Chapter 62

The Svarokia Empire boasts the largest territory on the Slada continent. With that comes a vast amount of land to govern and a large number of nobles. The more there are, the higher the chance of corruption.

The noble who requested the assassination from "Death" Shu was one of the corrupt ones.

"That house, huh."

In the quiet night of the imperial capital Aldar, "Death" Shu Arkwright, with his face hidden under a hood, muttered as he walked through the district lined with noble mansions. Using vibration magic to conceal his presence, he moved through the streets. While using magic or magical equipment carelessly in the capital could lead to arrest, it was simply a matter of not being caught. With his concealment magic, no one noticed Shu's presence.

In his spectral form, he could pass through walls and was truly invisible.

It was convenient for assassination.

(Shall I go?)

From here on, he wouldn't make a sound. While he could use vibration magic to silence his voice, there was no need to speak when no one was around. Soliloquies were sufficient in his mind, and using unnecessary magic was a waste.

The data was already in his head, including the location of the target's bedroom in the mansion.

(From the layout of the mansion... that room, huh.)

In his spectral form, he floated and slipped through the window into the mansion. A man was sleeping in the bed. Although Shu had expected a fat and ugly man due to the corruption, the man was more fit than he thought.

Shu, who had no interest in observing the man, extended his hand without much scrutiny.

(Death)

He clenched his hand, activating the death magic. This magic drained all energy, bringing death to both living and non-living things. With Shu's power, which had become a law unto itself, the noble died. His life force and magic power were drained, and his heart stopped.

(Now to retrieve the head.)

Using decomposition magic to break molecular bonds, he separated the head from the body. After materializing, he released the vibration magic and placed the head in a bag. Then he summoned a shadow spirit.

(Take this.)

The shadow spirit, shaped like a snake, could freely move through the shadow realm. In the shadow world managed by the spirit, an almost infinite amount of items could be stored. Shu, of course, wouldn't carry a bag with a blood-soaked head. Thus, he handed the evidence to the shadow spirit.

(Having it delivered to the Black Cat tavern is a two-for-one deal.)

(Well, time to go back.)

As Shu thought this, his feet became immobile. The sudden change threw him off balance, and he fell. The soft carpet muffled the sound, but his feet felt heavy. Upon inspection, they had turned to stone. They were genuine stones when touched.

"This is..."

Both feet had been petrified. There was no magical aura, so it wasn't a trap. It must have been due to his hidden magical presence.

Shu was on guard. Five presences appeared in response: one man and four women.

"Amazing. Just as the captain planned, 'Death' came."

One of the girls spoke. Her eyes radiated strong magical power, indicating a replacement-type magical equipment. Her eyes had been replaced with magical equipment.

Then she glared again.

"...This guy has incredible power. My magic eyes are useless."

Mizra, the "Magic Eye." She had petrified Shu's feet with her magical equipment. Captain Ruto Rayven had issued the assassination request to lure "Death" into a trap. The noble's corruption was real, but it was a means to lure "Death." The plan was to capture "Death" with Mizra's petrification after the noble's assassination.

However, petrification was ineffective against someone with overwhelming power. It had worked to some extent on Shu, who had suppressed his power, but not beyond that.

(Troublesome.)

Shu muttered under his hood. It was troublesome, but not a problem.

After all, Shu was a spectral entity, a primordial spirit without a physical form. The petrified feet were meaningless.

"Damn... it was a trap."

This was his first experience since starting his assassination career. Betrayal was common in the underworld, but being targeted by a national-level conspiracy was a first.

Still, there was no need to panic.

"Captain, what do we do?"

"Surprisingly easy to capture. 'Death' is nothing against us!"

"Don't get complacent. 'Death' isn't dead. What do we do next, Captain?"

Three girls spoke in succession, looking at the woman called Captain. Their confidence was evident, but it was also their downfall. S-rank magical equipment users wouldn't lose easily, and five of them together couldn't be escaped. This confidence led them to make the mistake of letting their guard down.

The Rayven team, designed to hunt "Death," had confidence in their captain, Ruto Rayven.

Shu didn't miss a beat.

(Killing the captain should make it easy to escape. Death)

He drained a large amount of life force as magic power. This was death magic.

Ruto, who had let her guard down due to the easy capture, lost her life force.

"Ugh... what?"

Ruto fell to her knees, suddenly drained of strength. Her four subordinates—Mizra, "Infinite" Elina, "Mirror" Yurie, and "Flame Dragon" Ike—were shocked. It was natural to be surprised by the sudden damage to their captain.

Shu was equally surprised.

(This guy! An awakened magical equipment user!)

Death magic could kill in one strike. The only ones it couldn't kill were awakened magical equipment users. They had transcended the laws of the world, gaining infinite self-recovery of magic power. They no longer needed food or rest to recover; they automatically recovered. They had become immortal, beyond human understanding.

Death magic couldn't kill them in one strike. It required a concept of death to destroy them.

"What did you do to the captain!"

Ike, a young man, activated his magical equipment and attacked Shu. He had a fire dragon attached to his arm, partially manifesting a flaming dragon arm. The burning dragon arm, controlled by Ike, grew and tried to crush Shu.

Shu countered with death magic.

The burning dragon arm was just magical equipment. When Shu drained its energy, it disappeared.

"What!?"

Ike had been present when his father, Schmitt, was killed by "Death." He had experienced the phenomenon of his magic disappearing when he attacked Shu for revenge. He suspected it might be a magical equipment that nullified magical attacks.

"Contact Sadina! Tell her to put up a barrier around the mansion!"

"Yes."

Ruto, on her knees, ordered Elina, who contacted Sadina via a communication magical device. Sadina, an expansion-type magical equipment user with wings, could fly and attack from the sky. She was on guard in the sky above the mansion.

The order was received, and a positive attribute magic was activated. A dome-shaped barrier, with healing and protective properties, covered the mansion, intending to prevent "Death" from escaping.

Meanwhile, Shu was also acting.

(It's wise to hide that I'm a monster...)

He could escape immediately by spectralizing and undoing the petrification. However, to hide that he was a monster, he chose a different method.

He used vibration magic to generate a blinding light. The intense flash burned the eyes of the five, causing them to go white.

"Damn! I won't let you escape!"

Even without vision, Ruto activated her magical equipment, using gravity to capture "Death." However, Shu, in his spectral form and using invisibility magic, was unaffected by gravity.

When their vision recovered, "Death" was gone.

"...We let him escape."

"The magic eye had petrified his feet. How?"

"I should have tied him with a chain."

Ruto muttered bitterly, and Mizra and Elina looked grim. Yurie felt awkward for not contributing.

The window opened, and Sadina, who had been on guard outside, appeared. With wings, she could appear in the third-floor room despite the height.

"Captain, the barrier has been breached!"

"I see. He's completely escaped."

They had underestimated "Death," thinking he lacked direct combat ability. However, his abilities were far beyond expectations. His stealth and magical power were formidable.

"He nullified Ike's magical equipment and used something like positive magic. He's versatile."

Ruto revised her perception of "Death." She had thought the rumors were exaggerated, but it seemed they weren't.

If they had let their guard down, thinking they had him cornered and petrified, he would escape again.

The emperor's order was to eliminate "Death." Capturing him would have been ideal, but they needed to be prepared to kill him to complete the mission.

"We need to change our strategy."

Ike, Mizra, Elina, Yurie, and Sadina looked at the captain.

"Let's kill 'Death' next time. We'll stop trying to capture him."

The emperor's plan was to capture "Death" and use him as a pawn to strengthen the Svarokia Empire. As a high-ranking member of the Black Cat organization, "Death" had influenced the war between the empire and the revolutionaries through assassinations. He was a powerful asset.

Binding him with negative curses could quickly break the troublesome revolutionaries.

(How do we lure 'Death' next? He'll be on guard, so it's a dilemma.)

Looking at Ike, who had a burning desire for revenge, Ruto pondered.

◆ ◆ ◆

"I'm home, Airis."

"Ah, welcome back."

Shu, returning home, recalled today's mission.

(I messed up. At least my face wasn't seen.)

He hadn't expected to be ambushed. The five who appeared and the one flying outside were in imperial uniforms, indicating the empire's intent to eliminate "Death." They were all S-rank or A-rank magical equipment users.

"Today, I was ambushed by the empire's magical equipment users. I escaped, but they've definitely marked me."

"Unusual that you didn't kill them?"

"Yeah, I tried to kill their captain, but death magic didn't work. He's probably like the awakened magical equipment user I fought in the Elise Republic."

"Are you okay?"

Airis's concern seemed genuine, but she trusted Shu's power. The Death King Shu Arkwright, in the sacred Grinia, was considered a destruction or despair-level entity. Since multiple S-rank magical equipment users were needed to handle destruction-level entities, and Shu could repel even awakened magical equipment users, he was considered despair-level. This referred to entities that could destroy a country, which he had done to the Ramza Kingdom.

"We'll lay low for a while. I'll get a good sum from today's assassination request, so we'll live quietly for now."

"Back to part-time work. I'm looking forward to it!"

Airis looked genuinely happy.

Meanwhile, Shu recalled the team that attacked him in the noble's mansion. Among them was a boy with intense anger in his eyes.

He was prepared to fight that boy again.