Mistress Of The Evil Forest

Case 54: The mass kidnapping case in the capital.

clack—! clack—! clack—!

In a dark alleyway of the capital, the gentle sounds of my boots slamming into the ground ring. In reality, it should be completely quiet for I am activating my [Stealth]. I just have better hearing than normal people.

Nevertheless, this alleyway is eerily quiet. It's worldly different from the bustling front of the capital.

Well, dark and quiet places are my favorite anyway.

So I keep walking for a bit more until a relatively small house appears in front of me. Through the windows, I can see the light coming from inside out, indicating that there are people inside. This should be the location Chloe told me.

I get closer to the slightly opened front door and peek into the house. There are three men and one woman sitting on the couches—one man is reading a newspaper, while the other two seem to be flirting with the woman. All of them have a red moon tattoo on their necks.

Hah... I don't want to watch this, but job is job.

So I divert my eyes upward to the ceiling, where thick ceiling joists can be seen. Fortunately, this one doesn't have a flat roof. 

[Blink].

Now sitting on one of the joists, I can have a good view of what the people here are doing, though I don't really want to see or hear. Really. 

My job here is to watch over Chloe and Claire, who will soon arrive to defeat these cultists according to the progression of the story. This is basically the content of ⌈Arc 3, Chapter 2, The mass kidnapping case in the capital⌋: Cultists kidnap innocent people, cultists try to summon a demon using those people, and Claire stops the cultists.

Now, because these people's levels are in the middle range of the 20s, having them as 'food' for Claire would be much better than if I or Chloe eat it. And before you ask, they will be killed anyway if we hand them to authorities, so there is no reason to reject the free experience.

Hm... This conversation they're having is quite useless. Let's find something else.

The newspaper... Nothing special. Couches, tables, a closet... Oh. 

By the fireplace, I notice a clock above it.

8:43 P.M.

They will arrive in twenty minutes... Okay, Chloe didn't tell me specifically to rescue the kidnapped people, but she did reveal where they were kept in the game, so let's do it just in case. 

I fly down slowly and carefully while maintaining my [Stealth], getting closer and closer to one of the doors in the house. Right when the cultists are laughing at the lame joke rather loudly and not paying attention, I swiftly open the door and go inside.

A dark but not-so-dark for me pathway is here. Descending the stairs, I can gradually sense some presence below. At the end of the stairs is a relatively large room with tied people placed in the middle of it—some awake, some unconscious. Two guys who appear to be guards are chatting in the corner. Levels 22 and 23.

What I need to do is clear.

I walk up to the guards and raise my fist.

''So like, I ate a bunch of cash out of that match—''

THUD—!

THUD—!

After giving each of them a hearty punch to their abdomens, I release my ice magic to freeze both of them entirely, ensuring they won't be able to make any noise or escape. These two are for Claire.

Turning to the side, I see the conscious people are asking for help desperately, even though they're all gagged up. Let's see... The number is five, mostly normal folks... Hm?

''...''

Why are you here, Maria Oriana...?

''Mhmp...! Mhmp...!''

''Mhmp...!''

Fine. I'll rescue you now. But let's destroy those monitoring bracelets first.

I get closer to the people, gather them in one place, and then use a strawberry-like item to break their bracelets at the same time. One, I also don't know why it has this design, two, this device can store charges, and each charge can break one bracelet. One of them cost me 25 MP at the hidden shop. It was expensive.

Nevertheless, I touch all of them with my feet and hands before activating [Teleportation]. The destination is near the entrance of the alleyway.

Once outside, I let the surprised people squirm around for a bit, waiting for 30 seconds to pass. Then, I cut off their binds and gags.

''Puh— Please wait, benefactor—''

Ignoring Maria Oriana's cry, I promptly teleport back to the joist that I was sitting on just a few minutes earlier. Chloe will probably find them sooner or later, seeing that only one or two of them can move properly.

For your information, I am now wearing a full robe with the Galaxy mask, so no one would be able to identify me.

''Did you feel something?''

Suddenly, the woman says, looking around intently.

''No?''

Now all four of them are doing it.

[Stealth] is still on. I hope they don't see me, or else I will have to freeze them like the other two, which is not desirable because we need Claire to have some real fighting experience.

To my delight, they eventually give up. 

After waiting around a bit more, the clock hits nine. Through my enhanced ears, I can hear rapid footsteps coming in from the distance. 

''Hm? Did you feel something?''

''Again? What's wrong with you today?''

''No, this time for real—''

By the time they realize something is wrong, it's already too late.

BOOM—!!

A huge explosion blows the whole front of the house apart.

''They're here! Eliminate them!'' A familiar blonde beauty shouts.

'''' Yes! ''''

Soldiers clad in silver armor rush in, and I can see Claire among them. Taken by complete surprise, the four cultists hurriedly grab their weapons nearby and take a fighting stance. Amidst the chaos, the woman pulls something out of the drawer.

''Stop!'' She shouts. ''If you get closer, I will kill the hostages!''

She holds a button up in the air. Immense tension immediately descends upon the room—or at least the woman thinks so, probably.

''Continue pressing them!'' Chloe shouts.

So they found the hostages I left outside.

Just like that, the soldiers ignore the woman and begin to attack them. Needless to say, the cultists are no opponents to the well-trained soldiers of the Luminous Duchy. This mission was designed for the game's Claire to clear alone after all, it can't be that hard.

Oh, they're turning into demons. Eh... This is quite ugly. Like, halfway toward real grotesque, but still have that 'normal' vein inside... I don't even know how to explain it. One thing for certain is they are still losing to the soldiers.

Eventually, Chloe's side safely defeats the cultists and gathers them in one place.

''Claire. It's time.'' Chloe pushes the girl with pale blonde hair forward. ''Remember, they are not humans anymore.''

''Y-Yes... Phew...''

Claire clenched her hands holding the longsword, eyes closed. Soon, she lifts her eyelids, revealing a pair of eyes filled with determination. She raises her sword high, infuses it with light magic, and then—

SHIIING—!

BOOM—!!

The blow promptly takes out all of the cultists, together with half of the already tattered house as well. Claire furrows her eyebrows, hands and legs shaking.

Chloe goes over to support her.

''Well done, Claire.''

''T-Thank you, Lady Amelia.''

Hm. This was a relatively easy episode—

'''' !!! ''''

From nowhere, a spike of lava suddenly rises from the ground, aiming straight at Claire.

KENG—!

As I blink in front of Claire and block the hit, Chloe hurriedly constructs a barrier together with the soldiers.

The lump of lava then quickly retreats before forming a humanoid shape.

''No way...'' Chloe says. ''Emma the Molten!''

Sorry, who?