Chapter 8 | The Six Arms

 

1

4 Late Fire Moon (September) 9:51 PM

In the kingdom, people generally went to bed with the setting sun. Reasonably setting up most sources of light cost money, but as a result, the inhabitants of villages with many poor households ended up having rather healthy lifestyles.

In urban areas, however, elements not present in the countryside came into play. The fancy pleasure quarters cast the difference in especially sharp relief, as many types of establishments and residents suddenly became active after nightfall, as if they were nocturnal beasts.

But Climb’s destination was not such an area. Rather than a neighborhood shining brightly at night, it seemed more like an underworld enveloped in darkness.

Climb walked down the quiet alley in silence, carrying no light. He advanced along the dark backstreet without any illumination because his helmet carried the same effects as the Helm of Night Vision. Although it worked for up to only about fifteen yards ahead, his view through the thin visor was clear as midday.

Additionally, his mythril full plate armor didn’t make much noise, unlike steel plate. Add the magic it was enchanted with, and it didn’t make even the slightest clink. It would require extremely sharp ears or skills as a talented thief to hear him, even from nearby.

That’s why he was in the preliminary reconnaissance team.

As he exited the alley, his destination came into view.

A high barrier surrounded the area, walling it off. It reminded him of a jail or fortress. It was enough to make one wonder what kind of illegal activities were taking place inside. Even the illumination spells fixed to each side of the gate couldn’t erase that image.

Climb couldn’t see the target building from where he was, but according to their intelligence, it was on the other side of the wall.

“That’s it all right. No doubt about it,” Climb murmured as he crouched down, and a voice answered from the empty space right next to him.

“Yeah. From the location and the vibes, it does seem to be the spot. Still, I’ll go do some preliminary recon,” said the former orichalcum-rank thief adventurer.

Brain responded, “Be careful. Don’t forget that even if you’re invisible, some warriors can see through that.”

“Of course. Our enemy is the Eight Fingers. We need to proceed cautiously, assuming that their side has thieves as capable as me or casters. Okay, you two, pray I don’t mess this up.”

With that, the nearby presence faded away. Climb and Brain couldn’t hear the ex-adventurer even if they tried, but someone who possessed the same level of skill as he did might have been able to pick up the dry click of footsteps heading toward the building.

Only Climb and Brain remained.

They’d left the other squad members behind because they weren’t geared for stealth. Full plate armor was noisy and would have announced their position to the enemy. But they couldn’t very well strip off their armor heedlessly just to approach the enemy when they were fully anticipating combat.

That’s how the duty fell upon these two.

Of course, they were both warriors, unable to mimic thieves. But because of Climb’s enchanted armor and Brain’s martial arts, they could operate in the dark, which just barely qualified them to come along. From here on out, it was certainly a job for a professional.

The reason they had run the risk of coming so close to the compound was to judge whether to attack or escape if the thief’s infiltration failed and the enemy strengthened their defenses. Simply keeping watch from their position was enough to fulfill their roles.

Still, as time passed while they waited, they grew more and more uneasy precisely because the pair hadn’t gone in themselves—their imaginations conjured up all the worst-case scenarios.

“I wonder if he’s okay.” The words were out of Climb’s mouth before he realized.

Brain responded softly. “I don’t know, but all we can do is believe in him, right? Trust in the power of a former orichalcum adventurer?”

“I suppose. He is a veteran.”

After waiting some time, Brain suddenly reached for the katana on his hip. Climb responded by putting his hand on his own sword when a panicked masculine voice sounded from nearby.

“Wait, wait! It’s me. I’m back.” It was their companion who’d left on reconnaissance.

“Yeah, I figured, since you got this close without doing anything… So you wanted to check if I could really detect you with my martial arts?”

“Yeah, my bad. You got me. I’m sorry—it was stupid to try to test Brain Unglaus himself.”

“No worries. I might have done the same thing if I were you. More importantly, can you tell us what you found out?”

The air next to Climb shifted, like someone had sat down. It was a strange feeling to know someone was there but not see them.

“First, I think this facility might be used for training. There’s a large yard over the wall that feels like a proving ground. I took only a cursory look at the building, but it has all these private compartments. It must belong to the Eight Fingers’ security division. There was an area I couldn’t get near because it was so well guarded. We’ve got a really bad situation, Climb.”

Then the man became extremely tense.

“I learned two major things inside. One is that there are cells, and a woman is being held there. The other is that there are people who match the descriptions of the Six Arms.”

Setting aside the woman, the Six Arms members being present was not unexpected. So what’s the problem? But Climb’s question was answered immediately when Brain asked, “How many were there? Sounds like more than one.”

“Five. When you take into account that the Illusion Maniac has been captured, they’re all here.”

In short, no amount of strategy would help them overcome this. They’d gotten the worst pick of the lot; however…

“That’s…horrible, but it’s also kind of great. If every member of the Six Arms is here, the other locations should fall pretty easily.”

That was the clearest silver lining.

“So what should we do?”

“There’s nothing we can do. It’s impossible for us to take this place down. We’ll withdraw.”

“Is that okay with you, Climb?”

“It’s not good, but we have no choice. If the Six Arms are all here, it means either that this is their base or that there’s something important to them here. It would be a shame to withdraw without figuring that out, but I don’t think we should attempt anything beyond our abilities.”

“You’re right…”

“Then should I go back in to see if I can at least find some documentation or something to take back with us?”

“No, it’s too dangerous. It’s smarter to withdraw now, while they still haven’t realized we’re here. What do you think?”

“Yeah, I agree. Then what should we do now? Help capture the other locations?”

“That would be the most useful thing to do. Could you first report to the men we left behind? We’ll stand by here to make sure no one comes after you.”

“We should be fine, but it never hurts to be cautious. I’m off, then—thanks, guys.”

The thief, whose invisibility still hadn’t worn off, marched past Climb and Brain with intentionally audible footsteps before heading toward the rest of the squad.

“…Seems quiet, Climb.”

“Yeah. Then should we withdraw to join the others and move to a new location?”

“I guess s— Huh? Climb! Look over there!”

When Climb turned in the direction Brain pointed, he saw the man they’d met yesterday approaching the building they were staking out.

“Is that Sir Sebas? What’s he doing here?”

“I can’t imagine it’s a coincidence… I wonder if something happened. He can’t be with them, right?”

“I want to say that’s impossible. You don’t really think that, either, do you?”

“No, it can’t be. Maybe if he were insanely good at acting, but I didn’t get that sense from him.”

“Why don’t we try talking—?”

Right as he was saying that, Sebas’s gaze turned right toward them. Climb and Brain were keeping watch on the building, so they were lurking in the dark a short distance away. It should have been difficult to detect them. There was the possibility that Sebas only happened to look their way, but Climb could declare with certainty that was not the case.

Sebas jogged over.

His speed was unnatural. He seemed to be accelerating as he closed the distance, as if he were teleporting forward with each blink of their eyes. He was just running normally, but his agility was so extraordinary that their brains failed to register it.

Then he dove into the alley. To state it more accurately, he entered the alley by leaping over the two of them, who were lying down in the opening.

“If it isn’t you two. What a coincidence to meet you in such a place. What’s going on?”

“Th-that’s our line… We were hiding out here to raid that Eight Fingers building.”

“Just the two of you?”

“No, there are more in the rear.”

Sebas gave a slight nod. “I see.”

Climb asked, “What are you doing here, Sir Sebas? Is there something you need to do in this building?”

“Yes. Actually, the woman I was telling you about yesterday, the one I saved, has been kidnapped. The perpetrators summoned me, so here I am.”

“Really?! We heard from our squad mate who scouted the place that there is a woman being held inside.”

“…And where is he?”

“Mm, he should be back any minute now… Oh, good timing!”

The former adventurer’s invisibility had worn off, and Brain could see him nearing. He suspiciously eyed the old man, who had suddenly appeared and carried himself with an incongruous elegance.

“This is Sir Sebas, the man who helped us capture the Illusion Maniac. The woman in one of the cells you mentioned is his companion. We just ran into each other here. He’s definitely trustworthy, so please rest assured.”

The thief indicated his understanding and proceeded to detail his observations, especially concerning the prisoner.

After hearing what he had to say, Sebas answered with deep gratitude. “Aha! Understood. Thank you. Now it will be easier to save her.”

“Don’t mention it, sir. Incidentally, we’re all ready to withdraw…” The thief looked at Sebas awkwardly, feeling guilty that they were retreating even though the man’s acquaintance was being held captive.

“Sir Sebas. Five of the Six Arms, the strongest members of the Eight Fingers, are inside. Can you defeat them?”

The thief frowned at Climb’s question. Climb understood why quite well. The Six Arms were powerful—on par with adamantite-rank adventurers. He was probably thinking there was no way Sebas could take five of them. But Sebas gave a quick nod.

“It shouldn’t be a problem if the five are like that Succuronte fellow.”

Blinking in shock, the thief pulled Climb and Brain a short distance away and eyed Sebas with pity as he asked, “Climb, is that man insane, by any chance?”

Anyone who heard what Sebas had just said would have reached the same conclusion—and that was only natural. After realizing how strong adamantite-rank adventurers were, it was no wonder. But Climb, who knew a thing or two about how strong Sebas was, was aware that it wasn’t just talk.

“No. That’s just how strong he is.”

The thief stared at Climb—as if the young warrior was crazy.

“Brain thinks the same thing.”

“What?! Brain Unglaus?!”

Brain smiled thinly and nodded. “Yeah, he’s so strong that even if Gazef and I both attacked him at the same time, we wouldn’t win.”

“Th-that’s… Well, if it’s true, that’s amazing…” The thief looked at Sebas with a complicated expression—unwilling to believe, but having heard all that, he had no choice.

“If Sir Sebas worked with us, then maybe… Do you mind telling him about the Six Arms?”

The thief agreed, and Sebas listened quietly with his gentlemanly air, appearing perturbed only once, at the mention of one of the Six Arms’ nicknames.

“Undead King, Davernoch…? That’s a ridiculous name for such a fool.”

The exchange of information ended with little event besides that one murmured remark.

Then Climb asked, “Sir Sebas, do you think you could help us?”

“Of course. I’m here to save Tsuare either way. I’ll fight the Six Arms.”

“Then while you attack from the front and draw their attention, we’ll sneak in from the back and rescue Tsuare—though we could never stand in for you.”

“Hmm. Yes, it would be great if you could bring her out while the enemy is distracted, as it would avoid the dangers of a hostage situation or her being taken away via an alternate escape route.”

“Understood. We’ll be sure to get Tsuare out safely. So who should go? I realize it’d be foolish to take everyone as we originally planned, but…”

“Mmm, since we’re going to be sneaking about the place, ideally it should be the people who make as little noise as possible when moving. They also need to be able to fight, since we have to beat a straight path out of there once we rescue the hostage. That means…” The thief looked at Climb and Brain. “If we had unlimited access to Invisibility, I might have a different idea, but as it is…the three of us will probably be best.”

“Me, too?”

“The armor of the other warriors with us is too loud; they can’t skulk around.”

“Got it. Then the three of us will infiltrate.”

“If our casters could use spells silently, then maybe there’d be another way, but…I think we can probably get three people’s worth of Invisibility.”

“Invisibility?” Climb spoke up in an anxious voice. “My helmet has a power I can activate once a day that can detect the invisible, just like a spell, so I’ll be fine, but what about you guys? It would be a huge problem if we lost one another.”

“I’m fine. I have a magic item imbued with a detection spell. I can only use it once, but that should be good enough,” said Brain.

“I can’t do anything like that, but it’d be hard for me to miss your footsteps.”

“Then I think we’ve come to an understanding regarding the infiltration party. So, Sir Sebas, we’ll go in first. Please leave a little time before attacking.”

“Thank you very much.”

Climb and Brain got flustered as gray-haired Sebas bowed. There was no reason such a powerful man should bow to them. Just as they had during the raid on the brothel, they felt like they were practically taking advantage of him.

“No, please don’t mention it. We came here to raid this place, but somehow, you’re the one who’s going to be taking on the Six Arms. We’re the ones who should be grateful to you!”

“Then the feeling is mutual.”

They couldn’t detect any rancor in Sebas’s bright smile. Relieved, Climb stood up. “Then let’s pull back for a minute to get that spell cast on us.”

2

4 Late Fire Moon (September) 10:15 PM

After waiting a little while, although he had still left a few minutes earlier than the designated time, Sebas stood before the gate.

He could see through the bars, but there were trees that kept him from getting a good view.

“Hey, right on time, eh?” a gravelly voice commented, and a man appeared from between the trees.

Of course, Sebas had known all along that the man was there. He’d activated an ability that could detect all signs of life in the area. Because it wouldn’t always pick up someone using a concealment skill, it was dangerous to rely on it completely, but it was useful to an extent.

“This way. Follow me.”

The man opened the gate, and Sebas followed him down a garden path.

The Eight Fingers’ garden wasn’t as overgrown as one might expect of an underworld organization. On the contrary, the trees were neatly pruned; they must have been employing a rather skilled gardener.

As they walked down the path, a large area that appeared to be a training ground appeared before them.

Several fires blazed in beacon baskets, and the bright-red flames illuminated the surrounding area.

A group of thirty people, men and a few women, had been waiting for him. They smirked—vulgar smiles that showed they were drunk on violence and that the idea of losing had not once crossed their minds.

Sebas took in the open space. There was not a single person he could count as a proper adversary, but he did spot the Six Arms who Climb had spoken of.

One wore a robe with a hood. It was dyed black, but the hems were embroidered with crimson thread to suggest flames. The figure’s face was obscured beneath the hood, but its presence was not overflowing with life—it was the exact opposite. The “Undead” moniker was clearly not a figure of speech. His alias came from his status as a literal undead.

The sole female member of the Six Arms looked nimble dressed in her light silk. She wore gold bangles on her wrists and ankles, so they jangled whenever she moved. From the belt around her waist hung six scimitars.

The next man was elegant and attractive. He wore a traje de luces, and his weapon was a rapier. The blade appeared to be jutting out of a rose—it smelled like roses, too.

The last man had girded himself with rugged full plate armor and had a sword squarely in its sheath.

In total, four. The enemy leader, Zero, was nowhere to be found. Is he waiting somewhere to make his entrance?

Those four stepped forward while the others moved to surround Sebas.

“We heard you’re pretty strong, old man. Heard you could send us flying with one punch!”

“Our position in the Eight Fingers is based on our strength, so it’s a bit of an issue if we lose! That idiot should have known that. Coccodor’s division may be down on its luck, but it was still a big mistake to lose in front of him.”

“So we have a question for you. Succuronte insists Brain Unglaus beat him, but is he really just refusing to acknowledge the fact that he lost to you?”

“Hmm. Well, I didn’t fight him directly,” Sebas replied. “I met him at the mansion once, and the only other time I saw him he was on the floor.”

“I see. Then I guess he was defeated, and there’s nothing we can do about it. With the Brain Unglaus as his opponent, I guess he had no chance.”

“If he got stronger since that fight and is still on par with Gazef Stronoff? Yeah, defeat would be unavoidable.”

“Still, that doesn’t mean you’re forgiven. We’ll take care of Unglaus and Princess Goldilocks later after killing you first, old man. You’re the one who started all this.”

“We’re going to break and murder you. If we don’t, we’ll be in a tight spot.”

“Look over there.”

Sebas pointed to the third floor of the building to indicate he understood.

“A bunch of different VIPs are gathered there. They came to watch us present you a painful death.”

“Is Zero or whatever his name is up there, too?” he asked.

“Well, yeah.”

One of them smirked at him as if he was an imbecile. Sebas thrust a finger at the man. Then he lowered his hand, ignoring their suspicious looks that seemed to ask, What is he gonna do?

“What was that about? Tryin’ to start a fight?”

“Never mind. And where is the woman?”

“‘The woman’? Who do you mean?” Another condescending smirk.

Sebas answered calmly. “Tsuare, the woman you kidnapped from my house.”

“What if I said she was dead?”

“Are you people that kind?”

“Ha-ha-ha! Good one. No, we’re not. She’s a present for Coccodor. We’re holding on to her for him.”

“I see… I see.”

Sebas noticed one of the four glance toward a part of the building. What bothered him was that it wasn’t where he’d heard Tsuare was being held. Then I will simply have to make sure…

“Since you’re all assembled, please come at me at once. It will be a pain if Zero gets away, and it would be a waste of time to fight you one at a time.”

“Well, he sure can talk.”

“Feeling smug just because you took out some small fries without any problems? Have you ever met someone with real power?”

“Well said. I’d like to say the same right back to you, but… May I ask a question? Why do you assume I’m weaker than Brain?”

“Don’t be ridiculous. Once you get to our level, you can tell about how strong someone is the moment you meet them. And I can tell that you, old man, are far beneath us.”

The others, minus Davernoch, nodded.

“I see…”

Sebas could judge how strong someone was by the size of their chi. Of course, if they concealed it with a spell or skill, it became harder to discern accurately, but that’s how it was with anything.

“So! We’ll give you a chance. We only fight one at a time. So—”

“—I’m strong.” Sebas curled an inviting finger at them. “We’ve been over this. Don’t bore me with your claims to fight ‘one at a time.’ All of you, come at me! Will you last even ten seconds?”

“Don’t underestimate us, human.” Davernoch’s shoulders trembled.

“Underestimate you? You’re the ones underestimating me! My name is Sebas. The one who granted me that name is the strongest warrior. The master I serve is the greatest elite ruler… But there’s no point in explaining that to you simpletons. Now, I’m sick of dealing with you. It’s time to end this.”

Sebas charged. His target was the one with the name that offended him more than anything.

Undead King, Davernoch.

He was a naturally occurring elder lich. Undead born from a mass of deaths generally detested life and had a tendency to do everything in their power to rob the living of it; however, some intelligent specimens suppressed their hatred to forge ties with the beings who still drew breath. Davernoch was one of those.

His purpose in his false life was to further master the power called magic and acquire techniques beyond those he’d been able to use since birth.

But as an enemy of the living, it wasn’t as if he could learn techniques from anyone. If he had an undead mentor, that would have been a different story. (In reality, there was a secret society made up of undead casters.) Unfortunately, he was not blessed with the chance to meet one.

So he came up with a plan to accumulate a large sum of money and use that to convince someone to teach him magic.

In the beginning, he killed travelers on the highway and stole their cash, but after being routed by an adventurer who’d come to subdue him, Davernoch became keenly aware of how foolish his method was and struggled to find a new way to earn money. In the end, he concealed his identity and joined a mercenary gang.

But when they learned he could rapidly cast Fireball without rest, they discovered he was an undead, and he was compelled to flee again.

Right when he was left with no avenues to take, Zero reached out to him.

Zero offered to introduce Davernoch to someone who would teach him magic and provide proper conversation to said tutor if Davernoch would put his newfound abilities to use for Zero. The deal came at the perfect time.

Since he wasn’t restricted by a life span as an undead, if Davernoch continued mastering various types of magic, there was a distinct possibility that he would end up capable of destroying all life. Perhaps Zero had backed a being who might in the future be able to threaten the human race.

But—

—as Sebas approached in a gale of wind, his right hand curled tight and punched Davernoch. With no time to even move, much less block or evade, the lich’s head came right off.

Davernoch’s false life was obliterated, and he was destroyed without ever learning what he did to make Sebas so angry.

Sebas looked down on him and spat out somewhat uncharacteristically, “There is only one person who deserves that title, the one seated on high. How impudent of an inferior undead like you to try and claim it.”

He shook the bone fragments off his hand, and as he did, Davernoch’s body completely disappeared. The various magic items he’d had on him littered the ground.

The surrounding Eight Fingers members were frozen in shock, and the fact that the Six Arms could move at all clearly indicated they were a cut above the rest; that wasn’t something one could do without having overcome a number of life-or-death battles.

It was praiseworthy. It proved that they truly deserved the adamantite adventurer rank.

Next, Sebas faced the woman.

Dancing Scimitars, Edström.

There was an enchantment called Dance. It made weapons move on their own, as if in a dance, just like the name implied. Since the weapons would attack automatically, this spell was perfect for artificially increasing one’s allies in a fight.

However, since the weapons could perform only simple movements, the spell wasn’t fit to be used as a primary attack method.

Ambushes and keeping enemies in check were about all it was good for. In the fierce battles that took place at Edström’s level, Dance could do little more than annoy opponents. Since there was a limit on how many enchantments one piece of gear could hold, it was only natural to judge that something other than Dance could be more useful. For example, Gagaran of the Blue Roses used a weapon that specialized in enchantments that increased the damage she dealt.

But no enchantment suited Edström better than Dance.

The movements of the dancing weapons were actually based on mental commands from the owner, but in the heat of battle, unless one had a clear advantage, it was difficult to communicate appropriate instructions to a distant, slashing weapon. As a consequence, the movements of Dance became predictable.

But Edström was different.

She could manipulate her swords so naturally, it was as if an invisible warrior with all the same abilities as her had been summoned. This was possible thanks to the abnormal structure of her mind. She’d been born with two powers different from talents.

One was an extremely—extraordinarily—developed spatial sense.

Additionally…there existed some who could do two completely different things with each hand at the same time with no training. Edström possessed an even more advanced version of that, boasting an extremely flexible mind—that was her second power.

She has two brains. It wouldn’t have been strange for someone to claim that, given her abilities.

If she had only one of those powers, it would probably have been impossible for her to wield the dancing swords so freely. But to have both at once could be called a miracle.

Surely, in the kingdom of nine million people, there was no one besides her who had two powers so well matched.

The scimitars drew themselves according to her wishes and floated into the air. All she had to do was concentrate on defense. Her other five swords would do the attacking for her.

She had set her sword zone. Anyone who entered this prison would lose their life without fail.

But—

Sebas flew in close and struck with the edge of his hand at an impossible speed, faster than the scimitars could even begin to attack.

In that instant, Edström’s head rolled. Enveloped in chi, the edge of Sebas’s hand was far sharper than any lackluster sword.

Her body fell to the ground after a slight delay, blood spouting from the neck, but the five scimitars remained in the air.

Sebas had attacked so quickly, and the edge of his hand was so keen, that she hadn’t noticed her own decapitation. She may not have even felt any pain.

The five swords raced through the air toward Sebas, as she’d ordered them to.

But Sebas, standing perfectly straight, ignored them and looked down at the head and kindly voiced genuine praise. “To attack even after losing your head… I respect your drive to fight.”

Edström’s lips opened and closed. What are you talking about? What do you mean?

But she must have sensed something. Her eyes darted around, and she discovered her headless body. The change in her expression was dramatic. She blinked several times and opened her tearful eyes wide.

I can’t believe it. It’s a lie. It has to be an illusion. There’s no way I lost. He didn’t do anything to me. My body won’t move because of some kind of spell; that must be it. Somebody say something!

Then, as she acknowledged the truth, her face darkened in despair.

She worked her lips again, and the swords clattered to the ground as if they’d been tossed away. There was no longer any sign she would move again.

“Double-team him! Let’s do it together!” the man in the full plate armor shrieked. His sturdy armor couldn’t shield him from his fear.

He had fully realized—not with his brain but with his heart—that everything Sebas had said earlier was true, that they never should have made an enemy of him, that they were facing someone who shouldn’t exist in this world.

“T-t-t-take my S-spatial Slash!”

He knew he would die, and no matter what happened, he couldn’t overcome Sebas.

The reason he didn’t run was that he understood instinctively that he would be killed within a few steps. Advancing means death, fleeing means death, so if that’s how it’s gonna be… That sentiment proved that he was, at least, a warrior.

Sebas’s eyes narrowed—it was the first time during the current battle where he was facing someone with an ability that warranted caution.

It was the ace move of the world champion who created Sebas, Touch Me, an attack that ripped through space itself. He was certain that this one wouldn’t compare to his creator’s technique, but even an imitation would probably wound him.

Spatial Slash, Peshurian.

The armored man’s title came from his magic art, which could cut an opponent up to almost three yards away when he whipped his sword out of its three-foot sheath. In reality, he wasn’t actually tearing through space.

The trick was in his sword.

It was a weapon known as an urumi, a long sword made of flexible steel that bent easily and twisted about. The one Peshurian carried was a version of that with the end ground extremely thin—essentially a sword built for cutting. It might be more accurate to call it a fine metal whip.

He’d been given his alias because when he drew that sword and swung it at high speed, he could cut down his opponent with no visible signal but a flash of reflected light.

Compared to the other Six Arms, his move was practically a mere trick, but his mastery of such a difficult weapon indicated his skill as a warrior. If someone handed the same weapon to Gazef, lauded as the strongest fighter in the kingdom, he probably wouldn’t have been able to wield it as well.

And even if Peshurian’s opponent saw through the trick, it didn’t matter—he was still extremely capable.

The terrible thing about his whip was the speed of its tip—it was on another level. Dodging it was difficult—in fact, it was virtually impossible based only on visual cues.

An ultra-quick slash, impossible for humans to handle. Wouldn’t such an attack practically be the same as ripping through space?

But—

The tip of his blade, despite its transcendent speed, had been caught between two fingers. The old man had done it so casually, as naturally as if he was plucking something up off the floor.

Sebas took a curious look at the metal between his fingers and raised an eyebrow. “What is this thing? You can’t cut space…”

“Hyaa!” With a roar like an avian monster, a rapier came thrusting at him.

Thousand Kills, Marmvist.

His main weapon, Rose Thorn, had two horrifying enchantments. One was Flesh Grinding. This was the terrifying power to twist up the surrounding flesh the moment it thrust into a body and burrow farther in. It destroyed the nearby area and left a horrible scar. The rapier’s other enchantment was Assassination Master. This was a magical power that would open up wounds so that even a scratch became a deep gash.

Those two abilities alone were heinous enough, but an additional feature made it especially fiendish—not magic but toxicity.

The tip of Rose Thorn was daubed with a lethal cocktail of many different poisons. Marmvist was not originally a warrior but more of an assassin, which was why he was equipped in such a way. When the goal was to kill an enemy with your weapon, something that would finish them off quickly would be most efficient. That approach led to this combination of abilities that created a sword able to kill with a scratch.

It didn’t matter if it was Gazef Stronoff or Brain Unglaus—if they didn’t have a specific plan to counter Marmvist’s brutality, they would fall.

But he had a weakness.

Since he counted on dispatching his opponents with even the tiniest of wounds, his fencing ability was slightly subpar. Still, his thrusts were the real deal. When Marmvist lunged, it was like a flash of light, and he could declare that he could surpass Gazef in that, at least.

In other words, he had the best stabbing attacks in the kingdom.

And by adding a number of martial arts, he could even approach the league of the former Black Scripture member Clementine.

But—

Sebas didn’t dodge. He didn’t need to.

“…!”

Marmvist, who had thrust his arm out with all his might, was speechless.

The tip of Rose Thorn, the heinous weapon that could kill with a scratch—was touching Sebas’s finger.

Yes, Sebas had stopped the point of the rapier with the pad of his index finger.

“Wh…what?!” Marmvist gasped, having finally realized it was neither a dream nor an illusion as he blinked an extraordinary amount of times. That was all he could manage.

Common sense said it was impossible. His experience screamed that there was no way a steel-piercing strike could be stopped with a fingertip. But the reality was clear before him.

Marmvist’s full strength was not enough to push through the gently raised digit of an old man.

Rose Thorn had been bent.

He tried to withdraw to attack a different spot, but before he could, Sebas pinched the blade between his thumb and index finger. That small shift was enough to hold it fast.

Before him was an unyielding mountain. When he looked, his comrade was also frantically trying to retrieve his sword.

In the midst of the struggle, a steely voice rang out. “Well, here I go.”

The next moment, Peshurian’s head burst.

It was a rare act for Sebas. Up until now all his strikes had been specific techniques, but this time it would be more correct to say he simply lashed out angrily, without thinking.

He looked at his right hand, which had easily thrust through the exploded head.

His white glove was splotched and reeked of iron.

“This is a failing on my part…”

Sebas let the rapier go, then removed the glove and cast it away. The moment it hit the cobblestones, Marmvist snagged it on the tip of his sword and snatched it up.

Marmvist might have believed he was as fast as a star shooting across the night sky, but to Sebas, he was slow enough to make him yawn. There were any number of methods to take the glove back—like snapping the rapier and charging in to punch the man’s head off—but his opponent’s intent was so unclear, he decided to pass on that and ask the genuine question puzzling him. “What…are you even trying to do?”

“This is it!!! This must be the magic item that was boosting your power!!!”

It was just a cloth glove.

Marmvist’s voice thundered. There was froth at the corners of his mouth. And his eyes were bloodshot. His mind was probably already half-lost to the world of insanity. He’d seen something so unbelievable that he wanted to rationalize it any way he could.

“You could just accept that I’m strong… I’d be fine with that.”

Sebas momentarily regarded the man, whose smile seemed to split his face, then threw a punch.

After Marmvist’s head had been removed from his shoulders and his body crumpled to the ground, all that was left was silence.

Sebas blew on the pads of his fingers as if they’d gotten a little dusty. Thanks to the defense of Iron Skin, he didn’t have so much as a scratch.

“So if I hadn’t been cautious when I heard the name Spatial Slash, this would have been over in five seconds. They did an admirable job stretching it out to twenty.”

A number of observers higher up in the building had no doubt been watching these gruesome events unfold, and he gave an order to the predator who had been targeting them.

“Solution, they might be in possession of critical intelligence, so don’t kill them. Now, then…”

He turned a cold eye on the stupefied mob surrounding him.

“Ten more seconds.”

3

4 Late Fire Moon (September) 10:13 PM

Climb jogged down the empty hallway. His helmet’s power let him see the two others running beside him, even though they were all invisible. It made him worry whether the spells were really working. If he looked closer, though, he could tell there was no mistake, because the colors appeared dull.

They had to be careful not to be too loud, but they couldn’t slow down, either.

They had to rescue the kidnapped woman while Sebas was buying them time. Even if he was stronger than Gazef Stronoff and Brain Unglaus put together, these were the Six Arms, no less formidable than adamantite-rank adventurers. If they all rushed him, things could get dicey, so Climb and the others had to get the woman out and save Sebas, too.

They turned a few corners, descended a flight of stairs—and then the man on point suddenly halted.

Climb stumbled a couple of steps, and the voice of the thief apologized to him. “Sorry for stopping so suddenly. Climb, this is it. Around this corner are the cells, and the woman is being held in the back.”

It was definitely a coincidence, but as if on cue, their spells wore off, and the color of the trio returned to normal.

On the thief’s signal, Climb peeked around the corner down the dimly lit hallway and saw that there were several large cells.

“…It was like this before, too—no one around.”

There weren’t even any guards, never mind prisoners. It was imprudent—and too suspicious. It was practically like they’d been invited. But really, who was fearless enough to infiltrate a building garrisoned by every member of the Six Arms, the strongest Eight Fingers? Not even Climb and his team would have gone in if various other factors—Sebas acting as bait, the captive woman—hadn’t fallen into place.

The Six Arms were probably thinking the same thing.

The resultant wiggle room worked in Climb and his team’s favor; overconfidence really could become an Achilles’ heel.

“Okay, let’s get in there and save this lady, yeah?” Perhaps because they had leaped into danger together, the thief spoke in a more relaxed tone.

Brain responded with a question. “Before that, can I ask you something? What’s the double door at the end of the hall?”

When Climb looked to the far wall, he saw the large door Brain was talking about.

“Well, speaking from experience, I’d say that these aren’t jail cells but cages for beasts. I would bet the door in the back is for taking the animals to…some kind of arena.”

“I see… There’s a musk coming from the cells. I heard that they make magical beasts fight in arenas in the empire, too, but…”

Climb sniffed the air in the same manner as Brain to pick up the scent. It smelled like a beast, a carnivorous one.

“Taking them out for training is different from publicly executing them, though. I don’t really want to imagine any other uses besides those…but there might have been other kinds of shows? Anyhow, sorry for the weird tangent. Should we move on?”

Climb answered Brain with a nod, and the thief agreed.

The thief took point, and Climb and Brain followed behind him on either side.

They reached the last cell with no issues, and the thief began examining the door at the end of the hall. Climb took a bell out of his pouch. Then he rang it.

A spell activated, and the lock on the cell opened. The thief looked disappointed, but they were short on time. Climb hoped he would tolerate this much.

“Are you Tsuare?” Climb called out to the woman in the cell. She’d been lying on her side, but now she sat up. Her looks matched Sebas’s description, and she was wearing a maid uniform. Assuming she was still wearing the clothes she was kidnapped in, it had to be her.

A faint relief appeared in Climb’s heart. They’d completed their first objective. Next was to escort her to safety.

“Sebas asked us to save you. Come this way,” Climb said, and the woman—Tsuare—nodded.

When she came out of the cell, she looked at Brain and the thief with a tiny bit of surprise. Her eyes seemed to stay on Brain for an especially long time.

“There’s no noise coming from behind this door—the one that probably leads to an arena. Still, it’s dangerous to go into a place without knowing anything about it. We should follow the plan and head back the way we came.”

Climb and Brain agreed. Or to be more precise, they were both soldiers, and they knew that experts exist for a reason, so they replied without a moment’s hesitation.

Climb looked down at Tsuare’s feet to make sure she was wearing shoes. Running should be no problem, then.

“Let’s escape quickly before the enemy shows up.”

“Okay, got it. I’ll take point like before, so follow me. The only thing is that this time we don’t have invisibility magic. I’m going to proceed with caution, so watch for my signals.”

“Understoo— What is it, Brain?” Climb asked, because Brain was closely examining Tsuare.

“Hmm? Oh, uh, nothing, Climb.” Frowning, he said no more.

Climb glanced at her, but he couldn’t find anything about her that bothered him; she just seemed like an imprisoned maid.

“So you’re okay? Should we go?”

The thief set off running, followed by Climb, Brain, and Tsuare at the rear.

They raced past the cells, but the thief slowed as they approached the corner. He wanted to check it out first.

But with a gait as natural as if he was on a stroll, a man abruptly appeared from around the corner to impede him. They’d been prepared for someone to block off their escape route, but when it actually happened, it was hard to act quickly.

Climb was so startled that he froze, but the thief reacted in a way worthy of a former orichalcum-rank adventurer. He immediately drew a dagger and stepped forward with the intent to kill.

But—with a loud ker-blam, the thief went flying to the side like he’d been bodychecked by a bull. By coincidence, Climb caught him. If Climb hadn’t been able to fall correctly, he probably would have hit the floor at a bad angle and wound up critically injured from that alone, but luckily they both rolled into a tangle with no loss of momentum.

He was worried by the thief’s groan of suppressed pain, but he paid more attention to the newcomer. Climb knew for sure this man was an enemy.

The one in their way was essentially bald. His arms, bulging with muscles, and his craggy face were covered in tattoos depicting various beasts.

His name appeared with a flash in Climb’s mind, and he yelped, “Zero!”

He was one of the Six Arms and chief of the Eight Fingers’ security division.

“…That’s right, boy. You’re that whore’s slave, right? Hmph! Can’t believe we have ants all the way over here. When you leave sweets out, they really show up anywhere. How very unpleasant.”

After casting just a glance at Climb and the thief on the floor, he turned a serious eye on Brain, right across from him. He looked him up and down, appraising his worth as a warrior.

Climb was thankful he wasn’t worthy of the powerful enemy’s attention and checked the thief’s condition. “Are you okay? Do you have any medical supplies?” he asked in a low voice to avoid drawing Zero’s attention.

There was no reply, just a miserable groan. Shockingly, there was a fist-size dent in the thief’s armor. That spoke volumes about the strength of Zero’s punch.

After Climb shook him a few times, the thief became more lucid. Climb followed his instructions and searched the pouches at the injured man’s hips.

“I know that face. You’re Brain Unglaus, right? You fought as equals with Gazef Stronoff. I see, you don’t make any wasteful movements. So you must have kept training since that fight, then? I’m convinced. Succuronte didn’t lose because he was careless. It was simply the outcome of fighting you head-on. Well, it’s too bad he had to go up against you. I guess we’ll have to forgive him for his loss. Anyhow, since you’ve sullied my good name, I really should kill you. But I’m a generous guy. In light of your exceptional ability with the blade, I’ll give you a chance. Kneel before me. And then swear to work for me. If you’ll do that, I’ll spare you.”

“The pay must be good, huh?”

“Oh? You’re interested…?”

“You’re not going to punish me for hearing you out, are you? I did beat Succuronte, after all, so I should expect to be treated pretty well, right?”

“Ha-ha-ha! You greedy bastard, putting money before begging for your life. You can’t take your salary with you to the next world, you know!”

“Hey, whoa, what the heck? Are you saying the Eight Fingers can’t make a decent offer? Does that mean you guys are broke? Or are you the type who pockets everything yourself?”

“What?!” Zero’s fist creaked. “So you can talk, huh, Unglaus? There are a lot of guys who can talk better than they can handle a sword—are you one of those? Or did you get cocky ’cause you beat Succuronte? If that’s the case, I owe you an apology. Sorry you were satisfied after beating the weakest member of the Six Arms.”

Brain clownishly shrugged. He must have been dragging out the conversation for the sake of Climb and the injured thief.

But why was Zero going along with it? Probably to boast that he could take all three of them at once. Or did he have some other reason?

…Huh?

When Climb looked over, he saw Tsuare slowly moving behind Brain. If she wanted to find a safe spot, it would have been better to join Climb and the thief. There was no need for her to take the risk of standing behind the man who was having a stare down with Zero.

Brain glanced over his shoulder. It was too quick for Climb to be sure, but Brain had been looking at Tsuare, and the gleam in his eyes was definitely not friendly. In fact, it was hostile.

Huh? Why is she there? Did he look at me? No.

What’s going on? Worried, Climb stood up.

“Hmph. The ant stands! Guess you’ve bought enough time, huh? Pretty soon I’d like to hear your answer. No, words won’t be necessary. Kneel or don’t. Okay, Unglaus, let’s see what you do!”

Brain snorted—and that was all.

“Then you’ll die!”

Zero thrust out his left hand and drew back his right into a fist. He dropped his hips straight down, but his core didn’t break. His muscles swelled so large that they were almost audibly straining against his skin. To describe Zero as he was now in a few words, it was like he was a huge rock—no, more like an enraged bull.

Brain lowered his hips as well. His stance seemed to resemble Zero’s but was totally different.

If Zero was a muddy stream, Brain was a clear river. If Zero was offense, Brain was defense.

“I gave orders to not kill the old man, but the welcome crew is a hot-blooded bunch. They might overdo it and finish him off accidentally. But that would be a problem. I want to mercilessly slaughter him as an example, to teach how foolish it is to cross the Eight Fingers.”

His face twisted into a hideous grimace. It showed how ugly hate could make a person.

“Unglaus, I’m going to be hailed as the strongest, and it’ll be because of you. I’ll set up a gravestone for you to show what happens to fools who challenge the Six Arms! As for the whore’s underling, I’ll decorate his head real nice and ship it to her.”

A murderous aura that would make anyone shudder slammed into Climb’s chest. But it was nothing compared to what he had experienced during his time with Sebas. He shot Zero a sharp look in return, and it seemed to take a bit of the wind out of the man’s sails.

“I see, got it. Zero, I’ll be your opponent. Climb, take care of the one behind me!”

It took him a second to understand what he’d been told, but that was only Climb; the thief shot a dart at Tsuare without hesitation.

The missile from the former orichalcum-rank adventurer came in sharp and fast.

Tsuare—somehow—managed to dodge it. According to what Climb had heard from Sebas, she was only a maid. She’d handled herself too well for it to be a fluke.

“You figured it out, huh?” She still resembled Tsuare, but the voice belonged to the Illusion Maniac, Succuronte.

“The reason you didn’t ask your rescuers anything was because your voice would have given you away, right? But it was pretty suspicious to maneuver around behind me, don’t you think? Well, I was wondering even before that. You could have been the real one under mind control, or someone else could have been transformed.” Brain exposed the ruse without even turning, keeping his eyes locked with Zero’s. “Eventually, I guessed from the way you were running, but I couldn’t be sure… I’m glad it was you. I couldn’t exactly ask them to make sure you only sustain light injuries.”

The thief froze for a split second. Then a glimpse of gratitude to Succuronte appeared on his face, too.

“So they saw through your little scheme with no trouble? Then the time for relying on magic tricks is over. Now we decide everything by strength! Succuronte. Kill the two small fries in the rear. You can do that much, can’t you?”

“O-of course, boss.”

Tsuare melted away, and Succuronte appeared. He was, however, still wearing the maid uniform.

“Yeah. I went out of my way to arrange for you to be released, so if you can’t…” How was Zero’s sentence supposed to finish? The man who must have known quite well speedily nodded and stared Climb down.

“We meet again, brat.” Succuronte’s serious tone belied an unexpected nervousness for the one who had been victorious in their previous encounter.

The Eight Fingers was not an easygoing organization, so there was no way they would forgive two mistakes. Forced into a do-or-die situation, any semblance of calm had vanished from Succuronte’s face.

“The Eight Fingers can bail out someone who was imprisoned in the princess’s name?” Despite this vivid example of his enemy’s influence, Climb raised his sword nonetheless. “…I can’t lose this time.”

In the previous fight, Brain had taken out Succuronte with a single blow, but against both Zero and Succuronte, victory was much less certain. Climb couldn’t count on Brain winning against Zero and defending him. This opponent was stronger than them. But with that unstable frame of mind, he would get clobbered.

I’ll win. With indomitable resolution, Climb edged toward Succuronte.

“Don’t worry, you’re fine. I’ll help,” Climb heard the thief call from behind him. The casual tone was probably meant to ease Climb’s nerves. He was glad to have the support of someone stronger than him, but the thief had taken a hit from Zero, and although he’d used a potion, he undeniably had yet to fully recover. Besides that, Climb wasn’t sure if he would be able to coordinate with someone he was fighting with for the first time.

The thief’s grin was evidence that he’d picked up on Climb’s emotional distress. “I’m tellin’ ya, don’t worry! I’m here for backup. A thief’s fighting style is different from a warrior’s. I’ll show you that combat’s not all about banging swords together.”

“Thank you.”

He has more experience than me. It wouldn’t be Climb following him but him following Climb. All Climb had to do was throw everything he had at Succuronte.

Having steeled himself, he glared at Succuronte, who was busy creating doubles like he had in their previous fight. Among the multiple Succurontes, it was impossible to tell which one was real. A bitter taste seeped into Climb’s mouth.

As the distance between them closed, a bag suddenly came flying from behind Climb.

“This is how a thief fights!”

The bag burst readily when it landed at Succuronte’s feet, creating a cloud of powder. Fearing poison, Succuronte covered his mouth. But that wasn’t it. The cloud wasn’t poison but a magic item.

“Will-o’-the-Wisp Powder!”

The effect was immediate. A pale light glowed around just one of the five Succurontes.

When he realized this, Succuronte’s eyes popped wide open.

Will-o’-the-Wisp Powder was for detecting invisible opponents or thieves and the like who excelled at stealth maneuvers. It didn’t work on anything that wasn’t alive.

Multiple Vision would reflect the current state of the original body, so, for example, even if the illusionist got dye thrown on them, the copies would instantly reflect the stains on the original. Unless he was completely inept, it would be difficult to tell the real one from the fakes. In the case of a magic item, however, changes to the original body weren’t applied to the illusions.

With higher-tier techniques, it was possible to circumvent magic items, but Succuronte had trained as both an illusionist and a fencer, so he couldn’t use such advanced techniques.

Climb’s sword descended over the real one.

“Shit!” Succuronte jumped out of the way.

It was an admirable evasion, but he looked a little silly in the maid uniform.

They exchanged dozens of blows in a similar fashion.

Climb was ahead. This wasn’t part of Succuronte’s plan but purely Climb’s superior ability.

A human shouldn’t have been able to get dramatically stronger in a single day, so the gap shouldn’t have been any different from their previous fight, but every rule has its exceptions.

First, unlike the other day, Climb was now equipped with a sword and shield, plus armor and other small items fortified with magic. They raised his physical strength, increased his defense, and most importantly, allowed him to fight in his true style. Succuronte, on the other hand, had been imprisoned, so he’d been stripped of all his original magic items, and the maid uniform he wore for his illusion disguise had poor freedom of movement.

So from the gear perspective, the gulf between them had shrunk, but that wasn’t all.

Climb’s familiarity with Succuronte’s fighting style was another disadvantage to the illusionist. Plus, the thief supporting Climb from the rear was assisting in pertinent ways.

Succuronte created illusions, but the thief used alchemical and magical items to neutralize any edge it might have given him. The former adventurer seemed totally prepared to deal with him. And in actuality, the thief had indeed guessed what the Six Arms’ powers were based on the intelligence he’d received and prepared counterstrategies for all of them. The scary thing was that he’d even readied a strategy for the supposedly imprisoned Succuronte—that’s how tenaciously cautious he was.

“Damn you!” Even more cornered than he’d been at the beginning of their fight, Succuronte screamed in a cracking voice.

His piercing eyes then focused on the thief. Climb moved to obstruct his line of sight. The young soldier couldn’t let his enemy attack his ally.

Under Climb’s protection, the former adventurer taunted Succuronte. “Hey, hey, don’t look so scared! You’re one of the Six Arms! You’re supposed to be on par with an adamantite-rank adventurer, right? So you should be fine with this little handicap.”

Succuronte’s face twisted in loathing. The blood running from the wounds he’d sustained during the brief back-and-forth made him look even more feral.

“You piece of shit!” As he flung the insult, he assumed a casting stance. Really, as a warrior, Climb should have charged at him to interfere, but he didn’t. The way he’d learned to work with the thief during the previous exchanges had created a bond of trust.

A bottle flew in a parabola over Climb to break at Succuronte’s feet, and a tinted cloud wafted out.

Succuronte was racked by painful-sounding coughs.

It was a cheap disturbance made by an alchemically created item, but it was enormously effective. Succuronte’s casting had been halted.

If he had specialized as a caster, this wouldn’t have been an issue, but since he’d been training in parallel as a warrior, even the slightest disruption would cause him to lose his concentration, and he’d end up expending his magical energy for nothing.

While Succuronte was distracted, Climb charged at him with all his might. This wasn’t like the pounces he’d been doing so far but an indomitable advance. To some, it may have looked like he was jumping the gun, too eager to win, but Climb’s warrior instinct was screaming.

This was the tipping point of this fight.

True, Climb and the thief were keeping the pressure on Succuronte, but it wasn’t clear how long their advantage would last. The thief didn’t have infinite projectiles. They had to launch an offensive that would finish things off while they were ahead.

Climb used the original martial art he’d acquired the previous day.

It didn’t have a name yet, but to give it a temporary one: Release Brain Power. Its effect was simply to remove the limiters of the human mind. It caused the functions of everything from his flesh to his senses to drastically improve.

Sustained use would wear him out physically and damage his muscles, so it was a double-edge sword, but if he didn’t use it and try to make this a short fight, he wouldn’t be able to beat Succuronte.

When he activated the art, it was like something snapped into place in his head.

The maelstrom of emotions in his heart poured out as a roar.

A look of surprise came over Succuronte’s face, as if he’d suddenly remembered something. And along with it—was that fear? It was an inappropriate emotion for a man worthy of an adamantite rank to have toward a lower-ranking opponent.

Climb brought his sword down from overhead—and was blocked. Stopping a magic longsword with an unenchanted dagger was impressive and deserved nothing but praise. But admitting that meant one also had to admit that Climb had forced Succuronte, a fencer skilled in evasion, to choose an option he was less comfortable with—blocking—and that was no mean feat.

But his attack didn’t stop there. Climb immediately kicked forward.

Succuronte moved instinctively to shield his abdomen—and his face twisted up. “Rrrrahhhhh!” He went pale, cold sweat oozed out of his pores, and he staggered, having lost the will to advance.

Behind Climb, the thief’s face twitched.

Succuronte had received a kick where it counted with a steel boot. He was wearing pads, but still, he felt something under them distend.

Then came the final blow.

With a spurt of blood, Succuronte fell to the floor with a thud.

Climb glanced around the area without lowering his guard. He especially wanted to avoid anyone circling around behind the thief, so he concentrated for a while until he felt confident. This was not an illusion.

A gold star. Even if it was two against one, this was a pretty big victory.

Climb looked at Brain. He’d thought maybe he could help him out—but his enthusiasm quickly vanished.

His fight with Zero was on another level.

For starters, it even sounded different. Despite it being sword against fist, the sounds ringing out were metallic. And they just didn’t stop. The endless clash of katana and fist made him wonder how they were finding time to breathe.

Zero especially caught his eye.

His punches were carving out pieces of the wall. With smooth movements like shaving off soft clay, he was leaving ruts in it.

“Whoa, whoa…I heard the fists of a first-rate monk were like iron, but his are harder than that. Mythril…no, orichalcum?” The thief standing next to him saw the same thing he did and grumbled in astonishment.

After a minute of fighting, during which Climb would have been easily killed, neither of them had so much as a scratch. It was for precisely that reason that Zero’s expression registered respect.

“Unglaus…you’re fairly impressive. You might be the first man to withstand this many of my attacks.”

Respect appeared on Brain’s face as well.

“You, too. You’re only the second monk I’ve ever seen who is this powerful.”

“Oh?” Zero’s face twisted up in curiosity. “That’s the first I’ve heard of a monk on my level. Tell me their name—I can’t ask after I kill you.”

“He should be on his way here right about now—after killing the other Six Arms you had stationed here.”

Zero furrowed his brow, then broke into a smile.

“Hah! You mean that old man? It’s too bad, but four of my closest comrades are out there welcoming him. They may not be as strong as me, but they’re still tough, unlike Succuronte there on the floor. I don’t think he could possibly be coming here.”

“I wonder. I can just picture him strolling around that corner.”

“Oh, I’m sooo scared. Guess I better take this a little more seriously.”

That remark made Climb’s eyes widen—because he realized what Zero’s “serious” must be if he still had energy to spare after that exchange. He was also surprised that Brain seemed to have expected this. Does that mean neither of them is going all out? This really is a fight at the pinnacle of human strength, definitely worthy of an adamantite rank!

“That’s probably a good idea. Those two already finished their fight. I don’t have to buy time anymore. Just lose here and end it, Zero!”

Brain lowered his hips as he sheathed his katana. Climb had seen this stance before—it was the same one he’d used to defeat Succuronte the previous day. Faster than Climb could wonder if he would also beat Zero in one hit, the leader of the Six Arms leaped backward. He gained considerable distance with a movement so light it surpassed the limits of human capability.

“Edström can create a sword zone, but so can you, huh? Of a different sort. If I carelessly charged at you, I’d be cut in half, right?” It wasn’t as if he’d seen through Brain’s original martial art, but still, he had excellent warrior senses if he had figured out what type of move it was. “But it seems like you can’t do that without standing by and bracing yourself…”

Zero unleashed a knuckle punch. It seemed like a pointless move, but the powerful blow created shock waves that shook Brain’s body.

“I can win just by attacking you from back here. Or do you have a way to cut an enemy at a distance?”

“No, I don’t,” Brain answered honestly. “If you’re going to fight like that, I just have to get out of this stance.”

With a deeply emotional expression that didn’t fit his character, placid like the surface of a lake, Zero quietly asked, “Brain Unglaus, is that your ace move?”

“That’s right. It is my ace move, and it’s only been broken once from the front.”

“That’s lame. It’s already been broken? So this’ll just be the second time.” Zero prepared himself, slowly pulling his fist back. “I’m going to break straight through. I’ll obliterate that move you’re so proud of and, on top of that, I’ll win. I’ll defeat Brain Unglaus, and at some point, I’ll get Gazef Stronoff on the floor at my feet. Then I’ll be the strongest in the kingdom.”

“You’re a bit too ambitious if you’re going to lose your footing on your first step. Must have a lot of time on your hands.”

“You really are all talk… Nah, you’ve made it this far, so you’re not all talk. Still, when you get to the next world, realize that I was above you and lament. Lament that you were stupid enough to challenge Zero. Here I come!”

Zero had tattoos of various beasts all over his upper body, and they began glowing faintly. In response, Brain did nothing. He just waited there like a statue, but Climb could sense him anticipating the moment that vast power would be unleashed— Now? Now?

No one could intervene in such a clash of cruel and violent power.

Then came an unreserved voice.

“So this is where you were.”

Everyone turned their attention to the newcomer, including Zero and Brain, who should have each been too busy facing their dangerous opponent to look away.

It was a single old man—Sebas. To Zero, this shouldn’t have been possible.

“Huh? What’s going on? The other Six Arms are supposed to be fighting you… Did you sneak in like these guys?”

Sebas shook his head slightly. “No, I defeated all your colleagues on my way here.”

“N-nonsense! Don’t lie. They may not be as strong as me, but they’re still members of the Six Arms. There’s no way you could fight them and show up here unscathed!”

“The truth can be surprising.”

“Sir Sebas! The Tsuare here was a fake! Succuronte just transformed into her using an illusion! We have to hurry and go save her!”

“Yes, thank you for your concern, but it’s all right, Climb. I already rescued her. She was being held at a different location in this facility.” Sebas looked over his shoulder. Following his line of sight, Climb could see a woman wrapped in a blanket standing beside the entrance to the room.

“Ah!” Flustered, Climb looked down at Succuronte. The maid uniform was all bloody and shredded. He couldn’t take that off and give it to her, and she probably wouldn’t have wanted it anyway.

“Never mind that, Climb. The maid uniform was only cloth. It’s not a big loss.” Sebas grinned awkwardly.

Climb was relieved to hear that.

“Hey, hey, hey! You sure are an easygoing bunch, standing around and ignoring me for your chat!” Zero couldn’t make any rash moves while he was in front of Brain, but he’d finally changed position, facing Sebas with a hateful look. “Old man! I’m gonna ask you one more time. What happened to my crew?”

“I killed them all.” His tone was so relaxed he might as well have been talking about snapping the stems of some wildflowers he’d come across, but his words were callousness incarnate.

“D-don’t be ridiculous! I’m not about to believe that!”

Sebas smiled in response to Zero’s shouting—an expression devoid of hostility, suggesting that he’d been telling the truth.

“…Brain Unglaus, I’m putting off our duel for now. I’m going to show this old man the power of the Six Arms!”

“Okay, got it. Try not to get killed instantly. I guess my work here is done.”

“Keep talking! …Old man, you’ll pay with your life for lying to me!”

A slight smirk appeared on Sebas’s face—a smirk that was unbearable for the man who’d bragged he’d be the strongest in the kingdom.

Zero’s tattoos emitted a faint glow.

Chief of the security division, leader of the Six Arms, Fighting Ogre, Zero.

He was a man who could kill Gazef Stronoff or Brain Unglaus instantly if they came at him unarmed, and even if they had weapons, the outcome would be uncertain.

One of the classes he’d acquired had a skill called Shamanic Adept. With it, he could allow animal spirits to possess his flesh and borrow their superior physical abilities. Its uses per day were limited, but if he activated it, his faculties could rival a beast’s despite his being human.

A creature with such physical prowess using the techniques of a human—it wasn’t hard to see what was so terrifying about that.

Zero activated his skills.

Usually, he activated only one to save some for later, but Zero had realized that Sebas was formidable.

Still, he wasn’t convinced the man had annihilated four Six Arms. If he hadn’t snuck in, if he broke in through the front, then it made sense to think someone else was out there.

The Blue Roses were a possibility.

For now, since I don’t have more detailed information, I’ll pulverize Sebas. Brain Unglaus I’ll have to leave for another day. I’ll show the spectators my overwhelming power as a threat and withdraw.

He saw that was his best option and began prepping his strongest move.

The panther on his leg, the falcon on his back, the rhinoceros on his arm, the buffalo on his chest, the lion on his head—he called upon them all.

An explosion of power filled his body, to the point where he briefly worried he might swell up and burst.

“Khaaaaaaaaa!” He exhaled the heat burning up in his body—and charged.

Zero, the strongest of the Six Arms, attacked with a single, straight punch. No feints, no gimmicks, just a pure direct strike, but the power it contained was unfathomable. Its destructive potential was boosted by not only Shamanic Adept but a variety of monk skills plus multiple magic items, and his fist flew at an overwhelming speed.

The attack was so fast even Zero had a hard time controlling it. He was somehow able to make a move out of it only because he’d specialized in charging head-on and punching with all his might. He didn’t hesitate to show the best card in his hand. This move was simple but unrivaled. He was absolutely confident that it couldn’t be beaten by cheap tricks.

Zero had the feeling he’d left everything behind. His senses slowed, and he felt like he was trailing behind himself as he took one step forward, then another.

“Ah!” someone screamed.

It was too late for that.

He arrived in front of Sebas in the blink of an eye and, with a perfect transfer of energy, unleashed his punch, jam-packed with power.

Zero smiled when he saw Sebas, who was standing stock-still, perhaps shocked by his speed. Yes, regret that you were foolish enough to fight me, the strongest of the Six Arms!

“—Buh!”

The fist pierced Sebas’s defenseless abdomen. A perfect deciding move.

His power erupted like an explosive blast, and Sebas was launched backward as if he were strangely lightweight, like a plushie with no stuffing. He was thrown against the floor and tumbled across it, unable to control his momentum.

He didn’t so much as twitch. Instant death.

But that was only natural. His internal organs had all burst into a sloppy liquid mess. The only part of him still shaped like something human was his exterior.

This was Zero’s strongest move—a magic art that made a one-hit kill reality.

—Or that was how it was supposed to go.

But Sebas didn’t budge an inch.

He’d stopped the full force of Zero’s punch with just his abdomen, using nothing but his muscles.

No one would have been able to believe their eyes. It was a scene from beyond the boundaries of common sense.

The gap in the pair’s physical powers was clear—but the outcome defied all expectations.

Of course, the most astonished one was Zero. He’d used his ultimate attack. It should have been impossible for any living thing to take it unfazed. And no one had, up until this point. Despite that, he was faced with the reality of the current situation, so even when something black streaked before his eyes, he couldn’t react.

Sebas’s leg stretched toward the heavens. Rising like a swallow in flight, it grazed Zero’s nose.

Once the foot had reached its apex, it came swiftly down.

An ax kick.

That was the name of the move. But its speed and power made it no ordinary strike.

“…What are you?” Zero muttered, and the edges of Sebas’s lips curled up slightly.

A horrifying sound rang out—something like the crunch of gravel or the snapping of a stick. Zero’s head was crushed, as if under hundreds of pounds of weight; his neck and spine gave way easily; and he collapsed to the floor.

The room fell silent.

The move could be simply described as awe. Dodging the blood flowing from part of Zero’s smashed head, Sebas brushed off the area where he’d been punched.

“Phew, that was a close one. If the warning had come any later, I’d have died.”

That’s a complete lie! There was no warning! No one said it, but all three of the men, and maybe even Tsuare, screamed it in their heads.

“You saved me, Climb.”

“Wh…uh…um, yeah…” Climb opened his mouth in an attempt to say, What? but timidly accepted Sebas’s gratitude. He was so shocked, he didn’t know what to say.

“It seems I was just a bit stronger than him.” Sebas made a tiny space between two fingers. He must have been indicating the gap between himself and Zero, but no one could possibly agree with that assessment.

“A bit”? No. Again, everyone present thought the same thing.

“Anyhow, we saved Tsuare, so we should probably withdraw.”

“Oh, but…the other Six Arms… Did you really…?”

“Yes, I killed them all. There were several, and they were all quite powerful, so I regret that I wasn’t able to hold back a little.”

“I—I see. Well, that can’t be helped, so please don’t feel bad.”

Three of them looked at Zero’s corpse on the floor. There was no way they could say Sebas was lying.

“F-for now, let’s call some soldiers and search the building.”

That was what they’d come here for in the first place. It was incredibly good luck that Sebas’s assistance had allowed them to make a clean sweep of the enemy stronghold. If what he said was true—though of course it was—they’d utterly destroyed the strongest force within the Eight Fingers, a great military achievement.

They’d probably gotten the best results of any squad. The death of Zero, who would have had detailed knowledge about the organization, was a downside, but there was no way they could have taken him alive, so the loss was merely theoretical. Only a fool would quibble about that.

With expressions that said there was nothing else left to do, Brain and the thief nodded at what Climb, in his slightly agitated state, had proposed. Only one of the group wore a dark expression.

“What is it, Sir Sebas?”

“Oh, sorry, something was just bothering me… But first, the air in here is rather bad. Shall we go outside?”

“Yeah, good idea.”

Glancing between Tsuare and Zero’s corpse, everyone agreed.

Sebas went to where Tsuare was, near the entrance to the room, and picked her up. Her bony white legs, nearly devoid of flesh, kicked into the air with the movement. Climb noticed her delicate hands tightly gripping Sebas’s jacket.

They were a butler and a maid. But the atmosphere made their relationship seem like more than that.

Ugh, I’m the worst for taking such an interest in their relationship. Who cares what it is?

“Okay, let’s go,” Climb declared and walked off ahead of the others without waiting for an answer.

The other three followed. They could investigate after parting with Sebas and Tsuare. Climb was bracing himself to fight for Sebas, who had his arms full, if they happened to be attacked on their way (not that there was much chance of that), but it turned out his worries were for nothing.

They had sensed others in the building when they were sneaking in, but it seemed like there was no longer anyone there.

If you think about it, by the time Sebas took out the Six Arms, no one would be tough enough to stick around and want to fight him. There’s a very good chance they all ran away. If so, I hope the squad members we left outside captured them, Climb thought, exiting the building.

The sense of freedom made his shoulders feel lighter.

Then someone tapped him. When he turned to look, it was the thief. He was focused on something in another direction completely. His wide-eyed profile looked the same as it had when Sebas had slaughtered Zero with one hit.

Climb followed his line of sight, and his eyes grew wide, too.

“A wall of fire?”

Climb nodded in response to Brain’s whisper.

If a building had been on fire, there would have been a pillar of flames. A fire like that wouldn’t have surprised Climb so much. But it wasn’t; this was a wall of flame over a hundred feet high surrounding a section of the capital. It was probably a quarter mile long or longer.

“What could that be?”

At the sound of Sebas’s puzzled but not particularly tense voice, the three others returned to themselves.

“What should we do, Climb? I think that’s the storehouse district. Who was assigned to it?”

“The leader of the Blue Roses, Lady Alvein… We’ll treat this as an emergency, scrap all current plans, and retreat to the castle as instructed. Then we’ll see what our superiors say.”

“That’s for the best… Oh, Sir Sebas…”

“I’m going to take Tsuare to a safe place so nothing like this can ever happen again.”

“Understood. Thank you, Sir Sebas, for today and last night.”

“Don’t mention it. I simply worked with you because our objectives happened to match. I owe you for the attempted rescue. Anyhow, if you’ll excuse me, I’ll be going.”