Illusion Sword Master

＜ The Darkness That Has Fallen Upon the Empire (1) ﹥

The man took the lead as he said, simultaneously facing five opponents.

I was facing off against four thugs.

They seemed about to stab me with their swords, exuding a menacing aura.

At a glance, I knew.

These guys had no qualms about killing.

“This is seriously brutal.”

The past year I spent away from the battlefield, living a peaceful life in Eden, was unprecedented.

Confronting this situation again after a long time made me feel quite tense.

“Focus.”

If I got scared now that danger was looming, it wouldn’t do me any good.

Knowing this well, I quickly regained my composure in the face of the sword-wielding thugs.

“I haven’t fought humans many times.”

Since my main enemy on the battlefield was the Orc, fighting humans was unfamiliar to me.

“They’re definitely weaker than Orcs.”

Their physique was average, and their sword-wielding stance was not well-trained.

Compared to the Orcs, who were packed with real-world combat muscles, they didn’t seem very threatening.

The numerical disadvantage wasn’t a big problem either. I had experience taking down the same number of Orcs.

Above all, I was a mage now.

I didn’t need to fight if I could win.

This wasn’t a fight I started in the first place.

“Ugh!”

“Ack!”

I heard screams from the side. When I glanced over, the man had already taken down two thugs. His skills seemed incredible.

“That human might be able to take them all down on his own.”

If I could escape from this situation now, I held onto the hope and slowly opened my mouth.

“I really hate it when someone points a knife at me. Why don’t you put down that scary thing? Or should I ignore you and go help your colleagues instead?”

The thugs seemed to be unsure of what to do, and their colleagues were being beaten right next to them, so they must be anxious.

I still had the girl who was clinging to my leg like a koala, and I pushed her behind me and raised both hands to show I had no intention of fighting.

“Damn it! What are you doing? Hurry up and grab the kid and get out of here!”

The thugs, who had been hesitating, shouted and resumed their attack.

Four thugs, each holding a sword, approached me simultaneously.

Two took the lead, and two followed behind, forming a formation.

“If you come any closer, the rest of your life will be very tough. Really. I’m confident you won’t regret it.”

It was a statement without expectation.

Needless to say, it had no effect.

“Kill them, then?”

I’ve killed humans before, but I still have a lingering sense of rejection towards it.

“It’s the outskirts, but it’s still the capital. If things get out of hand, it’ll be troublesome.”

I’ll try not to kill if possible.

Of course, if it’s unavoidable, I’ll do what I have to.

My safety takes priority over all other values.

Even though they were close enough to strike, I still had my hands raised, but they didn’t care and swung their swords at me.

These people, who didn’t understand my intentions and pulled out their swords, were about to kill me without hesitation.

Damn bastards.

These people need to learn that swords aren’t toys to be wielded carelessly.

Swish!

Two swords, controlled by my magic, flew out of their scabbards.

“You fools. You can’t take killing lightly.”

The price of complacency is severe.

Chiing! The swords in the hands of the two thugs in front fell.

The thugs’ faces contorted in shock.

They didn’t think that the swords, controlled by magic, would counterattack against them.

“Ahh!”

“Ugh!”

They screamed, clutching their bleeding wrists.

I had used my sword skills to cut their tendons, so they wouldn’t be able to wield swords with those hands again.

“What… what is this?”

“Magic? Sorcery?”

The other two thugs, who were about to charge, also stopped in their tracks, caught off guard.

“Damn it! Just kill them!”

“Aaah!”

They then steeled themselves and charged at me with frightened faces. They were incompetent but dedicated to their mission.

I launched the two swords floating in the air at them.

─ Pfft!

Each of the four thugs had their left and right ankles pierced and stuck to the ground.

“Ughhh!”

“Aaahh!”

I slightly twisted the sword stuck in them and pulled it out, causing them to lose their balance and fall forward.

I quickly subdued the four thugs.

It was ridiculously easy.

‘If I had become a mage earlier, I wouldn’t have had to risk my life for a few orc brats.’

I realized once again that as a mage, I was a being capable of effortlessly slaughtering dozens of ordinary people.

That’s that.

“What’s with these bastards, getting all worked up and pulling out their swords?”

My anger finally boiled over.

I retrieved my sword and exacted revenge on the thugs who had tried to kill me.

I made sure they felt enough pain to wish they were dead, but not quite die.

Thud! Thud! Thud!

The rhythmic sounds of screams and breaking bones created a gruesome harmony.

Although I had spent the past year as a calm and rational mage student, I turned into a demon when I got angry.

Try surviving on the battlefield for a decade or so.

No, even half that time would be enough to turn a Bodhisattva into a demon.

I stopped the thugs from making any more noise and looked around to see a man who had already resolved the situation watching me.

“You, you’re quite the fierce one.”

“Does that mean you’re saying I’m handsome, like a man?”

Despite having taken down five people, his breathing was still steady, and he showed no signs of fatigue. As expected, he was a formidable opponent. The dignity in his tone hinted that he might be a knight.

“Hmm. Rather than that, let’s take the child and leave.”

“Leave? It looks like these guys are involved in human trafficking. We can just wait for the city guards to arrive and hand them over.”

These guys were clear criminals who had even attempted to pull out their swords in front of others. It seemed they were also involved in human trafficking.

Logically, it was these thugs who should be running away, not us.

There was no need to get entangled in this mess unnecessarily. I wanted to hand them over to the city guards and wash my hands of this incident. I didn’t want to get caught up in it from the start.

“You don’t seem to understand the situation. Their colleagues will arrive before the city guards do. Even if the guards come, it won’t be in our favor.”

“You’re saying the city guards will side with these criminals?”

“That’s right. The nobles are backing them up. They’re capable of covering up the truth and framing us for crimes. So, let’s leave.”

The man held a trembling girl under his arm and quickly left the inn.

“No… What’s going on here…”

Should I wait here and prove my innocence?

No. If what the man said was true, things could take a bad turn.

The man’s status didn’t seem ordinary, and if he was cautious, it meant the thugs’ backers were likely powerful nobles.

At least for the next two years until I graduate from the War College, I had to be careful not to get entangled in any bad relationships.

“What kind of empire is this, where criminals roam free even in the capital? This damn empire is rotten to the core!”

I cursed as I followed the man.

I ran for a while, chasing after the man, and arrived at a dark alley.

I wanted to curse him out loud, but I still didn’t know who this person was, so I exercised restraint and asked him.

“What the hell is going on? What are those criminals doing?”

“They’re people hired by Count Mercel.”

Count Mercel….

I’ve heard of that name. He’s definitely a central noble who lives in the capital and handles administrative tasks.

“What’s Count Mercel doing, hiring people like that? Are they kidnapping kids?”

“It seems like Count Mercel might have ordered the kidnapping.”

Ugh, the thought of Count Mercel, someone I’ve never seen, being a pervert who orders kidnappings, was unbearable.

How did I get entangled in this mess?

“Were you just about to catch those guys at the inn?”

“Actually, I was just sitting there with a vague feeling. I was trying to catch up to them, but I didn’t make any progress. And then this kid appeared. You intervened before I could.”

Yeah.

It’s just that my luck was terrible.

“I’m sorry, but I’m still scared. Can you help me? Do you remember where you were being held?”

As I was thinking about my miserable fate, the man turned his attention to the girl. She still looked terrified, nodding her head anxiously.

“Were there other kids there?”

The girl nodded again.

“Yeah. There were… eight… no, seven. One of them was caught before I escaped. The one who was caught… didn’t come back.”

The man let out a sigh.

After a moment of serious contemplation, he continued his questioning.

“Was there anything unusual about the kids who were caught? For example, did you feel a strange energy around them?”

“Um, yes. Sometimes I saw a blue energy around the kids. The old man who visited us often called it ‘ana’.”

You saw mana?

I examined the girl more closely.

It was subtle, very subtle, but I could sense the mana.

Count Mercel was kidnapping kids with magical talents for some reason.

If he wasn’t a pervert, he must have a goal beyond just being inhumane.

“Can you guide us back to that place?”

The girl’s pupils dilated at the suggestion that she return to the place she had just escaped from. Her body trembled like a vibration mode, overcome with fear.

“I know it’s a difficult request. But if we want to save the kids who were with you, you have to help us.”

The man’s repeated persuasion and mention of the kids who were with her seemed to move her heart, and she nodded, her face looking like she was about to cry.

“Thank you. I’ll definitely repay your bravery.”

Going back to that hellhole was a tremendous act of courage. That kid is going to do great things someday.

As I was admiring her, the man’s attention turned back to me.

“It’s fortunate that I met you in this desperate situation. Only a noble and strong person can do something like this.”

No. What’s my opinion?

“Me?”

I was taken aback by the sudden development and couldn’t even ask, “Did I say I would help?”

Even the man seemed to have heard my words differently.

“That’s right. I thought mages were arrogant, but seeing them unable to bear injustice and taking action has changed my mind. With the unique and powerful magic you just showed, you can defeat the empire’s enemies.”

“No… that… wouldn’t it be better to report this first?”

“If we do that, it’ll be too late. If we move another organization, the evidence will be destroyed by the Marcellus Count. The children’s lives are at risk.”

“Organization… which organization are you from?”

In response to my question, the man pulled something out of his chest. A golden badge with two golden lions, exuding strong mana, the imperial crest.

I knew another name for this item.

Golden Lion Badge.

A sacred object that proves imperial authority.

And the two golden lions signify that the holder has been granted authority by a direct imperial family member or the highest institution under the imperial family.

“I am Knight Roland. As you can see, I am carrying out a mission from the imperial family.”

The ancient language inscribed on the Golden Lion Badge caught my eye.

‘Remember who is behind you.’

A message implying that the owner is backed by the imperial family.

“Let’s hurry. If my predictions are correct, we can’t guarantee the children’s lives if we wait until today is over.”

It’s as if I’ve received an imperial decree.

My beautiful and leisurely vacation plans have been shattered, and now I have to get back to work.

＜The Darkness that Shrouds the Empire (1)﹥ End