Luguvalium, Britannia.
Residence of Hector Godson.
Nighttime, the perfect moment to sleep. My room is perfumed and tidy. Everything was perfect for this night.
That is, of course, until a spirit comes to visit you.
"So, Noela, you're telling me you waited all day until I was unoccupied to deliver this letter, right?"
"Yes."
"And according to you, the right moment is now, right?"
"Yes," she responded without the slightest hesitation.
"You know what, no, forget it. Pass me the letter."
Leonhart's letter talked about the current situation and how we might face the barbarians.
There had been a lot of activity at the border recently; I had been busy, true. But reading further, I realized something. Another letter?
"Someone is intercepting the letters."
Godfather, they had cut off my ears and left me deaf.
"Luciana, find Feliciano and let's meet in my office."
"Hector!"
I jumped out of my bed quickly. This had to be resolved tonight, or I wouldn't be able to face anyone later.
Luguvalium, in simple terms, is not a city, just a simple town without even walls. The houses are barely made of wood. The border is just the river and a small bridge. And you're telling me they were smuggling weapons, so what the hell was I doing?
My "office" was just a few steps from my room, if you could call it that. On the wall behind my desk was my spear "Astrapi," and my desk was covered with bear skin.
I lit the fireplace beside my desk and waited for the light. The room took on a warm and cozy color.
"Did he give you more details about this?"
"He only gave me the letter and some orders to capture or eliminate any suspects."
The Marquis' units have priority authority when they are sent on missions, except for the Duke and the consul; they can order any noble.
However, such authority is only possible if they carry the internal affairs plaque, of which there are only five. And Noela has one.
Noela told me about the suspicious people she had seen and those who had gone beyond the borders; she eliminated them.
The efficiency of these monsters sometimes surprises me.
"Godfather. Noela, what was I doing that I didn't notice this?"
Despite not being able to see Noela's eyes, her expression of concern tells me nothing good.
Leaving the questions for later, I took my spear and made sure everything was ready. Feliciano and Luciana arrived just in time. They brought an extra person, Feliciano's daughter.
"Why did you bring Felicia?"
"Sir, if the internal affairs unit is here at this hour, I wouldn't want to leave Felicia alone."
"I understand. Noela, tell me who the suspects are and let's get started."
Then Noela began to draw the town on a parchment, marking the locations and names of the people we were supposed to eliminate. Among them was a name I paid special attention to.
"So Luval too, tsk."
The house of Luval had been the one that had taken care of Luguvalium the longest, the current head of the family having succeeded his father about six months ago when he died during a bear hunt.
"Perhaps, Sir Luval didn't die by accident, Sir Hector," Feliciano said.
I also suspected that case back then. I thought it was crazy that young Luval killed his father, being an experienced warrior.
In the town, there were few soldiers; most were on the other side of the border guarding, and the few inside patrolled until just past midnight.
I ordered Noela to take care of the larger groups, Feliciano to join the soldiers with Felicia and Luciana to fight the remaining groups.
I, for my part, headed to the Luval house.
"Aren't you going to wear armor, Lord Hector?"
"I don't need it."
And no, I'm not being arrogant. These barbarians don't have the skill to fight me, and young Luval neither. His father had been a different story, but Sir Luval would never betray Britannia.
In the dark of night, I ran towards my destination. The Luval house was a bit closer to the entrance of the town. It was also by far the largest house.
The Luval house was large; you could see it from anywhere in town during the day, but at night you could barely see its shadow. Getting closer, I realized there was a shadow right outside the house. It was young Luval's brother.
I slowed my pace until I had a clear view of him. He was bare-chested, sweaty, and bloody. He wielded a long sword and had wristbands on.
"Skart, where is your brother?" I asked.
I gripped my Astrapi spear tighter.
Skart is Sir Luval's illegitimate son. Despite being older, he was never granted inheritance or favoritism by his father. But still, Sir Luval took care of him and loved him like a son.
"Skart, I asked, where is your brother?"
"I, no, I, aaah!" Skart lunged at me.
"Then you have chosen. What a shame." I dashed forward.
.
.
.
.
I thought I had told Sir Hector who the suspects were. So, why is he fighting that guy?
Well, it doesn't matter. The soldiers were already gathering with Feliciano, and I had finished off the largest group. So, I just need to chase the one who escaped to the forest.
For us Banshees, moving is as simple as the wind. We become ethereal; the feeling is soft, as if the body releases all weight and lifts us with the wind. Soon I caught up with the human who was... strolling? through the forest.
"Hey, where do you think you're going-" My words were carried away by the wind.
A shiver went up my spine. For a moment, I felt alive. The human in front of me was grinning from ear to ear, if you could call it that. He was covered in blood and wounded in the ribs, exuding a strong murderous intent, and his bloodied long sword didn't help his appearance.
"You, you're a killing star."
Killing star is how those who are good at killing are known. Bloodthirsty, ruthless, and naturally evil. It is decreed by law that they must be killed as soon as they are known. In their wake, there is only blood and corpses.
"Kukuku, you were the thing I felt all day. Because of you, I had to kill them, damn spirit," he said.
"Disgusting creature, pretending to be human, you're like a demon, but this is where you end."
My body felt heavy again, my muscles tensed, and my skin became hard and cold like steel.
"ENOUGH TALK!" he said, charging at me.
With just a few steps, we exchanged blows with his sword and my arms; the killing star kept a safe distance while I tried to make this fight close combat.
He swung his sword towards my neck; the sound of his sword buzzing in my ears.
The killing star made faces of pain from the wound, and despite that, he still moved fluidly. We continued exchanging blows, and the sound of the clash was like a blacksmith's hammering.
I never needed weapons; my body itself is as hard as any iron. Launching a counterattack, he avoided it by lifting his chin and taking a half step.
I could fight for hours, unlike the killing star. Our blows became more aggressive, faster, and deadlier. All aimed at our necks, chests, and temples. He dodged them by a hair's breadth and blocked another.
"Hyaaa!"
The human lunged towards my chest. I tensed my arms and with the right one deflected his sword.
Cling!
The strong clash echoed in the forest.
Taking advantage of the breach, I threw a punch with my left hand.
Crack!
I missed the punch, and as a consequence, my hand hit a tree.
"What the hell!" He seemed surprised.
He took distance from me and gripped his sword tighter. He ran towards me with a terrifying impulse intending to finish me off.
His sword fell towards my head with a terrifying force to split me in half. I caught the sword mid-trajectory and twisted it. It broke.
Crack!
In that instant, I closed the distance and was about to grab him. However, breaking the sword didn't mean it was no longer functional.
He launched another slash towards my neck with more force. With the distance reduced, I used my left hand, blocking his attack by holding the broken blade in the air. Taking advantage of the moment, with a right punch, I hit the back of his hand against his jaw.
"Tsk, is it still not enough?"
I thought that would put him to sleep, but he still stood.
"Kuku, your days are numbered. Don't think you can..."
"Cry in hell, disgusting bastard."
Not letting him finish his monologue, with my open palm, I slashed his wound on his ribs, feeling his body convulse.
After a few moments of pain and agony, he passed out.
Normally, I would kill him immediately, but as a noble, he still has a certain degree of dignity we must maintain. Nonsense, if you ask me.
"So, let's see what punishment they give you."
I took the killing star's body and went down the mountain.
.
.
.
.
Hernán Luval was executed.
As soon as Noela returned, I simply executed him.
Skart told me that during dinner, he began killing everyone in his house, and he survived by the skin of his teeth.
That's what he says, but Skart, despite not knowing any swordsmanship