The Beginning Of The Trail Pt. IV

"But why do what you did with me you weirdo!?" I understood why she was acting and dressing the way she was now, but it still didn't make sense for her to sexually harass me!

"To gauge a 'man's' reaction, of course." She emphasized a lot on 'man', I think she was mocking me!

I'm back to being a lab rat once again with these fiends, agh.

"Okay, fine, whatever." I stifle my groan as hopefully; this will be as eventful as the trip there gets.

Suddenly, our carriage stopped in a dead stop- the iguana-rooster gave a loud audible screech outside.

Carmilla opened a small hatch from her side that opened a small visor to the rider's seat- on it was sitting a man dressed in inconspicuous clothing; it didn't look like a guard or a crimson knight.

"Graun?" Carmilla called out, but the man in the driver's seat said nothing- he was sitting completely still.

Ima was the first to take action.

"Royal Assistant, stay back." She rose up from her seat, those being her first words on the ride so far- she switched over to Carmilla's side and gingerly placed a hand on the man's back from the visor window.

But as she did, he immediately slumped over to his left- where his head was obscured, as he fell over, a visible arrow had struck through him straight through his skull; it glistened in fresh blood by the back of his nape in its exit.

But neither Carmilla nor Ima reacted strongly to this- rather, they sat down calmly on their seats, but took a defensive posture as they huddled themselves in the corners of the carriage.

"Kai, we have been caught in an ambush." Ima coolly spoke; I had remembered that she spoke about this being a possibility, but us taking the western gate should've prevented something like this from happening.

I wonder how they might've found us- whoever they were?

Carmilla let out a small sigh as she began to commandeer the situation; she looked straight at me.

"Sir Kai, it is imperative that I must survive no matter what." She boldly stated.

But I remembered what Ima had told me- Carmilla likely wasn't doing this 'just' to save her own skin.

"Judging by their entry of attack, they're going for a stealthy approach- physical weapons over magic." She snapped her fingers- two magic circles then appeared on the twin carriage doors; was this like her kind of signature(?) magic? She doesn't even have to chant for it like how I've seen the others do.

"I have warded the doors, they're impossible to enter from the outside, but possible from within."

"Ima can you make out who's out there?" I asked her, as she could see from the visor; but she shook her head in response.

"They're likely waiting outside of the carriage on the sides, either in whatever flora there is outside, or on the carriage itself."

"Do you have any clue who they might be, Car- Royal Assistant?" Almost let that slip out, she probably would still correct me even if were in a sticky situation like this.

"Royalists or Human assassins." She took a look at the dead man lying limp outside on the rider's seat; she shook her head.

"No, they're most definitely Royalists- Human assassins are not this thorough."

We heard a knock on the carriage, but it wasn't on the door; it was followed by a raspy voice.

"We know you're in there, bitch." The carriage rocked a bit, then we heard the iguana-rooster screech; followed by a heavy thump.

"Your cockatrice is dead; you can't escape now even if you could." So that's what they're called; rest in peace you gallant steed.

"Come out peacefully, and I promise we won't let the boys have fun with you- until tomorrow that is HAHA!" Some cheers were outside in unison with him saying that.

"Are Royalists this 'bandit-y?'" I asked, as the image of disgruntled nobles losing a war staging this attack had faded entirely in my head.

"No- but they're likely hired bandits by Royalists however, otherwise they wouldn't know who I was." Carmilla had finally shown some break of composure as she rubbed her temples.

"So, they're expendable is what you're saying?" I asked.

"Yes." Carmilla replied.

"Then why didn't you say so!" I said, as I opened the carriage door- evading Ima's wrist grab as exited out of the carriage door by myself.

...

Ever since the night I had killed the paladins, I've been having a recurring, lingering thought.

Why do I not feel guilty?

Why do I not feel guilty about killing those people? Those Humans? I'm a Human, I've been more of a Human for 2X years of my life, compared to the two weeks that I've been a magic puppet on this world.

I'm aware that I wasn't purposefully trying to kill them, but as they died in in front of me- so effortlessly, like lambs to the slaughter- I didn't feel that sad about it.

Is it because of my new body? Is it really that effective?

"Hey, who the fuck're YOU!" A gruff voice interrupted my train of thought as it roared at me, it belonged to the man that was making the demands from outside.

As I had predicted, the Royalists, or as I should say, the hired killers from the Royalists, had hid themselves in the blind spots of the carriage- from what I could see, they totaled twenty strong. They were all dressed in differing clothes, with an emphasis on light leather or chain-mail armor being a common motif for them all.

A little overkill much?

Hmm, maybe not- I think I've only seen the tip of the iceberg when it comes to Carmilla.

I didn't want Ima to follow me outside, as if she did- I don't think I'll be able to talk myself out of what I was probably about to do.

// Activate skill [Ward]? [Yes] or [No]? //

Now, how do I get this to go off without it being visible? Is there even a way of doing that? Could I copy what Carmilla had done?

"Oi, I'm talking to you asshole!" the man who had given the demands was standing before me, he had on a tout, tan hulking frame as he wore the least amount of clothing out of all of the hired killers- he had on a large set of black horns atop of his forehead with a filthy mullet that stretched down to his broad shoulders.

"Where's the prissy bitch!? Need her, not you, you fuckin' twig."

What if what Carmilla did with the snap of her finger acted as a kind of catalyst for the magic? Maybe that's how she didn't need to show magic circles? Might as well be worth a shot.

A large, grubby finger was placed onto my forehead- where Faustus' crest was; it felt wet.

"Ugly lil shit stain ya got there on your forehead fucker, let me wipe it off for ya, HAHA!" His finger scraped at the crest; it had his disgusting saliva slobbered all over it as he rubbed away at my forehead.

"This is a gift y'see, now, you got to reci-pro-cate friend." His finger kept digging away at my crest, over and over did it rub and rub; the saliva had reached the bridge of my nose.

I looked at him, I could feel his killing intent being directed not at me, but at the carriage; his eyes wandered over to the visible wards.

To him, I was probably just a butler sent out to be killed; in his eyes, I really was just a shit stain.

"Gift me the lady, and I'll tell you what- you'll leave here with at least your legs working." He stopped rubbing his finger, and instead began to tap- tap and tap at my forehead.

I said nothing as he continued to tap, tap, and tap.

"Egh, I think he's a slow one boys!" He shouted, everyone began to laugh- they laughed and laughed as he still continued to tap away at my crest; the tapping resonated throughout my skull.

// Toggle On [Moon God's Might]? [Yes] or [No]? //

// [Yes] //

Maybe the reason why I don't feel all that guilty about killing those paladins, those humans-

Is because, I had never felt guilty in the first place.

"HAHAHA-"

That, or I'm slowly losing it- whichever's which.

*Snap*

A fine red mist.

// Skill [Ward] Activated. //

Now the inside of the carriage was warded, they couldn't exit until I dispelled it. The catalyst idea worked; I didn't even have to mentally agree to activate the skill.

I can now fight without holding back.

The cloud of blood before me hung lazily in the air, as the ruckus of jeering laughter stopped-

The demon who was standing before me, tapping away at my forehead with his disgusting finger, evaporated into the air as the snap of my finger's created a rupturing shockwave that instantly ripped him into shreds. The only thing lift of him was the finger he was using to tap away at me, as it was outside of the shockwave's radius.

It was on the ground below me, it still had saliva oozing from the fingertip.

"Magic!!"

"Magic resistance up, NOW!!"

Giving credit where credit's due, the nineteen others jumped into action no sooner witnessing their comrade die before me. From how I had killed him, they likely thought I had used magic to obliterate him- instead of it really just being the souped-up physics that it really was.

They all downed similar looking, orange-tinted potion bottles- I hazarded a guess that that was something akin to an on-demand magic resistance item.

"Your luck's run out bastard! Magic won't work on us no more!!" They jeered as some readied their bows, other's their swords, and a few some throwing daggers at me.

If it was only Ima here, could she have had taken them on? With how she attacked me last night, and her 'Dark' magic, I think she's more of an assassin-type.

With numbers like these, I doubt she would've stood a chance.

"Magic? I didn't use magic." I said, I pride myself on my honesty (lie)!

But they ignored me as they began their attack.

I didn't know any kind of martial arts or anything, so I just mimicked what I had seen on some of my favorite kung-fu movies.

A short demon with a single horn and leather shoulder pads charged me with a short sword, he aimed for my gut.

"Elbow strike!" I shouted as I swung my left elbow at the demon's face.

His lower jaw was blown out from its socket and into the shrubs on the path side, as his neck twisted 180-degrees.

Eighteen left.

"YAAAA-" Another attacker came with twin daggers, screaming at the top of his lungs.

"Chop!" I swung my hand on a downward arc at a 45-degree angle, it connected with his shoulder and collarbone.

His body split in half, as I retracted my chop before it reached his hip, his torso's innards plopped out in a gory splat as he fell to the ground atop of them; it gave a disgusting, thumping squelch.

Seventeen.

Three demons were now charging at me, the one in the middle had a shield facing me as the two who were standing next to him pointed long spears at me; it was a solid strategy.

"Spinning roundhouse kick!" But it was pointless as I twirled my body upwards into midair, above their jabbing spears as my leg in spun in an arc, aiming at the trio's heads above their shield wall.

Their headless bodies fell to the ground as their flying ruptured heads joined the obscuring forest line.

Sixteen.

Fifteen.

Fourteen.

Having killed six of them in succession, their confidence waned as they began to question the validity of me actually being a magic caster.

"H-He's not casting nothin'!!"

"Bastard's hiding it, he's likely almost out of mana- PRESS ON!!" I evaded some thrown daggers at me as one of the killers threw them at me from atop of the carriage.

I then felt slight pressure on my lower back, I turned around to see what it was.

"G-Gotcha!" A mousy looking demon with a goat-like face sneered at me as he had managed to sneak up to me, managing a stab with his short dagger into my spine.

But the dagger didn't pierce my skin.

// Physical Resistance Negated Physical Attack. //

I swiveled around to the gloating demon; his dagger fell to the ground as he let go thinking it was jabbed firmly in.

I think I'll try 'that'.

I've always wanted to see it in real life as it's often done in spy moves.

I raised my still chained arms, and swiftly wrapped the interlinking chain between my cuffs around the demon's neck- he tried to squirm away, but I grabbed his shoulders before he could escape.

"I don't have a spare for this shirt, y'know." I scowled- I could feel a small slit on my shirt's back now where the dagger had punctured.

Before he could say anything, I let go of his shoulders and straightened out my arms upward-

It was like a piano wire killing technique that spies would use in World War II.

Except, instead of just strangling him- the chains ripped through his throat like a bear trap.

I hadn't even pulled all that roughly either, I was careful as to not break the chains; Ima had yet to unchain me, I didn't want to get an earful from her after this.

His body sat kneeling up, a gurgle of oozing brackish green blood trickled out from his exposed spinal cord.

maybe that was his race's composition that made him constrict like that after death? It'll be problematic if I kill someone and they die like this, it'll pose as a hazard for other people as they might impale themselves atop of their jutting shards of bone.

I'll take a note of that,

but back to business.

Thirteen.

...

"P-PLEA-AGHGH!"

"Axe kick!"

*CRUNCH*

After trying to escape, the final killer from the would-be kidnappers slipped on some blood- sparing me the need to sprint after him.

Not like that would've been much of an issue, as I am pretty fast with [Moon God's Might].

But as I'm drenched in blood, the likelihood of me slipping too would've been high- and who knows how far I would've been sent flying with that kind of inertia.

His body was pancaked into the grass top under the canopy of the trees, as I had copied the move Flaur used on Aim to a greater effect.

His body crumpled within many folds, like a slinky, as my heel landed atop of the crown of his head at a pinpoint strike- it decimated every bone in his body with the straight downward arc.

I believe the fight with the twenty of them had lasted no more than five minutes, it should've ended within three, but I had to wrangle the archers and other distance fighters to finish them off.

What remained of the skirmish was no less than an absolute bloodbath- bodies and giblets were strewn everywhere on and around the carriage.

Another day I'm thankful that I can't smell- but I could taste the immense tinge of iron in the air, so there was that.

Hmm, if I let Ima and Carmilla out now, with all of these bodies lying around- wouldn't that raise as much suspicion as letting them see me fight? I know Carmilla knows what I am, and what my kind is probably capable of, but Ima doesn't.

I don't want to break the 2nd restriction, and neither do I want to further strain our relationship.

She is Ami's sister after all, I can't let my first male friend's down like this if I let their sister witness something as grotesque as all of this.

I grabbed the remains of the slinky-fied corpse below me, making sure to hold all of the oozing skin and other bits as I walked back to the carriage proper.

I threw the body next to the three headless bodies that I had spinning roundhouse kicked earlier, but the issue still remained- how do I clean this up?

I pondered as the morning sun hung lazily over the forest- the sunlight felt nice on my skin.

What if- I EAT IT!?

Yeah, no.

Sure, food that I eat ends up turning into mana (sadly)- as it has done so with every meal I've had so far in this world.

But A) I'm not a cannibal B) I highly doubt I'll be able to chew away at twenty bodies and a lake of blood, within a reasonable amount of time and C) It's gross.

Hmmmm-

Wait, what if?

I extended my hand out to the four corpses below me, and I focused.

// Activate skill [Absorption]? [Yes] or [No]? //

!?

It's applicable!?

Ughhh.

Damned if I do, damned if I don't.

Screw it!

// [Yes] //

I held my breath as I kept my palm opened at the four bodies, I could feel my scar heat up as I did.

But nothing was happening at first- until I noticed in the corner of my eye that the finger left by the first kidnapper had vanished in a blue sparkling haze.

Other body parts began to do the same, limbs and guts, slowly but surely- everything began to fizzle away in the same blue haze.

"It- it works?" I gasped; I wasn't expecting it to work in a radius like this- I dropped my arm realizing that.

My scar grew hotter and hotter the longer this process went on, like a reactor or an engine- it grew with intensity as more was 'absorbed' by my skill.

After the smaller giblets, then came the blood, and finally the bodies; I think [Absorption] worked up in mass. Also, as this is important to note, absorbing them like this felt like I was eating- which was really disgusting; I honestly felt pretty queasy.

Even the blood on my clothes got absorbed- but only the fresh, non-coagulated blood. The dried stains on me remained, but it was only a trickle of dots on my blouse to when I had blown the first killer away with the snap.

After what felt like a minute, everything was absorbed- minus the equipment of the hired killers; maybe I couldn't absorb non-organic things?

Multiple displays began to pop up in my field of vision.

// Skill [Absorption] Successful. //

// Skill [Absorption] Over-Exceeded 15%. //

// [Recommended Route] Override Trait Active. //

// Administering Excess Mana, [15% -> 0%], To Recommended Skill... //

// Recommended Skill Acquisition Successful:

[Skill Information] lvl 1: Decipher the basic information of personal skills and of [Servants]. //

///