33 [Ch. 33] A Dutiful Bodyguard

Before the guard could elaborate, an arrow stabbed through his chest, piercing him through the heart. His eyes rolled back and he was dead before he hit the floor.

At once, everyone jumped to their feet and brandished their weapons. I jumped in front of Hatsuyo protectively and glared at the open door. The sound of fighting could be heard from outside.

Raylon was the first to break the silence by breaking out into raucous laughter. He grinned ear to ear causing his scar to look particularly hideous, "Finally! Some excitement! I've been waiting for my sword to taste blood!"

For some reason, my mouth tasted bitter. I pouted, "I thought you said you would kill me the next time you saw me… Why are you suddenly breaking your promise? Not to mention you are leaving me to kill strangers who mean nothing to you?"

Raylon tossed me a disgusted look without even bothering to respond to me. I crossed my arms and puffed out my cheeks as he jumped out the door with his sword drawn. I watched from inside as he acted like a madman and hacked away at the figures attacking in black. Everyone else in the room rushed out and joined the battle. The only ones who stayed inside were the servants, Hatsuyo, the silver-haired prince, and myself.

I tossed a look at the silver-haired Prince, "Aren't you going?"

He smiled sheepishly, "Someone has to stay back to protect you weaklings."

I rolled my eyes, "Your Highness is too kind."

He let out a throaty laugh remnant of the Baron, "Most people call me Your Highness, but I permit you to call me Prince Leon."

I sneered, "What an honor."

At that moment, the roof suddenly caved in. I jumped to grab Hatsuyo and we rolled out of the way, barely avoiding the flying debris. I bit back the painful groan that threatened to escape my throat. Rolling with a dislocated arm is just as painful as it sounds. Luckily, I have dealt with much worse.

Prince Leon also managed to jump out of the way with a grave expression as he finally summoned his weapon. Several men covered in all black dropped down from the ceiling. The smell in the air made it obvious the state of the men who were attacking us.

My eyes narrowed, "They aren't dead."

Prince Leon charged ahead, "They are about to be!"

I held my arm and I watched with extreme caution as the situation played out. My body was tense, ready to jump at any moment that would require me to. However, Prince Leon was surprisingly good with his attacks. He hadn't been overexaggerating a while ago when he said he would protect us. Not a single attacker could get close to us.

But something about this situation didn't make sense to me.

It's true that I hadn't been here very long and don't understand the current politics, but this entire situation seemed wrong. Why were there living men suddenly attacking? But more importantly… Why do they only seem to be targeting Hatsuyo?

Hatsuyo was still on the ground with wide eyes, "M-Mo!"

My eyes turned to him quickly and I noticed that a servant had managed to lunge towards him with a knife while our backs were turned. My magical skill had been crippled, but I still had memories of a life where I had to rely on strength and martial techniques to survive. In the blink of an eye, I exchanged his body for mine and used my already dislocated arm to take the brunt of the attack.

As the knife was thrust into my arm, I used my free hand to hit his adam's apple with my palm. He staggered backward gasping and clutching at his throat. I wasted no time before pulling out the knife from my arm and stabbing it through his hands and into his throat. He collapsed on the ground without another movement.

I glared at his body while Prince Leon stared at me in surprise, "Whoa…"

Hatsuyo fainted from the sight.

I clicked my tongue and rushed to Hatsuyo's side. I smacked his face to wake him up as Prince Leon finished killing the rest of the attackers. Prince Leon rushed to our side, "That's the rest of them, but I bet there will be more. We should take this opportunity to escape."

I looked up at him with an eyebrow raised, "Do you only know how to run and hide?"

He sneered at me, "I could always fight, but if there is no need to then why should I bother? It's better to save the energy for another fight."

I gave him a thoughtful look, "You really are nothing like the Baron. That idiot only knows how to fight and show off."

Prince Leon immediately looked like he swallowed something sour, "Are you trying to say I'm not my father's actual son?!"

Seeing that I hit a sore spot, I gave him a smile. "I'm merely saying that for once, the Baron did something right when he picked you."

His eyes widened, "Y-You… Who are you really?"

I ignored him and picked up the nearest teacup. I splashed the water on Hatsuyo's face, causing him to lurch forward in surprise.

"DON'T KILL ME!" He saw both of our expressions and cleared his throat awkwardly, "I… Did I faint?"

I smiled at him, "Can you stand?"

He stood up quickly while looking a bit pale, "Y-Yes…"

Prince Leon noticed more men in black running toward us from the outside and cut them down immediately. He shouted over his shoulder, "I'm going to pave the way, you both follow me!"

Prince Leon ran out of the building making sure to cut down a few attackers. I held out my good hand to Hatsuyo, "Young master."

He looked at my other arm that was dislocated, bruised, and cut. He swallowed down his nausea, "B-But your arm… Shouldn't I heal it first?"

"We don't have time."

"B-But-"

"The arm is but an arm. Now follow."

I grabbed him and started running through the crowd. As Prince Leon cleared the path, my eyes darted side to side to watch the scene around us. Raylon was off maniacally laughing as he killed the attackers without batting an eye. If an ally got close to him, he would still swing his blade. He didn't care who he hit, as long as he hit something.

The rest of the allies didn't seem too surprised by his behavior as if they had long gotten used to it. As they fought the attackers, they were also mindful not to get too close to the madman swinging his blade without a care for the world. There were a substantial amount of people attacking, but their numbers were quickly receding.

Once we broke away from the crowd, we were suddenly ambushed on the left, forcing us to change direction. Prince Leon barely managed to block an attack. He tossed his head to look at me, "Don't you have a weapon?!"

I shook my head as I kicked back an attacker who soon was cut down by Prince Leon. I smiled at him, "Even if I had one, I wouldn't be able to use it."

He hit back another attacker, "What does that even mean!?"

I let out a dry laugh, "I suffer from a certain… Affliction."

Prince Leon made a disgusted face, but Hatsuyo seemed shocked by this news. Hatsuyo shouted as if he had just realized something, "W-What?! Can you not use magic?!"

A person lunged towards Hatsuyo in an attempt to grab him. I pulled on his arm, knocking him out of the way before kicking the back of the attacker. The attacker stumbled forward and was speared by Prince Leon's sword.

Prince Leon glared at us, "Is now the time to be discussing this!?"

I pulled on Hatsuyo, "We can discuss this later. Now run."

We ran away from the attack towards the city. Raylon's sharp eyes watched as I ran away with Hatsuyo, still clutching at his hand with such strength I would smash it into a pulp. Suddenly, Raylon's killing intent grew so cold, it felt like it was freezing over anyone in his vicinity. Both enemies and allies unconsciously took a step away from him and had to force themselves not to tremble.

He cursed under his breath, "They look like two lovers eloping in the night." His sharp eyes turned to those in black, "Now I'm in a terrible mood."

His motions grew more unhindered as he slaughtered those around him. With pupils shaking from a mix of excitement and anger, he stomped off in our direction. Meanwhile, we were running through the city in an attempt to avoid those in pursuit of us. The citizens heard the commotion and immediately ran to hide in the safety of their homes.

As we ran, a group of men jumped down from the roofs, separating Prince Leon from us. He shouted, "Just run!"

I nodded as I pulled Hatsuyo away, "Don't die!"

Prince Leon chuckled under his breath, "As if I would die."

As we ran, Hatsuyo's foot caught a rock and he stumbled over. His hand was pulled from my grip, causing me to fall over as well. I let out a grunt of pain as I landed on my dislocated arm. I struggled to push myself up when I heard a frightened shout.

"M-Mo!"

I looked up in time to see a blade swinging down at Hatsuyo. My eyes shrank back in panic. Raylon, who was following behind us, shouted out in a panic, "Hatsuyo!"

Before I realized what I was doing, my legs moved on their own.

I stood in front of Hatusyo with my hand outstretched as if to catch the blade.

How many times had I done this when I was Moao? I had never been afraid to catch that blade because I was insufferably strong. Every blade would shatter if it even so much as grazed my hand…

...But now I was Mo Zao.

I didn't have limitless strength anymore.

As the blade struck my hand, my only regret was that it wasn't Raylon the one swinging the sword.