9 Paranoid

Why didn't they attack us when we were fighting those three goblins? I couldn't---

'No. That's probably not entirely unrelated.'

At the moment we entered the Old City, I hardly felt anything special other than a little restlessness. The deeper we went, however, I began to felt something strange, something I couldn't put into words. I wasn't given time to think about what it was before we ultimately met the three goblins. Even without that, though, I subconsciously thought that I had simply been paranoid.

'That doesn't seem to be mere wishful thinking now.'

Moguzo went towards the ruins that Kiyotaka had chosen.

"Sorry, but put up with it for a bit," After Kiyotaka hung his sword on his back, he picked me up in a princess carry.

"Mnh?!"

The thin rod stuck in my thigh caused the unpleasant tingling sensation to increase. I couldn't help but moan in pain as a result.

'But I'll have to endure it. I mean, I'm going to die if I don't.'

The structure couldn't be called ideal as a protection area, either. It wasn't enough to give us all the leeway to avoid the crossbow attacks from the gobs that were on the rooftops. The only good thing about it was the fact that there were no enemies inside.

"I'll go upstair," Kiyotaka dropped me off. Did he mean this partially collapsed roof? "Moguzo, you help Sasha heal her wounds and protect her while I'm up. I found some enemies in the other ruins. I want you to go through them, perhaps eliminate them, when I give you the signal later on."

He didn't wait for an answer. Using the wall as a makeshift foothold, he scuttled like a cat onto the roof, disappearing before we could process what was happening.

"Nghh," the pain from my right thigh brought me to reality.

"W-What should I do...?" Moguzo seemed to be panicking. Well, I guess that's natural. I would have reacted the same way if I were in his position.

I took a deep breath. "I will chant the Heal spell. Right before it finishes, I want you to pull out the arrow as fast as you can. You remember the spell, don't you?"

"I remember them," Moguzo regained some of his composure, nodding rather confidently. "You can leave that to me."

I didn't waste any more of our time.

"O Light," I drew a hexagram symbol on my forehead, careful to match it with the chanting of the spell. "May Lumiaris's Blesses Descend Upon You," I pointed my palm at my wound, and at the same time I chanted the skill name, Moguzo drew the arrow, "Heal!"

A blinding light enveloped my right thigh.

Heal was one of the two basic skills the guild had taught me. It heals wounds that the user or victim has sustained at a given part of one's body. When you reach a certain level, there is a skill called Sacrament that can heal all wounds in your body in the blink of an eye. What differentiates it from Heal too is that it leaves no trace of the pain you felt when you suffered the wound in question, while Heal leaves the pain you experienced before almost untouched, causing your performance in battle to decrease.

'And yes, that's right. I don't want to stand up if possible.'

I'm sure I'll fall down soon if I try. Not like I have to. Kiyotaka didn't tell us to do anything before he gave whatever signal it was. Fortunately, these ruins are just enough to protect both of us.

'Does he know this, and act on these thoughts in his head?'

I don't know any enemies other than those crossbows users, though it's possible that I wasn't given time to find out. The ruins I was watching had the right structure for a surprise attack, after all.

"Goh?!"

A light thud sounded just as the hoarse scream rang out. I thought I saw a shadowy figure fall through the window of the ruins, deep in the other ruins, just near where we came from.

"It's a dead goblin," A familiar voice chimed in from the same source it had been from earlier. "Be on your guard. Three groups of goblins, one with three goblins, and two with two goblins, are approaching in your direction."

'Seven in total...?'

I knew that at least three of them had passed through the crumbling wall of the ruins we were in. They're all much better equipped than the three goblins we have encountered earlier, as well. I doubt we can even defeat them, and you're saying the other two are coming in our way?

'No,' I quickly shook my head fiercely. 'They won't be able to fight freely in a room this small. We can use that to our advantage.'

The ruin we were in had only a single floor. The roof is partially collapsed, and while the same thing happened to the wall in front, it didn't happen to the other sides. The only way to enter was through the front door, over the wall, and from the windows.

I quickly checked the other windows, cautiously, to see the other groups in question.

'We can do this,' I thought as soon as I saw them.

It wasn't without basis, obviously.

'As long as we trap a limited number of them in the same room as us, we can at least buy some time for Kiyotaka to finish his business.'

I was pretty sure he intended to kill the crossbow users.

'Right?' I felt unsure suddenly. 'He won't abandon us, will he?'

With his abilities, it wouldn't be surprising for him to think that there's no point in cooperating with someone like us. He could very well think 'Yeah, I don't need them,' and proceed to sacrifice us without much thought in the next moment. Somehow, I got the feeling that he could do that without hesitation.

'I never liked the fact that I couldn't read his expression,' I don't know how many times have I lamented that already.

Working with someone who is much superior to you has its own difficulties. And to be honest, he's probably the most difficult one I can imagine.

"...We'll move on to the other ruin, Moguzo. Right now."

"Huh?" Moguzo, of course, could not understand what I was saying. "W-Wasn't Kiyotaka-kun said to wait until he gave the sign?"

"Yes, and the signal was already given off."

As I said that, Kiyotaka jumped from one building to another with ease. The crossbow user tried to change its weapon to a short sword, but of course, it couldn't be done. Kiyotaka cut it down before it could even raise its weapon.

"How so...?" Moguzo asked doubtfully.

"Just do what I said. We can talk about that later." I moved outside as I said that.

Another crossbow user, from where we were heading in the first place, tried to aim at me. It couldn't ever be done, of course. Kiyotaka picked up the goblin's crossbow, and used it to aim at the it. That forced the gob to take cover behind the wall of the roof.

From the three cardinal directions, the places where the crossbow users are located are roughly three; from where we came, in front of the ruin we were in just now, and from where we were about to head off in the first place.

The first group of enemies came from between the front of the ruin and the direction we were about to head out. The other two came from the direction we came from.

'Why did he choose this location, of all places?'

The direction we were going was the end of the road, in other words, the dead end. There was nothing but ruins ahead.

'If he did this on purpose too, it wouldn't be funny.'

Well, this time, I might be the one being too paranoid.

Moguzo caught up with me.

My destination was the ruin where the first group came out.

"We're going to slaughter them, Moguzo."

"Understood!"

We'll escape after that.

Moguzo stepped up with great strides. The full chained armor of the group was led by one especially formidable-looking sword user, an axe user, and a spear and shield user. Moguzo did not hesitate to make a big swing at them. His massive body and his own weapon meant that he could take a wider range of attacks than our small foe. The axe wielder gets sent reeling with no way to dodge it. The other two were able to leap at the last moment.

I picked up the shield of one of the earlier goblins lying on the ground. I wasn't going to stand idly by. Taking a step forward, the shield user thrust its spear at me. I blocked it easily with my shield.

'Not exactly easy, but whatever.'

I used another basic skill that the guild had taught me. I'm pretty sure it helps in this situation.

'I'll 'Smash' your head to a pulp.'

Raising my own staff, I swung it as hard as I could at the goblin's head. The tip of my staff's head was a painful one to hit. I kept repeating it, not giving it time to breathe. At one point, I even kicked the shield out of its grasp. It goes without saying that it was panicked. I charged at its feet while it was at it. Without pause, I slammed the tip of my staff into the gap between its head and shoulder, in other words, its neck. Two to three strokes were enough to not allow it from showing any more signs of life. To kill it completely. Forever.

'Don't waver,' I reminded myself. 'Do that when you make it out of this situation alive.'

"Ha!"

Moguzo had also knocked out one opponent with his monstrous strength and precision. He drove away the remaining one.

"Moguzo!"

"I know!"

We retreated to the ruin the first group inhabited earlier. The crossbow user aimed his weapon at us.

'What is Kiyotaka doing, exactly?'

If possible, I wanted to kill the crossbow user myself using the other goblin's crossbow that Kiyotaka had thrown on the floor near the other group's ruins. A few bolts of some sort that I assumed to be bullets were lying on the floor. I could use them to kill him.

'For that, though, someone must hold off the other five goblins.'

The axe wielder suddenly ran into the ruin we're in.

'Is he stupid?'

I thrust my staff right into its head. It couldn't dodge and took it directly in the face. Moguzo didn't miss the opportunity to use Rage Blow.

'That's a death wish you got there, bud. Try to be more mindful about things.'

Well, they're known for their low intelligence, so I guess it's understandable? Though, I'm sure even a beast can notice something as simple as that.

By the time another set of footsteps approached us, I had guessed that it was another enemy.

"It's done,"

That monotonous voice made me think otherwise.

'Done? What's done?'

I stepped out hesitantly. Not far from the door was Kiyotaka, his gear filled with a red liquid that seemed safe to call blood and what appeared to be the innards of a living creature. I looked behind him, and found that the four goblins I had considered a big nuisance to deal with before were now in a state not worth mentioning about.

"You don't have to check on the crossbow figure. It's dead, as well."

I didn't know what to say.

'I really don't know, okay? There's just many things going through in my head right now, I don't know what to say.'