Chapter 202. Sierra's Saintesses

Late at night, inside the Hestia Merchant Guild.

Garnet, disguised as the guild master, was with Zed.

Garnet opened a page of a book and showed it to Zed.

"This is the list of Dopplers that the Regent brought back this time. Take a look."

"Let's see... Whoa, this thing's packed with names I've actually heard of."

Some were infamous, while others were well-known for good deeds.

Among them were even those who had supposedly turned over a new leaf, using their wealth to feed the people of their territories, earning the title of 'true lord.'

" 'Where there's smoke, there's fire,' huh? So what does our hopelessly lovestruck Regent want to do?"

"It seems he wants the Shadow Division to handle all of them."

"Hey now, Bunny Swallows isn't an assassination group..."

Bunny Swallows.

A phantom thief organization that had built its reputation long before the Shadow Division was established.

Using the influence of the Black Bandana, they traveled across the continent exposing the corruption of noble families and redistributing their wealth.

To the common people, they were saviors.

To the nobility, they were a scourge that deserved to be cursed forever.

Though they were wanted, no one dared move against them recklessly because they strictly adhered to a policy of never killing.

To preserve that reputation, Bunny Swallows personally dealt with every bandit gang or impostor that falsely claimed to work under their name.

"So exposing them like we always do... would be dangerous this time, wouldn't it?"

"It'd be like lighting a fire in front of a pile of hay."

Bunny Swallows specialized in exposing corrupt people and letting public outrage destroy them.

But Demon Followers were people with nothing left to lose.

It would only create even greater chaos, and at worst, an uncontrollable number of innocent casualties.

"Killing them would definitely be cleaner... It'd be nice if they had some obvious trait like those Doppelgängers, but these bastards keep the appearance of the person they're impersonating even after death. If the other nobles start making accusations, Bunny Swallows won't be able to operate anymore."

"That's true..."

Garnet understood better than anyone how important credibility was.

She couldn't simply abandon the name Bunny Swallows and slaughter them all.

"The only option is to quietly eliminate them one by one under unrelated circumstances..."

Isn't there another way?

Just as that thought crossed her mind—

Knock, knock.

Someone knocked on the door.

Zed instinctively grabbed his dagger.

"Did you invite someone?"

"There's one more besides you. Come in."

At Garnet's words, the door opened, revealing Penelope.

"Greetings to the two of you enjoying your secret rendezvous. May this sexy demon intrude!?"

"I told you to come thirty minutes ago. Why are you only getting here now?"

"But nighttime is a demon's time! What if demon servants suddenly attacked? What would they do to this fragile body of mine?"

Penelope struck a pose that emphasized her figure.

Watching her with a look of utter disbelief, Garnet asked Zed,

"How long are you planning on hanging around with that thing?"

"She actually gets the job done when it matters..."

"Bonds really are terrifying. You can't even throw away an idiot like her."

"Hehehe, Ze-Ze, you refused to admit I possess the irresistible charm of a femme fatale, but your body is honest after all. Come to your big sister."

"Maybe it'd be better to slit your throat and go our separate ways."

"I'm joking, joking! So what were you talking about? Let's see... What's a Doppler? Did you just misspell Doppelgänger?"

Garnet quietly sighed before answering.

"A member of the Demon Race disguised as a human."

"Huh? Those exist?"

"The experiment they were conducting at the place where you and I first met."

"Oh, that place... Just imagining it gives me the chills..."

Penelope shuddered dramatically.

Suddenly curious, Zed asked,

"By the way, why were you captured there?"

"That? Nothing special. The big sister trying to catch me was a Dark Elf. She had an insanely pretty face, gorgeous tanned skin, and I thought we really clicked... but she turned out to be the ultimate man-eater."

'...According to the records, once you were summoned, you begged to do anything and even acted like a dog.'

Looking wronged, Penelope immediately changed her story.

"No! I had no choice! It was a chance to spend time with an elf! Tell me you wouldn't have done the same! You wouldn't, right!?"

"Please don't lump me together with you. I'm begging you."

Zed stared at her in utter disbelief.

Watching him, Garnet remarked,

"You're no different."

"What are you talking about? How am I anything like her?"

"I heard rumors you tried to hit on the new High Elf."

"I wasn't risking my life. Besides, I didn't know he was a man."

"So if it'd been a woman, you would've kept flirting?"

"Oh my, what's written here? My eyesight's gotten so bad I can't read it properly."

As Garnet glared at him disapprovingly, Zed pretended to study the list while hiding his face.

'Why am I even keeping this idiot around...?'

She could feel it clearly.

Emotional attachment really was a terrifying thing.

Knock, knock.

Silence filled the room.

Zed cautiously asked,

"You invited someone else too?"

"I didn't."

This time, Zed immediately drew his dagger.

While Garnet quietly prepared herself as well, the door slowly opened.

"Hm?"

Standing there was a woman with narrowed eyes.

"Whoa, what a beauty...!"

"Quiet. How did you get in here?"

At Garnet's question, the woman smiled brightly.

"I'm sorry. It's late at night, and the roads are scary. I just needed a little light."

Her movements appeared no different from those of an ordinary woman.

Yet no one lowered their guard.

"I've never seen your face in this town."

"I only arrived yesterday, together with my older brother."

"Five people entered yesterday. None of them were women. And do you really think it's normal for a young lady to be wandering around this late at night?"

"Hmm... That's troublesome. I heard the Merchant Guild's guild master was meticulous, but I didn't expect you to be this thorough..."

Despite having her identity exposed, she remained perfectly relaxed.

"If you're going to be like this..."

She slowly raised both hands.

Then she mimed grabbing something.

" 'The beast of the night' is going to catch all of you."

Whoosh!

A sudden gust burst the windows open.

No—

Something moving as fast as the wind.

The wind created by that object extinguished the candles as it rushed inside.

Clang!

Sparks exploded before Garnet.

They came from Zed's dagger, which had leapt from the window the instant it opened.

The blades of both sides collided.

A contest of strength followed.

'She's strong.'

The opponent held a slight advantage.

Before she could overpower him, Zed twisted his blade.

Breaking the deadlock, he threw off her balance and launched an immediate counterattack.

But she was no ordinary opponent.

Instead of falling, she twisted her body even further, slipping completely outside the dagger's trajectory.

The attacker swept in like a summer storm, her ragged cloak and hair fluttering wildly.

What stood out most were her vivid blue eyes.

That radiant color looked strangely familiar.

Before he could remember where he'd seen it—

Another figure darted inside and landed beside the intruder.

"You alright?"

Zed caught Garnet before she stumbled.

"I'm fine."

Garnet raised her loaded crossbow and aimed at the two newcomers.

As usual, Penelope panicked and blurted out words like a machine gun.

"W-Waaaah! What's happening!? Who are you!? A spy sent by my mother!? Damn it, I should've stayed safely locked inside the castle! Why did I follow this pretty-boy swindler out here and end up wagging my tail—Mmph!"

"Who are you people?"

Stuffing a piece of cloth into Penelope's mouth, Zed questioned them.

The attacker remained silent.

Instead, the woman answered.

"My name is Angrem, and this child here is Yubel. She can only say two words: 'Man' and 'Sak'."

'...Sak.'

"I understand. I'll skip the unnecessary chatter."

The moment Garnet heard those two names, she recognized them.

"If you're Yubel and Angrem... then you're the Saintesses of the Sierra Order."

The Wolf of Sierra.

The Dancer of Sierra.

Both were first-class criminals with an impressive list of crimes throughout the Empire.

Yet three years ago, they had vanished without a trace, leaving behind only rumors that someone had killed them.

"That's right. As expected of the leader of the Black Bandana. Or should I call you the leader of the Shadow Division now?"

Garnet frowned.

Not only had they ambushed them, but they even knew about her past.

Which also meant...

They absolutely couldn't be allowed to leave alive.

Carefully, Garnet aimed her crossbow at Angrem's chest.

She intended to pierce her heart and kill her instantly.

Then—

Her eyes met two glowing blue pupils.

Those eyes showed her something vividly.

Her own death.

The instant she pulled the trigger, she would step onto death's threshold.

The fear she felt wasn't mere imagination.

It was a warning.

"Our meeting may have been rather sudden and rough, but I'd like to end it here. There's only one thing we need."

"What is it?"

"The item in your hands."

It was the copied journal of Director Linne.

"Give it to us. If you do, we'll quietly disappear."

"..."

"It's not even the original. Just a translated copy. Since you're the Black Bandana, why not think of it as selling information with your lives as collateral?"

"I refuse."

Conviction was more important than life itself.

That was the will inherited from the founders of the Black Bandana.

The creed of Valdrova's Shadow Division.

"Valdrova's Shadow Division... Not bad. I'd call that a passing grade."

'Sak.'

"I admit it's still not to my liking. Normally, you'd want to kill us all, wouldn't you?"

'Man!'

Yubel's eyes gleamed like those of a wild beast.

Yet Angrem continued smiling.

"But what can we do? Tonight is a 'full moon,' after all."

'...Man.'

"What a shame."

Yubel looked at the smiling Angrem with visible displeasure.

"So let's just teach them a lesson."

The moment she finished speaking—

Killing Intent exploded outward.

Realizing another battle had begun, Zed yanked the cloth out of Penelope's mouth.

"Pepe!"

"H-Haste!"

A crimson glow enveloped Zed's body.

His speed increased dramatically.

Two streaks of light painted afterimages across the darkness like brushstrokes on a black canvas.

Fast—

But still within his ability to react.

'No.'

His instincts screamed otherwise.

By the time his eyes caught up, it would already be too late.

Zed shifted his dagger to the left.

Clang!

Sparks burst beside him.

Just as expected.

The movement of light had been nothing but a feint.

The real body was moving even faster through the darkness.

Though they had exchanged only a single clash, Zed was utterly shocked.

'Even with acceleration magic, she's overwhelming...'

The agility that had once allowed him to outrun even the swift Wolf Monster was barely enough against her.

Acknowledging her skill, Zed made a bold move.

"Hah!"

Using the locked daggers as leverage, he trapped the woman's sword.

Then he spun his entire body with tremendous force.

Caught off guard, Yubel's sword flew from her hand.

'Now I subdue her.'

With her weapon gone, all he needed was to disable the tendons in her hand.

That assumption...

Was arrogance.

"Zed, watch out!"

The supposedly empty hand now held another sword.

'How?!'

That question almost became his dying thought.

The razor-sharp blade lunged straight for his throat.

"Damn!"

He barely leaned backward in time to avoid the strike, but his posture collapsed.

The woman immediately aimed her sword at his chest.

There was no escaping.

Fwoosh!

"!!"

The woman's attack suddenly halted.

She forcibly twisted her body aside.

A tiny bolt shot through the space she had occupied before disappearing into the darkness.

The two fighters widened the distance between them once more.

Zed retreated toward Garnet.

The woman performed an aerial flip and landed effortlessly atop the desk.

'She's an absolute monster...'

Using the brief pause, Zed analyzed his opponent.

A body capable of matching his Haste-enhanced speed.

A sword that appeared from nowhere.

And those blue eyes that repeatedly tried to stiffen his body.

'There's definitely magic involved.'

This wasn't the time to leisurely exchange sword techniques.

'I have no choice.'

If she was using her eyes—

Then he'd use his as well.

Zed was the last surviving member of the Red-Eyed Clan.

Their other name was Mage Killer.

The reason was their clan's unique eyes, capable of destroying Magic Circles.

Zed's eyes glowed crimson.

"Oh?"

For the first time, Angrem, who had merely been watching with her hands behind her back, spoke.

Zed saw something surrounding Yubel's head.

He fixed his crimson gaze upon it.

"Ugh!?"

It worked.

The layer of magic wrapped around Yubel's head shattered.

Her body twitched unnaturally.

Dropping her sword, Yubel clutched her head.

"Uuuugh..."

A painful groan escaped her lips.

Zed thought,

'This is it.'

This was the answer.

But it didn't take long to realize he had been mistaken.

"AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!!!"

What burst forth was not a scream—

But a roar.

The roar shook the entire building.

"Damn!"

"Eek!?"

Garnet and Penelope were crushed to the floor.

It felt as though an invisible gigantic weight were pressing down upon them.

Even Zed could do no more than kneel to keep himself upright.

Only then did Zed finally understand.

The power he had believed to be her source of strength...

Had actually been the chains restraining Yubel.

Yubel's frenzied movements grew increasingly violent.

Her head, which had been thrown backward, slowly lowered as she glared at Zed. 1

The instant he saw her eyes—

He froze.

The blue pupils...

Had turned crimson.