Same Night ~
I was watching the news on my phone while seated on a bench outside the academy.
And, Naturally, Aretrus' murder was all over the news, with Silvia being named as the prime suspect.
... Of course, I am aware that Silvia did not kill Aretrus.
It was clearly a trap, but was it set for her or for me,... or was it for both of us?
If the latter were the case, it would be like killing two birds with one stone.
And I have a theory about the people who might be behind this.
As I was pondering to myself Irethiel appeared flying toward me in her crow form.
"I got the location where they're being held, and regarding your other speculation,...what you said is correct," Irethiel reported.
When I heard Irethiel, a huge grin appeared on my face.
"All right, let's get this party started, shall we?" I said as I stood up from the bench.
I was dressed in a black assassin's outfit and quickly wore a mask that Silvia had brought me for my disguise as a prince on the gladiators' battleground.
I then encircled myself with electricity, leaving only a blue trail behind me as I sprinted in the direction Irethiel had directed.
***
"So he's staying here, huh?" Ares muttered as he stood on the building's roof.
"...Yes, but the warehouse is heavily fortified. How do you intend to proceed?" Irethiel was curious.
"I don't have a plan; we'll just enter through the front door," Ares explained as he jumped down the building.
"...."
"Wow, are you serious? I assumed you always planned ahead of time before doing anything," Irethiel spoke as she followed behind Ares.
***
Ares walked straight to the warehouse entrance.
"Why is there a toddler here? And what's with that strange outfit?" one of the security guards guarding the warehouse front said as he saw Ares approach.
"Fuck off, this isn't a place for kids to play," another individual beside him said, furrowing his brow.
"Shut up, you idiots, something doesn't seem right about him—" Another person guarding the warehouse with them said and raised his guard.
One of the individuals laughed as he noticed his partner raising his guard.
"Hahaha, moron?" Are you afraid of some kid now? He remarked.
Ares ignored their babblings and approached them casually, then suddenly a sword materialized in his hand out of nowhere.
"Atomic Slash!" Ares murmured as he executed his skill.
Slash!— Slash!— Slash!—
"Huh?"
Their body was slashed into several pieces in an instant, with no time to react as they were preoccupied with taunting themselves.
And their body, which had now been cut into several pieces, gradually began to fall apart.
Meanwhile, Ares just walked right past them, not even giving them a second glance.
"They were killed even before they could scream or react," Irethiel murmured as she followed behind Ares.
"Fell crescent!"
Ares used his skill to break open the entrance door to a warehouse and proceed.
"Wait, who—"
They came across someone while moving forward, but even before that person could say anything, his head was severed.
"Did you just accompany me to watch some kind of a show? Get to work, Demon!" Ares said to Irethiel.
"...."
"...I thought you didn't need my assistance," Irethiel spoke as she reverted to her original form, but her height was now comparable to that of Ares'.
"Normally, I wouldn't have needed your assistance, but we have someone waiting for us now," Ares stated.
As they continued down the corridor, they came across a large room illuminated by numerous lanterns.
As they entered the room, they noticed that tables and other wooden furniture were arranged haphazardly among the rows of barrels that lined the walls.
Groups of people, mostly men but also some women, were lounging around the tables while enjoying various activities like drinking, smoking, playing cards, and watching television.
However, as Ares entered the room first, all eyes turned to him, and shortly after, Irethiel appeared behind him.
"Who's that?" one man inquired of the person sitting next to them.
In response, the person simply shrugged their shoulders.
"What's up with that outfit?" A tall man with ruffled red hair and a scar on his cheek remarked.
"A-A D-Demon! Who are you?" In a startled tone of fear, a drunk woman looked at Irethiel and asked.
After hearing the drunk woman, everyone turned to look at Irethiel, and when they saw her, they were stunned.
Ares and Irethiel didn't bother responding and simply ignored them.
While Ares took a quick glance around the room before returning his attention to Irethiel.
"It appears that the person we're looking for isn't here," Ares spoke and paused for a moment.
"...So none of them are of any use. You are free to do whatever you want," Ares informed Irethiel.
Everyone in the room was perplexed when they heard Ares, including the scarred man in the front, but before he could react, Irethiel emerged in front of him, pierced his chest with her bare hands, and then grabbed and wrenched his heart from his body.
!?
The others jumped to their feet and reached for their weapons, but suddenly, a dark mist enveloped the entire room, and Irethiel's eyes were glowing red.
Swish!—
And just as Ares was focusing on Irethiel, she vanished, leaving only the screams of the people to be heard through the mist.
So Ares decided to use his skill Hawkeye to observe what was happening in the mist, but all of a sudden, the mist vanished, revealing Irethiel standing in the middle of the room alone while everyone else had already been killed.
Some had their throats pierced, others had their guts extracted, and various other horrendous dead bodies could be seen.
"...."
Ares just stared at Irethiel, who was making an even more terrifying scene than he was.
"What?" Irethiel inquired as she felt Ares's gaze on her while wiping the blood from her face.
"It's nothing, just keep moving," Ares replied.
"Tsk," Irethiel clicked her tongue before proceeding forward.
We encountered numerous other people, but Irethiel handled them with ease.
And as they continued on, they encountered yet another door.
"Who are you guys? And how did you get in here? ...w-wait, a demon?" The person who appeared to be the room's guard shouted.
"This appears to be the last room, —" Irethiel ignored that man's shout and said, but her words were cut off as Ares suddenly swung his sword at her.
!?
"Swap!"
She quickly switched places with a person guarding the door not far from them.
And Ares' sword pierced that person's stomach before swinging to the right and severing the person in half.
Gash! —
"Aghh!" The person died with a puzzled expression on his face.
"...F-For fucks sake! If you're trying to pull something off, at least give me a heads-up; I would have been in big trouble if I hadn't reacted quickly," Irethiel exclaimed annoyed.
"In any case, I think it went pretty well. I did this because I completely believed in your abilities," Ares stated.
"...Y-You now at least know what I'm capable of, I suppose," Irethiel said with a smirk.
"...."
"Now don't get too far ahead of yourself and open that door already," Ares said.
***