Glancing around, I observed the group of five people who had formed a circle around me.
Their clothes were tattered and mismatched, giving them the appearance of wanderers or outcasts.
"Creepers," I muttered, recalling the warning I had received before entering the labyrinth.
"It looks like the lost little lamb knows about us," one of them sneered, eyeing me with disdain.
Drawing my sword from the side of my bag, I tossed the bag aside.
"Take the bag if you want," I offered, not in the mood for a fight.
The leader of the group, a burly man with a scar running across his cheek, chuckled menacingly. "Oh, we'll take more than just your bag, little lamb."
"Take that shit and leave, you fucker. Don't try to make things hard for both of us," I retorted, glaring at him.
The burly leader's chuckle turned into a low growl as he eyed me with disdain. "You've got some nerve, kid."
Stepping closer, he continued, "But we don't take orders from the likes of you."
"I might if he spends a night," the only female in the group said, eyeing me seductively.
"I am a minor, bitch," I replied, looking at her with disgust.
The woman's smirk widened at my response as she purred, "Even better. I like 'em young and feisty."
The other members of the group chuckled at her response, except for the leader.
".....Why the mask, little lamb?" One of them asked, noticing the mask on my face.
'Hey, El, what if I show them my face? What's the chance that they might run away after recognizing me?' I asked, keeping an eye on them.
[... Don't do it. It might have adverse effects.]
'Yeah.'
"It's none of your business," I snapped at him, tightening my grip on my sword.
"Show us your face, kid," the leader said, looking at me curiously.
"....No,fucker," I replied as I noticed all of them coming closer towards me.
The woman's eyes gleamed with interest as she took a step closer. "How intriguing. Maybe you could use a hand—or two."
".... Remove the mask, kid. You're making things difficult for both of us," the leader said again, his eyes fixed on me.
"Fine, you fucker," I retorted, yanking off my mask.
For a moment, all of them fell silent before the leader spoke up, "Well, well, well, you're really just a—"
Thud.
But before he could finish, the woman fell backward, landing on her butt. She stared at me, her entire body trembling.
"D-duchess's s-son," she stammered, pointing at me with a trembling hand.
"What!?" the leader exclaimed, but the woman ignored him.
"KILL HIM! KILL HIM!" she shrieked, her voice filled with panic.
"Shut up, you crazy bitch!" the leader shouted, his anger evident.
But the woman paid him no heed, her eyes wide with terror as she continued to scream for my death.
"Kill him! Kill him before it's too late!"
"Why are you shouting?" the leader demanded, his tone filled with irritation, which seemed to snap the woman back to her senses.
She looked at me with trembling eyes.
"H-he i-is h-her son," she stammered, her voice barely above a whisper. "D-duchess Esmeray's son."
Silence fell over the group as they tensed up, each of them drawing their weapons.
"Are you sure?" the leader asked, his gaze shifting between me and the woman.
"Even if he is a look-alike, we have to silence him!" the woman insisted, her voice quivering with fear. "If that woman knew that we tried to threaten her son, we will face a fate worse than death."
".....Or you could let me go, and we can forget about all this," I interjected, hoping to get out of here without a fight.
"And you think we don't know about you!" the woman shouted, glaring at me with intensity. "You will surely try to kill us the moment you go out of here."
I sighed inwardly. Well, the previous Azariah might have, but I had a lot of better things to do now.
"Just let me be, you fucker," I growled at her, frustration bubbling up inside me.
"No! Are you saying to trust the son of that woman!" she shouted, her words echoing with desperation and panic.
"Remember the great purge fifteen years ago," her voice continued, trembling with fear. "That woman alone killed all the citizens of the Hesperia kingdom. She even executed a duke's family and a viscount family from the empire as well."
"Weren't those just some rumors?" one of the members of the group asked, looking at the woman.
"No, they are true," the woman said, violently shaking her head. "I... I was there when the Duke family was executed... she mingled... their corpses... after killing them, even the child of the family wasn't spared."
I felt there gaze on me sharping as they heard her.
[Azariah.]
'I know.'
I took out one of the knives from my pocket and threw it at the woman, but my aim was off, only serving to alert them.
"ATTACK HIM."
"Fuck."
I quickly dodged a sword aimed at my head, stepping backward as the other members of the group closed in, surrounding me.
Clank.
"Argh..." parring an attack with my sword, I then grabbed the assailant and slammed his face onto my shoulder.
He recoiled, clutching his nose, but I swiftly grabbed him by the back of his neck and pressed my sword against his stomach.
My sword slid out from the other side of his body as I loosened my grip on the hilt, stepping sideways to dodge a strike of a hammer aimed at my head.
"Argh..fuck..."
But things didn't go as planned, as one of them was able to prick my side with a sharp knife.
"Urgh..."
Gritting my teeth against the searing pain, I retaliated with a swift kick to the assailant's knee, causing him to stumble backward with a grunt.
Blood gushed out of my side, dropping to the ground and staining it crimson.
Another opponent lunged at me from the side, his weapon raised high for a devastating strike.
Reacting on instinct, I twisted away, narrowly avoiding the brunt of the blow as it glanced off my shoulder.
"Urgh..." Another one attacked me with a knife, which I blocked with my hand, the blade pricking my forearm and making me groan in pain.
"AAHH! AAHH!, ARGHHH!"
But I didn't let the chance go to waste. Despite the pain, I gouged his eyes out from their sockets, causing him to stumble back, grabbing at his injured face.
Seizing the opportunity, I yanked the knife from my forearm and swiftly plunged it into the middle of his head, silencing him.
Blood gushed out of my forearm, dripping down my fingers.
With only three of them left, I seized my chance and targeted the one wielding the small hammer.
I charged towards him, and as he sensed my approach, he swung his hammer at my face.
"Argh... motherfucker.." I shifted my head slightly, allowing the blow to connect with my shoulder instead.
Agony flared through my body as the impact sent shockwaves of pain down my arm, accompanied by a sickening cracking sound.
Ignoring the injury, I closed the distance between us and grabbed his face with both my hands.
The only reason it's hard to face them despite being around the same rank as them is because, unlike me, they are regulating mana within their bodies, making them more durable.
On the other hand, I don't have that.
But that doesn't mean I don't have a trick up my sleeve.
[Niflh.]
I mumbled, still grabbing his face. The blood leaking from my hand slowly turned into an icy mist that quickly entered his body through his nose and mouth.
"AHHHH—." His shouting came to a halt abruptly as I exerted all my remaining strength on his skull, and like glass, his face shattered as his headless body fell to the ground.
"Huff....Huff..." Catching my breath, I looked at the remaining two.
The one who was acting like the leader and the woman, both of them were ready to attack me as they closed the distance.
"You know," I said, checking my breath and looking at them, "Your loss was already written the very moment my blood fell on the ground."
[Muspelh.]
Before they could even react, I mumbled, extending my hand in front.
And in the next instant, everywhere my blood had fallen, a crimson fire enveloped that place, ready to burn anything.
The woman was lucky, but the leader wasn't.
"AHHHH!"
His cries of pain echoed as the flames engulfed his body, searing his flesh and rendering him helpless.
With swift precision, I picked up a nearby sword and drove it deep into his torso.
"AHHHH!"
His agonized screams filled the air as I kicked the hilt of the sword, causing him to stumble and fall to the ground.
Leaving him half-dead, I turned to the woman, who was now looking at me with fear.
"P...please, let m...me liv—." She began, but before she could finish, I grabbed the small hammer and struck the back of her head.
"AHHHH!"
She cried in pain, but I didn't stop. With each strike of the hammer, I could hear the sickening sound of bone crunching and flesh tearing.
But I paid it no heed, my vision blurred by a haze.
Finally, as she lay motionless on the ground, her skull shattered and her life extinguished, I stumbled back, the hammer slipping from my grasp.
"Huff... Huff..."
My hands were slick with blood, my breath coming in ragged gasps as I struggled to regain control of my senses.
[...Is this your first time killing someone?] El asked, noticing my unusual reaction.
But I remained silent as I looked at my hands, stained with blood.
These bloody hands reminded me of a memory from Inder—of my past.
".....No," I replied as my hand fell to the ground helplessly. "I... I have killed before."
[...Who?] El inquired.
I... didn't reply as I closed my eyes, the memories of that day flooding back into my mind.
"I... killed my parents."