Chapter 24: a thief slayer in the night (end)

Markus's POV:

The dust settles leaving behind a hole in the house and a path of destruction all across the cliff side.

""Well it is a bit excessive but they did waste my time so it's justified right?""

Markus commented on the destruction he caused.

((I can't believe I came all the way out here for these small fries))

Markus would be lying if he said he wasn't at all a bit disappointed.

""Well...at least I did manage to kill some time, but come on...they could've at least squirmed for a little while longer, this "battle" if you can even call it that isn't even gonna get me enough exp to even be 1/10 of the way to the next level, even with the double exp gain exploit I've discovered...(sighs) overall this was just a huge waste of strenght and mana...""

Markus mumbled in a low voice.

"Mhm! Mnh!"

Suddenly a muffled sound came from the next room interupting Markus's thoughts, it sounded like a young girl.

""A kidnapped kid?""

Markus said surprised.

((Whoever's in there must be pretty valuable from the bandit's viewpoint for them to keep the person in the room next to their living room, usually kidnapped people are put in the basement or attic along with the rest of the stuff they've stolen, it's clear the bandit's wanted to keep a close eye on who's behind that door as from the looks of things their last job was a while ago and it's clear they had plenty of time to stash their loot before celebrating))

Markus thought, referencing the other bandit hideouts he's seen while playing the game, he then tried to reach for the door.

But as always his cautious (almost to the point of paranoia) nature got the better of him as he stopped to unsheathe his blade and prepare a spell before opening the door.

((It could be a trap from a surviving bandit, can't be too careful after all...))

Although Markus was using his [life sense] and [mana sense] skill and sensed that there was only one person behind that door kneeling on the ground, he couldn't help but be paranoid as thanks to the situation he finds himself in, he is immensely distrustful of anything that comes his way, thoroughly analyzing his surroundings with a constant feeling of anxiety dominating his heart.

((There isn't a shortage of people who can evade detection skills, especially that is not fully developed such as mine...))

Markus carefully pulled the wooden door that was already partially opened slowly with his trusty katana at the ready in order to slice through any potential trap that could jump out at him behind that door.

But contrary to Markus's worries, behind the door really was just a tied up little girl, at least that how it seemed.

((Eh?...A noble?))

She was about his age, with light green hair, amber eyes, fair skin and refined features despite her young age, she wore simple looking but expensive clothes Markus could tell thanks to his 5 days of experiencing a noble's life.

((Wait!? What's if it's a mage in disguise? Or is this kid also a bandit dressing as a captive?))

Markus put up his sword in a ready for battle position.

Tears were welling up in her eyes at she looked at the ominous masked figure wearing an imposing black cloak and baring a sword against her that just came through the door, confused and scared at what's going to happen to her now.

((No...her reaction seems too spot on for this too be a trap, maybe I'm just being too paranoid...))

Seeing this Markus finally relaxed.

The girl still wasn't calm as she let out muffled cries of desperation.

"Mhm! Hmm!"

Seeing this, even the usually robotic and endlessly calm Markus was finding difficulties in knowing what to do.

((...this again?))

Markus thought noticing the similarities between this current scenario he finds himself in and that time where he rescued Kiara and Clara, letting out a tired sigh.

((For an antagonist I sure do find myself in a lot of situations where I have to play the goodie two shoes and save the damsel in distress don't I?))

Markus scratched the back of his head in frustration as he slowly organises his words.

((Well at least it's not a main character this time...))

""You don't look too hurt so I'll cut your restraints loose now""

The moment Markus's voice cut out, the ropes and cloth use to restraint her fell off instantly, there was no wind pressure or sound, just an invisible "thing" that cut her loose.

Seeing his mastery with the blade, the girl was stuck in awe, making her unable to say anything even when the cloth that muffled her came off.

""Do you need some healing? Can you stand? If so do you know how to get yourself home? Or do I need me to take you to the capital?""

Although it was a bad idea to overwhelm a fearful, confused and vulnerable young girl with such questions right now, Markus was one of little if any social interaction skills as unlike his other mental prowesses, his interpersonal intelligence was less than that of a 5 year old with avoidant personality disorder so he insensitively bombarded the girl with queries.

"Erm Eh...I uh..."

The girl stuttered repeatedly as she couldn't gather her words due to a combination of surprise, stress, fear and confusion.

""What? Is your throat dry? You have been muffled up with a dirty dry cloth for a while so I guess that's natural...here, you need some water?""

In a misguided attempt to be considerate, Markus reached into the pockets of his cloak and pulled out a water canister before handing it to the girl.

"..."

If the girl didn't know what to say before now she was completely silent at this incredible mind boggling situation she finds herself in.

Despite looking like an actual devil from the underworld, this person before her just freed her from her captors and is now showing genuine concern for her well-being even though he just met her, the disparity between his outward appearance and his demeanour right now was too much to process.

"Ah...thank you"

But that couldn't stop her for long as her throat really was burning so she gratefully accepted the man's kind offer and started chugging the water he gave down, pushing all other thoughts away temporarily.

((Good, she seems to be mostly fine for now))

Subtly checking the girl's physical condition, Markus was relieved that she was fine, not because he cared about her or anything, it would've just been distasteful of him to leave a young girl in critical condition when he has the power to heal her.

""So back on topic, who are you?...No wait, never mind don't tell me, it would be a bad idea to have your identity known by a shady individual such as I...do you need help getting home? I can take you to the capital to request help from the authorities if you need it""

Markus stroked his chin and considered his options.

"Erm, yes? You are from the capital?"

The girl finally gathered her courage and spoke, her voice was a bit broken and she stuttered here and there but she managed to form a sentence coherent enough for Markus to understand.

""Something like that, wait here a bit...I'll take you there and then you can decide what to do...oh! One more thing, please don't tell you friends and family or anyone really about what you saw here, forget everything that happened tonight and just return to your normal life""

Markus told the girl and began walking back towards the door intending to inspect he rest of the bandit's hideout for treasure and any other captives.

"Wait! Who are you?"

The girl reached out to Markus before he could leave out the door, wanting to learn her saviour's name.

""Me? Hmm...that's a difficult question""

((I told her not to give me her name so I probably should do the same...))

Markus pondered what to say.

""I guess I'll use that name that the public called me...I'm the black demon, just another one of your local thief slayer prowling in the night, nothing special""

After some consideration, Markus settled with this answer.

"Black demon?..."

The girl was speechless after Markus's self introduction.

After that Markus left through the door and began to raid for any riches the bandits had.

There wasn't anything like a fortune in this little woodland cottage but it did have enough for what Markus was intending to do.

((Adding this up to the money that I've stolen from the criminals and other bandits I've subjugated over the pass 5 days...it should be enough))

Markus said, putting the gold he found deep within the bandit's headquarters in the pouch he brought with him, he had a plan for what to do with all this loot later.

((I did make a promise after all...))

After making sure that he had ransacked every coin and dime that was in this little cottage, Markus left, bringing the kidnapped girl with him to the capital.

???'s POV:

(So much has happened today...I think I'll never forget it for the rest of my life)

The girl thought reflecting on today's events.

(Being kidnapped on my trip to the capital Millelith, getting rescued by a stranger in a mask, this feeling is a bit overwhelming to be honest...)

Suffice to say she has had more than enough doses of excitement for the rest of her life.

Going from being a respected young lady of nobility to being held hostage by bandits, such an experience could be life changing for her age.

(But...seriously who is this person?)

The girl desperately wanted to know the name of the person before her right now.

She was currently being piggy backed carried by him to the capital.

The speed he was travelling at exceeded any carriage she had ever traveled on as he effortlessly traversed the woods from the mist valley to the capital.

But nothing could beat that time when he first lifted her up on his back and jumped off the cliff like it was so natural.

This caused her to wail and screamed as she thought that she was going to die.

But contrary to her expectations, he landed safely like a cat and without a single scratch on him or her.

(I really seriously want to know more about him...his swordsmanship was astounding!)

The girl was like a maiden in love as she couldn't get the image of the boy's majestic sword out of her head.

This continued until they both had arrived at the capital, the boy let her down before the guard station near the wall and just as sudden as he appeared into her life, vanished into nothingness.

Leaving her with a strange feeling of emptiness and longing to know more about him.

(How unfortunate...)

But one thing was now clear to her, for the first time in her life as a noble where everything was fed to her on a silver plate, she truly wanted something she had something she needed to pursue.

"I want to learn swordsmanship..."

The girl said knowing what to do once she got back to her family.

Markus's POV:

Since Markus had already taken his 20 minute power nap earlier he had sufficient enough energy to work on something through the night.

After coming back to the mansion, Markus once again cleaned and stored his equipment back under the floor board before continuing on to his next course of action.

""Now let's see here...""

Markus poured all the gold he had on the floor next to him and began planning.

""I did told Zen that I would improve the Silver's conditions so let's get started""

Grabbing a certain vial of black liquid, Markus began his experiments.

An experiment that will soon change the very nature of the house of Silver.