"Honestly--, this is one of the weirder commissions we have taken, if I could say." Aether said in our private conversation.
I didn't really know what to say, as I never partook in any Mercenary commissions. "I can't say much, but... Even I don't know much about this." I added. "I was given this task form--..." How... do I describe it?... "Er--, from an Apostle." No one would believe me either way, so being direct was the easiest way to say so.
"No one ever mentioned seeing the Apostles--, the gods of the religion, yet here you are saying you were assigned this position by the literal gods." Aether leaned back on the wall behind the inn... "It seems so believable that you were assigned a mission by god, considering your powers."
A mission by gods...? Is that how they see the Apostles? I mean--, they are gods to normal people, but...
----- ----- -----
We set out around dawn and headed back towards the Holy Astera Kingdom. The two girls who came here as the Commissioners had the directions, though...
"Oww--, it's so tiring..." One of them complained behind the horse I was riding.
"It'll be more tiring if you actually ride." I told her, annoyed from her for the past few hours... I was considering ditching her and traveling by Dissipation instead...
Sigh--... and I thought there were worse things--... This and that...
"Huh--...?" We all suddenly stopped, with Aether holding the front.
"Tenshi, Helmsmen, follow me. The rest, protect the horses and our Commissioners." Aether said. Everyone dismounted and prepared themselves.
Both me and Helmsmen followed Aether as we headed back in the direction we rode from. "Is it about those who are following us? I asked... It seemed as though - somehow - my Dark Magic link has increased, and I feel more sensitive to those with Dark Magic. Even going through normally, I feel as though I can sense even those with a low amount of Dark Magic.
"You sensed it too? A group of Magicians, probably High Magicians chasing us?" Aether uttered in surprise. "How can you detect Magicians without Magic?" Aether asked.
"Lady Tenshi most likely detected a Dark Magician." Helmsmen explained to him. "... It is either an old foe, or someone new..."
... my new sensitivity--... I waited and silently tried to link myself to judge their power...
"Are we fighting the Imperial Hunters?" Helmsmen asked--, me being only one who could tell with my Dark Magic link.
... It--... "No, it's not, the Dark Magician is definitely weaker--, though I can't say much about their Magicians." It was good that I wasn't fighting Jack.
"Either way, we can't attack them without provocation." Aether told us--, err... Well, both me and Helmsmen were used to the idea that all contact was hostile, so--, "Helmsmen, follow me, we'll contact the group, and Tenshi--." Aether left with a pause... He took a breath, "In case of anything, be our silent assassin--, your shards seem very capable of doing such a thing."
"Got it." Nothing more--, killing is my specialty...
This was all I needed to know, my independence was something agreed upon by my insistence to Aether, so I took my position quickly through Dissipation and positioned myself behind the group within seconds.
It wasn't night though, so I carefully stalked my prey... Whilst making some observations, especially the black-robes the people wore... It reminded me of that Apostle--, what... was his name? Er--, anyways, I'll just ask the Apostle in the castle. Besides their black robes, I observed 13 people traveling by horse.
... ... ...
A few minutes passed of silently tailing the group before Helmsmen and Aether came into sight. The suspicious group dismounted from their horses.
"... go..." I kept my Fragments above the odd group and prepared to act at any moment...
... ... ...
I sneaked closer...
"Huh--...?" Someone unfamiliar uttered--... "It isn't just you two men?"
"No, we have a party we left behind, we just went off here to scout your group here, especially since you seemed to have been following our path." Aether said calmly.
"You haven't taken the Holy Kingdom's Commission, have you...?" Uh--...
"It is non of your business to know our work." Aether replied. Seeing how this was going, I felt more and more insecure--, this would eventually devolve into a fight. "You wouldn't happen to try to be stopping those who have taken their commissions?"
I took out my--, ah, my... I forgot my sword... I looked and saw Aether and Helmsmen start to draw weapons. "Is there something wrong of doing this commission?" Helmsmen asked.
"If you stop this commission now, we can avoid bloodshed." The opposing group prepared weapons and they prepared for combat... I was sure they were preparing their spells.
Helmsmen... I waited for a signal... Helmsmen made a silent signal, his sword slightly flared red with Fire--.
I waved my hand down, and--,
"Gya--!?" I counted 8 of the 13 wounded by my initial attack--, I was sure another wave of Fragments would end their lives so I left them to their own and let my Fragments do as they willed.
As for me--, I prepared to engage in close-quarters combat with a Fragment in hand as my temporary dagger... short-knife. Something ignited inside me--, and I wanted to test out something in me telling me to fight. I performed my instantaneous Dissipation and prepared for a stab. I could reasonably take out two people within a second before I would meet someone who could react, so I aimed for the Dark Magician - who was probably no Magician and more the leader of this group - and another person.
"Kuuk--?" I performed two quick stabs and grabbed a dagger that dangled on his side as I performed another Dissipation behind him. I was sure my two stabs with my Fragment would render him incapacitated. I quickly made a quick scan of my surroundings--, before deciding not to Dissipate to my next target.
I looked at the person in front of me--, she held a long sword and faced me. I could Dissipate behind her, or throw or launch a Fragment at her, but--... What fun is that...? My body reacted and moved on it's own, I faced the sword girl head on with a dagger.
" | Firebal--/ !" She casted a spell via chants--, a standard Magician... Poor girl, I pressed myself forward and threw my Fragment at her Fireball. Enough pity--, I redirected a blow from her sword away from me with the dagger I took and stabbed a Fragment into her chest. A scream, then nothing...
... My performance had the remaining 3 of them stuck in... Fear? Desperation? I glanced behind me to see Helmsmen and Aether quickly arriving to back me up. With this, I pointed my dagger at the three left and prepared for another strike--, a fight with speed, and fierceness.
"We--..." One of them spoke up... "Please spare us!" Another one of them said.
"Drop your weapons then." Helmsmen told the three. Aether separated off to try to tender off to the other... 10 I definitely didn't go all out on...
Err--, well... To be fair, I doubt a single or two Fragment would kill anyone who is a Standard Level Magician--, think... Err, I decided to go help Aether patch up my handiwork - not that I had anything to help patch them up.
After some... work, and blood, we finished patching the 10 black robed individuals I struck down. Most of them were--... Normally fine, but the small bit of black dust that were in the stab wounds from my Fragments really concerned me... "Were they really fine...?" I asked myself...
We all regrouped. Aether turned to the three remaining people left, "I'll fire a distress signal, everyone in your group should live and fully recover, though do not try to stop others doing their jobs." Aether fired a massive Signal Spell, one that switched golden red to bright blue every so often. "If you wish to avoid afflation with the Kalian Republic, then the nearby forest are a safe-sheltered place to hide with wildlife to hunt." Aether--, hearing him made me realize he really was merciful... Haha, unlike me...
We left shortly after. Aether and I covered in--? "Huh--...?" The golden dress shone faintly before all the dirt and blood on me simply blew off of me and the dress like dirt touching water... It--, felt weird having my previously dirtied gloves be so clean. The blood and dirt, after reaching around half a meter away from me lifelessly fell to the ground.
"Oh--..." Both Helmsmen and Aether looked at me in shock... Helmsmen recovered from the shock of the wonderous sight. "How the Nobles in the Kawachi Imperium would love a dress like yours."
In exchange for having to drag around this dress and it's medium length hem, I get this... Huh--, yes, it definitely is worth it.
Aether recovered from his shock soon after, "Helmsmen, did you find anything? Motives, or who they were?"
I did wonder who they were... I only faintly heard their interaction, but it seemed as though the group was trying to stop us from doing... The Holy Astera Kingdom's commission.
"Nothing besides the obvious fact that someone hired them to stop us. Considering their ability, they were most likely a Third Rank Mercenary Group." Helmsmen reported. "And seeing that they surrendered, they are most likely normal people, so your treatment of them was... justified."
It--... was really clear from Helmsmen and my experiences that we normally never took pity on people. It was surrender and become prisoner, or death.
