Level 1 Fallen

While it was more satisfying to terrorize the man who had gone to such lengths to set up an abhorrent trait farm like Yatagarasu did, I soon found out that it took considerably longer to do things this way. He had a camp set up a half hour’s walk away from where the golem had been roaming, which Wisteria informed us about. However, there was another high-level bodyguard protecting that camp.

I had to wait several hours for him to leave the camp and return to hunting, waiting for him to just start getting comfortable hunting random monsters before I teleported to him and killed him again, still using the troll disguise. This time, his guards were right by his side, forcing me to drown the area in darkness to prevent them from interfering.

This caused him to really realize that he was being targeted, leading to a change in his hunting grounds. It was another full day before I found him again, killing him as he prepared to enter a dungeon. Since his respawn point was nearby, I killed him one more time for good measure.

Having been killed four times, Yatagarasu quickly fled to the capital of Athua, where he had his own mansion as the Grand Duke. With my various abilities, he understood that his guards couldn’t protect him from me, nor could his invincibility.

I sat with Diane and Bella outside a cafe, appearing as a human with red hair and red eyes. Diane and Bella had similarly disguised themselves, and we were calmly discussing our next course of action while I prevented any sound from leaking with my Wraith Zone.

“What’s your next step?” Bella asked, sipping at her drink. “You’re not just going to sit around and wait for him to come out, are you? It’s already been nearly a week since we got to the capital.”

That’s right. After chasing Yatagarasu down to the capital, we found that he had invited one of the country’s grandmasters as a guest in his mansion. Although he wasn’t explicitly enlisted as a bodyguard, he was being given food, shelter, and whatever amenities he wanted. It was only natural that he would step in if Yatagarasu was attacked.

I shook my head to deny Bella’s question. “There shouldn’t be a need to wait for long. The League is spreading a rumor that he was caught running a trait farm, and that’s why the ‘monster’ faction is hunting him down. According to Wisteria, the rumors have mutated a fair bit by this point.”

“Some people claim that a potential monster king had been caught in the trap before he could mature, and that’s why the monsters sent an assassin. Some say that Yatagarasu abducted a dragon. Of course, others are asking where the proof for any of this is, but the ‘monsters’ don’t require proof.”

“Sooner or later, either Yatagarasu will come out to try and fight the allegations, or his grandmaster protector will leave. If neither happens within the next few days, I’ll just have to show him something else.” I had a nearly feral grin on my face as I said this, already devising a new plan.

“Anything that we can help with?” Diane asked curiously, catching the look in my eyes.

“Actually, there is. I want to make some equipment, so can you two keep in touch with Wisteria to monitor for any changes in the situation?” The two of them looked surprised at this request, but still readily agreed.

With their agreement, I disappeared from Athua, creating my next surprise for Yatagarasu. I remained in isolation for a day and a half, repeatedly making the same item until I had it just right. Only then did I return, learning that Yatagarasu had stubbornly remained in his manor the entire time. To make up for his inability to hunt, Yatagarasu had decided to take the time to strengthen his connection with other nobles, hosting them for parties at his manor.

This suited me fine. Using Beyond the Veil, I hid myself beyond the mortal coil, teleporting back to the city and making my way to his home. He appeared to be speaking with a noblewoman of high standing, given his respectful attitude. Scanning the area, I found that the grandmaster guest was training by himself in the back garden.

He was close enough to rush to Yatagarasu’s aid if a prolonged fight broke out, but far enough to not feel suffocated by the Grand Duke’s presence. Aside from the noblewoman, the only combatant nearby was a female guard standing outside the meeting room where the two were speaking.

I flew up behind Yatagarasu, employing a new disguise that I had built just for this occasion. A black robe swept over my ghostly body, my head a transparent skull. Thick, bony fingers gripped a pitch black scythe. These were the items that I had spent the last day and a half making. Especially the scythe, which took a great deal of work to get how I wanted it.

Scythes were, inherently, a terrible weapon for practical combat. Their inward-facing blade meant that the only way to practically wield the weapon was to have the enemy inside your guard before you could attack. That was why most full-sized combat scythes had more forward-facing blades, causing them to resemble a guisarme with an oversized blade, or a massive khopesh. Otherwise, they were smaller, handheld weapons like sickles.

However, they were also weapons symbolic with death, famously wielded by the most horrible of undead monsters. This made it the perfect choice for my new disguise.

Without removing my stealth, I positioned myself behind Yatagarasu, my blade inches away from his neck as he continued to speak about trade agreements. Once my weapon was ready, I lifted my stealth just enough to appear as a ghostly reaper. Yatagarasu didn’t immediately notice anything, but the woman across from her let out a shriek of fright.

Before Yatagarasu could turn his head, I yanked back with enough force to sever his neck. At that moment, the inherent effect that I had worked for in the scythe kicked in. Yatagarasu’s body split open, his skin falling like discarded cloth. His muscles shook loose, blood splattering across the room as his bones fell to the ground, leaving only his head intact.

This was an effect that I had applied to my scythe by combining Corpse Collector and Decapitate. Whenever an entity is decapitated by this scythe, the rest of their body falls apart, as if it has been processed by a skilled dismantler. For most monsters, that wouldn’t be too bad, and would even save time extracting valuable materials.

For humans, however, this was a horribly gruesome scene. As soon as I severed the head, I fully returned to the spirit realm, letting the dismantling process occur. At the same time, I mixed Fire King and Shadow King to create black flames that scorched the number five into his forehead.

Moments after the noblewoman screamed, two presences burst into the room. One was the guard that had been waiting outside, and the other the grandmaster. His eyes scanned the surroundings, but didn’t seem able to locate me. That made sense, given that my Beyond the Veil was a grandmaster level skill, and was itself over level one hundred. Unless he was a grandmaster specialized in perception, it would be difficult for anyone to locate me.

Still, he maintained his guard, as if sensing that I was still around without being able to pinpoint my location. Seeing this, I floated back away from the room, my body passing through the walls. Let’s see how they react when what appears to be a grandmaster undead personally comes to assassinate someone in the capital of a nation focused on holy light.

I teleported away, returning to the hidden home where Diane and Bella were staying. Naturally, I returned to my normal form, flashing a thumbs-up at the duo. “Kill number five has been completed.”

“Drake? What’s that?” Diane questioned, pointing towards the scythe and robe I had equipped over myself.

“This robe’s nothing much. It just has an effect to disrupt appraisals and enhances stealth. As for the scythe,” I explained to her the effects on the scythe that I had made, causing Dana to shudder involuntarily.

“That is a horrifying weapon,” Bella said, her face pale. “Did you need to go that far for the mission?”

“It’ll be easier this way,” I reasoned. “If Yatagarasu thinks that there is a reaper after him, one that can get to him in the middle of Athua’s capital even while he has a grandmaster present, he’ll be more shaken. He might directly leave the city to go hunt, trusting his invincibility to protect him outside.”

“But there is the ‘troll assassin’ waiting for him outside, who can bypass his invincibility,” Diane countered, causing me to grin.

“Exactly. If he leaves, there is the troll waiting for him. If he stays, there is a reaper. Between the two, I’m betting that he’ll choose to face the troll, but will take countermeasures. For instance, he might hire more guards, or receive special scrolls capable of releasing defensive powers. Athua won’t just stand by as one of their Grand Dukes is being hunted, either.”

“They won’t be able to constantly guard him with a grandmaster, but they’ll devote some resources to protecting him. They might even try to lay an ambush to draw out the grandmasters of the monster faction.”

The two girls watched me explain with a concerned face. “You don’t seem worried, considering that you’re talking about walking into an ambush.”

I chuckled in response. “It’s only an effective trap if we don’t see it coming. We have Wisteria and the League watching the situation. If they make any big adjustments of manpower, we’ll hear about it.”

Diane pursed her lips, leaning back as she looked at me. “I feel like I should be doing something. We got into this mess because I blew up all those traps in the monster city, but you’re handling the entire punishment mission by yourself.”

I couldn’t help but furrow my brows at that, trying to think of a way for her to get involved. “In that case, how would you like to play the role of a ninja assassin?” I asked, and Diane’s gaze snapped to mine, her eyes going wide.

“What do you mean by that?” she responded, clearly tempted.

“It’s like the archetype dungeon you went through. Do you think that you could sneak into his mansion and poison him to death without getting caught?”

Diane paused, processing the request. “If I know the layout of the mansion, it shouldn’t be hard. I’ll have to evade detection by a grandmaster, though.” Her eyes locked onto my cloak as she spoke, looking as if she were going to drill holes into it.

I let out a light laugh, removing the cloak and holding it out for her. “I scanned the mansion earlier, so I can show you the layout. What do you need for the poison?”

“I can take care of it,” Diane said, clearly eager to play out the role she’d been preparing months for. “Do you have any other requests?”

“Just one. When you poison him, leave the number four somewhere to be found. I’m doing a little countdown to let him know how much longer he has to endure this.”

There were two reasons behind this countdown. One was just me being vindictive. The other, I wanted to see how they would react. Would they loosen their protection, thinking that it would all be over after a few more ‘punishments’? If so, that would make things easier for us. Or, would they strengthen their protection, predicting that the final kill would result in Yatagarasu being taken away?

Either way, they couldn’t keep protecting him forever. Not if they thought that there was a truly terrifying monster faction after him. Soon, the trouble would be more than it was worth. Even if they wanted to protect him at first, they would end up revoking his noble title and cutting ties to distance themselves from the problem.

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