Chapter 117: "How Shameful."

Chapter 117: "How Shameful."

"Woosh!"

Within the tent, Shien suddenly got up, which startled Lumia and Melika who were next to him.

"M-Mr. Shien?"

"W-What is it?"

Both Lumia and Melika became uneasy. It was as if they noticed that a change had come over Shien.

Shien closed his eyes and completely expanded his [Enemy Detection] and [Magic Detection] skills.

With that, Shien not only felt a number of sources of both strong hostility and magic power approaching. The reactions from his skills were quite intense.

Those were definitely not the kind of reactions one got from demonic beasts.

The hostility and magic power of demonic beasts weren't that obscured nor that lively.

Therefore, Shien was certain that the attackers weren't demonic beasts. Instead, they were even more dangerous, more terrifying, and more evil existences. Plus, there were quite a few of them too.

There was even one particular magic power reaction that was much stronger than even Jillian.

"Finally came huh?"

Shien opened his eyes and turned towards Lumia and Melika.

"Follow me closely. Absolutely do not get separated."

With that statement, Shien charged out of the tent.

Lumia and Melika couldn't quite properly react to that. Only after a while did they give each other a look and, as if realizing that something was wrong, finally charged out of the tent after Shien.

The moment they left the tent, though, Lumia and Melika shuddered.

"T-The scent of blood...!"

Lumia wiggled her cute little nose with a shocked expression on her face.

"Look over there!"

Melika's sharp eyes caught something abnormal with the camp, and she pointed in that direction with a warning.

In the direction that Melika was pointing, several tents were on fire. They burned fiercely while emitting thick black smoke into the air.

There were also constant explosions erupting from all around the camp.

At this point, there was no way that Lumia and Melika didn't know just what was going on.

"Enemy attack...!?"

"How...!?"

The two girls let out cries of shock.

Shien stood in front of the two. He narrowed his eyes as he observed the scene before him.

"As expected of the Old Demon Faction that masterminded the mass assassination incident in the capital. They're quite capable at infiltration and assault."

It was actually only after they started acting that Shien's [Enemy Detection] and [Magic Detection] started reacting. Obviously, the enemy came prepared. At the very least, they had made countermeasurse specifically against detection skills.

"Diere's side shouldn't have discovered that enemies have infiltrated, right?"

Even Shien, with his maxed leveled skill, only detected it just now, so there's no way it'd be possible for Diere.

Although...

"Even so, there's no way I'd still miss you when you're this close."

As he said that, Shien suddenly swung about and viciously kicked out at the space behind Lumia and Melika.

"Bang!"

With a clear impact, Shien had accurately struck a shadow that was sneaking up on Lumia and Melika and sent it flying away.

"Ah!"

"Kya!"

Only then did Lumia and Melika discover that someone was about to ambush them, and they let out a surprised cry.

Shien moved the two girls behind him as he fixed his gaze onto the attacker.

The attacker didn't seem to have imagined that he would be discovered, nor did he imagine that he'd be sent flying with a kick, so he was stunned for a moment before getting angry.

"Kill!"

Without wasting any words, the attacker flipped himself upright, grasped a still bloody dagger, and charged toward Shien.

The speed of his movement was so great that most could only see a blurred shadow. It was also done completely silently, without disturbing the environment around him at all. Most people wouldn't have been able to so much as react and thus would have been instantly killed.

Unfortunately for him though...

"Bang!"

With the sound of a dull impact, the charging attacker was once again sent into the air by Shien's kick without even the chance to swing his dagger.

If the attacker's movement was fast enough to be a mere blurry shadow, then Shien's kick was light a bolt of lightly. A flash and it was done.

"A-Amazing..."

Having witnessed the whole exchange, Lumia muttered to herself.

"Mr. Shien..."

Melika just stared at Shen's back with her heart pounding like mad.

Shien had no more effort left to mind such things though.

Even if his true abilities were exposed, he could just toss the blame elsewhere like always. Now isn't the time to hold back.

Thus, Shien walked toward the attacker.

"You...!"

The attacker seemed to have also realized that Shien was a difficult opponent. Thus, he turned about and got ready to retreat without a hint of hesitation.

This too was part of their standard operating procedures. Kill any that they can without hesitation, and retreat from anyone they can't. Leave those ones for when they either group up with the main force or stronger comrades.

However, it was definitely a mistake to turn his back on Shien.

"[Lightning]."

A brilliant flash of lightning lit up the night sky and struck the attacker who was getting ready to retreat.

"Aaaahhhhh...!"

The attacker screamed out in agony. Under the assault of the lightning bolt, his entire body was fried to a crisp, turned into charcoal, and fell down onto the ground.

Shien approached the fallen body, picked up the attacker's dagger, and spoke in a disappointed tone.

"If you couldn't become unparalleled, don't go copying someone else's assassin shtick. How shameful."

What answered Shien's words were two other shadows though.

"Kill!"

"Kill!"

The two new attackers had gotten next to Shien at some point. The two simultaneously pointed their hands at Shien, speaking words filled with killing intent while releasing magic power.

It seemed like the who of them were preparing to directly use powerful spells to instantly take Shien down.

At that moment though...

"Hyah!"

Lumia charged toward an attacker and forced him to back off with a powerful punch.

"[Burn Off]!"

Melika had instead released a spell that she had prepared at some time against the other attacker. Fierce flames blasted toward his position, forcing him to abandon his attack and dodge.

"Tch...!"

One of the attackers clicked his tough, raised his hand again as if shifting his target to the girls.

That was also a wrong decision.

"Rip!"

Following a tearing sound, a dagger had suddenly appeared and was nailed on the attacker's chest.

"Cough..."

The attacker let out a stiff cough before falling over.

Shien maintained his throwing pose as a familiar message appeared in his mind.

「Skill gained - [Throwing] - Would you like to learn?」

It was a skill that was great at sneak attacking from just a glance, so of course Shien would learn and max it out right away.

As Shien finished doing just that, he turned to the final attacker left.

"Hyah! Hyah! Hyah!"

Lumia was pursuing that attacker. While she was out cute shouts, her fists were being swung with the fierceness and speed of a tempest, thus forcing the attack, who was obviously a mage, to focus exclusively on dodging.

"Damn it!"

That attacker cursed. Magic power erupted from his body like he was preparing to cast some kind of powerful spell.

He didn't realize that he was already a step too late though.

"————This is the breath of heaven————"

Melika's own magic power surged as she raised her staff into the air and chanted.

"————Oh scarlet spirits of flame, oh transparent reason. With this prayer as kindling, rise from this place————"

The crystal on Melika's staff shone with a brilliant light.

"[Heaven Fire]!"

The second after, flames rained down from the sky.

"Boom, boom, boom, boom, boom————!"

Spectacular explosions erupted across the entire camp.

The light of the flames lit up the night sky.

The air shook.

As the magnificent scene faded, the rain of flames left charred earth where it had landed.

All that was left there was a corpse.

Only, the feet of that corpse seemed to have been broken by something.

Shien let out a small smile and picked up some new rocks from the ground.

It had to be said, the max level [Throwing] skill really did pull its weight.

It could even be used to break enemy legs and prevent them from escaping.