Chapter 55 Lil ⑥
Edited by: Kanaa-senpai
Why the hell did it come to this?
I kept my presence masked, peering through a scope from a distance at the lone covered wagon winding its way up the mountain pass. A fat guy and a masked man sat on the driver’s bench. On the masked man’s lap sat a single little brat. Kids usually fetch a high price, but they’re a pain to handle, so I’d planned to let them pass.
Then the women climbed out of the back, and I had a sudden change of heart. They were beauties – every last one of them. A blonde in an outfit that left little to the imagination; a short, raven-haired girl with a chest that defied gravity; and an indigo-haired woman who was having her back rubbed by the masked man. That last one… she was a total knockout. Breathtaking.
A man traveling with a harem of top-tier beauties? He was the ultimate mark. I didn’t waste a second signaling Zorge. But god… I was wrong.
It was a nightmare. The fat guy was a damn grease-lightning blur despite his gut. The blonde didn’t look like she had the stomach for killing, but her blade-work was terrifyingly precise. And the black-haired girl? Her sorcery was sick – she was literally bisecting men vertically. Even among high-level mages, you don’t see that kind of raw, destructive power.
Then there was the kid. She was swinging a greataxe three times her own size like it was a toy, reducing my boys to piles of raw mincemeat. I don’t know what kind of monstrous strength was packed into that tiny frame.
The masked man was a freak of nature, too. He carved a cross through the air with two swords, moving so fast the blades were invisible. I’ve never seen a swordsman like him.
But the weakest-looking one – the indigo-haired beauty – she was the worst. I saw it. She bit Zorge’s arm clean off. She chewed it, then spat out the chunks of flesh with a look of pure disgust, like he was a bad meal. She wasn’t just defending herself; she was predating.
We’d picked a fight with the wrong monsters. The second I realized that, I bolted. I didn’t look back at my “comrades.” I didn’t care who else made it. I just suppressed my scent, hid my presence, and scrambled back to the hideout at the foot of the mountain to warn the boss.
Zayed was there with about a dozen others, lounging around.
”Whoa, what’s the fire, man?” one asked.
”Where are the girls? I was looking forward to some fun,” another laughed.
”Wait, where’s the rest of the crew?” a third demanded.
I panted out the story. Zayed’s face soured, his features twisting into a grimace of pure irritation.
”Zorge is dead? All of them? By a group of six – and one’s a damn toddler?” Zayed glared at me. “That’s a shitty joke, even for you.”
”It’s no joke, Boss! I’m serious!” I shouted.
”Shut it,” Zayed said.
He lunged forward to grab my collar, his voice a low, dangerous hiss. “You idiot. You were followed.”
* * *
Relying on Lil’s nose, we tracked the rat right to his nest.
I’d left Leki and Honoka behind with the wagon just in case. Honoka was still in a state of shock – it was her first time taking a life, after all. Himezaki-san¹ wasn’t much better, but she’d braced herself for the reality of this world and was holding it together. Leki, predictably, couldn’t have cared less. Logan-san wasn’t bothered either.
So, it was just me and Lil on the trail.
We found about a dozen men. One of them, a tall, imposing figure, was holding our runaway by the throat. When the rat saw us, his face went from confusion to bone-chilling terror in a heartbeat.
”Hiee! I-It’s her! The man-eater!” he screamed.
Lil tilted her head, her voice dripping with elegant disdain. “How incredibly rude. You were far too foul-tasting to be considered a meal. I’ve no desire for a second helping of such filth.”
”So you were eating people?!” the man shrieked.
Well, she is a wolf. It’s a bit rich to judge her for it, but I suppose I can see why a person would be a little put off.
”How… how the hell did you catch up to me?” the rat stammered. “I have the ‘Swift Feet’ skill! I hid my presence!”
”Magic?” I shrugged, my mask hiding my grin. “Let’s just call it a trade secret. Now, then…”
I turned my attention to the other man – the leader. He was actually quite handsome, with long blue hair and sharp, chiseled features. In my old world, he could have been an actor. But his eyes were dead – cloudy and rotted from the inside out. He was stronger than Zorge. Level-wise, he was my equal, maybe even a bit higher.
As I sized him up, he did the same to us. His men were already leering at Lil, their smiles turning oily and vulgar.
”I see…” Zayed said. “Maybe this coward wasn’t lying. Both of you – especially you in the mask – you’re hiding something deep.”
”Is that a compliment?” I asked.
”Of course. I’ve always had an eye for talent,” Zayed replied.
Being praised by a bandit didn’t exactly make my day.
”Names?” Zayed asked.
”Shouldn’t you introduce yourself before asking others?” I countered.
”Fair enough. I am Zayed, leader of the bandit group Dragon’s Jaw². Some know me as the Flying Sword.”
”Sieben. Sieben Totzünd. And this is Lil.”
”Sieben and Lil, eh? Tell me… why don’t you join us?” Zayed proposed.
I blinked. A recruitment pitch? “Why would we do that?”
”Simple. You’re strong. I like strength. On the other hand…” Zayed’s hand moved in a blur.
”Gah – !?”
A blade erupted from the chest of the man Zayed was still holding. He’d run his own subordinate through without a second thought. The man coughed, dark blood spraying from his lips.
”B-Boss… why…?” the man gasped.
”I just told you. I have no use for pathetic failures,” Zayed said.
”Boss… gu-ugh…”
Zayed twisted the sword. There wasn’t a flicker of emotion on his face as the man’s eyes went wide with despair before fading into the gray of death. The rest of the gang didn’t even flinch. Zayed kicked the corpse away and flicked the blood off his blade with a sharp, metallic snap.
”That’s cold,” I remarked. “He was your man.”
”Because he was mine, I had the right,” Zayed said, stepping over the body. “There’s something else, Sieben. Your eyes.”
”My eyes?”
”Yeah. You have the eyes of a Vengeance-er³. Just like me. You look like you want to watch the whole world burn.”
”You think we’re the same?” I asked.
”I know it. You’ve had something precious ripped away from you, haven’t you? That makes us brothers. Join me, and I’ll promise your girl and your friends are off-limits. What do you say?”
He reached out a hand.
A Vengeance-er, huh? He wasn’t entirely wrong. I felt a spark of curiosity, so I triggered **Nightmare**⁴. It’s a broken skill, really. When used on someone conscious, it lets me peer into their darkest, most wretched memories.
I saw it. A girlfriend stolen by some powerful noble, his life ruined by the whims of the elite. It was a classic tragic backstory – enough to make anyone snap. But…
”I’ll pass,” I said. “I’ve got no interest in following a pathetic loser.”
Zayed’s brow twitched. “A loser?”
”That’s right. I don’t care what happened to you. I’m sure it was hell. But using your trauma as an excuse to hunt down innocent people just to feel powerful? That’s not vengeance. That’s just a temper tantrum. Besides… even if I trusted your word, I don’t trust the scum behind you.”
The bandits were already grinning, practically undressing Lil with their eyes. They were going to try it no matter what Zayed said.
”I see… truly a shame,” Zayed sighed, turning his back. “These boys aren’t Zorge, but they’re competent enough. Not even you will walk away from this. Do what you want with them, boys.”
”Finally!”
”I’m gonna break his arms and legs first. Make him watch while we take turns on the girl,” one sneered.
”Ooh, sadistic. I love it!” another added.
The human garbage started closing in, weapons drawn.
”You should’ve taken the deal, kid,” a ruffian said.
”We’re gonna make you wish you’d died in that wagon,” another threatened.
They lunged. They had the misfortune of fighting me. I drew my original sword in my right hand and Akiyama’s blade – the one I’d taken after I consumed him – in my left.
The first guy to reach me took a blade through the solar plexus. I didn’t just stab him; I ripped upward, cleaving him from his gut to the crown of his skull. It was a feat of strength no normal human could manage.
The scene turned into a slaughterhouse. I drove steel through one man’s open maw until it came out the back of his head. I caught another with a diagonal slash so powerful his torso simply slid off his hips.
They wanted to touch Lil. That was their death warrant. I was a whirlwind of steel, cutting through them like they were made of wet paper.
The ones I killed were the lucky ones. They died fast. The ones who went for Lil met her claws. She didn’t just scratch; she gouged. One man shrieked as his face was shredded into ribbons of red; Lil just looked down at him with icy indifference and crushed his throat under her heel. Another was impaled through the chest by her bare hand, her arm bursting through his spine.
In less than sixty seconds, the clearing was silent. Everyone who had attacked us was dead.
”…No way,” Zayed muttered.
He had turned back to watch, his face pale and his composure shattered. The few men who hadn’t joined the initial rush were frozen, paralyzed by the carnage.
”I don’t suppose…” Zayed swallowed hard. “You’d be open to letting me walk away now?”
”Not a chance. You lost your life the moment your men looked at Lil that way,” I replied.
”Tch… my luck finally ran out,” Zayed muttered.
Zayed leveled his sword at me. We were about three meters apart.
”Fine. Then I’ll just have to kill you myself, Sieben.”
”Think you can?” I asked.
”I’m Flying Sword for a reason. Boys, get back. I don’t want you getting caught in the spray,” Zayed ordered.
He signaled his men to retreat. I gestured for Lil to do the same.
Zayed dropped into a low stance and swung. He was far out of range, but his blade suddenly elongated, snapping toward me with the metallic hiss of shifting segments. I swayed back, the tip whistling past my nose. It didn’t stop – it coiled in mid-air, snapping back toward my flank.
”A whip-sword… a snake-blade.”
”Bingo. Let’s see you dodge this!” Zayed shouted.
He began to whirl the segmented steel. It was a lethal dance, the blade whistling through the air like a chain-mace. One wrong move and I’d be shredded.
”What’s the matter? Can’t even get close?” Zayed taunted.
”Nice provocation. I’ll take the bait,” I said.
I dashed forward. **Time Compression**⁵ activated.
The world slowed to a crawl. The Sloth⁶ category skill lived up to its name, compressing the flow of time until every second stretched into a minute. To me, the whip-sword’s movements became the slow, clumsy flailing of a child.
I stepped through the gaps in the steel trajectory. I reached Zayed in a heartbeat, my blade flashing once.
**Time Compression** deactivated.
The world snapped back to full speed. Zayed’s right arm, severed at the shoulder, hit the dirt with a wet, heavy thud.
”What – !? AGHH!” Zayed collapsed to one knee, clutching the stump. “Impossible… what did you… what was that!?”
”I just walked past your sword and took your arm. Simple as that,” I said.
”No… no human… no one can move like that…” Zayed groaned.
”And yet, here we are,” I replied.
Zayed fell silent, staring at the dirt. I used **Appraisal** on him. He had the whip-sword skill, naturally. I reached out and **Snatched** it. He wouldn’t be needing it anymore.
”Your luck ran out the moment you crossed us. Accept it,” I said.
”Damn it… damn it all… to end here… without ever…” Zayed whispered.
I didn’t let him finish. I took his head.
With the Dragon’s Jaw gone, this mountain might actually be a little more peaceful for a while.
—
Summary:
Following the brutal ambush of the Dragon’s Jaw bandits, Sieben and Lil track a survivor back to their hideout. Sieben confronts the leader, Zayed, who tries to recruit him as a fellow ‘Vengeance-er.’ Sieben rejects the offer, slaughtering the gang and beheading Zayed after stealing his unique whip-sword skill.
—
Trivia:
- Sieben is using a sword taken from Akiyama (the previous antagonist he consumed).
- Lil previously bit off a bandit’s arm and spat it out because he tasted bad.
- Zayed has a tragic backstory involving a noble stealing his girlfriend, which he uses to justify his banditry.
- Honoka and Himezaki-san are psychologically struggling with the violence, unlike Lil and Leki.
- The ‘Time Compression’ skill is specifically categorized under ‘Sloth’
—
Character Insight:
Sieben demonstrates his moral compass by rejecting Zayed. Despite sharing a similar ‘Vengeance-er’ background, Sieben views Zayed’s banditry as a pathetic ‘temper tantrum’ rather than true revenge. This distinguishes Sieben as a protagonist who, while ruthless, does not seek to vent his trauma on the innocent.
—
Behind the Scenes:
The pseudonym ‘Sieben Totzünd’ is a direct reference to the German term for the Seven Deadly Sins (Sieben Todsünden), fitting the ‘Seven Sins’ theme of the novel.
—
TL Notes:
Notes:
• Zorge – Leader of a bandit group with a burly build and an eyepatch.
• Zayed – Leader of the Dragon’s Jaw bandit group. Known as Flying Sword. Handsome with long blue hair and deep features.
• Lil – One of the heroines. Height 166 cm, B-W-H: 90-56-90. She is a top-tier beauty with long indigo hair down to her waist, a large scar on her abdomen and sharp golden eyes. She has wolf ears and a tail.
• Honoka – A member of the relief team with healing magic. Despite her cute, short, ‘transistor glamour’ appearance, she is cold-hearted and mocks Sasaki, now a bound slave to him.
• Logan – A merchant and former Monster Hunter who owns the wagon. He is a married man with a daughter.
• Leki – Lil’s daughter. Height: 140 cm, B-W-H: 70, 54, 69. She looks more like a Siberian Husky puppy than a wolf. Honestly, she just looks like a stuffed toy, recently transformed into a human form. Now use great axe as weapon.
• Sieben – Young man with black hair and a mask covering his eyes. He purchased Honoka and Ria.
• Ren – Height 169 cm, weight 50 kg. A cool-headed guy with glasses who aimed to be a lawyer. He viewed bullying as a minor issue and stood by while Natsumi was tormented.
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Edited by Kanaa-senpai.
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