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【Ruffians】
Wielding swords and daggers, over twenty ruffians rushed at just four people.
A magician wouldn’t have time to chant, and even a knight wouldn't be able to cut down ten men.
They were a group of former adventurers, soldiers, and thieves after all. With so many of them, they couldn't possibly lose to mere nobodies.
Yet an impossible sight was happening right before their eyes.
Two knights each took on an opponent. The brat claiming to be royalty stood by the wall, reading his staff to chant a spell.
So, what about the remaining ruffians?
"Guh!"
"Nngh!"
"Eek!"
From the moment five men were blown away, everyone realized something was terribly wrong.
When the tenth man was punched in the stomach and sent tumbling into the wall, the unease turned into fear.
"Weapons are dangerous, you know," the woman said as if she were gently reprimanding a breach of table manners and broke the sword she had grabbed bare-handed.
That alone was unusual, but the manner in which she did it was beyond belief.
Three swords had been swung at her. She had dodged one, deflected another with one hand, grabbed the unsheathed blade of the third with her other hand, and crushed it.
The sword broke in half, and the tip fell to the floor.
For some reason, everyone's eyes were drawn to the falling blade.
A silence fell over the room as if sound itself had vanished. Everyone held their breath as they looked at the woman, and the sound of someone gulping echoed.
In the silence, the woman swung her arm, knocking out three men.
Grown men lay sprawled on the floor.
"… D-Demon King…"
For some reason, the knight accompanying the woman muttered with a pale face.
The woman gave him a sharp glance, and he turned away so quickly it was audible.
The woman sighed and turned toward us. "I'm done holding back. If you resist any further, I will use magic to fight."
As she held out her palm at us, we couldn't help blurting out.
"Holding back…?"
"Fight back? More like crush us…"
"Magic? That's a lie, right? Aren't you a hero-level martial artist…?"
Perhaps hearing our whispers, the woman furrowed her brow and narrowed her eyes. "Time's up. [Ice Twin Blades, Assassin's Edge]."
Four huge curved ice swords appeared around her. Seeing the cold air rising like smoke from the blades made us shiver from the core.
"W-Wait!"
"We surrender! We won't resist anymore!"
"P-please, spare us!"
Everyone who could still move screamed, kneeled down, and pressed their heads to the floor.
It was no good. This woman was a monster. We only had two choices: surrender quietly or resist and be killed. Instinct told us escape was impossible.
Boss, please don't provoke her.
Praying silently, we prostrated on the spot.
【Female Boss】
After listening to my subordinate’s report, I sighed and stood up.
I kicked over the small table beside me, breaking it.
I sneered. "It's not like the knights have stormed in. Don't panic and let the customers escape. They won't even make it to the second floor anyway."
But my subordinate looked hesitant and retorted, "No, this time isn't just any knights or guards. Especially that terrifying woman—"
"Don't talk nonsense!" I reflexively yelled and kicked my subordinate's head.
Looking down at my fallen subordinate bleeding from the mouth, my anger subsided a bit.
"Tch, I don't like this. A woman, huh? A woman scarier than me, huh?" I clicked my tongue. Suppressing my irritation, I headed towards the casino.
"Alright, we're done for today. Pack it up," I told the dealer in black, who nodded quietly and started moving.
Some customers grumbled, but no one wanted to be caught, so the evacuation proceeded smoothly.
The back door was at the bottom of the stairs. If they came straight at us, we might run into them before escaping, but that wouldn't happen.
However, it bothered me a bit that my subordinate, who had been through this many times, was panicking so much.
… As well as the woman who had scared him so much.
"… Let's check downstairs." I turned towards the stairs. Normally, I would escape immediately and set the building on fire, but this time, I wanted to see what kind of woman she was.
"I'm going down. You guys get the customers out."
"Yes!"
I opened the door to the stairs. The dark stairwell was faintly lit.
As I started down, I heard a sound from below.
The screams of men.
There was also the sound of intense sword fighting, and the floor shook as if something heavy hit the wall.
There shouldn't have been that many people, but from the sounds, it seemed my men were at a disadvantage.
What the hell was happening?
As I descended the stairs, screams and shouts echoed repeatedly, but the fight showed no signs of ending.
I reached the bottom of the stairs and peered through the gap between the shelves.
What I saw was a woman knocking three men armed with swords with her bare hands.
"W-what… the hell is that…"
One glance told me she wasn't normal.
The woman broke a sword with her bare hand.
The moment I realized that, I turned towards the back door.
"This is no joke. I'll deal with knights or nobles, but I won't mess with a monster like that."
The customers were coming down too. I should open the back door and escape quickly.
Thinking that, I unlocked the back door and grabbed the handle.
But it wouldn't budge.
"… It's unlocked? Why, why... No, I can just get out through the window…"
I hurriedly used my sword to break the boarded-up window, making an exit.
But even though I could see outside, an invisible wall blocked my escape. While I struggled, the customers started gathering on the stairs.
I stabbed my sword at the invisible wall, but it was easily deflected.
"W-what's going on…" I subconsciously muttered in confusion.
Immediately, there was a loud crashing sound behind me. I turned around and saw that the shelves had been destroyed, and light from the next room shone through.
And in the light stood the silhouette of a girl.
Surrounded by white mist or cold air, she walked towards us, emitting a ghostly glow.
"… Oh, that saved us the trouble of going upstairs." The woman smiled, looking at us.
"...! You guys, come down!" I shouted while positioning myself to guard the back door. Holding two swords, I pointed them at the woman's face.
Armed men came down with heavy footsteps. Three men in black could use magic too. They could attack from the top of the stairs.
The hallway was narrow. We could crush her with numbers from both sides.
I kicked the fleeing customers to clear my sight.
From the top of the stairs, some of my men were holding swords and preparing spells. I pointed my dual swords at her and took a stance.
Despite that, the woman's smile deepened. "I'm glad you didn't run away. Now, surrender."