Chapter 47

"Our orders have now changed. Kill all prisoners and destroy their bodies as well as their magic items." Emilia spoke, before a chorus of grumbles was heard. Typically, magic items would be sent to the order to be studied and then returned to whoever took them. The only exception is when the mission is to recover a lost item, but in such cases, a cash bonus would be given.

"Damn it, I wanted to take that enchanted cloak for myself!" No. 6 complained loudly.

"I understand how you feel. I already had my eye on a flaming sword." No. 2 whimpered as he looked at the sword at his waist.

"Come on, you don't have to cry that much. We're all going to get a nice bonus to make up for the losses, so it's not too bad." Emilia tried to lift the spirits. "We are going to spend the rest of the night in the village and leave at dawn. Try to rest and get some sleep after killing and destroying the bodies."

"Yes, yes, we already understand." The unit members spoke in low spirits, but carried out their orders anyway. They approached the gagged guardians with weapons in hand, as if they were going to slaughter animals.

"Hmmm, hmm!" The imprisoned guardians tried to say something, but the mage slayers paid no attention. They raised their heads and slit their throats, beheading them alive. Not a single drop of blood was spilled, the daggers had an enchantment of darkness and the wounds rotted the moment they were made. The guardians gasped for a few agonizing seconds before dying.

"No. 1, no. 3, now it's up to you." The 2nd spoke as he and the other members collected all the magic items. They flowed mana through the items without activating their effects, quickly overwhelming them. The magical energy had nowhere to go and destroyed the items inside, turning them to dust.

Finn and the 3rd, the only ones with the unit's dark affinity, hurled waves of darkness at the corpses, destroying them to dust. The 3rd also used a magic item to dig a hole and bury all the dust, before plugging the hole again. After confirming that all evidence was destroyed, Emilia left the barn.

"Well, there's still a few hours until dawn, so I'm going to get some sleep. What are you going to do number one?" #3 asked while yawning.

"I'll ask the captain Emilia out." Finn replied dryly, his expression hardening. He walked towards the captain with heavy steps, as if he was walking towards a battlefield, not paying attention to the stunned No. 3.

"...EH?" That was all #3 could say, after hearing such an absurd statement. He thought Finn was just teasing him, but seeing his determined expression, the expression of a man preparing for his own death, he felt a deep respect welling up in his chest.

He also saw Finn drink a potion he assumed was a stamina potion and then gargle a dark green paste, presumably to improve his breath.

"No, it takes at least the determination to face death to hit on the captain Emilia. #1 knows that too and he went after it anyway. He's a true warrior, no, a hero." The #3 nodded as he looked at Finn's back, which looked more manly in his eyes, before turning around and spreading the news among the unit members, betting on how many bones captain Emilia would break after rejecting him.

*******

"Emilia, can I talk to you?" Finn called after her and then followed her to the roof of the village's watchtower. The village had a single watchtower towards the forest, to spot monsters before they approached the village. Emilia was lying lazily on the roof of the tower, watching the stars.

"Finn? What's the matter?" Emilia asked curiously, turning to look at him. She wasn't wearing her mask, so Finn can get a good look at her face. She had short, shoulder-length black hair with a thin nose and delicate features. His eyes were black and slightly droopy.

Her figure was delicate, but Finn knew she could crush skulls like eggs if she got angry. Finn was slightly stunned by her beauty, making Emilia laugh at his expense.

"Why are you still standing there? Sit down." Despite his sweet words, she held his hand tightly and forced him to sit beside her. She continued to hold his hand as if reassuring him that he wouldn't run away.

An awkward silence spread as Finn thought about what to say. He wasn't new to this, but Emilia was a mystery to him. He wasn't stupid and he knew she was interested in him, but he had no idea why.

"You know, I never understood why you insisted that I call you by name." Finn spoke after a while. He turned to look her in the eyes, only to find that she was already staring at him with a smile on her face.

"It's because I like you, Finn. That's all." Emilia spoke up, her smile getting a little brighter as her cheeks flushed slightly.

Finn's eyes widened at how naturally she said that. He opened and closed his mouth several times like a goldfish, but he couldn't say anything. For a second he forgot what he came here to do and his mind went blank.

"An opening!" She pulled him by the collar closer to her before kissing him. Finn was shocked at her, but he kissed her back soon after. They continued like that for a few more seconds, before Emilia abruptly pulled away and kicked him in the chest, knocking all the air out of his lungs.

She pulled a dagger from her waist, waist and tried to assume a fighting stance, but her body suddenly went limp and she lost her balance, falling off the roof. Finn threw himself off the roof, catching her still falling body and landing safely on the ground.

"Ack!" Finn groaned in pain, feeling a blade in his side. Emilia couldn't control her body's limbs, so she put the dagger in front of her body and used the moment when he grabbed it to stab him.

"Trai...tor." Emilia muttered as she looked at Finn with a grudge, before passing out. Finn felt a bitter sensation at being called a traitor by her, but he put it to the back of his mind, telling himself he had no other choice.

What #3 mistook for a stamina potion and breath-enhancing paste was actually an antidote and the special poison that mage slayers used in their weapons. The plan was to take advantage of Emilia's feelings to kiss her and knock her unconscious, but she ended up doing it all on her own.

"I'll get on my knees and beg forgiveness when you wake up, but please sleep for now." Finn spoke to her, placing her gently on the floor. He took an intermediate healing potion just to treat the wound and took a deep breath to calm himself.

He took off her bracelet and activated it. Seconds passed as the light flashed on the crystal, indicating it was connecting. Finn was getting more and more nervous.

"Why did you call me again, captain Emilia? I thought I made my orders very clear last time." Louis Zahara's hologram appeared and spoke in an annoyed tone, not taking his eyes off what he was doing. He was an elderly man, with wrinkles all over his face and completely bald, with a white beard that reached almost to his chest. He wore a cloak as black as night from head to toe, But it wasn't the elder who caught Finn's attention..

In the background, Finn could see a blue-eyed white dragon and a red-eyed black dragon, both approximately 15 meters long, attached to white stone tables with their abdomens open.

Black chains chained all the dragons' limbs while continually draining their mana. Scalpels made of mana cut off certain organs and transplanted them into each other, while the dragons groaned in agony.

Finn felt pressured, even if it was just a hologram. He knew he was nothing but dust to any of those dragons, let alone the man capable of treating them as mere guinea pigs.

"Sir, I apologize for disturbing you, but I have an important matter." Finn spoke respectfully as he knelt down.

"...who are you and how did you get that bracelet?" Louis turned to him with a sharp look.

"Member of the 457th White Fang Unit #1, Finn Haug. I took this bracelet from Captain Emilia because I needed to contact an elder." said Finn.

"This is a serious violation of the white fang code, child. I hope this is a really important matter to be worth my time." Despite his words, he didn't seem to care much for Finn. He seemed to be more annoyed at the interruption than at the violation of the rules he'd created.