“With a Hero among them, even if they’re discovered, they should be able to hold out until our reinforcents arrive.”
Luna paused, then added, “Besides, right now we don’t even know who’s friend or foe. We can’t afford to drag this out or waste our strength. One wrong move and we could end up trapped here for good... Otherwise, I wouldn’t have chosen such a risky plan.”
Rakaide bit down on his cigarette, saying nothing, his face clouded with worry.
As the first squad assigned to direct assault, their movents were soon spotted by the masked figures.
“Oh-oh-oh, look—they’re coming out.”
“Eeeh? There’s way fewer of them than the intel said!”
The masked ones chattered noisily, scattered across rooftops like spectators at a zoo, careless and mocking.
“I don’t see the Holy Sword anywhere. Where did they hide it?”
“Seems like they split up. Should we split up too?”
“Heh heh, since when do we ever cooperate? Why don’t a few of you go let the miners out of the pit again—make this chaotic scene even ssier?”
“I’ll go!”
A figure wearing a plain white mask let out a shrill laugh and leapt down from the rooftop.
At that sa mont, Arc’s speed spiked—he shot forward like lightning, his punch crashing into the descending masked man with overwhelming force.
Boom!
“Ahhh—!”
A scream split the air as the masked man spun like a top and slamd into the ground, gouging a deep trench. His limbs twisted grotesquely, blood spraying everywhere.
Just as Arc thought he was dead for sure, the masked man suddenly stood up again in a spine-chilling pose.
Half his head collapsed inward, yet he gave a rattling laugh. “Actually, I was just faking it! Ahahahaha!”
Then, flailing his arms, he bolted away. “Co catch , ahahaha—or I’ll go release the monsters!”
He could run like that—with half his skull missing.
What the hell—was that thing even human or monster?
Cold sweat dripped down Arc’s bald head. In all his years as an adventurer, he had never seen anything like this.
Seeing his horrified expression, the masked figures around them burst out laughing. So doubled over, others danced wildly, a few rolled across the rooftops clutching their sides.
“Don’t let them ss with your head!”
Luna arrived just in ti, snapping Arc out of his daze. Her eyes sharpened as she scanned the masked mob standing on the roofs.
“They’re already dead.”
“Dead?” Kare blinked. “You an, like those miners trapped in the town?”
“No...”
Rakaide walked up slowly, standing beside them, exhaling a stream of smoke as he looked toward the rooftops.
“Years ago, I t a bunch of lunatics who called themselves ‘Chaos Artisans’ when I was with old Captain Quinn in the Eastern Sea. Their underlings wore the sa kind of blank white masks ★ 𝐍𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 ★ as these.”
“That organization was shrouded in mystery. Even after months of digging, the old captain never found much—only that these masked ones were just outer-circle mbers, called the Restless Guests.”
“My grandfather?” Luna blinked in surprise. “That must’ve been ages ago.”
“Almost ten years. But you were right, Captain—these masked things are corpses, shells that contain the fragnts of their mories from before and after death. Any mont, they could be taken over by a higher consciousness. And the fact that so many have appeared at once...”
So even that captive from last night, Lao Liu, must have intentionally let himself be caught—
All just to sneak in and locate the Holy Sword, and learn who its new wielder was.
To think, that buried organization had risen from the shadows again after all these years.
Rakaide sighed. “Captain Luna, I think there’s sothing wrong with this commission. Warn the other squads—especially nesis’s group—to be careful...”
“I’m starting to suspect these masked people have so special ans of tracking the Holy Sword’s position.”
“What!” Luna’s face turned grim at once.
Perhaps because one always learns sothing from others—
nesis was leading the way ahead, patiently explaining to Rania the thods of orienting oneself outdoors and recognizing terrain features.
“Track the sun and stars to find north and south; mark the way with broken branches and stone piles. Follow streams downhill to find settlents. Stay calm—staying alive matters more than rushing blindly... These are survival guides passed among adventurers. Lady Hero, did you get all that?”
“Uh... I got it.”
“Good. Later, the two of us will take turns navigating. Just don’t lead us straight into a monster nest—or the enemy’s base.”
“S-sorry. Could you maybe explain it again...”
Rania’s face flushed bright red, especially under the smirking gaze of Vieya beside her, which made her wish she could dig a hole and disappear.
“All right, I’ll go over it again.”
nesis sighed helplessly. To be honest, she found this Hero a little... lacking. Simple things had to be explained two or three tis, sotis even with examples to help her rember.
Heroes these days—each generation seed worse than the last.
nesis silently shook her head.
“In short, as long as we can rember the path we ca from, we’ll be fine.”
Rania asked, “And what if we don’t rember?”
“...”
What, did the snow bury your tracks too?
nesis turned back to the violet-haired girl and asked seriously, “Lady Hero, have you ever studied before?”
“She’s a great scholar from the Tower of Knowledge—read tons of books,” Vieya said with feigned innocence.
“Then how co...” nesis’s eyes shifted between the smiling Vieya and the increasingly flustered Rania.
“Because the books she read were all picture stories and comics,” Vieya whispered right next to nesis’s ear, giving a sidelong glance at the terrified Hero. “She skipped nine out of ten lectures, and the one she didn’t skip she spent sleeping. Bottom of the whole academy—no, the entire city...”
“H-how do you know all that!” Rania’s eyes went wide in horror, feeling as if her entire past were being stripped bare.
“It’s no secret. I just asked your senior sister—she told everything.”
Serves you right for hitting yesterday. Retribution for defying your master, that’s what this is.
Vieya stood with her hands on her hips, the picture of a petty grudge-holder, while tossing the bla neatly onto that pink-haired midget miles away.
nesis pressed a hand to her forehead and sighed. What kind of teammates are these?!
Could they really complete the commission with people like this?
A seed of pessimism sprouted quietly in her heart, but she quickly crushed it.
“Everyone has things they’re not good at... I’ll keep leading the way for now,” she said, kindly offering a step down to keep the team’s harmony intact.
Rania nodded fervently, even raising a fist. “Leave all battle matters to ! I won’t let anyone down.”
As for other scores to settle—she’d save those for later.
User Comments
0 comments from readers