Chapter 23: The Beast Unleashed

“There are many of them. It would be nice if there was something worth eating.”

“M-Master. Are you thinking of offering them as a sacrifice?”

Lema tensed up, recalling what had happened at the slaver’s den.
The humans there were his enemies, and another transcendent power had taken revenge on his behalf.
But the sight itself had been so horrific that, as a human, he would never want to see it again.

“Yes. You won’t do it for me.”

“…”

So, this was because there had been a severe lack of sacrifices.
Having come this far, Lema had no way to stop it.
He couldn’t offer his body to prevent her from killing people here.
Not only because of the place, but also because there were many eyes watching.
Besides, he didn’t have enough loyalty to those bandits to beg her not to kill them.

“It’s okay to kill them, right? This isn’t a disturbance, is it?”

“…Yes.”

In the end, Lema reluctantly answered.
He couldn’t say he wasn’t half-sincere.

Shing.

As she said that, Bel drew the sword from her waist.

Swish. Swish. Swish.

As Bel swung the sword powerfully and loosened her muscles, the women who had been prostrating themselves hastily got up.
Because, from their perspective, Bel was saying and doing things that were completely incomprehensible.

“Wh-what are you talking about? You’re not thinking of taking them on, are you?”

“And with that, with that sword.”

What Bel held was a longsword, easy to wield lightly.
It might be fine for fighting beasts or even one-on-one human combat, but it wasn’t a weapon suitable for facing a large number of opponents in a surrounded situation like this.
In such a situation, it was better not to think of fighting back.
If they provoked the bandits, it was obvious they would be caught and killed.

Kibyr said,
“Are you out of your mind? There are many of them. We weren’t running away for no reason.”

“…”

Bel didn’t answer.

Kibyr, sweating coldly, spoke urgently,
“The situation is not good either. We’re surrounded, and if we resist in this terrain, we’ll just be slaughtered.”

As soon as those words were finished, the bandits’ vulgar voices were directed at them.
This time, whistles were also mixed in.

“You two next to that man! You two look the most delicious!”
“We’ll treat you very well.”
“Ahahaha! Good water, good water!”

A vein popped on Lema’s jaw.
“Don’t be ridiculous. Are you saying my master should tolerate such an insult?”

“…If we don’t tolerate it?”

Kibyr was still calm.
“My pride is not more important than the lady’s life or my own. We don’t have that much power right now. We can compensate enough with money…”

But Kibyr couldn’t finish her words.

Thud!

The woman who had just drawn her sword and was standing next to her shot forward like a cannonball and crashed into the place where the bandits were.
The roar that was just heard came from there.

“Wh-what in the world is that…”

She had only swung her sword and charged, yet the sound was like that of a rockfall.
Even though it was night, a dust cloud rose clearly.
The dust, illuminated by the torches, was dyed an eerie crimson.

As soon as those present recognized that color, screams erupted.

“Aack!”
“Ugh, uaaack!”

The voices that had been mocking them until just a moment ago were instantly filled with fear.
Because three or four people had been sent flying with that single collision.
Such screams would not have come from just being knocked back.

The man at the very front had his body split in half.
That alone was horrifying, but then the white, ghost-like woman who had suddenly rushed in was not just slashing at the corpse that had been instantly killed and lay on the ground like a wooden block.

“Wh-what kind of thing is that…!”

And they saw it clearly.
The purpose of slashing the corpse whose neck had just been cut was not simply to desecrate the body.

Screams filled with fear erupted from here and there as they saw her tear a piece of flesh from the corpse with her sword, bring it to her mouth, chew, and eat it.

“Uaaack!”
“D-don’t go near! It’s a monster!”

Along with those words, ranged weapons immediately flew.
Several crossbow bolts rushed toward where Bel was.

Gauging the exact position, Bel parried the arrows that poured down on her with her sword.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

She caught some of the arrows with her hand.
And then, spinning once with her weight behind it, she hurled them back toward the positions they had been shot from.

“Guhk!”

Those who had their necks pierced by the bolts made a short sound and died.

“Crazy! What!”
“A-an apostle?”
“You crazy bastard, how is that an apostle!”

Even those who had been safely sniping at Bel from a distance instantly lost their composure and flinched.
That small movement.
It was also the instant their positions were revealed.

Tak!

Bel kicked off the ground and ran toward the location where the arrows had flown from.
The moonlight illuminated the blade of the sword, creating a straight line along her charge.

Slice!

In an instant, the blade’s trajectory reached a neck.

Thud!

In an instant, the head rolled off.
And seeing her cut up the corpse on the spot again, those who considered it a weakness, or who couldn’t overcome the unknown fear, swallowed their breath and fired more arrows.

Clang!

This arrow was also blocked without trouble, but the sword finally broke from the repeated collisions.
As soon as the blade snapped, Bel tossed it aside.

“Y-yes! She has no weapon!”
“You monster bastard! Kill her right now!”

Unlike the cheering bandits, Lema sighed inwardly.

Damn it.

The reason Belmias used a sword was not because she was particularly skilled with it or preferred it.
She only used it because it was a clean way to take off her opponent’s head.
He had vaguely heard that she once enjoyed other weapons in the past, and if there was a weapon that could cut a person’s head more efficiently than a sword, then she would gladly use that.

In any case, the next method Bel chose after her sword broke was, as Lema had guessed, her bare hands.

The next scene was something hard to watch with open eyes.

“Aack! Aaaaack!”
“S-save me!”
“My life, please just…!”

The screams became even sharper.
Not like those of humans, but like beasts caught by a predator.
When she was holding a sword, those who thought she was beatable had now started to just run away or beg for their lives.

It wasn’t long before even the groans of the few survivors crawling on the ground fell silent.

After finishing everything, Belmias returned.
Her appearance was covered in blood from head to toe.
Her footsteps, reeking of the thick smell of iron, were not light.
It was not a satisfying hunt.

“Lema, my sword broke.”

“…It’s okay.”

Lema hastily brought a clean cloth and soaked it with water.
Then, carefully, he wiped Bel’s body.

“The blood of the lowly has stained you.”

“Yes. It didn’t taste good either.”

The knights, including Kibyr, had been silent all this time.
Their bodies were clearly free, but none of them stepped forward.
No—it would be more correct to say they couldn’t.
They couldn’t even vomit properly from the thick smell of blood that lingered in the air.

“The smell is also terrible.”

“Should I get rid of it?”

“…Yes.”

With that one word, the stench of blood that had filled the place completely disappeared.
After a mountain breeze swept through, only a quiet mountain remained, as if one had just woken from a dream.

While being attended to by Lema, Bel looked at the human who had been groaning earlier.
It was the knight commander, Kibyr, whose wrist Lema had ruined.

“You.”

“Hahk…!”

Kibyr swallowed hard at the voice clearly directed at her.

“Hand.”

“Y-yes?”

Kibyr held out her hand to Bel, trembling.

Bel fiddled with the wrist that had been dangling with only the tendons holding it together.
Kibyr was surprised.
She hadn’t realized the wrist that Lema had countered was this badly damaged.

“It smells, doesn’t it?”

“…”

When Bel let go of her hand, the throbbing pain stopped.
The surprised Kibyr clenched and opened her fist several times.
She didn’t know what kind of miracle had been performed, but her hand was fine.
Not only the pain, but also the bloodstains were completely gone.

After that, silence reigned.
And rightfully so—who would dare open their mouth in front of Bel?

The silence that seemed so heavy broke naturally at some point.

“Hnng. Mmm…”

The lady who had been unconscious until now, carried by the knights, had woken up.
The woman, who had been groaning as if trapped in a nightmare, woke with a sudden, large convulsion.
She seemed somewhat startled as she looked around.

“Hahk! Wh-who are you? Where am I… Ah… Huh?”

The woman had not seen the tragic scene with her own eyes.
Since not even a trace remained, she probably wouldn’t believe it even if explained.

The woman shot up and fiddled with her own body.
After patting down her head to her neck, and then her arms and legs once each, she wore an even more bewildered expression.

“How? How did this happen…”

She couldn’t understand how her body was fine after rolling down a cliff in a carriage like that.
Her confused eyes scanned the knights huddled in one place, Lema Valkite, and finally Belmias, who was leaning most comfortably of them all.