38 Hybrid Duo

As night fell, we prepared ourselves for action.

Since the other hunters had been busy collecting points during the day, it was better for us to target them while they were occupied.

In other words, our plan was to hunt down those who had diligently collected honey during the day.

To accomplish this, we had analyzed the map in advance and marked several points where we could find them.

Considering the psychology of the students and the terrain of the mountain, we had identified suitable locations where they would likely seek restful sleep.

"Preparations are complete," I said.

Just as I finished, Dianne finished her own preparations, and we immediately left our secret hideout.

Dianne looked puzzled as she stepped out and observed her surroundings.

"How can you recognize the way and return without any trouble?"

Although I hadn't made any explicit markings, it was evident from the camouflage I had set up that we were being too obvious.

Moreover, the marked locations on the map were the only ones I had created, so finding them was a breeze.

I shrugged my shoulders. "It's just a feeling."

"What?" Dianne asked with a perplexed expression, unable to comprehend my answer.

Ignoring her troubled expression, I walked ahead.

What can I do if it's the truth?

Even the nearest hunting point marked on the map was farther than I had expected.

The moon, hanging in the sky, was obscured by clouds, and the quiet darkness made it difficult to discern even a short distance ahead.

Nevertheless, I activated my mana focusing on enhancing my vision, particularly my eyes.

Dianne cautiously followed behind me, hovering in the air.

"Adrias," she called out.

"Yes, Miss?"

"I'm just curious... Why did you decide to carry a sword?"

While silently following behind me, she must have been thinking about something. It seemed like the topic of knights would be more prevalent if I were to peek inside her head.

"As you know, my magical power and spellcasting skills are not exceptional. When I fought the dark mage last time, I ran out of mana, and it was quite a critical situation. At that moment, I realized that I shouldn't rely solely on magic and should have something to protect myself."

"Hmm, I see."

"Are you interested in swords?"

"No, not at all."

Strong denial often means strong affirmation.

That was exactly Dianne's appearance.

I didn't understand why she wanted to hide it, but I took this opportunity to casually ask her.

"Speaking of swords, it reminds me of Carlos. How is he doing?"

"Big Brother? I don't know. He used to wander around singing romantic songs all day, but ever since he became a knight, he's been traveling around the country. It's been quite a while since I last saw him."

"I see. Do you have any plans to meet him?"

"What? Why do you care?"

"I just wanted to ask about his well-being. He was a good person to me, so I miss him."

In reality, Carlos Alben, in my memories, was not like the typical eldest son of a noble family. He had a carefree and open-minded personality. He had an uncanny knack for meddling in other people's affairs, always wishing for everyone's happiness. He was sincere and passionate.

"Well, that's good to hear. He plans to stop by the academy's year-end event."

"Is that so? That's really fortunate."

The academy's year-end event.

Finally, I had discovered the date of the terrorist attack.

In fact, I had already guessed that the attack would occur soon since there was little time left until the information I originally knew caught up with the present.

'Still, it's good that we found out for sure.'

We just needed to be cautious during the year-end event.

Moreover, since we knew the location, there was a chance that we could prevent it.

As I pondered the terrorist attack, I checked the map and gestured to Dianne.

Now that we were almost at the location I had marked, we needed to be extra careful.

Dianne understood my intention and remained silent.

Crackle, crackle.

My expectations were correct.

There, just as if they were asking to be caught, a group of three people had set up a makeshift campfire, leaning against a cliff, and started a bonfire. Although they had more members than us, it seemed like we could easily take them down due to the advantage of surprise and visibility.

Dianne, who was following closely behind, spotted them and immediately prepared her magic.

"Wait a moment."

I called out to Dianne in a very low voice.

She looked at me with a questioning gaze, wondering what was wrong.

Although I didn't want to hold her back, it seemed like there were uninvited guests besides us.

"There seems to be another group on the opposite side. They appear to be targeting the hunters just like us."

"Really? Then we should wait and attack."

Very quietly.

Without speaking, Dianne understood my thoughts. She cautiously hid her body and stood beside me, ready for the imminent battle.

For us, it would ultimately be beneficial to strike when the battle between the two groups ended, as we could target the remaining opponent.

"I see them."

Finally, the shadows across from the campfire began to move.

However, their movements seemed strange.

"Why are they getting so close?"

Suddenly, a small shadow hidden in the darkness jumped out and swiftly slit the throat of one of the members in the other group.

At that moment, a small shadow hidden in the darkness swiftly emerged and slit the throat of one of the members, causing a startled gasp from Dianne. I tensed up, scanning the surroundings.

Something was wrong. They weren't students.

However, before I could fully assess the situation, Dianne stood up.

And immediately, she unleashed her magic.

"Keugh?"

The goblin-like man, who had slit the student's throat, noticed Dianne's magic and turned his gaze towards her. His reaction speed gave me the impression that he was not only aware of the presence of the opponent but also formidable.

Shoeiex!

Huge ice fragments created by Dianne were launched towards him.

In response, the opponent wore a sinister smile and lifted the bleeding student, blocking the path of the flying ice fragments.

"You despicable!"

With an enraged shout from Dianne, the spells that were flying towards them hastily cancelled, scattering into pieces.

Taking advantage of the distraction, the large figure who had been hiding alongside the goblin-like man emerged.

As soon as he appeared, he grabbed the two remaining students by their necks, while the goblin-like man and the others were still dazed and disoriented.

"If you don't want to witness these brats dying, come out!"

The student who had been initially attacked lay on the ground, bleeding profusely and slowly dying.

And the other two became hostages in the grasp of the captors.

I calmly tried to gather information, despite the dire circumstances.

"There are no more opponents. Only two of them. But their movements and actions are not ordinary. Are they mercenaries?"

As I considered the possibility of mercenaries, their appearances gave me a clue.

'Mantos and Glau.'

They were a hybrid duo of mercenaries, with Mantos being a mix of ogre and human, and Glau being a mix of goblin and human.

They were known to take on various dirty jobs and were not picky about the tasks they accepted, even getting involved in questionable activities in the game.

The problem was who had hired them and why they were killing students in this place.

While I was lost in thought, Dianne stepped forward.

As she took the lead, I had no choice but to follow suit.

"Yes, yes. If you don't want to see your friends hurt, you better listen carefully."

"What is your identity? Do you think you can harm Academy students and get away with it?" Dianne spoke with intensity.

Glau chuckled mockingly in response to Dianne's words.

On the other hand, Mantos asked us with a serious tone, "I have one question. Do you know the whereabouts of a guy named Adrias Cromwell?"

Why am I being mentioned all of a sudden?

Dianne and I were equally bewildered by the question.

"If you tell us, we'll pass quietly," Mantos repeated his words, and Dianne and I exchanged glances, unable to say anything.

Sensing something amiss in the atmosphere, Glau stared piercingly at my face.

"What's this? Isn't he the guy?"

"Hmm?"

Upon Glau's words, Mantos looked at me and smirked.

"You're right."

"Hey! How did the prey come to me? Great, just great!"

As they conversed, Dianne became agitated and was about to step forward. In that moment, I spoke up.

"Why did you come looking for me? But can you release the two of them?"

"I guess it depends on what you're going to do," Mantos replied.

"Hey, hey. Miss, we're only interested in our friend here. We don't want to get involved with you," Mantos said as Dianne showed signs of preparing to use magic, swiftly inflicting a wound on the captive student's neck with his knife.

Mantos firmly held the struggling student's throat, applying pressure.

"I wonder what to do with this. For now, would you mind stepping aside, miss?" Mantos remarked.

"Shut up! How do you know who I am and speak so recklessly?" I retorted.

"I don't care who you are. If you don't move, I'll just kill these guys," Glau threatened.

"P-please... spare us..."

The student, whose face had turned pale, pleaded, his face drained of blood.

Dianne, who revered knights and was filled with a sense of justice, would find it difficult to endure.

Since it had come to this, I decided to speak up first.

"What do you want? Should I go along with you?"

"Sure, sure. That works!" Mantos replied.

At that moment, Glau used the knife in his hand to cut the arm of the captive student he had been holding.

"Argh!"

"Khehehe. Hey, miss. Instead of following us, make sure these guys don't die."

He said that and then climbed onto Mantos's shoulder.

"You, come with us. If you don't, I don't know what will happen to this guy," Glau threatened, pointing to the student.

"If the lady follows, I'll snap this guy's neck right away."

Upon their words, Dianne looked at me with a worried gaze.

It's no big deal, she should just go along with them.

"Lady, please take care of them here. Attend to their wounds and perform basic first aid. The Knights Academy assistants will arrive soon, I assume."

"And what about you?"

"I have to go with them. Don't worry. I have confidence that I won't die."

I smiled reassuringly at her.

Of course, Dianne couldn't be completely relieved since she didn't know the true abilities of those two.

Despite her lingering concerns, she gently held my shoulder, but I carefully removed her hand.

"You've seen me for the past two days. I know quite a few useful skills to survive. But please, check on those two quickly."

In the end, she bit her lip and glared at the mercenary duo, then approached the fallen students.

"Kek, you think you can survive? Against us? Khehehe."

Regardless of their words, I followed closely behind them.

Finally, having moved to a deep forest where Dianne was nowhere to be seen, I demanded that Mantos release the captive student he was holding.

"You brought me here, so release him," I said.

"Are you stupid? How did you get into Rodren Academy with such low intelligence?" Mantos retorted.

Suddenly, Mantos launched a surprise attack and tightened his grip on the student.

Crack.

Soon, a bone-crunching sound followed, and the student in Mantos's grasp went limp.

Glau, witnessing this, burst into laughter alone.

"Khehehehe!"

"Done laughing?"

"Kekhek?"

I don't know why they came, but things turned out well.

It's a perfect stage for a test.

"Are you so terrified that you've gone mad? Well, I understand. You'll end up like this soon too."

"No, you shouldn't have killed that student just now."

By killing that student just now...

There are no more witnesses around.

"I don't know why you came looking for me, but..."

I gathered mana, feeling the energy writhing as if it were about to explode from the other side of the space.

And the gathered mana immediately transformed into a black portal, revealing the silhouette of something.

"Let's fight it out for now."