Chapter 10

=========================Author’s Note==========================

The main character is bad.

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“Grab!”

There was a sudden push of hands that shrieked Lucelle. He extended his hands and cut off Lucelle’s staff, and stuck out his feet and in between Lucelle’s legs. As he choked the cane onto Lucelle’s neck, which made Lucelle stumble a few times.  Ajin blocked her mouth with his right hand.

“Lucelle!”

The screams that came from behind was caused by Carls, who was looking back and forth. Ajin squeezed Lucelle’s neck with her staff, pressing his hand tightly against her mouth. Lucelle struggled, but he pressed hard on the cane that was on her forearms, the pressure on her neck strengthened, made her face white as sheet of paper.

“Shh!”

Ajin whispered as she watched Carls shout. It was a bleak voice, but Carls wasn’t stupid enough not to know what was happening. Carls then looked for Ajin, who was recognized by Lucelle, hesitating with a look of astonishment.

“A-Ajin…”

Ajin, who had just had a friendly smile, had no longer ghad that smile . His loose eyes tightened, and the drooping eyebrows rose and his aura completely changed. Ajin twisted his lips, smiled and took a step back.

“Come on!”

As he stepped back, her throat was severely chocked and Lucelle made a stifling sound. Ajin was displeased with Lucelle’s saliva touching his palm, but that didn’t loosen his strength. He put more force on Lucelle’s mouth and closed it with his hand.

“You look surprised. Don’t make such a face. I feel like I’m going to be weak.”

Ajin kicked the shivering Lucelle with his knee. The screams that Lucelle screamed were blocked by Ajin’s hand, but her limp body that tried to get up instead staggered and fell. Ajin didn’t try to help Lucelle, so Lucelle’s gesture to fall only brought her into further strangle on her.

“Lucelle!”

“Be quiet.”

Carls screamed, and Ajin warned in a quiet voice. He kicked Lucelle that once again, looking at her red-hot ears. A liquid touched the back of his hand. Sweat, no it was tears. He couldn’t see Lucelle’s face when he was holding her back.

Carl saw them and drew his sword.

“Think rationally, Carls. Why did I bother to catch hostages without killing them immediately?”

Ajin raised his lips and laughed. At the question, Carl hesitated and lowered his sword. The hostage was taken because there was something he wanted. Without such a thing, he wouldn’t have done such a nuisance and would have killed her at once.

“What the hell is wrong with you?”

Carl stammered as he looked at Ajin, who completely changed. Ajin, just a while ago, had thin smile, used honorific language. But not now, he was smiling, but the smile Ajin made was so different from what he had seen the very first time.

“What do you mean? I thought there was no reason to act like this.”

“That’s not…”

“I don’t think I have to make you understand. Put your sword down.”

Whispering, Ajin tightened his hands unto Lucelle’s throat more strongly. Lucelle struggled even more, but there was no way to boost her internal strength either. She was not a wizard, but a girl who has indefinite position as an apprentice. To implement magic in the first, you need the arrangement and casting of mana, and a medium of collecting mana. The staff, her medium, was taken away, and her mouth was shut in order to reciting castings. Instead, it was squeezed in her neck to disperse the concentration to arrange the mana. If that happens, the girl in front of you is nothing more than an ordinary girl, not a wizard. It is easy for an adult man to overpower a girl, even if there is no body that has become stronger due to a thrombosis.

“On the ground.”

Ajin whispered as he watched the sword-edge drop down to the ground. With those words, Carls shook his shoulders, and put his sword on the ground. As he stood up with empty hands, Carls shooked his head desperately. He didn’t know what that bastard wants, but as he’s taken hostage, he might be thinking about what to do right now. So once he does what he was told to do, he could take the opportunity to rescue Lucelle… Carl’s face was distorted.

“I’ll kill you. I will kill you for sure.”

“You’re a good listener.”

Looking at Carl’s standing face with his sword down, Ajin laughed while he revealed his teeth.

“Disarmed, but that’s not enough.” Ajin continued to order.

“Kneel down on that spot. And come here. Ten steps will do.”

The order forced Carls to oblige. He clenched his teeth, touching the ground and kneeled. He moved towards Ajin, he crawled on the ground with his knees. It was embarrassing. It was humiliating. While he crawled, Carls’ head was filled with those kinds of thoughts. He is a son of a knight. His honorable father had self-educated knights that were under him. He hasn’t brought any good news to him, but he never thought he’d be humiliated and would be made to crawl on his knees.

‘I can’t help it!’

“It is… it is my childhood friend, Lucelle, is being held hostage.” My father told me that knights should protect and prioritize Ladies. Lucelle is the woman Carl had held in his heart since childhood. She wasn’t a eulogy of a noblewoman, but Carls liked Lucelle, who played with him since childhood. He can bear the humiliation of the moment if it is to save Lucelle.

“Okay. Stop there.”

He was held back at a knee-length approach, Ajin looked up. The sword that Carls dropped was quite far from him. It was a relief. 

“So what should I do next?” Lucelle’s footstep had calmed, but the tears she shed soaked her sleeves.

Should I kill him? That’s obvious. The question was how he kills one of them. Does he simply kill him or do something more… Ajin’s eyes became thinner than before. Now that it had come to this, it is natural to kill. But he didn’t want to go through any trouble when he reach the city.

‘I need directions for now.’

He hasn’t got out of the forest yet. Even if he kills both of them and walks around the forest, he would end up getting out of it, but it was a waste of time. Did he made his move too early? No, he had no regrets about it. Getting closer to the city, may lead to unwanted witnesses. He was still deep in the forest, and he looked around and found no one else. This was the right place to do things.

‘All I need is one.’

Ajin hardened his mind. One of the two he had to kill there. And take one as a guide.

“Who should I kill? “ There was nothing to ask. Ajin’s smile turned cold.

Smash! Ajin raised his foot and kicked Lucelle. As soon as she was kicked, he took away her cane that was used on her for strangling, and Lucelle screamed and just lay on the ground. Carls, who kneeled, shouted something. Ajin jumped at Carls at once, putting much power in it. Carls, who was kneeling, lost his posture. Ajin was fast to rush in to the surprised Carls who was trying to stand up and defend. His fist, which he wielded as he ran, contained more power than before. Smash! A loud sound shook the forest of silence, and the head of Carls went round.

“Carls!”

Lucelle, who fell on the ground, shrieked. Carls rolled on the ground, spitting blood from his mouth. Was it a little too much to kill him at one blow? Thinking so, Ajin went at it again. Carls eyes shot wide open, his blood-stained lips could barely scream, turned in black and was feeling pain and fear at the same time. He clenched his hand hurriedly as he watched Ajin rushing in. There was no sword– no sword.

“W-wait, wait, wait, wait, wait.”

Smash! That’s what he said, but Ajin’s fist fell unto him, and his left shoulder was severely smashed due to it. With his burst lips open, Carls tried to scream, but even before he could do that, Ajin’s fist stuck Carls’ mouth. The fist broke all his teeth at once. The fist that filled Carls’ mouth could only make him bawl and scream to his heart’s content.

“Don’t think too badly.”

Ajin pulled his hand out of his mouth and pressed the struggling left arm with his other hand. While looking down at Carls’ young face stained with tears and blood, Ajin’s face remained calm. Ajin raised himself by grasping Carls’ face with his hand. Thump… his muscle bursted out, raising Carls’ body. He came up to Lucelle, who sat down, while dragging Carls by his feet. She trembled like a four-leaf tree as she watched Ajin approach her with a face covered with terror.

“Don’t yell.”

Ajin said in a quiet voice as he looked at Lucelle’s mouth, which was about to scream. The remark startled Lucelle while raising her hand and used it to cover her mouth. He was scary. He was very scary. As soon as she felt it, Lucelle’s body was drained of strength and her skirt was drenched. She peed in it.

“If you don’t follow orders, you’ll both die. You don’t want to die, do you?

Ajin stared at Lucelle and asked, and Lucelle nodded as she trembled. Ajin laughed at her and threw Carls body on the ground. Carls couldn’t scream. He was like a doll whose limbs were broken; Ajin threw him and he just rolled on the ground. Ajin approached Lucelle, while shaking his bloodstained hands, and crouched in front of her, who had collapsed.

“Turn your back, close your eyes, and close your ears.”

Raising the tip of Lucelle’s chin, unwilling to see him, Ajin said. At the words, Lucelle shook and nodded frantically.

“And… count one to one hundred. So I can assure that you are still alive, okay? You can’t scream. Don’t make any sound other than counting. Okay?”

As he spoke, Ajin laughed. The laughter was the same as what he had when Lucelle first met Ajin. Lucelle shrugged her shoulders, raised her hands close to her ears. Then she turned and closed her eyes tightly.

“O-one…”

Then she began to count. Ajin was proud of Lucelle, who followed her instructions well, and gave her a pat on the head. Then he turned and approached Carls, who had some breath left, while lying face down on the ground.

“Five… six…”

Lucelle continued to count. As he glanced at Lucelle’s shoulder with her back turned, Ajin crouched in front of Carls. His right shoulder was smashed, and his face was really a mess. Even if he lives like this, he would never be able to hold his sword with his right hand again. If the healing magic of the game would be great enough, then that can keep his broken right arm intact, he might be able to grab his sword again.

‘The dead can’t be saved.’

Ajin put his hand on the back of Carls head. He then slowly extended his hands and began to use energy drain. Carls’ body trembled, and the energy he had, was sucked into Ajin. He was less than a feeble than what was sucked from Acacia.

“I hope it’s better than the wolf.”

Can you hear me? Ajin giggled as he tightened his grip on Carls’ head. Once the inner power used was filled up, his remaining energy flowed as excess power. Looking at his rising stamina and the total amount of his inner workings, Ajin smiled faintly.

I’m glad I picked the energy drain.

Looking at Carls’ hair, which had lost color and was flabby, Ajin truly thought so.