The Heroic Tale Of A Villainous Prince

Episode 12: The Thieves

"Hey, what are you guys doing over there?" a voice called out.

"Huh? Can't you see? We're digging for treasure. It should be obvious. And what about you guys?" 

"I am the one who manages the treasures inside this cave. If you understand, then leave immediately," 

The thieves burst into dirty laughter, disregarding her warning.

"What? You think we'll just leave like that?"

"Deophil, What should we do with her?"

"She's actually quite beautiful, and an elf... Hey, guys. Don't you think she'll be a good source of income?" 

Deophil nodded in agreement with the suggestion, while the other thieves approached Elinne with lewd smiles.

There were a total of seven thieves, including Deophil. 

"Hey, Elf, behave yourself. If you do, we'll be able to sell you for a high price.

One of them boldly stepped forward, attempting to touch Elinne, but in that moment...

"Oh, I see. I understand now," 

A blazing fireball blew the thief away, sending him crashing into a nearby tree.

"You guys are nothing but trash,"

The thief who was hit by the fireball was slammed into a nearby tree and fell to the ground, knocked out. He didn't even flinch.

"You brat. I'll take care of the weaklings. I'll deal with that scumbag."

"Wait, Elinne. That man is an A-ranked criminal who had killed multiple adventurers. The knights are desperately searching for him... He's known as 'Ring Breaker' Deophil," 

"So what?"

"I'm telling you, he's a heavy burdenbad match for you," 

I don't know the true extent of Deophil and Elinne's abilities

But, Deophil is an A-ranked criminal with a notorious reputation, Elinne had displayed impressive fireball and enhancement spells earlier. However, going up against Deophil posed a different challenge, and the odds were not in her favor.

"Hahaha! So you're aware of your limits, kid!" 

"I don't care about the fear of a scared child," 

Elinne took a step forward towards Deophil. 

"Listen to the advice of others."

"You've laid your hands on something precious to me, and you will pay for it."

Elinne unsheathed her sword and activated the enhancement spell on her body.

"Elinne, step back! He is..."

But it seemed she didn't listen. As I rushed to support Elinne...

"You guys, kill that kid with black hair and eyes. He won't sell for a decent price anyway!"

Following Deophil's instructions, five thieves stood in our way.

"Wind Magic Ball!"

They simultaneously unleashed a rain of magic balls towards me.

"Earth Magic Wall!"

I quickly erected a defensive wall, but with three wind attribute users among them, the wall weakened against their attacks. The wall I set up in front of the cave was also crushed.

"Tch...!"

I broke free from the shattered wall and tried to escape the concentrated firepower.

"Don't let him escape! Chase him down!"

"Raging Wind Magic Arrow!"

This time, they used a magic ring called "Magic Arrow," sacrificing power for speed. The wind attribute magic arrows possessed excellent cutting power and speed, making it the perfect combination to corner their prey.

"Enhancement... Pseudo-Acceleration!"

I focused my enhancement on my legs, replicating the effect of acceleration and narrowly avoiding the barrage of Raging Wind Magic Arrows. However, in the process, the thieves spread out and gradually surrounded me, eliminating any escape routes.

"Hey, hey! Run, run!"

"Hahaha! Pathetic, hey!"

As I desperately ran, I suddenly realized I was completely surrounded.

No matter which direction I tried to escape, the five thieves wouldn't let me go. Every movement I made became an opening for their magic. I was trapped at the center of their encirclement.

"Hahaha! There's nowhere to run, you brat!"

The burly thief smirked with a cruel smile, as if enjoying cornering a helpless prey like a ruthless hunter.

"Darn...! [Fire Magic Sphere]!"

In desperation, I unleashed a fireball, but the burly thief easily dodged it with a slight step to the right.

"What...!? He dodged it!?"

"Hey, hey. Did you think I couldn't dodge it because I'm big? Even among my comrades, I'm considered agile. It's a shame your aim was off!"

The burly thief laughed smugly and began charging magic into his ring.

"This is the end!"

The magic rings of all five thieves surrounding me glowed, and magic was unleashed simultaneously.

"[Gale Magic Sphere]!"

A concentrated ball of wind magic was released...

"[Coordinate Exchange]."

"Gaaaaaaah!?"

In the next moment, one of the larger thieves in front of me was engulfed by countless winds and exploded.

"What...? Huh...?"

"What just happened...!?"

"Why is he... taking our attacks?"

The remaining four thieves, now reduced to three, were in disarray.

"Hey, you over there. Not there."

"Huh...?"

"Take one more step forward."

Next, I activated [Earth Restraint]. I projected it and wrapped it around one of the trembling thieves, then pulled.

The thief, bound by the chains, took a step forward...

"Bo-goah!?"

Engulfed in flames bursting from the ground, he exploded.

"What...!? His feet exploded!"

"That was [Flame Landmine]!?"

"When did he set it up!? When...!?"

That's always how it goes.

"...Did you think I was just running away?"

There's no way. I even used [False-Acceleration] to focus on setting traps around me.

They thought they had me cornered, but setting traps was ridiculously easy and successful.

Once the traps were set, all I had to do was lure them into those locations.

Even the seemingly desperate [Flame Magic Sphere] I shot was intentionally dodged by the opponent to lead them into the trap.

Thanks to that, [Coordinate Exchange] was executed perfectly, and the unfortunate thief who switched places with me became the target of concentrated fire.

The second unfortunate thief met the same fate. I had set a fire attribute landmine using the [Flame Landmine] magic ring just a step ahead of him, so all I had to do was pull him with [Earth Restraint].

"Could it be... even our footing...?"

"I don't know. If you're curious, go check it out."

A calm question, but the remaining three thieves were too agitated to respond.

"Damn it! If that's the case, we'll defeat him without moving from here...!"

It seemed they were trying to defeat me without taking a single step, relying solely on long-range magic.

Once again, I activated the [Gale Magic Sphere] magic ring and released a simultaneous barrage of wind spheres.

The information obtained through [Detection], which had already been activated, indicated the arrival of two reinforcements—the ones ordered to chase after me.

"[Coordinate Exchange]."

Two traps I had set behind me were triggered simultaneously.

In the next moment, two girls, Sharl and Makina, appeared with weapons in hand, their wind magic enhanced. They swiftly cut through the approaching winds with their sword and knife.

"Oh my, what's going on? It seems we have some wanted thieves here."

"Indeed... I recognize all of them. Let's restrain them promptly."

"I appreciate the quick response."

Sharl, even while running, could see what was happening. She had also noticed my intention behind the [Coordinate Exchange].

The remaining thieves were immobilized, unaware of where the traps were and unable to make a move even if they wanted to.

Meanwhile, we completed our preparations for the attack.

"[Fire Magic Sphere]!"

Three explosions erupted, and the crimson flames consumed the consciousness of the thieves.

"Sorry to bother you right after arriving, but please restrain those two. I'm counting on you."

"Wait, Al-sama!"

"Al-kun, where are you going?"

I entrusted the clean-up to Sharl and Makina and hurried towards Elinne's rescue.

The scene that unfolded before me was disheartening.

"...Tch...!"

Elinne was on her knees, her magic ring shattered.