If anything, Yuliana, who had led them here, was trembling the most. She looked utterly cowed by the sight of the cave, which could not have been more gloomy.
“Is that the necromancer’s lair?”
“That’s right. They say the villagers don’t even come near this area at all. As long as you don’t come here, there’s absolutely no chance of being harmed, so……”
Kasim answered in a sullen voice, but Yuliana did not seem to care. Behind them, Mitchell was busily putting on his armor. He was equipping himself completely with the protective gear he had taken off in preparation for the long journey, such as his helmet and greaves. When he finally picked up the shield hanging from the horse’s flank, Kasim’s eyes gleamed.
“That’s the shield of the Knights of Pencelot, the powerful northern kingdom. Are you connected to Pencelot, by any chance?”
Mitchell glanced at Kasim and replied as if he did not particularly feel like answering.
“My father was once a knight there.”
“Judging by the crest, he belonged to the Royal Guard. Impressive. It isn’t easy to become a guardsman of Pencelot without considerable skill.”
When the mercenary captain accurately discerned the truth, Mitchell wore a look that said he was somewhat impressed. But that was all. As someone who would one day become a knight of a great power, he had no need to pay attention to mere mercenaries.
Mitchell turned away with a sharp swish, making it clear he would take no more questions. Kasim, left awkward, turned his head.
‘That brat. Acting so high and mighty…… He’s just as sickening as that princess wench.’
When he looked back, he saw the two newest members of the mercenary band gripping their halberds tightly, tense with nerves. At the sight of them, a tender expression crossed Kasim’s face. In truth, though he had accepted them as members of the mercenary band, they were still children unsuited to a mercenary’s life.
‘Poor lads. I hope they manage to survive for a long time……’
Both were boys with unmistakably youthful faces. The gentle-looking boy with brown hair was named Heinrich, and the one with the somewhat sharp impression was called Gerald. The two had become friends while traveling.
Kasim had first seen them when they came to the Thunderbird Mercenary Band, saying they wanted to become mercenaries.
Originally, mercenary bands had strict screening standards when recruiting mercenaries. In the mercenary world, the probability of beginners lasting one year was generally less than ten percent. Some died in battle due to lack of experience, while others could not endure it and fled. Therefore, most mercenary bands applied extremely strict conditions for joining. If someone died or ran away within a year, it was a considerable loss for the mercenary band as well. Naturally, both Gerald and Heinrich were rejected without mercy. Heinrich was too weak-hearted, and Gerald was lame as well as left-handed.
Whatever their circumstances were, the two shed tears, begging to be allowed to become mercenaries somehow. But what could not be allowed could not be allowed, and the person in charge of selecting mercenaries coldly drove them away. When their wish was not accepted, the two did not even think of leaving and simply sat down at the mercenary band’s front gate, sobbing.
At the time, Kasim, who was leaving with his subordinate mercenaries in order to become independent, witnessed them. Feeling pity for them, Kasim decided to accept them into his own mercenary band. Of course, given Kasim’s situation, it was by no means a proper course of action. For at least five years, the two boys would be of no help whatsoever on missions and would only consume food. There was even the risk that their combat strength would be divided in order to look after them. Despite such negative aspects, Kasim accepted them without thinking of what would come after.
“Th-thank you so much.”
The boys thanked him while shedding tears in streams. They had already been turned away by mercenary bands many times. That, roughly, was how Heinrich and Gerald became members of Kasim’s mercenary band. And after spending about three months together, they had grown as attached to one another as they could.
‘I hope those lads survive……’
As if he was more affectionate by nature than he appeared, Kasim stared at the two boys for quite some time. He only snapped back to his senses when Yuliana signaled for them to enter.
“What are you doing? We have to catch the wicked necromancer before the sun goes down……”
“Let’s do that, then. Whatever the result may be……”
Replying curtly, Kasim immediately gave the order to move out. Drawing on his past experience, he arranged their forces in the most efficient formation possible. Though with only seven people, it was impossible to form a proper battle formation.
“You, and you, stand at the front with me. Princess and Sir Knight, please take the center. Gerald and Heinrich will stand behind you. And Patterson, take one man and cover the rear.”
Having formed a battle array that protected Yuliana and Mitchell as much as possible, Kasim nevertheless took the two most skilled mercenaries with him and stood at the front. Inwardly, he hoped that Mitchell, being a knight, would lend them his strength.
However, Mitchell stayed beside Yuliana as if it were only natural. At that sight, Kasim could not help but grow irritated.
‘Damn it…… With so few of us, if that bastard took the outer flank, it would be a great help……’
But Mitchell had his own scheme. His intention was to stay as quiet as possible in the safest place, and when an opportunity appeared, charge at the necromancer without hesitation and deliver a fatal blow. Since he did not have his anti-magic armor, he could not stand in the vanguard. He planned to seize an opportunity while the mercenaries on the outside used their bodies as shields, and that was why he clung closely to Yuliana’s side. Of course, outwardly, he pretended to be thoroughly protecting Yuliana.
‘Whether these mercenary scum die or not is none of my concern. Since they accepted the commission fee, shouldn’t they pay with their bodies if they must?’
He glanced toward Yuliana. Seeing her trembling faintly with her plump lips pressed tightly together, it seemed she was indeed frightened. That sight made Mitchell feel quite pleased.
‘So this tomboy, who knows nothing of the world and thinks she’s the greatest, is scared stiff this time. Do you think there’s anywhere besides Karsel that will treat you like a princess?’
Inwardly, he had grown curious about the purpose of going to the Krosen Empire, but Mitchell did not concern himself with it. All that mattered was getting to Krosen by whatever means necessary. Of course, Mitchell had no desire ever to return to Karsel again.
Same bed, different dreams. Since every member was thinking something different, they could truly be called a bizarre group. Unaware of what danger awaited them ahead, they carefully moved their feet into the cave.
Sensing that intruders had entered the cave, Damon quietly gathered mana. As a greeting, he intended to shower them with a cluster of his specialty, Magic Missiles.
It was an invincible weapon that had disarmed countless intruders until now. Unless the target was a Sword Master or a Paladin, a Magic Missile attack displayed truly tremendous power. Of course, among the group now entering, there was no one capable of blocking it.
“I do not welcome you to my dwelling. My greeting will be a little spicy.”
Damon completed the casting in an instant. The air compressed to an extreme degree and began to take the form of arrows shining pure white. Around him, dozens, hundreds of Magic Missiles appeared in the blink of an eye.
“Go. Since they are guests who have come after so long, we should welcome them warmly, shouldn’t we?”
Shushushushut.
The clusters of Magic Missiles circling around Damon began to shoot forth, filling the passage as though the cave were too narrow for them. It was as if they were foretelling the futile end of the intruders who would soon appear.
It did not even take one minute for the invading group to be annihilated. Though they had entered in what they considered a formation, there was no way for them to resist the air raid delivered by the overwhelming number of Magic Missiles.
“Kyaaak!”
“Ugh.”
The young mercenaries and Yuliana fainted without even knowing how they had been struck, and the remaining mercenaries fell to the floor one by one.
Only Mitchell and Kasim, the most skilled among them, lasted for about a minute. But that was their limit. The clusters of Magic Missiles continued to batter them. When the shields that had stubbornly blocked them shattered into pieces, they had no choice but to block with their bodies. They did manage to ward off three or four shots with their swords. But the Magic Missiles rushing toward them were endless.
The Magic Missiles Damon fired no longer attacked once the target fell. Instead, they changed direction and flew toward other targets that were still standing. As the resisting mercenaries collapsed, the number of Magic Missiles flying toward those who remained increased. In the end, Kasim could no longer hold out and collapsed with a thud, and though Mitchell fought desperately until the very end, his strength too ran out.
“Damn it…… If only I had my anti-magic armor……”
Mitchell barely spat out those words before losing consciousness. Once all the intruders had fallen, the Magic Missiles spinning in midair began to vanish one after another.
“Kekeke. Fools who don’t know their place……”
Looking at the greenhorns lying in a tangled, disorderly heap in the passage, Damon let out a bizarre laugh. They could be considered the weakest group of all those who had ever invaded Damon’s dwelling. He could not understand how they had thought to catch him with such pathetic combat strength.
“Well, not that it matters. Even if ten groups like this had come, the result would have been the same…… Has the time come to enjoy my hobby now?”
Looking around at the mercenaries sprawled out while groaning, Damon slowly turned his head. At the cave entrance, Winslot, who had been coming in carrying a mountain of wood on his back, had stopped and was staring blankly in this direction. Receiving Damon’s glance, Winslot set down the load of firewood without delay.
“Escort all of these fellows to the special room…… Since there is a girl among them, I will have to prepare a banquet for the first time in a while.”
Watching Winslot lumber over and pick up the limp mercenaries, Damon turned around. Seeing a girl’s face turn blue at the sight of food was the greatest new joy he had acquired of late, so Damon was impatient.
“I’ll make the food first and then summon a Nightmare. Let’s see them suffer for a week.”
A sinister, bizarre laugh flowed out, but there was no one to hear it. After being battered by Magic Missiles, every single one of them had lost consciousness……
“Lululul.”
Damon was leisurely humming as he cooked. Vegetables and meat mixed with seasoning were being stir-fried evenly in an oiled frying pan. When the frying pan had heated to a certain degree, Damon lightly poured oil over it.
Fwoosh.
The oil flared up rapidly, and flames surged upward. It was a technique that added flavor by directly searing the ingredients with fire. The reason the cuisine of the Central Plains had gained fame owed much to such diverse cooking techniques. Once Damon’s magical presentation was added to the food piled high in the bowls, it would transform into a hideous sight that made one feel nauseous just by looking at it.
“Kekeke.”
Just thinking of feeding this to the girl made Damon hum of his own accord. After filling two large bowls with food, Damon cast an illusion spell on them.
The food soon transformed into a form so revolting that even the heartiest eater would be unable to endure it without vomiting up everything in their stomach. Once every step was finished, Damon turned around with a satisfied expression.
“The cooking should be enough for now…… Shall I go take a look at those greenhorns?”
For greenhorns who could not even operate mana, the Magic Missiles must have been quite spicy. They likely had not yet awakened from their fainting, so all he had to do was summon a Nightmare over them. Though he could not know for certain, it was obvious they would lose a great deal of weight from suffering nightmares for a week.
Damon’s interest was solely in the girl. His steps grew light of their own accord as he thought about how to torment her.
“I hope she’s a girl with a temper. That makes teasing her fun……”
Wearing a hideous, bizarre smile, Damon entered the room where the intruders were confined.
As Damon had expected, Winslot had gathered the entire group and laid them out neatly. Every single one of the intruders was sprawled out flat on their backs. Only the girl was bound neatly to a chair.
Though he was an unintelligent Dullahan, he had long since grasped at least what his master intended to do.
After placing the bowls on the table, Damon grasped the girl’s chin and lifted it.
“Let’s see just how pretty that face of yours is. Hm?”
Damon’s eyes flew wide as if they would split apart. The girl who had invaded his dwelling had the features of a woman he could never forget. Damon’s body froze in place as if struck by lightning.
“Th-this can’t be……”
She was truly identical. The woman who had been the only one to show interest in him. The woman who had made Damon feel love for the first time in his life. The face of the woman he had not forgotten even once while sharpening the blade of revenge for five hundred years was right there. Looking utterly stunned, Damon stammered in a murmur.
“Da-Daphne……”
Astonishingly, Yuliana’s face was identical to Daphne’s in every way. From her long eyelashes and sharp, elegant nose to her plump lips, she resembled Daphne as if they were twins. So much so that, for an instant, Damon had mistaken her for Daphne. No matter how he looked, they were the same.
A full five hundred years had passed, but Damon still kept Daphne’s image deep in his heart, and the woman before his eyes had the very appearance from his memories. It was truly something astonishing.
Drip, drip.
Before he knew it, tears were flowing from Damon’s eyes. Seeing a woman who resembled Daphne, the memories he had shared with her surged up like a spring.