Kail, after moving the injured Duke to the infirmary, immediately gathered those around him to investigate the incident.
Hearing that unidentified Masters had attacked the Duke and kidnapped Yuri, Kail let out a hollow laugh.
‘More than three Masters, at the very least?’
From just that, it was impossible to know who could have done this. But when Kail heard there was a Master who used a bow, he roughly figured out who the culprit was.
Holy Weapons. A terrorist group made entirely of Masters had arrived here.
‘Why?’
That was his first question. Why would they come on his wedding day, of all times?
After pondering for a moment, Kail realized his premise was wrong.
The wedding itself had been hastily arranged. From setting the date to the actual ceremony, less than a week had passed.
In this world without planes or transcontinental railways, a week was an incredibly short time. Even if they had heard about Kail’s wedding, by the time they arrived, the ceremony would have long ended.
‘They didn’t come targeting the wedding.’
They came for some other reason. It just happened to coincide with the wedding.
Kail thought about what he’d done recently, then shook his head to clear away unnecessary thoughts. There was no need to think about that now.
What mattered now wasn’t any of that. What mattered was where the kidnappers who took Yuri had gone.
Kail immediately grabbed a soldier and asked,
“Where did they go?”
“Eh, eh? That is…”
“This is the North. No matter how skilled these Masters are, unless they’re sorcerers, they must’ve left traces.”
There were six of them, a large group carrying an unconscious Yuri.
There was no way such a suspicious group could move without being noticed. This was the North, and the North belonged to the Duke.
“Find them. Use any means necessary.”
Startled by Kail’s pressing tone, the soldier quickly ran inside. A short while later, thanks to reports from guards across various regions, they managed to pinpoint the location of the Holy Weapons.
Realizing their whereabouts, Kail, without even changing clothes, grabbed a single sword and left the duchy.
‘These bastards.’
He crossed the vast snowy fields of the North.
* * *
Not far from the duchy, in a ruin. The members of Holy Weapons stepped into the deserted village and began their meeting.
“Where did Ashura go?”
“He said he wanted to ‘teach the kidnapped woman a lesson.'”
“Tch. That guy’s obsessed with women.”
One of the members, Ashura, was absent. But the others, having nothing better to do, sat quietly to hear Aruki’s findings.
“—The boss wasn’t there.”
Aruki held up the scroll in his hand as he spoke. The other members tilted their heads, puzzled.
They had relied solely on that scroll to get here, and now realizing it wasn’t pointing to their leader left them unsure of what to do next.
But Aruki wasn’t about to give up. In fact, he never considered that Feyna might have given him the wrong item.
“So, that means the boss went missing because of that guy.”
“Kail Meyer?”
“Yeah. The signal cut off in the room where he was.”
Upon hearing Aruki’s words, Jerard grinned as bulging veins started to rise over his muscles.
“That Kail Meyer… is he strong?”
“Quite.”
“How strong?”
“Hephaestus almost got beaten. If it weren’t for me and Kaines, he might’ve died.”
“They fought three against one, and he was still capable of killing us…”
Jerard couldn’t hold back anymore and started shaking his leg. It was understandable why a battle-crazed person like him would react that way, but Aruki, irritated, shot a glare at Jerard.
Even after receiving that glare, Jerard kept shaking his leg for a while before abruptly standing up and heading somewhere.
“Where are you going?”
“To warm up. I can’t stay like this.”
“…Don’t go too far. If you leave alone, I won’t forgive you.”
“Alright. Don’t worry.”
As Jerard waved lightly and left, Aruki sighed while looking at the remaining members.
Despite bringing everyone along, two had wandered off somewhere claiming ‘free action,’ leaving only the three who usually stuck with Aruki.
Thinking that at least these guys stayed behind, Aruki cautiously raised his head.
“What do you guys think?”
“Hmm- Could there be a problem with the scroll?”
“…The boss wouldn’t give us something faulty.”
“Even if the boss didn’t intend it, it’s possible it broke over time—or due to your poor management. We should find a sorcerer to help.”
There’s no issue with the boss. The issue lies with you. Hearing that, Aruki nodded slightly, finding it somewhat acceptable.
He could tolerate insults directed at himself, though not at Feyna. The boss couldn’t make mistakes, but he could.
Acknowledging that the magic scroll might have broken due to his own error, Aruki realized they needed a sorcerer.
“So, we need a sorcerer to examine this scroll…”
“The woman Ashura brought—she’s a sorcerer. And a Master, too.”
“Oh, that’s good… but do you think she’ll help?”
“That’s true.”
Recalling Ashura’s personality, the members groaned. Persuading a sorcerer was easy; they had countless methods to sway people.
But persuading Ashura, who claimed the sorcerer as his property after kidnapping her, would be difficult. Methods used on sorcerers couldn’t exactly work on fellow organization members, right?
While brainstorming ways to persuade Ashura, a massive vibration echoed in the distance.
Kuuung…!
“…Did you hear that?”
“Yeah.”
“It came from the direction Jerard went.”
Jerard, heated up, might be wreaking havoc on his own.
But there was also the possibility that Jerard had run into a pursuit team and started fighting. Holy Weapons, mindful of unforeseen possibilities, headed toward the source of the vibration.
* * *
‘Is this it?’
Arriving at the reported site where Holy Weapons were spotted, Kail encountered a shirtless man punching the air amidst the snowfield.
A muscular man whose body was packed with muscles—if met in another life, he’d likely be called Royder.
The man punching the air glared slightly upon seeing Kail approaching.
“Eh? Who are you?”
“A fanatic of Iron?”
“Do you know me? How?”
Recognizing the man as a member of Holy Weapons, Kail drew his sword silently and swung it swiftly.
An Aura Blade bloomed in the blink of an eye, aiming for the man, who smirked and swung his fist.
The Aura-infused punch deflected Kail’s Aura Blade, and the man laughed arrogantly after deflecting the sword with his fist.
“Ha-! So you’re Kail Meyer!”
A genius Aura Master who became a Master in his teens. Meeting Kail, whom he’d only heard rumors about, seemed to delight the man so much that he couldn’t stop smiling as he stared at Kail.
Even though the man recognized him, Kail paid little attention and instead observed him. Holy Weapons. An outrageous terrorist group where every member was a Master.
Each member was a Master with skills surpassing Kail’s. Having faced other members, Kail knew this all too well.
“I don’t have time.”
Under normal circumstances, he would’ve taken his time exchanging blows, gradually releasing his strength and using the man as a stepping stone for growth.
It was rare to fight a hard-to-meet Aura Master at full power.
But not now. With Yuri kidnapped and possibly being harmed—there was no intention to waste time like that.
“What will you do if you don’t have time?”
Facing the smirking muscular man, Kail silently gripped his sword in a natural stance. Seeing Kail’s posture, Jerard focused all his attention, preparing for the imminent attack.
And in the next instant, the man fell forward, his limbs severed from his waist, arms, legs, and lower abdomen.
‘What…?’
Shocked by the contradiction of being cut without the sword swinging, the man rolled his eyes to check his limbs.
An Aura Blade had appeared from thin air, slicing off his limbs before slowly fading away.
Seeing this, the man let out a hollow laugh.
“Damn it…”
“Regret meeting you like this.”
Kail kicked the rolling man’s chin, smashing it, then looked toward the village interior.
“They’re there.”
He sensed Yuri’s presence.
* * *
Kwaang-!
Kail smashed through all the buildings blocking his path until he reached the building where Yuri’s magic power was felt.
Inside the pitch-black building, dim and dark—a man beating Yuri came into view.
At that moment, Kail felt a burning rage in his guts.
“—You.”
Kail gripped his sword, watching the man casually deflect wall fragments with his spear. An intense Aura began pouring out from the sword he held.
Pachi, Pajijik-! The Aura overflowed from the sword, as if a hole had been punched in the sea, spilling water endlessly.
Soon, the torrent of Aura awakened into a Superior Blade, aimed at the man. The spear-wielding man wiped a bead of cold sweat upon seeing the Superior Blade pointed at him.
“What the hell is th—”
“Die.”
Without a word, Kail swung his sword. A torrent of Aura followed the arc of his swing, filling its trajectory like a wave.
The man caught in the middle of the arc was swept away by the torrent of Aura, vanishing without a trace. Kail, leaving behind no fragment of the man, immediately checked on Yuri.
“Yuri-! Are you okay!?”
“…I’m fine. Not dead.”
“That’s not what I meant…!”
Kail immediately invoked Sacred Marks to heal Yuri’s wounds. Her swollen cheek, the blood flowing from her mouth, and most importantly, her pierced thigh.
It didn’t seem like she had suffered sexual harassment, but sometimes plain violence left deeper emotional scars than sexual violence.
Carefully embracing Yuri, Kail turned sharply upon noticing her startled gaze.
“H-Hahaha- Don’t lay a finger on my woman…!”
The man who had just been hit by Kail’s Superior Blade staggered forward. It was puzzling how he survived, but perhaps it was for the best.
“It did feel like it ended too easily.”
Kail smirked as he gripped his sword.
He didn’t summon an Aura Blade.
This way, he could beat him longer.
