As I ran alongside Nadir, I couldn't help but think about the display of power he had shown in the coliseum.
"Hey, what's the deal with that spear of yours? You never told me about it."
"...Really? I guess I forgot to mention it."
That didn't sound believable at all, but I let it slide.
"Did you give it a name or something?"
"Yes. Its name is the Bleeding Heart Spear."
I had expected a shorter name.
"...Interesting. Is it because of the color?"
"Something like that."
Since he didn't want to give details, I didn't press the matter.
I was about to change the subject and ask him what his plan was, but he surprised me with a personal question.
"What about you, boss? It's been a while since the last time we saw each other."
"...Right. I've been busy."
I tried not to think about it. The last time I met with Nadir, I was with Rem.
Obviously, the universe had no intention of leaving me alone about that matter.
"Where's the oni girl who used to travel with you?"
"..."
She was the reason I was here… more or less.
Still, I never expected this drunken idiot to have the tact to ask, but somehow this was even worse than what Crusch had done.
To my displeasure, my mind replayed a certain image: the damn image that wouldn't let me sleep. I had seen it millions of times over the past few months.
Rem, dead in the snow. Cold, stiff, distant. Completely out of my reach.
My body tensed with furious frustration, followed by a crushing emptiness. It was an emotion that attacked me whenever I felt relaxed or happy.
I took a deep breath to calm myself. Having a damn panic attack at a time and place like this would have been extremely inconvenient.
Apparently, Nadir understood my answer without me having to put it into words.
"Oh. I'm sorry."
I bit my lip hard and violently shook my head. I needed to focus again.
"Let's not waste any more time. Take me to Felix."
"Alright."
We kept running in silence for several minutes. We only stopped once we reached the border connecting to District C. It consisted of a wall with an arch-shaped gate. Both the gate and the wall were heavily guarded.
At least, that's how I remembered it, but…
"Why is there nobody here?"
There wasn't a single sentry in sight. These guys were criminals, but they took security very seriously. If they weren't here, then something major had happened.
I doubted my stroll through Districts A and B had been enough to convince every resident to abandon their territory.
Without a doubt, this was the work of one of my companions.
Nadir readied his spear and advanced toward the gate. As we got closer, we noticed it was open, with a peculiar dent mark in the center.
"This is very strange," he commented, cautiously looking around. "This place should be crawling with guards."
"They're probably busy dealing with my companions," I explained.
"So you didn't come alone. I wouldn't have been surprised if you had, but this makes more sense."
"Of course. I'm too much of an idiot to do everything alone. Oh, damn."
As we entered District C, we were met with a desolate spectacle: destroyed buildings, corpses everywhere, and the characteristic silence of places that had been claimed by death.
"Do you think your companions did this?" Nadir muttered.
"That sounds plausible."
Nadir looked at me with a grimace.
"What kind of companions did you bring?"
I thought about Marcos, Julius, and Wilhelm. Any one of the three could kill everyone in the city by themselves, including the witchbeasts.
"Some very good ones at their job."
The trail of death and destruction stretched several more kilometers ahead. However, there were currently no sounds of battle or visible activity in the district.
"Did they stop?" I wondered aloud while running. "Or did something else happen?"
"Stay alert, we're almost there," Nadir announced.
Before us stood a magnificent castle. It was, by far, the largest structure in the city. According to my old memories, the barrier's core was located inside that fortress.
A massive dome of mana surrounded the castle. The runes carved into the formation served to repel intruders, just like the invisible barrier surrounding the city. It was the final line of defense against invaders.
"Is Felix in there?" I asked.
"The last time I saw him, he was in that place. By the way, the barrier wasn't there before."
"Yeah, I figured." I summoned the Yin Sword and began charging it with mana. "Let's see how much damage that magic can withstand."
Before I could execute the technique, I sensed a presence approaching at incredible speed, radiating overwhelming bloodlust.
Knowing I couldn't die, I remained still, waiting. In the very next instant, I received a devastating punch to the face and my head exploded like a watermelon.
***
"Boss!" Nadir reacted too late, swinging his spear at the newcomer. "Ugh!"
Despite his enhanced strength, which had allowed him to crush a Starving Horse King, Nadir was easily repelled by his opponent, who turned out to be none other than Marcos Gildark.
The Captain of the Knights had both his face and armor stained with the blood of all the corpses scattered throughout District C. Naturally, someone like him wouldn't limit himself to sightseeing in a city of criminals.
Despite ending countless lives over the course of the last hour, Marcos looked calm and composed. His cold eyes analyzed Nadir in less than a second.
"Nadir Ashveil… Of course," he muttered to himself, shifting into a more open stance, as though provoking Nadir into attacking him.
"What?" He didn't take the bait and instead assumed a defensive posture. "If you have something to say, then say it."
"When the Witch Cult massacred your family, people couldn't understand why you were the only survivor… To me, the answer was obvious."
Suddenly, Marcos moved. With magnificent reflexes, Nadir raised his weapon like a shield and blocked the attack just in time. A fist crashed against the spear's shaft with meteoric force, and the ground shattered under the pressure of the shockwave.
"You're one of them," Marcos declared, using his left hand to launch another devastating strike.
Nadir gritted his teeth with a nervous smile. Even with his enhanced strength, he wouldn't be able to withstand many attacks like that. Therefore, he didn't block the next punch. Instead, he spun his spear and struck Marcos's arm, redirecting its trajectory.
"If you knew that, why didn't you execute me?" the blacksmith managed to ask in the middle of their exchange of blows.
"I estimated you'd be more useful alive than dead," Marcos replied smoothly while maintaining a flawless offensive. "At best, you could have led us to other cult members or to some hidden base. However, the men I assigned to watch you only reported mundane activities, and I started to think you'd either noticed the surveillance… or that the cult no longer considered you important because you were too visible to the public eye."
"Oh! Now I understand why those guys never contacted me again, hahaha." He deflected another attack and looked at something behind Marcos. "What I don't understand is how you connected all of this to the Boss."
"I always suspected him. A man whose past cannot be verified and whose knowledge could throw entire nations into chaos." Though he didn't say it explicitly, Marcos was referring to firearms, of which very little was known beyond their terrifying power. "One day he appeared in the Royal Capital, and the first thing he did was join the half-elf Emilia's camp. Shortly after that, he defeated the Witch Cult in individual battles against two Archbishops and subdued the White Whale, all without suffering casualties. Rumor has it that his presence attracts witchbeasts, and as if that weren't enough…"
Marcos's aura exploded. He had decided to use his full power to crush Nadir once and for all.
"You, a member of the cult, have been working for him. To me, that proves Leandro Lagostena was one of you," he explained while advancing with steps that sounded like thunderclaps.
"What sense would it make for a cult member to assassinate two Archbishops?" Nadir challenged the theory without denying it, yet without confirming it either.
"It's well known that the cultists are divided into factions pursuing their own interests. Two Archbishops have never been seen working together. That doesn't seem strange to me, coming from lunatics like you. Honestly, I struggle to understand how you even managed to organize yourselves into a group in the first place. There must be some greater force or cause compelling you to coexist."
"If you believe that, shouldn't you have arrested the Boss and interrogated him afterward?" Nadir sighed, confused by Marcos's logic.
"...I couldn't take that risk, not with someone that dangerous. Killing him was the best option." Once again, Marcos raised his fists. "Now it's your turn. No matter what the cult has planned together with the scum of this city, Lugunica will not fall."
From the very beginning, Marcos expected there to be a twist, a carefully prepared trap.
The entire matter of the escape, Felix's kidnapping, and Leandro's timely intervention all seemed artificial to him, as if it were part of a performance.
That idea was reinforced when the mysterious black-haired man started talking about the underground city. Just how convenient could his "ability" be?
Marcos wasn't surprised when the supposed infiltration plan ended with them scattered throughout enemy territory. At that point, his suspicions were confirmed.
There was only one thing bothering him, one loose link in the chain of his hypothesis.
The Divine Protection of Wind Reading.
Assuming Leandro was lying or withholding part of the truth, that meant Crusch knew about it and was deliberately covering for the man.
Why would someone like her, who was fervently loyal to the kingdom, support a man who belonged to a terrorist organization? It made no sense.
Marcos needed to resolve all those questions, but how would he do that? His enemy was extremely cunning and farsighted.
The solution presented itself on its own.
He simply had to take the bait.
By falling into the enemy's trap, he could lower their guard or, at the very least, reveal their true intentions.
He wasn't worried about Julius or Wilhelm. Those two were more than capable of defending themselves. As for Crusch, Marcos thought that if she died, it would simply mean one less traitor for the kingdom.
If she turned out to be innocent…
Marcos didn't want to think about that possibility.
As he threw his punch, the Captain of the Knights noticed that Nadir was no longer trying to dodge or block the attack. It looked as though he had resigned himself to death… but that wasn't it.
Suddenly, a voice rang out behind Marcos, sending a chill down his spine.
"So you've had your eye on me this whole time, huh… I expected nothing less from you."
His body froze mid-motion, as though some invisible force had stopped him. Then Leandro appeared in front of him, apparently unharmed.
"Impossible… But I killed you… I'm sure I did!" Uncharacteristically, the stoic man lost his composure. He couldn't process the idea of a human being surviving after having their head turned into pulp.
"Your mind must've played a trick on you," the black-haired man shrugged.
"What did you do to me!? Why can't I move!?"
"Because I'm using the Authority of Sloth on you. It's a power that has passed through Witches and Archbishops."
"What did you say!? Damn cultist!"
"Relax. I'm not a cultist, an Archbishop, or a Witch. My role is a bit more complicated than that."
Leandro grimaced and glanced sideways at Nadir for a second.
"I know you have plenty of reasons to think I'm lying. I could explain everything to you, but I doubt you'd believe me. The truth is even less believable than your hypothesis."
The young man ran a hand through his forehead and sighed tiredly.
"Still, I have to try." He raised his gaze and locked eyes with Marcos. "When I mentioned that my ability had something to do with the future, what I meant was that I can return by death."
"..."
"..."
Silence and stillness were all that followed. Leandro smiled. He had spoken loud and clear, but…
"Wow, nothing really happened." He looked down at his chest after noticing that no hand had crushed his heart this time. "I guess you're really serious about being a good girl now, huh?"
"You… What did you just say?" Marcos stared at him in astonishment.
"I said I can… rather, could return from death. I mean, I used to go back in time whenever I died, but right now I have some kind of magical overlap because my love life includes two overly possessive witches."
"Huh?" Although Marcos wasn't a sage on the level of people like Miklotov, his mind was sharp enough to understand things most people ignored. However, trying to comprehend the information Leandro was giving him felt like trying to absorb sand with a sponge.
"In short, there are two witches interested in me, and I have a mutually beneficial relationship with them." He raised his hands. "But I'm absolutely not doing anything against the kingdom or innocent people."
It took Marcos an entire minute to react to that explanation, as if the information were slowly downloading into his brain through an outdated operating system.
"You're the lover of two witches?! And you're immortal?! Who the hell are you, in the Dragon's name?!"
"I'm someone who wants to live a peaceful life, but fate has other plans." Leandro stepped closer to Marcos until they were face-to-face. "I need you to trust me, to become my ally. You know that if I were an enemy of the kingdom, I wouldn't bother trying to convince you."
It was true. Leandro had also revealed his cards to Marcos, deliberately exposing himself as proof of his honesty.
For Marcos, there were only two paths: accept the alliance, or die. There was no way of knowing if he was being manipulated, but if he refused to cooperate, that would be the end.
Finally, the Captain of the Knights nodded.
"...Looks like I don't have another choice."
***
With Marcos on my side, my influence within the kingdom would become enormous. That put me in a good mood, so much so that I started humming a song from my world while preparing to destroy the castle's magical barrier.
"I'm making a brick. I got me a chick. She driving me crazy…"
"What kind of chant is that? It gives me goosebumps," Marcos muttered.
"The Boss is a weird guy," Nadir said with his arms crossed.
I ignored them and unleashed a slash overflowing with magical power that transformed the district into an empty plain, except for the enormous castle protected by the glowing dome.
However, the magical defense flickered, and its light had grown dimmer. I charged my sword once again.
"And now that I'm rich. And now I'm the shit. She wanna have babies…"
"Weird?" Marcos muttered. "He's insane."
"And who isn't?" Nadir replied.
Another slash. The barrier weakened a little more. The mana in the area was beginning to run dry. At this rate, I'd run out of energy before completing the process.
Unless…
I raised the sword again, but instead of filling it with mana, I imbued it with the Authority of Sloth. After all, the invisible energy functioned in a similar way.
When I did, I felt the Yin Sword vibrate slightly, as though resonating with the corrupted essence of the Witch Factor. I smiled in fascination as I sensed the raw power it produced, sending a tingling sensation through my hands.
It seemed I had discovered an incredible combination.
Very slowly, I drew my arm back.
"I ain't gonna lie. I won't even try. I'm whipping Mercedes…"
Flush!
The blade split the world apart, and the slash propagated like pure light.
A second later, the barrier warped like a water balloon being squeezed, then exploded into millions of fragments.
However, the consequences of my attack didn't end there.
"AAAAAGGHHHH!"
Nadir and Marcos drove their weapons into the ground and used them to keep themselves upright when the shockwave hit them. As for me, the recoil was nonexistent because I protected myself with an energy shield.
"BOSS!" Nadir shouted at me while desperately clinging to the ground.
"Ah, right." I hurriedly extended the shield around them as well.
The damage was massive. Everything around us within a one-kilometer radius had been vaporized.
"Shit," I commented, surprised by the result of my own attack. "I think I just unlocked an ultimate."
I sheathed the sword and turned toward my companions, who were staring at me in shock.
"Let's move." My words snapped them out of their daze.
"You… you're like Reinhard," Marcos murmured.
I slowly shook my head.
"Reinhard is a hero."