Chapter 46

　　The woman’s eyes slowly narrowed as Simon held her captive.

　　[Damn it, be careful!] Pier’s tense voice echoed in his mind. Simon focused all his attention on the woman’s leg, visible through the slit of her dress. A dagger was fastened to the garter on her thigh.

　　But her hand never moved toward the blade. She closed her eyes tightly. [My apologies, but could you please let go of my arm?]

　　Simon belatedly realized he had been gripping her wrist with excessive force. As he released her, the woman sat back down and brushed her disheveled hair into place.

　　[Very well.] She nodded. [If you desire the truth that badly, I have no choice. However, you, the client, must bear all the risks associated with sharing this information. Is that acceptable?]

　　"Yes, of course."

　　[Then please wait here for a moment.]

　　The woman stood up and walked into another room. The murderous tension dissipated, and Simon let out a small sigh.

　　Pier, I was just taking a shot in the dark, but it seems there really is something going on here. If we’re lucky, we might find Erzebet’s location just like this….

　　[Hehehehehe!] Sitting next to him, Pier’s shoulders shook with laughter.

　　Simon grimaced and covered his ears, though it did little to muffle the voice ringing inside his head.

　　Wh-What’s with you all of a sudden?

　　[I had my suspicions, but now I am certain. Stay sharp, boy!] Pier’s eyes flashed from within his helmet. [That woman is Erzebet!]

　　"WHAT?!"

　　The moment Simon let out an involuntary cry of surprise, the interior of the Thieves’ Guild began to change. The bodies of the people who had been drinking or playing poker began to swell with sickening cracks.

　　[Bwahahaha! You have some nerve, boy! Threatening an Ancient Undead to her face! If I had not been projecting killing intent, your head would have been lopped off by now!]

　　The skin on the patrons’ faces tore open, and from within, spiders with dozens of eyes burst forth. Simon stumbled back in horror.

　　Corpse Spiders, a type of undead. They were Erzebet’s minions. In an instant, Simon and Pier were surrounded. [That was some impressive spirit you showed, little boy from Kizen,] the woman’s voice called out. She emerged from the room, the clicking of her heels echoing on the stone. With a seductive grace, she climbed onto a table and crossed her legs. She touched her forehead with her index finger and pulled down.

　　Her flesh melted away like clothing, revealing heterochromatic crimson eyes.

　　[Kill them all,] she commanded, her voice turning sinister. At her word, the Corpse Spiders swarmed them from all directions.

　　[Boy!] Pier shouted.

　　Simon quickly activated the Subspace ring on his finger and summoned Pier’s greatsword. Gripping the heavy weapon with ease, Pier stepped forward and swung it in a wide, horizontal arc.

　　A massive wave of force tore through the air, splitting the Corpse Spiders in its path like twigs. Green blood splattered everywhere, drenching the floor and ceiling.

　　"Erzebet!" Pier’s shout echoed, powerful enough to bring the whole basement down.

　　"Oh my, so it was you after all, Pier," Erzebet purred, crossing her legs the other way.

　　"What kind of scheme are you plotting in a backwater like this!" Pier roared. "The Legion has been revived! Stop this foolishness and return at once!"

　　She smiled with her eyes and extended her arms. "I refuse."

　　With a thunderous noise, the ceiling shattered, and more Corpse Spiders descended on webs. Simon quickly ducked as Pier’s greatsword sliced them apart. Chunks of flesh and entrails rained down onto the floor.

　　"Pier, you are a fool," Erzebet taunted. "Richard used us as he pleased and then cast us aside like old shoes. After experiencing something so infuriating, you still cling to the Legion?"

　　"You imbecile!" Pier slammed his greatsword down on an advancing spider and yelled. "Have your thoughts rotted from living among humans for too long? The Legion is ‘power’ and ‘will’! To be cast aside, to be infuriated—does a commander of the Legion allow herself to be swayed by such petty emotions?!"

　　"How could I not be swayed?" A great hatred filled her crimson eyes. "I hate Richard to death for falling for a mere woman and pushing his comrades, who had shared hardships with him for decades, into a deathtrap."

　　The undead spiders poured in endlessly. This basement was, in fact, a paradise for them.

　　"And," she continued, her gaze shifting to Simon, "you are quite pitiful too, Pier. A first-year Kizen boy, just like Richard was when you first met him. You have manipulated an obedient little brat to act as his substitute…."

　　In that instant, a pure white greatsword tore through the air and shot toward Erzebet’s face. She hastily caught the blade with both palms.

　　The shockwave alone sent nearby objects flying and shattered glass.

　　"I have listened long enough," Pier growled. "Your insolence pierces the heavens."

　　He opened his hand. The hilt of the greatsword shimmered with Jet-Black and returned to his grasp at incredible speed. Seeing this, Simon’s eyes lit up.

　　[The Skeleton’s Pull!]

　　In a continuous motion, Pier twisted his waist and swung the greatsword. A slash like a tsunami shot out, rushing toward Erzebet once more.

　　She grimaced and blocked the attack with both arms.

　　"Have you already forgotten the days you groveled like a dog at my feet!" Pier bellowed. "How dare you rise against the administrator of the Legion!"

　　Just then, blood-red Jet-Black gathered at Erzebet’s fingertips. The slash that had been pushing her to the wall began to crack before shattering like glass.

　　"But you have grown quite weak, Pier," she sneered. "It seems it has not been long since your seal was broken." She stepped over the rubble and climbed up to the ground level.

　　"Are you running away?!" Pier raised his greatsword to pursue her, but the Corpse Spiders blocked his path. His expression twisted in fury. "You small fry!"

　　"See you later, Pier," Erzebet called, waving from above before fixing her gaze on Simon. "And… boy from Kizen."

　　With only those words, she disappeared with the spiders waiting above.

　　[…So that’s how it is.] The only Thieves’ Guild in this fief was, in fact, Erzebet and her gang. Controlling and altering information must have been a piece of cake. There was a reason the Count couldn’t solve the case, no matter how much time and money he invested.

　　That aside, even after Erzebet had left, a disgusting number of spiders remained. Pier was fighting hard, but if this dragged on, they might lose her.

　　"Huh, what a shame."

　　A chill ran down Simon’s spine. A third party’s voice had come at a completely unexpected moment. He quickly turned his head to see someone slowly rising from just behind him.

　　"I was hoping the two monsters would destroy each other."

　　It was the hooded woman who had been drinking alone. The spiders spotted her and charged.

　　"Oh well, I guess it can’t be helped," she sighed. "I’ll just have to delete everyone here and give chase."

　　A pure white flash erupted from the tip of the staff she raised above her head. Recognizing the power, Simon was horrified.

　　The spiders writhed in agony, like vampires seeing sunlight. The white light at the tip of the staff grew brighter and larger, expanding enough to engulf the entire Thieves’ Guild.

　　[Pier! Let’s escape while we can!]

　　[What?]

　　[Hurry!]

　　She swung down the staff she had raised high. "Farewell, everyone!"

　　[FWOOOOOOOOOSH!]

　　An explosion of Divinity erupted, turning all the undead spiders within its range to dust. The entire Thieves’ Guild was enveloped in a pure white light.

　　"Phew." After using her divine magic, she casually rested her staff on her shoulder and looked around. "Looks like the big skeleton and the boy got away. Oh well."

　　She turned and leaped onto the collapsed rubble in the direction Erzebet had fled.

* * *

　　[Hehehe! To have a Priest intervene here! What a mess this situation has become!] Pier’s voice rang out as he ran with Simon slung over his shoulder.

　　[…A Priest.] Simon was deep in thought. He had chosen a blue mission request and come to a country allied with the Dark Alliance, but he had never imagined he would encounter a Priest here.

　　"She seemed skilled, too," Simon noted. "Wiping out that many at once."

　　[I saw the white clothes under that woman’s robe. It is undoubtedly an Efnel uniform.]

　　"Ahh!" Not just any Priest, but a student from Efnel, Kizen’s archrival. By Kizen’s standards, she was essentially undertaking a black mission request.

　　[To have come all the way to the Dark Alliance, she is most likely a second-year. Be careful, boy! She is still too much for you to handle!]

　　"Right. I’ll be careful."

　　She seemed to be chasing Erzebet, just like them. That meant the Count of Arnish had sent a request for this mission to both Kizen and Efnel.

　　[A double request. I’ll have to have a word with him later. That aside…] For a blue mission, the scale was getting out of hand. An Ancient Undead hostile to the Legion, and a student from Efnel. What was the best way to untangle this mess?

　　"Pier."

　　[What is it?]

　　"Tell me more about Erzebet."

　　[I have already told you everything on the way here.]

　　"No. Not about her abilities or physical specs," Simon clarified, swallowing dryly. "More personal stories. What happened between my father and Erzebet?"

　　Pier let out a hollow laugh. [Hehehehe, what happened, you ask. Damn it all!]

　　"Pardon?"

　　[…Fine, I will tell you. Erzebet loved Richard.]

　　Simon’s mouth fell open.

　　[An undead loving a human. A subordinate of the Legion harboring personal feelings for the Legion Commander.] Pier’s expression was one of extreme displeasure as he spoke. [From the moment she joined the Legion, she was peculiar. Uncharacteristically emotional for an undead, and a personality that was overly swayed by those emotions.]

　　Pier recounted the stories surrounding Erzebet one by one: her love, her obsession with Richard, and her jealousy of Anna.

　　Simon closed his eyes and sank deep into thought.

　　[We are here, boy!]

　　Pier set him down in a forest near the Arnish fief. Simon looked at the dense coniferous woods and glanced around. "There’s nothing here."

　　[Stand back!]

　　Pier swung his greatsword, cutting through the empty air. The space tore apart like fabric, splitting left and right, and from within, an old, abandoned castle covered in cobwebs revealed itself.

　　[Hehehe! This is the bastards’ headquarters.]

　　"Let’s go."

　　Simon and Pier opened the gate and entered the abandoned castle.

　　[Oh…!]

　　As soon as they entered, a rather explicit scene unfolded before their eyes.

* * *