1.5

As soon as the three left, I slammed my foot on the ground. Stone walls came up on all the exits, trapping the bitch. With this in place, there would be no escaping either of us. Not that Granhiert would be trying anytime soon, going by the disgusting smile on her face.

"My, Hachiman," She held her cheek in her hand as she continued to stare at me, "If you really wanted some alone time for us, you could have just asked."

"Fuck off. Astrea."

The Sword Saint flew forwards with nary a sound. The blade I had given him came in for a whirlwind of strikes that I could barely follow. Had it been any other opponent, I would have no doubt seen a massacre right then and there.

Unfortunately, it wasn't to be.

The pair of kukris I made proved themselves to be formidable enough to stand up to Astrea's blows, just as the Bowel Hunter proved herself to be just as dangerous by keeping up with his speed.

I couldn't have that happening, now could I?

I slammed my foot down on the floor. The soft wood gave way to hardened earth, spikes protruding from the ground. They weren't large by any means, but they were enough to have any combatant lose their footing if they weren't careful.

Something I didn't have to worry about Astrea and his bullshit.

Indeed, I watched as the Sword Saint walked as if the ground was as flat as before, while Granhiert fumbled around for a second. It was a second that we took to our advantage. I enhanced my body, especially my legs, to go faster than I normally could. I could see Astrea go for the kill as well as he pivoted the moment I started sprinting towards the Bowel Hunter.

Both our blades were at the woman, mine a low slash to her feet while Astrea's a stab towards her heart. In a show of dexterity, Granhiert folded in herself and went between death. Her blades came forward just a moment after, aiming for my throat.

Astrea jumped in between us and deflected with a gust of air.

For a moment, all of us separated.

The entire exchange lasted for less than a minute.

Granhiert smiled, "Your reputation precedes you, Reinhard van Astrea." She brandished her kukris, "I'm getting excited to see if your insides are any different than the norm."

"I am sorry to say that you will never find out." The quiet confidence that Astrea exuded was an impressive feat. Any other person would have at least cracked out a scowl. Meanwhile, he only stared impassively at Granhiert.

After all, why wouldn't he have that sort of confidence? The man was, by all senses of the word, a monster. Even someone like me knew that. The sheer amount of Divine Blessings the man had could have him flatten just about anyone and anything in a near instant.

Except he both couldn't, and wouldn't.

Using his abilities within the capital, for one, would most likely cause some sort of diplomatic incident. It's not everyday that the Sword Saint would fight anyone, let alone someone in the capital. Doing so would push a heap of bureaucracy over on Astrea's head. And it didn't take a genius to see that, for all the honor that Astrea spouted and exuded, even he wasn't exactly a fan of politics.

Hell, even I wouldn't wish the horror of medieval politics over someone. Maybe my worst enemy, but only as a last resort.

Secondly, he couldn't use any magic because I was here. Doing his truly powerful abilities would drain the mana in the air into whatever he used. Doing so would make me less than useless - I'd be just a hostage that Granhiert could use to gain an advantage.

Put that together, and you find a Sword Saint and a blacksmith fighting a mass murderer on equal footing.

Not a good look, to be sure.

…

Uselessness is something I've always struggled with. It's something that's been hammered into me for a long time. Even during my time in the Service Club, it was hammered into me. I can admit this now, that those small jabs that Yukinoshita would often throw at me would occasionally hit a bit too close to home.

It wasn't the times that she insulted my eyes. I'd already known they were more than a bit fucked, so having someone pointing those out was nothing more than a formality.

It wasn't the times that she insulted my looks. I'd accepted, and was continually reminded by people the likes of Hayama, that I was not objectively attractive to the population at large. I just didn't have that boy band-esque look to me, I suppose.

It was the time she called me useless. I hated that, and the one time she did call that out to me, I shot back with far more vitriol than our usual banter.

As lazy as I was, as degenerate, self-loathing as I was, I refused to be even called useless. Useless implied that the effort that I had put into anything I did would be for naught. Those sleepless nights I spent studying to get into Soubu. The days I would try and get home as early as I could so that Komachi wouldn't be alone. All the things we did for Isshiki, Kawasaki, hell, even Zaimokuza.

The moment she called me useless, she spat on the effort that I put into that. Apparently, Yukinoshita got the message, and had never mentioned it again. Something I appreciated.

But now, I found something I hated more than uselessness.

The time between Granhiert cornering me for her kukris and today, I had not been idle. I kept an ear to the ground to find out what she had been doing with the weapons I made. It wasn't pretty. Assassinations that had the same gut-opening deaths. Massacres where the victims were all strung up by their intestines. Many others that I tried to push out of my mind.

Because the moment I gave those kukris to Granhiert, I became something worse than useless. I became nothing more than an accessory to murder.

It was why, despite all logic and reason telling me to let Astrea handle this on his own, despite knowing this all the way back to my shop, I came along.

Everything that Granhiert has done since then, I had a hand in. The lives lost to her were all my responsibility. It was a responsibility that I intended to see the end to.

And I'd be damned if I let anyone else let me shirk that off.

…

I dodged to my right as the Bowel Hunter came at me once more. I lifted my sword to parry the blade that came from my neck. At my side, Astrea's arm shot up to try and cut her arm off. With how durable this bitch is, and Astrea holding himself back, he wouldn't be able to cut through as easily as he could.

Not without help.

My other hand grabbed at Granhiert and pushed as much yin mana through. As soon as I did that, I could see a moment of alarm came upon her features as Astrea's sword came in to carve a good bit of tendon. The kukri held in that arm fell to the ground in a loud clang, as Granhiert lashed out wildly.

"Ah, to think, you would be able to make me feel this way, Hachiman." She jumped back again, but her arm was now completely useless.

It wasn't to last.

The shack around us was ruined. If I were a health inspector, the moment I saw this place, I'd label it unfit for habitation, period. Glass shards and alcohol littered the ground, as the remnants of tables and chairs were haphazardly thrown about. There was a hole in the ceiling, and I had a feeling we'd be hearing rumors of it raining chairs in the coming days.

With a wet squelching sound, both Astrea and I watched in abject horror as the mangled limb started knitting itself together. I knew that she had a healing ability, or at least the ability to ignore pain, but this was absurd. Even Argyle had to take a minute or two to heal a limb like that, and this bitch had done it without any visible magic.

A soft 'clink' could be heard just as she adjusted her stance, the heels she wore echoing in the silence left after her healing.

"Don't you know it's rude to stare at a maiden like that?" Had it truly be a maiden, it would have looked adorable with how she blushed. Knowing who this was, it made me feel more pissed than anything.

If she could keep regenerating like that, then it didn't matter how much we hurt her. Even containing her would be an issue - she could realistically throw herself at any defense until it eventually broke. And with how she acted to pain, she would love every fucking second of it.

A monster, one that was the complete opposite of Astrea.

I could see Astrea come to the same conclusion. We needed to end this. Now.

I held my sword in one hand as I held out my other one. A bright pink crystal layer started forming. While yin was tied to the concept of debuffs, nobody told anyone that those debuffs couldn't also be a projectile. The spell I was forming was admittedly less a spell, and more of a mass of yin mana to debuff everything I needed to.

Strength, durability, it was all supposed to disappear once something got hit by this. At the corner of my eye, I could see Astrea widen his eyes, before a small smile formed as he readied himself. He knew what I was going to do, probably one of his Divine Blessings.

Granhiert prepared herself as well, engaging into a low stance to dodge it. She couldn't bum rush me, not with the Sword Saint ready to defend at a moment's notice. She could only realistically wait for me to finish.

Too bad then.

As soon as the crystal reached its apex, I slammed it onto the ground. The remaining floorboards shattered into dust, as the ground and earth beneath disintegrated into sand. In an instant, the three of us were now knee deep into an extremely uneven surface, with no footing whatsoever.

At least, Granhiert was. Astrea was doing fine, while I had strengthened the ground beneath my feet so that I wouldn't be affected.

I saw Granhiert stumble in confusion. I saw Astrea take full advantage of it,disappearing and reappearing in front of her. I saw his blade go for a crippling blow, one that would make it so that we could capture her in the short term.

I didn't see the giant fuck off boar come barrelling through the slums.

I dove to the side, just barely avoiding being trampled to death. The boar made a mad dash towards the two other combatants, and from on top of it, I could see a flash of blue. Damn, Natsuki was right. Somehow, Astrea had missed this thing and Granhiert's accomplice.

Shit.

"Elsa!"

The voice of a young girl. I watched as Astrea backed off at the last second. Turning my head behind me, I could see why. A multitude of mabeasts were pouring out the forest. Instead of just the wolgarms that Natsuki warned us about, there was a whole slew of them. Arkalbs, majira, orthus, and even a fucking guiltylowe. This was becoming an untenable situation, and fast.

In the distance, I could hear the bells of the kingdom ring out, no doubt warning the populace of the sudden invasion. In a few minutes, the knights of the kingdom would come down on this place like the hand of God.

At this point, we just might need it.

"Meili!" Granhiert's smile, for the first time, faded, as actual worry flooded her features. It was disconcerting.

Astrea and I held back from attacking, not wishing to give our backs to the mabeasts. Or, well, I suppose I didn't want to give my back to them. At any rate, I watched as the blue haired girl jumped from the back of the wagpig and engaged in a furious conversation with the mass murderer.

A sinking feeling drove its way into me.

This girl. Granhiert called her Meili, just as she called her Elsa. This wasn't a case of the girl being held as a hostage. No, if anything, the girl could kill Granhiert with how she was a mabeast tamer of all things.

These two knew each other. I would hazard to say that they shared some sort of sibling relationship. I recognized the way the Bowel Hunter looked at the girl. It was hard not to, when I could distinctly remember looking at Komachi the same way when she would do something that could cause her to get hurt.

"Hikigaya-san." The Sword Saint spoke, "Are they…?"

"Yeah." I nodded grimly, "Do what you need to do, Astrea. I'm getting to safety."

This was now beyond my responsibility. Though I felt bitter that I would never resolve this myself, the appearance of these mabeasts and a mabeast tamer now took precedence. If I selfishly tried to stay here, I would risk the lives of the kingdom's people.

I wouldn't dare soak my already bloody hands even more.

"I'm afraid that I cannot let that happen." Granhiert had finished their conversation, it seemed. She bore a look that was completely different from before. Previously, she had held a look of being near constant euphoria. As if fighting the Sword Saint and myself had given her the height of pleasure.

Now? Now she looked like how you would imagine the Bowel Hunter would truly be.

Cold. Calculating. The grip on her single kukri was held loosely, but firmly enough that I wouldn't discount her throwing it at me.

"I truly regret this, Hachiman." She sighed in disappointment, "But I'll have to cut this meeting of ours short."

The only warning I had was the shifting of the sand.

Then, a kukri staring at me.

It struck me, just as I had strengthened my eyeball. In a shower of sparks, the blade bounced off, but fuck me that hurt.

Astrea was on her immediately. The two exchanged blows faster than ever, both of them going faster and faster. The comparison to how she was before was blown out of the water. All this time, she had been holding back. To play with her 'food'.

Now, the Bowel Hunter was, by all metrics, going all out.

The sand beneath us started to whip up from the gusts of wind that the two's blows produced. Several trees and homes were left with gashes in them from the sheer force of the battle going on. Meanwhile, I stood off to the side, not able to do anything.

To get in between these two would be suicide.

Instead, I searched for the other target. The young girl named Meili. She had control over the mabeasts, which meant that she was perhaps even more dangerous than Granhiert. I strengthened my legs, just as I strengthened the ground beneath my foot for every step I took.

The mass of mabeasts started to move. Unfortunately for them, I was still faster. I glided past Astrea and saw my target. She was getting back on the wagpig, and with the direction she was facing, they were aiming to escape in the forest.

With a grimace, I prepared another ball of yin mana. This time, it wouldn't be going to the floor. No, this time, I was aiming for someone. I would hate myself even more after this, but the girl needed to be taken down before she did any more damage.

As the crystal formed once more in my hand, it was a shock to me when Granhiert came flying in front of me. Her face was a snarl of fury, as her kukri came down on my head. I barely had time to block. I was flung back, right into the teeth of a wolgarm.

I didn't hesitate to cut it down.

Just as I didn't hesitate to cut down the arkalb that tried to slither their way towards my legs.

"Do not involve her." Her voice was a lot more cutting, lacking the sultry tone. I preferred this, to be completely honest. There was no mistaking the face of a murderer with how she talked now.

"Too late for that." I spat out, "Dragging children into your line of work? And here I thought you couldn't have gone lower."

Goddammit, where the hell did Astrea go? He was fighting her less than a minute ago!

It was with a quick look-around that I realized what had happened. The orthus, and the guiltylowe were gone. A set of tracks in the sand showed that they were heading towards the capital's center. Shit. Astrea had to deal with those first. Even if the man had the whole honor of a knight going on for him, the lives of the people were far more important than a blacksmith like myself.

What's worse, is that I could see the bulky wagpig head off with the mabeast tamer in tow.

Just as I was preparing to fight the Bowel Hunter by myself, a commotion from the still swarming sea of mabeasts dragged our attention. A huge body, with an equally huge club was carving its way towards us.

Rom, with Felt and Natsuki riding on his back.

"Yosh! Blacksmith-san! We're here to help!"

I have to admit, as far as protagonists go, he has the timing down flat.

…

"This, I'm afraid, is where we part." As the four of us cleared the mabeasts that had started to swarm us, Granhiert had watched impassively. Her stance was completely relaxed, as if she knew that nothing we could do could harm her.

It irked me to know that she was right.

She was way too fast for any of us, even Felt. All we would do is give her a light bit of exercise.

Still, her words made me pause. It was not like an assassin like her to just give up.

I watched as she shrugged at my confused glare, "My employer preferred that none of this be too public." She casually stated. Whoever her employer was, they were either on Granhiert's shitlist to expose them like that, or they couldn't care less about their plans being spelled out like that, "And in the event that it did, I would not let myself be captured. Continuing our little battle only gives the Sword Saint more time to do just that."

With a turn of her heel, she started walking into the forest. The mabeasts near her parted, and covered her as she passed. Her last words, barely heard through the growls and grunts, "Do take care of that, Hachiman. I would like that back someday."

As one, the mabeasts started to back up, daring us to get close. While I was confident in my ability to take care of myself against mindless beasts, these were not mindless. These were all controlled by someone still. With that in mind, the only logical solution was to let the Bowel Hunter leave.

Soon enough, the only things that showed that she was ever here was the kukri she left on the ground.

And the bitter anger she left me with.

…