✦ Chapter 34 – I Will Teach You What Fear Is (8) ✦
The festivities were in full swing in Ruiple.
In the midst of an atmosphere where everyone had set aside their worries and was enjoying the merriment, Agnes and Belka had also blended in.
“Huuuaaa…. It’s cool….”
Belka had been holding an ice glass against her cheek since a while ago, but Agnes didn’t put anything to her mouth and just turned the cube around occasionally.
“This mission seems easier than I expected…”
Agnes stared at Belka with an expressionless face.
“We are still on a mission. Do not let your guard down.”
“Ah, yes…”
“Yes, I understand…”
Belka, deflated, kept glancing at Agnes nervously.
Indeed, for a girl like Belka who feared human interactions themselves, Agnes was the very embodiment of a natural enemy. Her speech was stiff, and her expressions were cold.
“Um, how long do we have to stay in Ruiple?”
“We’ll need to stay for at least a week.” Agnes answered, turning the cube with one hand.
Assuming that the cause has not been identified, it would be right to observe for at least a week to see if Ruiple has really become a safe area. In addition, achievements are also necessary.
…It might be possible to return immediately if the cause is found and eliminated, but that was also a story that was easy to say in words.
“This wager, it’s a really important wager, right? I heard that if we win, we can access the Imperial Treasury…”
“Of course, it’s a very important wager, but it’s not just because of access to the Imperial Treasury.”
“Eh…? There’s another reason it’s so important…?” Belka’s pink eyes widened in surprise.
“There’s an upcoming exchange meeting between the six magic towers, isn’t there?” Since Belka still looked like she didn’t understand, Agnes slowly added an explanation. “The number of times the Imperial Magic Tower has not attended the exchange meeting has exceeded 10. Don’t you think the other Magic Towers are starting to realize that the Imperial Magic Tower is unstable?”
“I suppose so…?”
“But if we achieve results in Ruiple, it might slightly reduce the suspicion towards the Imperial Magic Tower. It means the chances of being slandered will also decrease.”
“Ugh, ugh, slander? They do that at the exchange meeting too?”
“…Do you think the exchange meeting is some kind of tea party?” Agnes clicked his tongue. “It’s just called an exchange meeting for appearances. In reality, it’s a battlefield. A place where even lives are at risk.”
“W-Why? Why do they have such meetings…?”
“It is because there must be mutual checks and struggle to survive for magic to develop. Like swordsmanship, magic is also a discipline built on blood.”
“That’s scary… Can’t we not participate…?”
“We postponed the sale of the tower on the promise of producing results. How can we not participate? Think a little…” Agnes started to speak but then let out a deep sigh.
…Why was she so unlucky when it came to people?
Her superior was utterly unpredictable, and her junior seemed hopelessly dim-witted. She must have been crazy to quit her position as an imperial administrator… Absolutely crazy…
If there was one fortunate aspect to the situation, it was that Belka was Agnes’ subordinate. In other words, she could be managed.
“If you have any questions, please follow the procedure of asking me, your senior, instead of acting on your own. Do you understand?”
“Yes, of course!” Belka responded with unexpected vigor. “Lady Agnes, if this wager is as crucial as you say, should we really be here…?”
“Absolutely not.”
“Then why is the Inspector…”
“…He’s someone who defies common sense.”
Up to this point, the questions had been relatively normal. However, the next moment—
“Um, Lady Agnes, are you senior to the sunweed?”
“……..?”
A completely incomprehensible question came out of nowhere.
“I will not respond to nonsense questions from now on.”
“But this isn’t nonsense…” Belka fidgeted with her fingers. After a brief pause, she asked, “Agnes… may I use the restroom?”
“There’s no need to ask permission for such things.”
Agnes unconsciously opened her notebook and quickly jotted down two lines—
【The subordinate is also hopeless.】
【It might be better to just enjoy the festivities.】
While her superior was already in the category of being hopeless, her subordinate was even more so. Agnes thought it might be better to continue enjoying the celebration within the estate.
It was a simple judgment — rather than wandering outside and risking a major incident or losing the wager, it would be safer to spend time here where safety was guaranteed.
“Um, Agnes…”
“Think three times before you speak to me,” Agnes abruptly cut off Belka’s words. “If you still feel like you have to say something after thinking about it three times, then do so. Do you understand?”
“No… that’s not it…”
Belka pointed towards the estate’s wall with her fingertip.
“Isn’t that a fiend…?”
Grrrrrr—!
“…………..?”
It was real.
“……………!”
Like waves crashing over a breakwater, countless fiends were leaping over the walls and rushing in.
The two instinctively began searching for one particular person.
“We, we need to call the Inspector…!”
“Damn that Inspector…!”
The moment the two women turned their heads towards the residence—
Craaaaaack—
The entire dwelling froze over in a brilliant white.
An immense chill swept through the estate, causing a surge of mana to ripple across the grounds.
~~••~~••~~
Thud— Thud—
On the ground that had become an ice rink, EEzekiel approached Tirbi without slipping, gradually closing the distance between them.
‘There’s not a single opening. Or is everything an opening?’
Ezekiel advanced as if on a leisurely stroll, yet he didn’t appear to be letting his guard down. It was an attitude that could only come from immense self-assurance. Tirbi grudgingly acknowledged this; his ice techniques were indeed worthy of such confidence.
“S-Stay back,” she tightened her grip on her greatsword’s hilt. Her wrist trembled—a first for her.
“I said stay back—!”
Whoosh—!
The greatsword drew a near-perfect horizontal arc; its force was as immense as the size of the sword itself.
“…………..”
But the strike fell short by a hair’s breadth and Tirbi stood frozen in place.
“…………….”
However, her reason for freezing was different. It wasn’t because her attack had failed to reach its target.
‘…He didn’t even blink.’
A few strands of Ezekiel’s bangs had been sliced off and were floating in the air; that’s how close the strike had been. If the sword had gone just a bit deeper, his skull would have been cleanly split, brain matter splattering everywhere…
…Yet he didn’t even blink.
As if he knew from the start it wouldn’t reach him.
No, as if even if it had, it would have been inconsequential.
“Is that all you’ve got?”
That calm response was all there was to it; this was different from the humans Tirbi had faced before. Tirbi had always had the upper hand in any contest, victory coming easily. Humans inherently possessed fear, after all.
…But what if the opponent was devoid of fear?
‘That’s impossible. It can’t be…’
She summoned an immense amount of mana into her greatsword.
‘Spirit Slash.’
It was a technique that channeled the fear of the vengeful spirits she had collected over time. She had gathered countless such spirits.
— I’m scared!
— I’m terrified!
— Save me!
The vengeful spirits began to wail.
Rumble rumble rumble—
At the same time, the entire residence began to shake; the tremendous power was palpable. This strike would do it. Tirbi was certain. It contained the fear of over a thousand spirits. No one could withstand such a flood of memories all at once.
It might even cause their brain to explode.
Thud—
The moment Ezekiel took another step closer.
“Hyaaaaaaah—!”
Tirbi brought down her sword with all her might; the vengeful spirits rising from the sword opened their maws as if to devour Ezekiel. In that fleeting moment, she saw Ezekiel still standing there, having taken no action.
It would work. It had to work.
Boom—!
With a thunderous sound, all four walls of the residence exploded; the ceiling, too, crumbled into dust and settled down.
When all the debris had cleared—
“………….!”
—Ezekiel stood there, unscathed.
Ice had formed around his neck like armor, and the greatsword was lodged in it, unable to cut through. Tirbi’s eyes grew so large that they looked like they were about to pop out of her head.
In all the fights she had faced in her life, had there ever been such an absurd difference in skill? At least in Tirbi’s mind, she had never even imagined such a scenario.
It was then that Ezekiel calmly spoke, “A sword that devours fear, how intriguing.”
“H-How…?”
“Hey,” Ezekiel said, “Have you ever thought about your own death?”
“…………”
When Tirbi couldn’t answer, Ezekiel spoke again. His voice remained unnervingly calm, “Decide. In what form you’d like to freeze.”
“Ah… Ah…”
Tirbi couldn’t form words.
Her mind had completely frozen. She had lived a life without ever considering the possibility of meeting her end, never once entertaining such a thought.
Then, in an instant, Ezekiel nodded as if satisfied.
“That expression right now—it’s fitting for your final moment.”
Tirbi’s face reflected in the icy ground beneath her; it was the visage of someone utterly terrified.
“Aargh!”
At the same time, she felt an immense pain and lost her grip on the sword. The demon blade that devoured fear was now trying to consume her whole.
The reason was obvious.
‘Am I… feeling fear? Me?’
The moment one experiences fear, they can no longer wield this sword; the absence of fear was the minimum requirement to grasp this greatsword.
Ezekiel quietly extended one hand.
“It suits you.”
With those final words, everything in the vicinity froze over.
One high-ranking demon.
Her expression frozen in terror, breath stilled.
“The end.”