Chapter 73
The moment he spoke, he severed both arms of the insect standing in the middle.
Once again, blood sprayed into the air like a fountain.
“A—ah… aaagh!”
The man, staring at his severed arms rolling across the floor, let out a scream of pure terror.
Rixion’s brow furrowed. Annoyance seeped into his cold blue eyes, already heavy with displeasure.
“Quiet.”
He flicked his hand aside as though brushing away an irritation. This time, it wasn’t the man’s arms that flew off—it was his head.
The nauseating stench of blood filled the space. Rixion’s gaze grew steadily colder.
He turned his eyes to the last remaining insect—the only one still alive.
Whether it was rage at seeing his comrades slaughtered so brutally, or terror at the death closing in on him—
The man was shaking violently. Even from this distance, Rixion could hear his teeth chattering.
With a sneer, Rixion addressed the trembling insect.
“You don’t have any intention of revealing your affiliation or your purpose either, do you?”
At a glance, the man was clearly in no state to answer questions of his own will. He didn’t even seem to be hearing Rixion’s words.
Water dripped steadily beneath the man’s dangling feet. Judging by the state of things, he had clearly wet himself.
What a sight. They sent something like this after me?
It was so absurd it almost made him laugh.
Rixion had no desire whatsoever to waste time talking to such insignificant vermin.
Based on past experience, their objective was obvious anyway, and it wasn’t worth the effort to squeeze answers out of them.
What made his mood twice as foul as usual was the fact that if his judgment had been even slightly delayed, the person with him could have been injured.
And the fact that that person was Elizabeth Christener only fanned his anger further.
“This is the last question. For real.”
Without taking a step closer, Rixion asked in a flat tone.
“Who sent you?”
The man, who had been staring blankly at the corpses of his comrades, finally lifted his head.
The moment he recognized Rixion, his eyes widened unnaturally.
The look on his face—like he had seen something he never should have—made Rixion frown slightly in confusion.
Did he come without even knowing who he was supposed to kill?
Just as that thought crossed his mind—
“Rixion… Luhanes…”
The masked man, only his terrified eyes visible, stammered Rixion’s name.
He knew who I was, so why that reaction?
Before Rixion could make sense of it, the man’s eyes filled with fury and hatred, and he began to spew cursed words at him.
“Rixion Luhanes! God will surely punish you! He will cast your body and soul—those that defy His will—into the Abyss, and bring ruin to all heretics like you!”
As the man screamed in a frenzy, Rixion frowned.
He glanced back just in case—and thankfully, Elizabeth had turned away, obediently covering her ears.
Only then did Rixion let out a quiet breath of relief and turn back.
“How dare you defy the will of God—!”
“Ah. I don’t need to hear the rest.”
The moment Rixion interrupted him with a faint smile, the last man went still.
A thin red line appeared across his neck, blood trickling down as his head tilted sideways.
As it tipped over, his body dropped mercilessly to the ground.
Thud.
Blood splattered in all directions once more.
Rixion watched the entire scene with indifferent eyes, then stirred the air to keep the blood from reaching him. Just to be safe, he checked his clothes once more to ensure not a single drop had stained them.
By principle, he should have kept at least one of them alive to extract information about their backer.
But it was obvious who had sent them, and dragging this out any longer would have been foolish. He had no patience left for vermin shrieking in his ears.
More than anything, he didn’t want to let anyone interrupt the precious time he had finally managed to secure with Elizabeth.
Rixion turned back and looked at Elizabeth’s back.
Just as he had told her, she hadn’t moved an inch, still covering her ears.
The sight was cute and satisfying—yet at the same time, it left an uncomfortable tightness in his chest.
It was the same strange feeling he’d had earlier, when Elizabeth had unconsciously grabbed his clothes and then hurriedly let go.
It was the first time he had ever seen her display her anxiety so openly. Or act as though she relied on him.
That trust pleased him… and yet, it weighed on his heart.
The carriage explosion he had feared had actually happened, leaving both of them badly shaken.
For Elizabeth, it was shock.
For Rixion, it was the horrifying thought that she could have been hurt.
In any case, Elizabeth seemed deeply unsettled after witnessing the explosion. She even looked faintly similar to when she was drunk—something that worried him greatly.
He wanted to finish this quickly and soothe the anxiety she was carrying.
Without taking his eyes off her back, Rixion pulled a communicator from his coat.
[What is it, Your Grace?]
After infusing it with mana and waiting briefly, the voice of his adjutant, Count Ackermann, came through.
Rixion cast a brief glance at the corpses behind him and spoke calmly.
“Locate my position and send a carriage. And I’ll need cleanup for three insects.”
[Another attack?]
“Yeah.”
He cut the connection immediately, then began walking toward Elizabeth with slightly hurried steps.
“Li—”
Rixion stopped himself from calling her name.
If he made her turn around, that nauseating scene would enter her field of vision.
He was fine—but he knew how terrifying blood-soaked death was to ordinary people who weren’t accustomed to it.
He had learned that lesson many times since childhood.
First, Rixion composed his expression.
A reassuring smile—one that said everything was fine.
Instead of making Elizabeth turn around, he stepped in front of her so she would face him.
Elizabeth had her eyes squeezed shut, ears still firmly covered, just as he’d told her.
She was so adorable that a genuine smile slipped out before he could stop it.
“Liz.”
Rixion called her name in a voice so gentle it even made himself feel embarrassed.
But she was covering her ears so tightly that she didn’t notice him at all, despite him standing right in front of her.
“Liz.”
This time, he called her name again and reached out.
With a touch just as gentle as his voice, he carefully pulled her hands down from her ears.
Startled, Elizabeth’s eyes flew open.
Her golden eyes, still faintly frightened, quickly recognized Rixion—and she visibly relaxed.
Even that was unbearably cute. His fingertips itched with the urge to pull her into his arms.
No. Don’t.
Rixion restrained himself.
He already seemed to have earned her considerable displeasure with his rudeness in the plaza earlier. He didn’t want to upset her any further.
Then it struck him—how pathetic he was being.
Before running into Elizabeth again at the plaza, she had been deliberately avoiding him, and he’d repeatedly failed to see her.
The irritation and frustration that had piled up during that time had gradually melted away the moment he saw her again…
Now, it felt ridiculous that he’d ever been angry at all.
It was foolish, but unavoidable.
At this point, just having those golden eyes look at him was enough to make him feel good.
“Is… is it over?”
Elizabeth looked at him, half curious about what had happened behind his back, and half unwilling to turn around and find out.
“Did you… kill them?”
Her gaze said she was curious but didn’t want to know—and yet also dying to know despite herself.
Rixion read every emotion clearly written across her face and chose the safest answer he could give.
“No. I just… made it so they can’t move.”
It was a lie—and also the truth.
After calmly offering that half-truth, Rixion gently but firmly kept Elizabeth’s eyes from drifting behind him.
“Still, it’s better if you don’t turn around.”
