Black Iron Magician

The Ash Rope’s mansion is located at the very center of the slum. In contrast to the behavioral pattern of the Midnight, who never let you know where they are, it is a flashy building that looks as if they proclaim themselves to be the king of this land. It’s the only place in the slum that has been colored needlessly.

Contrary to the gleaming atmosphere, there are few signs of people other than the Ash Rope guards. This is because many of the gang members who belong to the Ash Rope are violent, and if you get their attention, you might be involved with troublesome things. The people who live in the slum do not go out of their way to get close to this place. Furthermore, the walls surrounding the mansion are high, and there are several watchtowers where you can see guards with bows and arrows. Rather than being a mansion, it’s closer to being a fortress, and the one who can pass through this main gate are those involved with the Ash Rope.

――That’s in normal circumstances, though.

「Yo, fellas. Hello.」

「Hello!」

The guards would never have expected to be called out and greeted so openly in the middle of the day. It was so unexpected that they froze for a few seconds. The only thing that could be confirmed was that the two people who greeted them were a man and a girl, both wearing magician’s robes. A father and a daughter, though the man seems too young for that. Either way, it was eerie that both of them had big smiles on their faces. Normally, people who pass around here keep their heads down and try to not make eye contact, let alone smiling.

「Is this the Ash Rope, Tron-san’s house?」

Without regard to the reaction of the guards, the man asked them about the mansion. This was also an unexpected action that added to the confusion for the guards. ‘Was there an arrangement for any guests coming at this time?’ the two guards made eye contact and sent each other speculation, but they couldn’t get the desired result. Perhaps because the response was too slow, the girl in the orange robe began to tilt her head.

「Hey, don’t ignore us. Is this Tron-san’s house?」

This time, the man strengthened his words and spoke a little intimidatingly as if showing that they are guests. The guards swallowed the situation and finally opened their mouths.

「… Ah, yes. Are you a guest?」

「Ahh, no, no. I just wanted to check it out, that’s all.」

「「Ha?」」

‘They are not guests, then who? They are not here for sightseeing, aren’t they?’ The guards are beginning to gaze suspiciously at the man and the girl.

「Haru, this is the last confirmation. Basically, I won’t do anything, just do it as far as you can. Since they are all bad guys, it doesn’t matter if they live or die. Well, I’ll leave that up to you.」

「Understood! Ah, this is a raid, so please do your best!」

「「…Ha?」」

If a cute girl smiles and says such things, anyone will freeze up. For the girl, that declaration was just a formality, but it seems that it made an unexpected opening. Well, she’s a girl who stopped to hold back for the rest of her life. Therefore, she won’t overlook it.

The moment she said her raid greeting, she launched her fist, accompanied by a death sentence, on the guard’s abdomen. A fist that crushed the bones, a fist that was sinking into the middle of the body when you see it in slow motion. The guard was blown away while spitting blood and collided with the door of the mansion that was behind him.

―― Crash!

The door of the mansion was shattered by the bullet――the person blown at it―― and it ended its role while making a loud noise. The remaining guard was also careless. He followed the blown person with his eyes.

At that time, the girl was already close to the guard and launched the next attack. It was an uppercut that hit him in the jaw. It was also packed with enough power to crush the opponent’s neck bone and send him flying through the air. For a moment, the hollow eyes of the guard met with the eyes of a watchman from the watchtower. After that, the human figure who lost his life falls to the ground with a thud.

「Enemy attack!」

The watchman, who had come back to his senses, raised his voice without delay. There are four watchtowers from the front gate side, and there are about one or two watchmen with bows on each of them. When they hear the shout, they shoot out arrows at the girl who killed the guards instantly and the man behind her.

「――From the pitcher return, catch!」

The girl said some incomprehensible words. However, those words were not something to be surprised about for the watchmen. The real surprise was that the girl grabbed all the arrows they shot. She was catching the arrows’ shaft just before they hit her, it was as if she could see the trajectory of those arrows.

The man was also mysterious. The fired arrows slipped through the man and pierced the ground. No matter how much they shot, the result was the same. The man just watching the girl while crossing his arm and didn’t even look at them.

「W-what the hell are they!?」

「Gah!?」

「Eh…?」

The colleague next to a watchman suddenly let out a strange groan. When he turned around, he saw that the arrow he had just shot was stuck in his colleague’s head. Moreover, the arrow had been coated with mud-like dirt, and the skin that touched it was slightly discolored.

「D-don’t tell me!?」

When he hurriedly turned back to the girl, there was an arrow floating in front of him. No, it wasn’t floating, it was thrown by the girl. Just before the arrow hit him, he saw the girl throwing the arrows she was grabbed toward another watchtower. They were thrown more accurately and faster than with a bow, and flew perfectly to the watchmen’s head or left chest.

‘How am I able to understand the depictions to that extent? Ahh, I guess it’s because I’m about to die,’ he resolved himself in his head and then followed the same path.

「Guh.. ah…」

There was a guard who got hit by an arrow in the arm that he put forward by chance. Even though it was a wooden arrow, it was heavy as iron, and it penetrated the arm and reached the heart, which had been its first target. Just before his death, the arrow that pierced his body felt lighter, but that didn’t matter anymore to him.

「Magic is something you throw!」

The radiant girl in the orange robe, who had wiped out the guards, is saying something incomprehensible again.

「That’s limited to you though. Well, now that you finished the warm-up, let’s get to the main event.」

「Yes, Shishō!」

「That’s right. While you’re at it, go practice with your staff.」

「Ah, yes. Uh, where is it―― 」

The girl took out a black staff from a waist pouch and then dressed herself as if she’s a magician. The members of the Ash Rope, who were observing them while hiding inside the first floor of the mansion, were sweating all over bodies. In less than a minute, the outside force was annihilated. Not much time has passed since the attack, so they hadn’t been able to contact the others. With the dozen or so people gathered at the entrance of the mansion right now, can they really defeat those two?

They didn’t have the experience of fighting with such overwhelming beings, as they had always preferred to work against weaker opponents than themselves. Their hands trembled and their throats dried. With the minds consumed by fear, they can’t exert their powers and can only hope for salvation from others. ‘Those five newcomers maybe can deal with them, please come quickly. Please――,’ they can only pray like that right now. Their heads can’t work well because of fear, but their guts maybe a big deal for being able to stay in their positions.

「Excuse me!」

「No, there’s no need to say greetin――」

However, the girl and the man crossed the border of the door ruins before they could do anything. Now that thing has come to this, there’s only one thing they can do. Before the man can finish his words, the two members, who were hiding on both sides of the wall, swing their iron axes down to the girl, who was walking at the front.

――Clang!

The two iron axes that should have been struck down were flicked by the black staff swung by the girl and then left their hands. The iron axes, which were blown away, hit the wall on the second floor and didn’t return to the first floor.

「Look, they properly returned the greeting, didn’t they?」

「Well, sure.」

The girl said so with a smug face next to the members who were writhing in agony because of their broken fingers.