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138. Farewell

 

Blades clashed mid-air several times. The roar of rushing wind, the sharp clang of metal as daggers struck hardened arms, and the sound of heavy breathing filled the air. The assassin, having closed the distance, didn’t miss the opening. With swift precision that allowed no time to activate another skill, she aimed straight for my vitals. I parried the attacks using the six invisible arms granted by [Asura’s Six Arms], and the two of us continued to fall freely, neither landing a decisive blow.

「…Time is on your side, huh.」

If we crash into the ground at this rate, I’ll be able to absorb the impact with [Asura’s Six Arms]—but the assassin, being flesh and blood, will take far more damage. What’s more, my allies are waiting below. Once Angelina covers the area with her spherical golem, the assassin’s vaunted stealth and agility won’t matter.

「I won’t kill you. Surrender.」

「I refuse.」

「Then I’ll subdue you by force.」

「I refuse that too. …Farewell.」

The word ‘farewell’ made me think they had some means of escape, and my attention briefly wavered. But what I heard next was the sound of something being crushed between teeth. The assassin’s body convulsed violently, then went limp.

I caught her in midair with [Asura’s Six Arms] and landed gently. Her heart was already on the verge of stopping. Angelina took one look and her face went pale.

「Poison… It’s suicide, to prevent information from leaking.」

「[Universal Palm], activate. I’m extending my anti-poison skill to affect the assassin.」

「…Master, it doesn’t seem to be working.」

I used a skill that broadens the area of effect, hoping to neutralize the toxin—but even with seventeen different skills combined, the poison showed no sign of abating.

Then I switched to a high-level healing skill.

「[Seraph’s Grace], activate. I won’t let you die.」

A full-powered use of this skill could even revive the dead. It should be able to heal nearly anything. And yet, the assassin’s life slipped from her body like water through a net.

「…her heart and breathing have stopped. Pupils are dilated.」

「Angelina-san, does that mean…」

「To put it plainly: she’s dead.」

「Ridiculous.」

The power of my evolved skill set is immense. For even that to have no effect—what kind of poison could be that strong?

And yet, the truth stood before me. My skills had failed. The flame of her life had vanished.

「Gelli and the rest of the Emesmes family are alchemists. We make a lot of different medicines. It may sound like bragging, but our potions are among the best in the human realm.」

Angelina retrieved a trace of the crushed drug from the assassin’s mouth. It was likely hidden in a molar—vivid blue and unmistakably toxic.

「But when it comes to internal-use potions, even Gelli can’t compare to the Elves.」

「If there’s a skill that can nullify poison, then they simply develop a poison that surpasses it. That’s what this is about, right?」

「That’s how progress works.」

「No doubt. But to use it like this…!」

Taking and being taken from—it’s the natural order of things. Humanity built civilization to surpass nature, and yet all it seems to do is accelerate.

As I brooded over that thought, Angelina pulled down the assassin’s hood.

「Look, Skill Lender-san.」

「… An Elf.」

Under the hood were pointed ears. A clear sign of the Elves. Who would’ve thought my first encounter with the race I once admired in books would happen like this?

「No way to say if it’s the same one we saw in Kinui. I’d like to think there aren’t many of them, though.」

「But Master, aren’t the elves a peaceful beastfolk race? Why would they…」

「Well, it makes sense to Gelli. After all, conflict only happens when both sides are alive. If you erase the presence and strike from behind, it ends before a fight even starts.」

Whether that’s truly their reasoning or not…

「Even a pacifist people like the Elkves might be forced to take up arms. The question is, what’s going on…?」

「Master, regardless, the assassin has been dealt with. That gives us the upper hand, doesn’t it?」

「Not necessarily. Right, Skill Lender-san?」

「Yeah.」

I only detected this Elf because she approached Angelina. Otherwise, she’d have been completely undetectable to me.

If there was a second one—or more—and one of them escaped with information…

「They now know we destroyed their base. And they know how we did it.」

「That’s not good…」

「They’re bound to become enemies eventually. That much is fine. But still…」

Something feels deeply unsettling. That’s the honest truth.

◆◆◆

「Hey Altora. Why did Marge come here? Is he really here to get rid of us…?」

「How many times you gonna ask that since last night? Listen up, Gordon. It was a coincidence. That’s all. I don’t know anything more, and I don’t wanna know.」

Altora cursed as he downed the deep green medicine the Velh Family had just brought. Gordon, ever the nervous type, had been on edge about Marge since the night before.

As for Eria, she was pretending to sweep while staring blankly at a spider web in the corner of the ceiling. The Rayleigh father and daughter were out shopping for food.

「Hey Eria, quit slacking off.」

「Query. You and Marge were having a long chat. What was that about?」

「Don’t change the subject. I just told him to go away, obviously.」

「Even so, the talk was long.」

「…Looks like he’s got business with the Elves. And probably not the peaceful kind. I told him one of the Velh Family’s guys would be here today, that’s all.」

The green-haired man who had just arrived was the one. Whether to follow or to kill him, Altora didn’t care. He made it clear it was none of their concern.

「If you’ve got time to think about that, use it to clean the bar. Or come up with a way to boost sales.」

「Well, you know… if they both go down, that’s a win for us, right?」

「Huh?」

「Come on. Whether it’s the Elves or Marge, as long as they exist, they’re a threat to us. If they take each other out, that’s ideal. Heck, even just one of them going down would…」

「Say crap like that again and I’ll snap that thick neck of yours.」

「W-What?! Didn’t you tell Marge about the Vehl Family coming today because you were hoping for that outcome?」

He hit the mark—and Altora fell silent.

If Marge and the Elves took each other out, it’d be nothing but gain for them. That was the calculation. If they truly ended up wiping each other out, it would be Altora’s win.

「But that ain’t it. That’s not what it’s about, dammit!」

「Then what is it? You just don’t like depending on Marge? Or you want to be the one to take him down yourself?」

「No. I don’t know what it is… but it ain’t that. It’s something else. Damn it all…」