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HELHEIM SCANS
[Translator - Hestia]
[Proofreader - Prøks]
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Chapter 53: Who Are You?
Not long after the woman left, I immediately returned to the main base and called Bravo Khan.
"Did you find them?"
I got straight to the point.
"Soldier, was there a woman at the Dark Soul headquarters?"
I described the appearance of the peculiar woman I had just encountered. Bravo Khan paused for a moment before replying.
"If she had daggers, it's highly likely that it was Vice-Commander Daisy."
"One of the three subordinates under Shepiro?"
"Yes. Daisy is the First Vice-Commander. She's the most senior among the Vice-Commanders. Did you perhaps see Vice-Commander Daisy?"
As soon as I nodded, Bravo Khan let out a sigh.
"It seems House Head Shepiro is quite angry."
"He said he was going to take my head, of course, he's angry."
"Still, I didn't expect him to send Vice-Commander Daisy herself."
I let out a chuckle and looked at Bravo Khan.
"What's the relationship between Daisy and me?"
"Strictly speaking, you could say you're equals, but Vice-Commander Daisy probably doesn't see it that way."
"Her skills?"
"I understand she's quite skilled with daggers. She's at the top, except for House Head Shepiro."
At that moment, there was some commotion outside, and then I heard One-Eye's scream.
"Looks like she's here."
As I stood up and slung Tae-do over my shoulder, Bravo Khan briefly grabbed my sleeve.
"You must be careful."
As I started walking, Bravo Khan quickly added,
"She's a woman whose intentions are hard to read. I encountered her a few times when I was briefly at the headquarters. Don't be fooled by her appearance."
I touched my chest and replied,
"Are you talking about me?"
After completing my disguise, I went down to the courtyard. Bravo Khan stood there for a moment, then muttered,
"What am I doing? It's Daisy who should be careful."
* * *
"Ugh! Let go!"
As I went down to the courtyard, One-Eye was screaming with his arm twisted. Seeing the woman I had shared stew with earlier subduing One-Eye and laughing gave me a strange feeling.
The rest of the mercenaries had surrounded the woman.
"Long time no see, Bulrai. How have you been managing your men that they're in such a state?"
In response to the woman's greeting, laced with sarcasm, I replied,
"Let him go. He has an eye infection. It's contagious."
The woman, startled for a moment, threw One-Eye to the ground. I immediately gestured to my subordinates to help One-Eye up and move him away.
"Why is someone with an eye infection wearing an eyepatch like that?"
"Don't insult my subordinate. Anyway, it's been a while, Daisy."
Daisy looked at me strangely for a moment, then suddenly burst into laughter.
"Are you crazy, Bulrai?"
"You know me well."
"Seems like you don't remember the old days? Want me to refresh your memory of getting beaten up?"
I vaguely sensed the relationship between Bulrai and Daisy.
This bulldog-like guy acted all tough in front of me, but it turned out he was living a tough life, getting pushed around by the messenger and beaten up by Daisy.
With the intention of avenging the bulldog-like guy, I said, "If Shepiro's head is on the line, why can't I call Daisy by her name?"
"What?"
Daisy's eyes widened in surprise.
"Oh my god, chills. You were serious?"
"Bulrai is a bulldog-like man. He doesn't lie."
Daisy, who was making eye contact with me, walked steadily towards a rock and sat down comfortably.
"Alright. Let's hear it. If you're so confident, you must have a plan, right?"
"What plan?"
"You told the messenger, didn't you? That you'd kill that son of a bitch Shepiro. How are you going to do it?"
While listening to Daisy, a question suddenly popped into my mind.
'Shepiro, that son of a bitch? Are they on bad terms?'
I suddenly remembered Daisy cursing about the tributes this morning and asked,
"Daisy. Do you also want to kill Shepiro, that son of a bitch?"
"Shut up and just answer my question."
"Of course, I have a plan."
"So, what is it?"
I pointed my finger at myself and said,
"Me."
"..."
Imitating Bulrai's tone, I repeated,
"I will personally go and take Shepiro's head. Will you join me?"
"..."
Daisy, still perched on the rock, stared at me silently for a moment before speaking.
"Someone, give me a sword."
I nodded without much thought, and one of the mercenaries approached Daisy and handed her a sword. As soon as Daisy received the sword, she threw it at me.
"Kill yourself."
"..."
"I had a feeling, but I guess I was right. You're wasting my time, so just kill yourself nicely, you idiot. Even if all of you here attacked me at once, killing you wouldn't be a challenge for me. You know that, right?"
"You don't believe me?"
Daisy shook her head and looked around with an annoyed expression.
"Ah, this is frustrating. If you're going to attack, just do it all together. It'll be over once I kill you anyway."
From what I could see, Daisy wasn't bluffing. I could sense the remnants of mana wriggling whenever she showed killing intent.
'A 2-star Mana Core? That's unexpected.'
I gestured for my subordinates to step back completely and said,
"You attack me, Daisy."
"...You want to commit suicide?"
"This bulldog will teach you a lesson."
"Alright, you crazy bastard. I'll end this quickly."
Daisy, still seated, reached for her waist and drew a red dagger with lightning speed.
In an instant, Daisy's figure blurred.
* * *
I dodged the dagger flying towards me like a ray of light with a slight tilt of my head.
Whoosh—
A vacuum blade grazed my right cheek, missing by a hair's breadth.
I drew Tae-do and wrapped the blade in Wind, and once again, the red dagger thrust towards my shoulder.
I bent my back 90 degrees backward, deflecting the attack, and then swung Tae-do with the rebounding momentum.
At that moment, the red dagger flew vertically, striking the center of Tae-do.
Crack—
The Wind wrapped around the blade shattered, but at the same time, the force in the dagger also dissipated.
The dagger, colliding with the remaining physical force of Tae-do's blade, bounced off harmlessly. Daisy regained her posture in mid-air and shouted,
"What the hell are you!"
Whoosh—
Before I could answer, Daisy kicked off the ground once again.
This time, she aimed for my blind spot, swiftly circling in the opposite direction of the hand holding Tae-do.
Her intention was to take advantage of the moment when my movement, burdened by the heavy Tae-do, would become sluggish.
Daisy and I circled each other, our movements gradually becoming misaligned. And at the moment of a half-beat difference...
Daisy suddenly disappeared from sight, and I sensed a killing intent from below.
A swift movement, like a lynx crouching and then leaping.
'Wind Push.'
Almost simultaneously as I kicked off the ground and soared into the air, Daisy swung her dagger with a roar and jumped up from below.
Both of us were high in the air.
Whoosh—
Daisy's dagger sliced through the air, a hand's breadth away from my feet.
"Shit!"
In mid-air, I gripped Tae-do with both hands, raised it high above, and spun it, bringing it down towards the falling Daisy.
As soon as Daisy landed, she instinctively rolled on the dirt floor. There was no time to grasp the situation. An ominous premonition rang alarm bells throughout my body, urging me to dodge.
Boom—
In a split second, a pile of rocks erupted.
Tae-do's blade struck the ground, and a massive cloud of dust and dirt billowed in all directions.
If I had been even a moment slower, it wouldn't have been the ground that was crushed, but Daisy's shoulder. Covered in dirt, Daisy stared at me with a dumbfounded expression.
"...What the hell was that?"
I gave Daisy a thumbs-up.
"Nice roll."
That's what I said, but honestly, it was a bit unexpected.
It was surprising enough that she possessed a 2-star Mana Core, but I didn't know she could utilize mana so effectively in her movements.
She's a woman who knows how to fight.
At a level similar to apprentice knights.
'Interesting.'
Her movements weren't systematically learned. They were rough and unrefined, but her body instinctively knew the forms.
"I asked you what that was. Where did you learn that? Don't tell me you were hiding your skills?"
"Curious?"
Daisy, calming her excitement, took a step back and said,
"Honestly, I am curious. When did you, an idiot, become so strong?"
"If I tell you, will you join me in taking down that son of a bitch Shepiro?"
"I'll decide after hearing what you have to say."
"Alright. Keep this a secret. The jumping technique I just showed you was developed by a very rare fatty named Palge from the Sigmund Merchant Guild. But it has a very fatal side effect. You end up using 'Neung' at the end of every sentence..."
As my subordinates perked up their ears and drew closer, Daisy pulled out another black dagger from her inner waist, held both daggers in a dual-wielding stance, and charged at me like lightning.
A blurred afterimage.
I lifted Tae-do above my chest. At that moment, the reverse-grip twin daggers crossed in front of me, slicing through the center of Tae-do.
Clang—
Tae-do's blade was now completely severed in two, leaving me exposed and defenseless.
"Coward! Attacking while talking."
Daisy cackled in response.
"You believed that? Idiot."
Of course, I didn't believe it. But once again, I reevaluated Daisy.
'She's not just at a similar level.'
She had abandoned defense, focusing solely on killing the enemy with a single surprise attack.
In a real fight, she could probably kill most 2-star apprentice knights.
"You've got some skills, Daisy. You were so fast I almost couldn't see you."
"Idiot. Just die now."
"But what if it's truly invisible?"
"What?"
"A blade that cuts through the wind."
At the moment Daisy crossed her daggers for the final blow, aiming to slice my waist,
"Wind Cutter."
I grasped the wind blade and danced the sword dance.
Fwoosh—
Blood erupted from Daisy's hand, and the daggers clattered to the ground.
Her mask and uniform were simultaneously shredded, scattering pieces of cloth everywhere.
In that state, I infused my foot with 'Wind' and kicked her abdomen, sending Daisy flying back with a mouthful of blood.
Daisy clutched her stomach, trembling and glaring at me.
Her hair was disheveled.
Her bare face was exposed, and the torn clothes revealed her skin, causing murmurs to rise from the subordinates.
"Our Vice-Commander Daisy."
As I smiled and slowly approached Daisy...
Daisy stared at me intently, her pupils trembling.
"...Who are you?"
When I picked up the dagger that had fallen on the ground without answering, Daisy's expression changed drastically.
"...Alright. Let's take down Shepiro together. You and I are enough."
I shook my head.
"I can do it alone."
"You don't know Shepiro, that bastard. You'll need my help."
"I can't team up with a coward like you. Just die."
"You fucking... Cough!"
"..."
I looked at the collapsed Daisy for a moment.
'She fainted.'
I had only struck her temple lightly, but she collapsed instantly and fainted. It seemed her physical resilience was weaker than I thought.
'Hmm.'
My subordinates approached, looking at the unconscious Daisy and commenting with a hint of disappointment.
"Boss, why didn't you shoot a fireball this time? Her clothes look like they would burn easily."
"I recommend the Water something."
I pointed at my subordinates and pretended to cast a spell, and they quickly covered their mouths.
"Carrot."
Carrot, who had been quietly waiting, stepped forward.
"Take her away."
"Where should I take her?"
"Just move her somewhere for now. It's not pleasant to see her lying around here. Discuss with the soldier and find a quiet place to stash her. Make sure she can't escape, tie her up."
"Understood."
Carrot carried the unconscious Daisy on his back and started climbing the stairs towards the middle gate.
Bravo Khan, watching Daisy being carried away limply, muttered unconsciously,
"Indeed. It was Daisy who should have been careful."
I looked at Bravo Khan and said,
"Soldier, have the guys clean up here. I need to rest for a bit."
"Yes."
As I climbed the stairs and disappeared, Bravo Khan muttered once again,
"Bravo Khan, you better be careful too. The boss is a scary person."
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HELHEIM SCANS
[Translator - Hestia]
[Proofreader - Prøks]
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