"!" ×N
At that moment, everyone turned their gaze toward the cloth bundle wrapped around the fire magic stones. Felix hurriedly crouched beside it and raised his hand, releasing his magic to inspect it.
The "merchant" was already pale with shock, his legs subtly shifting as if preparing to flee. Yet no one noticed. Most eyes were fixed on Felix.
Emilia was briefly stunned. Then her gaze turned cold as she looked at the merchant.
She understood his intention now.
"...I see. These fire magic stones have been set with timed magic."
Withdrawing his hand, Felix lifted his eyes toward the Shogun and Emilia, then glanced at the deathly pale "merchant." His voice turned grim.
"Timed magic?"
The Shogun asked.
"Yes. It triggers at a designated time, causing the heat inside these stones to surge instantly. Once fire magic stones reach their critical heat threshold, they explode violently. Judging by the quantity... the blast would be powerful enough to level a small hill."
Felix's expression gradually grew colder.
"!"
In other words, if she had not noticed, she and the children would have died here... and it might have affected people nearby as well.
A chill of fear ran through Emilia. Her hands slowly clenched.
The next second, everyone tacitly turned toward the merchant, whose face was now completely bloodless. Their gazes were sharp as blades, as if ready to pierce straight through him.
"'Helping us out of the kindness of your heart?' With scum like you harboring such malicious intent, and you still dare complain about being treated differently?"
The Shogun crossed her arms and sneered at the man with deliberate mockery.
"...!"
Her ridicule made his body tremble.
"Seize him."
The Shogun issued the order coldly.
Clatter! ×N
Felix and Wilhelm immediately moved with the surrounding soldiers. However, the man had already prepared to retaliate—or rather, to escape.
"Hehehehe~!!!"
The self-proclaimed "merchant" instantly twisted into a sinister expression. His previously rough voice turned shrill like a witch's cackle as he laughed exaggeratedly at them. From his sleeve, he tossed out a small object resembling a smoke bomb.
Bang!
A cloud of white smoke instantly spread in a small radius around him, swallowing his figure.
"Wha—cough!" ×N
Those rushing forward to restrain him were choked by the smoke, their throats burning as they coughed violently. Wilhelm and Felix were no exception. Forced to halt, they covered their mouths and noses with one sleeve while waving the other through the smoke, searching for his silhouette.
But—
He was gone.
Yes. In just those few seconds, he had vanished without a trace.
"Damn it, meow!"
Felix stomped his foot in frustration. Combined with his feline speech habit, it sounded oddly cute.
"Has he escaped?"
Wilhelm slashed his sword through the thinning smoke, dispersing it as he scanned their surroundings with a frown.
"No. He can't escape."
"?" ×N
The one who spoke was Emilia. The silver-haired girl showed no panic. Instead, she stood firm. Her words—"He can't escape"—were filled with absolute confidence in someone.
"Lady Emilia?"
Felix asked, puzzled.
"Because... the Shogun won't let him go."
Emilia smiled faintly. Though her lips curved gently, her violet eyes gleamed with a crystalline sharpness, carrying a faintly dangerous undertone.
"Lady Raiden? Huh? Where did she go?!"
Only then did everyone realize—the breathtaking purple-haired woman had disappeared at some point, as if she had vanished together with the fleeing man.
...
On the other side—
Tap tap! ×N
"Huff! Huff!"
The sweat-drenched man sprinted frantically through the forest, as if a ferocious beast were chasing him. He dared not slow down for even a second. Ignoring his pounding heart and trembling legs, he ran as though possessed.
Crash!
He shoved aside branches blocking his path, his hands already torn and bloody.
Zzzzt—
Behind him, something like a silver serpent trailed close, the sharp crackle of electricity hissing like a snake's roar. The sound made his entire body shudder, forcing his legs to pump even faster.
But prey can never escape the hunter's grasp, no matter how desperately it struggles.
Hummm~
After a slender flash of lightning—
Thud!
The man crashed violently to the ground, unconscious of how it happened. The impact crushed fallen branches beneath him with a loud crack.
"Agh!!"
He screamed in pain, struggling to rise. Yet he suddenly felt strangely light below the waist. His legs were numb—no, gone.
"?"
Confused, he twisted around to look.
"AAAAH!!! AAAAH!!!"
The legs that had carried him moments ago were no longer there. Only cleanly severed stumps remained, occasionally spurting blood. The delayed agony struck like a tidal wave, spreading through his body and making him tremble uncontrollably.
Tap... tap...
The crisp sound of heels stepping on branches approached. He looked up instinctively. A pair of high heels stopped before his face. Through blurred vision, he could make out black stockings filling the curve of the shoes and a ribbon tied around the ankle.
The pain had nearly driven him into shock. He no longer cared about her appearance. His pupils were already beginning to cloud.
"...Does it feel good?"
The owner of the heels spoke lightly, almost with curiosity.
"Ugh... ah..."
Lost in agony, he could only grunt incoherently.
"...Haa."
Watching him teeter on the brink of unconsciousness, the Shogun sighed softly and stepped down onto his face, pressing his head sideways against the dirt.
Zzzzt!!
She unleashed her elemental power. Electricity surged through his entire body.
"AAAAAAAHHHHH!!!"
His body convulsed violently. His eyes rolled back. Drool spilled from the corner of his mouth.
"Huff! Huff!!"
At last, the shock forced a fragment of clarity back into him. His gaze focused once more on the woman standing above him like a queen, her heel still grinding against his face.
"Answer my question. Are you a member of the Witch Cult? A spy who infiltrated the village?"
The Shogun's voice was icy as she spoke.
"...!!"
The man's eyes were bloodshot, the whites veined with red as his face twisted grotesquely. Because the Shogun's shoe was pressed so close to his nose, he could easily smell the mingled scent of leather and the faint fragrance from the black silk over her foot.
And yet—
What should have been an intoxicating scent felt like a deadly poison corroding his insides. He didn't dare move at all.
"...!"
Crack!
Seeing that he refused to speak, the Shogun pressed down harder, forcing his already twisted face further aside. In that instant, she heard the faint crack of his cervical spine.
"I won't ask a second time."
Her voice was ice-cold.
[Haa... Shogun... you should take your foot off him.]
Ei seemed to see through something and sighed softly.
'...Why?'
She paused.
[It feels like you're rewarding him. Don't give him any benefits.]
Though Ei wasn't entirely certain the man was that kind of pervert, as a mother she preferred to avoid the risk. Even something like this was unacceptable.
"...Haa. You want to smell it? Then 'smell' this."
Understanding Ei's meaning, the Shogun shifted her gaze to the man's nose and drove the heel of her high-heeled shoe straight into his nasal bone.
Crack!
"AAAGH!!!"
The blow shattered his nose instantly. Blood gushed out as he curled up on the ground. The Shogun withdrew her foot at once, avoiding letting his filthy blood stain her shoes.
This time, she pressed the blade of her naginata against his throat.
"Where is your master?"
She asked again, her tone now laced with impatience.
"Ugh!!! Hehehe~ hahahaha~!!!"
Yet the man, hunched over and clutching his nose, suddenly began to laugh wildly, as if his mind had snapped.
"..."
The Shogun frowned slightly, tightening her grip on Engulfing Lightning.
"You... you'll never find him! He's everywhere~! You can't stop us! Because we have 'love'!!"
The man shouted, his voice growing increasingly shrill and hysterical.
Love?
What nonsense is this?
The Shogun was momentarily confused.
"Love! Love! Love! LOVE!!!"
Rustle, rustle!
The man writhed grotesquely across the ground before bending backward and springing upright, his face suddenly close to hers.
"You've been fooled~ How slothful!!!"
The moment those words—calm yet suddenly furious—left his mouth, a large group of Witch Cultists wearing cloaks appeared all around her, surrounding her completely with daggers in hand.
"Hehehe~! People never notice what they can't see. How slothful, don't you think~?"
Whoosh!!!
In the next instant, a violent gust erupted behind the man. An unseen force surged straight toward her face.
Whoosh!!
The surrounding cultists also rushed in all at once, intent on stabbing her into a sieve.
"Haa..."
She sighed again. Without even looking, she swung her naginata. Lightning burst forth violently, and within it, afterimages of her form flickered like scattered petals, cutting through everyone around her in the span of a single second.
Slash! ×N
One second later—
Every body was severed cleanly at the waist. Blood sprayed across the ground, forming a crimson carpet. The man before her was no exception.
"Ugh! Impossible—impossible—impossible—impossible!!! You—! You can actually see... my—"
Crack!!
Before he could finish, she beheaded him in a single stroke.
Thud!
His headless body collapsed among the others.
"How noisy."
She lifted a hand to smooth her hair, speaking with clear disdain.
After all that questioning, she hadn't gotten a single useful piece of information—only nonsense. She might as well have killed him from the start.
[Don't be angry.]
Ei comforted her gently.
"I'm not angry. Just complaining a bit."
She exhaled softly, her tone easing slightly.