Not too long ago, me, Hazuki Tōru, was surrounded by a bunch of ordinary folks who looked all high and mighty but couldn’t even fight their way out of a paper bag.
——??: ??
Still, every now and then, I’d catch a glimpse of a few slightly colorful souls among all those dull, gray ones. But it seemed like there weren’t any real experts in this whole crowd. And that boxer from earlier—for an ordinary adventurer NPC, he was already pretty terrifying.
I couldn’t even imagine if there might be some hidden master in this city full of all those special races—someone who could take me down in an instant.
The crowd kept gasping and yelling. With this kind of “perseverance,” I figured those so-called “experts” who were hoping for a reward would probably come chasing after me for days.
The crowd kept pressing in on me. If it weren’t for the situation I was in, maybe I’d have held back a bit. But no. I needed to show them the gap between us. With this, I think they’d understand that this wasn’t something they could meddle with.
I raised my hand and scattered a few tiny blue lights onto the empty ground in front of me. They floated down slowly like dust. The few people standing in front seemed curious and leaned in to get a look, but they nearly got cut by blades that suddenly shot up from the ground. As for the rest of the crowd, once they heard there was danger, they started backing off too.
They needed to be intimidated. They’d only understand after getting hurt a little.
“You see that? That’s magic. But I figure you’ve all seen plenty of it already.”
I tilted my head, grinned, and made some kind of mocking gesture. Then I looked at the panicking crowd. Some of the demi-humans who’d been curious enough to peek at those little lights had even been cut by the blades. They were shaking their heads like crazy and backing away, trying to put some distance between us.
As for magic, that shouldn’t be anything new to anyone. Every city had facilities and people dedicated to studying magic. I was sure the average person’s understanding of magic was already pretty decent.
I dusted off my hands and looked at the crowd, who’d now put some space between us. Feeling relieved, I was just about to leave when I noticed a figure leaping through the air above the crowd. He flicked his hand and tossed something crimson. It startled me, but I still managed to dodge that red thing in the nick of time. It slammed into the ground and exploded into a blood-colored flower.
I looked closely. Was that… blood-colored flame? I scratched my head, then reached out and grabbed the person who’d tried to attack me. But my stance dropped because of the sudden difference in strength. Looking at his gaunt face and the mana flowing across the surface of his body, he didn’t seem like someone who could use magic. So where did that flame and that brute strength come from?
The crowd was already in an uproar, amazed by what was happening right in front of them. And what I saw were faces full of glee—people just enjoying the show.
“What the hell is wrong with you?!”
I yelled at the person in front of me. When I noticed he was a man, I felt even more annoyed. That boxer named Vincent at least had some manners—he asked about my situation. But you? You just sneak-attacked me from behind the crowd.
Heh heh heh. Not that I wouldn’t do the same thing in the same situation.
“Sorry, sorry, sorry, sorry…”
“What?”
The man in front of me kept slurring apologies, but he kept putting more and more force behind his grip. Meanwhile, the crowd, seeing me losing ground, started clapping and cheering.
Suddenly, I heard the crackling of flames burning. I quickly spread a green shield to the side, but with a whoosh, the crimson flames swept across the wall and the entire alley, leaving behind terrifying, deep scars.
“Ahhh! My face!”
“Someone go get the patrol! There’s a fight here!”
“Can anyone find me a doctor?!”
“Does anyone know healing magic?!”
“But magic isn’t allowed to be used casually—”
“Who cares about permission?! Lives are at stake!”
The street instantly became noisy and chaotic. But I was still tangled up with that troublemaker. His strength was really something—he could actually hold his own against my [Serious Mode]. Gritting my teeth, I put in as much effort as I could, but he still had the upper hand in terms of stance. On the defensive and at a disadvantage, I could only do my best not to get pinned down.
Damn it. Being suppressed like this, I couldn’t focus enough to use magic. Wait a minute… then how did I just use [Green · Mercy]? Huh? And why do I have time to be thinking about this right now?
With a single thought and a flash of blue energy, I blinked behind the man. Watching him look around left and right, it seemed like he hadn’t realized what just happened.
Blood-red flames were burning in his hands, and his face was twisted in what looked like agony. I hadn’t done anything to hurt him, but he didn’t really have much of a… soul? Why did his soul look like it was being corroded?
“Waaahhh! Raaahhhh!!”
He let out a piercing, agonized howl, raking his clawed fingers across the ground and digging bloody furrows into the stone slabs. After a moment, he finally noticed me watching him from behind and turned around with a snarl.
“Ugh… nooo… please… this power… it’s eating away at me…”
His soul was falling apart. And on top of that, it was being corroded? He was going to die!
I reached out and immediately pinned him to the ground. Then I walked over, wanting to do something but just staring helplessly at his fiercely burning blood-colored flames and his fading soul.
“Please… please…”
I heard heavy footsteps approaching. I knew it was the patrol everyone had been talking about. But the man in front of me was desperately begging me to end it for him.
“Even though we don’t know each other… but…”
“Stop right there! ‘High Tower’! Go!”
Just as I raised my hand to release a small light, someone suddenly grabbed my shoulder, yanked me back, and held me down tight.
Whoever it was, they were big. They even blocked the sunlight, casting a shadow over me. And their strength… it was a bit much. Please don’t treat a girl like this, okay?
At the same time, heavy footsteps sounded on both sides. Then several patrol officers, all wearing matching special uniforms and carrying standard weapons of this era, surrounded the scene. I struggled a few times but realized I couldn’t match the strength of the big guy behind me.
“Clear out the unrelated people and seal off the scene. Also…”
A woman in a similarly serious uniform arrived. She gave a few casual orders, as if this was all routine, and sent her men off to work. That said, her uniform seemed much more high-quality than the regular officers’. Was she their boss? An executive? A key official? The captain? And there was that status UI above her head.
Twin ponytails, paired with that cold, sculpted face… hah, I was already tired of looking.
She quickly noticed me, being held down by the big guy, and came over.
“Who’s this? ‘High Tower,’ why are you holding her?”
“(Grrr… Grrr… Grrrr.)”
In response to the woman’s question, the big guy behind me, the one called “High Tower,” just kept growling. It didn’t seem like he could speak. Though I guess with his massive build, that’s probably how he got into the patrol in the first place.
The woman listened to that string of growls, nodded, and then her dull expression changed. She looked down at me with a sharp, cold disdain. As for me, what could I do? Given the situation, it seemed like this “High Tower” behind me had already told her everything about me. There was no way out but to fight.
“I see. So you’re one of the instigators of this chaos? Good… it’s just hard to believe, looking at you—just a young girl—that you’re on the wrong side of things.”
“Oh.”
I didn’t pay any more attention to this woman. My focus was on the man surrounded by several officers. His bloodflame still hadn’t gone out, and his soul was almost completely gone.
Suddenly, he scrambled to his feet, snarling incoherently. The patrol officers around him drew their weapons as a warning, but when that didn’t work, they all attacked him at once. As strong as they were together, the man’s bloodflame seemed even stronger. He knocked down one obstacle after another with his flames, then threw his head back and roared again.
“(Grrr! Grrrr!!)” The “High Tower” holding me seemed eager to go help, but the woman in charge stopped him. She gripped the sword at her waist and spoke.
“…Haah… it’s fine. Leave it to me.”
She pressed her hand to her chest and took a deep breath, as if giving herself courage. Seeing that monster of a man getting closer, the woman seemed to realize she couldn’t hesitate any longer. She drew the sword from her waist.
Along with the sword came a few dazzling sparks of crimson fire.
“Let me extinguish your flames.”
With those words, the woman pointed her sword at the monster before her.
The creature, wrapped in blood-colored energy, paused for a moment, then kept snarling as it charged at her with its bloodflame. She didn’t panic. With a sweeping motion of her hand, her blade cut through the air—and in that moment, what I saw was a beautiful, clean sword wave.
That kind of sword wave I’d only ever fantasized about watching on TV as a kid. Now, right in front of me, it was playing out perfectly. And following that sword wave was the man’s dazed, grateful smile.
“Thank you…”
Then he fell. As the bloodflame died out, so did he.
…
……
You know this can’t go on forever.
No. I have my own choices. And I’ll keep walking this path, with this sword.
She slid her sword back into its sheath. Hearing that familiar click of metal against metal, she let out a sigh of relief, then waved for her men to handle the scene.
“Captain Kaelan, several of our people are seriously injured.”
“Got it. Contact the medical division’s healers… ah… haah…” Suddenly, she felt dizzy and staggered. Her subordinates rushed to steady her, startled, but she quickly caught herself.
“Captain! Are you—”
“I’m fine. This is nothing.”
She waved them off, saying she was okay. Seeing the worried look on her subordinate’s face, she forced a small smile and managed to brush it off. But in truth, that subordinate had been by her side since the patrol was first established. There was no way he didn’t know how she really felt.
“Captain Kaelan, forgive me for saying this… but if you keep using that power, you’re basically committing suicide, you know?”
She didn’t answer. Instead, she resolutely walked over to one of the people who’d caused this chaos.
“Sigh… Captain Kaelan… this flame business is tied to the Wheel Law again… This is really bad. Can Captain Kaelan hold up?”
