Chapitre 15: False security

Mirelia pulled her daughter down the corridors of the mansion while desperately searching for a servant she could trust to solve the difficult situation she was in. The Duke's announcement had taken the worst possible course, and she did not know how long the barrier her daughter had created would last, much less if she would withstand the strength of the people who were chased them.

Faced with uncertainty, Mirelia decided that the best course of action was to fight. After all, she was also a former soldier and was not a defenseless woman, so she headed for a hallway that was decorated with various antique armor.

The reason for such a decision was simple, the armor in the hallway also had all kinds of weapons that could be used by her. Then taking a quick look at the hallway, he found a spear that would serve as protection.

—"What are you doing, mother?" Priscilla asked as she recovered her breath. For her, it was a natural question, as she had never seen her mother use a weapon.

—"Listen to me Priscilla, you must seek refuge while I detain the guy who has been following us." She said while observing a place that was supposedly empty.

— Before your daughter could respond, someone spoke from a seemingly unoccupied space.

—"Oh, it's quite impressive." What seemed to be an illusion crumbled, it was an image similar to a completely transparent glass breaking. "I offer my respects, my lady."

A man with a face painted like a harlequin and a black Christmas hat toward an exaggerated bow, as he crossed his legs to lower his body as much as possible.

—"Why didn't you try to stop us?"

—"Ajaja, that is simple. I wanted to enjoy a little more of your despair, not to mention that I wanted to see if you'd take me to some interesting secret passageway."

Mirelia lost interest in the intruder and simply prepared her spear to face him and with her left hand placed Priscilla behind her to protect her.

—"When the battle begins you must run with all your strength and hide somewhere safe."

—"I will fight too, mother." Priscilla stepped forward, she was completely confident that she could help her mother against the adversary.

—"That's admirable, I wonder how long they would last against an adversary like me?" he said as he placed his index finger on his lower lip.

Mirelia at some point in her life was known as the divine spear and a person like her would never give her opponent a chance to prepare properly for combat. Without a single second of hesitation, Mirelia pushed herself forward to pierce her adversary's body with a single blow.

Her speed was so unexpected that not only her opponent but also her daughter was incredibly surprised by the attack she had made. However, even in an awkward and inappropriate posture, her opponent dodged her spear by leaping in a way that can be described as comical.

With his two legs outstretched, as if he had jumped a stool, the strange harlequin completely dodged Mirelia's first attack. However, Mirelia's attack was far from over, at a crackling speed she threw ten consecutive lunges using the tip of her spear to wound the adversary.

Seeing the deadly attack, the strange harlequin dodges each of the attacks as if he were some kind of clown in a theater and after confirming that he was unharmed, he was whistle with relief.

—"Fiuuu, that was dangerous." Then he made a gesture as if he had remembered something. "Oh, how rude of me." He said as he dodged Mirelia's frenetic attack. "My name is Merigar." he dodged one last thrust and then bowed. "Pleased to meet you, my lady."

Mirelia's gaze was sharp and piercing as she watched the strange man who was clearly mocking her.

—"..." There was no answer, Mirelia was not the kind of person who talked too much during a battle and it was not a luxury she could afford.

—"Isn't it cruel to ignore me like that?" I exhale heavily. "It's a shame, but it's my turn to attack." Suddenly a gigantic smile was drawn on her lips and pulling out a jet black dagger pointed it at Mirelia's throat.

—"I will not allow it." He said as he began to recite his spell in his mind. "[Clypeus]"

A bluish-hued shield stopped Merigar's attack, threatening to injure his mother. Priscilla sighed relieved when she saw that her shield had worked.

—"Ajajaja, very impressive, but I'm afraid it was a bit slow."

Priscilla was surprised at the assertion and observed her mother more closely, only to discover that there was a dagger piercing her right side.

—"Tell me, tell me, what do you think of my phantom stroke? Does it hurt?" He said like a child asking for the quality of his drawings to his parents.

Mirelia spat blood and fell on one of her knees, after holding her side by reflex. She couldn't explain how that man had struck a blow, but it had happened. As ridiculous as that guy's appearance was, his ability was undeniable.

He had somehow delivered a completely incomprehensible attack, as he never saw the attacker's hand approaching his body. What was supposed to be a failed attack had been a dangerous and accurate stab.

—"Mother!" she screamed in dismay as she ran to help her mother.

Merigar played with the shield, as would a mime in a street act while ignoring the girl who ran to help his prey.

—"Quiet mother, I will heal you immediately." Priscilla touched her mother's back and again invoked her magic. "[Druid Sanitatem]" A beautiful cyan-colored glow began to gush from his hands and his mother's wound closed completely.

—"Oh, a healer! It seems your value has increased."

—"Shut up!" Priscilla said annoyingly.

—"Come on, don't say that. You should know how rare people with healing abilities are, right? If I sell you on the black market, I probably won't have to work anymore."

—"I said shut up!" Priscilla responded with annoyance as she helped her mother get up. However, there was something strange, her mother still holding her side with pain.

—"What is it, Mom?!" Mirelia could not answer her daughter's question, because she was struggling not to lose consciousness.

—"You feel it, aren't you?" Priscilla turned her gaze to the harlequin that he returned to his own personal monologue. "The Poison running through your veins, Ajajajaj!" After making a couple of happy jumps around the place, he turned his head to watch the women.

—"Get up mom." Priscilla helped her mother get up with a lot of difficulties.

The problem was that healing magic could heal wounds, but not neutralize toxins or diseases. Basically, healing magic was very useful when someone receives a deadly cut or loses a limb.

Although users of healing magic were called doctors, it was far from being so. Simply because they were unable to heal diseases or the like. Certainly, there were spells capable of curing diseases, but such spells belonged to such a high category that probably the people who could manipulate such magic could be counted with the fingers of one hand.

—"Let's go, mom." Pricilla was helping her mother walk to safety before the effect of her barrier was over.

Merigar affectionately touched the barrier, as he watched the women escape. The man seemed to feel a certain pleasure in prolonging the suffering of his victims, so the barrier did not bother him at all, but on the contrary, only made his hunting more fun.

Priscilla did not know what to do as she walked through the corridors of her home, her mother was unable to move and her barrier would soon break down. In front of she was two roads, one leading to the prison of the mansion and the other to the exit door.

With some doubt and a slight hope, he decided to go to the mansion jail to ask for the help of that prisoner who had offered his services. As to the reason for his decision, it was because the prisoner had mentioned that he was a healer of some kind and there was a possibility that he could save his mother, simply that.

It took her considerable time to get down to the mansion jail and as she went down she felt the effect of her spell end, which meant that the man had already started looking for them.

Krom was sleeping in his cell, as usual, when two women opened the prison doors of the mansion and fell heavily in front of the cell he was occupying. Priscilla rose, putting her mother's body aside, ran to Krom's cell and holding the bars with a brittle voice said:

—"Help my mother please, I'll give you anything you ask!"

—"I see... In the end, he decided not to follow my advice... it's a real shame."

—"What are you talking about?" Priscilla observed him with the surprise painted on his face.

—"It's nothing. Now, what do you want me to do, my lady?"

—"My mother has been poisoned, can you cure her?"

—"That depends on the poison they have used." He replied.

—"In that case..."

—"I found them!" he said as he stormed into prison without permission. "But what made you come to a place like this...?" he said as he turned his head. "I don't understand it."

—"Mom!" Priscilla forgot what she was going to say and tried to run to her mother's side.

—"Wait." Krom held Priscilla's shoulder so that she would stay away from the strange harlequin that had entered. "You are my hostage." he said as he held her by the neck.

—"Ajajaja! That's what you get for seeking the help of a criminal." He jumped mockingly. "Who can be you, dear friend?"

—"Me? A simple prisoner, and who are you?"

—"Let's say I'm someone who understands your situation. I'll tell you a good thing."

—"What could it be?"

—"You're a bastard!" Priscilla tried to protest, but her throat was pressed hard, forcing her to remain silent.

—"If you let me torture that woman, I'll set you free, what do you say?"

—"Sounds good. However, I also want to torture her and I won't let you all of the fun alone."

—"Ajajaja, I like you. Okay, I'll set you free so we can play together."

—"Sounds good to me, friend."

Merigar began searching for the keys to the cell while Krom held Priscilla in his clutches. After taking a quick look at the place, he found the keys on a small desk in a place near the prison door.

—"Oh, look I found them." After picking up the keys as if I had found a treasure. She approached the cell with a big smile as she looked at Priscilla's face, which not only showed the discomfort of being suffocated but a deep fury towards the people around her.

Merigar opened the cell door and applauded a couple of times for himself, then watched the prisoner confirm his intentions.

—"Would you mind holding this woman while I go out? It would be a problem if I escaped."

—"Oh, with pleasure!"

Merigar approached to hold Priscilla, when he arrived in front of her he began to mock her by slapping her lightly to evaluate the reaction of the person holding her, but seeing that there was no reaction he ignored him and followed his theatre.

—"How does it feel to be humiliated, miss? How does it feel? Hahaha!"

After holding Priscilla by the cheeks, Merigar licked her cheek and ended up on the tip of Priscilla's nose.

—"We will spend a long and fun time together." He said with a smile. "I wonder how long you'll last before the torture drives you crazy?" Then Merigar noticed that he had been ignoring the prisoner holding Priscilla. "Sorry for the wait, it's my turn to hold her."

—"Yes, thank you."

Merigar was about to hold Priscilla's body when he felt severe pain in his abdomen, something bad had happened, but the situation was so sudden that his brain did not have a chance to process what happened.

—"You... what did you do?"

Behind Priscilla, Krom removed the hood that concealed his body, revealing his appearance. Even a madman like Merigar felt a shiver when he saw it.

He had bright yellow eyes, and somehow, his skin was a carbon black tone that seemed to flake constantly, giving the illusion that his body was falling apart and he looks a macabre smile became bigger and bigger as the pain in Merigar's abdomen worsened.

—"As you said, it's time to have fun, right? Ajahaha!" Krom mediocrely copied Merigar's laughter as he walked through the bars of his cell as if it had never been a problem.

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Chapitre 16: The cloak that hides the monster

With incredible tranquility, the specter was freed from his prison while his claws pierced the abdomen of potential prey. How long had it been since he experienced that feeling? The ecstasy of hunting and the sweetness of the moment when distracted prey has entered their hunting grounds voluntarily.

The specter did not know how long he had slept inside that crystal and did not care, but that was the feeling he most missed of the time he was free. The expectation and ecstasy of the hunt, along with that indescribable feeling of fulfillment when all their plans have led a powerful animal into their clutches.

Originally, the specter belonged to a tribe that lived off the hunting and domestication of dangerous beasts. Whether in their original home or in the place they occupied after the destruction of their lands, that was always their way of life, so the situation caused him a certain nostalgia that pleased his heart.

Merigar could not dodge the blow, as he had been taken completely by surprise, the specter piercing his abdomen had methodically waited for the moment when his attention was diverted to another matter and within a split second had struck a blow that could well have been fatal.

—"Why didn't you kill me?" he asked as he tried to pull the claws of the spectrum out of his abdomen.

—"I thought ripping your heart out would not be appropriate." he said as he pulled his claws from Merigar's abdomen.

—"Oof! What did you say?"

—-"I think that people who have done something that I selfishly consider wrong must suffer a hell on earth before they are allowed to die in a cruel and ruthless way, as there is no guarantee that they will pay for their deeds in hell. Although if I had a guarantee that that site actually exists, I would surely think differently."

—"Wait, could it be that you are..."

—"What I am doesn't matter, all that matters are, what you do right now." He said in a deep, gloomy voice as he tasted the blood in his claws. "Will you try to flee? Or maybe you'll stay there?"

—"Do you think you can do whatever you want? I'm a Grand Master class adventurer!" He bragged as he prepared to fight." A simple spectrum is not a problem for me." He confidently affirmed to calm his own heart.

—"Do you think you can do whatever you want? I'm a Grand Master class adventurer!" He bragged as he prepared to fight." A simple specter is not a problem for me." He confidently affirmed to calm his own heart.

Evidently, Merigar was just bluffing, the fact that there was a specter in that place could already be considered a disaster. In his time as an adventurer, he knew few creatures that could reach the SSS classification and among those creatures, the most recurring was the Specter and undead.

Nightmarish creatures that only inhabit a place called the Whispering Forest, a place that according to legends is on the edge of the world, crossing the great desert of beasts. This uncharted territory, supposedly inhabits a tenth Titan who, according to books, is the most powerful of all the Titans.

—"I have to admit that you are right, as I am now, I could not fight a warrior with the power that emanates from you." He admitted, as his eyes lit up. "However, that would only be the case, if we had engaged in a frontal battle. In the present situation, even with this body, I can take my time to make you suffer as much as I please."

—"Don't speak as if you had defeated me!" he said furiously.

—"Don't you feel dizzy? In fact, it's awesome that you can keep it as if nothing happened."

In response, Merigar checked his wound, since, according to him, he had not received a fatal blow. While his internal organs were safe and the wound was not particularly deep, there was a problem. At the base of his hip bone, there was a small perforation that bled in an incompressible amount despite being only a small wound in the hip region.

—"What did you do to me?!" he asked annoyingly when he discovered a wound that could be dangerous if the fight dragged on.

—"I pierced your femoral artery and now I just have to sit back and watch life slowly leave your body while I torture you." He said as he savored the moment. "What amazes me is the lack of dizziness despite constantly losing so much blood, were humans always such resilient creatures?

—"You pierced my... what...?" Merigar had no idea what the femoral artery was, he just knew he had to stop the bleeding in some way, or even with his strength the situation would only get worse.

"Well, I spoke to you to hope that your strength would slow down, but since it seems that's not the case, let's start this little battle." The specter knew that the more he forced his victim to move, the bleeding would become more and more aggressive, so he stopped waiting for the loss of blood to weaken the man in front of him.

Merigar prepared his daggers to receive the initial attack from the specter. As an assassin categorized in the highest ranks of adventurers, Merigar was not an easy opponent to beat.

He was an assassin of Grand Master rank, a rarity among adventurers because it was very rare that an adventurer of that profession would surpass the Master rank. This was not because the assassins lacked skill, it was simply because the type of combat that characterized them made them level up much slower than their companions.

—"[Shadow illusion]" He invoked his favorite skill by completely blending in with the environment, giving the illusion that he had vanished into thin air.

In response, the spectrum simply produced a light laugh, then charged with great speed into a space that was supposed to be empty. Its claws cut the air mercilessly and a sound was heard from the other side of the place.

—"Ugh! bastard! How can you see me?" he said as he held his shoulder in pain. Merigar felt a pain similar to numbness, but adrenaline seemed to be suppressing the vast majority of the pain he really felt.

—"Spectra can perceive the spiritual energy of living beings, don't you know?" The spectrum shrugged. "That aside, but you don't forget something?"

—"What are you talking about?" he exclaimed angrily.

He initially thought the specter would mock him or something similar. However, what held the specter in its clutches surprised him.

—"Aaaaah! My arm!" He fell to his knees when he became aware of what had happened.

What looked like a failed attack had actually been a cruel and surgically performed blow. He had not noticed it before because adrenaline suppressed his pain, but his forearm had been cut by the sharp claws of the specter.

The Specter simply fiddled with his arm throwing it from top to bottom as if it were a child playing with a wooden stick. Then he seemed to be bored and using his monstrous force crushed his arm into his clutches and hurled it scornfully at its owner.

—"I give it back to you, anyway, I don't like playing with garbage." After saying those words, he was about to restart his attack, when from the prison gate a battle axe emerged that was flying towards the spectrum at high speed.

The specter merely dodged the dangerous blow, so the axe struck the cell bars behind the specter and amazingly broke them as if they were made of wood.

—"Are you all right, Merigar?" One of the Harlequin's companions had arrived, a gigantic barbarian carrying two axes had entered the room and asked for the condition of his companion.

—"Be careful with that thing, Astor." He warned his partner that he had suddenly appeared to help him.

—"I know, Merigar, I've fought these things before." The barbarian known as Astor Preya, was not inexperienced and knew very well the power of the specters. "But... What's a creature like that doing in a place like this?"

—"Don't ask nonsense and focus on the battle."

—"He is right" The specter stated that it had already begun its attack.

The barbarian used his other axe to cushion the wraith blow and removed his body to avoid unnecessary injury. The spectrum did not seem to be too strong, as the impact on his axe was minimal.

—"The specter I fought with in the past was much stronger than this one here." He said looking at his partner Merigar slightly. "I will activate my Berserker mode to..." When I was about to explain your action plan a strange event stole all your attention. "Huh?" His axe fell from his hands and hit the ground heavily.

—"No one protects their hands, isn't it a pity?" I affirm the specter.

The barbarian observed carefully what had happened, only his fingers had been cut by the sharp claws of the spectrum. That meant that the creature never aimed at his body, that was why the blow was so light. Instead, it had been a clean-cut aimed at the fingers holding the axe.

—"B-bastard!" Astor held his hand that already had only his thumb. Fortunately, the barbarians have an ability that allows them to tolerate large amounts of pain, so unlike Merigar the reaction was much less exaggerated.

—"Well, no matter how strong you are, if you can't hold your gun it won't matter and even if you were a monk, you would have lost half your skills by losing your fingers, isn't that funny?" He said the spectrum casually.

Astor was in a very big predicament. Although he had previously said that the spectrum was weak, he now had to retract his words.

—"Merigar, we have to escape this place, we can't fight this thing!" Astor tried to warn his partner that they should flee the scene but only found that his partner had long since left him behind. "Merigar?" he said incredulously.

—"It seems you have been abandoned." the monster claimed.

—"H-how could a creature like you have made it to this area." Astor knew perfectly well that he could not escape from a spectrum and had lost all hope of fleeing when his companion had left him behind. "How is possible the angels have ignored such a powerful specter?"

—"Mighty? Are you serious? You and your partner are three times more powerful than my current self, I just don't get in your game and I've set my own rules for this battle. Had it been a fight of strength, it would have been shattered for sure."

—"What?" Before the revelation, the barbarian glimpsed a small ray of hope that was instantly denied him.

—"However, it is too late to change anything." The specter attacked without mercy.

At first, Astor tried to defend himself as much as possible until his tendons were severed. From that point on, it was just one-sided torture, its members were sliced slowly and methodically as if the barbarian were a piece of ham, the spectrum was so skillful that no matter how much pain and suffering it produced, the barbarian did not lose life or consciousness.

His desperate screams were increasingly audible in the vicinity of the Lombardi prison. The specter did not bother to cover Astor's mouth while torturing him in the cruelest ways until the barbarian known as Astor was left with only a torso devoid of arms and legs, but incredibly Astor had not died.

—"Well, I seem to have lost my touch, he lost his consciousness." The specter watched the pitiful piece of meat that was once an imposing, stout man. "I suppose I can cure him and then hang him on a pole to starve or thirst, maybe the crows will even eat his eyes?" He said with a smile. Then he remembered that he had come out of the prison cell to help the girl with blue hair.

Only when the battle was over, he was allowed to be watched by the huddled girl on the side of one of the cells as she covered her eyes and ears in an attempt not to observe the terrible monster that was in the same place as her and her mother.

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