Chapter 33
Chapter 33
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Nirua was the last descendant of an assassin family that had served the Alloze for generations.
As befitting his profession, all of his distant relatives or close kin had died early on in battle or in the shadows.
He didn't resent his profession. He had his own pride in it.
'Nirua, we can live thanks to the clear water of Alloze. We must protect it.'
Nirua's father had taught him that way.
'But don't follow just anyone. You must constantly doubt whether your lord is worthy of serving, whether he is worthy of the loyalty of our Shadow Swordsmen Clan.'
He always said that a true loyalist should always doubt his lord.
'And Father returned as a corpse.'
It was said to be an Argenta attack.
It was only a few days after the previous Duke Argenta and his wife had died.
'Something's strange. Stay home, I have something to look into.'
Those were his father's last words before he returned to Nirua as a cold corpse.
While everyone was furious, he alone had different thoughts.
His father had disguised himself as an ordinary person using the Shadow Swordsmen Clan's secret disguise technique.
He didn't have the strength to fix his disguise after death, so he returned with the disguise almost completely peeled off, but Nirua could recognize him.
Argenta killed his father, who was disguised as an ordinary person?
Even the Argenta Dukedom, which was in chaos after the death of Duke Argenta and his wife?
Dielo Argenta, who was so young and weak that he couldn't even burn a bug with that flame?
After his father's death, the Dukedom became corrupt. They committed all sorts of atrocities, and he even felt a sense of futility.
Nirua quietly harbored doubts about Duke Alloze.
In the midst of all this, he heard the news of the marriage of the illegitimate daughter, Krua.
'I definitely didn't see her awaken as a Pero.'
The Shadow Swordsmen Clan's secret technique, disguise, which could conceal magical power.
Nirua, who had mastered it, could sense the subtle magical power emanating from Pero.
But Krua Alroze didn't exude such magical power until the day she left.
He had been suspicious, and he had finally learned the truth not long ago.
"Hah, hah...!"
And he was being chased relentlessly.
It was already the third time he had almost been caught and killed.
He was reaching his limit.
"Stop right there!"
Would he stop if they told him to?
Nirua cursed inwardly and pushed his legs, which felt like they were about to give way.
The Alloze's assassination squad was tenacious.
He knew it better than anyone else, since he had been a member of it himself.
Was this how he was going to die?
"Just give up now!"
In the short moment he thought he had closed and opened his eyes.
He was already surrounded by Alloze assassins.
—Swish!
The sound of swords being drawn echoed from all directions.
—Whoosh...!
Just as he thought the sound of the river flowing nearby was unusually loud.
The Alloze assassins gathered water in the air and created wolf shapes.
"Ugh...!"
Nirua also tried to move the river water, but it was no use.
He could also use the Alloze's ability, but the abilities of the other assassins around him were suppressing him.
"Eat him without leaving a trace."
The assassins gestured.
Then the wolves made of water slowly approached Nirua.
"..."
Nirua gripped his sword tightly for the last time.
That's when it happened.
—Ooooo!
The wolves, which had been howling loudly, suddenly turned around.
"What, what is it!"
The wolves bared their teeth at the bewildered assassins.
In an instant, sharp teeth covered them.
"Ugh!"
Seven of the ten assassins who had been trying to attack Nirua were instantly defeated.
But there were still ten wolves left.
If the person controlling the water died, shouldn't the wolves turn back into water?
This meant that the owner of these wolves was someone else.
"…Someone with such powerful Water Manipulation Ability was at Tilla Pass?"
That's when Nirua muttered to himself.
"Ugh!"
The assassins, who had been the predators, instantly became wolf food.
Without leaving a trace, just as they had ordered.
And the ten wolves looked to one side with a docile attitude, like puppies.
Appearing there was a woman with purplish-red hair.
"...Krua-nim?"
Could it be that she had such powerful Water Manipulation Ability that she could control ten wolves at once?
That couldn't be possible?
Nirua's eyes widened.
As expected, Nirua was being urgently chased.
"This way."
It was a very opportune moment when I went to rescue Nirua, guided by the Argenta informants.
—Ooooo!
The moment the water-made wolf figure was about to pounce on Nirua.
I paused for a moment, then steeled my heart and raised my trembling hand.
'This is something I have to do. Even to survive.'
When I clenched and unclenched my trembling hand once.
My hand flashed blue.
The ten assassins surrounding Nirua seemed to believe without a doubt that the wolves would tear Nirua apart.
But.
"Ugh!"
What they were controlling was ultimately water.
It was easy for me, who had a stronger Water Manipulation Ability, to take control of the water from them.
I even moved the sea, so there was no way I couldn't move this much water.
"!"
The surprised Nirua's eyes widened.
I lined up the wolves neatly and appeared in front of him.
"...Krua-nim?"
Nirua had an unbelievable expression.
Seeing that expression, I was convinced.
My current Water Manipulation Ability was incomparably stronger than the original Krua Alroze's.
Otherwise, there was no way Nirua would look at me and the wolves alternately with such an unbelievable face.
It was time to let Nirua make a choice.
"Shadow Swordsmen Clan's Nirua, right?"
Nirua paused at my words.
Then he lowered his head.
"...Yes. It's Nirua."
The Shadow Swordsmen Clan was not as good as the elemental domination abilities passed down in the three great families, but it was a family with unique abilities in 'disguise'.
That's why there were many who wanted them, and they hid their identities.
But it seemed like he had no intention of hiding from me. I liked that.
"I believe you know who I am."
I leisurely spread out my hand.
In fact, when you think about it, we were the ones in a hurry.
Because we needed the Shadow Swordsmen Clan's disguise technique.
But there was no point in revealing that we were at a disadvantage, right?
Above all, Dielo, who was sparkling his eyes to see my 'persuasion skills', was nearby.
I felt like I had to do better.
"You are Krua Alroze-nim."
Nirua bowed his head to me.
Even so, I could see him being wary of me. Of course, since 'that villainess' Krua Alroze had appeared.
Moreover, he had been betrayed by Duke Alloze.
He must be thinking that I and Duke Alloze were in a cooperative relationship.
I looked at him and opened my mouth.
"That's wrong."
Nirua raised his head at my words.
"I'm Krua Argenta."
Nirua paused at my words.
He clearly understood what I meant.
The reason I corrected the surname Alloze to Argenta was to indirectly reveal that I no longer wanted to belong to Alloze.
"I'll get straight to the point. According to Argenta's intelligence department..."
I slowly opened my mouth.
"You found out my secret, didn't you?"
Nirua pursed his lips into a straight line.
I could see the conflict in his eyes.
He probably never thought that Krua herself would suddenly appear on the scene, not someone else, and ask about his secret.
"As you know, that's a secret that would be troublesome if it were revealed."
At those words, Nirua's eyes flashed for a moment.
"!"
A strong murderous intent swept over me, making my whole body bristle.
The Argenta informants next to me noticed his murderous intent and were about to react immediately.
"Stay still."
I stopped them by raising only one hand.
"Are you truly following that plan, Krua-nim?"
In the meantime, Nirua asked.
At those words, I drew a curve at the corner of my mouth.
It was the question I had been waiting for.
That plan, the fake Pero plan.
He was asking if I was following the plan to use the blood of Alloze as a tool, if I was ultimately in cahoots with the Duke.
"No."
I shook my head lightly at those words.
"I'm Krua Argenta, as I said again. I've joined hands with Argenta, and I'm going to use that plan you know to strike Alloze."
My purplish-red hair fluttered in the gentle breeze.
"I have no intention of being used as a tool and dying."
Nirua's eyes sparkled at my words. Of course, it was a different look than before, when he had murderous intent.
I knew the answer he wanted.
"The power of Alloze should be used to protect Alloze. But even if I'm an illegitimate daughter, there's no way someone who uses his own bloodline as a tool without hesitation would be thinking of Alloze."
Nirua would probably think the same way.
"I don't trust the current Duke Alloze."
At my words, which were like driving a wedge, Nirua's eyes widened, as expected.
"I've heard that the Shadow Swordsmen Clan has a deep loyalty to Alloze. But since Duke Alloze is trying to kill you first, how about offering your abilities to me, another Alloze?"
I raised my head slightly.
"You pledge your loyalty to me, and I protect you from the Duke."
"…!"
Nirua swallowed hard.
If I was just the original Krua Alroze, Nirua might have hesitated.
Because my Water Manipulation Ability was so weak.
He wouldn't want to bet on a fight with no chance of winning.
"..."
Nirua's gaze turned to the water wolves I was controlling.
I let the wolves frolic as if to show off, then sent them back to the river.
—Splash!
The sound of the wolves jumping into the river could be heard in the distance.
The closer I got to the water, the more I felt it.
I felt confident that I could move that river even more greatly.
I spread out my hand.
—Chwaaaa!
At that moment, I felt the flow of the river as if I could grab it.
And the water soared up in my head in the shape of a dragon.
"!"
Nirua's eyes widened. If I paid a little more attention to detail, I could even carve out the scales.
I was convinced as I looked at the dragon's shape.
My Water Manipulation Ability was growing more and more.
Nirua must have felt it too, and he finally lowered his head.
"...If you need my humble abilities, I will gladly follow you."
"Good."
Success.
I looked back at the Argenta informants.
"Take Nirua away."
Then I clenched the hand that still had the sensation of controlling the water.
Thinking about that power, which felt so strong that the great river that crossed Tilla Pass looked like a small stream.
