Chapter 112

Chapter 112

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HEL SCANS

[Translator – Peptobismol]

[Proofreader – Demon God]

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“Good. I was curious about the performance of this new weapon, anyway.”

With his arms crossed, Ronan pulled two swords hilts simultaneously. Lamancha and a sword that had not been seen before emerged. Shullifen fixed his gaze on Ronan’s left hand and spoke up.

“So it was a dagger. That’s surprising.”

“When I first received it, I was wondering what it was too.”

Ronan’s new weapon was indeed a dagger. It looked to be about 30 cm in total length, which made it quite different from Lamancha in many ways.

The blade had elegant curves, and the hilt, with unknown characters engraved on it, gleamed in a pure white, like the starlight on a winter night. Ronan turned the dagger around in his hand out of habit and chuckled.

“Damn, it’s still surprisingly heavy.”

The weight felt as if he were wielding a two-handed sword, making his shoulder droop. The abnormally heavy weight set it apart from Lamancha.

Without enhancing his muscles with mana, it would be difficult to handle it freely. Ronan furrowed his brow as he suddenly recalled the time he received the weapon.

“I can’t remember its name. Dydican told me about it. It’s... something...”

“The sword itself looks good. But what’s with the hilt?”

Shullifen scrutinized the dagger, noticing the stark black hilt in contrast to the pure white blade. He sensed a foreboding aura emanating from it, which had been troubling him throughout their journey.

Ronan knew that it was because the hilt had been finished with the pieces from Vijra. Nebula Clazier’s mana was slowly seeping over the dagger.

“I don’t know.”

However, instead of answering, Ronan shrugged his shoulders. It was too long a story to explain under these circumstances.

The torches and shouts were getting closer. The wind suddenly picked up, parting the clouds that had been obscuring the moon, revealing the furious faces of the approaching people.

“They’re over there! Get them!”

“Looks like one of them’s a mage from the way they’re using wind magic. Take care of that one first!”

“Damn it, I never thought we’d be attacked first...”

There were seven men and three women. The group’s identity was just as expected, the losers of Dainhar.

Their disheveled appearance made it clear they weren’t a band of bandits. The adventurers going to Dainhar usually make a lot of preparations, so robbing even just a couple of them would bring in a good income.

Shullifen readied himself in a combat stance. Meanwhile, Cita, who was also prepared to cast blood magic. Ronan suddenly walked forward and blocked Shullifen’s path.

“What are you doing?”

“Just wait a moment. There’s something I want to try.”

“Something you want to try?”

“Yeah, it’s the first time since I’ve received this weapon, so I want to see if it’s any good. Cita, you wait for a moment too.”

“Bweeh.”

Cita reabsorbed the blood she had gathered to shoot a blood bullet. Reluctantly, Shullifen stepped back. Suddenly, a shout from the center of the group caught their attention.

“Stone Hand!”

“Oh?”

Hearing the incantation, Ronan curled his mouth. It appeared that a mage had joined the band of bandits as well.

Bang! The ground before them exploded, and a giant palm made of rock emerged. It was large enough to cover an area of at least 3 meters.

“You idiot. At this level, you could make a living without having to steal.”

Ronan spat on the floor and swung Lamancha. Several lines were drawn on the rock’s surface.

Thud!

The shattered rock hand lost its shape and exploded. The woman’s eyes widened as she cast her spell.

“W-what?!”

“You again.”

Ronan located the mage’s position and threw the dagger. Its weight gave it a substantial feeling, much like throwing a javelin.

Swish!

The white dagger flew towards her woman in a perfect straight line.

“Be careful!”

The man in front, the vanguard, raised his shield to protect the woman. His quick reflexes suggested he was a skilled warrior. However, that didn’t matter much. With a loud crack, the dagger shattered the shield and pierced the man’s throat.

“Argh...!”

Blood spurted out, and the sound of neck bones breaking echoed. It was an instant and undeniable death. The woman realized what was happening too late.

Thud!

The tip of the dagger protruding from the back of the man’s neck pierced her forehead. The two bodies flew backwards simultaneously and crashed onto the ground. The bandits around them were scared and backed away.

“Min-Mindy! Fuck...”

“Shit, the dagger pierced through the shield?!”

There was no doubt about their instant deaths. The two bodies were convulsing. Ronan, satisfied, whistled.

“It’s quite useful.”

It had more penetrating power than he had imagined. Just by looking at the path the dagger had flown, one could tell it was a well-crafted weapon.

Suddenly, Ronan raised his right foot. Such agile opponents needed to be dealt with quickly, before they scattered like cockroaches. He turned to Shullifen.

“Hey, when I stomp my foot, shoot out a whirlwind.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

Shullifen raised an eyebrow, confused. Without answering, Ronan stomped his foot. Thud! The sound echoed, and a ripple of mana spread out.

However, their focus was on the dagger dug deep into the woman’s forehead rather than at Ronan’s feet. Whoosh! Shiny roots grew out of nowhere and wrapped around the bandits gathered around the woman.

Ronan gently embraced Cita, feeling the warmth through its soft feathers.

“This is it. Damn, it’s finally warm enough.”

“Bweeeh~”

It was one of the positives of having a pet. Cita purred contentedly, as if she were in a good mood. Just when Ronan was about to fall asleep.

“...I heard you saved Sion.”

“Huh?”

“While I was busy, such an incident happened.”

Ronan raised his head. Shullifen’s gaze was still fixed on the sand. Ronan realized that she was soon going to tell him about what had happened at the Dawn Magic Tower.

“Oh, that little one is your sibling, right? How is she doing?”

“Yes. After the Dawn Magic Tower sent a message, I sent a specialized healer right away. Fortunately, there were no issues with her health.”

“That’s good. She seems to be cuter than you, less serious.”

“She is a child who grew up receiving a lot of love. Among my siblings, she’s the only one with a natural talent for magic.”

Ronan breathed a sigh of relief, having heard that she was unharmed. He had been curious about what happened during those two days. Shullifen finally continued the conversation.

“For the two days we were together, all we’ve talked about is you and Lady Acalusia. Lady Acalusia in particular, it’s almost like they’ve become biological sisters. There is no way she wouldn’t know that we are adversaries.”

“What are you trying to get at?”

“Nothing much. Just...”

Ronan raised an eyebrow. He sensed that she was intentionally dragging the conversation. After a brief silence, Shullifen turned to Ronan.

“Thank you for saving my little sister.”

“Huh.”

Simultaneously, he lowered his head. Ronan let out a wry chuckle. He hadn’t expected to see this guy act sentimental. Feeling a little awkward, Ronan waved his hands.

“It’s nothing. It’s alright.”

“The entire family knows of your contributions already. I will repay you in the name of Garcia.”

“I don’t care about rewards. If you’re so grateful, just keep watch for another hour. I’m going to sleep.”

With that, Ronan lay down, now feeling rather uncomfortable about the gratitude. Cita, who had already dozed off, let out a contented purr. As her body grew warmer, sleep began to overtake Ronan, and his eyelids slowly drooped.

.

...Thud!

.

“Ronan, wake up.”

“...Huh?”

Ronan opened his eyes. The dazzling night sky was still visible above. A crimson nebula beyond the Milky Way was burning brightly.

Ronan slowly raised his upper body. It seemed like the fatigue in his body hadn’t completely dissipated. Shullifen was standing in the same position as when he had seen him.

“What the hell, how long did I sleep for...?”

“About thirty minutes.”

“This damn inconsiderate guy... you can’t stand me any longer, so you wake me up after sleeping for only half an hour? Are you even human?”

“Just look over there.”

Without much of a response, Shullifen pointed towards the desert. Ronan, who had just woken up grumbling, looked in the direction he was indicating. His eyes widened.

“Damn it. Why is that monster here?”

“It just flew in from the direction of Dainhar and crashed landed here. Do you recognize this creature?”

“I do, but...”

Come to think of it, he thought he had heard something falling when he was dozing off. Not far from where he stood, a huge, rare bird-like creature lay on the ground. It had a wingspan of nearly 6 meters, almost reaching the size of a wyvern.

Ronan knew what this creature was. It was a strange bird called “Roc Bird”, which only lived in Dainhar. Ronan shook his head to shake off his drowsiness and opened his mouth.

“Let’s go check it out.”

Both of them hurriedly ran towards the Roc Bird. Cita, who had just awakened, followed behind them. Ronan, who arrived first, clicked his tongue and muttered.

“Damn it, it’s dead.”

The Roc Bird was already dead, with its neck broken. Its stiff wings lay motionless. Ronan raised an eyebrow.

“Why would it have come all the way here?”

Roc Birds were creatures that lived only within the boundaries of Dainhar. He still remembered being chased by these creatures in his previous life. As Ronan examined the corpse, he noticed something unusual.

“Oh... Oh no...”

When he was about to say something, a whimper came from under the bird’s wings. The Roc Bird’s wings were blocking the source of the sound. Ronan’s eyes widened.

“Shit. Let’s check.”

Ronan slowly approached the sound. As he lifted the wing, a trembling, injured boy was revealed. He was huddled in a ball, shivering in the cold. He was covered in various tattoos, visible on his bare upper body.

“Agh... ughhh... every... ev-everyone...”

“Get it out quickly.”

Judging from his appearance, he was a native of Dainhar. Shullifen quickly picked up the boy Ronan, who had lowered the wings, asked the boy.

“Hey kid, snap out of it. What happened, what’s going on?”

“...They’re... all dead...”

The boy mumbled those words, and then lost consciousness. Ronan instinctively sensed that thing had gone very wrong.

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HEL SCANS

[Translator – Peptobismol]

[Proofreader – Demon God]

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