Night began to fall. Although there was a moon, dark clouds hung overhead, and the night was especially cold and black—as if the dreadful gloom of the demons had settled over the hearts of countless residents in the city.
And naturally, as darkness fell, the city's curfew began.
With demons running rampant, several people had already had their innards eaten in the space of a single week—at a rate of one or two a day, on average. So the city guards forbade anyone from going out and walking the streets after dark. If anyone was reckless enough to venture outside and got caught, they would be arrested and interrogated at best, or shot on the spot at worst. This was no laughing matter!
"..."
And yet!
Tonight, in the darkness of the sacred and ancient city of Rabona, the Claymore Clare wore a black bodysuit and a black cloak, and carried a pair of short blades, disguising herself as a female thief. Taking advantage of the dead of night, she quietly climbed out of the window of her cheap inn room on the second floor, leaped silently onto the roof, and began moving swiftly and deftly across the rooftops.
She knew that walking along the streets would make her easy to spot and surround, so crossing the rooftops was her only option—and, more importantly, she would be harder to notice that way.
That was right!
Tonight, Clare was heading to the cathedral to investigate the people-eating demons!
Unfortunately, for certain reasons, although she had been invited to come and accepted the commission, she couldn't investigate openly or reveal her identity. Nor could she let anyone know that the Claymores had come to the city. So she couldn't bring her usual armor or her signature greatsword, and had to make some