This Grudge, I'll Remember It

"Thud."

Deep within the dim alleyway, the sound of someone hitting the ground rang out from nowhere, signaling the end of a battle.

The black-clad attackers had all fallen to the ground without exception. Some had lost consciousness, while others lay there groaning, their bodies stained with blood.

Around those attackers, both the ground and the walls had been carved with slash after slash of sword marks.

Riezel stood beside the fallen attackers, his silver sword dripping with blood, his expression cold and stern, looking every bit like a ruthless executioner.

The sight caused the eyes of the black-clad figure leaning against the wall and hiding in the shadows to shift several times.

Yet from beginning to end, that person had not made a move or interfered in the battle.

"What fine skills. What a fine temperament." The black-clad man's words were clearly praise, yet the mockery in his tone was particularly grating. "Someone like you really doesn't seem like you came from that happy little family known as the Loki Familia. You seem more like one of us."

Having witnessed Riezel's battle firsthand, the black-clad man had given him a preliminary measure of approval.

Though he had only just Level Up to Lv.4, Riezel's fighting ability and combat techniques far surpassed those of an ordinary Lv.4. Facing many opponents alone, he had easily crushed a group containing several adventurers of the same level. That strength truly made people look at him in a new light.

Especially that kid's speed—it was nearly enough to catch up with a First Class Adventurer specializing in "Agility," which even surprised the black-clad man.

Relying on his exceptional speed and outstanding swordsmanship, Riezel had moved through the group's assault with ease, taking down the attacking assailants one by one. In the end, he had routed the group the black-clad man brought with him without suffering so much as a scratch.

He had not even taken a breath or shed a drop of sweat, leading the black-clad man to conclude that the kid must possess the Development Ability "Healing Power," and that it was at quite a high stage.

To possess such ability immediately after reaching Lv.4, even the black-clad man had to admit that this irritating kid before him truly had something special.

But that did not mean the parts that irritated him no longer irritated him.

So, the black-clad man's tone remained nasty.

"Why don't you just switch sides?" the black-clad man mocked. "If you came over to our side, I could beat you up openly and legitimately."

At those words, Riezel's expression did not change in the slightest.

He merely stared at the black-clad man before abruptly saying something.

"Goddess's Chariot?"

The moment those words came out, the face beneath the hood of the black-clad man hiding in the shadows froze.

Riezel sharply noticed the change in the atmosphere around him and immediately understood that he had guessed correctly.

"Allen Boromo. Lv.6. Vice-captain of the Freya Familia. Holder of the fastest speed in Orario. Your title—the Goddess's Chariot."

Riezel calmly revealed the black-clad man's identity.

"So it was you."

As his words fell, the black-clad man in the shadows also fell silent. Only after a while did he begin to give off a faint killing intent.

He stepped out and removed his black robe, revealing his true appearance.

He was a somewhat short cat-person youth, but his gaze and expression were exceedingly sharp.

"How did you figure out it was me?"

The Goddess's Chariot, known by everyone throughout the city, cast a sharp gaze at Riezel.

However, Riezel remained completely unfazed.

"The people who attacked me were at least Lv.3, and several were even Lv.4. Yet they were obviously following your orders. In that case, your strength is very likely above theirs."

"Someone capable of commanding powerful Lv.3 and Lv.4 adventurers has a high chance of being a First Class Adventurer above Lv.5."

"And in Orario, there aren't many Familias that can field one First Class Adventurer and so many Second Class Adventurers. Even counting them all, there are only a few."

"Then, among those few Familias, only one would dare attack a member of the Loki Familia so brazenly."

"Once you think about it that way, doesn't the answer become obvious?"

Riezel spoke calmly.

"Other than your Freya Familia, who else would do something like this?"

As for why he had guessed Allen's identity, that was even simpler.

"Among the First Class Adventurers of the Freya Familia, who else has such a filthy mouth besides you, the Goddess's Chariot?"

That, however, had been a guess based on his knowledge of the original work.

After all, Riezel had never met Allen, nor had he ever heard any rumors about him.

But Allen did not know that.

When he heard Riezel's analysis, he could only assume that some rumors about him had reached Riezel's ears, allowing him to guess his identity.

In truth, rumors of Allen's foul mouth were hardly uncommon.

Anyone familiar with the Loki Familia and the Freya Familia knew that each of those two Familias had a First Class Adventurer with a notoriously foul mouth and such a vicious temperament that people feared them.

The one belonging to the Loki Familia was the Lv.5 Fierce Wolf—Bell Cranel.

The one belonging to the Freya Familia was the Lv.6 Goddess's Chariot—Allen Boromo.

Both were famous for their foul mouths, and since both were First Class Adventurers specializing in "Agility," gods and adventurers often compared them to each other.

That made Bell and Allen dislike each other as well, and their relationship in private was exceedingly poor.

Of course, none of that mattered now.

Right now, Allen was only furious that his identity had been exposed—and that Riezel had indirectly called him foul-mouthed.

"You've got some nerve saying that to my face." Brimming with killing intent, Allen said, "You're only Lv.4. Do you really think you can stand against me?"

The moment he finished speaking, Allen vanished.

His figure melded completely into the darkness. He moved as swiftly as an actual charging chariot, carrying a howling gust as he flashed before Riezel in the blink of an eye.

At some point, a magnificent spear had appeared in his hand. It tore through the air and shot toward Riezel like lightning.

"----"

At that instant, time itself seemed to stop.

Even Riezel could not react to the lightning-fast thrust of a Lv.6 known as the "Fastest in the City."

Dodge? Impossible!

Counterattack? Impossible!

Parry? Impossible!

Impossible. Impossible. Impossible. Every method he could think of was impossible!

So, sensing danger close at hand, Riezel made a reckless move without a moment's hesitation.

Rather than retreating, he advanced.

"Squelch!"

With the sound of flesh tearing, the spear pierced through Riezel's shoulder and emerged from behind him.

"What?"

Even Allen was shocked by the sight.

Clearly, he had never expected Riezel to do something like this.

If Riezel had not stepped forward himself, Allen had only intended for that strike to graze his shoulder and leave a superficial wound.

Instead, Riezel had moved forward on his own, offering up his entire shoulder to be pierced clean through by the sharp spear.

Blood burst forth, making Allen's pupils constrict as he lost his ability to react for an instant.

And in that instant, a tempest swept forth.

"Awaken, Tempest."

A dark voice, as though it had risen from underground, rang out clearly through the alley.

Ignoring his pierced shoulder, Riezel awakened the blessing of "wind," gathered all the wind power upon his blade, and slashed down at Allen, whose expression abruptly changed.

"Tch!"

Allen's expression shifted again and again before he finally clicked his tongue. Without thinking, he unleashed Orario's greatest speed and tried to retreat at full force.

However, Riezel's free hand tightly gripped the spear piercing his shoulder, leaving him nowhere to retreat.

"Squelch!"

The sound of a slash tearing through cloth rang out once more.

Amid the spraying blood, the catman youth abandoned his spear and narrowly avoided the wind-charged, lightning-fast slash, escaping the fate of having his head severed on the spot.

But Allen had still been a step too slow. A massive gash was carved directly across the front of his body, and blood splattered through the alley.

"You bastard...!?"

Clutching his wound, Allen glared furiously at Riezel.

"Ugh."

Riezel pulled the spear from his shoulder and tossed it aside, meeting Allen's rage-filled gaze.

Blood poured from his shoulder, yet Riezel seemed completely indifferent to it. His face pale, he raised his head to look at Allen.

"So what if I'm only Lv.4?" Riezel sneered. "You're Lv.6, but you're not all that impressive either, are you?"

"You little shit!" Allen was so enraged that his killing intent surged off the charts, becoming countless times more intense than before.

The adventurer known as the Fastest in the City had truly been provoked.

Yet Riezel remained calm and composed before such an Allen. Only his eyes held a frostiness like absolute zero.

That chill was like a basin of cold water. It not only extinguished Allen's anger, but also made him feel a shiver of cold.

Allen's instincts told him that if he truly got serious and charged in again, Riezel would definitely risk his life to cut off his head this time.

Even against a Lv.6 First Class Adventurer, if Riezel abandoned defense, disregarded everything—including life and death—and fought with his life on the line, the chance of his sword landing on Allen's head would definitely be no lower than seventy percent.

Realizing this, Allen's face twisted.

"Damn lunatic!"

Allen spat the words out.

He had no intention of trading his life for Riezel's in such a pointless mission.

"I'll remember you, Riezel Brihaut."

Allen rose to his feet and stared at Riezel for a long while, as though he intended to engrave his face into his memory. Only then did he leap onto the roof of a building and vanish from sight.

Riezel watched silently until the surroundings had fallen completely quiet. Then he clutched his shoulder and, unable to hold on any longer, dropped to one knee.

"Crack."

As the wind dispersed, a crack appeared in the sword in Riezel's hand.

Riezel glanced at the crack, then felt the searing pain in his shoulder. After a moment, he murmured.

"Freya?"

The image of that goddess of beauty flashed through his mind. Riezel silently licked his wounds in a corner.

"I'll remember this grudge."

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