Chapter 16 Six arms

The siblings talked without end on the doorstep, so it was quite obvious they didn't want to leave quite yet. Sebas and Solution had an itinerary to keep up however, so Harry gave them his word that Tsuare would be protected in their care, a free service from the adamantite adventurer's group since they had abused of their hospitality for so long.

Sebas and Solution agreed easily before leaving, the butler giving one last look at Tsuare before turning around to follow Solution. Peter's group leaved momentarily as well, going to the market to buy potions and other necessities for a mission they had scheduled on the next day.

"Ah, I apologize for all the trouble James-san"

"No worries. Shizu and I didn't have anything scheduled for today"

The boyish girl straightens up from her grateful bow, and nods once at him happily before leaving to speak with Tsuare again. Solution had left them stay in the house in their absence, so the siblings were in another room while Harry and Delta stayed in the entrance, the reception room that was more than equipped to accommodate at least 10 people comfortingly. Harry was seated in one of the large sofas, calmly reading one of the books Nfirea had lent about potions before he sensed movement in the vicinity.

More precisely, just outside the mansion.

"Hmm seems we're going to be ambushed" Well, since that slavery brothel was part of the Eight Fingers, he supposed it made sense for them to try to get revenge so soon. That was one of the reasons he had stayed to begin with.

When he had returned to Nazarik after Sebas' trial, he had whished out loud to know more about the criminal organization known as the Eight Fingers. It had been little more than a whisper, but Demiurge had immediately straightened and given a report on everything he knew about it.

The huge amount of information the demon had gathered in only two weeks in the Capital was astounding, it was enough to cover the secret locations the leaders had; enough for them to attack this underground society.

Since Sebas had mindlessly meddled with them, they may cause trouble later, so he had decided to attack this night, before they had a chance to do anything to react. Demiurge was in charge of leading the simultaneous attack on each location, and had reunited quite a few of the stronger NPCs of Nazarik for his task.

The demon didn't know of Harry's presence inside Solution's manor, nor was he aware of Harry's own deductions.

Such as the attack on Tsuare.

Having dealt with shady characters for most of his unending life, Harry had enough experience to notice the patron, the inescapable thought all "villains" seemed to have. If you hurt us you and everyone you love have to pay!

Unsurprised by the ambush, he and Shizu went further inside the mansion, until they reached the door that led to the room were Nynya and Tsuare were speaking. With a thought, his armor was replaced by his magic-caster clothes, so he placed silencing and repelling charms over the door. They would not hear the ruckus that was about to happen, and if they got to close to the door they would suddenly change their mind for whatever reason and stay there. After that, he placed concealing charms on Shizu and ordered her to go outside; not a single person was going to escape.

Once that was done he changed back to his adventurer persona, and waited patiently for the intruders to reach him. The fight that began as soon as they were on his field of vision was a short one, the men falling unconscious faster than they could process what exactly was attacking them.

In the end, between him and Shizu, they got 10 people from the criminal organization. Forcing one awake, Shizu used the stored spell they had in a low-level parchment [Puppeteer's Palm] which was quite similar to a weaker version of the Imperio curse.

The man regained consciousness with a shudder, eyes unfocused as if he were drunk, before he began to answer the questions that confirmed Harry's hypothesis. These men were assassins trained by Six Arms, the strongest combatants of Eight Fingers, and had come with the objective of kidnapping Tsuare.

Looking down at the enchanted man, Harry smiled darkly for a moment before turning to speak with Shizu, starting to form a plan of his own.

-Time break-

It was a lightless street, a quiet alley shrouded in darkness. Those not skilled with night perception would need the use of magical items to see anything in the almost absolute obscurity.

Near the lonely alley was a road that led to a great building, surrounded by imposing walls, which sealed it off from the surrounding area. It felt like a prison, or a fortress, with magical lamps installed on either side of the door.

In the middle of the dark alley, crunched behind a few containers were two men. One was Brain Unglaus, a skilled warrior that was almost on pair with Gazef Stronoff himself, the strongest man of the Kingdom. At his side was Climb, the personal bodyguard of the Golden Princess of the Re-Estize Kingdom, Renner. Climb was a young man with short blond hair and blue eyes, and was wearing a pure white full plate armor given to him by Renner, equipped with a broadsword and a shield.

Both men were crouched, guarding silently the suspicious building until they saw a man in full armor walk calmly towards it.

"Isn't that an adamantite adventurer? Why is he here?" Climb asks quietly to his silent companion. Brain doesn't answer, but his form tenses at the same time his hand suddenly grips the Katana at his waist. Climb reaches for his sword in response, frowning with worry at the whisper of "That monster" that falls from Brain's lips.

"Do you think he's part of them?" Climb asks worriedly. The Six arms were all on level of adamantite adventurers, but this was far worse since the man wore the official medal, which meant the criminal organization had successfully infiltrated the Adventurer's Guild as well.

"No… he can't be. Unless he's really good at acting, I can't really imagine that man…" Brain whispers before tensing even more, the blue eyes of the adventurer now fixed on the two of them. Climb and Brain were some distance away from the building in order to observe it, and they were hidden in the darkness and behind the containers. Under normal circumstances, it would have been quite hard to find them. While the adventurer might have looked in their direction by chance, Climb was completely certain that was not the case this time around.

The armored man jogged over with an abnormal speed, moving so fast that he seemed to be teleporting every time they blinked as he closed the distance to them. Surprisingly enough, the armor he wore didn't made a single sound as he moved, which meant it was enchanted to be perpetually silent, just like Climb's own armor.

"Brain Unglaus, nice to see you again" the adventurer says softly once he reaches them, stopping only a few meters away from them. The adamantite seemingly ignores the attack position of the man he addressed before turning to look at Climb "This is the first time we meet right? I'm an adamantite adventurer, James" the blue eyes are soft, relaxed even on the tense atmosphere.

"Ah, n-nice to meet you. I'm Climb" he says simply, not sure on how to react to the unexpected presence of the adventurer "Please forgive my rudeness, but why are you here?" he had not let go of his sword, on guard since Brain was still grasping strongly his own Katana.

"I was contracted by Lady Solution and her butler Sebas Tian, to rescue someone" he gasps in surprise at the familiar name, Sebas-sama had contracted this adventurer? Why, since he was as strong as one himself?

He had met the butler when he saw him defend that poor boy from the drunken gang of men, and had felt so impressed that he decided to follow him once he retreated, to hopefully learn more about him. Once he caught up with the butler, he asked him to teach him how to fight, wanting to become stronger so he could protect better the princess, Renner.

To his surprise, Sebas readily accepted to train him then and there, so he took a stance before the butler suddenly unleashed a killing intent so strong that paralyzed him completely with fear, mind numb with pure, unaltered shock. He barely moved out of the way of the oncoming fist, adrenaline fueling his system as he surpassed momentarily his physical limitations.

Brain had come out from his hiding position after that, and not to long after the three of them had fought together against a few assassins on the alley, before going together against the Slavery brothel on that same afternoon.

"I-is that so? Sebas-sama hired you?" he tried to hide the incredulity from his voice, but didn't really manage to. Having witnessed the strength of the butler first hand, he wondered why he would hire a third party to do something he was more than capable of doing himself. As if reading his mind, the adventurer answered with

"Well, it was Lady Solution really. She wanted an expert on the matter, I believe" Ah, that made more sense, maybe she hadn't wanted to risk Sebas. It would be a single man against a whole building full of people after all. He couldn't speak up, however, since the adventurer, James, continued with

"Now is my turn to apologize, but may I ask why you're here?" the eyes are a little harder now, as he shifts slightly to a defensive position. Catching the hidden message, he shakes his head in negative before raising an arm to stop James, "We're not with them! We were planning to attack that building which was owned by Eight Fingers, so we were lying in wait here."

"...Just the two of you?"

"No, there's several others behind us."

"I see," James said quietly. In that moment, the thief that was part of his group returned before halting mid-step at the sight of James. The thief was an ex-adventurer; he had been orichalchum before retiring not too long ago.

"James-sama!" the thief said before smiling "You were recruited for this mission too?" they seemed to know each other, since the adamantite relaxed a little as well.

"I was contracted by a Lady to rescue someone in that building. What about you?"

"Ah, the royalty contracted me to help attack that building, but is impossible really."

"Oh? How so?"

The thief explained that they had expected a member or two of the Six arms, but the harsh truth was that all of them were gathered inside that building. Once the thief finished his explanation he turned to look at him and Brain, as if he had forgotten they were there.

"This is James-sama. This person has worked with me before I retired. He is a friend and completely trustworthy, so please do not worry." He says with conviction, having accurately deduced the reason of their silence.

"I see" Climb answered, letting go of his sword. Brain also retired his hand from the handle of his katana, much more reluctantly. James seemed to notice this, and his voice was soft when he addressed the experienced warrior "If you have changed your path, I'm not your enemy Unglaus. I can promise you that much"

The air felt tense, the two men staring each other quietly for a moment before Brain relaxes slightly, nodding once at James.

"I see... I understand. Thank you."

"No, please don't worry about it"

With a more relaxed atmosphere now, the thief nods in satisfaction before he turns to address the adamantite adventurer once more "James-sama, Five of the strongest fighters in Eight Fingers, called Six Arms, are in that building… Can you defeat them?"

Climb knotted his brows as he heard the thief's question. The Six Arms were each the equivalent of an adamantite-ranked adventurer, surely taking five of them on at once was impossible. However, he seemed to be the only one thinking this, since neither Brain nor the thief looked surprised to see the gentle nod of James.

"It shouldn't be a problem. I've been told about their special abilities, and am prepared to face them"

Climb looks with worry at the adamantite, wasn't he too full of himself? He directs his questioning face to his two companions, but only gets understanding looks from them.

"No, he's not bragging. That man really is that amazing." the thief says with a smirk "Brain Unglaus thinks so too, right?" he said looking to the other man. Brain smiled bitterly to the thief and nodded.

"Yes, this man is strong enough that Gazef and I couldn't beat him even if we went at him together."

"That, that's really… no, if what you said is true, then it would be amazing…" It was hard to believe, but maybe James was as strong as Sebas-sama was.

"Then, James-sama… if you don't mind, could we count on your assistance?" The thief asks hopefully. The plan upon discovering the presence of the Six arms had been to retreat, but if this man helped them, someone maybe on par with Sebas, then they may have a chance.

"Of course. I came to save Tsuare, after all. Leave Six Arms to me, then."

"Then I hope you will come at them from the front and draw their attention, James-sama. We will use that opportunity to infiltrate the place. While we cannot possibly replace you, please allow us to help rescue Tsuare-san on your behalf." the thief says, being the one that knew the adamantite better, it was only fitting that he was the one to request assistance.

"Just as well, it would help me greatly since Shizu will take a while to arrive"

"I understand. We will definitely rescue her safely. Then, who will be going in? I know the original plan was to have everyone infiltrate and it was a good idea…" the thief turned to ask him and Brain. Discussing it for a short moment, they decided that only the three of them would infiltrate, since they had a limited amount of [Invisibility] spells.

"In that case, we'll be going in first; please wait a while before making your move, James-sama."

"I will be counting on you."

James bowed his head slightly to them, which startled them all. This was because they were sort of using him, to carry out their own mission.

"No, please don't worry about it. The truth is we came to attack this location. In fact, we're very grateful that you're willing to deal with Six Arms for us, James-sama." the thief says hurriedly, clearly uncomfortable.

"Then we are helping each other out, are we not?" The man smiles gently at them, without a hint of resentment or malice in his voice. Climb stood up, his heart at ease.

"Then we will be falling back first, to have the others cast spells on us."

Hadrian

He watched them leave, his vision easily seeing trough their invisibility spells. It had been quite a surprise to find them here, but he was at ease with them, not worried in the slightest that they may fail in their mission of rescuing Tsuare.

That was because she was safe and sound behind Nazarik's walls. The woman they had supposedly taken had been Solution in disguise, and could leave at any time she wished, since stealth was her specialty. Just in case, he had sent arachnid assassins and shadow demons to every floor of the building, awaiting orders to act.

He waited in the alley for a few minutes before walking calmly towards the main gate. The gate was lattice-shaped, so he could peer through it, but the trees within prevented him from seeing too far inside.

"Oi, you're not the old man— "a voice starts hoarsely, before the man that stepped out from among the trees halted in his tracks, falling unconscious from Harry's quick blow. He had noticed the presence from the very beginning, so he didn't bother with pleasantries and passed over the guard and down a path in the yard.

Considering this yard was the property of a criminal organization like Eight Fingers, it did not feel particularly gloomy and the vegetation was neatly trimmed, as though they had a skilled gardener taking care of things. He felt eyes on him as he walked down the path, but decided to ignore them since they didn't react at all to his presence.

After a short while, a vast space which looked like a training area unfolded before his eyes. There were several bonfires blazing away merrily, and bright red firelight illuminated the surroundings.

There were about 30 people here, with many men and several women among them. While they seemed momentarily surprised to see him, the expression didn't last long before morphing into wicked smiles, crude and intoxicated with violence, certain of the prospect of victory.

In the middle of the training area were the strongest men of this place, the Six Arms. There were only four at the moment though.

One of them wore a hooded robe. The robe was black, stitched with a bright red flame pattern below the waist. He didn't feel any life coming from under the hood, which meant that the nickname of 'Undying' was not merely metaphorical, but that this was a true undead being; hence the name Undying King Davernoc.

Their sole female was dressed sheer silks, and looked to be agile. She wore gold bangles on her wrists and ankles, which rang with crisp metallic sounds as she moved. She had six scimitars at her waist, and was known as 'Bloody Scimitar' Edstrom.

The next man was dressed in a cotton suit. He also wore a gold-stitched jacket, like a matador's, and a vest. His weapon was a thin sword whose blade seemed to be extending from a rose blossom, and was known as 'Thousand Kills' Malmvist.

The final man was 'Void Cutter' Peysilian, who wore a suit of unadorned full plate armor, and his sword was securely stowed within its sheath.

There were four of them in total. Their leader Zero was not here, probably waiting somewhere to make his appearance. The one missing, Succulent, had been arrested by Sebas' group the day prior, so he wasn't present either.

The four of them advanced on him, while the others moved to encircle him.

"You're not the gramps we were expecting. Was he too afraid to come himself?" Malvist, the matador, is the first to address him, a sadistic smirk on his face.

"Well, he's got survival instincts then, unlike you, a stupid adventurer that has come by himself. Why else do you think you could pass without trouble? There's no way you're leaving alive." the only woman of the group taunts, arms crossed as if disappointed.

"We'll take care of that old man later then. We'll kill you first." the undead whispers with a hoarse voice, expression unknown since it was hidden under the cloak.

"We have to subdue you with force and kill you, otherwise we'll be in a bad state. Look over there, there's bigwigs from all over gathered. They came to see the old man defeated, but a suicidal adamantite is not bad either." comes the serious voice from under the helmet of Peysilian. He had pointed at the balcony on the third floor, were a smaller amount of people were seated as if ready to see a show.

"What a warm welcome" Harry answers simply, standing still with one sword in each hand "Is the man called Zero here?"

"Ah, yes. He will deliver the final blow, isn't that an honor?" Malvist answers mockingly, doing a small circle with his thin sword while it was pointed at Harry's chest.

"I see… then, let us start the play. Please come all at once, I would rather not waste time"

"...You talk big, human. You'll discover soon, death follows me wherever I go" the undead said with a deadpan voice. Harry snorted, mentally speaking with his old friend.

My my Death, why are you following this man? he thought mockingly, receiving an immediate, unamused answer I assure you I have better things to do

Harry chuckled, his enemies exchanging a look before directing their affronted stares at him.

"You must be feeling cocky because you had an easy time with the adventurers, huh? But since you're an adamantite, I guess we can attack in pairs. Just to make sure you witness real power."

"If that's your decision" Harry said with a light shrug "Let us end this, shall we?"

He stepped forward, moving at a lightning speed towards the undead, the Elder Lich. His swords cut easily through the being, which was unable to defend against the strike or evade it. In a matter of seconds, without so much as the time to move, Davernoc's head went flying, his life extinguished as Harry activated the special property of his chosen weapon. Holly magic.

Well, he had been expecting an undead of higher level, but since he already had the specialized swords with him, he figured he might as well put them to good use. The magic on the swords caused Davernoc's body to vanish, the many magic items he had equipped clattering uselessly to the ground.

Even when the people encircling him were frozen in shock, the Six Arms could still move. As expected, they were capable warriors; only people who had been through numerous life or death battles could do such a thing.

The woman, "Bloody Scimitar" Edstrem, activated the enchantment on her weapons [Dance] her six scimitars left their sheaths on their own, moving in accordance with their masters' will as they floated mid-air as if held by invisible warriors.

Her fighting style was to focus on defense, while the five other swords launched attacks on their own. This was a barrier of blades, so stepping into this cage meant certain death.

However, by the time the scimitars were leaving their sheaths, Harry was already in front of her, his sword chopping her neck with impossible speed. Her head fell to the ground with a soft thud, fresh blood spurting from her neck as her body collapsed.

But even when this happened, the five scimitars still hung in the air, which meant she had yet to process her own death, and that her brain was still somewhat functional. He had read a study about that somewhere, that it took a few seconds before the severed head lost all consciousness.

That being the case the five scimitars, still obeying her will, sliced through the air towards him. He counterattacks against the blows, putting so much force behind his own strikes that it sends the scimitars flying away, a few of them cutting the people surrounding them by accident.

"Well, I have to admit that's a good fighting spirit. To think you would continue to fight even with your head severed…"

Her mouth opened and closed, her expression in despair as she looked at her own headless body before her eyes finally stopped their movement. The only sword still in the air fell lifelessly to the ground, never to move again.

"Come on, attack with me! Let's get him together!"

A voice which sounded like a shriek came from the man in full plate armor. "Take, take, take my, my [Void Cutter]!"

Harry narrowed his eyes at the armored man, ready to apparate away if necessary. His guildmate, Touch Me, had a trump card, a strike that cleaved through the very fabric of space-time itself… and while it was obvious that the person before him could never reach that level, even an imitation of that technique might be able to hurt him.

"Void Cutter" Peysilian.

His nickname was derived from the fact that he had a mysterious technique where he could draw from a one-meter long scabbard and bisect a foe over three meters away. As Harry saw the move unfold in front of him, he let out a soft, relieved sigh when he saw it didn't actually cut through space. Instead, the blade sword was flexible, looking more like a metal whip than a sword if one ignored the sharpened end. He saw clearly as the whip fell at ridiculous speeds over his head, clearly meant to cut him in two. He sidesteps slightly to the right, avoiding the blow without trouble.

"Metal whip would have been more accurate."

"Yeeart!"

With a strange, bird-like cry, a rapier lanced out at Harry.

"Thousand Kills" Malmvist.

His main weapon, Rose's Thorn, was enchanted with two magical properties. The first was "Fleshgrinding". In the instant the sword struck its foe's body, this fearsome magic would twist the surrounding muscle and tissue. The effect was to rip and tear at the flesh around the injury site, leaving hideous wounds. The other was "Master Assassin". That enchantment enlarged wounds and made even the slightest scratch a severe injury. On top of that, the blade was smeared with a lethal concoction of many poisons. Malmvist had prepared this because he was not originally a warrior, but more of an assassin, so a single scratch from his weapon could be fatal.

Harry didn't dodge however, blocking the vicious weapon with one of his swords. He didn't budge, not even a little, so the effect was similar of that of a child running with all his might towards a wall. Malmvist bounces back, almost losing his balance before quickly regaining it.

"...Wh-what?"

"Alright, my turn."

In the next instant, Peysilian's head exploded in a curtain of blood, since Harry had thrown one of his swords directly at the center of the helmet, were the eyes would be.

"Come back" he orders simply, the sword approaching at high speed before stopping in his awaiting palm. The red ribbon that adorns the handle of the sword falls off, but before it can hit the stone floor, Malmvist hooked it away with the tip of his slender blade, snatching the thin material away. Harry raises an eyebrow at the action, not really understanding what his opponent was aiming for.

"What… are you trying to do?"

"This is it! This must be the magic item that's making you stronger!" The voice of the man sounded broken, fearful eyes staring unblinking at him

It was a normal ribbon actually. It was tied to the handle simply because it had been an omen for good luck in the world he had obtained the swords from.

"…Yeah ok, whatever lets you sleep at night" he says calmly before striking at the man. Malmvist crumpled to the ground, body cut in two. Fighting had been becoming easier and easier, as he practiced and tried to get used to fights without magic. He had tried to learn a few Martial Arts too, but sadly found himself unable to use them… he didn't get how they worked quite yet.

He was getting out of track. Straightening up, Harry whistled softly, looking directly at the balcony on the third floor. It was a signal for the awaiting assassins and demons to seize the people within the building, who had witnessed this tragic scene from their higher seats.

"I imagine they possess useful information, so do not kill them. Now then…"

He glanced icily at the people surrounding him, all of whom were frozen in place.

"Ten seconds should suffice for the rest of you."

Once everything was taken care of in the training area, he let the assassins and demons search the place, while he sent [Message] to Solution, asking if the human team had reached her yet.

"I doubt they know I am here. One of the pathetic scoundrels took the maid uniform, and I heard about the usage of illusions…"

So they made someone else parade as Tsuare? What a coincidence.

"Hmm I see. Get out of there and catch up with me in the subterranean, they probably placed the fake Tsuare there."

"Understood"

Harry jogged towards the entrance that leads to the dungeons, watching the little compass he had used to make sure the other group really was there. He waits until he sees Solution, still disguised as Tsuare, walking up to him, calm even when she was only wrapped in a simple blanket.

Nodding once at her, Harry received a [Message] from the assassins that the building has been secured, so he opened the small bag hanging on his neck and pulled up his invisibility cloak. He tells Solution to hide using her stealth, while he covered himself with the old, inherited cloth.

He descends the stairs, assuming Solution is following him, and walks for a short while before reaching the hallway where a fight was unfolding.

One the closest side of the room was Climb and the Thief, who were entertained staring at the battle their teammate was handling. Near them was the dead corpse of Succulent, who was wearing Tsuare's maid. So the man had been the one to impersonate Tsuare? it was unfortunate he was already dead; it would have been entertaining to see him fighting while in maid uniform.

On the farthest side of the room two men were fighting, one was a buff bald man, with a body bulged with muscles. His face looked like a boulder, and he was covered in animal tattoos. Judging by his appearance, he was probably one of the Six Arms, and the leader of the Security Division, the mightiest being in Eight Fingers. His opponent was no other than Brain, who seemed to be defending his ground quite stably.

Harry observed silently from his position in the entrance as the clash between blade and fist produced the echoing of crashing metal. The two men fought without pause, in an exchange that didn't really allow for hesitance.

After a minute's worth of exchanged blows both sides were unharmed. As a result, a look of genuine respect bloomed on Zero's face.

"Unglaus… You're pretty good. You're the first man who's endured my attacks for this long."

Similarly, Brain had a respectful expression on his own face.

"Same to you…" Brain looks like he wanted to say more, but Zero interrupted him with

"There's a fight waiting for me on the first floor though, so I'd best get a little serious."

Brain's silent answer to those words was to sheath his sword and lower his stance. Harry had seen that posture before; when they had battled, it was the same stance Brain had assumed before trying to finish their battle with a single hit. Could it be that it was his trump card? He hoped not, otherwise his attitude back then…

Zero's immediate answer to Brain's position was to jump well back. He opened up the distance between them with superhuman agility.

"Edstrem can deploy a sword barrier. Your move isn't exactly the same, but it's also a barrier of blades, no? Enter casually and you'll be cut in half, am I right? Still… from what I can tell, that move of yours only allows you to respond to your opponent, and you can't use it if you don't take a stance."

Zero punched the air. It seemed to be a meaningless move, but that iron fist actually generated a shockwave which buffeted Brain's body.

"So all I need to do is attack you from a distance and I win. Or do you have some way to cut a distant foe?"

"No, I don't," Brain answered honestly. "If you're going to fight like that, then I won't use this move."

"Brain Unglaus. Is this your ace in the hole?"

"Indeed. This trump card of mine has only ever been... defeated once, from the front." Merlin, he was a terrible person then. He had taunted him because he thought Brain wasn't taking him seriously, how was he supposed to know?

"How boring. So someone else already defeated it once? Then this will be the second time."

Zero slowly pulled his fist back, taking a stance of his own. His body was covered in animal tattoos, and those tattoos began to glow faintly. Brain, on his part, remained still. While Zero appeared to be as still as a statue, he did seem to be accumulating power, like a string longing for the right moment to be unleashed.

Harry had seen enough. He owned one to Brain for insulting his pride as a warrior, however unintentional that had been. He steps back for a moment, taking off the cloak and making a motion to Solution before speaking:

"—So you were here after all."

The effect is immediate, all the people in the room turning to look at him. Even Zero and Brain, who should not have turned their eyes away from the enemy, did the same thing.

"What? What's this? Did you sneak in like these people?"

"No. I defeated your colleagues and then I came here."

"...Nonsense, utter nonsense. They might not be a match for me, but they're still warriors whom I gifted with the title of Six Arms. How could you have made it here unscathed?!"

"I won't waste breath explaining something you won't believe" he says nonchalantly, advancing slowly into the room.

"James-san! The Tsuare-san over here is a fake! Succulent took her form with an illusion! You need to go rescue her!" was the worried shout of Climb, as if suddenly remembering they were supposed to rescue the woman. Ah, they really were too inexperienced.

"Thank you for your concern, but there's no need to worry. I have already rescued her; she was elsewhere in this building."

He turned to look behind him, Solution standing shakily in the entrance as she imitated Tsuare.

"Ah!"

Climb hurriedly looked down at Succulent, focusing on the seemingly irreparable maid uniform that was soaked in blood, with a huge rip in it.

"Pay it no heed, it's simply an outfit after all" He said to calm the kid down, even as he thought he should recover it later. Not only because it had been made by a friend in the guild, but also because he knew magic that could track the owner based on their belongings. It would be troublesome if Nazarik was found thanks to a forgotten cloth.

"Oi oi oi, you're actually ignoring me for idle chit-chat… you lot are pretty relaxed, aren't you?"

Zero had been facing Brain since just now, and so he could not move carelessly. Now, he finally changed his position and glared hatefully at Harry.

"I'll ask you again, what happened to my people?!"

"I killed them all."

"It, it can't be! How do you expect me to believe that!?" Zero's furious cry resounds in the empty hallway, but all Harry does in response is shrug, taking the handles of his swords as he steps further into the room. Zero seems to realize that he was telling the truth, and his eyes darken as he practically growls.

"...Brain Unglaus. I'll fight you later. I'm going to show this man the power of Six Arms!"

"Mm, got it. Try not to die right away. Still, I don't think there'll be anything left for me to do." Brain answered as he shook his head in sympathy. Oh come on! He hadn't been too harsh in their battle back then...probably.

"Bullshit!" Zero shouted at Brain before turning his head to face him "And you! You'll pay with your life for that nonsense you spouted!"

If only the man knew he was surrounded by shadow demons… Harry could see them clearly, and shook his head slightly at their silent question Can we kill this fool?

Zero seemed to think he was mocking him tough, since he furiously took a stance, his tattoos glowing. From the information Demiurge gathered, this man was a Shaman, someone with a skill which allowed one to be possessed by animal spirits, through which he could gain those animals' excellent physical attributes. It could only be used a limited number of times in a day, but basically resulted in a physically superior animal using the fighting arts of a human being.

Based on the report, Zero would conserve his strength on normal conditions, by only activating the power of one animal at a time. Right now however, the man in front of him was activating all of them at once. Harry didn't know if it was because the Shaman subconsciously understood that he could not be underestimated, or because the man was so mad he was planning on going in a rampage. Whichever the case, Zero had used them all: the leopard on his feet, the falcon on his back, the rhino on his arms, the bull on his chest, and the lion on his head.

An explosive power seemed to flood from the man's body, like a bomb that had been laying at wait for an opportunity to burst.

"YEEEEEEEEAAAAARRRTT!"

He expelled the burning power from inside him before stepping forward; coming directly at Harry was a straight punch with just a fist. There were no feints or fancy moves; just a simple punch. However, the power within that fist beggared belief, since it was the addition of all the shamanic and monk-type skills the man possessed, and that was without mentioning the magic items he was sure to have.

It was so fast that even Zero seemed to have a hard time controlling it. Harry cursed softly before letting go of his swords, the weapons falling to the ground at the same time he took the hammer Shizu had lent him.

"—Ah!" He heard a young voice shout, Climb's probably, as Zero moved to reach his position. The power within him moved perfectly, fully accumulated and focused, and he threw a powerful straight punch with his right fist..

He never got close enough to deliver it though, since Harry hit the floor with the hammer, using just enough force as he tried not to collapse the whole room. The effect is similar to an earthquake, making Zero loose his balance as he tripped at high speed.

Had Sebas been here, the butler would have probably taken the blow without problems, but the reality was that Harry was not a specialized warrior, but a wizard. He was only this good at physical battles due to previous experiences in other worlds.

So he takes advantage of the moment, stepping forward as he raises the hammer over Zero's upper body, before letting the weapon fall a second time.

A gruesome sound of cracking filled the air. Zero fell to the ground, his skull pulverized and his neck and spine shattered, as though he had been crushed by a several-hundred-kilogram weight.

The room was silent.

"Thanks for the warning" he said simply to Climb, who blinked incredulously at him while mumbling "—Wha… ah. Er… yes."

"In any case, since we've rescued her, I think it might be best to retreat now."

"Ah, no, ah, are the other members of Six Arms… really…?"

"Yes. I killed them all. There were on adamantite level so I could not go easy on them, you see?"

"Is, is that so. Well, there's nothing to be done about that. Ah, please don't beat yourself up about it."

The three of them simultaneously looked at the corpse of Zero on the ground. None of them could bring themselves to say, 'You're lying' which amused Harry to no end.

"In, in any case, let's get the troops to search this building." Climb says, trying to move forward. At his words, approving looks appeared on the face of Brain and the thief, and they nodded. Harry didn't care either way, since his servants had already finished their own evaluation.

"Shall we head outside?"

"Right, let's go, then."

Harry walks towards the disguised Solution, who is still supporting herself on the wall near the entrance, feigning weakness. Harry offers an arm for support, and Solution's happiness seems entirely real as she takes it.

They walked in silence, the others on guard as if expecting an ambush, but Harry already knew the building was empty. It's not like he could say that though, so he remained silent until they finally reached the gate.

Only to halt once he stepped outside, eyes wide as he took in the scenery in front of him.

"A wall of fire?" Brain muttered to himself.

Harry clenched his fists as he saw a wall of fire over 30 meters tall, encircling a district of the Royal Capital. It looked to be hundreds of meters long.

"What should we do? I think that's the warehouse district, who's in charge of that?" The thief asks to his teammates, obviously speaking about their own mission.

"Blue Rose's leader, Lakyus-sama… I'm judging this as an emergency, so we'll abandon all our objectives and fall back to the Royal Palace as directed. After that, I'll be counting on you all for advice on how to proceed."

"That's probably the best course of action… ah, James-sama…" The thief says uncertainly, asking with his gaze alone if he would accompany them.

"I will take her to a safe place to finish my mission. Once that's done I'll go towards the Royal Palace, if you accept my help of course."

"Of course James-sama! Thank you for your help" The thief is obviously relieved at the prospect, bowing in gratefulness.

"Please pay it no heed. Now, if you'll excuse me, I will be taking my leave." He tries to keep his voice calm, but his heart feels as if someone was squeezing it, fear, confusion and anger taking hold of it.

Please tell me you have nothing to do with this, Demiurge! Was the desperate thought as he leaved the human group behind him.

AUTHOR NOTE:

And that's it, the longest chapter so far with 7K words. Neat!

Still on the 6th novel I'm afraid. This one is one of my favorites, so I think there'll be at least another couple of chapters regarding it.

Anyways, thanks for the reviews! I love the support just as much as I love to write! Also, special thanks to reviewer Mokamiharu, for letting me know about the mishap in the levels of the Black Scripture. I'm not really good at guessing that sort of thing or the level of the magic so I sometimes exaggerate. Thanks bud!

Readers, feel free to be my unofficial Beta's and tell me any inconsistences and the like you find in the story. There are always opportunity areas in everything after all.

My note is long enough so I'll leave it at that. Thanks for reading, hope you liked it and see you soon in the next chapter! Au revoir~