Chapter 217. Target Strike (2)
After following the river for a short while, Enoch checked the time and climbed a low mountain set back from the water.
As morning turned into midday, the rising temperature would warm the air, causing body odors to rise upward.
By first gaining elevation and then descending again, the risk of being tracked by scent, by Ixion’s pursuing magical beasts, could be reduced, if only slightly.
Even with a time limit, that was far preferable to engaging in unnecessary battles with additional beasts.
Enoch studied Rien walking beside him out of the corner of his eye.
Something about her behavior was clearly strange.
She had been silently watching him for a while now, and it was obvious she had something she wanted to say.
“You said you needed rest.”
At Rien’s words, Enoch nodded.
He sat down on a moss-covered rock that looked reasonably stable, loosened his sword, and leaned it against the side.
Then, to check his injury, he half-removed his outerwear and undid the buttons of his shirt.
The wound was revealed beneath the blood-soaked fabric.
At that moment, Rien stepped closer.
Before he could stop her, she braced one hand on the rock, leaned in toward his injury, and examined it closely.
For a while, she carefully traced around the wound with her fingertips, checking its condition.
She was so close that her breath tickled his skin.
“…….”
Enoch quietly looked down at her. As always, she was unchanged.
“The wound is fine.”
“I need to confirm it.”
“Do you really have to go this far?”
Still bracing herself on the rock, Rien suddenly lifted her head straight into Enoch’s field of view.
The distance was uncomfortably close, but she paid it no mind. She met his gaze directly and pointed to her own pale neck with a finger.
“Despite how severe this injury is, the danger signals reaching me were not that strong. You could say that means you have grown numb to death.”
“That is not wrong, but I am serious. This wound really is not a problem.”
“How can you be certain?”
“Because I used a treatment supplied when I visited the Holy See last time.”
“Treatment?”
Enoch nodded and took an ampoule out of his pocket.
“It was prepared by Saint Amelia. They say it heals most wounds without even leaving scars.”
Looking at Rien, Enoch continued,
“It cannot heal old scars, but with this, it should be fine.”
“……I see. It really is healing.”
Lowering her gaze, Rien looked at his wound for a moment and then nodded.
Even to her casual observation, Enoch’s injury was rapidly closing.
Once again appreciating how effective the Holy See’s ampoules were, Enoch tilted his head slightly.
“So, is this good enough?”
“Yes. But going as far as bringing such an ampoule from the Holy See.”
Rien shot him a glance.
“Did you anticipate getting injured on this operation?”
“…….”
It was not an incorrect assessment.
Originally, he had planned to assemble a full squad with a strong formation before coming to this operation zone.
But even that could not guarantee perfect safety in a battle where life and death were at stake.
Enoch clenched the ampoule, slipped it back into his pocket, and brushed it off with a casual excuse.
“I finally have a powerful follower family like the Saint. There is no reason not to take advantage of the benefits.”
“…….”
Rien did not respond. She merely stared at him quietly.
Feeling slightly uncomfortable under her gaze, Enoch decided to change the subject.
“Come to think of it, people around me had quite the reaction when I brought Saint Amelia in as a follower family.”
He glanced at her and asked,
“It is a late question, but Rien. Were you really fine with me bringing the Saint in as a follower family?”
At the very least, it was an exceptional case. He had honestly expected some kind of reaction, just like when he brought Shiroko in.
But upon hearing the question, Rien tilted her head as if asking what he was talking about.
“That is strange. Why would you say something so odd?”
She stared straight at Enoch and asked in return.
Feeling awkward, Enoch looked away.
“It feels odd to say this myself, but taking someone like the Saint as a follower family was quite the topic of conversation.”
As he spoke, he could not help but wonder what kind of answer she would give.
Without changing her expression at all, she tilted her head and replied as if stating an obvious fact.
“Of course. It is your body and your face, Young Master.”
“That… is…?”
“And yet, if you decide to bring someone in as a follower family, do you really think there is even the slightest chance of failure, whether it is the Saint or anyone else?”
“…….”
Ah. He understood now.
Enoch gave a bitter smile and turned his head aside to avoid her unwavering gaze.
“This is genuinely severe.”
“…Hm? What do you mean?”
“Nothing. Forget it.”
Watching Rien tilt her head with her usual emotionless eyes, Enoch let out a quiet sigh.
He had always known how blindly devoted this silver-haired maid was to him, but it struck him more sharply than ever now.
Just what had the previous Enoch done to earn such an attitude from her?
At this point, learning about Enoch’s past had become something he wanted to know even more than the inheritance of the sword.
“Enough small talk. What are we doing next?”
Rien leaned back slightly and glanced around.
“The plan seems to have gone quite off course.”
Enoch shook his head.
“There have definitely been complications. But what we need to do has not changed.”
It was unavoidable.
Enoch knew well that situations never unfolded exactly as planned. Still, this time was unusually extreme.
An unplanned mission, no different from a suicide order from Shepherd, to assassinate Indiviltal deep in enemy territory.
During its execution, they were chased by beasts and separated from Alicia.
As if that were not enough, they had encountered Ixion, the ninth-ranked Annihilation Officer of Vendetta, operating secretly behind enemy lines.
Calling it a smooth mission would have been a joke.
But the situation was not hopeless either. The major objectives were still being steadily met.
As Enoch buttoned his shirt back up, he paused to reassess the situation.
At some point, Rien had come closer and, with a natural motion, began fastening the remaining buttons one by one.
“Thank you.”
After she finished and stepped back, Enoch slowly rose, using the scabbard as support.
“The wound has healed enough. Let us move.”
As he belted his sword and finished preparing,
He noticed silver hair rippling at the edge of his vision and turned his gaze.
Rien was standing beside him, looking up.
“Do not die.”
She quietly reached out and straightened his collar. Her movements were practiced and respectful.
Silver hair rippled across her pale cheeks as she lifted her eyes and stared at him.
“…If you die now, it would be inconvenient.”
“Do not worry.”
Enoch nodded, looking down at the maid as she finished adjusting his collar.
“I have no intention of dying.”
***
Just as calculated, the pursuit did not resume.
His wounds had closed, and Rien had used magic to remove as much of the blood scent from his clothes as possible.
As Enoch absentmindedly touched his shirt, its bloodstains nearly gone, Rien looked over at him.
“I restrained him during the battle, but it was only a stopgap measure. The pursuit may resume soon.”
Recalling Ixion bound along with his own living carapace, Enoch nodded.
“How long will the restraint last?”
“By my estimate, a few hours at most.”
“…That sounds like you could have held him longer if the conditions were right.”
Rien turned away, her eyes cold.
“I will not deny it. If there had been enough time, I probably could have.”
Hearing her say that so casually sent a faint chill through Enoch, and he shook his head.
He replayed the fight between Rien and Ixion in his mind.
If Enoch were to fight Ixion properly now, what would happen?
If he were uninjured and in peak condition, even with the sword inheritance currently halted, he could likely fight him to a standstill one-on-one.
, But Rien?
Enoch turned to look at her.
As always, the maid with emotionless eyes was quietly watching him, and their gazes met.
“…….”
Just what level had Rien reached?
He had sensed it vaguely before, but her overwhelming display against Ixion confirmed it.
Magical affinities, combat styles, domains.
Even accounting for all those variables, Rien had completely dominated the fight.
Ixion was not like Tantalus, a pure researcher. He was an Annihilation Officer with sharp combat instincts.
And yet.
Based on that alone, it was clear she was not ninth grade. She was far beyond that.
Beyond that, however, nothing was certain.
It was strange enough that such a high-level mage had barely appeared at Enoch’s side in the original story.
At that moment, Rien spoke.
“I have a question too.”
“What is it?”
She glanced in the direction where Ixion had been and asked coldly,
“The location of Indiviltal that he told us. Do you think it is trustworthy?”
“It would be hard to call it a lie.”
Enoch nodded slightly.
He had already roughly pinpointed Indiviltal’s location before.
Even so, doubts about Ixion’s motives remained, but the operation’s target itself had not changed.
“It is ahead.”
After climbing a sheer rock face formed by uplift, Enoch spoke while looking forward.
Beyond the forest of towering trees, across the wide river, far, hundreds of kilometers away,
Something could be seen.
To get a clearer look, Enoch took out a pair of electronic binoculars from his duffel bag and peered through them.
Then he narrowed his eyes.
Within the zoomed view, countless wyvern-type beasts were circling a specific area in the sky.
Below them, trees so dense that even sunlight could not penetrate were clustered together.
Rien murmured beside him,
“Those beasts. From the frontal battle?”
“Yes. Definitely.”
Enoch nodded, staring intently.
Suddenly, THUD.
A heavy sound echoed, a massive tree shook, and birds resting there took flight in a panic.
The rustling of branches made it clear that something enormous was moving through the forest.
His pulse quickened.
There was no doubt. A leader-class terrestrial experimental beast was in that area.
“We have found the target, but it is farther than expected. If we want to get there, we need to hurry, ”
But at that very moment, an explosive roar and tearing debris assaulted his ears.
Crimson flames flared beyond the forest and surged violently.
The ground shook again, and trees collapsed near the riverbank just tens of meters ahead.
The sound had not come from where the beasts were.
It had come from right near Enoch and Rien.
The next instant, something black surged toward them from the explosion and streaked past at tremendous speed.
Rien glanced over.
“That just now, ”
“Yeah.”
Enoch nodded.
Shockingly, what had skimmed past them was shattered carapace fragments from magical beasts.
“It seems we were found much earlier than expected.”
After checking the explosion site, Enoch turned to Rien and said,
“Shall we regroup with the separated team member first?”