"I'll deal with him."
This is the first highly armored enemy I've encountered since I took down Amon with Dispel.
I figured I'd take him on and see how powerful the blindfold "300% increased critical damage" effect is.
'What was his name…?'
Suddenly, one of the men running away from the bloodied Kaen shouts.
"Brother Dukalt!"
Yes. It was Dukalt.
Calling out for Dukalt, the man running toward him is slashed in the back by Kaen's sword and falls to the ground.
"Brother…"
The one who appeared to be Dukalt's brother stretched out his hand, but… Kaen's sword is immediately plunged into his heart.
"Ow!"
Dukalt was furious as he watched.
"These bastards…"
Dukalt looked ready to jump down and kill Kaen at any moment but I approached him just then.
With a single leap, I reached the railing of the second floor hall and aimed for his throat with my Sierra. But I was blocked by his axe, and my sword emitted a clear sound.
'I'm outmatched in strength and mana.'
My sword and his axe clashed and struggled.
"Blind…?"
Dukalt exclaimed, noticing the bandages over my eyes.
Despite his size, he was unable to push me away, perhaps because he was of a similar level to me.
I got the better of him and sidestepped the axe by throwing my body to the side.
[Boom!]
The axe shattered the railing I was standing on.
"I don't know where you guys came from, but…you won't make it out alive."
Dukalt says, raising his axe.
"…"
"Especially the bitch who killed my brother, I'll do it over your dead body!"
Dukalt snarled and swung the axe at me, slicing through me at breakneck speed.
'I see a few weak spots.'
I stooped to dodge the axe, studying every inch of Dukalt's body.
The thick gargoyle skin covered his entire body, and unlike my previous opponents, there were fewer red circles where I could see weaknesses.
The only weaknesses I could see were in his joints.
[Boom!]
The axe I dodged smashed into the wall next to me and I seized the moment and aimed for his arm, which was dangling over my head.
I sliced through his arm, hitting the weak spot at the elbow.
I hear the sound of something hard snapping, and pieces of the gargoyle's skin fly everywhere.
One of the effects of the blindfold "300% increased critical damage," had ignored the creature's hard skin. There was some resistance, but it didn't take much.
Blood gushed out as the sword's trajectory cut off his arm.
"Ugh…!"
Having lost an arm in one fell swoop, Dukalt grabbed his axe with his remaining arm and stepped back.
"What the fuck…"
I lunged at the cursing man. There was no need to give him a break.
"Ugh…!"
Panic flashed in Dukalt's eyes before he could reorient himself.
He swings his axe with his remaining arm, but it doesn't have the speed it once had.
I run at him, leap, and run until I'm within striking distance of him, slicing through his axe's shaft.
Dukalt jerked back, but I smiled faintly. In front of me, I could clearly see the red circle around his neck.
Then my sword sliced across his throat.
The area near the neck was not gargoyle skin, so Dukalt's throat was sliced open with a soft sound.
I leap past him and land as Dukalt's head rolls into a heap beside me.
It was a satisfying result and as soon as his death was confirmed, a surge of power shot through me.
'Level up.'
I have finally reached level 26. This means that I have 4 points left over to spend on Ghost Slayer Technique and 2 points left over to level up Reverse Heaven.
Perhaps then I'll be able to write the second chapter of Reversal Heaven.
I immediately glanced at Sierra and wondered if she would have any questions about my rapid progress.
Sierra, who had watched my battle from the sidelines, stroked her chin and studied me.
[…You sensed the weakness of his body. If not sensed, then… It's instinct, an uncanny talent of my disciple.]
Sierra's voice rang with admiration, as if she was surprised that I had found his weakness so quickly.
I couldn't talk to her right now, so I turned my head slightly and focused down the hall.
There stood Kaen in the center of the hall, her face drenched in blood, but her eyes wide with relief. There was no one else standing there but her.
Only a few moaned as they lay on the floor, gurgling blood and seemingly about to die.
Kaen looked up, breathing in deeply, and then spotted me on the second floor and opened her mouth.
"Cadet Zetto, I've got everything organized here!"
Judging by the cheerfulness in her voice, Kaen must be feeling better after the battle.
She's usually so calculating about hiding her power, and I remember her enjoying and even loving the simplicity of combat, similar to swordplay.
"…It's just about over here, too."
In response, Kaen checks out Dukalt behind me, who had one arm and head severed, and then speaks again.
"Looked pretty tough… You cut him down pretty good, huh?"
"This big guy must have been the boss. Why don't you come up here and we'll talk."
Kaen comes up the stairs at my call. The scent of blood wafted through the air as she approached, and her face and clothes were covered in blood.
"Are you hurt anywhere?"
"Not at all, I'm just feeling refreshed."
Kaen smiled wryly as she said that.
"What is this place? Is this the room of that boss from earlier?"
Kaen and I casually walked into Dukalt's room.
Dukalt's chamber was not particularly elegant, like the chamber of the blood mage Relial I had defeated earlier. In general, the room was cluttered and disorganized.
"Hmm… There's a lot here…"
Kaen said as she looked around the room.
I followed Kaen's lead and pretended to look around the room, slowly making my way to the area where the vampire's gift was supposed to be.
In the corner of the room, I spotted a luxuriously designed case.
"Hmmm…"
I drooled unnecessarily, opening the case to see its contents.
'This is it.'
With a smile on my face, I picked it up and held it up.
"A coat? That looks pretty classy!"
As I stood up with the coat, Kaen approached and examined it.
This black coat was the armor I was looking for.
This coat isn't an ordinary piece of clothing, but a unique class of armor called 'Night Shroud'.
It's a game, so there are a lot of armors that look like clothes. Even the academy uniforms could be considered armor.
Kaen looked further into the case that held the coat and picked up the letter inside.
"Dear Varsum…"
Kaen recites the first line of the letter.
She reads the rest of the letter carefully, then turns to me.
"…Looks like they were going to present that coat to Varsum. It looks like it's an expensive enchanted garment, made by a very famous craftsman… I'm sure it's much nicer than our uniforms."
Kaen, who had tossed the letter to the ground, came over to me holding the coat.
"It looks like it's the right size, and wouldn't it be better for cadet Zetto to wear it rather than hand it over to a vampire or something?"
Kaen, who hasn't even wiped the blood from her face, smiles wryly as she says that.
"Well, that's…"
I say with a shaky voice.
We fought together so I suppose I'll have to reward Kaen separately.
Luckily, I had plenty of money on hand.
It seems like a good idea to buy her something that would be perfect for her.
With the coat in hand, Kaen and I rummaged around the room a bit more, but nothing more came up so we headed down to the prison where the women were waiting.
When we returned to the cell, the women's eyes widened at the sight of Kaen soaked in blood.
I untied their ropes first.
"Thank you…"
"We should do something for you…"
"…We don't know how to repay you…"
They continued to thank me and Kaen as if they finally felt safe but when they wanted to reciprocate, we politely declined.
To be honest, I felt uncomfortable since I wasn't here to save their lives.
Maybe Kaen was, but… I was not worthy of such a response.
I knew I couldn't save all the people who died unjustly in the many stories I'd seen in the game.
I was never a hero.
"I don't want you to tell anyone else about us. We don't want our identities to be known."
I said with a friendly smile to the huddled masses.
The color of Kaen's hair, the bandage over my eye, we were a certain kind of easy mark.
They looked at us and said yes, if they understood.
It was time to get them home safely. On the way, some people were disgusted by the number of dead bodies, but none of them were alive, so we were able to safely get them out of the building.
I let the women out and watched them go back to their homes. Then Kaen, who was standing next to me, turned to me.
"Uh… I think we should stop at an inn, I'm covered in blood…"
There was no way Kaen was going to make it inside the academy looking like that, I thought.
After all, it was the weekend now, so it wouldn't hurt to rest at an inn for a day or so.
"Sure."
I said, handing the robe I was wearing to Kaen.
At the same time, Sierra's foreboding voice, which had been listening to the conversation between me and Kaen, rang in my head.
[ …Disciple, make sure you get two rooms, by all means. ]
***
"If it's a bathtub, it's placed in each room… Ah, what can I do, I only have one room now."
The innkeeper scratched his head as I asked if there was a bathtub and if there were two rooms.
Sierra's face contorts at the innkeeper's words and I feel an eerie sense of dread and turn to Kaen.
"What can we do, find another inn…"
"Oh, no. It's getting late, so let's just stay here… It'll be hard to find another inn now…"
Kaen, who interrupted me, turned her head away from me and said in a shy voice.
"Eh…? You want us to stay in the same room?"
"I, I just want to take a quick bath, what are you thinking?!"
With a flush on both cheeks, Kaen stammers, rolling her eyes.
[What does this bitch think she's doing here…? There's only one room!]
In response, Sierra tries to rant and rave, but of course, it goes unheard by Kaen.
[…If you try anything foolish I will not let you off the hook…!]
Sierra said as she glared at Kaen, still clinging to my body.