Inheriting the Novel

Chapter 144 : Assassination Attempt (2)

Assassination Attempt (2)

Someone disguised as an attendant moved quietly in the darkness. I, kaden, considered asking the guards nearby for help, but since I didn't know the opponent's true abilities, I couldn't bring myself to speak up so easily.

'This isn't someone who entered the domain recently.'

As Kaden, responsible for the Dreistler family's security, I knew that—except for Clay and Mersaya—no one else had come to the domain recently.

This meant the man before me had been in the Dreistler household for quite some time.

'I need to look for a chance to escape...'

I wanted to learn the other's intentions if possible, but that didn't seem easy.

'Escaping seems nearly impossible. Should I send a signal instead?'

Though I couldn't gauge the man's exact skill, he was clearly far above me.

If I tried anything foolish, I would lose my life. Moreover, there were ordinary people around us.

If anything went wrong, not only I but also their lives would be lost.

'So that's why he led me to the most crowded area.'

Grinding my teeth, I followed him.

He was cunning.

He moved through busy places to avoid Marvin's senses and walked ahead, pretending to be a normal attendant.

"I have been watching you all this time."

"...."

The man spoke to me despite my persistent silence.

"You are an excellent man. But Marvin Dreistler doesn't see your true worth. I find it regrettable."

The place he stopped was the Magic Tower set up in the Dreistler domain. Since the tower was in a bustling part of town, even in the evening, many people were walking around nearby.

"So I wanted to give you an opportunity. If you lend us a little help, I'll make you the head of the Dreistler family. No... I'll give you not only Dreistler but all the surrounding territory as well."

As expected, I realized these people weren't acting alone, nor were they targeting only Marvin.

'They intend to steal Dreistler's technological secrets as well!'

Among the records stored in the Dreistler estate were secret techniques lost to the world. Some surpassed modern technology by far—those must have been what they were after.

"... What do you want me to do?"

"It's simple."

He pointed to the Magic Tower.

"Open the door."

"...!"

"My comrades are in Hinbert right now. If you open the door, they'll come and help you."

To use the magic array in the Dreistler domain, direct bloodline approval was required.

I had wondered why they wanted to win me over. Now, I understood.

'Damn!'

Grinding my teeth, I racked my brain.

'What should I do?'

No matter how much I thought about it, there was no way out.

Any rash move would endanger the lives of nearby domain residents.

Besides, who knew how many others like this one were lurking in the domain? That would make things even more difficult.

"Hmm? What's wrong? Are you deciding you don't like the plan now?"

"Wa, wait a moment."

There was no emotion reflected in the man's eyes.

In that moment, I realized my life was in the palm of his hand.

But if I did as he said, what would happen would be far worse than if I disobeyed.

'There's no way out of this.'

I shut my eyes tight.

I steeled my resolve, ready to refuse him even if it cost my life.

'At the very least, I have to risk my life to prevent harm from coming to the people nearby.'

As I opened my eyes, determined—

KWAANG!

A violent explosion rang in my ears and something shot past me at tremendous speed.

"... Huh?"

What had just passed by?

Dazed, I looked at the man who stood before me.

For some reason, the man who had been in front of me a moment ago had been replaced by Clay.

"Impressive. I'm seeing you in a new light."

Clay slowly lowered his outstretched fist and flashed a wry smile at me.

Of course, I couldn't even comprehend how the situation had turned out this way.

"W-What on earth is going on...?"

"I've been following you all along. Ever since you left the training ground with that guy."

Clay pointed behind me.

Over there, a man with the appearance of a crushed bug writhed, smashed against the wall.

The body of the attendant was now glowing faintly and slowly changing.

'Demonkin?!'

I was shaken as I watched the man's form change.

From him, I could feel sharp ears and a thick demonic energy unlike that of a human.

"Keugh, keugh! When—when did you get here?!"

His face was half-crushed, yet he was still alive—grotesquely so. The people drawn by the commotion screamed and fled at the sight of the demonkin.

"You... You should be in the head's room right about now!"

"That would be true—if you hadn't been leaking demonic energy as you wandered around."

"Nonsense! I perfectly concealed my demonic energy!"

At the demonkin's indignant shout, Clay shrugged.

'Of course, I saw your profile and found out.'

Not that it was a total lie. Grancesia had mentioned feeling demonic energy first, which was how I found out.

I would never have imagined that a demonkin could be hiding in the Dreistler domain.

"Anyway, enough talking. Time for you to die."

"W-Wait! If you kill me, my comrades...!"

"Yeah. I'll make sure to send them right after you, so don't worry."

As Clay took a step closer, the demonkin tried to scramble away in terror, but before the guy could even take a step, Clay's fist was already upon him.

Clay's movements were several times faster than before.

'By applying Heavenly Lord with the subtleties of Meteor, the range of my attack increased dramatically.'

The Hidden Star Sword, Second Half, Third Technique—Meteor.

A lunging thrust that immediately closed the gap. Applying it using the Heaven's Holy Ultimate Art worked surprisingly well.

'Maybe because the Hidden Star Sword was the first technique I mastered, it suits my style.'

The punch blew away the demonkin's upper body.

That demonkin was intermediate-rank at best, but he couldn't withstand the power of Heaven's Holy Ultimate Art.

"Well then."

Clay checked the demonkin's corpse as it turned to ash and crumbled, then turned away.

There stood Kaden, frozen like a stone.

* * *

"So, how long have you been following me?"

Kaden, still out of sorts, stammered out a question.

"From the start. Ever since you were at the training ground."

"I never noticed a thing..."

Of course not. I had been following all along, slipping through the boundaries of space using the power of the Sword of Boundary.

If he'd noticed, that would've surprised me.

Kaden looked at me skeptically for a moment but then sighed.

"Haa, then why didn't you come out sooner?"

"If you'd refused the guy's offer, I would have. But you kept following, so I wanted to know the demonkin's intentions."

Honestly, I had been concerned that Kaden might fully accept the demonkin's offer.

So, rather than the demonkin, I'd been unsure what to do about Kaden.

'Marvin has helped me a lot, after all.'

Fortunately, though, it seems he hadn't sided with the demonkin.

Whether he was following to learn their intentions or simply changed his mind late, I couldn't say.

"They said Hinbert, correct?"

"Huh?"

"The place he said his comrades were."

"Y-Yeah. He said Hinbert."

Hinbert was a place I'd visited not long ago.

It was the only domain where the Magic Tower could connect directly to the Dreistler family.

Because of that, movement in and out of Hinbert was strictly controlled.

"I'd better stop by."

"Stop by...?"

"I don't like the thought of demonkin being in Hinbert."

Most likely, something had already happened there.

"And with this sort of affair, the side that strikes first always has the upper hand."

"But these are demonkin! Who knows how many others like that one are gathered..."

Kaden's voice trailed off.

He must have recalled how I took down that demonkin with one blow.

"Yeah, demonkin are scary."

I placed my hand on Kaden's shoulder with a smile.

"But to me... they're the easiest targets of all."

* * *

Anyone overhearing that would be baffled.

That demonkin could be "easy."

Demonkin had been humanity's natural enemies since ancient times.

Their bodies, magic power, and unique abilities placed them firmly in a different league from mundane races.

Except for dragons, they were undoubtedly among the strongest of all species.

Even a low-rank demonkin had the power to kill countless humans. Intermediate- and advanced-rank ones amounted to nothing less than a calamity for ordinary people.

But that had nothing to do with me, who possessed Divine Blood.

In fact, to me, demonkin were easier prey than humans.

'Now then...'

Standing atop the wall of Hinbert's domain, I surveyed the area.

As I expected, hinbert was in chaos thanks to the demonkin.

'If I'd used the magic array to come, it could have been risky.'

Most demonkin were gathered around the Magic Tower. That's why I arrived on Mersaya.

"Should I help too?"

"Of course."

"Heeh..."

Beside me, Mersaya immediately pouted.

As a child of a new nation, Mersaya's bedtime was quite early. After dinner and calisthenics, she would wash up and go to bed within two hours.

That's why, when I went to fetch Mersaya to come to Hinbert, she was already fast asleep.

Of course, I woke her up and brought her here.

"You've learned the technique, so it's time for some real-world practice."

"But I haven't learned much..."

Truth be told, Mersaya's training had focused on building basic stamina.

"But you've got something down, right? Just try using what you know today. I'm sure you'll find it easier than fighting demonkin before."

After saying that, I made eye contact with Marvin, who folded his arms quietly.

"We'll take care of the demonkin gathered around the Magic Tower. Can I leave the rest of the territory to you?"

"Of course."

Marvin was here as well.

He looked as if he'd rush out at any moment, keeping his eyes fixed on the demonkin causing havoc in the domain.

Thankfully, things had settled enough that the domain residents were now just being guarded by demonkin.

"But Clay, are you sure? You know the ones there include nobility-rank demonkin?"

"Yes, I'll be fine. Honestly, I'm more worried about you, Marvin."

"That won't be a problem. If those at the Magic Tower had joined them, it would've been dangerous, but..."

His gaze settled on a demonkin restraining the domain residents.

That demonkin was anything but ordinary. Even from a distance, I could sense the powerful presence.

'A Count-rank demonkin.'

It was a demonkin on par with the one that had appeared in Eintban before.

'And...'

Among the demonkin at the Magic Tower, I saw two more of noble rank—Viscount-level.

It was a fearsome lineup, likely assembled to assassinate the Seven Heroes. Of all the demonkin I'd fought directly, this was the strongest group.

'It's a good opportunity.'

With Setram as my next opponent, I needed to try 'that' at least once beforehand.