The ground, interfered with by the spirits who were offered immense magic power, rose up greatly, transforming into multiple blades that attacked Pfeil like waves.
A high-density condensed magic bullet was fired, cutting through the wind and heading straight towards Jared.
Pfeil’s arrow possessed a power worthy of being called a magic bullet. It relentlessly pierced and destroyed the blades of earth, which were as strong and sharp as masterwork swords.
However, with each blade it pierced, its speed decreased, and its power waned.
The shattered blades of earth, turning into shrapnel, attacked not only Pfeil but also Jared.
Jared, who had no strength left to move, was wounded by the shrapnel before he could deploy a barrier. The same was true for Pfeil, with fragments embedded all over his body.
Having unleashed their full-power attacks, they were both unable to move and stood frozen.
The magic bullet continued towards Jared, shattering and crushing the blades of earth as it advanced. In his dazed consciousness, Jared managed to deploy a barrier, but he couldn’t stop the magic bullet’s momentum.
He tried to block the magic bullet by further expanding the barrier, but even using all his magic power wasn’t enough to stop it.
The magic bullet struck Jared’s body directly, as if being absorbed. It pierced his left shoulder, embedded itself in the ground behind him, and then exploded, creating a large hole.
Jared, turning to look behind him, grew even paler. If the arrow hadn’t pierced through and had remained in his body, he would have surely exploded.
The slight deviation in its trajectory caused by the barrier, Pfeil’s full-power attack exceeding expectations, and the arrow’s shape which gave it high penetration power were what saved Jared.
“…You win,” a faint voice, barely a whisper, was heard.
Jared’s gaze shifted directly forward, and he saw that the blades of earth, after being shattered and attacking like waves, had reached Pfeil.
Pfeil, cut and pierced all over his body, was pinned between the wall and the blades of earth, as if stitched in place.
Seeing him bleeding from every part of his body, Jared was genuinely impressed that he could remain conscious.
“At the very last moment, you used magic, just like a magician…”
Pfeil’s breath was shallow, yet he wore a strangely satisfied expression.
“To defeat you, I had no choice but to rely on a major spell. However, thanks to your magic bullet, the damage was less severe.”
Jared, after much deliberation on whether to use it, decided that sacrificing some of his surroundings was unavoidable and unleashed his Earth Magic. However, Pfeil’s magic bullet had more power than he anticipated, and by destroying a majority of the earth blades, it confined the damage within the premises.
“I never want to fight in a residential area again.”
Actually, due to Duke Alway, the nearby residents had been temporarily evacuated.
This was the Alway Ducal Family Villa, and though small for a noble’s mansion, it was still quite spacious. There were no adjacent mansions, and as long as it didn’t involve the few houses across the road, it would have been fine. However, there was a risk of destroying the mansion itself.
Jared had never once used magic towards the mansion. He had consistently fought with the mansion at his back. With people he needed to protect, he was solely focused on eliminating even the slightest danger.
“Now, about our promise.”
Picking up his short sword and clutching his side, Jared dragged himself towards Pfeil. The immobilized Pfeil could neither escape nor struggle.
With the tip of his sword aimed at Pfeil’s neck, Jared asked, “Tell me the name of the person who commissioned you to kill Hannelore and Olivier.”
“Unfortunately, I cannot tell you.”
“Why! You promised you would if I won!”
Pfeil didn’t seem like someone who would break a promise, and Jared was disappointed, thinking that he was, after all, just an assassin. What’s more, he grew angry at himself for having trusted Pfeil.
“I made a promise, and I want to keep it if possible, but I don’t know the client’s name.”
“That’s absurd!”
Ignoring the pain in his body, Jared shouted at Pfeil’s words, which sounded as if he had never intended to reveal it from the beginning. As Jared’s anger flared, the magic he was about to unleash began to stir.
The earth holding Pfeil dissolved into particles, and the assassin boy, wounded all over, collapsed powerlessly onto the ground. Jared straddled Pfeil, who had fallen limply, and grabbed him by the collar, asking again, “Tell me, who was the client?”
“That woman commissioned Waalthe, so I merely acted according to the organization. I don’t know the name.”
“—Tch!”
Giving in to his rage, Jared raised his right hand, gripping the short sword, and swung it down with all his might.
“I’ll ask you one last time. Tell me the client’s name.”
“Someone from the Alway Ducal Family. That’s for certain.”
“Anything else?”
“A woman over forty, with blonde hair.”
“I can’t figure it out with just that!”
“She has a hysterical side… I truly don’t know anything more. I’m sorry.”
With that information alone, he couldn’t expose the mastermind who had ordered Waalthe to kill Hannelore and the others. He had fought desperately to protect Olivier and the others. Although he had won this time, he would have to live in fear of the next assassin. The thought that he would have to make Olivier and the others feel this way was painful and sad, and he felt sorry.
“—Kill me,” Pfeil muttered.
“Don’t hesitate. As an assassin, if you lose, death awaits. I don’t want to live in shame, unable to provide you with useful information. So, kill me.”
“You don’t need to tell me!”
Just as he was about to kill Pfeil according to his wish,
“—No, Jared Murphy,” a familiar voice came from behind Jared.
“Olivier-sama?”
Turning his head slightly, he saw Olivier Alway standing there, unmistakably.
“Why are you here?”
He couldn’t understand why she, who was supposed to be inside the mansion with Hannelore and Trane, had appeared here, or for what reason.
“I am very grateful to you. So, it’s alright now.”
As Olivier smiled softly and approached him, Jared raised his voice.
“Don’t come any closer!”
“Why?”
“The assassin isn’t dead yet. I don’t know what he’ll do if you get close. Please, don’t do anything dangerous.”
“From what I can see, the assassin you’ve subdued looks like he’s been beaten to the point of being unable to move?”
“Even so! He’s an assassin from Waalthe. What sense of crisis do you have coming here so carelessly!?”
With the target of his protection appearing in a dangerous area, Jared tightened his grip on the short sword, intending to finish Pfeil off immediately. However, before Jared could swing it down at Pfeil, Olivier’s slender fingers grasped his arm. With a little force, he could easily shake off her restraint. Even with his injured body, he had that much leeway. Still, he couldn’t.
“Why are you stopping me?”
“And why are you trying to kill him? The match is already decided, isn’t it?”
“Perhaps. But he lied. He said he’d tell me the client’s name, but he didn’t even know it!”
“Still, there’s no need to kill him.”
“Then why is that! He’s an assassin who targeted Olivier’s life! No, not just you, he was also targeting Hannelore-sama. If Trane had confronted him, she would have been harmed too. Yet, you tell me not to kill him? If he lives, he will surely target Olivier and the others again!”
Jared, wanting to eliminate even the slightest worry, saw no other option but to kill Pfeil. Jared wasn’t foolish or naive enough to let an assassin who lacked even proper information run free.
“I don’t want you to dirty your hands for our sake.”
“I’ve killed people before. My hands are already stained. Killing one more person now wouldn’t make me feel anything.”
“Even so, I don’t want you to go to such lengths when you’re injured, Jared.”
Olivier, still holding Jared’s arm, turned her gaze to Pfeil.
“Hey, you met the client directly, didn’t you?”
“Yeah,” Pfeil replied curtly. Olivier nodded with satisfaction and said, “Then I can help with creating a sketch. Are you willing to cooperate?”
“The loser obeys the winner.”
“He says he’s willing. If Jared doesn’t kill this assassin, we’ll be one step closer to uncovering the mastermind who targeted Mother and me.”
“—Fine. But…”
He clenched his fist with his left arm, which wasn’t being held. A sharp pain shot through his left shoulder, but ignoring it, he poured all his strength into Pfeil’s face and swung down.
“Jared!”
Olivier’s voice sounded reproachful, but she hadn’t killed Pfeil.
“I just knocked him out. We can rest easy for today.”
“Then I will hand him over to Father’s subordinates who are waiting nearby.”
“…You knew?”
“Of course. Although, it wasn’t me who noticed, it was Trane. Now, put down your sword. The battle is over.”
As instructed, Jared slowly lowered his hand and placed the short sword on the ground. He stood up, holding Olivier’s hand, who let out a sigh of relief.
“We need to get your wounds treated. I’ll call a doctor right away, so for now—Jared!?”
Puzzled by Olivier’s suddenly panicked and loud exclamation, Jared felt the strength drain from his body. His vision tilted, a shockwave of pain ran through his body, and he finally understood that he was collapsing. Olivier, not caring about her soiled dress, shook his body and said something, but her words didn’t reach Jared’s ears. He wanted to tell Olivier, who was crying, not to cry, but in his state of exhaustion, he couldn’t move his lips. Instead, he gently touched her hand with his blood-stained one. Feeling the warmth of Olivier’s hand, which gripped his tightly, Jared’s darkening vision felt distant as he lost consciousness.
