The Assault And The Message

One evening. Luca and Rebecca finished a request outside the city as usual and returned to the city. By the time the two finished reporting the quest completion and left the Guild, the sun had begun to set.

“Rebecca, see you tomorrow.”

“Yeah! Should we take a dungeon quest tomorrow? Our teamwork is solid now, so I think we can handle it.”

At Rebecca’s suggestion, Luca showed a slight sign of hesitation but soon nodded.

“Alright. But it’ll be your first time in a dungeon, right, Rebecca? Let’s go carefully.”

“Of course. Hehe, I’m looking forward to tomorrow.”

“Then let’s get some rest early today for tomorrow.”

“I will too. See you tomorrow then.”

After lightly deciding their plans, the two parted ways along the road, and Rebecca entered a narrow alley to head home. There were hardly any people and no streetlights in that alley, giving it a slightly eerie atmosphere at this hour.

“I need to do my best tomorrow so I won’t hold Luca back.”

However, perhaps because she was used to it, Rebecca didn’t seem bothered. She placed a hand on the bow on her back and the knife at her waist, relaxing her cheeks into a smile.

“Luca praised me again today. Hehe, I’m really glad I kept practicing all this time.”

Rebecca continued down the alley in a good mood, and just as she was about to quicken her pace since her apartment building was close, her ears caught the sound of something.

Stopping, Rebecca looked around, thinking someone might have dropped something. When she saw no one nearby, she turned back—and—

—there was a man in a robe. And he was so close their foreheads could have touched.

Rebecca froze from the shock and locked eyes with the man for about two seconds before she tried to scream and run away… but the man blocked her.

The man forcibly covered Rebecca’s mouth with his hand and drove his knee into her stomach without holding back.

“Gah…! Cough—cough…!”

After Rebecca collapsed to the ground clutching her stomach, the man struck the back of her neck with a hand chop. A disgusting smile formed on his lips as he lifted Rebecca in his arms. Then he disappeared into the dark alley, now so dim that distant details could no longer be seen, leaving only the faint dragging sound of something being pulled along.

“You’ve got a letter~. I was asked to deliver it right away, so I came here, but are you still asleep?”

Mmm… ugh. I was awakened by the sound of knocking on the door and someone’s voice. Rubbing my sleepy eyes, I got up from the bed. When I looked out the window, it was only just starting to get bright.

Why would I get a letter at this hour…? Thinking that, I opened the door, and a young man who worked at the inn stood there with a confused expression.

“…A letter?”

“Yes. A man just came by and said to give it to Luca immediately before leaving. I think he meant you, Luca-san.”

“I see… thank you. I’ll read it right away.”

After thanking the man and closing the door, I sat on the bed and opened the letter… and what was written there was shocking.

—Luca, get your ass to my inn right now. Don’t bring any weapons. If you don’t come, I won’t be responsible for what happens to your female companion.—

“That bastard…!”

The sender’s name wasn’t written, but this handwriting definitely belonged to Adolf. And the “female companion” had to mean Rebecca. Did he hold a grudge against me and kidnap Rebecca…?

Horrible possibilities about Rebecca’s situation rushed through my mind, and I clenched my fist so hard my nails dug into my palm.

If he actually laid a hand on Rebecca… I’ll kill him. I have to hurry. I have to save her.

“Lady Seremees! Rebecca was kidnapped by Adolf—by my former party member…!”

“Luca, I don’t understand the situation. Calm down.”

“Anyway… Rebecca is in danger! He told me not to bring weapons, so please let me store my weapons in the Divine Domain!”

Panicking that Rebecca might suffer more harm if I didn’t hurry, I grabbed the sword beside my bed and immediately headed to the Divine Domain.

When I landed at my usual spot… Lady Seremees was standing right in front of me.

“Luca, are you alright?”

“Yes—no, I don’t know. I’m going to rescue her now… but something might have already happened.”

Hearing that, Lady Seremees furrowed her brow. She placed a hand on my shoulder and spoke with a serious expression.

“If something has been done to Rebecca, use Temporary Peace. Transfer the damage to that man. If you do that, no matter how severe her injuries are, Rebecca will recover instantly. It’s far faster than light magic.”

Right… I had a special ability granted to me by Lady Seremees.

“How do I activate Temporary Peace?”

“Approach the injured person and pull only the damage out of their body. A purple haze will appear, so condense it and throw it at your enemy. Once condensed, the damage can move freely. However, be careful—if you don’t transfer it to someone within five minutes, it will automatically explode. The scale of the explosion depends on the amount of damage… but if it’s an amount Rebecca could endure, buildings shouldn’t be destroyed.”

So I just needed to extract the damage as purple haze and strike Adolf with it.

“Understood. If Rebecca has been injured, I’ll transfer it to Adolf.”

“Yes. Do your best.”

Encouraged by the slightly dark smile on Lady Seremees’s face, I clenched my fists and returned to the mortal world.