Chapter 92
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Chapter 92
No one in that room could follow her movements with their eyes. In a heartbeat, she had repositioned herself behind the Organization Leader, swept his legs out from under him to force him to his knees, and pressed a blade against his throat. His face drained of all color.
"I don't refrain because I lack the ability. I don't spare you because I find you agreeable. I simply wish you understood that."
"I understand perfectly well. Please, release that poor child, Miss."
A leisurely voice interjected. The man who had gone to summon the boss earlier returned with an elderly woman whose hair was streaked with white and whose expression radiated warmth. The old woman approached, leaning on her cane, and settled herself into a chair. Echinacea Loaz kept her grip on the Organization Leader as she turned to regard the elderly woman.
"I had hoped you would come yourself, but you arrived faster than I anticipated."
"It seems you know who I am, Miss? You show no surprise."
"You're the boss of Wedge, aren't you, Grandma. I'm pleased to meet you."
"Such courtesy as well. You're a lovely and virtuous young lady. But how did you come to know of me?"
The old woman chuckled warmly. This grandmother, who seemed as though she ought to be knitting by a fireplace, was the boss of Wedge—a figure known only as "Grandma," whether that was her true name or an alias. When I first learned the boss's identity, I was quite shocked myself.
When I had directly confronted Wedge, who had insulted the Changtian Knights in the past, and reduced them to near annihilation, this old woman had emerged. At that time, I had settled accounts with Grandma and continuously exploited Wedge's intelligence while gathering Giosa. The organization was crude—involved in loan sharking, gambling, and even assassination—but proved invaluable for gathering information.
"How I came to know you is irrelevant. Shall we discuss the truly important commission?"
"Child, won't you release that boy first?"
"If I release him, I'll have to draw my blade before we can even converse. Must I see your organization members bleed before I'll hear your commission?"
"It is customary to sheathe one's blade during conversation. Have no fear—I will not harm him."
"Such words should come only after the five hanging from the ceiling and that clumsy master lurking over there have withdrawn, Grandma."
She gestured with her chin toward the shadows behind the old woman as she spoke. Grandma's wrinkled face stiffened momentarily. I continued speaking with composure, keeping the struggling Organization Leader subdued with one hand.
"Have you confirmed what's gone missing? You understand what happens if that leaks out. Beyond that, I have much to offer as compensation for your commission. Some of it would be difficult for others to clean up afterward. How about withdrawing your people?"
"...What exactly are you offering, child?"
"Well, for instance, a promise not to lay a hand on your true 'child'?"
Grandma's smile vanished entirely, her expression hardening into something cold and severe. It did not take long for the old woman to order all her organization members to withdraw. As they filed out like a receding tide, I released the Organization Leader I had been holding. He scrambled away and fled the warehouse. Grandma gestured to the single man who remained at her side and spoke.
"This boy is like a son to me, so I'd like him to stay nearby..."
"He's your Right Hand, isn't he? That man can remain."
"You truly know a great deal, Miss."
The old woman's mouth smiled, but her eyes were cold. I sat across from Grandma and replied.
"I know far more than you might think. The locations of Wedge's branches scattered throughout various places, the whereabouts of safe houses, those who operate while concealing their membership in the organization. And I even know that your cherished grandson resides in the 23rd Street Mansion in a particular city. Would you like me to name the city?"
"...To speak of such things so carelessly—don't you fear for your life?"
"It's impossible for you to harm me, regardless of what you do. I'm rather strong."
"You're quite confident, aren't you?"
"You're welcome to test me."
"...Very well, let's say you are strong, Miss. You're the first to ever discover where our children are hiding."
Grandma spoke in a tone as though coaxing a child and laughed.
"But what of the people around you? We can easily discover who you are. Normally, we guarantee the confidentiality of our clients' identities—it's our principle. But your case is rather exceptional."
It was an unmistakable threat. Before my return, I had already lost everything, so such threats would have meant nothing to me. But now, I had much to lose.
Yet if I refrained from acting out of fear of loss, I would be unable to prepare for anything. I could not remain ignorant of who my enemies were. Discovering those who had manipulated Loaz and transformed her into the Demon Woman was absolutely necessary.
Of course, this meant accepting the risk, not that I actually intended to become truly endangered. I understood well what kind of person Grandma was. And I had a precise grasp of my own strength. I responded gently.
"Then you and your grandson, along with the entire organization of Wedge itself, will pay the price of annihilation."
Despite the gentleness of my voice, a murderous aura surged forth, ominous and suffocating. The man guarding Grandma's back reflexively drew his blade. But he trembled uncontrollably under the weight of that killing intent, his sword point wavering. I did not even glance in his direction, keeping my gaze fixed on the old woman as I continued.
"If you make me your enemy, Wedge will not survive. So it would be far safer for you to investigate the White Lion according to my commission than to turn me into an adversary."
It echoed the sentiment Grandma had expressed in the erased past, when she had provided me with information about Giosa—that it was far less dangerous to give me what I wanted than to make a monster like me into an enemy.
The old woman observed Echinacea Loaz with narrowed eyes. Though she wore the hood pulled low, her youthful lips and slender neck remained fully visible. No matter how one looked at it, Echinacea Loaz was nothing more than a young, delicate woman.
"How arrogant. Are you simply ignorant of what you don't know, or is it truly...."
Grandma pressed her lips together and rose from her seat with a grunt. Leaning on her cane, she shuffled slowly toward the warehouse door. Standing at the entrance, the old woman opened the door halfway and whistled toward the courtyard as if calling chickens, her sound directed outward.
Echinacea Loaz remained seated with perfect composure. The man likewise stood motionless, his blade drawn and aimed at her. After whistling and waiting a moment, Grandma turned back to her and whispered.
"If you hold your ground here, I'll believe what you say, miss."
"And if I don't?"
With a thunderous crash, the door swung completely open.
"Then you'll have your fingernails torn out until you reveal the location of the missing goods, and after that, you'll become one of our merchandise. Do your best."
Behind the smiling old woman, figures in black clothes poured in—easily dozens of them. The warehouse was the kind of place the organization used for meetings, equipped with all manner of traps and devices. In contrast, Echinacea Loaz stood alone with only a single blade. On the surface, it appeared hopelessly disadvantageous.
Yet she drew Amethyst and lifted the corners of her mouth.
"Since you asked me to test myself, I'll leave you all breathing."
She leveled her blade at the surging crowd. It didn't take long for Grandma's previously calm face to turn a sickly shade of blue.
With each arc the white blade traced, crimson blood erupted. Those touched by Echinacea Loaz's sword—whether wounded or unconscious—became decisively incapacitated. It was like releasing a lion among sheep.
The arrow traps and snares installed throughout the warehouse proved useless. She dodged arrows shot at the back of her head with merely a slight turn of her head. Then she deflected a dagger thrust toward her solar plexus, changing its trajectory. That dagger ended up piercing an unfortunate comrade instead.
Grandma's right hand—the Master himself—joined the fray to attack her, but it proved futile. Echinacea Loaz precisely parried a blade that approached concealed among the others, brimming with mana. Only at the moment of parrying did a faint violet mana flicker across her blade. It was mana manipulation so disturbingly efficient that it sent chills down the spine. The instant the violet mana met the approaching blade, the man gasped in pain. His grip shattered, blood flowing from his palm as his sword flew away as if repelled. The difference in both quantity and quality of contained mana was absolute. Strike an iron wall with a twig, and the twig breaks.
The moment he parried that sword, purple mana flickered faintly across The Woman's blade. It was mana control so efficient it sent chills down his spine. The instant the purple mana made contact with his sword, the man let out a groan. His grip shattered, blood pouring from his hand as his sword flew back as if repelled. The quantity and quality of the mana they wielded were on completely different levels. It was like striking an iron wall with a twig—the twig would simply break.
"Enough!"
Confirming that the Master's blade had flown away, Grandma finally withdrew her organization members. Echinacea Loaz let the retreating members go, stopped in place, and lowered her blade. Her breathing remained perfectly steady. The robe she wore—not her own—was already soaked through with others' blood. Those scattered about clutched their wounds and groaned.
"As promised, I didn't kill anyone. Take them away and get them treated."
Echinacea Loaz gestured with her chin toward the scattered bodies. Grandma's face rigid as stone, she waved her cane. Organization members rushed forward, hoisting the wounded onto their shoulders and retreating.
Meanwhile, Echinacea Loaz examined Amethyst's blade with apparent fascination. Having cut through roughly twenty bodies, the edge remained pristine and gleaming as if brand new. Seeing faint light flicker across the magic circle before fading, the enchantment must have activated.
[Master, are you really just admiring that right now? I can clean off blood too! I'm better at it!]
"Quiet, Demonic Sword."
[Tch, it's been so long since facing humans, and I wasn't even drawn, and you won't even let me kill them.... Hey, if you keep this up, I'm really going to explode later, and don't say I didn't warn you.]
The Demonic Sword grumbled sulkily, but Echinacea Loaz paid it no mind. She gazed at the blade—so white and pristine it reminded one of someone—then carefully slid it into its sheath.
In the meantime, the organization members had fled. In the warehouse pooled with blood, only Echinacea Loaz, Grandma, and the man with shattered hands remained. Grandma muttered as if in pain.
"I'm becoming curious about your true identity, miss."
"You said you could find out soon enough?"
"I never imagined a Master unknown to us existed on this continent. And one with such extraordinary abilities at that. You're truly impressive for your age, child. From now on, I'll need to learn everything about you."
"Learning about me is fine. It's not as though I can stop you from trying anyway. However...."
Echinacea Loaz fixed her gaze on Grandma while extending her right arm to the side. Her gloved hand was empty. Yet from that empty palm, a thin violet light blazed like flame, forming a blade-like shape. She swung that hand lightly. The sword energy released from her hand cut silently through the dim air and struck the warehouse wall without sound.
A deafening boom erupted. The wall crumbled as if struck by a massive iron hammer. The roof shook and bricks crumbled into sand, pouring down. Along the trajectory the mana had carved, the exposed earth revealed its raw interior, deeply gouged. Beyond the collapsed wall, organization members who had been surrounding the warehouse turned deathly pale, either collapsing or stumbling backward.
Grandma stared blankly at the completely destroyed wall. Without even glancing back at the wall, Echinacea Loaz continued.
"When you attempt anything against me, you should be extremely cautious."
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Brought to you by Valir Scans! To support our team and enjoy the latest releases, please read directly on our official site: valirscans.org
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