...

　It all started with a single scream.
　A man's agonized voice pinched the pre-dawn silence.

'Hmm. It's so silly, Black. The fact that you can kill someone so easily is just astonishing.

　The masked woman - Renko - laughed mockingly.
　She is not a professional assassin. Hence, using the 【Body Technique】 skill, she is really killing her opponent with great gusto while making her opponent speak out.


''I'm the one who's disappointed. I didn't expect a moron to fall for such a trap.
Tsk, ...... already.

　The man who rushes in less than ten seconds is the kinsman, Nex, a genius swordsman in his late twenties who has become a member of the Black Pope's inner circle.

　Renko bucks three times with the lightest of ninja-like gestures in order to escape from the scene, and then puts his feet on the edge of the window.

'Too bad. We're already surrounded over there.'
...... d*mn it!

　Just as Nex said, there were dozens of soldiers waiting outside the window to ambush them.

　The soldiers were moving too quickly.


　No way!　--Renko came to his senses.


'Yes, it was a kagemusha that you killed. It was a trap to expose a moron like you.

　NEX makes an answer to the question. At the same time, an avalanche of soldiers poured in through the door of the room and surrounded Renko.


'We're going to do it, ...... but it's not going to be a simple matter for us!

　Further resistance seemed futile, but in the next moment, Renko paused, fist to fist in front of his chest.

''Transformation!

　A dazzling light and wind emanate from Renko, and the soldiers around him are blown away.

　The invincibility time when using the Transformation skill is 8 seconds. Of that time, you can only move freely for 2 seconds after 6 seconds have passed.

　You can use these two seconds to jump out the window, climb onto the roof, and use your high AGI after the transformation to escape. Or do you beat the nexus in front of you and break through? There are two choices: run or attack. Renko naturally chose the "offensive" option.

　It was not a bad choice. The difference in strength between the soldiers and Renko was obvious. If it was about ten people, they were not Renko's enemies after the transformation. Also, defeating the main force on the Pope's side, called Nex, here would lead to a huge increase in the success rate of the revolution. It's not late enough to escape to the roof then.


　...... Just one thing. There was one thing I didn't expect.
　I'm not sure I'm going to be able to get away with it.

　Renko knew he was strong and was wary of him, but she didn't expect him to go this far (・・・・).


Sweet.
Guh. ......!

　A sharp blow by the 《Incense Car Sword Art》. Renko received a sword to his shoulder and lost his balance.

　It was indeed a clever blow. While standing around using the other soldiers like a meat wall (...), NEX's [Swordsmanship], which was unleashed to take advantage of Renko's gap that this was the only place to be, was clearly the move of someone who was used to killing each other (・・・・・・).

　It's no wonder. Until now, Nex has turned dozens and hundreds of people into the rust of his sword under the orders of the Black Pope. Some of them had fiercely resisted. Some of them were strong enough to be called masters. Still, he had cut them down overwhelmingly and unilaterally. The strongest and most fearsome swordsman in the Kamel Divine Country, that was NEX.

　Furthermore, the battle between 【Body Technique】 and 【Sword Technique】, the longer the reach of the sword, the more advantageous it was to 【Sword Technique】.

　In other words, the reason why NEX was able to compete with Renko even though she was "transformed" was due to the compatibility of their skills in addition to the difference in numbers and experience.


''I'm beginning to see your impatience.
Shut up. ......!

　Five minutes pass from the start of the fight. Two minutes left for transformation time.

　Renko had already defeated ten soldiers other than NEX. However, even though he had defeated them, the soldiers were being replenished one after the other. The only way to break out of this situation was to defeat NEX, who was blocking Renko's free movement.

　But NEX was still strong. If Renko tried to attack him, he would use his soldiers to taunt them and counterattack, and if Renko tried to escape, he would slash at them with terrifying speed and sharpness.

　And so, while they were fighting back and forth.

　Two minutes have passed--.


''Capture it!''

　At NEX's command, the soldiers attacked all at once and restrained Renko, who had been released from the 《Transformation》.

　"Renko was finally silenced by being forcibly put on the guilty restraints called the 'Slave Collar', and Renko was finally silenced.

　The collar of servitude makes it impossible for the one wearing it to attack at all. In other words, "No Attacks" will be activated. In Mövius Online, this item only appeared during story events, but in this world, it has spread to countries, knights, merchants and even the underground. Humans are animals that always live in search of security. The 'security' of being unable to attack is an irreplaceable value.


'You are, I believe, Lady Raspberry Belle's ...... So, I see.'

　Nex unmasked Renko and checked his face and was convinced by one of them.

'Send this man to the dungeon. Prepare him for torture.

　If they didn't get him to give up the information as soon as possible, the Pope would be in danger. Thinking that, Nex decided to rush the torture of Renko after reporting to the Pope.






''Hey, this is His Holiness!　Why do you go to this place alone: ......?
'I heard that someone tried to assassinate me. I came to see your face.
"Did you mean on your left, sir!　And yet, I'm afraid, I'm going to have to ask Master Nex to let no one pass.
Did he ask you not to let me through?
No, no, that's ...... but it's not dangerous.
You'll be glad to know that you have a collar for your servitude.
"But .......
Don't say anything stupid. If you want to save your life.
Ha! ......!

　Less than five minutes after Renko's imprisonment, the dungeon was visited by Pope Black.
　He threatens the soldier on duty and enters the dungeon.

"I don't need your help," he says, "I just want to see your face. Just have a look at me and I'll be out in less than a minute.
Ha!

　Intimidatingly refusing to be accompanied by soldiers, Pope Black walked through the dungeon alone and stopped in front of the cage at the end of the hall.


' ...... Was it true that you are a shadow warrior? Huh, I'm getting sick of this.

　In the cage was Renko. As soon as he saw Pope Black's face, he swore.


　Seeing Renko's situation, Pope Black grinned and opened his mouth.



''Come on, Anko.''
"Yes, my Lord.


　Darkness distorts right next to Renko, and darkness shapes the woman's body.
　The woman who appeared is the nun who someday called herself Anne. A woman with a faint smile on her mouth and threadbare eyes, a woman who radiates a hint of body hair.

''Nah......!　You're not supposed to be ......!
There's not enough time. We need to move him to my house.

　The man disguised as the Black Pope said that while interrupting Renko's surprise, and tried to give Anko instructions.
　If he took too much time, the jail guard would be suspicious of him. Hence, there was no time for useless talk.

　Then Renko stood up, crowded the man, and uttered some surprising words.


'Well, wait!　Give me a chance: ......!　Can you give me another chance?

　He was made to leave (...) without question.
　Realizing this, Renko desperately pleaded.

'Chance?'
Next time I'll kill the Pope!　Just give me a chance to get some closure!　Give Lady Raspberry Belle a chance to return the favor!
You say things like 'bullying' and 'repayment of kindness' that sound good, but you just want to feel good about yourself, don't you?
No, no!　No. .......

　The words were thrust at him like a knife.
　Renko denied it with a sad face and continued to speak.

'Lady Raspberry Belle is using me. She's just being nice. She is using you, and it hurts her that she is using you. If I leave now, it's all for nothing. Lady Raspberry Bell would be more concerned about ......
'You're just curious about ......, aren't you?　You might not actually think anything of it. It's a one-sided assumption unique to adolescence.
............

　Silence.
　The man was right. Hence, Renko couldn't say any more.


'It's a shame. You don't know my character, and that's why you lost. That's why you lost; the R6 members would have dared you better. I'm sorry, but I can't hang out with you any longer.


　...... He's a sweet (...) man, unexpectedly.

　R6. although Renko didn't understand the meaning of that name here.
　But her emotions change, just as the man intended.



'I want to confront you, until the ...... end.'
............
I don't care about saints or the Kamelic Kingdom, honestly. I don't care about saints or the Kameru apotheosis, I want to stand up to them to the end of my life. I want to kill Raspberry Belle-sama by hurting to death that bastard who used such an innocent and cute ordinary child (・・・・) by chaining her up tightly with chains ......!

　From Renko's mouth came a strong, very strong, real feeling.


I might fail. I may cause you trouble. Even so, I want to stand up for me. I know the heart of a girl named Raspberry Belle, this me,

　Renko knew. That Raspberry Belle, no matter how great her abilities and knowledge were, was not a saint at heart. That she is just one very common maiden.


This life that was picked up by ......, will you let it dissipate for her?


　She sits upright on the cold stone, thrusting her fist into the ground and bowing her head.

　Now she is Renko, not Renko. She is Ray, the only daughter of that proud grand bandit, his master Reemsma. Her former passionate sense of chivalry has returned to her.

　The path of evil that frustrates evil. The path of bandits. It is not for anyone. Everything is for the sake of not going against one's own path.

　The way of life of men who burned their lives was firmly inherited in her heart.


　And her opponent.

　She loved this kind of man, without reason and without regard for efficiency.


　Pucker. The collar of servitude on Renko's neck is broken.

"I'm flying north to Ordrejo now. You will take the east route and hide in Ordrejo. The Pope is on his way.
............!

　The man had received a transmission.
　The communication came from the codename 'Consade'. 'In case of an emergency, the Pope will take command of the East. He must have obtained solid information during his undercover investigation from the day before.

Thank you for .......
'Gratitude comes afterwards. Don't worry about the rest, do what you want to do.
Yeah. I'm sorry, I owe you.

　With Anko's 《Dark Transition》 and 《Dark Summoning》, Renko was sent to the forest north of Old Joe.


　The man had a debt of gratitude. He knew that the target of the assassination was a shadow warrior, yet he owed her a debt for making her cross a dangerous bridge. Therefore, I had the feeling that I wanted to listen to their wishes as much as possible.

　But even without that, he decided to leave the assassination of the real Pope to her. Perhaps he would fail. As a result, he would have to clean up his own mess (...). Even though I knew that, I would leave it to her for once. I dared to make that decision.

　It doesn't matter if it's twice as hard, useless or not. This is not the advice of a man who has staked his life on nettles until the day he died, a "mass of waste".


　She does. It's worth it. It's worth it.

　He knew the beauty of risking one's life for what he had decided to do.


'What shall we do?' ......

　The man left the dungeon with a single sigh, thinking about what would happen after Renko's failure.

　The destination was the Holy Hall - the room of Saint Raspberry Belle.


　A few minutes after this. The anti-church force Dysart has launched a surprise attack on the capital city of Ordojo.

　And the night dawns.