Chapter 153

「Well, that’s all the greetings for now . It’s time for you all to depart . 」

Ardis declared that there’re no longer any room to talk .

「…………I-I see . It’s unfortunate that our talk was useless . 」

The browless man acknowledged the failure in interaction after recovering from his shock . In the first place, Ardis haven’t had any intentions to talk with them, so his intention was useless .

Taking a stance with his sword silently, the flying swords on his sides held back the other members around the room .

「However, we’ve no intentions to fight with you like this . 」

As if together with the timing when the browless man said so, there was a change inside the room .

It’s something invisible to the eye, it’s something most people wouldn’t even realize . But, only for a small portion, people who can sense mana will be unable to ignore it .

Though, its influence is something that even someone who doesn’t have the ability to sense mana can see . The two flying swords that were at Ardis’s sides dropped on the ground as if the invisible persons holding them disappeared .

「Mana……, disappeared? 」

The atmosphere that is normally filled with mana is now almost void of any .

「……No, they were forcefully ejected? 」

Though the amount of mana in a human’s body differ from person to person, the mana that leaked out of Ardis were dispersed from the room in just a few moments .

It is obviously an irregular phenomenon, something is definitely interfering with the natural mana flow .

「Oya, as expected . But what can you do even if you know? A sorcerer is just a plain human without mana . With a sorcerer like you as our opponent, of course we would have suitable plans . Although you might be able to wield a sword, won’t the people around here overpower you? 」

The browless man who had regained his calm said so with an expression of looking at his prey . It’s a declaration that they had planned for this outcome from the beginning .

In this situation, it’s still possible for Ardis to perform arts with the mana remaining in his body, but they will probably be dispersed before they reach the target .

With how much mana Ardis possesses, it might be possible for him to forcefully push it through . But mana inside a person’s body is limited unlike the atmosphere .

There’s no way for him to fight with his normal power . After all, the flying swords that were not at Ardis’s hands had their mana sources cut and could no longer serve a purpose .

「It’s too late to talk again even if you want to now . 」

Seeing the flying swords on the ground, it seems like that was enough to give the browless man enough confidence . Having dropped his act from a moment ago, he is now speaking as if he has the rights to Ardis’s survival .

「You might’ve been able to get by ambushing with your sword magic till now but, now that you can’t use any magic, even you can’t possibly have any hands left . What a wrong choice to have turned on us . Our work was thoroughly disrupted by you, and also that matter with crushing our bases . I will make sure you have some lasting experiences before you die . 」

As the browless man’s words finished, the surrounding members all took out weapons and came at Ardis at once .

「I don’t know if that’s a tool or your ability, but you have some interesting things . 」

Holding 『Skies of Myriad Colors』 in his hands, Ardis prepared for the opponents .

「Well, not like it matters at all . 」

Leaping in a straight line low to the ground, Ardis dodged an enemy that came from the front and laid him on the ground . Spinning around with the force to cut the others beside him, then, he severed an arm that came from behind .

Kicking away the one screaming in pain, Ardis changed his position swiftly and aimed at another with his sword . Never stopping at one place, Ardis steadily decreased the number of enemies while causing injuries to the enemies and slowing them down .

「What are you all doing! He’s just a sorcerer without his magic! Pathetic! 」

Though the browless man was yelling, it isn’t like he understood the 『Sorcerer without his magic』 is in fact a fully-fledged swordsman .

Of course, the ones in this room aren’t the lackeys at the floor below . Ardis felt their strength as he approached them .

But their opponent is just too bad . After all, their opponent is a monster that even an entire army didn’t dare to go against and could easily overwhelm any demonic beings .

Even if they had many people, there’s only a few that can swing their weapon at a given time, even if his sword magic is sealed, Ardis still had much room to get by with just his swordsmanship .

To take down Ardis in this state, they must’ve at least needed everyone here to be on a level like Ted from 『Bright Stars of White Night』 or Nicole who is the bodyguard of the merchant, Marrieda in Reiten .

The attacks that the enemies dealt missed before they could reach Ardis . On the other hand, more blood is spilt whenever Ardis’s sword swung . Eventually, the window that connected to the outside world were covered in blood, losing its transparency .

「N-No way……」

Because of that, the browless man had a green face again .

By then, half of the browless man’s subordinates are already in a miserable state . The browless man must’ve realized his second failure, underestimating a sorcerer without his magic .

Even while that happened, Ardis’s sword continued making blood splatter .

Eventually, when only two persons are left in the room alive, Ardis walked on the ground that is filled with redness towards the sole survivor . Every step Ardis took, there was an unsettling sound of liquid splashing .

「Wha…… . No, please wait……」

「Begging for your life? Here’s a line from you a while ago . ――It’s too late . 」

「Kuh……」

Did he gave up seeing that Ardis would never spare a chance, the browless man’s face turned into a wry smile .

「Hnn, it’s up to here huh…… . What a pity, the moment of my end . 」

As he threw himself back to the chair, he relaxed his shoulders and sighed .

「Well, it’s fine . It’s a pity to not see your suffering face in the end . 」

「What do you mean? 」

Ardis asked the meaning behind the browless man’s fruitless last words .

「It’s our job that we accepted, did you think we will back off just because of one failure? I bet that the lady is now already somewhere unknown and can never return . I won’t let you go when you’re ahead . 」

「……」

Did his mood improve because Ardis didn’t say anything? The browless man turned around while licking his lips .

「Haha . What a wonderful feeling . What do they call this? Serves you ri――」

But his words never ended .

Ardis who had stopped listening cut off the browless man’s head . With the silent room now in a bloody stench, Ardis whispered to himself while the sound of a head fell on the ground was heard .

「Rona is beside her, so it should be fine but…… . I should hurry back . 」

Ardis had expected for another attack on Minerva . That’s why Ardis had left his most trusted partner, Rona back as a measure . Though Ardis didn’t think that Rona would be beaten by enemies at this level, there’s no reason to hesitate rushing back since his business is now over .

At the same time, he wanted to find out what had dispersed the mana in the room just now . Since everyone in the room had already ceased breathing, Ardis guessed that the phenomenon is caused by a tool and not someone .

Then there’s no other chances he can find it other than now . If he left now, there’s no guarantee no one will come before Ardis returned .

A few moments when Ardis hesitated .

It was not a long period .

But, the situation suddenly changed to something as if laughing at Ardis, Ardis realized that something was attacking himself .

「What…… is this! 」

Ardis experienced a strange sensation . It was as if something was sucked out from his body into somewhere, it was such a strange feeling .

「Pulling, me……」

It was an unpleasant feeling as if something had reached somewhere deeper than inside his body . Ardis who couldn’t stand now had his knees on the ground .

Though there’re many types of magic that can interfere one’s spirit, Ardis couldn’t recall any magic that exists that can cause such a sensation . As the surrounding scenery seemed to distort, Ardis heard something like metal ringing inside a pot .

「Don’t mess with me……! 」

Is it the last ditch prank that the organization and the browless man left . Or is it an attack by a third party unrelated to them . Ardis didn’t have the time to verify that now .

Only the feeling of his existence being thinned was felt . And while feeling somewhat of a nostalgic feeling around him, Ardis’s reigns on his consciousness released .