(EP-268.2) Song #5

268 – Cicada’s Song #5

“Lady Lioness, you’re trying to drag Sir Theo away like a criminal!? I don’t know what happened between you two, but isn’t this too much!?”

When I lifted my head, I saw Mirna Draco, holding a sword and a staff in each hand. Thanks to her, the fog in my mind cleared up.

“Lady Mirna…!”

“Sir Theo, are you alright? See, I told you I had a bad feeling.”

Mirna faced Elga, while men groaned on the ground. Looking at them, I could roughly guess what happened while I was losing consciousness.

“Mirna-nim, you granted my favor…!”

As I had asked Mirna the previous day, she had been watching my conversation with Elga from a distance.

“What’s this, Mirna, you!? Don’t interfere! This is the only way!”

Elga, furious, pulled out the rod that had been pinned in her hair like a hairpin, extending it lengthwise.

Juuuuk.

It transformed into a massive battle axe, the Halberd Crusher, exuding unbound ferocity all around.

“Get lost!”

Elga raised the enormous axe, as big as her body, and swung it down at Mirna without a moment’s hesitation.

Swaaaak-!

A crushing blow. Mirna’s eyes widened in surprise at the terrifying power.

“Are you serious, Lady Lioness!?”

She quickly retreated, putting distance between herself and Elga.

Tokaaang-!

Elga’s axe struck the ground, creating a deep crater in the shop floor. It was as if a small meteor had fallen.

━R, run!

━We need to get out of here!

At the sight of this, all patrons watching the sudden commotion panicked to death. Loud screams and the frantic footsteps of people trying to escape mixed together, creating chaos.

“Sir Theo, I’ll handle this, get out of here quick!”

Mirna shouted through the cloud of dust.

* * *

━Over there! Chase him!

Currently, the power of the Lioness family was no less than that of a king.

Their influence stretched all over Angmar, from the surface to the underground and even to the sky. Their banners of valor could be seen everywhere.

Because of that, I had to run through the alleyways nonstop. It felt like I had been running for over ten minutes already, yet the soldiers pursuing me showed no signs of fatigue.

No matter how many I subdued, they kept coming in endless waves. Engaging them in a war of attrition like this wouldn’t end well.

I had to go somewhere they couldn’t follow me…!

━Got him!

Suddenly, someone grabbed my heel. Running at full speed, I stumbled forward.

Kudangtang-!

Falling into the unpaved, muddy road, my face scraped against the ground, and mud filled my mouth. But I didn’t have time to worry about that. I quickly chanted a spell.

—Paimon!

━Euack!

━He’s running away again! Surround him! Don’t let him get away!

━Stop him from reaching the palace! Deploy troops!

Did they notice that I was heading towards the palace? The Lioness soldiers were indeed skilled.

I continued to run frantically to avoid the soldiers stationed at various checkpoints, formations, and the quickly erected barricades.

My chest felt like it was about to explode, and the taste of iron filled my mouth, but I couldn’t afford to stop, not even for a second. Despite everything, my ears were acutely aware of the shouts from the soldiers behind me.

━Corner him! Lavenders Street ends soon!

Just as I thought.

They were trying to trap me in a dead-end and capture me. No wonder they were herding me from alley to alley. Was this how a cornered squirrel felt like?

However, what they failed to realize was that I was not just a mere rodent. If anything, I would be closer to a bat.

A winged beast, as a matter of fact.

“Come!”

I shouted towards the sky.

Then my ‘black wings’ swooped from out of nowhere and grabbed me by the shoulders.

Flap-flap-flap!

Calling nearby birds to fly me away. That was my plan.

━H, He’s flying!

━The Demon Monk is using magic…!

It was quite satisfying to see the soldiers, who were holding nets and lassos to catch me, looking up at the roof like dogs chasing a chicken.

“Farewell, idiots! You useless tax-eaters!”

As I shouted this gleeful insult downward, I sensed something flying towards me.

Kwaang-!

It collided with my body.

“Ouch, hot!”

While I struggled against the searing flames, the birds holding me took off into the distance.

━Got him! The fireball hit!

━You fool! What if he dies?

━You think a fireball is going to kill an archmage? He’s hit, he won’t get far! Everyone, get to the rooftops! Climb up and catch him!

━Deploy Capture Team 4!

“Ugh—”

First, I quickly extinguished the fire on my body. Thanks to the Angmar robe, I barely felt the impact, but the birds flying away was a critical blow.

Fortunately, I hadn’t ascended too high, so I could safely land on the roof.

━There he is!

━He called us useless tax-eaters!?

A loud shout came from behind me.

Seeing the soldiers who had climbed onto the roof to chase me, I felt a chill run down my spine and sprinted with all my might.

“… I take back what I said!”

━You half-pint half-fairy! Stop right there!

━This brat’s faster than he looks; we can’t catch him!

No, how long are they going to keep chasing me?

The only good thing was that I was running quite well.

Perhaps this was the result of the training I did with Elga in Ark. I was running pretty well, even by my standards.

Leaping from roof to roof as if I were flying. Who knew I had a talent for parkour?

I was able to run away like this because I’d prepared for it with my dream. Still, to think that Elga would actually rat me out…

What were they planning to do with me? Kill me?

No, that didn’t seem to be the case. My guess was based on the equipment of the soldiers.

They were holding lassos and nets. If they intended to kill me, they would have been wielding blades and spears.

Had they been trying to kill me, I probably would have turned into a hedgehog—skewered with arrows long before I could run away.

「You have calmly judged the situation!

You have gained experience points through the talent 《Calm Thinking》.

All job experience +5」

Anyway, I managed to run all the way to the front of the palace. As I reached the gate, the soldiers looked at each other and hesitated.

━What should we do? He actually made it here.

━They said to catch him no matter what.

“Huu, alright.”

Even the Lioness army couldn’t just storm into the royal palace at will. I was glad I was right!

Jubuck, jubuck-.

But as I caught my breath, I felt a massive presence behind me.

━A commotion woke me from my nap.

Turning around, I saw Queen Aira, in a voluminous dress, approaching the palace entrance with a frown.

“What is the meaning of this? Trying to snare my court mage like a wild beast…”

Edited by: faker