"Heya, Shepherd~ Sure is loud outside. A shame you're not inviting me in to join the party." Clara threw a playful remark, sitting on top of the subdued Marquess.

It was a bit much, considering the man's build was not exactly ideal to be used as a chair. In fact, he was so thin I was surprised she hadn't broken a bone or two yet.

The man was basically panting with heavy breaths, eating dirt as he tried to prop himself up to support Clara's body weight to no avail.

"You captured them?" Looking at the captives, I noticed how they were in a much worse state than their employer.

"Hm? Ah, yes. Some of them. I told you I want people of my own. These cuties are great, but in the end, it feels more like I'm putting Assassin's kids to work. Besides, I have some brat back home that can't wait to join me." Answered Clara.

'Hm...Having a bit of diversity in the force can be either good or bad. But I guess she and Renata can work things out between themselves.' I pondered inside.

"What say you, Shepherd?" She asked.

"Well, you do you, I guess. Just make sure to run it through with Assassin first. I'd hate if this brings us more trouble down the road." I gave her my piece.

"Of course~ leave it to us. We'll figure something out." Teased her, brushing her hair confidently.

"That's all I need. Now, what do we find?" I hinted toward the Marquess.

"So, Impatient~...He is keeping Helios in his mansion in the capital, as we feared. And the dwarf is safe because he is making a potion to heal for Marquess's second son."

'...A potion? So either he doesn't know about the curse, or maybe he doesn't believe it...'

There was this itchy feeling that gnawed the back of my mind as I delved into my thoughts. Yet, I knew better than to stand there all day and have idle chatters when I have more important things to do.

"Just to be sure, stay here while we wrap things up on the outside, Spy," I said.

"Aw, you sure you don't need me there? That man is dangerous, Shepherd." Her tone was as impish as ever, but I could read the underlying meaning hiding beneath the gleam in her eyes.

"Yes, he is. But he should be worried about facing me. Not the other way around."

How confident was I? Very confident. Did I sound arrogant? Maybe...

But I have Renata and Trodin there. And everyone knew that they were not just a random Tom and Bob you could find anywhere.

No. They were strong. They were hella strong, as a matter of fact.

So, that's that...Leaving the group behind, I traced my way out from the secret passage back into the main venue.

Things have somewhat cooled down compared to how chaotic it was when the battle started.

And I was right on time as the climax was fast approaching. Trodin had finished rounding up the knights and now set his sights on the hunched old man.

His body was full of fresh cuts, still dripping with blood. Yet, the geast on the Paladin's body only seemed to grow hotter and thicker, as if the earlier carnage was nothing but a warmup for him.

"You...What did you do to my hounds?" Asked the man coldly at my arriving figure.

'Hounds? Sheesh...' I shook my head. "Why don't you take a guess, old pervert?"

"Huhuhu...You really know how to get my blood rolling! I will wring the blood of your body dry with my own two hands and have your skin decorate the wall of my bedroom-"

Before he could finish, A dagger blitzed through the air in a curve, inches away from cutting the man's neck clean. But such an attempt was foiled by one of his illusions, standing in front of him, taking in the dagger in the old man's place.

"Shut your filthy tongue, you unworthy vermin." Berrated Renata sharply.

Renata was the kind that got colder and more calculated the more dangerous her enemy was. That's why we rarely saw her emotions spilling out, especially when she was fighting seriously.

"Shadows! On my back! We'll go straight for the head!!" Rallied Trodin as he tore through Pepe's line of defense as though they were nothing but papers.

In retaliation to that, Pepe had his summons concentrate all their firepower to desecrate the undying Paladin to the ground.

Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

Droves of abhorrent-looking monsters pounced on Trodin, trying to render him into meatpaste. They were doing some damage to him, but it was far from enough to take the man down.

Moreover, Renata always did her part to keep Pepe distracted by having her dagger dangling around the man as if it were sentient. And the Shadows played a huge part in having Trodin's back protected from the monsters' clutches.

Thanks to the joint effort, Trodin was able to close in the distance, and with a leap, Pepe was finally within his greatsword's reach.

Trodin flexed and swung his arm, making full use of his mighty claymore. Pepe tried to dodge, but nevertheless, Trodin was still able to anticipate his movement and cleaved the man in two.

Blood spurted out like a fountain, along with the insides that scrambled out into the ground. It was so gross.

Trodin then let out a victorious roar, ignoring the dozens of monsters that were still charging toward him. Like he couldn't see them or something.

Luckily for him, the rescuers were quick on the act.

"Paladin! Snap out of it!" Renata sprinted and kicked the frozen Trodin hard on his back, with her feet covered in geast. It rang crisply and hard, jolting Trodin right where he stood.

"Stupid mongrels. Look at them running like a headless chicken. This is why I can't get enough of playing with an inbred. They're just so much fun." Mocked Pepe, amused.

"Like I said before, be careful when you close in on him, and don't look at him in the eyes. Remember, the closer you are, the easier for him to mess with your head." Ignoring the man, Renata offered her words of advice before sprinting once more at the coming enemies.

"...Hm...It won't happen again." Grumbled Trodin low.

I could hear his voice slightly trembling from the gnawing rage.

Trodin then roused his geast once more, churning them hotter and thicker, and when it hit the peak, he directed the majority of the blazing geast from his body into his huge ass sword.

The sword shone brightly as though it had received the favor of the sun god. I could actually hear the dissonance that came from the wind whenever Trodin moved his sword.

One look at it, and I knew for a fact that Trodin really meant business this time. I couldn't quite put a pin on it, but there was something about that thin, shining aura that smelled nothing but dangerous. And it seemed that I wasn't the only one that shared such sentiment.

Pepe, after assessing the current situation, summoned yet another batch of summons. Although different from his usual ones, the units summoned this time were the speedy and ranged types.

"Paladin. Follow my dagger and create a path for me." Said Renata without bothering to even look back.

Then, without any hesitation at all, Trodin locked his gaze on Renata's dagger that swam freely in the air.

He gripped the tall sword hard, strained veins decorating his arms, and with a compact momentum and a precise trajectory, Trodin swung his arm, forming a beautiful and captivating arc.

A crescent of light dashed out from the tips of his sword, cleaving everything in its path like a hot knife through butter.

Monsters, magic shields, and walls. Everything was cut in two. And from the end part of it, Pepe's figure emerged at last, with an ugly expression on his face.

As awesome as it might've been, the resilient old man was still able to dodge it.

Then again, the battle was far from over.

Renata, who was still dozens of meters away from Pepe, suddenly flickered and appeared at Pepe's back, right where her dagger was. It's like she teleported herself.

"Ungrateful whore!" Cursed Pepe madly, jumping away with all his might while casting yet another magic to deal with Renata.

Not about to waste such a valuable chance, Renata stuck close to him, ignoring the many assaults that were heading her way.

She then used an artifact to cover herself with a barrier before closing her eyes as she made the chase, holding her dagger in a reverse grip near her chest to guide the way.

Taking the full brunt of the monsters' onslaught, the barrier from Renata's artifact was close to breaking into pieces. Yet, that risk was a well-made one, indeed.

Renata was closer than ever to the slimy old man, and soon enough, she was able to close in on him.

She took a swing at his neck, and she missed...

Smirks of triumph bloomed on Pepe's lips.

'Huh? Ah, so that's what you're after this whole time, Renata...'

The hand inches from chopping Pepe's neck was traveling downward into the wand in the man's grip, taking him by surprise. She cut and broke the wand, leaving the degenerated pervert shocked and furious.

'Well, there goes the wand.' I nodded quietly, impressed.

And the second she succeeded in her mission, Renata shouted her lungs out. "Paladin!!"

Swoosh!

An arc of death flew past by, butchering its way into Pepe in an attempt to claim his life.

Although it wasn't able to mutilate the old man, Trodin's slash served its purpose of saving Renata's life as her barrier was just right on its limit and shattered into pieces just a moment later.

"Without his wand, his illusions won't be as strong as they used to be. And if he keeps sustaining these huge numbers of illusions, he'll burn out his mana pool before we do." Declared Renata after she secured some distance.

"Hm...So, play safe?" Hummed Trodin.

"That will be our best bet. I know he still has a trick up his sleeve. Going in blindly is akin to suicide."

Trading short exchanges, both Trodin and Renata used the chance of respite to chug in healing and mana potions.

Meanwhile, on the opposite side, Pepe was just standing there in silence.

He was frowning whilst rambling shit faintly as though he was chewing something while bitching at the same time. His face was so ugly; it was annoying just to look at it...

And when he finished doing that, he threw the broken wand into the ground and brought out a cylindrical rock out of his pocket.

He held it high above his head, showing it in full glory while wearing the nastiest look on his mug.

"You've made me really angry, my red Lyli..."