——It was as though a woman's screams were chaining together, steel crossing steel and scattering sparks.
"Gaaaaah!"
"Ahahaha! Wonderful, wonderful, wonderful!"
She pirouetted like a dancer, her curved blade striking from every angle—above, below, left, right—with no discernible pattern, each blow aimed at a vital point.
Whether this was some feat of superhuman physical ability, the slashes looked almost careless, yet every single one carried the force and precision to prove fatal as it carved toward Garfiel's body.
The tip of the broken, bent blade cleaved through the air, breaking the sound barrier, swung at literally godlike speed.
Garfiel answered by sliding the twin shields on his arms into the blade's trajectory, letting the slash slide along their surfaces rather than taking it head-on, dedicating himself entirely to defense.
Without killing the momentum of the strike, deflecting only the arc of the swing—a masterful technique that sent the woman's body swaying wide. Garfiel seized the opening, thrusting his toes upward at her exposed midsection through the gap.
Garfiel's straight kick carried the destructive power of a cannonball that could easily smash through stone walls.
If it connected without the impact being absorbed, it would easily pierce through human flesh and obliterate the organs within—the kind of devastating force it wielded.
In truth, every blow of Garfiel's where his full power landed had粉碎ed the woman's body down to the bone, delivering the unmistakable sensation of a killing strike over and over.
But— "I saw that move earlier."
"You—! Stop screwing around!"
At the last instant before his toes connected, the woman twisted her torso away, pulling her exposed flank out of the path. Garfiel's foot grazed her back as it swung through empty air, and his foot got tangled in the jet-black mantle draped over her shoulders.
A momentary pause—but for both the woman and Garfiel, it could have been fatal.
"Sh—"
The woman let out a short breath and, reaching behind her, wrapped the mantle further around Garfiel's trapped foot, swaddling it completely in the fabric. Her other hand reversed into a half-turn swing, coming from behind and rising upward, sending the blade hurtling on its course.
A trajectory that would sever his right thigh. Before he could even think, Garfiel pushed off with his left foot still planted on the ground, hopping just enough to thrust the sole of his left boot directly beneath his trapped right foot.
The blade swung upward from below, and Garfiel's left foot slammed into its edge.
The sound of crumpling steel chained with the sound of shattering wrist. The woman let out an obscene moan and dropped her knife. She pulled back, but with his foot still ensnared, Garfiel couldn't pursue—he was falling to the floor. Absorbing the shock of his kick, he planted both hands on the ground and executed a backward rotation, creating distance before freeing his foot from the mantle.
"Your wrist and your knife—I'll be taking those, orrra."
"It's quite alright. I have replacements for the knife, and my left hand will move again soon enough. The mantle, too… it was more of a hindrance than anything in a fight against you."
"Stop talkin' like you're all tough, will ya?"
"If you want to test whether that's bravado or not, feel free to check with your intestines."
Garfiel wiped his sweat with the stolen mantle, then tossed it to the end of the hallway.
Elsa didn't so much as glance at the discarded mantle. Instead, she lightly rubbed her contorted left hand with her right while addressing the massive shadow looming behind her.
"Meili. Don't just stand there watching—be a dear and toss me a replacement knife."
"Geez, Elsa, you're so selfish! I'm not your errand girl or your knife supplier, you know. That岩豚's been trying to get in on the fight, and all you've been picking are ones where it can't squeeze through."
The shadow she addressed—a young girl perched atop the back of a massive Mabeast—puffed out her cheeks and tossed something over.
It was a holder containing the curved blades Elsa wielded. Drawing two fresh blades from it with one hand, Elsa tested the grip of each while looking up at the girl.
"Blame yourself for bringing such a huge Mabeast just because you're cute. I'm actually grateful—it means I've been able to dance with 'him' all to myself, without any interference."
"If you get too absorbed in that and let your real target escape, that won't be funny at all. If Mama finds out what happened here, you'll definitely get an earful. I'm telling on you, okay? It's all your fault."
"If you're afraid of being told on, you can't go sniping kills or grabbing extras either. Good girls like Meili and the others should do that kind of thing. I'm perfectly fine being treated as the troublesome one."
As she spoke, Elsa tossed the blade in her hand into the air and began juggling both knives with one hand—a high-speed rotation with blades wide enough that a single mistake could cost her an arm—then caught them smoothly, first with her right hand, then her left.
"Sorry to keep you waiting. My left hand should be fine for just holding things now, at least."
"Don't bother worrying about it. Stallin' is what I want too, and I ain't the type to rudely butt in on a couple of sisters havin' a chat. Family talks are important, y'know?"
"Oh my. How did you figure out this one's my sister?"
"You both call the same lady 'Mama,' don't ya? Hair color, eye color, facial features—if they don't match, that's not a problem. Even beyond blood, y'can tell a family bond when ya see one."
Hearing Garfiel's reasoning, Elsa went wide-eyed for a moment, looking genuinely baffled. Then she pressed a hand to her mouth and burst into delighted laughter.
"Huh?"
"Hehehe… Oh, I'm sorry. I just heard something so unexpected that I couldn't help but laugh. …You know, you really are a sweet boy, aren't you?"
"Don't treat me like a kid! I'm a full-grown man!"
"Are you? You don't really seem to have grown fully into being an adult or a man, at least not from where I'm standing."
Still grinning, Elsa responded to the surly Garfiel.
At her words, Garfiel furrowed his brow in suspicion, and Elsa's smile only deepened with even greater amusement.
"Elsa, Elsa. This scary-looking person—could he maybe be kind of cute?"
"That's right, Meili. I'm just starting to think so myself. It's been a while since I've seen someone I'd want to keep alive even after I've pulled out his intestines."
"Quit runnin' your mouths! I'm gonna knock you both senseless with my fists, got it?"
Garfiel cracked his wrists as he spoke.
He didn't fully understand the true meaning behind the conversation between Elsa and the girl—Meili—but there was no doubt that their words showed contempt for his intentions.
As long as he understood that much, there would be no gentle words forthcoming from Garfiel's side.
Unless they came crying, apologizing, and begging for mercy, he would beat them down until they couldn't move and deliver the appropriate punishment. —That was Garfiel's role.
"Alright, let's do this! Stallin' for the bosses to escape—yeah, that's part of it, but I also wanna rack up some wins of my own. I'm gonna beat you so bad there ain't a trace left and teach you that I'm the strongest shield there is—inside and outside the '
With that battle cry, Garfiel slammed his twin shields together.
The piercing clang echoed through the hallway, and under the moonlight, Garfiel radiated his fighting spirit toward the two enemies before him.
"Pfft! Elsa, did you hear that? The strongest shield! The strongest shield… Pffft! I knew it—he's cute after all!"
But upon hearing his declaration, Meili actually burst out laughing, and Elsa's smile deepened as well. There wasn't a trace of the two feeling threatened.
"What the hell are you laughin' at, huh?"
"Oh, it's funny. When something's funny, you laugh, don't you? You're funny for being so convinced you're strong, and those brothers who ran off are funny too—oh so funny."
"The bosses are… funny?"
"Yep, that's right. Think about it, right? They surrounded the manor with my pets, and there's only one possible escape route. That spot was actually supposed to be Elsa's position, but Elsa went off on her own, so I put someone else in her place."
"————"
At Meili's reproachful gaze, Elsa showed not the slightest remorse and didn't even make eye contact.
Her killing intent-drenched eyes were fixed unwaveringly on Garfiel's movements, making him incredibly difficult to maneuver. And on top of that, Meili's composure was impossible to ignore.
Meili slapped the back of the Mabeast carrying her as Garfiel sharpened his gaze.
"Besides this岩豚, I brought along one more special friend today. That one's been blocking the path. So your little stall attempt is actually working against you, isn't it?"
"…………"
"If you'd managed to easily beat me and Elsa and gone after those brothers, you might've been able to help them. But that's not how it is, right? So when I see you working so hard at stalling without even realizing that, everyone just thinks it's hilarious."
Her face barely containing her laughter, Meili innocently mocked their pathetic situation.
Against this childish malice, Garfiel let out a deep, heavy breath.
It was true—several uncertain conditions were stacking up against them. As Meili said, they were clearly caught in a situation that had spiraled beyond expectations.
But— "Heh. How pathetic."
"…Huh?"
"You're the ones who don't get it! So there's still more monsters? And I'm the one backed into a corner? Like that kind of convenient thinking's gonna work on me or the bosses!"
Smiling with grim satisfaction at the way Meili's grin was fading, Garfiel took a step forward.
Elsa reacted, tilting her body slightly, and as he watched— "My bosses are the ones who beat the ever-loving crap out of me! —So when it comes to the likes of you getting in their way, of course I'm gonna laugh in your face and blow you the hell away!"
※※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ "No way, no way, no way, no way—this is seriously impossible! What the hell is even happening right now…?!"
On the verge of collapse, Subaru muttered through gasping breaths as he slumped to the ground.
The stairway landing just before the top floor of the
Every one of them bore visible exhaustion in their seated postures, and shallow wounds dotted their bodies here and there.
Especially— "Frederica, are you alright?"
"…Yes, this much is nothing. It's you, Sir Subaru, who I must apologize to—I've shown you an embarrassing display."
"We'd be screwed without you. Honestly, the pathetic ones here are me and Otto. Sorry. We're weak."
"T-this time… I have to say, there's no room to argue against Natsuki-san's self-deprecation."
Otto sighed bitterly while Subaru spat out a mouthful of blood.
His entire body creaked and screamed with pain, but ignoring it all, Subaru adjusted Rem's body on his back. —He had taken over the role of carrying Rem from Frederica. That was Subaru's current job.
Otto held Petra's hand, Subaru carried Rem, and the sole combatant—Frederica—stood at the forefront to cut a path. That was the best strategy for the five of them right now.
Right after parting ways with Garfiel, Subaru's group had been attacked by two hyena-like Mabeast.
The fight against the hyenas was a close thing, but with Otto's magic ore and Frederica's fierce efforts, they managed to drive them off—only to be thrown around time and again by the Mabeast scattered throughout the manor.
The bat-like black-winged rats lurking in the corridor connecting the main building to the annex.
The hyena-patterned斑王犬 that prowled the manor, striking whenever they let their guard down.
The袋鼠 that laid traps for Subaru's group when they retreated to guest rooms, waiting for the perfect moment.
The双头蛇, thick as Subaru's arm, had been the most grueling fight of all.
Smoke out the black-winged rats, Frederica knocked down the斑王犬 with her clawed hands, get bitten on the rear by a袋鼠 while retreating, have Otto desperately negotiate to stall the双头蛇, then Subaru threw himself at its body while Frederica severed both heads—and that brought them to the current landing.
"This is… completely… We should never have gotten separated from Garfiel…"
"Don't say such disheartening things! Garfiel might be feeling confident right now, thinking 'they'll be fine if it's us.' We should live up to the expectations we placed in him."
"Your sense of obligation really doesn't suit a merchant…"
Otto seemed to be in the best shape of the five. Subaru managed a wry smile at his words, then steeled himself and stood up.
Rem's body on his back was, frankly speaking, heartbreakingly light. He'd heard that carrying someone unconscious or asleep was heavy, but with Rem, nothing could be further from the truth.
He could feel almost no warmth or weight. Her presence was that faint. Only her faint heartbeat and breathing served as proof of her life, and Subaru held her more tightly than ever.
As though afraid that if he let go, she'd slip away without his noticing—even though such a thing could never happen.
"Frederica-san…"
"Don't worry, Petra. You don't need to make such a worried face… We'll reach the room we're looking for very soon."
Frederica smiled bravely at Petra's concerned look.
But Frederica was far less optimistic than her words suggested. A hyena had clamped onto one arm during the fight, and she couldn't raise her bloodied left arm, leaving her movements clearly impaired.
She couldn't fight at full capacity. What they needed was a place for immediate treatment and rest.
"But yeah, the destination really isn't much farther," Subaru muttered, looking up the staircase toward the top floor.
What they were aiming for was Roswaal's office. Needless to say, there was an escape route leading outside from there—though in past loops, it had also been the very passage that led to Elsa's intrusion.
Initially, when it seemed like there was no way out, Subaru had nearly dismissed this path as an option—but after talking with Frederica, he changed his mind.
This was right after parting with Garfiel, following the encounter with the two hyenas.
"There is a hidden passage in the Lord's office that leads outside. From there, you can escape the manor—to a cabin in the forest. If we use that route…"
"Sorry, Frederica, but it doesn't seem like it's going to be that easy. That hidden passage has been compromised. How else do you think that black-haired woman got in? Through that very route."
"————"
Frederica fell silent, and Subaru delivered the news, knowing full well it was a devastating blow.
In past loops, Subaru had encountered Elsa when he'd tried to confirm the hidden passage. Regardless of whether that freak always entered through that particular route, its existence was at least known to the enemy.
"Based on what those two just said—that girl Elsa and the other one—they've got more allies. Whether this 'Mama' they mentioned is really the mother of those two who look nothing alike is beside the point… If there are reinforcements coming from behind, then obviously that route, too—"
—was blocked off. That was the natural conclusion.
The manor was surrounded by Mabeast, and the only escape route was in enemy hands. Truly cornered from every direction, Subaru's mind burned white-hot.
A desperate, hopeless situation.
In a scenario where the escape route was nullified, what galled him most was that he couldn't borrow
If he had succeeded in persuading Beatrice, there would have been no need to worry at all. With her Door Traversal, escaping from here would be trivially easy.
"…I'm being too selfish."
He knew Beatrice's anguish and the reasons behind it, yet he still wanted to cling to her power.
In this very situation, using her strength as a crutch for failing to bring her along was proof that he hadn't truly considered Beatrice as a person.
It was only natural that she would resent him and cast him out.
"Natsuki-san."
"Subaru."
As Subaru sank into his spiral of thoughts, he felt a pat on his shoulder and a tug on his arm.
It was Otto on his right, patting his shoulder, and Petra on his left, pulling his arm. Both had pulled him back to reality in their own way, and noticing they'd done the same thing, they scowled at each other.
Watching the two of them, Subaru let out a breath of relief.
"Sir Subaru. In my opinion, we should still take that route."
Then, as Subaru caught his breath, Frederica made her case.
As Subaru looked up, Frederica raised a finger and said: "As Sir Subaru has described, the current situation appears to be completely hopeless at first glance. The manor is surrounded by ferocious Mabeast, and the sole escape route is known to the enemy. Normally, there would be no avoiding being slowly picked off one by one…"
"Yeah. That's what I was thinking too, which is why I've been racking my brain trying to find a weak point in the Mabeast encirclement."
"Tell me, Sir Subaru. The woman who attacked us before—had you encountered her somewhere previously?"
At the low, pointed question, Subaru fell quiet, caught off guard.
Unable to read her intent, Subaru simply nodded.
"Once before, in the
"I see. So it was the current Sword Saint last time. …Well, regardless, it doesn't matter. What I wanted to know wasn't how you defeated her last time, but rather her personality."
"Her personality?"
Frederica's vague remark made Subaru tilt his head.
"I mean, personality-wise, she's exactly what she looks like—an absolute pervert. She loves slitting people's guts open and rummaging around inside. They call her the 'Intestine Hunter.' When it comes to being dangerous, she's one of the worst in the world."
"And as you can see from how enthusiastically she was crossing blades with Garf, there's a part of her that insists on doing it with her own hands… wouldn't you say?"
"I wouldn't say we're close, but yeah, that sounds like her character. …I'm not following where you're going with this."
"It's quite simple, Sir Subaru. —This attack hasn't gone according to their plan either."
It was a firm, assertive declaration.
At Frederica's confident statement, Subaru's eyes went wide.
"Right now, the Mabeast surrounding the manor—the young girl who was with that woman is likely their handler… one might call her a Beast Master. The original plan should have been for the Mabeast to tighten the encirclement, assault the manor, and attack us inside."
"Why do you think so?"
"——Because the timing of the Mabeast's attack and the Intestine Hunter's were out of sync."
At Frederica's assured words, Subaru's brow furrowed as he thought. But then he quickly grasped what she was getting about and snapped his fingers.
"That's it! Damn, why didn't I realize? You're absolutely right, Frederica! Given that freak's personality, it's obvious!"
"H-how so? I'm not following the connection."
Otto wore a puzzled, anxious expression as Subaru kicked the ground in frustration. But Subaru nodded at him.
"Simple, Otto. The idea was that the Mabeast attack would corner everyone inside the building. And once cornered, we couldn't escape by normal means. So we'd naturally try to flee through the hidden passage—that was the intended flow. Right?"
"But isn't that exactly what's happening now? Except we can't use the passage because the enemy knows about it?"
"Exactly. If the attack had gone according to plan, cornered and desperate, we would have fled to the hidden passage—and right there, waiting for us, Elsa would have been to finish us off. That was their script. …But right now, things are out of sync. Elsa isn't at the hidden passage right now."
"————"
And why was that?
Given Elsa's nature, it was obvious.
"That woman couldn't stand her prey being cut down by someone else, so she went rogue. That's why her timing was off with the Beast Master. On top of that, she abandoned the position she was supposed to be holding. —Which means right now, nobody's at the hidden passage!"
"The black-haired woman was supposed to be lying in wait there. So given this unforeseen situation, the chances of reinforcements having taken her place are extremely low. Of course, as time passes, the enemy will realize the plan has gone awry. The possibility of them sending someone to the passage will keep increasing."
"Then we have to hurry and escape through there before anyone shows up!"
Taking the conclusion Subaru and Frederica had reached, Petra delivered the answer as though leaping off the ground.
Subaru reached over and ruffled Petra's light brown hair, messing it up, and grinned. "Perfect score."
"Based on the information we have, this is the most likely scenario. Either way, it's more hopeful than trying to break through the Mabeast encirclement outside. At the very least, checking the office is worth doing… Let's go. It's the only way to get everyone out safely!"
——And with that surge of momentum, they had arrived right in front of the office.
Every one of them was physically and mentally exhausted. Still, the hope of having a goal within reach gave their battered bodies one last burst of vitality.
And that fragile spark of hope— "You've gotta be kidding me…"
Having reached the top floor and peered around the staircase corner into the hallway, Subaru couldn't help but mutter.
Otto, poking his head up from above, and Petra, craning up from below, appeared to have seen the same thing and arrived at the same feeling—they were speechless.
"What is it? The Lord's office is…"
Frederica, who had remained seated on the steps behind them, asked the three scouts for their report. But judging from their reactions, she could already tell things were bad.
At the tremor in her voice, Subaru and the others turned around with muted footsteps.
"Something seriously nasty is camped out in front of the room."
——To Subaru, it looked like what was commonly called a 'Chimera.' The head of a great feline predator like a lion, a torso with the slender, sinuous silhouette of a horse or goat, and a long tail coiled and poised like a serpent. Its body was smaller than the Mabeast the Beast Master had been riding, but it was more than large enough to block the manor's wide hallway. A grotesque existence straight out of mythology—and its combat power could be inferred from its sheer presence alone.
"That's… a Mabeast called Guiltylaw. It's a top predator that inhabits the depths of forests with heavy miasma… A beast like this shouldn't be anywhere near human settlements, let alone brought inside a manor…"
"What if it's all bark and no bite? Maybe it looks scary but is actually super gentle and content as long as it gets to gnaw on some dried bonito…"
"I don't know what dried bonito is, but if you try offering it food, you'll probably lose about half your body in one bite."
At Otto's words, Subaru pictured the size of Guiltylaw's head.
Right. With a mouth that big, it could probably eat Subaru in about two bites.
"But Beast-form Garfiel was even bigger. Hey, let's bring him over for a size comparison. If we're bigger, he'll just back off sheepishly, right?"
"And then when you went to go call him, you'd get clobbered by that black-haired lady. That's not funny, Natsuki-san. …Have you thought of something?"
Having traded light quips, Otto turned to Subaru with a look of expectation.
It was the face of someone who had been hoping Subaru would come up with something during their back-and-forth. Quite the unreasonable expectation, Subaru thought, turning back to Frederica and Petra— "Subaru."
"Sir Subaru."
Both women fixed him with the same expectant gaze.
"Seriously, what kind of expectations are you guys loading onto me?"
Letting out a deep sigh, Subaru shuddered under the weight of their hopes. Then he adjusted Rem's body on his back and closed his eyes.
Their current situation. Their available resources.
Frederica was injured, and Otto's mana was nearly depleted. Neither Petra nor Subaru had any real combat ability. This was the third floor of the manor's main building. There was no way to call Garfiel over here, and even thinking of borrowing Beatrice's power was presumptuous.
Which meant the only option left was his usual style—fight with everything he had at his disposal.
Each person's abilities, what they could do, the materials available, the enemy's condition, the conditions—all of it, considered and considered and considered until he reached his limit. Then Subaru exhaled.
"If brute force and magic power aren't going to cut it… then I'll just have to bet everything on my modern-world knowledge."
※※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ At first, what drew Guiltylaw's attention was a small sound.
"————"
A soft, rhythmic tapping—something hard striking the floor in a steady sequence. Guiltylaw raised its snout.
Known in some regions as the Silent King of the Forest, Guiltylaw was unlike other Mabeast in that it despised unnecessary roars and noise.
Despite its enormous body and monstrous form, it could glide through rough terrain with startling grace, approaching prey without a sound and striking its vital point in a single blow. Such ambush-style, almost assassination-like hunting was its greatest forte.
Therefore, being commanded to remain stationary in one spot and lie in wait—the 'Master's' orders notwithstanding—was nothing but foolish use of its abilities, as far as Guiltylaw was concerned.
Of course, it had no intention of being ungrateful enough to defy the 'Master's' commands.
After all, having its 'horn' broken was what had freed Guiltylaw from its curse.
"————"
Guiltylaw swiveled its nose, tracing the sound's direction while mulling over the 'Master's' orders.
Position itself before this door and slay any hostile who approached—that was the duty Guiltylaw had been given, and the 'Master's' desire.
Tap, tap, tap. The sound approaching was unmistakably footsteps—careless and unguarded.
Like the 'Master,' many bipedal creatures walked with just this sort of footfall. There were some among them who could move without making any sound at all, but the owner of these footsteps was not one of them.
Defenseless, indiscriminate, thoughtless, presumptuous—not a trace of elegance.
For Guiltylaw, this was a feeble creature not even worth the revulsion of tearing apart and scattering.
"————"
Without making a sound, Guiltylaw glided away from its position in front of the door.
The footsteps were coming from the western staircase—the same direction from which sounds of fighting had been heard repeatedly just moments ago.
Guiltylaw knew the 'Master' had brought many Mabeast besides itself. Numerous beasts, inferior in strength and size, were deployed around the building, while the 'Master' had entrusted the door's defense to Guiltylaw alone, riding off on the back of the largest, most lumbering one to hunt.
There were aspects of the 'Master's' judgment—choosing to hunt with that lumbering thing while leaving Guiltylaw here as a rearguard—that it found disagreeable. Still, if the hostile who appeared here turned out to be a true warrior, Guiltylaw's pride and the reason it had been brought would both be vindicated.
That was precisely why Guiltylaw had not committed the foolish act of abandoning its post to chase after prey, no matter what other Mabeast attacked it on the way.
If a hostile was too weak to even reach Guiltylaw's position, they were not worth fighting.
If they were weak enough to be killed by lesser Mabeast, they were not worth hunting.
But this prey had overcome the other Mabeast's interference and reached this very spot. When it sensed their presence, Guiltylaw had felt a secret thrill of excitement.
——And this was what it had been waiting for?
They couldn't even conceal their footsteps. Their killing intent was weak and fragile.
With claws and fangs, one swipe would be enough to scatter what remained—a pathetically weak existence.
"————"
The emotion that surged within was rage. Nothing but rage.
It would rend this prey with its fangs, shred every last shred of flesh from bone, and scatter the pieces—not a single morsel reaching its stomach.
The burning sensation, akin to humiliation, could only be sublimated by doing exactly that.
Chasing the sound of footsteps, Guiltylaw moved without casting a shadow beneath the moonlight. Its massive body slid along in absolute silence—a sight that, to anyone watching, would have been nothing short of a nightmare.
The jet-black assassin closed in on the carefree footsteps, and just as the prey seemed to halt right around the next corner, it raised a claw to split them from behind— "————!"
Without disturbing its breathing, Guiltylaw lunged—extending its neck and pouncing toward the prey's back. But— "————?"
Even though it had closed the distance and sensed the prey within claw's reach, there was no one there.
Having lost the target for its raised paw, Guiltylaw halted for an instant, caught off by the discrepancy. It twitched its snout and craned its neck.
Where had that foolish, fragile, weak prey gone?
"————!"
Again, the sound of boots rang against Guiltylaw's ears.
Lowering its head toward the sound, it seemed to have come from the floor below. Footsteps descending the stairs—the prey was running downstairs to escape.
It seemed the prey had sensed Guiltylaw and quickened its pace just enough to dodge. But now that Guiltylaw knew, it would not let the prey slip away.
Raising its head, it glanced back toward the door the 'Master' had ordered it to guard.
Leaving its post would result in a reprimand, but this prey had to be the one the 'Master' had spoken of. Taking its head would amount to fulfilling the command.
Having made that judgment, Guiltylaw gave chase after the pathetically fleeing prey.
In truth, the moment the prey had entered striking range only to turn its back, it had as good as admitted it had no means of resistance.
In the days when Guiltylaw roamed wild mountains and reigned as the king of the forest, chasing down prey like this for sport was an everyday occurrence.
Only beings of truly formidable power were worthy of being incorporated into its body.
Prey that showed their back, prey whose fangs had been pulled—they existed only so that Guiltylaw would not forget the sensation of blood and flesh against its claws and teeth. And the prey should know that too.
Descending the stairs, pursuing the footsteps.
Kicking off the landing wall, spinning its massive body through the air as it dropped to the floor below. Chasing the prey fleeing toward the second floor, then the first, Guiltylaw descended to the building's lowest level.
From far away—some distant part of the building—faint traces of combat drifted over.
The scent of the 'Master,' and the loathsome stench of the lumbering Mabeast the 'Master' had taken along. Beyond that, the sharp scent of blood and steel—of the strong.
"————"
If it could, Guiltylaw wished to be there as well, joining the battle.
To rend claw and fang freely before the 'Master,' to tear apart a powerful foe and drown it in a sea of blood, and to savor the taste of victory—that was what it longed for.
But that was not what was being asked of it now. It had its orders.
——If it finished off this prey quickly and caught up, would it be permitted to join the fray?
"————!"
The phantom ache in its fangs only intensified, and Guiltylaw's body trembled with anticipation.
Chasing the footsteps it heard once more, it spotted a door at the end of a corridor vanishing into the darkness, recently closed—its lingering presence still detectable.
Swift as the wind, Guiltylaw arrived before the door without a sound and used its long tail to deftly open it.
This was not the first time it had infiltrated a dwelling of bipedal creatures and bared its fangs.
Understanding the structure of this thing called a 'door,' Guiltylaw slithered its massive body into the room. It had braced itself for the prey to be lying in wait, but when it couldn't spot anyone inside, it felt the sting of being duped once more.
But this disappointment would not last long.
"————"
Crane its neck. Guiltylaw's gaze settled on the far corner of the room—a wardrobe.
Frayed cloth was pinched between the wardrobe's two doors, protruding outward. The prey must have rushed in and gotten itself caught in the door. Guiltylaw found it laughable that the prey thought it could hide like that.
Killing its footfalls, Guiltylaw crept toward the wardrobe.
Raising its tail and sharpening the tip, it did not hesitate for even a fraction of a second.
"————!"
Like the tip of a spear, the tail's point pierced through the wardrobe door as if it were paper.
A round hole, drilled clean through—then more and more holes punched into the wardrobe in rapid succession, skewering whatever poor creature was hiding inside.
After more than twenty holes, Guiltylaw ceased its tail assault.
Then, extending its forepaw, it reached to topple the door and confirm the state of the prey within— "——Ru—!?"
The moment before it laid eyes on what should have been the prey's corpse, a devastating sensation pierced through Guiltylaw's nasal passages.
An acrid, searing stench bored through its sense of smell, producing a pain so intense it could only groan. In the instant it reflexively looked back, inside the wardrobe where the door now stood open, a transparent bottle lay shattered, its colorless liquid pooled across the floor.
The stench was emanating from there. And the prey was nowhere inside the wardrobe.
The cloth that had been sticking out was merely an article of clothing, jammed there deliberately.
"————!"
Once more, footsteps echoed from the corridor outside the room, and Guiltylaw spun around.
Its sense of smell was still useless, but its ears and eyes remained functional. It caught sight of a shadow darting down the hallway and gave chase, writhing with the humiliation of its sealed senses.
Never before in Guiltylaw's life had it been made a fool of to this degree.
Against all who had stood against it, Guiltylaw had always crushed them utterly. Never before had it encountered a creature that neither confronted it head-on with courage, nor fled into its jaws, but instead clung to existence with pathetic, stubborn tenacity.
It would kill them. It would finish them. It would chew them up, scatter them across the earth, and crush them underfoot.
"————"
Forgetting even the need for silence, Guiltylaw used its massive body to smash the door of the room the footsteps had fled into.
The double doors flew off their hinges as if they weighed nothing, and Guiltylaw's titanic form entered a room far more spacious than any it had seen before.
A massive table sat in the center, and at the room's far end, a fireplace.
Candles burned atop the white-clothed table, their flames casting eerie shadows across what had been a room lit only by moonlight.
"————"
Fire was, to Guiltylaw, a loathsome thing.
In daylight, the round white ball of flame in the sky was impossible to put out, but fire existing this close to it inspired visceral revulsion. After all, the forest where Guiltylaw had dwelled had been consumed by flame, and its place of peace had been lost. At the time, its horn had been broken and it had been compelled to serve the 'Master'—so fire, for Guiltylaw, evoked two contradictory memories: liberation and humiliation.
"————"
No footsteps. But Guiltylaw did not miss the sound it heard.
In the spacious room, across from the entrance door, there was another door set into the opposite wall. Behind that door, which led into a space that couldn't be very deep, it sensed a presence.
Guiltylaw snorted, but its sense of smell had not yet returned.
It could not detect the scent of fear, or of the prey having soiled itself. In this state, even if it tore the prey apart, it would be unable to properly smell the blood or taste the flesh—a regrettable thought.
That sensation, however, could be set aside at least until it had its vengeance.
For now, the only salvation for Guiltylaw—the only thing that could dispel this burning humiliation in its chest, the only thing that could make the prey who had tormented it this far scream its final breath—was to close the distance and kill.
"————"
Guiltylaw stepped forward, heading straight for the room.
Then it blasted the door open with a sharp flick of its tail. Knocking it flat with its forepaw—just as it had with the wardrobe door, now riddled with holes—Guiltylaw inhaled and lunged straight into the room.
"————ROOOOAAARRR!!"
Bursting into the room, it unleashed a thunderous roar.
It would frighten the prey with its bellow, then rend the trembling weakling's flesh with fang and claw—buy its pound of blood and meat.
It swept its tail, and destruction tore through the room. Storage bags and boxes ripped open by its fury released billowing smoke. Its forepaws shattered the floorboards, tore through fabric laid across the ground, and from there too white smoke erupted—no, not just there. Dense clouds of white smoke poured out one after another, engulfing the entire room.
"————!?"
Its vision turned white. The instant it inhaled, Guiltylaw's airway was ravaged, and it doubled over in a violent cough. Something—a massive quantity of powder—was filling the air.
Enough to steal its sight, enough to rob it of the very breath needed to roar.
"You fell for it!"
A voice—someone's voice—rang out.
And that voice was coming not from inside this room, but from the anteroom before it.
"Take this—the essence of science—dust explosion!!"
With a sharp sound, something was hurled into the smoke-filled room.
Brightly flickering, it was one of the candelabras that had been lined up on the table in the anteroom.
The candelabra struck the wall, and the wavering flame tumbled to the floor, briefly flaring larger.
"————"
"Wha… that's it?"
But that was all.
The candelabra lay on the floor, producing no further reaction. The voice that had thrown it let out an uncertain, disappointed note, and its owner could be heard standing frozen just outside the room.
"————!"
Guiltylaw's instincts screamed that this was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
Something unexpected had gone wrong on their side. And if that unforeseen complication hadn't occurred, Guiltylaw itself would have been in danger.
Understanding this, Guiltylaw wheeled around and chose to flee the small room.
If it reached the spacious main room, where it could freely deploy its limbs and tail, it wouldn't matter what tricks the prey had planned. The overwhelming disparity in power would crush them, and victory would be seized.
There was nothing more needed— "For the last time, I told you we should've just gone with the straightforward approach instead of all that complicated nonsense!"
"It IS faster this way!"
The instant Guiltylaw was about to burst out, it heard two more voices—one low, one high.
The moment it registered that these were the voices of two different prey, Guiltylaw sensed the shelf behind it toppling toward its back.
A rope tied to the doorframe had been connected to the shelf's legs.
The shelf, yanked violently from outside, crashed down against Guiltylaw's hindquarters. But the shelf was barely large enough to obstruct the rear of Guiltylaw's massive body.
It collided with only a modicum of force. The damage to Guiltylaw was negligible.
It absorbed the impact leisurely, then severed the rope with its claw.
Just as it was about to lunge outside— "————?"
A cabinet opened, and liquid came gushing out, drenching half its body in a grand splash.
Not water—a viscous, slightly yellowish texture. As Guiltylaw felt its prized black fur become slick with the substance, discomfort gave way to revulsion.
But that revulsion was short-lived.
"————!?"
"This is
The prey's voice echoed from outside the room.
But at that moment, Guiltylaw had no luxury to spare for the voice of that feeble creature.
——The oil coating its body had ignited on the candelabra's flames, and loathsome fire was now engulfing it from head to tail.
"————!!"
The beast that had descended from the wilds yet clung to its throne in the forest sky to the very end was consumed by flames the same color as the burning humiliation it felt, never even understanding what had defeated it.
Guiltylaw. Taken out with a pitfall trap.