What is this joke?
The scene unfolding before me is one of utter domination by an overwhelming powerhouse. A woman in a ridiculous outfit, whom I had only seen as an easy target until just a moment ago, is beating down my subordinates.
Ence was the first to go. The woman who should have been in front of the carriage suddenly appeared before Ence as he ran, landing a single blow to his stomach. It was a strike unimaginable from her delicate frame. The sickening sound of bones breaking and organs bursting reached my ears. Ence’s body was then blown all the way to me, and I saw the lifeless face of my subordinate.
“Huh?”
My subordinates seemed just as stunned. Their feet, which had eagerly leaped towards the prey, stopped.
“Oh? I went easy on you, but this still wasn’t enough?”
She said she went easy on them…?!
My subordinates are by no means weak. In fact, they are stronger than most adventurers. All of them are level 25 or higher, and when they fought together, they could even contend with Uldo’s party, the premier adventurers in Pars. For someone to say they went easy on such subordinates, only an A-Rank or S-Rank adventurer could possibly do so.
“What’s wrong? You were all smiling and having fun just a moment ago. Hurry up and play with me. Um… Soyokaze Bandit Gang, was it?”
The woman let out an eerie smile that even I, a woman, could admire, and spoke alluringly. She was completely underestimating us, and to top it off, she deliberately got our gang’s name wrong.
“You… you bastard… Don’t let your guard down for another second! The plan has changed, we’re going to eliminate her!”
I snapped my subordinates out of their daze and gave the order to attack. In retrospect, that was a mistake. My short temper led me to retort with equally sharp words. I should have realized the difference in skill from the attack on Ence and fled in different directions. In that case, she might have let us go. I might have been able to rejoin my subordinates who had retreated to the rear. But it was already too late.
“Yeah… I see…”
The woman glanced behind her and said something. Doyle and Pars, seeing this as an opening, charged again. Both of them were armed with daggers. A surprise combo attack from the two, known for their agility within Kokufu, exploded forth.
“Oh?”
By the time the woman noticed Doyle and Pars, their daggers were just inches from her neck and heart.
(We got her!)
I’m sure they both thought so. And I agreed. That is, until I witnessed the next moment.
***
*Crunch.*
Pond felt a strange sensation as his dominant arm went numb. Normally, he would have felt the sensation of tearing flesh next. Yet, he felt nothing. Not even the familiar feel of his Poison Dagger…
“Hmm, a well-maintained dagger. Not bad, though a bit fancy for a bandit.”
At the sound of the voice, he looked up and saw the woman casually holding his Poison Dagger, appraising it. Why was this woman alive? She should have been ripped apart by the attack from me and Doyle!
But then, I realized. Doyle’s arm, with whom I had teamed up, was bent at an unnatural angle, his neck twisted in a grotesque direction. And I was likely in the same situation.
(What on earth happened…?)
No one answered Pond’s question, and he sank into the eternal darkness of unconsciousness.
***
Doyle and Pond were killed. How? I don’t know. Just when I was convinced I had killed her, the two of them collapsed. Their arms and necks were crushed. Did she attack twice at the same time in that instant? The woman held their two daggers. She might not even realize she was attacked. When did she snatch the daggers, and when did she break their arms and necks… I didn’t understand any of it.
But without pause, someone else attacked. Following the two was the giant, Gilda. A brute who wielded a steel warhammer with one hand. Despite his massive size, he was a capable combatant, keeping pace with Doyle and Pond.
He launched a surprise attack while the woman was distracted by the daggers. He brought the warhammer down from directly overhead with all his might. A single blow that could crush armor and was impossible to defend against with a shield.
“Is it a strength contest now?”
The warhammer, boasting such power, was caught. With a single, slender arm of the woman.
“Fine, I’ll play along.”
Without even a drop of sweat, the woman said coolly.
“Guaaaaaaahhh!”
Gilda roared, veins bulging in his thick, muscular arms as he poured strength into swinging the warhammer down. But the warhammer didn’t budge.
“Impossible… Gilda’s strength exceeds 200!”
I blurted out involuntarily.
“Is that so? Hmm, is that all 200 can do?”
It seemed she overheard me, and the woman muttered with apparent loss of interest.
“It’s about time I started fighting too.”
As she said this, the warhammer cracked. The fissures spread with a creaking sound, and in the next instant, the warhammer crumbled into dust. All that remained was the woman with her right arm raised and Gilda holding the broken handle of the warhammer. Gilda, too, dropped the handle and his massive body collapsed. Gilda, lying on his back, his chest deeply caved in.
Who could have predicted this chaotic turn of events? Four of my subordinates were killed in an instant. Only I and my last subordinate, Yuro, remained.
“Wh-who are you…!?”
“……Um, I’m an adventurer from Pars?”
“Why are you asking? Are you screwing with me…?”
There’s no other way. This is our last resort. The carriage might be blasted to smithereens, but we can’t afford to hesitate. I signaled the rear unit.
“Your smug look ends here!”
The six people standing behind were all mages. The magic they wielded was Red Magic, boasting the highest destructive power. We’re about to unleash a storm of C-Rank Red Magic. It’s a shame to lose such valuable assets, but our subordinates are dead. We must have our revenge.
“Go get ’em!”
I brought down my arm and gave the order for the all-out assault!
“…”
“…Is it ready yet?”
“Huh?”
This is strange. No matter how many times I gave the order, the magic wasn’t unleashed. Could they have fled, leaving me behind?!
“What do you think is going on? Efil, do you know?”
The woman turned to her companions at the carriage. There, a maid stood calmly on the carriage’s cargo bed, a bow in her hands.
“No, I don’t know,”
The maid replied indifferently, putting away her bow.
