Volume 5 Chapter 44 It's Noisy, But...
──However, there was surprise, but that was it.
I didn't reach the point of being speechless and dumbfounded.
Because I had prepared myself before coming to this place.
"Seeing you not surprised, I guess you were expecting it after all."
"...I'm actually quite surprised. But, it's just because I was mentally prepared."
In response to Bael, who was holding his left shoulder, I slowly exhaled before answering. Looking at him, he was frowning while holding his left shoulder. Blood was flowing from his arm, but it didn't seem to be a deep wound.
As the blood dripped to the ground, it gradually changed from red to blue.
"Weiss. Dispel the 'disguise'."
"Is it okay?"
"At this point, there's no longer any point. It'll make it easier for you to fight too."
"Understood. This requires quite a bit of concentration, to be honest, it's a relief."
Weiss snapped his fingers.
At that moment, the presence of Bael and Weiss became more intense. It felt like something that had been suppressed inside was being released. The change wasn't just in their presence, their skin was transforming from human-like to a gray color. Along with this, horns with a sinister aura started growing from their heads.
"Black Blade, I can't believe it."
"Yeah. It's that 'demon' everyone's talking about now. Seems like a different from the one that appeared in the royal capital."
Reed seemed surprised by this turn of events as well. He took a small breath when I nodded in agreement. He didn't ask why we didn't anticipate this beforehand, but regardless, it was clear that those two were the biggest obstacles in this battle, and Reed understood that.
"It's because they used the same tactics as our comrades once did. I thought you guys would take the bait with last night's monster summoning. Well, it's all hindsight now, but it works out well for ourr employer."
"Does Narinki know that you guys are demons?"
"He said, 'If they can be hired with money, their background doesn't seem to matter.' I'm very grateful to have him as my employer.
In a way, it's admirable or rather bold. I might even find myself impressed by his thorough materialism.
'Those compatriots he mentioned before, it's the demon who appeared in the royal castle.'
"I wish you wouldn't spread my name so widely, at least keep it among humans."
"Thanks to you, our plans have been completely ruined, and some of those who joined the operation have been killed. So, it's impossible to ask not to remember the name 'Black Blade Yukina' after all this."
As Gram laments, Bael interjects with words. Judging from the current situation, he probably intended to take advantage of the chaos in the royal capital and cause further turmoil within the country from his base in Eubarest. Even I can make that kind of guess.
If I could predict it, then naturally, Narinki should be able to do the same. Reed emphasized that although he may look like a pig, he is not a pig to be underestimated. It should have been obvious what Bael and the others were planning.
It's truly surprising that he's employing them knowing all that. I was once again made aware of how dangerous he is, to the point where it makes sense for the government to take the lead in capturing him.
"...It seems the situation is more serious than I thought."
Reed quickly recovered from his surprise and immediately assessed the situation. He truly is a skilled mercenary. If it weren't for the monster summoning last night, I would have been even more surprised if I had been suddenly informed.
Reed slowly placed his hand on his face and tore off the eyepatch covering his left eye.
"I won't hold back. I'll show you what I can really do."
Seeing "that" revealed, I felt a shock far greater than when I saw the blue blood earlier.
Reed's left eye──more precisely, the pattern engraved on his eyelid. The shape may be different, but there's no mistaking it. I could clearly sense that it was similar to the Stigma engraved on my left hand.
"Wake up, Slay! It's time for work!"
It wasn't just my intuition. Along with Reed's shout, when the pattern on his left eye emitted light, the intense heat radiating from the pattern on my left hand was proof of that.
This time, as I held my breath,
'Hyahahaha! You finally woke me up, Reed!'
A gratingly loud voice resonated directly in my head, not just in my ears. The laughter that seemed to scratch the back of my skull made the corner of my eye twitch.
"You still have an annoying voice, Slay."
'What a greeting, Reed! You've been ignoring me completely! I was dying of boredom, you know! Well, I'll forgive you for waking me up in such an interesting situation! Hyahahaha!'
Reed frowned irritably, but he couldn't help but feel delighted by the voice reaching his ears. The way this voice sounded was exactly like when I was conversing with Gram. Without a doubt, the owner of the voice must be Reed's snake belly sword.
"My Gram isn't exactly polite, but compared to that guy over there, Gram might seem more refined."
'To be compared to that guy over there is a bit insulting to me.'
When I expressed my honest opinion, Gram became indignant. I had intended to praise him, but it seemed he didn't take it well.
'Hey, you idiots over there, I can hear you! If you keep disrespecting me, I'll kill you all!'
"It's my job to kill you, in that case."
As the snake belly sword suddenly flew into a rage, Reed said wearily.
However, the mysterious presence occasionally emitted by Reed undoubtedly came from that snake belly sword. Regardless of his tone and personality, it was still a weapon with the same 'will' as Gram.
'It was probably difficult for me to sense his presence because of that eyepatch. Perhaps there was an effect to conceal the presence of Stigma and that noisy snake belly sword. Now that it's off, I can clearly sense it ──huh?'
While Gram seemed to tilt his head in the middle of his words, there was no time to delve into it further. Bael, with elongated claws, was already closing in before me.
"Whoa!?"
"It's a hassle to keep pace with you. I'll have to split you up."
Trying to block the long claws with a spear, I was pushed back by the force and he was able to distance me from Reed.
"Black Blade!? You jerk!"
"You're gonna have to stick with me!"
Reed's eyes followed me and Bael, but before taking action, Weiss unleashed a fire magic that was already closing in. He had released it when we leaped out.
"You're in the way!!"
Swinging the snake belly sword high, Reed unleashed it with force. The sword moved fiercely like a living giant snake. The momentum of the divided blades was tremendous, easily extinguishing the scorching heat.
'It's hottttt?'
Amidst Slay's scream, Reed glared at Weiss. I forcefully pushed Bael away and distanced myself to face him.
It seems like they want to continue from last night on that side.
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