

From what they told me, it seemed that Munza Gang’s thugs also came to their place and attacked, but one of them laughed mockingly at the two after they were defeated and hinted that the children also got attacked.

「We managed to save the children but Chako was taken.」

「Chako is……then I’ll go.」

「Wait Kamil.」

Ron grabbed Kamil’s shoulder before he could rush away. He removed his hood and looked at me with a serious gaze.

「Aria……is it? Thank you. I had heard about you two from Kamil. But, why are you two going this far for some unknown children?」

Ron’s question was certainly natural. Even I was suspecting that these two had ulterior motive for aiding the orphans without asking for anything back.

「You’re asking me that?」

「……I guess. Sorry.」

Ron honestly bowed his head to me after seeing that what we did was no different from what they themselves had done.

There was no reason. I could use some flowery words to dress it up but, if I was forced to put into words this subtle emotion that couldn’t be described with speech, it was simply that we couldn’t pretend to not see what we had seen. ──That was all.

「If Lena……your friend is staying together with the children, they should be fine for the time being. We also have information. We’re in conflict with Munza Gang after we destroyed their business but, apparently Kirly Company is also involved this time.」

「That matched my information. It’s likely to be related with our situation. I think they thought that it was our potion that cured the sickness.」

That head clerk called Jed, I thought that he was a merchant who would be a bit cleverer than this but, if he was prioritizing greed more than profit, then he was just a thug of this town after all.

……No, perhaps he had thought about the profit and emotional benefit, and reached the conclusion of 『taking away everything』 as befitted this town. A lot of powerful people was prudent but, among them there were also fools who misunderstood the organization’s strength as their own strength.

「I’m going to take Chako back.」

「Got it, Aria. We’ll also……」

「No, rather than that there’s something else that I want to ask you two to do.」

***

The slum of desert town Cutlass. The whole town was like a slum, but this area was where the poorest were living. It was a lawless area where violence was truly the only rule.

「……u……aa……」

The crippled tiger man who was alternately fainting and waking up moaned.

Under the blazing hot sun that was at its peak, buildings that were made from soil and rock lined up the surrounding. I could feel some gazes like predator targeting a prey from inside those half crumbling buildings toward me who was walking in the middle of the street dragging a man.

There was nobody attacking even though I wasn’t emitting any pressure. Most likely they had noticed that the tiger man I was dragging with me was a member of Munza Gang. They couldn’t gauge my strength that had half killed such man.

I kept walking while letting the killing intent that was like heat mixing with the atmosphere washed over me. Then a stone mansion that was larger and grander than the other buildings came into my view.

So that was the mansion of Munza Gang’s boss who was in charge of this area.

At first my plan was to attack stealthily to take back Chako, but I instead came from the front. Perhaps because of the killing intent that was filling the surrounding, the cat beastman and dog beastman who were guarding the gate pointed their spear toward me who was approaching them with the man dragged behind me.

「You bastard, who are you!」

「Know that this is Batil-sama’s mansion……big bro!?」

One of the guards realized who was the man behind me and raised his voice. The tiger man woke up hearing that voice. Light of hope lit up inside his eyes and he raised his voice to clamor.

「……T-this bitch is that woman! Tell the young head! Gyahaha, it’s over for you, woman! Do you know how many people are here──」

「Noisy.」

「Goooh!」

I crushed the man’s throat with my heel that had a plate of magic steel slotted in it. I had no more use of you.

「Bastard!」

The cat beastman who called the tiger man big bro just now charged at me with his spear after seeing him vomiting blood. I instantly did body strengthening that was focused to muscle power and tossed the tiger man to the spear’s path.

「Wha-!?」

「────tsu!!」

The guard’s spear stabbed the man’s heart from behind. The cat beastman froze for an instant seeing that. I grabbed his head in my hand and slammed it on the dry ground.

「──E-enemy attack!!」

The other guard whose life was instead spared because he couldn’t move howled so loudly his throat might get torn.

Sounds of rushing and presences mixed with killing intents swelled up from inside the mansion. Dog and cat beastmen surged out as though to blast away the entrance’s door with spear and sword in their hands. They bared their fangs with growls at me who was standing beside two corpses under my cloak.

「What do you want here-!」

「Big bro said he’s that woman-」

「Don’t fuck around! Don’t think you can die easily after picking a fight with Munza Gang!」

「I’ll tear off her throat!」

Just when the enraged beastmen were about to attack──

「Wait!!」

A voice that was filled with pressure stopped the beastment from rushing forward.

From the terrace at the second floor of the mansion that was facing this way, a cat beastman who looked like a black panther appeared while his arms were holding the shoulders of beastwomen who looked like prostitute.

The cat beastman who was at the middle of his thirty had a body that was slender but packed tight with muscle. He stepped forward without wearing anything on his upper body as though to show off his rippling muscles. He glared at me with silver eyes.

「Young head! This woman-」

「Shut up! Hmph, so you’re that woman? Looks like you’ve gotten the message properly seeing that you’re here.」

The black panther man looked at the dead man’s face and grinned. There was distance between us so I wasn’t certain but, I guessed that his combat strength was around 1200……an upper rank 4.

Seeing that he got called young head, he was one of the bosses of Munza Gang who was leading the underlings, Batil.

「Ou ou, two of my men died just to lure out you alone. You cost me a lot there. What about the other two who were with him?」

「Dead.」

Batil lightly raised an eyebrow hearing my casual answer.

「Theen, I gotta ask compensation for that from that Kirly’s bunch. Looks like you got a bit of skill in you huh, but ain’t you worried about that little girl at all?」

「I’m here just to make settlement for this man’s attack.」

「So you don’t care about the little girl?」

「The result won’t change anyway. Her fate is set in stone if I lose, and it’ll be taken care of if I win.」

「Hah, you got that right.」

The space between Batil and me was filled with tense killing intent. It even felt like that the temperature decreased a little.

After a glaring match for a while, Batil bared his fangs in a grin and called out to his underlings.

「You bastards, rip off that woman’s limbs and bring her to me. No money if she’s killed. Women, bring me chair and alcohol. This spot is my exclusive seat. The viewing seat to watch crazy stupid idiot like you dying that is.」

The prostitutes separated from Batil to go bring alcohol and chair. He turned his back on me to go to his special seating.

「Go」

「「「OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO──!!」」」

In that moment, the beastmen who surrounded me surged at me with a roar.

It was as though they had forgotten the order to not kill me. I leaned backward to dodge a serious slash from a beastman while slashing the ankles of three people who approached me with slashing type pendulum that I rotated. I also planted my black dagger into the eye of a nearby wolf beastman.

First one.

「You bitch──」

I pulled out the dagger roughly to tear up the man’s face and the blood spray from that blocked the other man’s sight. My knife tore his throat and then without pause I rotated while throwing the general purpose pendulum from the shadow of my fluttering cloak. It pierced the throat of a dog beastman who stopped moving after his ankle was slashed.

Third.

「Daaaaaa!」

One person aimed at my neck with a long sword. One more person thrust his spear at my foot.

The spear arrived first due to the difference in distance. I stepped on its tip and then ran on the shaft to dodge the sword. The scythe type pendulum that I threw at the same time tore the swordsman’s neck.

I continued kicking the head of another person who came at me with his claws and stepped on his head to jump over him. Then I swung down the weight type pendulum that I held with short string to a cat beastman in the distance, breaking his skull.

Sixth.

「Hiyaaa!」

The gate guard swung down his axe with a yell that sounded like a scream. I smoothly dodged it and leaped toward his bosom while denting his face with my elbow. I scooped the axe that still had its swinging momentum with my ankle and sent it flying to Batil who had his back turned toward me.

The axe approached Batil with a whistling sound. The moment its blade assaulted Batil, he grabbed the chair that a prostitute was carrying and intercepted the axe.

「……tsk」

Batil had turned his back for several seconds. More than half of men were killed in that long. Batil’s face twisted in irritation for the first time seeing me standing in the middle of their corpses.

「Not bad, woman……. It’s impossible to catch you alive if you can do this much.」

「Can you do it?」

「Who said that I need to do it personally?」

*Baan-!*

Batil suddenly clapped his hands.

Numerous killing intents thickened as though waiting for that sound. The slum residents stood up from all the small buildings on the street, from the alleys, and from the shadows at the corners.

An old man who looked like a beggar stood up holding a blade. A middle aged chubby auntie was holding a kitchen knife. A boy who wasn’t even of age yet was grinning with glinting eyes and a rusty hatchet in his hand.

A lot of beastmen all holding weapons in their hands. A wave of people, old and young, male and female surrounding me from every direction.

I counted their number was more than 200 just from a brief glance──.

「Do you think the people here are just resident or gang member’s family? Munza Gang is a “pack” of beastman. Doesn’t matter even if it’s woman or brat, anyone in the pack are all “Munza Gang”.」

……I see. So it’s just like animals.

Even if they were just rank 1, even if they didn’t have combat skill, they would overwhelm everything with the violence of number.

The wave of people was slowly getting closer with weapons in hands. I quietly raised my blade while Batil sat down on the new chair that a prostitute brought to him. Then he drank alcohol straight from the bottle.

「Don’t think you can run away, woman. Don’t die easily before I finish drinking. Now, dance. The main show starts now-!」

The wave of people stepped forward with Batil’s voice as signal.

But at that moment, a flute’s sound resounded from far away.

The beastmen including Batil had good hearing. They slightly looked up to the sky.

My lips formed a small fearless smile when I heard that sound.

I asked Ron to observe Kirly Company’s movement, while I told Kamil to rescue Chako.

I entered this place from the front to buy time for that, but that wasn’t the only reason.

If Munza Gang consisted of only several hundreds, it would be finished if I assassinated them one by one starting from the top. But, mere assassination would only serve to the fan up the anger of an organization of this scale. There was a risk they would take revenge toward other children we didn’t know.

I felt the need to teach the meaninglessness of fighting me to Munza Gang, just like what I did to assassin guild and thief guild.

The problem was that when they noticed how big of a threat I was, it was possible they would target Chako even though I had sent Kamil to save her, but now there was no more “shackle” binding me.

Thinking with common sense, it shouldn’t be possible for an individual to win against this number.

But, I could only find the true “strength” that I sought by overcoming that.

I threw away my cloak that had gotten heavy from the blood sprays. The approaching footsteps of the wave of people got slightly disarrayed seeing my pink blond hair that glittered from the sunlight.

The main show started from here? That was my line.

.

「I’ll obtain true strength.」

.

What was “strength”?

Were you strong if your physical strength parameter high? Were you strong if your magic power parameter high? Were you strong if your combat skill’s level high?

None of those was wrong. Pure “strength” overwhelmed everything.

For example monster was also like that. If your rank was the same then the difference in physical ability would get directly translated into difference in “strength”. The foremost example of that would be [dragon] that existed in this Thurs Continent. They were the strongest since the moment they were born.

I was weak. I had no strength, no magic power, and no fighting technique when I was just a child. In order to fight against the strong, I could only become strong “mentally”.

That was why I “resolved to kill”.

Resolve to kill meant to have the resolve to get killed. You would get robbed if you didn’t rob them first. A weakling like me wasn’t allowed to have “softheartedness” to spare those who were hostile against me.

I chose to oppose and fight destiny. To live was to fight. That was why the weak me chose to become strong mentally.

But, I knew that even that strength had limit.

One day an opponent that I couldn’t win against with just the strength of heart would appear. As I am right now, I felt that I wouldn’t be able to win against Carla who purely sought only strength that she even dropped her heart into madness and risked her life solely for that, turning herself into an incarnation of “violence”.

[Iron Rose] the technique that I got a spirit to turn it into Battle Skill gave me a deciding factor that I was lacking. But, that power was nothing more than a “weapon”. Something like weapon that could only be used for limited time was the same like a bow with only several arrows.

What was the “strength” that I sought?

The answer to that had been inside me from the start.

I who had knowledge understood that it was possible to obtain strength to some degree if you focused to pursue strength in just one field from the start. But I didn’t choose that path. I sought the ideal strength with simple straightforwardness.

Master too sought that in the past but she failed. But master drilled her combat skill that could display that strength into me who reached the same conclusion like her.

In order to become the true “War Demon”──the only one in this world.

***

The voices stopped.

Underestimating voice because the enemy was alone.

Excited voice because the enemy wouldn’t be their match even if she was somewhat skilled.

Mocking voice toward the foolishness of an individual going against this beastman pack that was many.

Fired up voice that boasted they would tear off her flesh and bathed in her blood.

Those voices stopped when the “girl” threw away her blood soaked cloak and showed her appearance. The beastman pack of 200 people stopped moving just for an instant.

Pinkish blonde hair that glittered radiantly under the sun.

Moist white skin that was unburned even by the sun that was the god of this land.

Jade colored eyes that were completely unwavering even when facing this many enemy.

She was a beautiful girl……. The men and women here had seen good looking people before. But, despite the childishness that was still remaining in her look, there was no fear, nervousness, anger, or hatred that could be felt from her despite standing in the middle of this whirlpool of killing intent. She was standing so casually that to them she looked like a rose blooming in the desert……they were unconsciously entranced by that beauty──and felt “fear”.

A boy walked out from among the pack that was slowing down slightly, as though he was lured by a whiff of rose scent.

That beastman who looked like a grey wolf had nothing else in his eyes other than the girl.

His heart was instantly stolen the moment he caught sight of her.

The sweet and refreshing smell of blood that melted the brain…….

The boy who still hadn’t become of age had executed enemies several times while staying with this pack. From that experience he imagined the girl’s soft flesh and rushed forward ahead of anyone else with his rusty hatchet in hand.

*Buon!*

The rusty blade that was swung down with beastman’s physical strength was diverted by the girl’s hand that softly touched its flat side.

The rusty hatchet swung through empty air and the boy lost his balance without even knowing the weight of the blade that took life away. The girl’s hand touched his arm and his elbow snapped to the opposite direction.

「──────!」

His scream was also erased by the blow that crushed his windpipe. His arm that reached out toward his comrades asking for help was also snapped. The girl’s white arm wrapped around the boy’s neck and twisted the boy’s head to look right behind him with a strange sound that made anyone wanted to cover their ears. The face that was twisted in terror was looking toward his comrades.

How much skill was required to do such feat?

How heartless one must be to be able to do such thing?

The girl slaughtered a person without taking a single step from her spot and without even drawing out her blade. She softly pushed the boy’s body that was still standing with her fingertip so it fell. Then she quietly drew out a black blade.

「Come if you want to die, Munza Gang.」

***

「──Ugaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!!」

In respond to my provocation, several men and women who couldn’t endure the “anxiety” rushed out from the pack while howling.

They were scared. Flustered. Even if they pushed those feelings down with anger, was there a point in doing that?

「──────!」

My slashing type pendulum rotated and slashed straight at the eyes of a man who ran at the forefront.

The man screamed from the burning pain and the darkness that suddenly assaulted him. The pace of his surrounding was thrown out of order. I glided beside them and used my unsheathed dagger to thrust from below at the jaw of a woman nearby who had unconsciously stopped running. The blade reached her brain from there.

Heighten your concentration. Read even the flow of air on your skin using your level 4 Search and your polished combat sense. I dodged like a bending rice stalk from the spear that was approaching from behind while grabbing the shaft and pulled. I broke the face of the cat beastman who was holding that spear with my heel that was filled with steel plate.

Without stopping I used footwork to instantly closed the distance to a dog beastman who was in his prime. I slashed his neck and swung down my weighted pendulum on the head of the fat middle aged woman behind him.

The blood of the beastmen who were killed in just several seconds turned into mud on the dry ground.

With body strengthening that was assigned to agility, I didn’t wait for the beastmen and leaped into their pack. The wave of beastmen who were approaching to surround me was parted.

In the ancient art of war that I found in that woman’s “knowledge”, there was a tactic to kill the first person brutally to grant fear to the rest. That was what I did.

Even if the crowd was formed with rank 1 or no rank, I would get torn apart in an instant if I rushed to the middle of them. I pushed down my instinctual fear from facing death to the bottom of my heart, then I faced the animal pack with strained body control like walking on the tip of a blade.

The slashing type and weight type pendulums were rotating around me in the middle of the pack. They tore the neck and crushed the head of the beastmen who approached me carelessly. My black knife was dealing lethal wounds to them.

“Barrier of blood” ──fear dulled their spirit and my rotating pendulums produced an empty space where I was standing laone.

The pack’s hunt was a tactic to “survive” in order defeat powerful enemy effectively.

Batil said that they were a single pack, but how many people here could sacrifice themselves in order to keep the whole pack alive?

Were these people who chose to live in the pack so they could survive had the resolve for that? Those few people who had such resolve were the first to rush forward and got killed by me.

But, I also couldn’t spread out too much fear. Excessive fear paralyzed one’s heart and it carried the risk of making them to act recklessly without care of their own life. True fear came from none other than small hope. I kept in mind of this fear limit and broke through the human wave. Then I kicked the wooden planks covering the window of a nearby hut to pieces and leaped inside.

I couldn’t do this while the other side still had hostage. If I tried to use some kind of tactic, Batil would surely use the hostage to foil my action.

But now there was no more shackle binding me. If hunting in pack was their tactic to survive, I’d show them the battle of an individual hunting a pack for me to “survive”.

「F-follow her!」

Someone quickly returned to his sense seeing me escaping from the middle of the pack and yelled an order.

The fear of getting killed one-sidedly was covered up by the superiority of having overwhelming number in their side. But in order to let them know that it was just an illusion, my general purpose pendulum pierced between the eyes of the man who entered from the window.

Fear spread through the pack once more. Even so some people still chased me until inside the hut. I tore apart their necks accurately inside the darkness and finished them off with certainty.

Then I immediately leaped out from another window before the hut got surrounded. I broke through the window of another hut and entered inside. And then I cut down “the relatively capable people” who were swallowed by the momentum and chased me into the darkness.

Race-wise cat beastman was strong in darkness, while dog beastman could detect enemy from smell.

However they weren’t wild animal but human race called “demi human”. They relied on their sight to handle the majority of information.

People with high rank could sense danger and dodge, but these people whose magic power control was also low leveled couldn’t even switch to night vision instantly. I lured them away from the battlefield they chose, an open place at noon under the sun at its brightest, into indoor where there was no light. They couldn’t do anything inside the darkness and lost their life.

I repeated the same thing and when I couldn’t remember accurately anymore how many people I had killed, I sensed that the number of pursuer had decreased and destroyed the rotting ceiling with a kick and climbed to the roof.

Seeing me there, the beastmen got roused up once more and approached. But I didn’t wait for them and rushed toward the baestman pack that still numbered more than a hundred with body strengthening at full force.

Perhaps they had been lying in wait until I came out. Multiple attack sorceries were fired at me who was twirling in the air.

Beastman was considered to be fundamentally poor with elemental sorcery, but they were simply proud of their body that was suitable for close range combat. They weren’t unskilled with sorcery by any means, just like that shadow user Radha.

Even if attack sorcery couldn’t be fire rapidly or needed some time to be cast, there were times it could be deadly. I leaped to the air was to “smoke them out”.

The sorcerers didn’t come out to the front until now because they feared hitting their own ally. I memorized their positions with my thought that was accelerated by body strengthening, parried only the Fire Arrows and Stone Bullets that would hit me with Shield, and then I kicked on the air to use the recoil to change posture. With a twist of my body I dodged them all.

The beastman were shaken seeing me dodging the sure-kill attack that should be unavoidable.

In that moment I scattered the powder that I had prepared using daily life magic Wind. The screams from the beastmen who got hit by that echoed far and away.

What I used wasn’t “poison”. It was a type of spice of this region that was similar to pepper. Anyone could obtain it as long as they had money. It was simply a stimulant and its effect could only induce sneeze and tear, but it was effective toward beastman who had more sensitive sight and hearing than other race.

I covered my mouth with the shawl around my neck, closed my eyes, and rushed to the middle of the beastman pack.

「──Shadow──」

Several magic particles with my shape ran through the midst of the beastmen.

Although it was only temporary, the beastmen had gotten their sight and smell robbed temporarily. Many of their comrades had been killed and the terror that I had adjusted went past the limit. They were scared by the presence of “enemy” that ran past their side and they finally began attacking each other.

Level 3 and 4 dark sorcery also had the spells [Fear] and [Confusion], but using Shadow allowed me to spend less mana.

The beastmen bled from getting slashed by kitchen knife and hatchet, or beaten up by cudgel or hammer and fainted.

The pack that was hunting prey as one didn’t exist anymore. They were killing each other. I was in the middle of that ascertaining my enemies only using their presence, where I was cutting down them one after another, along with the sorcerers whose position I had memorized.

「──G-Gust!」

A sorcerer who I missed blew away the pepper powder. In that moment I who assigned my body strengthening toward agility leaped forward and stabbed that cat beastwoman with my dagger to death. Around me were wounded beastmen with my appearance reflected in their fearful eyes.

But, there was someone who was displeased by that situation.

.

「──Tous Brothers!!」

It was then, batil who was on the mansion’s terrace stood up and raised his voice.

Hearing that voice, the wounded beastmen showed hope and──fear and terror on their faces at the same time.

Killing intent could be seen radiating from inside the mansion.

『GAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!』

It was an animalistic howl that was shaking with joy.

There was the sound of chain being torn and a radiating huge presence.

Breaking through the mansion’s entrance and windows to appear under the sunlight were four beastmen who looked like bear with their muscles swelling up abnormally.

「……You’ve really done it now woman. Tous Brothers, kill this woman!」

Batil was looking at me with hatred while gritting his teeth. Even so he put on a twisted smile to show his superiority. The beastmen called Tous Brothers responded to his voice by screaming in delight from the smell of blood.

「…………」

I see……so this was the cause of Batil’s composure.

They looked like bear but, that was because of their bloated muscles but originally they must be cat beastman. And then most likely……their mind was taken away by drug.

They were strengthened with drug just like Goudo in the assassin guild. Their crumbling mind was restrained using even more drug.

The combat strength of the four was around 1000……I guessed that only the level of their Martial Art and Fist Fight got forcefully increased to grant them combat strength that was equal to rank 4.

「Kill her!!」

『GAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!』

With Batil’s order, Tous Brothers attacked me with no weapon using only their claws and fangs.

Seeing that I *suu-……* gazed at them coldly and quietly pointed my fingertip to them.

.

The “strength” that master and I sought was something simple.

Raise all the aspect of our strength equally. That was all but, in this world where life was cheap, it was common sense to focus on just one aspect of strength in order to obtain strength quicker than anyone.

Focus on sorcery. Focus on close quarter weapon. Focus on projectile weapon. Focus on stealth……any of them would become fearsome weapon if mastered. That was why people wouldn’t spare any effort to make the situation advantageous for them where under that situation they would be able to display matchless strength.

Right now even adventurer guild and assassin guild believed that the best way was to focus in mastering one type of strength and called those who tried to train in several things simultaneously as half-baked person in scorn.

Certainly even if someone learned several low level skills, it didn’t mean that they had become strong, only that their weapons had increased. With that they would have to risk their life if they wanted to defeat a powerful enemy.

But it was different in the battlefield. Master was forced to fight against many in every kind of situation. There she sought true strength that was reliable.

Power to destroy the enemy. Evasion ability to handle enemy attack. Sorcery to raise your base strength with healing and offense.

If you trained in sorcery you would get more mana which would increase your ability to fight longer. Trained detection ability and stealth technique would increase your chance to survive.

Master whose heart was pressured by four elements magic stone was unable to master close quarter combat.

But, I was different. I equally trained all the skills that I selected from the start. The technique that I trained improved my other technique.

In order to handle all the strengths, master and I thought that the most important skill among those techniques was [magic power control]. All techniques were controlled by magic power. It improved the power of Battle Skill and also affected the precision of body strengthening. And its importance for sorcery went without saying. Even stealth and detection type skills were greatly influenced by it.

Magic power control was my only skill that reached level 5 was because I focused in training that. I could focus my body strengthening to either my muscle strength or agility was also thanks to that. It was no wonder that my martial art and non-elemental magic were reaching until the limit of level 4.

I was fortunate.

After all I was given the chance to obtain that strength.

I would obtain true strength here────

.

「──Pain──」

.

『────!?』

Reaching level 5 in magic power control enabled me to use magic to multiple enemies simultaneously.

The four Tous Brothers stopped moving all at once. In that short time that was just a blink of eye……my eyes that saw magic particle analyzed their body strengthening and confirmed that it lowered their defense.

.

「──Iron Rose──」

.

Emptiness and reality──darkness and light──two sorceries that were antithesis to each other.

The strength that master sought, that could enable you to increase everything equally──.

The current me was still not in the stage that could handle that. But, if it was now when I was using Iron Rose, the Battle Skill that multiplied my physical ability……I could show it just for an instant.

The light particles that Iron Rose covered me with also covered up the four pendulums I threw.

At the next moment, Tous Brothers whose defense was lowered were hit from outside their awareness. The strengthened general purpose pendulum pierced the brain of one, the slashing type tore the throat of another one, the scythe type gouged the brain of another one, and the weight type smashed the skull of the last one.

My multiplied thinking speed caught the blood spraying to the air. Tous Brothers who were instantly killed without noticing anything crumbled on the dry ground.

The area fell silent as though time had stopped in the battlefield. Then there was small sound. The beastmen realized that it was the sound of their own feet backing away on their own. With expression of despair that was twitching from terror, they dropped the weapons in their hands and the remaining more than 100 beastmen started running away while pushing away their comrades who were in their way.

「──Hiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiih!?」

「Tous Brothers are-!?」

「I wasn’t told we’re going to fight this kinda monster!!」

「Move-! Don’t get in my way!!」

The members of the pack that had lost its meaning ran around like headless chickens while trying to get ahead of the others.

I deactivated Iron Rose and sighed from the mental and physical fatigue that assaulted me while brushing away the sweat trickling down my pinkish blonde hair that was returning to its normal color. I pointed the black knife in my hand toward the remaining enemy.

「Do you still have anymore stooges, Batil?」

Batil was trembling all over his body to endure his anger. Hearing my provocative words made him grabbed his two hand axes and he leaned forward over the terrace’s railing.

「……You little girl, I’ll feast on your guts!!」

***

(What is, this little girl……?)

Batil thought. Just what was this human woman who was pointing her blade at him.

This all started when a head clerk of Kirly Company brought a request to him.

Although the four factions ruling over this town were holding each other in check, that didn’t mean they were in hostile situation. Some amount of compromise was required as long as they were living in this town. Each of them had their own fields that they specialized in that the other faction wouldn’t interfere with.

They did that because they couldn’t show any opening to groups like Carlfan Empire or evil race country Dice that were aiming for this town so they could use it as military base.

This town belonged to them who lived in the desert. They had no intention of handing even a fragment of it to outsider.

In the middle of that complicated power balance, the head clerk that was handling Kirly Company’s medicine department requested him to capture a young alchemist woman and her bodyguard.

Even Kirly Company had their own people that were hired to be their exclusive thugs, but if that head clerk moved them, other people would also learn the information and it was possible that he would lose his profit. Also regarding that, the bodyguard’s strength was clearly abnormal even through the eyes of an amateur like the head clerk.

Chance to meet with genuine monster like rank 5 wasn’t that easy to come by, but if it was powerful rank 4 warrior than even this town that had the population around tens of thousands of people had ten or so of them. Even if the opponent was actually rank 5, just one person wouldn’t be a match against Munza Gang that was a pack.

Even so facing such person would bring great harm, so in consideration of that he asked big compensation of dozens of large gold coins, but Kirly Company’s head clerk agreed with that price.

Most likely those women had even more worth than that.

Until now kidnapping skilled travelling alchemist and making them addicted to drug was a habitual practice of Kirly Company ever since long before this.

And if it was a young woman, furthermore a good looking Melsenian woman that was rare in this area, the price of dozens of large gold coins was cheap. They would still get a lot of return for the investment even if the woman became overused and invalid in the end.

The head clerk didn’t tell him any information about that goose that laid golden eggs and pushed off only the danger toward him. Batil felt displeased by that. Then what should he do? In that case……he just needed to take the woman for himself.

If those women had even more worth than he expected, he would take one of them as hostage so they would create medicine, and if they were also good looking than if he sold them to the old foggies at Kirly Company, Batil thought there would be no problem even if his relationship with the medicine department’s head clerk would worsen temporarily.

Besides the impression that he got from the medicine department’s head clerk was that it seemed he also harbored resentment from getting humiliated. So as long as he didn’t let the women get away, the head clerk wouldn’t become that resentful toward him.

Munza Gang offered the underworld’s might, while Kirly Company offered food and daily necessity. There was no way an all-out war between the two organizations would break out just from a quarrel between mere young head and head clerk.

He captured one of the children that was said to be healed with medicine by that woman, then he sent his men to bring the woman to him while keeping the child hostage, but the woman who seemed to be the bodyguard killed his underlings who went to them, and brought one of them with his limbs broken while coming to his place in the open.

It was stupid to go against Munza Gang in this town──he thought that the woman had guts.

Even so in the end she was just a softhearted woman who couldn’t abandon a hostage. He thought so but, when he ordered his rank 2 and 3 underlings to beat her up and drag her to him, his underlings got killed instead in less than several seconds.

She’s dangerous……he immediately realized that. Munza Gang also had mad dog with screw loose among them but, he understood that this woman was even more dangerous than that.

She leaped in the middle of a pack of 200 beastmen without hesitation, then she killed them coldly, cruelly, without the slightest hesitation. Such scene had a certain beauty to it.

He even unconsciously felt moved that a human woman who could still be called a child could become this strong.

Batil thought.

Could he do the same thing?

The strength of the woman with pink colored blond hair was at the upper rank 4. Her overall combat strength must be above Batil who was also a rank 4.

But, that difference was nothing more than the difference in mana capacity. The more mana someone had, the longer they could fight and the more Battle Skill they could execute. Even so, Batil should be superior in stamina, muscle strength, and defense. Batil would have the advantage if they fought head on.

Batil couldn’t fight against 200 people. Even so it would be different in an individual duel.

Her power that defeated Tous Brothers was a mystery, even so there was no way he could let a dangerous woman like this left alive.

Batil’s reputation would fall rock bottom if he let her left after killing more than a hundred people. And more than that, Batil could allow a woman who had taken what was his to live.

He was raised in this town’s trash heap that was like a slum. When he was small he gathered homeless beastman orphans who were just like him and lived until now by taking away from others.

Many of his comrades died and many more comrades joined him. He kept climbing up with only his strength until he became one of Munza Gang’s young head.

And now his “pack” was killed. By a single girl.

He wouldn’t anybody take away what was his anymore. Position, pack, everything belonged to him.

Standing in front of an enemy who was trying to do just that, anger like fire that was tossed on the muddy black oil that welled up in the desert was burning his heart without end.

「……You little girl, I’ll feast on your guts!!」

***

The beastman with swarthy skin that gave me the impression of a black leopard──one of Munza Gang’s young head, Batil kicked on the terrace’s railing to jump down.

.

▼ Batil Race : Cat Beastman ♂ – Rank 4

【Magic Power : 187/200】【Stamina : 452/470】

【Overall Combat Strength : 1203 (With Body Strengthening : 1446)】

.

His naked dark skinned upper body was exposed to the sun. He was slowly approaching with two black hand axes that seemed to be made from magic steel.

「I’ll kill you, woman.」

「Try it.」

*Gakiiinn!*

In that moment, we stepped forward at the same time and my black dagger and Batil’s black hand axe clashed. It created a piercing sound.

I was pushed back due to the difference in muscle strength. I parried the axe using my wrist and muscle strength while quickly swinging my black knife. Its blade was blocked by the other axe while he swiftly unleashed a kick. I kicked back with the back of my foot to meet the kick and used the recoil to open the distance between us.

「Uraaaah!」

Batil instantly rushed forward and his axe approached. I matched that with jumping back while rotating and pulling out a knife from my thigh that I threw at him. The instant Batil dodged it, a pendulum that attacked from his side grazed his shoulder. For the moment Batil also took a distance from me.

As I thought Batil was above me status wise.

Our technique was equal. My speed was slightly above, but Batil was above me in everything else. I was superior in overall combat strength, but I was in disadvantage at short head on battle.

In addition my fatigue from fighting 200 people was horrible. A battlefield where I would die instantly if I got hit just from a single lucky shot was like walking across a string with my eyes blindfolded. It put a heavier burden mentally and physically on me than I imagined. Sweat was flowing like river from my body even if I stayed still.

But──that was fine.

「Tsu!?」

I dragged my exhausted body and used footwork that had all its waste removed to the extreme degree. Batil’s eyes widened seeing me closing the distance instantly.

My black knife attacked as though it was scooping up from below. Batil instantly reacted with a strike of his black axe that took advantage of his weight and gravity.

*KAN!*

The sound was light in contrast to the attack’s strength. The moment Batil showed his surprise, I used the recoil fully to attack with my dagger.

「Tsk!」

But, Batil didn’t back away even then and swung his other axe.

「──tsu」

I too could only block that with my knife, but I couldn’t block it fully and the axe grazed my arm.

But my dagger also gouged Batil’s shoulder. He paid it no mind and swung his arm powerfully while it was spurting out blood. I crouched on the ground to dodge it, then I bent my whole body like a bow before launching a kick like an arrow to Batil’s foot.

「Haaaaah!!」

「Uraaaaa!!」

We both let out our fighting spirit. Batil’s kick and my kick hit each other’s stomach and we both got blown away.

「……cough」

「……tsk」

I coughed lightly, while Batil spat out his saliva that was mixed with gastric juice.

Both of us got damaged, but we were doing body strengthening so it wasn’t so serious that we couldn’t continue fighting.

Both of us simultaneously took a fighting stance and this time we slowly closed the distance bit by bit while observing for opening from the opponent. The surviving beastmen in this place were watching while unable to even take a breath.

Strong……. Even though the vampires I fought were also rank 4, he was slightly different than them who were completely relying on body strengthening.

Master and my fighting style could give a good fight even in exhausted condition. We shaved off any waste until the limit, and used even the opponent’s strength to deal a sure kill attack.

That was why no matter how strong the enemy was, it would be because of my lack of proficiency if I was unable to defeat them.

「──fuu」

I exhaled. I let out the heat that gathered inside my body and the anxiety that slightly welled up inside me along with my breath. Batil seemed to sense something from me who was silently readying my knife and rushed forward as though something was pushing him.

「Uruaaaaaaaa!!」

「…………」

A sharp slash. The axe’s blade felt like it would burn me just from touching it. I parried that blade with my knife, but it still left a slight gash on me from the difference in physical strength.

「Just die already-!」

「…………」

Still not enough. What was not enough? No, that wasn’t it. The answer was inside me.

Batil’s axe was swung with powerful arm.

I slightly diverted that sharp axe by touching its flat side with my hand. Then I used the backlash from pushing the blade and my footwork to shift to the side just for a half step. The axe passed through beside me.

「──wha-」

Batil’s voice unconsciously escaped him.

Even so he swiftly swung up his axe diagonally from below. I slightly diverted it by kicking up the axe’s handle with my knee. I even used the recoil from kicking up to take a half step back and dodged.

I didn’t use my maximum strength with my exhausted physical strength. I dodged that attack using the skill I learned until today, the technique that I obtained in battlefield, and my skills that I had trained to high level.

My eyes saw the flow of magic particle. Search read the presence of enemy. The pressure that I was slightly exuding delayed the enemy’s action. Stealth skill hid my next move.

It felt like something slotted into place inside me.

An exchange of only skill and technique that didn’t use physical strength. Seeing me parrying his attacks simply using complicated technique and nothing else made Batil finally sweated from his forehead. He roared like an animal.

「You……what the hell are you-!?」

.

▼ Aria (Alicia) Race : Human♀ – Rank 4

【Magic Power : 213/330】△10UP【Stamina : 103/260】△10UP

【Strength : 10 (14)】【Endurance : 10 (14)】【Agility : 17 (24)】【Dexterity : 9】

《Short Sword Skill Level 4》《Martial Art Level 5》△1UP

《Throwing Level 4》《Archery Level 2》《Defense Level 4》《String Control Level 4》

《Light Magic Level 4》△1UP《Darkness Magic Level 4》《Non-Elemental Magic Level 4》

《Daily Life Magic×６》《Magic Power Control Level 5》《Pressure Level 4》

《Stealth Level 4》《Night Vision Level 2》《Search Level 4》

《Poison Resistance Level 3》《Abnormal Status Resistance Level 2》△1UP

《Simple Appraisal》

【Overall Combat Strength : 1497 (With Body Strengthening : 1853)】△ 69 UP

.

I wanted to become stronger.

In order to fulfill my promise…….

In order to grant Elena’s wish.

Until I became able to fulfill Carla’s wish……to kill her just like she wanted…….

「LITTLE GIRLLLLLLLLLLLL!!」

Batil’s face turned dark black from rage as he swung down his axe. I chopped the side of the axe’s blade while keeping hold of my knife. Then using that as the fulcrum I twirled my whole body and circled around him──then I switched the evasive maneuver into offense.

「Guoh!?」

I struck using my elbow on Batil’s side from right beside him.

Batil groaned from my sudden counterattack, even so he quickly sent out a kick.

I blocked that with my right leg and slightly lifted up my left leg to let the impact bleed out. My left leg glided smoothly on the ground while my black dagger aimed at Batil’s throat.

「Guo!」

Batil bent backward to dodge the dagger. Seeing that his attention was directed to the knife and dagger in my hands, I stopped my gliding feet and took a short step into his range, then my right knee struck Batil’s side as though to gouge its flesh.

Batil’s face that was looking upward from behind back his body convulsed. He swung his axe horizontally in pain. I diverted it by pushing it up using the back of my hand, then without pause I landed a blow with my elbow on the area around his heart.

Aiming at his vital spot using weapon would just get dodged. I also didn’t know whether my small blade would pierce through Batil’s tough muscle until his heart. That was why I used palm strike to make the damage penetrated directly into his internal organ.

「──Ugaaaaaaaaaa!!」

Batil even ignored the attack that hit him and struck with both his axes at the same time.

I met those axes with my black dagger and black knife and parried them to left and right. Without stopping I my knee landed on Batil’s nose as he charged toward me. The impact sent him flying.

Damage was accumulating inside Batil. In the several seconds of exchange after I switched into offense, Batil who had that much stamina parameter was bursting with fatigue that accumulated inside him. Now he could only sent out attack that could be parried away with my blade.

But his eyes were still alive. Even though he was lacking composure due to anger, I could see that Batil’s fighting spirit wasn’t weakening. So I readied my blade in order to whittle him down even more.

But it was then──

.

「Both sides, stop right there!!」

The voice of an old man resounded through the desert. More than ten beastmen had appeared at the edge of the battlefield without me noticing.

Most of them were rank 3 or below, but the small statured old man at the middle had two beastmen at his sides who felt like rank 4.

The eyes and mouth of the wolf-like old man were covered with pure white fur. He was glaring piercingly at me before he moved his gaze toward Batil who was breathing hard while still scowling.

「Elder……-」

「Batil……you were acting without order. It would be a different story if you moved because of a request, but it’s troublesome that you tried to kill without order. Don’t touch that girl over there.」

「What the hell are you saying, elder!!」

「That Jilgan had gotten his eyes on that girl first. That’s not the only reason but, you must have noticed too. She’s a troublesome fellow to make trouble with.」

「…………」

I was observing them without letting my guard down.

The elder of the beastmen? Jilgan was that rank 4 old dwarf in the adventurer guild. This elder……what does he know?

「I don’t give a damn about that! My pack is slaughtered! How can I just let her go after that-!」

「……Will you keep insisting that, even if that’ll make you end up leaving the “pack” of Munza gang?」

「──tsu, of course!」

He abandoned even his position for the sake of his honor and pride.

A pack must be something important for a beastman. The color of Batil’s face changed for an instant when he was told that he would get banished from the huge pack if he kept going like this, but his pride won and his expression when he looked toward me looked somewhat refreshed.

「……Use that “power” just now, little girl.」

「…………」

Batil readied his axes once more and spat out those words.

By that power I guess he meant Iron Rose…….

「That power that killed the Tous Brothers. Holding back while facing this great me, are you screwing around? I’m the “head” of these guys. Ain’t no way I’m losing against some random woman like you! Fight me with damn everything you got!!」

「……You’re just saying whatever you like.」

I turned my gaze just for a moment toward the old man while keeping my blade at the ready. The elder just grinned while tacitly consenting with Batil’s action.

How did the adventure guild which was Hogros Company involved with this? And these guys too, despite saying that it would be troublesome to get involved with me, they cut off Batil in order to observe my strength. Unpleasant.

But Batil. I’ll respond to your pride.

「Got it. I’ll kill you with everything I have. Batil. Stake your life too in the next attack.」

「Hah, ……you cheeky little girl.」

Even though he snorted and said such thing, Batil took a stance that showed he had thrown any idea of defense to the wind.

I also responded to that and put away the knife in my left hand. I pulled my hand that was holding dagger as far behind as I could.

「……You ain’t using it?」

「That’s my weapon. I’m the one deciding where and when to use my own weapon.」

「Hah, you ain’t wrong. Then──」

Batil too similarly twisted his body while pulling back his right arm. Then he leaped forward using his whole body as a spring.

「It’s gonna be my win if I kill you before you use it!!」

He brandished his axe high above his head and struck down in a flash.

「──[Raging(Mad Rage)]──!」

The one-handed axe’s Battle Skill, Raging. It was a powerful Battle Skill that had the strength to kill instantly if it hit directly, just like the short sword’s Critical Edge.

I threw my pendulum from my left hand just a moment before the Battle Skill was executed, then I similarly fired my Battle Skill with my raised dagger toward the approaching Batil.

「──Cyclone──」

「──!?」

Batil’s eyes widened seeing the Battle Skill that I unleashed.

Cyclone was a sorcery type wide area Battle Skill with insufficient attack power. Even a one hit kill Battle Skill would only neutralize another one hit kill Battle Skill. The wide area skill Cyclone would only divert Raging slightly, but it wouldn’t reduce its attack strength at all.

But, that was enough.

We both executed Battle Skill and the effect stunned our body for a moment. But the weight type pendulum that I tossed shifted my unmoving body just a little with its weight.

「Guoh!」

Fresh blood splattered from my right shoulder. Batil who couldn’t even dodge the wide area Battle Skill was hit at his upper body. His sight was blocked by his own blood spray and he let out a moan.

「──Iron Rose──」

My pinkly tinged blonde hair changed into the color of gray iron. I kicked on the ground with my left leg that was freed from its stunned state an instant earlier and jumped over Batil’s head while putting my pendulum’s string around his neck. Batil’s neck snapped instantly when the string tightened from my momentum and weight as I landed back to back with him.

*Gukin……!*

「……tsk」

「…………」

At the end……when the string loosened, it felt like I heard Batil’s tongue clicking when air escaped from his mouth.

I untangled the string from Batil’s broken neck as his body crumbled down. The beastmen who was watching let out groans that sounded like scream seeing me standing alone there.

.

「……Do you want to continue?」

I turned a gaze that was pressuring the surrounding toward the elder while also pointing my blade toward him. All his bodyguards readied their weapons in respond.

「Stop! Don’t be tricked by outer appearance you fools. You all who can only measure someone with vague indicator like combat strength are not her match.」

「…………」

I slowly narrowed my eyes in a glare. The elder smiled at me like a good natured old man.

What did this old man know? Why was he this on guard against me even though this was our first time meeting?

「I’m an old acquaintance of Jilgan you see. There’s no way someone who made him wary in just a glance is a normal person. I was right to come here following my whim. I still don’t feel like stirring up trouble with Hogros Company.」

The elder smiled broadly against my wordless pressure.

「I’m the west elder of Munza Gang, Kushmu. I have a deal for you, girl.」

「……Deal?」

「Indeed. It’ll be troublesome to stir up trouble with a mad dog like you, but killing an adventurer who caught Jilgan’s eyes will also simply sow the seeds of later calamity. Sell your medicine to Hogros Company. I’ll talk to Kirly Company. How about we reconcile with that?」

「Elder!?」

One of the four factions ruling over this town, Munza Gang. One of that Munza Gang’s elders was making a suggestion that made them looked like they were backing down. The beastmen guarding him reflexively raised their voices, but Kushmu glared fiercely at those young beastmen.

「You guys still don’t get it. Strength isn’t just power or technique. What’s left in the end is “will”. It’s pointless for all of you to try anything with this girl as long as you don’t understand that. ……And? What do you think?」

「……I accept.」

The “deal” to make up for attacking me and trying something with someone who caught the eye of Hogros Company’s Jilgan, we obtained a place to sell our potion to, and Hogros Company obtained high class potion.

「Ou, we have a deal with this then. Let’s meet again, girl.」

Kushmu said that and turned around to leave with his bodyguards but, on the way he slightly turned toward me.

「Right right, do you know this, girl. A merchant who came from Carlfan Empire told me. Apparently there is this little girl in a faraway foreign country who made enemy of the thief guild and assassin guild and went around slaughtering everyone. That little girl is apparently called “Ash Crowned Princess” because of the ash she sprinkled on her hair. ──Just like you before this.」

「…………」

So that “nickname” that suppressed the underworld had spread until this far. It wasn’t just Kushmu who was wary toward me. Jilgan, the old dwarf of Hogros Company might have also noticed.

Kushmu cut off Batil. Then he not only saw through my true identity, he avoided a hostile relationship with me while at the same time using me as a piece toward Hogros Company.

I didn’t know whether he also knew about Elena but, while seeing off the backs of Kushmu and his men, I increased my wariness toward Munza Gang……no, the four organizations that were in control of this town.

.

But──two days later, I heard a rumor that Riezan Family attacked Munza Gang and Kushmu died during it.