C71
C71: Phantom Thief Shadow Elimination Plan (9)
“O thief, Shadow! Don’t think you’ve won this one!”
Shouting like he was throwing a tantrum, Rowdy Sandalon slammed his fist down on his desk. Deep in the forest, a short distance from the royal capital of the Slayer Kingdom, there existed a hidden research facility owned by Rowdy.
In a dark room, a glass window like a TV screen was set up in front of Rowdy’s eyes. The image of the Phantom Thief Shadow was projected on the window, just as he was about to take off into the sky.
“Mmm! Matilda was only defeated because she happened to have a weakness for alcohol! Next time, I’ll find a better subject to use as a guinea pig!”
For Rowdy, defeating the thief Shadow was simply an experiment. It was not because he had any hatred or karmic ties with Matilda, but because she was just the right person for his experiment. However, as a result of this incident where his work was attacked in an unexpected way, Rowdy came to regard the silver masked thief as a definite enemy.
“Don’t think you can get away with defacing my work for free! You mere guinea pigs insulted me, and you will pay for it…….”
”Pay for it? What do you mean?”
“Heh, uh…….”
There was a small sound, a squeak. At the same time, an uncomfortable feeling arose in Rowdy’s chest.
“What the hell is…..?”
When Rowdy slowly lowered his gaze, there was a black metal growing out of the ground, the blade pierced through his chest.
“Oh, there’s……?”
Rowdy finally realized that he had been stabbed by someone. The pain was so intense that he could barely feel his chest.
“I can’t let Kurono-sama be killed by you. Please don’t take it personally.”
“What the……?”
“Black……?”
When Rowdy hears the name of the unfamiliar person, the attacker behind him says,
“His identity was a secret, wasn’t it? I slipped up and said it.”
“Geez!”
“But it doesn’t matter if I seal your mouth here, does it? I’ll have to be careful from now on.”
The attacker spun the blade around and gouged out the wound, then pulled it straight out of Rowdy’s back. The old man’s body, pierced through the chest, collapsed to the floor, bleeding like a spring from his chest, and he died.
“I’m going to collect the items you’ve been hoarding, okay? Also, I would have liked to cut Kurono-sama down as soon as possible, but the Demon Lord ordered it. I can’t keep you alive when you’re trying to kill him, so please forgive me.”
After speaking to the old man, the assailant swung the single-edged sword to remove the blood. Two horns sprouted on the head of the person who sheathed the sword with a cold-hearted gaze. Thus, Shadow’s new nemesis, Rowdy Sandalon, was dealt with without anyone knowing about it.