Chapter 103: Hero (2)

Page’s reaction made it seem like she knew something about this creature.

She frantically looked away but had already been caught by Louis.

He stared at her and asked, “Do you know what this is?”

Instead of answering his question, Page bit down on her lip tightly before running out.

“P-Page!” Pablo cried out after her in shock, but she didn’t look back.

Louis watched her fleeing figure silently.

It seems like she knows something…

Even though he could’ve easily stopped her, he let her go so he could observe the situation further.

“Go after her.” As soon as Louis gave the order, Pablo and the twins rushed off immediately.

Louis swiftly followed her lead without hesitation. To his surprise, they didn’t have far to go—the assailant lay in the very next room.

There, Page found Louis examining the mysterious attacker he had dispatched. Or rather, she was staring intently at the tattoo Louis had inadvertently uncovered while probing the corpse.

Page’s eyes widened dramatically.

“No way… This can’t be.”

Her voice betrayed a mix of shock, bewilderment, confusion, and panic—negative emotions swirling together.

“Oh…”

She slumped down as if all strength had drained from her body. Observing this reaction, Louis asked,

“Isn’t it identical? Just like that guy’s tattoo we saw earlier?”

”…”

“Now spill it. You know what this tattoo means, don’t you?”

In response to Louis’s question, Page bit her lip tightly.

“This is…”

Just as Page was about to open her mouth—

Whoom.

The airship suddenly lurched.

Everyone on board was instantly thrown backward.

Pablo let out a startled cry. “Wh-what’s going on? Why did we speed up like that all of a sudden?”

This violent jolt had been caused by an acceleration in their velocity.

Why would they accelerate now?

They were almost at their destination.

I don’t like this.

Louis could sense something unusual happening, and his expression darkened accordingly.

At that moment, Page answered with conviction. “That tattoo is…the emblem of the Leon Revolutionary Army.”

“The what?”

“They’re—”

It was a name none of them had ever heard before.

As Louis repeated himself, Page began to explain—

Whoom!

The ship accelerated again.

“Ackkkk!”

Yeep! Louis, Louis, you’re falling back!

Keeha ha! This is fun!

Pablo immediately regained his balance, while the twins tumbled and rolled before bouncing off the wall and returning to their spots.

It was clear that Page couldn’t continue her explanation at this moment.

Louis decided that sorting out the current situation took precedence over detailed explanations. He stood up straight.

“Twins, Pablo.”

“Yeah!”

“Yes, sir!”

“Yessir.”

“When you see suspicious characters, capture them all… No…” Louis changed his tone mid-sentence, malice flickering in his eyes. “Kill every last one of them.”

These were the bastards who had tried to kill him without warning, and their comrades still roamed aboard the airship even now.

Those damned fools dared to aim for my life!

Having lived his life constantly dodging death flags, Louis was hypersensitive to any threat against his life. Consumed by rage, he didn’t bother concealing his intentions.

“O-of course,” Pablo stammered, nodding fearfully at Louis’s genuine fury.

Meanwhile, Louis retrieved their down weapons from his pocket dimension and handed them over. Page’s face turned ashen at the sight.

“Let’s go!”

“A fight!” The twins were thrilled; it had been ages since they last wielded their swords.

Just as they were about to leave…

“W-wait!” Page desperately blocked their path.

Her sudden change in attitude made Louis’s eyes turn icy cold. “What are you doing?”

“D-don’t kill him.”

“Stop talking nonsense and get out of my way.”

An overwhelming energy surged from Louis.

Page, who had taken the brunt of it head-on…

“Ughhhh…”

She endured the dizziness by biting her tongue.

Pablo watched helplessly without intervening; he felt that Louis was right this time.

I-it’s dangerous!

What on earth was happening? The small child before them didn’t seem like just any kid to Page—she sensed an uncontrollable monster.

If we continue like this… everyone will die!

But they couldn’t let that happen.

Making a bold decision, Page stripped off her upper clothing. At the same time, she subtly exposed her shoulder to Louis.

Louis’s eyes narrowed as he saw something on Page’s shoulder—a tattoo identical to those found on the mysterious attackers.

“Were you with them?” Louis’s murderous aura intensified.

In this perilous moment, Page frantically shook her head, fighting for her life.

“N-no sir! This… this is different!”

“How is it different?”

Despite her desperate plea, Louis’s icy gaze remained unfathomable. Yet, Page knew she had to persuade the monster before her at any cost.

“The Leon Revolutionary Army I know—no, the one I’ve been part of—would never commit such atrocities! There must be some misunderstanding… It’s clear.”

“And you expect me to believe that?”

“Please, Your Highness… I beg you. Don’t kill them.”

“Why shouldn’t I kill them? Could it be because they might actually be your comrades?”

“What worries me is if these aren’t the Leon Revolutionary Army. If they are…”

“It means someone is pretending to be the Leon Revolutionary Army?”

Page nodded her head.

“Yes. Then we must uncover who is backing them. But if they truly are the Leon Revolutionary Army, I will take responsibility and make sure they pay for their crimes.”

”…”

The desperation in Page’s eyes was clear.

Louis’ murderous aura softened slightly at this sight.

“Hold a high rank within the Leon Revolutionary Army? Can you keep your word right now?”

”…I’m not of low status.”

Realizing there were complex circumstances involved with her, Louis responded calmly:

“For now… I’ll spare them.”

Page’s face brightened at this positive response.

“But whether or not these people live depends on how everything turns out after sorting through all the information. Regardless of whether they’re really your comrades or not.”

Page nodded stiffly at Louis’s cold words. But he wasn’t finished yet.

“And!”

“…?”

“I’ll take all your loot as payment for granting this favor.”

“What?” Page didn’t expect him to bring up the treasure in such circumstances.

“You don’t want it?”

“No, no! Do whatever you like!” She quickly bowed her head again.

Despite everything that had happened, Louis still couldn’t let go of his obsession with the loot. He smirked inwardly.

This is actually perfect timing!

He’d needed chaos to sneak onto the bridge anyway, and there was none better than this moment.

“All right, let’s move out!”

At Louis’s command, Pablo stepped forward first, followed by the twins who charged ahead eagerly. Then came Louis and Page bringing up the rear.

Clang - clang!

In a cramped cabin, a man was fending off assailants with his bare hands. Standing between an elderly couple and their mysterious attackers, he shouted:

“Get out of here, now!”

“W-Where should we go?”

“Gah! Just… just anywhere!”

The old couple could only pace anxiously as the confrontation unfolded at the door. Their hired guard gritted his teeth at the sight.

Crap! If only I had my sword!

Given that airship passengers were typically wealthy individuals, it wasn’t uncommon for them to employ personal guards. This man was one such mercenary—a low-tier warrior who found himself defenseless against the onslaught after surrendering his weapon.

To make matters worse, the attackers moved in pairs of two.

“G-Guard! What are you doing? Help us here!” The old man shouted at the guards stationed on the airship, but none appeared. The bodyguard knew well why this was so.

Those bastards hiding on the airship didn’t even know there were guards present!

Due to limited space, no more than ten guards were permanently stationed on the airship. And those had been wiped out immediately upon the first attack.

These lunatics!

What further perplexed the bodyguard was the behavior of the attackers.

Do they not care about their own lives?!

The intruders charged recklessly as if their lives meant nothing.

The bodyguard glared fiercely at them with his sharp eyes.

Thankfully, their skills aren’t particularly exceptional…

Both intruders appeared to be tier-4 rankers.

I must seize the opportunity to dispatch them in one go!

Ducking under flying blades from all directions, he waited for his chance. And then, it arrived.

Now!

As the two attackers lined up in a straight path, the bodyguard made a powerful kick off the ground.

Thud.

His figure vanished as soon as his foot struck the wooden floor, leaving only an afterimage of the sky where he had been standing. The attacker behind him lost sight of the bodyguard’s movement, allowing the guard’s honed Demonic Scripture to naturally take effect.

Wind Step!

He channeled his wind elemental power to its peak, surging with incredible speed towards the attacker from behind.

“Huh!” Startled, the intruder tried to pull away, but their wrist was already firmly grasped by the guard’s hand.

Crack.

The assailant dropped their sword as their wrist snapped. The guard swiftly caught it mid-fall, reversed the grip, and thrust it straight into the attacker’s heart.

But that wasn’t the end of the guard’s actions.

Shunk.

”…?!”

As the second attacker turned in shock at their comrade’s death, they felt a sudden sharp pain across their throat.

Thud.

In an instant, the guard seized the opportunity to dispatch both enemies without mercy.

Relief finally washed over the elderly couple’s faces, as if they had narrowly escaped death itself.

“Y-you were right all along!”

In the mercenary world of the Fall Continent, this guard had made quite a name for himself—and they’d paid dearly for his services on this journey. His prowess was now proven beyond doubt.

Shing.

The bodyguard raised his bloodstained sword to clean it when…

Thwack!

”…?!”

A silver blade pierced through the guard’s chest. He turned toward its source.

There stood a man he hadn’t noticed at some point during their encounter.

“You… You’re…?!”

Attached to that silvery blade was a sky-blue energy—the same wind attribute power he managed himself.

A mysterious assailant wielding wind magic.

He’s… formidable.

This one could be tier 3 or even higher.

I-I let my guard down.

Failing to stay vigilant against an equal had led to this disastrous outcome. The stranger had skewered his heart before they’d even crossed swords.

A low voice slithered into his ears:

“You were the best among these guards.”

The voice exuded a chilling aura of death.

The bodyguard caught sight of the terrified elderly couple as the voice echoed in his ears.

J-jump… We shouldn’t have come here.

This was the last thought of the guard, once renowned throughout the Fall Continent for his skills.

Thud.

His lifeless body crumpled to the ground.

Witnessing this, the old man who had employed him cried out:

“W-What on earth is going on?!”

He was a wealthy merchant venturing to the Summer Continent with his wife for a holiday. Now he stood before her, shielding them from the attacker despite his fear.

But the assailant ignored him, striding past without hesitation.

It was clear: conversation held no interest for this intruder.

The old man raised his voice again.

“P-Please help us! There’s nobody else around!”

Yet there were no takers for his plea.

In that moment of despair, with only death awaiting the hapless couple—

Shiiing.

A peculiar sound cut through the air from somewhere nearby.