Chapter 15: Chapter 15: Outpost town of Horaud (3)
"What're you gettin' so cocky for…? Just stay still and won't have to cut that perfect skin of yours…!"
One of the men suddenly dashed toward Aziel, expertly twirling a dagger around his fingers as he approached.
"The hell, are you complimenting him or capturing him?"
"Both…!"
Another voice sounded from behind the leading man, initiating the assault from all three of them as they began charging forward.
Swiftly arriving in front of Aziel, the first one reached out toward his shoulder, attempting to grab him.
However, Aziel casually slapped his hand away, consequently snapping the bones in the man's wrist.
*CRRrrNcH*
"GA—!!"
The man didn't even have time to scream before his windpipe was crushed beneath Aziel's fingertips. In a single strike, the man fell to the ground lifelessly, not even a groan could be heard.
He had died just like that.
"When you live like a moron, you die like a moron. Simple logic, no?"
Aziel's voice reached the ears of the remaining two as they witnessed this scene, prompting them to speed up their charge in a mixture of fury and anxiety.
"F-fuck!"
"This bastard…!"
Relinquishing all prior intentions of capture, they both pulled out their daggers, preparing to fight to the death. At this point, their lives were truly on the line.
Coming from his right side, Aziel noticed a swift thrust aimed at his heart, causing him to pivot to the side with minimal movement, evading the attack as he titled his head, allowing another strike to pass right through.
Their barrage of attacks was moving at a snail's pace in Aziel's eyes, erasing all hope of them ever landing a hit. Despite the narrow space within the alleyway, their attacks were incapable of troubling him.
"Damn you…!"
"Shut the fuck up."
The man, in the midst of cursing, had no time to react as a hand suddenly grabbed his arm, pulling him into the range of his companion's dagger, who'd also been in the middle of attacking.
*SPLCH!*
"Guh….."
"W-wha…!?"
The sequence of events happened so fast that he didn't even realize he had stabbed his comrade. The victorious feeling instantly vanished as the color drained from his face.
Yet—
"Don't worry."
*SPLK!*
The last remaining criminal's eyes widened in horror as he watched Aziel guide the arm of his dying companion, a dagger still in hand, to decapitate him. Blood fountained from the stump of his corpse, his severed head rolling on the ground, disbelief evident in his gaze.
The dying man held by Aziel gargled, blood spilling out from his lips. Although he'd been stabbed, he wasn't yet dead.
His hazy eyes stared at the carnage in front of him, unable to utter a response.
Just then, Aziel soothing voice rang out from behind him.
"Heaven's Blessing — Divine Ray"
Without warning, a warm golden light enveloped the man, healing his chest wound at a rapid pace. Strength gradually returned to him, but he dared not move, feeling the large hand gripping the back of his neck.
Swallowing his saliva, he licked his bloodstained lips, carefully opening his mouth to speak—
"You'll die."
Just those two words forced him to shut his mouth. There was no way to guarantee his safety in this situation.
"This is how it's gonna go; when I ask you a question, you're going to answer directly. If not, I'll break your legs. If you speak out of turn, I'll break your legs."
The man shivered, but Aziel wasn't finished.
"If you move, I'll break your legs."
Cold sweat poured down his back.
"If you piss, I'll break your legs. Are we understood…?"
The man nodded fervently, holding his loose bowels that threatened to leak out. Aziel's casual tone had instilled an inexplicable sense of dread.
"The organization you work for—their name."
"F-friedhof…"
He answered without hesitation.
"You came after me of your own volition."
"…Y-yes."
"You wanted to sell me off as a slave."
"..."
"No answer…?"
"N-no, please—!!"
*CRrrRNcH*
"MMMMFFHHHH!!"
His muffled screams echoed throughout the dark alley. Tears streamed down his face as he gazed at the torn muscle and shattered bone protruding out from his leg.
"Why can't you just make shit easier for me…"
In a tone just above a whisper, Aziel's words reached the man's ears, prompting him to tremble violently.
"Moving, are we?"
Whimpering pitifully, the man shook his head with an uncanny vehemence that nearly broke his neck.
"Good…"
Before feeling even the slightest bit of relief, his body went cold.
"Then, let's start over from the beginning, shall we?"
He was now certain of it, the young man they had attempted to capture was—The Devil Himself.
******
Making his way out of the alley, Aziel dusted off his unsullied clothes as if nothing happened, leaving behind no traces of what had transpired not too long ago.
After receiving the answers he wanted, Aziel, of course, killed the man once he'd proved himself useless. They were apparently from a large criminal organization currently based in the Independent Merchant Republic, Fuhren—which he already knew.
Without being ordered, they unilaterally decided on to kidnap Aziel due to his striking appearance and sell him off at a high price. In essence, the three criminals dug their own graves by targeting someone they shouldn't have.
Erasing the evidence wasn't particularly difficult either, only requiring him to turn the corpses to ash using fire magic and wash away the blood with water magic.
Glancing up at the darkening orange sky, he realized it was late into the evening, only a couple hours before nightfall. The slightly less populated streets remained bustling with traffic, though obviously not as much as earlier.
Taking a stroll toward a nearby inn, the loud chattering of people filled the air, giving off an exuberant vibe.
As he walked, he unexpectedly caught sight of a few familiar faces. Or more specifically, three students out of the class that had been summoned to this world.
The first was a beautiful girl with shoulder-length, wavy chestnut-colored hair and brown eyes—Yuka Sonobe. The second was another girl with wavy auburn hair styled into twin-tails, brown eyes, and a mole on the left side of her chin—Taeko Sugawara. And lastly, the third was a girl with long light-brown hair, brown eyes, and a lock of hair styled into a side ponytail—Nana Miyazaki.
They were known characters who had made an appearance in the original story.
At present, the trio conversed animatedly, gazing around with unreserved amazement. It seemed the shock still hadn't subsided even after the 2 weeks they'd been in this world.
Coming in their direction as he walked on the opposite side of the street, the first to notice him was Nana Miyazaki, whispering to the others in a hushed tone while sending him covert glances.
Despite that, Aziel could hear them clearly.
"Yukacchi…! Look, look, there's a handsome guy over there…."
"Huh, what…? Oh, well…I guess so…"
"You 'Guess so'? How can you say that? it's like he's straight out of a Shôjo manga or something…!"
"Nana's right, Yuka. I can't believe there's actually guys who look like this in another world…"
Though their reactions varied, they all nonetheless stole glances at him from afar, going back and forth with each other until he was out of view.
'A damn Shôjo protagonist, huh.'
Aziel almost visibly cringed at their conversation. Although he was fully aware of his appeal, some things just shouldn't be heard.
Arriving at the inn, he paid for a single night, deciding to enter the Labyrinth tomorrow. That would also truly mark the beginning of everything to come.
'Let's see if you can show me something…'
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Authors Words:
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