“…Aria?”
Camille let out a stunned groan as I suddenly appeared from the shadows.
“You…!?”
The Evil Race female general, recognizing “me” in the next instant, immediately drew her sword. Only then did the warriors of each clan, finally realizing I was an intruder, ready their weapons.
Even with a quick glance, it was clear that the warriors, as expected of those participating in a deathmatch to decide the king, possessed strength of at least Rank 4.
Crack!
The killing intent emanating from nearly twenty warriors swirled, causing cracks to appear in the glasses lined up on the conference room table. —Do I start here? It’s a desperate situation, but I have no intention of backing down. I suppressed my emotions deep within my heart, identified the person I should kill first, and just as the female general, sensing this, was about to step forward—
“Wait.”
With that single word from the old man, not only the female general but also the warriors who were about to jump out stopped their movements. It wasn’t a loud voice. Nor was it a resounding voice. But the intimidation carried in that voice forced everyone to pay attention.
“Elder Ergrim, why do you stop me!”
“You too, Aishe. Judging from your reaction, that human girl used that technique, didn’t she?”
The one who threw a hidden weapon at me when I crossed the shadows with [Shadow Walker] earlier… He was an old man who looked like he had lived for countless years, but while smiling gently, he pierced me with a gaze that exuded tremendous killing intent and intimidation.
“What are you talking about?”
“Both Aishe and I have something we want to ask you. However, it seems it won’t be easy to get it out of you. If you can dodge my hidden weapon and not change your expression while surrounded by this many warriors… I suppose I’ll have to ask you directly.”
A viscous, muddy killing intent oozed from Ergrim. The female general called Aishe frowned at that killing intent, and even the warriors who were about to jump out slightly recoiled.
But—
“Are you going to run away?”
“…What did you say?”
The old man slightly raised one eyebrow at my words.
“I declared that I would become Camille’s warrior. Is the Evil Race’s ceremony such a light matter that it can be easily overturned?”
If you have something you want to ask, settle it in the dungeon. But if you’re afraid to even fight one-on-one, then kill me here.
“If you call yourself a warrior, then do as you please.”
Instead of the old man, Aishe became so enraged that her blood vessels seemed about to burst at my implicit questioning of her pride as a warrior.
“You…!”
“Bwahahahahahahaha!! Well said, little girl!”
The one who suddenly burst out laughing was not Ergrim, who had been speaking, nor Aishe, who was about to attack, but a massive man like a boulder who had been silently watching the proceedings.
He probably wasn’t the type of man to laugh in public. As his subordinate warriors turned around with surprised faces, the man stood up with a grin that bared his fangs and looked down at me from a height of nearly two meters.
“Little girl, this Gouma Clan’s chief, Dowhill, certainly acknowledges your declaration as a warrior. I look forward to the day I can kill you in the dungeon.”
Saying only that, Dowhill easily turned his massive back.
Perhaps because of that, even the killing intent of the warriors that filled the room wavered in confusion, and Camille, regaining his spirit, hurriedly raised his voice.
“W-wait! I never said I would make Aria a warrior—”
“Lord Camille, do you intend to shame your warriors by telling them to withdraw because it’s a woman?”
A bewitching beauty stopped Camille’s words, who feared involving Aria, and fixed her gaze on me.
“There are no boys or girls on the battlefield. Strength is the Evil Race’s honor. Human girl, this Yoma Clan’s chief, Charleschan, also acknowledges your participation. Fufufu.”
“…”
Charleschan, the woman who sealed Camille’s words with overwhelming intimidation, also stood up following Dowhill, and as if the matter was settled, she left the room with her dissatisfied subordinates.
“…Was that all calculated, girl?”
“What are you talking about?”
Ergrim asked me in the room where no one but us remained.
“Seeking life in the midst of death. It seems that was the only way for you to survive, but to seek even Lord Camille’s path to survival… Being too greedy won’t lead to a good death, you know?”
…Is that all it was?
“There are countless life-or-death situations as long as you live.”
“Fuhaha… You really are similar to that one. Very well, I’ll acknowledge you too. Do your best to keep Lord Camille alive.”
“…”
Ergrim spoke as if there was someone who resembled me. I don’t know what that is, but for now, it seems I was able to save my life in this place.
Ergrim stood up without saying anything more, cast a meaningful glance at me and Aishe, and walked towards the exit. And Aishe, who was left behind, stood up as if swallowing the words she wanted to ask.
“Very well… I’ll settle things with you in the dungeon too. Until then, try not to die.”
The subordinate warriors who followed her, about to leave, directed an eerie killing intent towards me, filled with hatred.
“…Aria.”
In the room where no one but us remained, Camille directed a glaring gaze at me.
“Are you dissatisfied?”
“Of course I am!”
Camille is a soft man. He is probably angry at himself for not being able to stop me, who jumped into a death zone for his sake. There are probably countless things he wants to say to me for forcibly interfering. But now is not the time.
“We’ll talk later. Camille and Kadri, find Jesha some weapons. She’ll definitely say she wants to participate.”
“…What are you going to do?”
Camille asked me in confusion as I interrupted him and sat down on the chair left in the room.
My position is that of a prisoner. Since I decided to fight as Camille’s warrior, other Evil Race members can’t easily interfere, but I still can’t move freely. However, Camille frowned at the fact that I wasn’t moving from this place, and I waved my hand lightly as if to reassure him.
“It’s okay. I just have some business to take care of.”
“That woman… she played me.”
The Evil Race man, Adra, was irritated.
He had been with the Evil Race Army for over a decade. It wasn’t a long time considering the lifespan of a Dark Elf, but even so, as one of Aishe’s adjutants, Adra had become a warrior who was held in high regard.
The thoughts within the Evil Race Army were not monolithic. Some were simply fighting for the Evil Race Nation and the Evil King, while others participated because they saw the human race, who regarded them as enemies, as a threat. However, all those who became Aishe’s subordinates were those who admired Aishe’s strength.
When Aishe decided to participate in the “Ceremony of Selection” to decide the Evil King, Adra and the other adjutants also decided to participate as warriors.
As Charleschan said, strength is the Evil Race’s honor. Adra couldn’t imagine anyone more suitable as that king than his master.
However, that weak prince with human blood had the audacity to send a human woman as a warrior to the sacred ceremony to decide the king.
He knew about that pink-haired woman. She was the woman who had single-handedly stormed the Evil Race Army, fought Aishe one-on-one, and became a prisoner. At that time, Adra was also by Aishe’s side. But that woman used a cowardly trick to separate Aishe from them.
That was not to be tolerated. That woman had defiled his pride as Aishe’s adjutant.
“…I’ll teach that human woman the Evil Race’s ways.”
The Ceremony of Selection would begin in three days, with everyone entering the dungeon at the same time to determine the victor. But the battle had already begun.
The Ceremony of Selection is a “deathmatch.” Strength is honor. He had been taught that even killing enemy warriors by making it look like an accident before entering the dungeon was commonplace, and that being careless was foolish as a warrior.
The prince with human blood and his followers were too naive. At first, he had thought of killing that prince with his own hands and showing his power as Aishe’s right-hand man, but Adra decided to kill that hateful woman first and crush her meager hope.
“Fufu…”
Adra licked his lips as if savoring the sight of the prince being dyed in despair, and pulled out his “Black Knife” from his waist.
Adra’s Magic Steel “Black Knife” and “Black Dagger” were spoils of war from the previous expedition.
They were probably made by dwarves. Adra, thinking that they were unsuitable for humans to possess, used his position to forcibly take them as his own among the spoils of war on the battlefield.
Since it was a good quality knife, he thought that woman, who was good-looking even though she was human, would be a good target for a test cut.
The mere thought of carving up that neat, smug face made my blood boil. But, reminding myself that my opponent was a warrior capable of crossing blades with Aishe, even if she was human, I took a long, slow breath to calm my mind.
“…Where is that woman?”
In response to Adra’s muttered words, a small, translucent humanoid figure appeared and perched on his shoulder.
Adra was a Spirit User. Normally, Spirit magic was said to be almost unusable inside buildings or dungeons, but by consuming attribute Magic Stones, one could use them as a “gate” to summon Spirits.
Adra had consumed a Magic Stone to summon a low-level Wind Spirit. It was difficult to understand the will of beings whose thought patterns were fundamentally different, but a Rank 4 Spirit User like Adra could communicate to some extent. Moreover, a Spirit of this rank wouldn’t be noticed by its Mana, even inside the fortress.
According to the low-level Wind Spirit, that Pink-Haired Girl was still alone in that room. But, strangely, the low-level Wind Spirit showed a fearful emotion towards that woman, and Adra smiled faintly, as if to reassure the Spirit.
“Don’t worry. No one can see through my Spirit magic and yours.”
The Pink-Haired Girl’s combat ability was high for a Rank 4, but not significantly different from Adra’s, who was close to 1200. The fatigue from the underground prison should still be lingering, and even without that, a scout-type warrior who didn’t know he was a Spirit User was the easiest target for Adra to assassinate.
Adra headed to the location found by the Wind Spirit, forcing strength into his cheeks to suppress a grin, and called out to the woman from behind.
“Hello, what are you doing in a place like this? Miss.”
Elves were often beautiful. This seemed especially true from the perspective of human males, and Adra approached the Pink-Haired Girl with a friendly smile.
As Adra approached, the girl, Aria, quickly stood up from her chair, directing suspicious eyes at Adra.
“Don’t be so wary. There are still three days until the Ceremony of Selection, there’s no point in being tense now, right?”
“I guess so…”
As Adra spoke with a smile and without hostility, Aria’s face, which had been stern, softened slightly, and Adra inwardly mocked her as he approached further.
“Actually… I was looking for you.”
“…Why?”
“That’s–“
Thud!
At that moment, a strong Mana impact burst on the back of Aria’s head.
“To see how you die!!”
Taking aim at the moment when the low-level Wind Spirit rammed into the back of Aria’s head, Adra thrust the Black Knife and Dagger he had drawn from his waist towards Aria’s face.
“What!?”
“What a coincidence.”
Adra’s attack with the Knife and Dagger was stopped by Aria, who had挟 (hasama) the blades between the fingertips of both hands.
Adra hadn’t held back. He admitted that he had been complacent in a battle he shouldn’t have lost, deceiving the opponent, catching her off guard, and with the Spirit’s surprise attack, but that was because it was a confident attack that allowed for complacency.
Why didn’t the Spirit’s attack work? Why could she receive the sharp blade of Magic Steel with her bare hands without fear?
“I was looking for you too.”
Who was the one who had been careless? Who was the one who had been deceived?
Who was the one who had been targeted?
The Knife and Dagger in Adra’s hands were snatched away with a light twist.
Why? Before he could even think, a heat ran across his throat, and dark red blood spurted out.
Why was Aria looking for Adra? How were his weapons so easily taken?
Aria was able to snatch them because she knew the habits of those weapons intimately.
She “saw” the Spirit approaching behind her and crushed the Spirit by erecting a Magic Shield on the back of her head.
Aria finally re-positioned her own weapon that she had taken back, and thrust the Dagger into Adra’s forehead, who had his throat slit by the Knife.
“From the moment I saw you in that room, I decided that my first target would be you.”
It’s ten years too early to try and trap me (13 years old)
I’m sure she meticulously disassembled and cleaned them after that.
Next time, the Ceremony of Selection