Volume 9 Chapter 2 The Scarecrow
At Galatine Royal Academy, there were 15 intruders.
Members of Adrazione. They were once part of a stealth unit called the 'Premiere Knights.'
They had received information that the 'Earth Gem,' said to be protected by the goddess Pipina, had been transported to Galatine Royal Academy, prompting Adrazione to send their stealth unit.
The leader of the Adrazione stealth unit, a young man named Madoma, spoke directly to his team members in their minds.
'Head towards the gem's resting place.'
The resting place of the gem had been mapped out by a subordinate with the 'Mapping' skill, who had created a detailed map of the academy in advance. They were currently under 24-hour surveillance, but this posed no obstacle for the stealth unit. This was because the stealth unit could also act as an assassination team if needed. Anyone who got in their way could simply be dealt with.
Madoma ordered one of his subordinates to use a skill.
The skill to be used was 'Silence'... a skill that erased sound.
When the subordinate used the skill, their footsteps, breathing, and heartbeat disappeared.
The positions of the 15 members were constantly monitored by the subordinate with the 'Mapping' skill, who kept Madoma informed.
Madoma then commanded one of his subordinates.
'Move ahead.'
Usually, he would send the most stealthy subordinate ahead to scout the area.
The current time was midnight. The academy was only guarded by soldiers, and the students were asleep.
He could send a subordinate ahead to scout while they moved forward.
'...What's wrong, move ahead "Hey."'
Madoma turned around in shock.
There stood a boy in a pitch-black robe.
A hidden blade extended from his right hand, stained with blood.
At the boy's feet lay more than ten of his subordinates.
All of them had been stabbed through the heart.
"Wha..."
"'Devoted to the Goddess (Adrazione)' stealth unit, huh?"
The boy's face, with only his left eye visible, was quietly lowered.
Madoma made a quick decision.
Without a doubt, the person in front of him was the 'Eighth,' the 'Traitor Priest.'
The 'Scarecrow' Elk quietly spread his arms wide.
With the moon behind him, the moonlight highlighted his darkness. He looked like a crow taking flight in the moonlight. A black scarecrow.
Madoma said nothing unnecessary and drew a knife from his waist, charging at Elk.
Skill 'Dagger Technique'──level 45. Definitely a master level.
"Shah!! ──Ah, what!?"
However, before the knife could slice Elk's carotid artery, his movements suddenly stopped.
Elk simply moved his right hand's fingers slightly. Just that was enough to freeze him in place.
Skill 'Telekinesis'──Lolofaldo had called it an 'unfathomable skill.'
"This is the 7th attack. Adrazione must really want Pipina's gem."
"Ugh, ugh..."
Madoma couldn't move.
Elk began to lightly tap Madoma's face.
"At first, I took out 2. Then one, and another one... as messengers. But all that comes are weaklings like you. So, what are the priests doing?"
"...You, how dare you."
"Answer my question. Where is Adrazione's headquarters?"
"......"
"...You can't answer either, huh? Sigh... why are you all such cowards?"
"Coward, you say?"
"Ah, you know you'll die if you fight me. That's why you can't come out. That's why you can only send people like you."
"I'm not a coward!!"
"That's enough."
Elk used a spinning kick to slice Madoma's throat.
The toe blade shot out from his foot.
"U, u..."
"Sorry, but I'm not going to hold back anymore. If it means showing mercy and letting something important get hurt... I'll become a heartless assassin no matter what."
Madoma's consciousness faded away.
The last thing he saw was a pitch-black crow─── he thought.
* * *
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In the Adrazione headquarters conference room, 5 priests, a boy, a beautiful woman, and an old man gathered.
The 5 were former priests of the 'Goddess Holy Church.'
Piasola of 'Eternity.'
Lolofaldo of 'Void.'
Lily Mathers of 'Holy Scripture of the Celestial Star.'
Elena of 'Holy Mother.'
Rapucel Dreadnought of 'Order of Love.'
The boy was Azazel, the former leader of the S-class dangerous organization 'Demon King.'
The beautiful woman was Hinagiku, a former member of the S-class dangerous organization 'Night Festival Courtesan.'
The old man was Barocco, a former member of the S-class dangerous organization 'Premiere Knights.'
Piasola sighed heavily and said,
"Ugh... once again, we failed to retrieve the 'Earth Gem.' Sigh... even though we sent a pretty strong team this time, they couldn't stand a chance against Elk at all."
"Hahaha."
Azazel laughed.
He thought that no matter how much they trained weaklings, they would still be weak. Retrieving it was impossible.
Azazel spoke to Piasola.
"So, what do we do next? Is one of us going to defeat Elk?"
"...I don't think that's possible."
Rapucel Dreadnought clasped her hands and said in a prayer-like manner.
"That guy is a monster. I never thought Takeru would lose."
"Right..."
Lolofaldo sighed while spinning a knife.
Then, Elena, who had an iron prosthetic arm, spoke.
"We don't need to force ourselves to defeat Elk. We just need to get the 'Earth Gem.'."
"How?"
When Lily Mathers tilted her head, Elena smirked.
Since Elk had cut off her right wrist, Elena had hated Elk fiercely.
"We just need to take something important from him... for example───Elk's friend, or something."
"...Hey, don't you know what happened to Takeru because of that?"
Lolofaldo glared with narrowed eyes, but Elena shook her head.
"Takeru was foolish. I told him Elk's weakness, but he fought head-on like an idiot and died. I won't make that mistake. If I do it, it'll be from a position of absolute safety."
"...If you fail, you'll die."
"I won't die. Hey Piasola, can you leave it to me?"
"Sure, go ahead."
"Thank you. Lily, Rapucel, and... Azazel and Hinagiku. I will need your help too."
With that, Elena's plan was set── the 'Earth Gem' retrieval operation had begun.
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