Dark Fantasy: Super Coward Mode

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Our combatants’ count.

Knight Commander, Deputy Director, about 10 members from the Branch, and me.

The opponent had roughly the same number of people gathered.

I told Bell not to fight.

We needed to capture them alive to find out who the instigator was, but with one attack from Bell, they would disappear without a trace.

I asked her to just move in a way that saves us when things get dangerous.

Thud! Thud!

The collision between weapons that should have vibrated heavily thanks to Oko’s remnants instead sounded like something that could come from a toy ball.

Yet, the expressions they wore and the situation conveyed the urgency of it all.

“Haah!”

Without a care in the world, Muyun charged in, proudly setting a death flag while attempting to dismantle the enemy lines with her axe.

Ordinary bandits would have no trouble with that.

But they were not your average bandits.

Thump!

As something fell to the ground, Muyun’s axe struck the floor, but the bandits had already evaded in their own unique ways and were gearing up to charge at Muyun.

Muyun was quite strong.

But no matter how experienced, being careless often led to the worst situations.

“Ah, huh?”

Muyun stood there dumbfounded, unable to comprehend the situation.

She didn’t see this coming, so I’m guessing her brain couldn’t process it immediately.

Whoosh, bang.

With a sound like something being sliced, a heavy noise followed.

The bandit who pulled this off wore a smug smile as if he had accomplished something great.

He probably thought he just took down a top-notch knight or something, and dopamine was flooding his system.

But soon, the bandit realized what was happening and stiffened his expression, biting down as he looked upward.

“Damn it, Leydan Tanton!!!”

The bandit shouted my name, showing his rage to the fullest.

Haha, how foolish.

Did he think I would fall for such an obvious trick?

Holding her armpit, Muyun suddenly seemed to regain her senses and let out an absurd sound.

“Ah, uh. Huh?!”

“Muyun, get a grip. You can’t just say things like that when lives are at stake.”

“Oh, uh, yes….”

I had meant to lighten the mood, but perhaps she interpreted my words as scolding, as her spirits seemed to plummet.

Hmm.

Emotional fluctuations during combat can be the biggest cause of morale drop.

With that thought, as soon as we landed, I patted her on the head.

She was a bit taller than me, so the image I had in mind didn’t quite work out, but I did see her expression change as she looked up at my hand.

“Muyun, just stay calm. You are strong enough, so no need to get too worked up. Even if you don’t show off here, I’ll still listen to your suggestions.”

“…Yes.”

It seemed like what I had said triggered her rampage.

Responding somewhat weakly, she soon hardened her expression and rushed back to the battlefield, and this time, I felt she was definitely going to fight well.

Alright.

Now that I’ve saved someone who was expected to die, it’s about time I pitch in.

Just as I thought that, I felt someone gently cling to my back without me even playing a whistle.

“…Fiore?”

That oddly fluffy and soft texture belonged to no one but Fiore from the Divine Race.

Did she advance right after keeping an eye on the situation?

“…That dragon-on-a-stick guy will probably charge through recklessly if he’s not stopped.”

“I totally think so.”

At my words, Fiore chuckled softly.

Was she really planning that? I could hear Zumiya cursing Fiore in anger in my head.

I could also hear Apta and Paura desperately trying to calm her down.

…Ugh, thinking about the peace after this expedition to the Snow Mountain makes me feel like maybe it’s better if the situation stays like this, which is a terrible thought to have.

Oh, gods.

“…Anyway, I’ll be borrowing your power again today.”

“Sure.”

Fiore agreed, willingly funneling some of her power into me.

As I gently felt that energy and the sensations around, I gradually became aware of the vitality nearby.

There were probably countless corpses trapped under the snow here.

Now that I think about it, Fiore’s concept aligns with plants, so I somewhat understand why she deals with corpses.

After all, those decaying bodies ultimately become good nourishment for the plants.

It seemed to touch on the lyrical yet philosophical concept that fading life creates another life.

Shall I go a bit fancy?

Having pinpointed all the locations where vitality was felt, I snapped my fingers with an awkward smile.

At that moment, long plants surged upward into the sky from beneath the snow.

“W-what is that?!”

The Hunter Follower looked around in surprise.

The Hunter had once said that the stronger a Divine Race is, the stronger the foul stench feels.

Since Fiore was a higher-level Divine, it must smell unbearable for him.

As if to confirm my statement, the Hunter Follower pinched his nose with his hand.

And that brief action became the bandit’s downfall.

“Hey, you! Quickly give commands…!”

“Whoaah!”

The Knight Commander struck down the bandit’s neck with the back of her sword.

Even though it was just the back of a sword, I couldn’t help but worry that he might have suffocated, given how he slightly sunk inwards.

The bandit collapsed.

It was the moment the Knight Commander achieved something.

The morale of the knights skyrocketed instantly.

“Hey! Our Commander is acting like that, how can we just stand by? We have to take down at least one of them!”

“Let’s gooooo!”

Startled by their sudden fervor, the bandits tried to respond, but they had no chance.

Through Fiore’s abilities, we easily disarmed them, and the bandits who relied solely on weapons were quickly subdued and pinned to the ground by knights.

Those who attempted to brawl without weapons were lifted into the air through Fiore’s power, rendered completely helpless, flailing about in a panic.

“I-I don’t want this! What’s happening, what’s this!!!!”

…The sight of corpses moving in a grotesque manner as if they were grabbing hold of him.

The bandit wore an expression of sheer terror, almost like he was about to develop a trauma, and eventually fainted.

Hmm.

Maybe that was a bit too much.

No, that’s not it.

We couldn’t afford to understand these rascals just because they ambushed us at Rondan for their petty gains.

Finally, the Knight Order had surrounded only one Hunter Follower.

“Ugh, ugh! What the hell! Why! Why is this happening!”

He was subtly trying to escape when the Knight Commander grabbed his collar.

With a slightly chilling expression.

“Haha, you can’t just walk away.”

“Eek.”

“Won’t you tell us some valuable information?”

The Hunter Follower screamed.

Bound with ropes, he glared at the knights.

Regardless of the questions they asked, he offered no answers.

At this point, I thought he might at least spill one thing, but it turned out that the self-serving bastards had a sense of loyalty in this area, which made the Knight Commander sigh.

“Can’t you speak up already?”

It was frustrating as the Deputy Director held a large sword to his neck, and the bandit remained still as if he were presenting his belly.

Does it mean he’s not even afraid of death?

Perhaps he just didn’t have much attachment to this operation at all.

“Is it not working?”

The Knight Commander sighed, pondering, when Tanton approached her.

She was supposedly back to her senses, yet the madness perceived from her bright eyes had not faded at all.

The Knight Commander sighed again, caught up in her thoughts.

“Just as it looks. I thought they’d be itching to eat each other, but they’re sticking together like this.”

“Hmm.”

Hearing the Knight Commander’s complaint, Tanton twisted her lips as if pondering something and then broke into a bright smile as if an idea had struck her.

“Can I give it a try?”

“How?”

“You know, I have some experience dealing with Outsiders, right?”

The moment she said that, the Knight Commander felt a sense of dread envelop her.

No way.

Tanton didn’t need to say more; I knew well what the madness in those bright eyes intended to do to the Follower.

It was truly fascinating how she could display mercy at times and the most horrific facade even worse than the most brutal criminal at others.

But it couldn’t be stopped.

At this point, there was simply no way to get the tightly shut mouth open besides the method Tanton proposed.

The Knight Commander closed her eyes, offering a silent prayer for the follower’s soul.

“…Do as you wish.”

“Yes! Just a moment please!”

Tanton said that as she grabbed the Follower by the nape and started to drag him away.

“Are you finally going to kill me? Yeah, I should’ve given up long ago. If you thought I would just spill the beans, you’ve made a huge miscalculation.”

As she was dragged away, the follower shot a spiteful grin toward the Knight Commander, but for some reason, after catching her expression, he seemed to have a slight doubt.

Why was she making a sympathetic, pitying face at him?

“Commander?”

“…Wait. She’ll handle it.”

The knights were puzzled by Tanton taking the follower away, but the Knight Commander simply said that.

The knights couldn’t grasp why her voice sounded so powerless.

But soon, they understood the Knight Commander’s feelings.

“I-I don’t want this! Aahhh! No! Just kill me! Just kill me! Hiyahhh! Hah, ugh, hah, ugh, aahhh!”

The follower’s voice, sounding like it was tearing apart, pierced through the air, momentarily sending the knights into a daze.

It was a harsh tone that would likely remain vividly in their minds long afterward.

“I’ll handle it.”

As the Knight Commander muttered one more time, resigned, the knights bowed their heads solemnly, all striving to ignore that sound.

“Hah, heh, ugh….”

Even the dying echoes of that voice were more than enough to invoke fear within them, the Knight Commander thought.

 

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