CH 23 Priest of Corruption Irmel.
Irmel.
Irmel.
I ground down another enemy, but there were no screams. The enemies were clearly men who had received quite systematic training.
'Kill!'
According to Mother, each one is worth at least two fingers.
I leaned my waist back slightly. A sharp blade grazed my chest.
An attack like this, without divinity, I could just take it and blow the enemy's head off, but as long as Carmen doesn't know my true identity, it would be a foolish choice to reveal too much of my body's peculiarities.
I take a step forward and counterattack by slashing upwards. It's a similar fight to the one against that incredibly skilled bandit leader last time, but there was one clear difference from then.
Wheeeeeeng!
Right now, I have the upper hand in terms of equipment.
The Butcher let out a rough scream and moved towards the enemy's neck. Having seen their comrade turned into mincemeat earlier for trying to block the Butcher head-on, they didn't dare to think about blocking or deflecting the Butcher.
The enemy took two steps back. In that case, it's over if I follow. Using my superior physical performance, I close in even faster than they retreat.
"Haap!"
The Butcher dug into his chest. The violently rotating saw blade ground through the iron plate covering the man's body and probed the soft flesh hidden inside. Blood and flesh splattered.
Another man approached stealthily, rushing in to take advantage of the gap while I was killing his comrade. There wasn't enough time to pull the Butcher out of this man's chest and swing it. But I had two swords.
Quickly moving my left hand, I drew the Froststeel Sword and swung it. Swordsmanship using my left hand was not very familiar, so the trajectory of the Froststeel Sword was very clumsy. But it was enough for me.
Clang!
Unable to overcome the force of the collision with my sword, the man's sword flew into the air.
Wheeeeeeng!
And the Butcher once again tore the man in half. Now there are five left.
Clang!
The sound of swords clashing was heard. Turning my head to check on Carmen, I saw a corpse that had been shot in the head with an arrow, and beyond that, Carmen was fighting fiercely between two men, sword drawn.
Just as I was about to go help, Carmen, who had noticed me, shouted loudly.
"Two of the enemies ran towards the carriage! It seems they know the situation is unfavorable and are trying to escape! I can handle this, so you need to stop the carriage from escaping right now!"
At Carmen's shout, the Irmel family carriage quickly began to pick up speed. I looked back and forth between Carmen, who was fiercely exchanging sword blows, and the carriage.
If I ran over there and got on the carriage, I was worried that I would be too far away from Carmen who was in combat. There was a way to do it now while the carriage wasn't fast enough yet. The person inside might get a little hurt, but it's better than putting my comrade Carmen in danger.
I switched the hands holding the Butcher and the Froststeel Sword. And raising my right hand, I threw the Froststeel Sword as it was. The Froststeel Sword, spinning violently, shattered the rear wheel of the carriage. The carriage, losing its balance, tilted and spun around on the snowy field before colliding with the trees and stopping.
Thud!
No, to be precise, after stopping, the carriage couldn't bear the weight and fell sideways.
"Oh, um."
It was my first time breaking a carriage wheel by throwing a sword, so I didn't expect it to turn out like this. Is the person inside okay?
I thought they would definitely be okay and quickly ran across the snowy field towards the carriage. One man, thrown clear, had a broken neck from hitting a tree stump headfirst.
There's still one left...
'Kill!'
Breaking through the carriage wall, a blade popped out, aiming for my heart. A skillful surprise attack that took advantage of an opening. I held out my left hand and blocked the sword. The sword pierced through my left hand and stopped an inch in front of my chest. My blood splattered onto the snowy field.
If I had chosen a melee profession like a warrior or knight, wouldn't I have been able to block that surprise attack more stylishly?
Thinking such thoughts, I casually swung the Butcher in my right hand. The stationary saw blade, not even turned on, crushed the head of the man who had ambushed me. I roughly kicked the corpse with its crushed head.
That settles things on this side, but I wonder if Carmen is okay.
As if laughing at my worries, Carmen happened to cut off the head of the last man blocking his path. Just goes to show, archers need strong arms.
Now that I knew Carmen's side was also finished, checking on the condition of the person who was tied up inside this overturned carriage was the priority. I'd feel bad if they were badly hurt when the carriage flipped.
"Ugh..."
Prying open the locked door with my hand strength and looking inside, there was a woman tied up and wriggling, and a strange smell hit my nose. Clear silver hair reaching down to her neck and shining golden eyes. Judging from that appearance of gold and silver harmony, she was definitely of the Irmel bloodline.
I put on the kindest smile I could and said.
"I'm going to untie you now, and I hope you won't resist unnecessarily. I'm on your side."
The woman, rolling her eyes while tied up, slowly nodded. I went inside the overturned carriage and first removed the gag that was stuffed in her mouth. As soon as the gag was removed, the woman shouted loudly.
"You have to pick me up and get me out of this carriage right now! There's still knockout gas in here..."
I slung her over my shoulder and got out of the carriage. My body doesn't react well to such drugs anyway, but it was much easier to just do as she wanted rather than give unnecessary explanations.
"Please stay still for a moment."
Taking out a multi-purpose dagger from my pocket, I cut the ropes binding the woman's arms and legs. But the woman couldn't easily get up from her spot. Once she'd calmed down a bit, she looked at me with her golden eyes and said, real confident:
"I still can't move my body, and right now I really feel like I'm going to throw up? Unless you want a front-row seat to me puking my guts out, how about you take me over there and pat my back a little?"
"You got it."
It made sense, so I nodded and lifted her by the waist, moved her to the side of the road, and then patted her back.
"Uweeek!"
I could hear her puking, but there was no reason to watch that train wreck. Carmen, who had approached us, whispered to me.
"Did you catch her name?"
"Uweeek!"
I shrugged my shoulders while patting her back.
"Like you can see, all I heard was her asking for help puking. And she can't move her arms or legs yet, probably 'cause she's drugged."
Carmen, checking the silver back of her head that was constantly retching, asked again.
"Were her eyes golden?"
"Yes. I think she's definitely the Irmel family's young lady."
"Okay, okay, you can stop now! Any more and I'm gonna hurl again!"
"Ah, yes. But can you stand up by yourself?"
"Hang on a sec."
She stumbled around a few times, but finally managed to stand up, even though her legs were still wobbly. When Carmen saw her stand up, he whispered to me, sounding impressed:
"Wow, she's stacked."
"Yeah..."
'Kill!'
I could practically hear Mother yelling at me not to say weird stuff, so I winked at Carmen. It'd be way easier if he, being a noble, took the lead on this, instead of me.
Carmen stepped forward, all smiles, and said:
"I'm Carmen Baltas, son of Lord Ensis Baltas. And you, Miss Irmel, might we ask your name?"
Still patting her wobbly legs, she glanced at us and said, all dignified:
"Pleasure. I'm Dakia Irmel, eldest daughter of Duke Calto Irmel – the Smiling Duke."
Duke Calto Irmel, the Smiling Duke, was the head of the Irmel family himself. This young lady was the eldest daughter of that head. While I was surprised that she was a bigger deal than I thought, Carmen whispered to me, his face stiff:
"If she's really Dakia Irmel, the Smiling Duke's daughter, then she's a mage."
Anyway, a noble and a mage? That's a recipe for disaster when it comes to being polite.
Not caring if Carmen and I were nervous, Dakia Irmel stared right at me and asked:
"What's your name, savior? I can tell you're a priest, though."
I bowed my head lightly and said politely:
"I'm Priest Marnak. I serve the Goddess of Maintenance, protector of daily life."
"Marnak, huh... Not a bad name."
She held out her white hand to me.
"I'm still a little wobbly, so could you give me a hand?"
'Kill!!!'
Ignoring Mother's screaming in my head, I winked at Carmen. I didn't want to get deeply involved with a mage and get stressed. Plus, it's more proper for him, a noble, to do it.
Carmen, nodding his head, took a step forward and began to speak.
"I'll help you, Princess Dakia."
Dakia gave Carmen a pouty look and said, real quiet:
"I'm trying to be considerate of your sweetie back in the capital, but are you sure about this? What if rumors start flying that the 'Black Dog' of the Baltas family and I were getting cozy, all thanks to some nosy witnesses?"
Carmen and I just stared at each other, jaws on the floor. What she just said was way too classy for a mage.
Carmen laughed awkwardly and said to me.
"Marnak, it seems like you'll have to do the honors."
I took Dakia's hand, feeling kinda awkward.
'Kill!'
My chest pocket was going crazy, but I ignored it and said to her:
"Hang tight here with Carmen for a sec. I gotta go deal with the bodies."
***
I buried the ten bodies in a hastily dug grave and knelt to pray.
"Mother. I offer these lives to you."
'Kill!!!'
Mother jumped out of my pocket, turned into a girl, and flipped me the double bird. She was cool with just flipping me off instead of throwing a tantrum like I asked, but it still felt weird having two middle fingers shoved in my face.
"Mother, put those fingers away and get back in my pocket, pronto."
Mother stomped over and poked my cheek with her middle-finger hand.
'Kill!'
"Yes, Mother, as you say, saving a captive young lady could be seen as unnecessary meddling."
'Kill!'
"You are also definitely right in saying that I should stop doing things that have no benefit and live more selfishly."
I hugged Mother, who was still holding up her middle fingers, and patted her back.
"But I can create benefits myself. So please don't worry too much that I might only suffer losses. You trust me as much as I trust you, don't you, Mother?"
'Kil...l...'
Mother, who buried her head in my chest with words that meant she understood for now, turned into light and then into a hand. I carefully put the hand in my pocket and prayed again.
"Please take these lives. Mother."
The divinity of corruption that seeped out from the grave I made permeated my body.
[Divinity: 1241]
The harvest of divinity is also finished, so now it's time to go back.
***
Golden eyes flickering like flames gazed at the flickering fire. Dakia pushed the wreckage of the carriage into the bonfire, grilled the meat of the dead horse, and slowly opened her mouth.
"There's no clear physical evidence about the culprit who committed this, but I have a strong suspicion. No, it's obvious. This kidnapping was definitely done by my older brother, Daken Irmel, who sees me as a thorn in his side.”
