Unification of the South

by Hyougetsu

  “These guys have no manners, barging in through the window like that.”

  “Sir Veight, you do realize...”

  Airia gave me a reproachful look. She had her saber in one arm, and Shatina in the other. Oh yeah, come to think of it, I did the same thing. I’m surprised you still remember. Wait, now’s not the time to be waxing nostalgic. From the looks of it, there were still plenty of assassins left.

  Another assassin in the next building over readied a crossbow and aimed it through the third story window. But I’d spotted him a while back, and I already knew he was trying to take advantage of the confusion to sneak a shot in. The moment he loosed, I stepped in front of Shatina.

  “Wha!?”

  In response to her surprised shout, I showed her the poisoned arrow I’d caught. So long as we knew it was coming, us werewolves had fast enough reflexes to catch arrows in midair.

  “This arrow has the same odor as your father’s corpse. They’re probably using purple osier poison.”

  In this world, there was a species of tree known as purple osier. It grew in the north, and its leaves and bark contained poison. As winters in the north were long, most herbivorous hibernating creatures tended to eat everything they could get their hands on, so the only trees that had survived were those that evolved to be poisonous.

  The poison caused severe vomiting, and was lethal when taken both orally, or injected. It was popular in the north among hunters, demon slayers, and assassins. I’d been on the receiving end of this poison before too. There was a similar species of purple osier that grew in the south, but that wasn’t poisonous, so no one in the southern cities used it.

  These assassins had just given themselves away. This arrow would serve as proof who the real culprits were. I really should thank that archer for this. Just as I thought that, blood sprayed from his chest and he slumped to the ground.

  “Sorry we’re late, boss. Leave things here to us!”

  Hamaam walked into view and gave me a salute. He, along with his squad, were in the process of hunting down the snipers.

  “Well done. Some of the city’s garrison are traitors, but the rest are on our side. Since we can’t tell them apart, don’t lay a hand on them.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  Hamaam nodded and then walked out of sight.

  The room had devolved into a melee between people all wearing the same uniforms, so I had no idea who to be wary of. To make matters worse, there were still a few snipers left. It really was too dangerous to remain in this room. Besides, the assassins were after Airia and Shatina. If they managed to kill Shatina, the Senate would be able to strengthen their hold on the city. My guess was their plan had been this:

  First, they’d assassinate Zaria’s viceroy, who was sympathetic to the demon army. Then they’d pin the blame for the assassination on me. Shatina would then swear vengeance on the demon army, and Zaria would invade Ryunheit.

  But since Shatina had learned the truth, the Senate’s plan had ended in failure. So they’d switched to plan B. Instead of just assassinating the viceroy, they’d eliminate the viceroy’s entire family and try to make it seem like the whole thing was my fault. Then they’d appoint their own lackey as viceroy, giving them full control of the city. They’d then reorganize Zaria’s military and invade Ryunheit as originally planned.

  In some ways, the Senate had probably been hoping for this development. If anything, pulling this off would give them more control. These guys sure are underhanded, though. This world had no internet or printing press. Even major events spread only as rumors through word of mouth. Furthermore, because of the vast authority Meraldia wielded over its cities, it could easily control the flow of information. Framing the demon army for a slaughter at Zaria would be an easy task.

  The only way to stop that from happening would be for me to keep Shatina safe, and bring her over to our side. If she was willing to testify my innocence, then it’d be impossible for harmful rumors to spread. For that reason, I needed to defend Airia and Shatina with my life. Meaning I no longer had the leeway to try and protect the loyal members of Zaria’s garrison still fighting here. I needed to get Shatina and Airia out of here. While I despised ranking some lives as more or less important than others, as the commander in charge, I had no choice. Sorry guys. I hope you make it out of this alive.

  “Lady Airia, Shatina, we’re escaping. Grab on to me.”

  Airia grabbed on right away, but Shatina hesitated.

  “But my father... and my men...”

  For someone as young as her, abandoning her father’s corpse and the soldiers who were fighting to protect her was more than she could stomach. Unfortunately, I didn’t have time for her sort her feelings out.

  “If you die here, what do you think will happen to Zaria? You’ll only be bringing the people who love you sorrow while the whole city suffers.”

  “Ugh...”

  Shatina bit her lip. However, it took her only a few seconds to overcome her reluctance. She looked up at me, her gaze resolute.

  “Sir Veight, please take me to safety!”

  “Good, that’s the kind of determination a viceroy should have.”

  I lifted Shatina up and dashed toward the window. As I ran, I turned back and saw one of Shatina’s loyal guards fall to the ground. Blood started pooling underneath his stomach. I’m sorry I couldn’t save you... But I swear I’ll keep your lord safe. I tightened my grip on Airia and Shatina, then leapt out the window.

  “Hyaah!”

  Shatina screamed as we fell. I couldn’t blame her, this was the fourth floor. Normal people would die if they fell from this height. While Airia managed to hold back her scream, she still clung to me for dear life. I sailed over the street below and flew neatly into the window of the next building over. This one looked to be a normal house. I’d been worried someone would shoot at me while I was in the air, but it looked like Hamaam’s squad had managed to suppress the snipers. I breathed a sigh of relief as I got to my feet.

  However, it seemed the assassins noticed we’d escaped right away. I put my ear to one of the walls and heard a group of people thudding up the stairs. I turned to Shatina and said, “From here on, I’m going to assume any human we meet is our enemy, and if they’re carrying weapons, I’ll attack. If any of them happen to be allies, tell me right away.”

  “U-Understood.”

  Blushing slightly, Shatina nodded. At the same time, two men kicked down the door to the room we were in. Like the other assassins, they were wielding daggers. Shatina remained silent, so that confirmed they were enemies. They ignored me and headed straight for Shatina and Airia. Looks like they’re not even trying to fight me. You guys know I’m as mortal as the rest of you, right?

  “You fiend!” Airia screamed as she gallantly drew her saber and slashed at her foe. Come to think of it, she had the courage to try and face me alone. A few assassins probably won’t scare her. Shatina hurriedly drew her own short sword, but she was clearly unused to fighting. Airia realized that as well, and moved to cover Shatina.

  Unfortunately, Airia was no expert with the sword herself. She wasn’t able to match a group of professional assassins. I couldn’t allow the battle to drag on, so I quickly dispatched the two men. One I stabbed through the heart with my claws, while the other I kicked into the wall. He slammed into it so hard that the wall shattered along with his spine, and he coughed up a lungful of blood before falling lifelessly to the ground. The battle lasted only a second.

  The assassins were lightly armored, so they weren’t much of a threat to me. Furthermore, they had to get within range of my claws to use their short daggers, making my job even easier. The problem was I needed to keep Airia and Shatina safe while I fought. I picked up one of the assassin’s daggers to see if it, too, was poisoned. After discovering that it was, I turned to the two girls and said, “I’m going cast detoxification magic on you two. To do that, I’ll need to touch the right side of your stomach.”

  “Understood.”r />
  Airia nodded without hesitation and rolled up her tunic. I placed my hand on her abdomen, now only covered by her undershirt, and willed my mana into her liver. For as long as my spell lasted, Airia would have increased resistance to poison.

  “Shatina, you too.”

  Shatina twitched when I addressed her.

  “Y-You need to touch me?”

  “The right side of a person’s stomach contains an organ that protects you from poison. I need to inject mana into it to strengthen its abilities.”

  “I-I see. Very well. Give me a moment.”

  Shatina sucked in a deep breath. Then she closed her eyes and grabbed the hem of her shirt.

  “There!”

  She lifted it up, revealing her bare skin. Uhh, you didn’t have to roll up your undershirt too, I just need to have decent contact. I tried to calm Shatina down while I placed my hand on her stomach and willed my mana into her.

  “Alright, that should do.”

  “Th-Thank you.”

  Shatina gave me a dazed look, but then shook her head and composed herself.

  “L-Let’s go! I can guide you out!”

  “Alright, I’ll be counting on you. The rest of my werewolves are waiting outside the city. Leaving through the city’s south gate would be best, but if that’s impossible we can detour around.”

  “Okay, leave it to me!”

  Where’d she get all that energy from?

  We dashed through Zaria’s labyrinthine streets, following Shatina’s directions. Strictly speaking, Zaria had two mazes, one on the ground and one up above. Most buildings were connected to each other via aerial walkways, or had their balconies within jumping distance of each other. As the upper paths had been made mostly by the residents for convenience’s sake, and were rerouted all the time, they were actually more confusing than the maze that was the city’s streets.

  “Umm, so after you clear plum foof, you need to climb the red rat stairs and... no, wait, you have to cross rust hatchet street first.”

  Shatina was having a hard time giving directions. To make matters worse, Zaria’s laws forbade streets or intersections from having names or distinctive landmarks. So without Shatina’s guidance, I couldn’t tell them apart. And the assassins had already realized we were trying to flee. Hamaam had howled a few moments ago that some of the enemies had escaped his squad. If they’d left the battlefield, it meant they were tailing us. Since they were more familiar with the area than I was, they were also able to head us off despite my superior speed. Anytime my ears picked up any suspicious noises, I told Shatina the direction they were coming from, and she adjusted our course accordingly. But no matter how much we weaved, our pursuers kept catching up.

  A barrage of arrows shot toward me as I sprinted down a skywalk connecting two buildings together. While I managed to strike them all down, I was once again reminded of the fact that my opponents were exclusively targeting Airia and Shatina. Before the assassins could reload, I leapt onto the roof and slaughtered them all. Four cowardly snipers fell to the ground, blood spilling from their chests.

  That makes 23... no, 24. Man, there’s so many of them I can’t keep track. Just how many assassins are there? For some time now, all the assassins we’d encountered had been equipped with either bows or crossbows. Those were the weapons I hated dealing with the most, since my only long-ranged attack was my howl. In the case of the other werewolves, they didn’t even have that, so these assassins made for troublesome enemies. I debated signaling the rest of my werewolves to come help, but in a twisting city like this where it was impossible to tell who was friend or foe, they’d have a tough time fighting to their full potential.

  “Damn, there are enemies here too.”

  I used the mirror I’d picked up along the way to see what was beyond the next corner. Shaking my head, I turned back to my companions. At the end of this corridor were two buildings, and on each building were two snipers. Though their uniform bore no affiliation, they were obviously enemies. While I’d be able to run past safely if I was on my own, it’d be harder while carrying these two, nor could I afford wasting time killing them. There was no way to dispatch them all simultaneously, and unless I did that they’d call for reinforcements and we’d be surrounded.

  Still holding her saber, Airia wiped a bead of sweat off her forehead.

  “They seem intent on killing Lady Shatina.”

  “Well, she is the viceroy’s heir.”

  The position of viceroy wasn’t one just anybody could attain. Being a skilled governor wasn’t enough. You also needed influence, popularity, and a measure of trust from your citizens. Furthermore, you also needed to be well-versed in local culture, history, and geography. For that reason, the usual candidates for a new viceroy ended up being the old viceroy’s heir or disciple. Which was why Shatina was such an important person to Zaria.

  At this rate, escaping to my werewolves waiting outside the city would be impossible. Because all of Zaria’s buildings were made tall to double as watchtowers, no matter where we ran we’d be found eventually. Not only was Zaria’s maze a measure to prevent intruders from causing too much damage, but it also kept intruders from escaping alive. And even if we did get lucky and escape, the moment we left the city we’d be in even more danger. Past the city was a barren wasteland, and there’d be no cover. After weighing my options, I decided against escaping the city. It was too risky.

  “Shatina.”

  “Y-Yes?”

  I looked down at her and said, “As the future viceroy of this city, I need you to tell me if there’s anywhere in the city that meets the criteria I’m about to outline. And if there is, I need you to guide us there.”

  “O-Okay.”

  We once again began weaving our way through the maze-like city. After going down a series of progressively narrower streets, we finally stopped in front of a door. At a glance, the door seemed to lead to just another house.

  “Is this really the place?”

  “Yes. It fits all of the criteria you asked for, Sir Veight.”

  “Alright, then let’s settle things here!”

  Together with Shatina and Airia, I entered the building. Once I cast the necessary magic on them, I had them hide nearby. Now then, it’s all up to me. Just in case, I cast detoxification magic on myself as well. For my peace of mind, I also cast an arrow warding spell.

  Whenever something approached at high speed, the spell would unleash shockwaves of mana to divert the approaching object. It functioned similarly to how reactive armor did back on earth. However it burned a lot of mana and was only good for stopping a single bolt so I couldn’t rely on it for much. Depending on the speed and angle of the arrow, it might not even deflect it at all. Trusting it to save me wasn’t a good idea.

  Lastly, I cast sound dampening magic on myself. So long as it was active, I, along with things near me, ceased making noise. The downside was that I couldn’t cast any spells that required a verbal incantation, but I rarely used such spells to begin with. Once I’d completed my preparations, I waited for our assailants to appear.

  After a few minutes, the door was kicked open. In order to protect the documents stored within from sunlight, the place we’d holed up in had almost no windows. The few windows near the ceiling had all been boarded up with thick planks, and the storage room was pitch dark. Because of that, the assailants stopped to light a few torches before walking further into the room. Everything was going according to plan.

  I scooted backward, hiding in the shadows. I’d asked Shatina to find me a dark, enclosed space. Preferably one with a complex layout. And this building fit the bill perfectly.

  It was Zaria’s library. The building was as large as a gymnasium, and tall bookshelves filled most of the space. The library’s interior was more labyrinthine than the city streets. However, in this world that lacked advanced printing techniques, it should have been impossible for a poor city like Zaria to own this many books. The existence of this building was unnatural. />
  In truth, most of the books contained here were fake. While the shelves appeared to be packed, they were actually just disguises to hide secret rooms and cupboards. This library was actually an escape route made for Zaria’s viceroys. It was also a convenient place to lure enemies to finish them off. This place was also known as Zaria’s Fangs. Only the viceroys and their family knew the true nature of the library. Zaria’s viceroys were known for being tight-lipped, and when they did open their mouths it was to reveal their fangs before devouring their foes.

  Once the advance party confirmed there was no immediate threat, they signaled behind them and another group entered the building. They appeared to be ordinary traders and pilgrims, but no normal person would come here. I kept an eye on the entire room from atop a bookshelf, making sure to keep myself shrouded in darkness. The group of assassins split up and began their search. Because of how narrow the aisles were, they’d probably decided it wasn’t a good idea to stick together.

  Time to hunt. Hunting was, after all, a werewolf’s specialty. Among the maze of shelves, there was only one route that didn’t lead to a dead end. But that route was circuitous, so I decided to focus on killing the enemies closest to me before tackling the ones that had chanced on the correct path. Besides, if I left corpses on the fake paths, more enemies would be drawn toward them.

  I silently dropped down behind a man who was dressed like a pilgrim. A second later I’d parted his head from his shoulders, and he crumpled soundlessly to the ground. The torch he’d been carrying was extinguished with his own blood. I then once again slipped into the shadows.

  ＊ ＊ ＊ ＊

  —Shatina’s Darkness—

  Right now, I’m hiding in the darkness while being chased by a horde of assassins. Father, you were always so careful and cautious. Why did you have to die? I hate myself for being so weak that I cannot even get revenge on your killers. In fact, I’m being hounded by them right now. Not only do I have to hide, I’m stuck being protected by people I just met. I truly am pathetic.