Volume 1 Chapter 92 The Hidden One
A lone carriage was placed at the foot of Mt. Zepart, as if abandoned. Right beside it, the coachman Edward sat on a flat stone.
He wore a pitch-black coat that he always carried with him, with the hood pulled deep. Perhaps to protect himself from the scorching sun.
The hot wind blew from the mountain. However, for some reason, not a single drop of sweat appeared on his face.
Edward did nothing but gaze aimlessly at the sky.
After a while, figures appeared on the wasteland. There were six of them in total. As they approached, their outlines became clearer.
Each one of them was dressed in a black coat, just like Edward. Their mouths were covered and hidden by fabric.
"Hey there. Is the job finished?"
The group of black-clad individuals stopped walking, and the person at the front spoke. It was the voice of a young man.
"No, not yet."
Edward answered while looking up at the sky, the man in front narrowed his eyes.
"What's the matter? You're not getting scared now, are you? It would have been easy to attack them in their sleep."
"It's not like that."
Edward stood up and looked at the man.
"Could you please let the children go?"
"It's very unfortunate, but that's an impossible request."
In a calm tone, the man rejected Edward's request firmly.
"You've seen the state of that town, right?"
The man turned towards the direction of Metis town and began speaking.
"The soldiers are not working properly, the security is getting worse. The only ones who can fight the monsters are the adventurers. Even the lord who manages this area has gathered soldiers around himself and locked himself in the mansion. It seems that as long as he gets money, he doesn't care what happens next."
The man turned back to Edward and removed his hood and face covering.
In front of Edward was a young man with long, blond hair and narrow eyes── it was Dill, a staff member of the Metis Adventure Guild.
"This world is in a very dangerous state. If the scales were to tip even slightly, it would mean the end. That's why we need an organization like ours."
"What does the end of the world have to do with three people's lives?"
"Rather than them, I'm talking about the three keys. I don't know what King Cretia was thinking when he started this, but it seems like it would be bad if he could collect them. The peace we've created so far... may be lost."
"The way you say it, I don't think you even know what happens when you collect the keys. Dillmus."
"I don't need to know, do I? I just follow the orders given to me from above. That's the way I am. Oswald── or was it Edward now?"
Dill── No, Dillmus chuckled.
"You know what happened to Allen and the others after that, Oswald. If you're going to join us in getting rid of them right now, we'll take this with a grain of salt. But, yeah. If not──"
"I'm not going."
"Are you saying you're betraying your friends?"
"Friends? Did you think of me as a friend? Well, that's nice. It makes me so happy that tears come out."
A man who had been introducing himself as Edward to the people around him── Oswald, maintained a serious expression as he joked.
"My dad, who was a coachman, suddenly disappeared, probably because you guys killed him."
"Even if you ask about something from the past, I don't know. Instead of talking about the past, you should be thankful for being kept alive since you were picked up."
"...It seems like talking is pointless."
"I was feeling the same way. After defeating you, let's dispose of the three of them."
Dillmus and his companions discard their cloaks. They were armed men.
One wore a full-body steel armor and carried a large sword, another was a magician, and the third was dressed like a priest. All of them were dressed as adventurers.
"Hey, hey! I never thought there would be a traitor during work!"
One of them, a Swordsman in full body armor, pulled a large sword from its sheath and stepped forward with a smirk on his face.
"I've been bored lately, with no challenging prey to hunt. I'll show you what the power of the [Sword Saint] is all about."
The skill of the [Sword Saint].
It is considered to be the strongest talent for wielding a sword in this world, and very few people possess it. Does this man really have such a rare skill?
However, there was no change in Oswald's expression as he listened to the man's words.
"You must be fairly strong, having done your fair share of work, but this time you've picked the wrong opponent. Come on, give me some resistance, or there won't be any fun for me. Entertain me at least."
"Why don't you stop talking and come at me already? Are you just all talk, Sword Saint? Is that oversized sword just for show?"
Oswald said that, and the other men who were watching laughed.
The swordsman's forehead twitched.
"...Hey. Is it really okay if we kill him?"
In response to the swordsman's emphasis, Dillmus smiled back.
"It's fine, I'll report it to the higher-ups. Also, he can only control up to two creatures at the same time. So don't worry, there won't be more than that. Well, no matter how it turns out, it's impossible for him to defeat you."
"Alright then── I'll take care of it!"
The swordsman, without feeling the weight of his equipment, runs with astonishing speed, closing the distance between him and Oswald in an instant.
Oswald, facing him, extends his right hand. Then, something jumps out in front of him from the shadow of a carriage.
It was a monster made of human bones── an undead skeleton.
A single skeleton stands between the two of them.
"──Haah!
A slash is unleashed which is so powerful that ordinary people couldn't even react.
In the next instant, the skeleton was completely shattered.
The man who had sublimated his talent gained from [Sword Saint]'s skill into his own Sword Skill. He's no match for your average monster anymore. There probably isn't anyone in this world who can surpass him in swordsmanship.
Oswald, who saw the shattered skeletons scattered on the ground, looked genuinely surprised.
The Swordsman, seeing his reaction, smiled satisfied. The men who were just watching from behind also seemed to feel the same.
However, among them, only Dilllmus had a skeptical expression.
"Haha! What an interesting skill! How about starting a show booth with it!"
The man kicked the ground and approached Oswald again.
"Wait! There's something else about him──"
Just as Dilllmus noticed the source of the discomfort and shouted, the Swordsman's body was suddenly covered by a dark shadow.
Something like a tall wall obstructed the Swordsman's path.
"!?"
The swordsman quickly jumped back, sensing danger from years of fighting experience.
But even that move was expected by Oswald.
As Swordsman landed, a purple mist was released towards him.
"Cough! What's this? What's happening... Cough!"
Swordsman coughed after inhaling the mist, his hand covered in a lot of blood.
"What... Hey, what's this? Help..."
Swordsman lost strength and collapsed, eventually stopping all movement.
The men's faces lost their smiles at the unexpected situation.
"I can't believe you had a Poison Giant prepared..."
Dillmus muttered, sweating, as he looked at the monster that suddenly appeared in front of Oswald.
The towering creature known as the Poison Giant was three times the size of a Swordsman. With a purple body and a monstrous humanoid form, it was an S-Rank designated monster. Its strong and resilient body could not be harmed by regular weapons, and it released a deadly poison that could kill instantly with a single breath. Adventurers feared encountering this creature more than anything else.
But that wasn't the only problem.
It had two heads with large, darting black eyes.
In addition to its natural arms, it had two extra arms protruding from its back. With its four hands, it wielded swords, axes, and shields larger than a human's body.
It was a vicious and terrifying presence that far exceeded Dillmus and his companions' expectations...and it was right there.
"What...is that?"
"So, this is Oswald's [Necromancy] skill?"
The men immediately braced themselves.
They realized that this traitor was powerful. Their perception had changed.
Oswald "moved his fingers in the air".
It was a power that he never revealed to the organization he belonged to.
On a translucent board that only he could see, various symbols were drawn.
In the center, there was an explanation of the skull symbol:
'Animate Dead: The first spell of [Necromancy] skill. It brings the dead to life by infusing them with miasma. Undead creatures have a connection to the caster and their magic power, allowing them to be controlled at will. By consuming points and acquiring derived abilities, various additional effects can be obtained. This magic does not require an incantation.'
"You all will die here."
Oswald, the necromancer dressed in a pitch-black cloak, said coldly.
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