Calika Nehu: Current Events
With the help of the cavalry, the merchants' caravan was detained on charges of kidnapping.
When they saw me, they mistook me for someone from the Rozak family and cooperated with the search.
But the black-haired child we found wasn' t Elda.
"There' s no one else! Where did you hide Elda?!"
I shouted loudly at the merchant, who shook his head, pleading that there was truly no one else.
"Search again!"
I ordered the ice soldiers and the slaves to search thoroughly once more, without holding back.
"Ah! Found one! There' s an unconscious child hidden in a chest!"
"I found one in a secret compartment under the carriage!"
"There' s a hidden compartment on the roof too! They stuffed a child in there!"
"Under the carriage as well!"
"Rip apart every carriage!"
Rokta ordered the soldiers to dismantle the carriages piece by piece, in case any spots were missed.
After the dismantling, the soldiers and slaves brought out over ten children, whose appearances and complexions were noticeably better than the first group, and laid them out for me to see.
The merchants were immediately arrested on kidnapping charges.
But among those children, Elda was still nowhere to be found.
"Elda…"
Still in shock, I was jolted by a booming announcement echoing across the kingdom.
--- This is an announcement from the Main Branch of the Adventurer' s Office ---
--- With authorization from His Majesty, King Revven Strike, Supreme Ruler of the Tatentai Kingdom ---
--- We hereby declare a state of emergency! I repeat, a state of emergency! ---
I couldn' t process the rest of the announcement.
My body trembled with fear as I turned back toward the slums I had come from.
If the merchants didn' t take her, then Elda is still in there…?!
"Back to the slums! Now! Right now!"
*****
Roja, Leader of the Dismantling Team, Sub-Unit 5, [Radiant Fang] Guild
I activated my stealth skill again, leaping from rooftop to rooftop.
I had to be cautious—the slum houses were fragile. Some roofs collapsed under my weight, others caved in entirely, and the worst ones brought the whole house down.
I scanned the area, analyzing everything instantly.
That kid couldn' t have pulled the dagger out herself. Judging by her weak struggles when I pried out her fang, someone must have taken her. The question is, was it a rescue or a kidnapping?
Given the state of emergency announcement, it' s more likely a kidnapping.
I glanced back at the house I' d left.
No, not yet. It' s not time to reveal myself.
I shook off the thought and continued my search.
People were moving in one direction—out of the slums.
As I scanned the surroundings, something caught my eye, something that didn' t belong in the slums.
A large caravan of carriages, heavily guarded.
I didn' t know where that kid was, so I decided to check it out.
I leaped to the last carriage and kicked the window, shattering it.
This one was filled with treasures.
"Hey, what the hell?!"
I jumped to the next carriage and did the same.
The guards started panicking, trying to find the cause, but between the chaos of the fleeing crowd and my stealth skill, they couldn' t figure out why the windows were breaking on their own. They just ran to report to the caravan' s owner.
I leaped across the carriages, landing on the one belonging to the owner.
As the carriage moved, the owner opened the door to hear the report about the broken windows.
I seized the moment, ducking down to peer inside.
There she was.
I reached in, grabbed her collar, and yanked her head out of the carriage. With my other hand, I drew my dagger, stabbed the owner' s throat, and pulled him out, letting him collapse onto the ground.
I rolled into the carriage, grabbed the black-haired kid, and leaped back the way I came.
My stealth skill only cloaked me, so the guards could still see the kid I was carrying.
Some of them fled since their employer was dead, but the loyal ones chased after me for revenge.
While leaping across rooftops, I nearly lost my balance because the kid kept squirming.
"Keep struggling, and I' ll kill you."
She stopped moving and glanced back.
"Trash like them can' t save you."
Mid-leap, the kid bit my arm. Even with only one fang left, it hurt like hell.
As my foot hit the next roof, I slammed my fist into her face.
She endured it and bit down harder, so I punched her with all my strength.
"Ow!"
Her fang came loose as she screamed.
I grabbed her hair, raising my foot to kick her, but she spat blood from her mouth onto my face. I dodged, but it still hit half my face.
I kicked her hard, sending her crashing through the roof of the house ahead.
At that moment, an arrow struck me in the back.
"Guh!"
Luckily, my leather armor stopped it from piercing my organs.
I stomped on the roof, collapsing it to fall inside and dodge more arrows that narrowly missed me.
That damn kid deliberately caused a scene to make me a sitting target and spat blood to mark my position.
Since it was someone else' s blood, my stealth skill didn' t work.
Wiping it only exposed me more, and there was no water nearby. I removed my leather armor, used my shirt to wipe my face, and put it back on.
I came back to kill a stray monster and smear its blood on myself, so I could claim to Jaigia that the others didn' t escape in time, but I managed to save the kid.
That was the plan, but I' m done with this brat.
I pulled the arrow from my back and used it to stab one of the attackers who rushed into the house, driving it into his eye.
I dodged a counterattack, lunged forward, grabbed his sword, and forced it into his throat.
He resisted, but I punched his nose, driving the sword deeper.
Another one broke through the window. I yanked the sword free and spun, slashing diagonally, killing him in one strike.
Blood sprayed over me from the throat wound, forcing me to deactivate my stealth skill.
As I prepared to leave the house to finish the kid, two tanks burst through opposite walls, shields raised.
I jumped back, pinned against the wall.
Before the tanks collided, they pivoted, raising their shields and pointing swords at me. Another tank blocked the side, cutting off my escape.
Dozens of arrows flew over the tanks from all directions, except behind me, where the wall stood.
I slammed the wall to knock it down, but it barely budged, as if something was blocking it.
I ducked instead, but a wind spell redirected the arrows downward.
I swung my sword, deflecting four or five, then turned to shield my vital areas.
Pain seared through my back. Before I could react, the wooden wall collapsed, pinning me. Some arrows, pressed by the debris, pierced my organs, and I coughed up blood.
Trapped under the rubble, they set me ablaze with fire magic.
"Arghhh!"
*****
After Roja was burned alive using the wooden debris as fuel, their leader ordered the tanks to tighten their shield formation into a circle.
Archers took positions on rooftops, drawing their bows.
Fire and wind mages intensified the flames.
The louder Roja' s screams of agony, the more satisfied they felt, avenging their master.
Their enemy finally broke through the burning wood, skin blistered and charred, the stench of burnt flesh stinging their noses.
He writhed in the flames, screaming. They watched with glee before the leader ordered the archers to fire.
Over thirty arrows pierced his body, riddling it with holes.
He collapsed, charred and lifeless.
They lowered their weapons and shields, stepping back as the leader approached after the fire mages extinguished the flames.
He grabbed Roja' s head, raising his sword to sever it for their master' s grave.
But the "corpse" opened its eyes, lunged, and bit into his throat, tearing out flesh.
It chewed briefly before spitting it out.
"Ptoo! Edible enough."
Before they could retreat, their leader' s chest was pierced by the enemy' s hand, which gripped his spine.
Roja yanked his hand back, pulling out the spine and organs, then slaughtered the rest with inhuman strength.
He dodged swords and arrows effortlessly, killing by tearing bodies apart or ripping out organs.
The more blood soaked him, the faster his charred skin healed.
In under five minutes, none of them remained.
*****
Roja, Leader of the Dismantling Team, Sub-Unit 5, [Radiant Fang] Guild
Hiding my identity for so long weakened my body, letting those fools get the better of me.
I took their clothes to replace my burned ones.
After dressing, I grabbed a bow and arrows, leaped onto a rooftop, and drew the string taut.
Enough of that brat.
I sniffed the air to track her.
Once I had her location, I aimed the bow and fired with superhuman strength, shattering the bow.
The arrow tore through everything in its path—old wooden houses were no obstacle.
Soon, I heard her scream, then silence.
She wasn' t dead—likely covering her mouth.
Lucky for her, I wasn' t at full strength. I aimed for her head, but her labored breathing suggested I hit her lung.
I wanted to finish her, but footsteps of a large group—probably adventurers—were approaching. From the opposite direction, countless monsters roared. If I didn' t retreat now, I' d be trapped.
If she survives, I' ll track her down and silence her later.
I withdrew, finding a hiding spot to wait out the clash between the adventurers and monsters. Then, I' d smear monster blood on myself.
I could claim I was knocked out during an attack and only woke up to the sound of fighting.
After that, I' d get a healer to treat me. As a mere dismantler, I could stay in the rear, safe from danger.