Chapter 19

“Sorry! I accidentally released a swarm of flies! They’ll be crashing at your place soon, so handle it!”

With that feeling, I was gathering my insect-slaying gear—a fly swatter—while trudging down the mountain after receiving a commission from a client I’d rather not see.

I wondered why the Apostles were unusually quiet at the foot of the mountain, only to realize the bug swarm mentioned by the client had already arrived.

There was no way they could’ve made it all the way here from the imperial capital, so they must have used a teleport gate…

“Looks like the payment is substantial.”

It wouldn’t be a small amount, that’s for sure, unless there had been a groundbreaking development while I was holed up in the mountains.

As I clicked my tongue at the imperial folks’ careless economic sense, I noticed a guy who seemed to be the head of the knight squad start talking to someone I recognized.

I couldn’t hear their conversation from this distance, but it was the same old routine with the imperial folks—nothing of substance, right?

Glory to the Black Sun, the greatness of the empire, blah blah blah…

I was so bored. Isn’t it about time they switched up their repertoire?

Still, despite my feelings, an ordinary person might have felt the pressure. After all, the imperial power was genuinely impressive.

“Oh?”

I thought the Apostles would react similarly, but to my surprise, Joanie and the Apostles began to take combat stances.

I watched, my eyes lighting up.

“Oooh…”

What an unexpected turn of events.

They must know the power disparity is overwhelming, yet they bravely brandished their weapons.

Perhaps it’s an action they can afford since they’d just come back to life after dying, but even so, deciding to fight back isn’t an easy choice.

‘Well, considering they kept charging at me while getting sliced up, I suppose it makes sense.’

Thinking that made it somewhat understandable.

If I could’ve enjoyed some popcorn while watching, that would have been great, but there’s no such thing as popcorn appearing out of nowhere, so what could I do?

Instead, I settled down on a cliff halfway up the mountain and watched as the chicks peeped and played.

Chicks bravely battling against the fly swarm.

‘…That sounds a bit strange.’

Aren’t the chicks at the top of the food chain in the food web?

Anyway, as expected, the chicks’ situation wasn’t looking good.

The enemy’s heads hadn’t even emerged yet, and every time the knights’ swords gleamed, the Apostles were busy backing away without even managing to retaliate.

Still, not every Apostle was helplessly overwhelmed.

Some were straining every muscle to maintain the front lines.

The one who stood out the most was a woman wielding a large sword at the front.

Although her opponent appeared to be a low-ranked knight with little experience, it was impressive how she aggressively pushed forward with her offensive.

At first glance, it might seem like she was swinging her sword mindlessly, but unlike others, there was a hint of expertise in her movements.

On the other hand, my shuttle… or rather, Joanie is—

“Yeah, that’s over.”

I was watching from a step behind as others fought.

If only I could follow even half of the courage that Big Sword chick had.

When I saw her stand up to the commander, I felt a bit proud, but of course.

Though with Joanie’s skills, stepping in wouldn’t be of much help, if I’m just standing frozen like this, I won’t be able to respond if danger approaches, right?

Just like now.

Seeing the commander gathering mana again after sending out his sword energy, I let out a deep sigh.

Then I shook off my butt and stood at the edge of the cliff.

“I thought I would never raise my sword again to protect something.”

I need to protect my precious shuttle… no, my student.

I keep saying the wrong words.

I stomped the cliff with my right foot.

The surrounding scenery twisted and blurred like a smeared watercolor painting.

A moment of sudden acceleration.

Before I knew it, I stood tall right in the middle of the battlefield, where I had been far away just moments ago.

Before my eyes, a crescent-shaped sword energy flaunted its bluish mana and rushed towards me.

It was a pretty powerful sword energy, not something the commander earned just by chance, but then again, it was only that much.

There was no need to wrap it in sword energy.

I drew my sword and cut through the seam of the sword energy.

To nullify an attack that took the lives of countless chicks was sufficient with just two simple strikes.

‘Cape, got torn.’

The already ragged cape couldn’t keep up with my movements and was ultimately torn apart.

I bought it at a high price…

Feeling regretful, I was fiddling with the cape when Joanie, standing behind me, shouted with delight.

“Kana…!”

‘…? …I clearly said my name was a secret.’

Why is she shouting so confidently?

Still, seeing her standing her ground against the imperial bastards instead of running away made that voice not seem so annoying.

And given the situation now, it hardly mattered.

Suddenly appearing, I cast silence over the surroundings.

The knights who were relentlessly pressing the apostles and the apostles who were being pushed back couldn’t help but look at me with blank expressions.

Well… it’s not unfamiliar.

Even the ones who first faced me on the battlefield had that same expression.

And the next typical reaction was usually—

— “Ha, ha! The identity of the Red Reaper is such a little brat! How laughable! You were frightened by this little brat!”

— “…What are you talking about?”

Mockery and disdain.

That senile snake at least spoke in a way I could understand, but this guy was rambling happily in a language only he understood.

I couldn’t comprehend the words, but judging by the way he was scoffing and scanning my body with a nasty look, I could tell what he meant.

As the commander finished his words, laughter began to spread among the knights.

Knights who had been clashing weapons slowly gathered behind the commander, but the apostles didn’t dare to stop them.

It seemed they realized that rushing in recklessly would result in their own deaths.

“Hmm….”

Smirks peeking out from between their helmets.

I’ve seen this too many times, so I wasn’t particularly moved.

— “All the worn-out swords match your looks, don’t they!”

“Exactly, I told you to speak in a way I could understand.”

It seems they were trying to insult me, but if I can’t understand, what’s the point?

That snake seems to be so senile that he can’t manage his subordinates properly.

“If you’re a knight, you should speak with your sword.”

Instead of attempting to converse with words that don’t connect, I took up my sword.

“It seems you were having quite a bit of fun.”

I raised my sword high, just as the leader had done.

With a momentum that seemed to pierce through the high sun.

“That’s not how you do it.”

The power was quite strong, but the essence was just mindlessly packing and releasing mana.

A foolish and simple swordsmanship without any technique.

Using 100 mana to produce an efficiency of 50 and feeling proud about it is nothing short of ridiculous.

“I’ll teach you a move, so watch carefully and learn.”

In the blink of an eye, as brief as a single blink, the sword that was aimed at the vast sky was already descending toward the ground.

Swoosh!

Chop!

“Now do you understand?”

Just how pathetic you are.

***

A dramatic entrance reminiscent of a comic book protagonist.

Joanie stared blankly at Kana’s back, who appeared like a miracle to save her.

Though her front was obscured, just by seeing her back, it was enough to know that Kana had taken on a girl’s form.

—????????

—??????????

— WHATTT?!?!?!?!

The viewers were not the only ones shocked by the delicate back that belied her overwhelming strength.

In an instant, as if she had been on the battlefield from the beginning, Kana appeared and effortlessly dispelled the sword energies that had consumed numerous players, drawing all eyes on the battlefield toward her.

Pine was unable to hide his astonishment at Kana’s appearance.

“Is it real, is it really…?”

Is this really happening?

The chat room was buzzing, mirroring his emotions.

Her drowsy pink eyes blinked slowly.

The hair that swayed in the wind made one feel an urge to stroke it.

How soft would it be to wrap that hair between my fingers and stroke it down?

Her round face and gently curved eyes created a mild impression of a girl.

Her adorably charming face left one momentarily speechless.

How could such a cute face, seemingly incapable of swatting a fly, display such terrifying power?

The shocking truth that the Gravekeeper, who had killed him countless times, was a cute and small girl left Pine’s head spinning.

However, Joanie, who couldn’t see Kana’s face, was only filled with concern.

“I know Kana is strong, but…”

She didn’t believe that Kana could win against so many knights.

It’s difficult for a few to defeat many, but it’s not surprising for many to defeat a few.

Moreover, the more numerous the attackers, the lesser the damage when they emerge victorious.

In combat, the number of participants is that important.

“Even if a raid boss dies, it will resurrect, but right now when it’s not a raid…?” Sёarᴄh the NôvelFire.nёt website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

I don’t know why Kana, who is stuck in a corner of the mountain, suddenly showed up here.

Since she had run away once already, it was just something to overlook.

However, unlike that time, now when entering a raid, the instance channel wasn’t separated, and seeing the lack of a health bar, it also didn’t classify as a boss.

That meant she was no different from any other NPC.

“Run… run away…!”

Unlike herself, who could resurrect even after dying, Kana would not come back to life if she died.

Realizing this fact, Joanie wanted to warn Kana to flee, but her body, paralyzed by the fear of death, could hardly produce a voice.

Kana raised her sword, not having heard Joanie’s warning.

It was the same action the leader had taken.

“I’ll teach you a thing or two, so watch closely and learn.”

Kana’s arm blurred.

“…?”

In the next moment, what had clearly been pointing to the sky was now directed toward the ground.

Had she missed the swing due to tired eyes?

Just as Joanie was about to rub her eyes.

Chak-chak-chak!

The air.

The knights.

The ground.

Everything in the trajectory of the sword was split in half.

Crash!

The knights who had mocked Kana vanished, half of their bodies swallowed into the gaping maw of the abyss.

Even seeing it with her own eyes, it was hard to believe as the battlefield once again fell into silence.

“What, what, what is this…?”

Was it sheer luck that he was out of the attack range, or did Kana intentionally let him live?

A fierce wave surged in the commander’s eyes as he lost more than half of his subordinates in an instant.

The faces that had been so boldly mocking just moments ago were now pale with fear.

“…You were trying to capture something like that?”

Ha ha, this is like a bad game.

Pine chuckled emptily.

So they had really just been playing around until now.

It looked like the depth was over 10 meters at a glance.

Not to mention the length.

To catch a monster that could split the ground with a single swing of a sword?

“Yeah, no thanks.”

No. He couldn’t.

As of today, the Kana raid was officially closed…

While Pine made that resolve, Joanie was also in shock.

She had known it was strong, but she never imagined it would be this strong.

The knights, who had been effortlessly cutting down players until now, had lost more than half of their numbers in an instant.

The remaining knights were in no better shape.

The once soaring morale had been crushed in an instant, their expressions wishing to turn and flee at any moment.

‘Well, how could they not be shaken after seeing that?’

Why did she feel pity for the knights who had seemed so terrifying just moments ago?

Joanie felt as if Kana’s small back loomed large like a mountain.

— “Mo-monster! No! A monster girl!”

“That reaction is getting old.”

While the panicked commander screamed, Kana leisurely shook off her sword-wielding hand.

Psssh.

“Ah.”

“Uh?”

“…!”

The sword in the girl’s hand crumbled to dust and fell like flour.

Kana let out a short exclamation, and Joanie made a dazed sound as she struggled to comprehend the situation, while the commander’s face lit up with joy.

— “It’s an opportunity! All troops, charge! Charge!”

“Now you want to rush in just because you think it’s a chance? I kept a spare just for this…”

Kana scoffed and adjusted her waist.

Digging through.

Dig, dig, dig.

…Dig.

Kana’s hand slowed down until it eventually came to a stop.

‘…shit’

“…but I didn’t bring it.”

The knights approached right in front of Kana.

They instinctively sensed that if they didn’t act now, the opportunity might never come again.

As they charged forward with desperate steps and faces twisted in determination, Joanie anxiously grabbed the hem of Kana’s clothes.

“Kana!”

Feeling the presence, Kana turned around. The moment Joanie saw Kana’s face, she gasped but quickly regained her composure and thrust out her sword.

“I’ll give you my sword! Use this!”

However, Kana did not accept the sword.

“I’ll give you my sword!”

Could it be that she didn’t understand because it was in Arkish?

She tried again in Granic, but Kana still didn’t take the sword.

Even as the knights drew closer, the girl merely gazed at Joanie with serene eyes.

Joanie caught a glimpse of a whirlwind of emotions swirling in Kana’s seemingly indifferent gaze.

Red, blue, black, and bright feelings.

So vibrant that it was beyond words, and suffocating in its murky swirl, Joanie could not grasp its essence.

But if she dared to name it, it would probably be called longing.

Snapped out of her daze, Joanie suddenly realized.

Though she wanted to see those eyes forever, this was not the time for that.

‘If this goes on, she’ll die!’

I don’t care, but you’re really going to die!

As Joanie fidgeted and paced anxiously,

Kana finally opened her mouth.

“Canaria Grasis.”

“…huh?”

“That’s my name.”

In her usual indifferent tone, the girl accepted the sword that Joanie had extended.

Swoosh.

With a quiet slicing sound, the world was split in half.