Chapter 104 - The Predetermined Outcome!
Valletta looked at the sliced body of Olivas, feeling closer to death than ever before.
Shock, disbelief, regret, and even despair tangled together, gnawing at her heart.
How dare he kill Olivas?
Why would he have the guts to kill someone?
The scene in front of her greatly conflicted with Valletta's perception of Luke.
Not only that.
Valletta had never seen such exquisite swordsmanship, the action of aiming directly at the vital points to kill with single strike, it was as if this swordsmanship was designed specifically for murdering their own kind.
How could there be such a vicious skill passed down specifically for slaughtering humans in this world?
Who are the true villains, them or him?
Without hesitation, Luke swiftly eliminated Olivas, and then he sheathed Ser-Veresta and approached Valletta.
According to Finn's instruction, Luke intended to spare her life.
In fact, he had been thinking whether Finn had anticipated that members of Evilus might ambush him and Ais.
Otherwise, why would Finn suddenly find Luke a few days ago and tell him that if they encountered members of Evilus, if possible, they should capture some alive, despite his previous efforts to keep Luke and Ais away from matters related to Evilus.
Now, thinking about it, this was probably premeditated.
Even the double insurance on Ais's body was set up by Luke and Riveria after listening to Finn's persuasion.
"W-Wait!"
"You can't kill me, let's negotiate!"
Watching Luke gradually approach her, Valletta, clutching her severed arm, retreated while saying with some panic:
"I-I've said so much to you just now, there's a reason for it."
"That little girl, her name is Ais, right? Our people have already captured her."
"Even if you kill me, you can't possibly kill all these people without leaving some behind, right? As long as one of them escapes, the safety of that little girl won't be guaranteed."
"So let's negotiate! Spare me, and I promise not to harm that little girl."
Perhaps even she found herself quite reasonable, so Valletta calmed down as she spoke, even reaching into her waist pouch to take out a bottle of healing potion, preparing to stop the bleeding from her severed arm.
Luke didn't stop her from staunching the bleeding.
After all, he was planning to capture her alive.
It would be meaningless if she died of excessive blood loss after being captured.
Luke's behavior relieved Valletta, and she believed her threat had worked.
Actually, she didn't know the exact situation on Ais's side.
Although they did send some people over to Ais's location, the focus was still on Luke.
Ais was just a little girl, not even nine years old, and not worth mobilizing a large force for.
However, the most embarrassing situation at the moment was actually for the remaining group of Evilus adventurers.
First, they listened to a long speech from their leader, and then they saw her confidently charge forward only to have her arm severed.
Just as they were about to follow the instructions of another senior member of Evilus and were ready to provide assistance, the senior member who gave the order was instantly killed.
This sudden change almost caused some of the mages to falter halfway through their chanting.
But it's okay; they were experienced with such a situation.
Most of the dark-robed adventurers had already charged forward, and those with skills and magic were also ready to strike forward.
Just as the battle was about to commence...
Valletta suggested negotiation.
???
What?
The black-robed adventurers, who were halfway into their charge, froze in place.
The squad of mages behind them, ready to unleash their magic, almost choked on their chants.
Now, all the black-robed adventurers who had planned to provide support wore expressions of embarrassment beneath their hats, as if asking, 'Who am I? Where am I? What am I supposed to do?'
But they didn't know that Valletta had just saved their lives.
She wasn't actually scared by Luke.
When she saw Luke instantly kill Olivas, she knew that their team couldn't win against him.
Luke's decisive killing of Olivas made Valletta realize something about him.
Compared to Finn and the other first-class adventurers who weren't keen on killing other people, the seemingly young boy before her was the most dangerous.
Feigning intimidation, Valletta, after using a healing potion to stop the bleeding from her severed arm, calmly walked up to Luke.
As she walked, she gestured with her remaining right hand to the black-robed adventurers behind her.
"Now that you're considering negotiation, let's discuss it elsewhere."
"And, with such skills, staying by the guild side is a waste of your talent."
"Join us! Your swordsmanship is specifically for..."
Stab!
?!
Before Valletta could understand what had happened, Luke had impaled her abdomen with Ser-Veresta, then forcefully pinned her to the ground.
Luke looked at Valletta with great reluctance.
This was the second time she had practically delivered herself to be struck by him, making him feel somewhat embarrassed.
With Ser-Veresta pinning Valletta down, there was no chance for her to escape.
Ser-Veresta had its own consciousness.
Luke had instructed it to immediately incinerate Valletta at the first sign of escape or disappearance.
Though capturing a live member was crucial, Luke had no intention of letting his enemy slip away.
He wouldn't let them go just for the sake of capturing them alive.
Losing Ser-Veresta would be a significant loss of his combat capability, but dealing with the remaining rabble would still be a piece of cake.
"W-Wait!"
"Do you not care at all about the fate of that little girl?!"
Pinned to the ground and writhing in agony, Valletta, realizing the situation, shouted at Luke in disbelief.
"Ahaha, I understand. How could a cold-blooded executioner like you possibly stand with the guild?!"
Though he didn't plan on wasting time talking nonsense with his enemy in battle, Luke wasn't sure if the magic isolating him and Ais had a soundproofing effect.
It would be bad if the sound could be transmitted outside, causing misunderstanding with Finn and Ais.
He didn't want the members of his Familia to see him as someone who didn't care about the safety of his companions.
"You said earlier, there was a reason why you wasted so much time talking all that, right?"
"Then you think there's no reason why I just stood there listening to your nonsense for so long?"
As Luke's words fell, dense cracks began to appear in the surrounding space.
"Space isolation, no, it should be a barrier-type magic that involves some spatial attributes."
"It's truly remarkable. This magic must have caused Finn and the others quite a lot of headache."
Luke spoke as he looked towards an empty corner not far away.
With a flicker of blue starlight, Luke drew the standard sword from his waist, suddenly aimed it at the corner, and instantly kicked it there.
Swish!
Crack!
The sword, adorned with blue starlight, pierced through the neck of a mage hiding there with lightning speed.
Shigure-Soen-Ryu, 3rd form: Yarazu no Ame!
At the same time, the surrounding magic layer used to isolate the battlefield was completely shattered under the impact of Luke's violent sword intent.
After the magic was shattered, what appeared before Valletta was the one she hated the most, Finn Deimne.
Led by Finn, members of Loki Familia surrounded all the black-robed adventurers in a tight formation.
And at the same time, Ais, protected by Riveria, quietly observed Luke.
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