Chapter 206

Episode 206. Traitors (7)

Thus began the bait operation.

While Luka was sending false reports to the masked monsters, Yurina and I arrived at the location to lure them in and waited for their arrival.

“…Niya.”

“Huh? What did you say?”

“I-I didn’t buy it! That underwear earlier!”

Yurina shouted with a bright red face.

“Uh… calm down. I didn’t even see it anyway.”

I awkwardly smiled and patted Yurina’s shoulder, who looked like she was about to burst into tears at any moment.

It was true that I hadn’t seen the “risqué underwear” she had bought.

Before Ren could even take the underwear out of the shopping bag, Yurina had snatched it away like lightning.

“Ah, the staff recommended it, saying I had to buy it…! T-that’s why I bought it! I was pressured into it!”

“Okay, okay.”

I comforted Yurina, who was sobbing pitifully, and looked around.

We were currently near an abandoned building on the outskirts of the slums.

Since no one lived around here, there was no need to worry even if the fight got intense.

“Phew.”

“Have you calmed down now?”

“Y-yeah. Sorry… I shouldn’t be like this before something important.”

Yurina slapped her own cheek hard enough to make a sound and then followed my lead to look around.

Yurina tapped the ground with her toes, carefully observing the surroundings.

To others, it might look like she was just idly glancing around, but it was an important task to assess the terrain and the firmness of the ground before a battle.

“This place is good. Not too open. But not too cramped either.”

It was a good location for a fight against multiple enemies, where we could fight with our backs to a wall.

“Dale. By the way, those Mien wearing masks… what’s their goal?”

“Who knows.”

Honestly, I had no idea what their goal was.

“Was there anything like this in your past life?”

“There might have been. But even if there was, I wouldn’t have known about it. Back then, I didn’t even know about suspicious Mien groups appearing in Valhalla City, let alone undercover investigations.”

In my past life, I had no connection with Chancellor Raonel or even Professor Elisha.

“Ah…”

Yurina let out a low sigh, perhaps finally recalling what kind of candidate I was in my past life.

“It’s hard to believe… that Dale was a bottom-ranked candidate.”

“I’m still at the bottom.”

“Ahaha. That’s right.”

Yurina chuckled lightly and continued.

“So Dale… you must have worked really hard to become as strong as you are now.”

“I didn’t do it alone. I told you before, didn’t I?”

Because of you.

Because of me.

“……”

Yurina looked at me silently for a while, then smiled faintly.

“It’s the same for me. I… because of Dale, I could become who I am now.”

Yurina touched the sword at her waist and spoke softly.

“Dale, can I fight alone this time?”

“Huh? Why all of a sudden?”

“I want to show you. How much stronger I’ve become because of you.”

“……”

It wasn’t a wise choice to let Yurina fight alone when we didn’t know the full strength of the masked group.

“Alright. Then this time, Yurina, you can fight alone.”

“R-really?”

“But. If it gets dangerous, I’ll step in right away.”

“Hehe. Don’t worry. I’ve gotten a lot stronger.”

Yurina clenched her fist with a determined expression, then spoke in a small voice.

“A-and… if I do well this time… will you praise me again?”

“Sure.”

I chuckled at Yurina’s hesitant question.

‘By the way… should I tell her?’

That the masked monsters might not be Mien, but Heroes.

“Hmm…”

I pondered for a while but eventually decided against it.

‘It might just interfere with the battle if I tell her now.’

To Heroes, “Mien” were more like monsters or beasts than fellow humans.

Enemies that could not, and should not, be compromised with.

So they wouldn’t hesitate to swing their swords at Mien.

‘But if they’re fellow Heroes, it’s a different story.’

A fight against monsters disguised as humans versus a fight against fellow humans.

For Yurina, who didn’t have much combat experience, it was obvious which one would be easier.

“What’s wrong?”

“Nothing.”

I avoided answering and turned my gaze back to Yurina.

Thud, thud.

Faint footsteps could be heard from afar.

The footsteps were so quiet that they were almost inaudible unless you focused, but they couldn’t fool Yurina and me.

“They’re coming.”

“…Three of them.”

Yurina, who had been hesitant just moments ago, now opened her eyes sharply.

Soon, a group of masked monsters appeared from beyond the alley.

They wore masks of a wolf, a fox, and a rabbit.

“Halt.”

The wolf mask at the front raised his hand.

Noticing Yurina and me, the wolf mask frowned and looked around.

“…Tch.”

With just a quick glance, he seemed to realize they had fallen into a trap.

The wolf mask clicked his tongue and turned around without hesitation.

“Retreat.”

“Where do you think you’re going?”

Whoosh!

A raging Burning Ash Fire engulfed the surroundings, blocking their retreat.

“……”

The wolf mask stopped in his tracks, staring at the Burning Ash Fire.

The wolf mask frowned and looked at me.

“…Who are you?”

“That’s what I want to ask you.”

Our gazes crossed in the air.

The wolf mask let out a deep sigh and spoke in a dry, desert-like voice.

“Dialogue… is unnecessary.”

He drew a massive greatsword from his back.

Following the wolf mask, the fox mask and the rabbit mask also drew their weapons.

“Good, you’re quick to the point.”

I took a step back and looked at Yurina.

Yurina drew her sword from her waist and aimed it at the masked monsters.

“Valhalla City is a city of Heroes.”

A fierce silver aura burned around her.

“It’s not a place for Mien like you to set foot… on!”

Boom!

A flash of silver light.

Yurina charged straight at the wolf mask and swung her sword.

Clang!

The wolf mask raised his greatsword to block Yurina’s strike.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

In an instant.

Dozens of sword strikes clashed, and auras collided.

The ground flipped, and debris from the abandoned building scattered like snowflakes.

“Ugh…!”

The wolf mask frowned and stepped back.

“Hah!”

As Yurina tried to swing her sword at the retreating wolf mask.

Crackle!

A blue lightning bolt struck at her.

“Ugh!”

She turned her head and saw the fox mask monster pointing a staff at her.

Yurina redirected her sword swing toward the pouring blue lightning.

Sun Sword.

Fifth Form: Black Spot.

A swirling silver aura.

The blue lightning shot by the fox mask was sucked into the swirling silver aura and disappeared.

‘One is a swordsman, and the other is a mage.’

Yurina narrowed her eyes and observed the wolf mask and the fox mask.

‘Then the last one is…’

When she turned her gaze toward the rabbit mask.

“Hyah!”

The rabbit mask let out a bizarre cry and threw a bundle of needles from its pocket.

Dozens of needles, their tips glistening with poison, shot toward Yurina.

‘The last one is an assassin.’

Clang! Clang! Clang!

Yurina lightly swung her sword and cut down all the needles.

‘But… something feels off.’

A strange sense of discomfort crept up her spine.

It felt like looking at a puzzle piece that didn’t fit, an unsettling nausea.

Whoosh!

Before she could figure out the source of the discomfort, the wolf mask’s sword swung toward her.

“Hah!”

Clang!

With a short shout, Yurina deflected the greatsword and sharply scanned her surroundings.

Three enemies.

A warrior, a mage, and an assassin.

‘Then the first one to target is…’

Tap!

Yurina kicked off the ground toward the rabbit mask and swung her sword.

“Ugh!”

The rabbit mask, who had been throwing hidden weapons from a distance, drew a dagger from its waist.

And then.

Whoosh!

Yurina suddenly changed direction and charged toward the fox mask.

“…Huh?”

The fox mask, who had been casting a spell with a staff, widened its eyes.

It tried to quickly create distance, but Yurina’s sword pierced the fox mask’s abdomen before it could.

Thud!

“Ugh, gah…!”

The fox mask coughed up blood and collapsed.

“Ah, ah. It hurts…”

Blood poured from the pierced stomach as the fox mask let out pained groans.

Yurina coldly looked down at the fox mask.

“So even Mien feel pain, huh?”

Beings who had turned their backs on humanity and embraced the power of the Devil God.

There was no reason to sympathize or show mercy.

They were enemies threatening humanity, not fellow humans.

“Save… me.”

“Hmph. You mercilessly killed people in the slums, and now you’re begging for your life?”

Yurina looked down at the fox mask with contempt.

She hadn’t had many direct conversations with Mien before, but they were exactly as she had learned throughout her life.

Whether it was the Grand Archbishop of Madness or the Grand Archbishop of Desire.

They were all evil beings who took human lives without hesitation… no, ‘devils.’

Enemies that must be eradicated for the sake of humanity’s future.

That’s what Mien were…

Thud.

The fox mask fell to the ground.

The mask came off, revealing the face of a woman bleeding.

Yurina’s face stiffened as she met the woman’s blue eyes, tears streaming down her distorted face.

“…Huh?”

One of the characteristics of Mien.

The blood-red eyes were nowhere to be seen.

“…Wait.”

The source of the discomfort she felt earlier.

A puzzle piece that didn’t fit.

‘Why didn’t they use any magic power?’

That’s right.

If they were Mien, they should have used the mutated magic power, ‘Magi,’ due to the Devil God’s Holy Mark.

But they hadn’t used any Magi throughout the entire battle.

“They’re not… Mien?”

Yurina’s face turned pale.

That’s right. They weren’t Mien.

The masked monsters were not Mien but Heroes like her.

Not Mien, but Heroes.

Like her, no different from her.

‘Human.’

“N-no… that can’t be… they said they were Mien…?”

Yurina muttered with a trembling voice, stepping back.

The moment she realized the fox mask wasn’t a Mien, her mind went blank.

Her hand holding the sword trembled.

The intestines spilling from the pierced abdomen.

The torn wound. The fading breath.

The blood on the sword. Blood. Blood.

“…Ah.”

Yurina Helios.

This was the moment she experienced her first kill.