Chapter 22: First Mission (5)

"Don't kill him! Subdue him!"

Even as the sword pierced his abdomen, making it hard to muster strength, he gritted his teeth and shouted.

Denif's sword was already at the back of Dmitri's neck.

Damn. Was I a beat too late?

But Denif, showing his quick reflexes, twisted his wrist. Instead of the blade, the flat of the sword struck Dmitri's head.

Thud!

Dmitri's neck bent, and his face tilted to the side. Denif didn't stop there.

He jabbed the pommel into Dmitri's temple, then threw the sword away and struck the back of Dmitri's neck with the edge of his hand.

"Gah..."

Dmitri groaned and fell. It was clear he was knocked out, but...

His actions were quite emotional.

In any case, as Dmitri fell, the sword embedded in my abdomen was pulled out.

The wound widened slightly as I leaned. I winced and pressed my hand to my abdomen.

I had never been stabbed before. The puncture site burned from front to back. My head felt like it was floating.

Think calmly. It's not a fatal wound.

"Kalin!"

Orhen screamed and grabbed my body. His eyes, wide with worry, were filled with concern.

But there were other issues at hand.

"I'm fine, just a moment."

I lightly tapped Orhen's hand and took a step forward, past the open-mouthed Orhen.

Did I bleed more than I thought? My steps felt heavy.

Denif, who had been glaring down at Dmitri, turned his gaze to me.

"Why not kill him... Wait, are you okay?"

A beat late, Denif, shocked, ran to me. He frowned and examined my abdomen.

I nodded lightly and leaned heavily on Denif's shoulder.

"More importantly, this guy seems to have something."

I knelt beside Dmitri's face and stuck my hand into his mouth.

We were taught the basic methods for capturing prisoners from the same line of work. First, you need to check the inside of the mouth.

'Sure enough.'

I felt something with my fingertips. There was a pill inside his gums that would only break when chewed.

I took it out and handed it to Denif.

"Look at this."

"What is this? Wow, how did you know?"

"I'll explain later."

I used a dagger to roughly cut Dmitri's clothes and stuffed it into his mouth to prevent him from committing suicide.

Contrary to the widespread myth, biting your tongue doesn't kill you, but interrogation is necessary.

After that, I had Denif tie his hands and feet.

Once the rough cleanup was done, I felt my tension ease, or perhaps my injury was worse than I thought, and my strength drained from my body.

"Are you okay?"

Denif supported my back as I started to fall.

"I'll live."

"You'll live? You look like you're about to die."

Did I bleed too much?

Orhen, who had prepared the bandages in advance, ran to me. His eyes were wide, and his hands were trembling.

"Are you, are you okay? Why... I'm sorry, it's because of me..."

Orhen rambled, seemingly out of his mind. He had been in a bad state earlier.

The extreme tension and the threat to his life had clearly left a deep impact.

Well, what should I say?

After a moment's thought, I just smiled.

"We're brothers, aren't we?"

The words I threw out made Orhen's eyes widen even more. A quick glance showed Denif was the same.

Their faces, filled with considerable emotion, focused on me.

I pressed the bandage Orhen handed me to my abdomen. I needed to wrap it around to stop the bleeding.

It was a difficult task to do alone.

"Can you help me?"

"Sure, sure!"

Orhen hastily sprinkled a coagulant on the wound and added the bandage. It was a good sight to see him concentrating.

But as I watched, I felt a sharp, unpleasant sensation piercing my inner self.

Why did you save me, risking your life?

The question that arose in my mind. Despite clearly saying he would survive, why did he throw himself in?

The lingering dissatisfaction after acting on his own...

Perhaps it was the influence of the original body or the demon's blood. I had felt changes since the first day I arrived here.

Well, I don't know.

Anyway, it wasn't just a matter of moving by a sense of holy sacrifice. Of course, that wasn't entirely absent.

I thought it was a combination of factors.

In fact, the first time I suspected Dmitri was when his demeanor changed.

'In the end, my suspicions were correct.'

He moved quickly, as if hiding his strength, and Denif was injured. At that moment, my mind became calm.

And I started to notice strange things.

He never seemed flustered from start to finish. He didn't show anger even when his subordinates died.

He didn't seem to think the skills of 13-year-olds were strange.

It was also strange that he immediately recognized our true identities.

I thought he might be hiding something. Especially since it was a mission given by the intelligence officer.

'Was there a hidden intention to target intelligence agents from other places?'

That's what I thought. That the mission was given without revealing his true identity.

I might get extra points for uncovering this.

And that led to the idea that capturing him alive would be better than killing him.

Whether it was possible to capture such a strong opponent was questionable.

So the idea of using bait came to mind. Mutual destruction. It was the best method in a failing operation.

Of course, I didn't plan to die. I intended to give my flesh and take his bones.

'Telling Denif my plan would be difficult. Should I be the bait?'

If I was going to be bait, it seemed fine for Denif to take the hit instead in a dangerous moment.

The deeper the bond with Denif, the better.

Just as I was thinking that, Dmitri moved.

He leaped over my head, passing Denif. Clearly, Orhen was the target, not me.

There wasn't time to think much.

I remembered that I was the second line to protect Orhen and the image of Orhen trembling with a dagger.

These thoughts overlapped, and my body moved on its own.

I bound him with wind and jumped in between.

That's how this result came about.

So it was a bit complex. It was like moving with two intentions.

Well, to be honest, I could act because I believed in avoiding death.

If it really came to a life-threatening situation, I thought I could somehow avoid it.

'In any case, I gained a lot.'

First, I earned the trust of Orhen and Denif. A life-risking relationship isn't easily formed.

Especially considering the future, the friendship with Denif is important.

And I saved a life.

Thinking about it, Orhen wasn't in my memory. I can't be sure, but in the game where I didn't exist, he might not have survived this mission.

'So Denif became a bit more composed.'

I had no regrets about my actions. Purely rationally, it wasn't bad.

Even after repeating it to myself, there was still an uncomfortable feeling.

Maybe it was due to the demon's blood or the influence of the original body.

'What can I do about it?'

I am me. I might be influenced, but I do what I want to do.

In the end, there's no problem. Even if there is, I will make my own choices in the future.

"Phew."

Perhaps because I was exhausted, a deep sigh escaped.

Orhen and Denif's faces appeared in front of me, reacting to my sigh.

"Kalin!"

"Hey! Snap out of it!"

Their voices echoed in my ears, filled with worry.

Well, it's natural to be worried after getting stabbed in the abdomen. It might be the first time they've seen such a scene.

Even in real sword training, I've never been injured like this, let alone in a real battle.

But I won't die from this. I've stopped the bleeding, and I didn't move violently after being stabbed.

"I won't die. You know that."

"Still..."

"Anyway, what do we do now? Should we return to the carriage on our own?"

We were only told to assassinate. There were no instructions on how to return, so it seemed right to return.

The problem was that we had captured Dmitri alive.

I'm not sure if this was intentional.

It could be that Haisen was harshly training the kids, or it could be an unexpected event.

There was no need to clean up. Setting fire would draw attention.

Wild animals would eat them if left here.

No one comes this deep. So they probably used this place as a hideout.

The problem was whether I could move Dmitri in my injured state...

Would it be best for Orhen to support me and Denif to carry Dmitri?

While I was thinking, a rustling sound came from the other side. It was Marhan.

"You've done well."

From his serious expression, I could tell there was something hidden in this mission.

Marhan probably didn't expect this either.

Marhan sat in front of me and examined my wound. He took out bandages and antiseptics to re-examine the wound.

He sighed in relief, saying I wasn't seriously injured.

Only then did Orhen look a bit relieved.

Marhan sighed deeply and looked at us.

"I'm sorry. There was a mistake in the mission."

* * *

With Marhan's help, we could easily get to the carriage.

Even though it was a mountain path, Orhen and Denif supported me on both sides.

Dmitri was crammed into the luggage compartment, and Marhan gave him some medicine, so there was no need to worry.

In any case, Marhan sincerely apologized to us.

"I'm sorry."

He said there was an error in the mission design. Dmitri wasn't just a criminal.

The poison pill in his mouth clearly indicated he was an intelligence agent from another organization.

Marhan said it seemed like an unfortunate accident rather than a deliberate act by someone on our side.

I thought so too.

There was no one specifically targeting us, and if that were true, there wouldn't have been just one person.

If our information had leaked, there would have been someone to capture Marhan as well.

In any case, since it had already happened, there was nothing to do but accept it. It wasn't really Marhan's fault.

Marhan said we must be tired and told us to rest.

Marhan took the role of the driver, so only we were in the carriage.

As Denif snored, I closed my eyes and thought.

'Well, it turned out well.'

Even though it wasn't intentional, it was important that we successfully completed a more difficult mission than the original.

Although I was injured, we captured a prisoner, and my evaluation would rise.

At that moment, I heard the system message update. I opened my eyes wide.

Come to think of it, this mission was also one of the acts of treachery.

From the level-up and the new traits, it seemed there was additional compensation for capturing an unknown intelligence agent along with the assassination mission.

The explanation said I could maintain a bit more composure during assassination missions and gain a slight increase in experience points from assassinations.

'Not bad.'

I realized how important composure is. It would surely be helpful.

And the minor traits would continue to grow.

As I was thinking, I felt a gaze from the opposite side. It was Orhen.

Orhen, who had been looking at me since we came down the mountain, quickly turned his head when our eyes met.

Denif was already snoring, but...

His hesitant face was a mix of guilt and gratitude.

"I'm fine, really."

"I, I didn't say anything."

Orhen, unable to hide his embarrassment, rambled.

Judging by his reaction, it seemed he just blurted out something in his embarrassment.

"Okay, I get it. Get some sleep. I'll rest too."

I closed my eyes. I was genuinely tired.

It was well past bedtime, and I had been stabbed. My eyelids were heavy.

"...Thank you."

In the silence, Orhen whispered hurriedly.

My lips curled up without me realizing it.