A Disaster-Level Assassin Has Been Freed

Chapter 143: Seton Swordsmanship Hall (5)

Priest Benedicto was a man who had once risen to the rank of bishop in a major diocese.

Though he’d been demoted to a small city in the southern continent due to political struggles, his accumulated experience and wisdom were not to be underestimated.

‘What an impressive young man.’

Even through Benedicto’s seasoned eyes, the towering youth before him seemed to possess extraordinary talent.

Who was Samuel Seton?

The master of a swordsmanship hall and a Graduate. Though newly ascended and still lacking in some areas, he was a formidable fighter respected anywhere on the continent.

Yet this young man had defeated such a warrior—not with a sword, but with his bare hands.

‘That means this young friend is undoubtedly a Graduate as well.’

It was astonishing.

How many people in their twenties reached Graduate level on the continent?

Roughly fifty were known, and even including the unknown, perhaps fewer than a hundred.

This meant the youth was a talent coveted even by a powerhouse like the Holy Kingdom.

Of course—

“Are you the ones? The ones committing the absurd act of driving poor children onto the streets for money?”

“…What an insolent brat.”

His attitude was impudent.

Especially the black-haired youth slyly standing beside the Graduate was particularly brazen.

To speak like that in front of someone who’d been a bishop?

With a furious expression, Benedicto asked, “You, what’s your name?”

“Harang.”

“Not you. The tall one beside you. What’s your name?”

“Hagio.”

“Short words, huh? Haven’t you heard you should show respect to priests?”

“The title of ‘priest’ is far too generous for someone who would drive pitiful children onto the streets for money.”

“Hah, even you… Looks like some education is in order.”

Benedicto shook his head.

Talent aside, this Hagio was also incredibly arrogant.

It was understandable.

To reach Graduate in your twenties must feel like the world is yours. It was enough to inflate anyone’s ego.

But the world was vast, and the strong were many.

He felt the need to show this frog in a well a proper display of power before taming him.

“Sir Köln.”

“Yes, Priest.”

“Looks like you’ll need to exert some effort.”

“I’ll handle it with restraint.”

“That’s why I like you. You grasp my intentions without long explanations. Youngsters these days are too dense for proper conversation.”

“You flatter me. I’ll do as you command.”

Bowing to Benedicto, Köln stepped forward confidently.

The way he drew his sword was anything but ordinary.

Hagio’s face tensed, and seeing this, the priest burst into hearty laughter.

“Haha, your skill must be impressive indeed, to recognize a true expert at a glance.”

“…”

“What, no time to talk? Can’t be helped. That’s only natural. Sir Köln is a fearsome warrior, granted the rank of Second-Class Demon Inquisitor by the homeland. A far greater force than the Hall Master you just knocked out.”

Priest Benedicto chattered excitedly.

But Hagio had no intention of responding.

It wasn’t that he lacked the leeway, as the priest suggested, but he could tell the opponent was strong. There was no need to waste focus chatting with a third party.

Clang.

Wooong—!

Hagio drew the sword strapped to his back.

He manifested an Aura Sword. A pale gray streak, far sharper and sturdier than Samuel Seton’s, illuminated the room.

Wooong—!

The same went for Paladin Köln.

Manifesting an Aura Sword of equal refinement, he stared at his opponent with sunken eyes.

Silence fell.

Tension hung in the air.

A hair-trigger moment where any spark could send them charging at each other!

Even Samuel Seton, who had regained consciousness, swallowed hard, watching their standoff.

Whoosh!

Thwack—!

“…Gurgle.”

Thump.

Harang, who had stealthily circled behind Paladin Köln, struck with a chop, knocking him out.

“…”

“…”

“…”

Hagio,

the Hall Master, and Priest Benedicto all stared at Harang, speechless.

Benedicto’s shock was the greatest.

The nobody he’d dismissed had not only snuck behind Köln but knocked him out with his bare hands?

‘What in the world is happening!’

It was incomprehensible.

Unbelievable.

Wasn’t this guy just a nobody tagging along beside Hagio?

Samuel Seton shared similar thoughts.

Even Hagio did.

For some reason, Harang, despite being the top-ranked Godok, exuded an oddly unimpressive aura.

Something was off.

Hagio asked,

“Harang.”

“What?”

“What just happened?”

“What do you mean? You saw it. I snuck behind and ambushed him. He was focused entirely on you. If it was a one-on-one duel, I’d have just watched, but it wasn’t, right?”

“No, that’s not what I meant… Hm… You seem incredibly unimposing right now. What’s going on?”

“Oh, this?”

Swish.

Whoosh.

Swish—!

Harang alternated between Acting Lowly and Appearing Impressive.

Hagio was startled.

At one moment, he gave off the vibe of a Godok who wouldn’t rank in the top 500, like one who’d been crushed long ago. At another, he exuded an even greater presence than usual, akin to the village’s top administrators.

He asked again, “Are you controlling your presence? No, this is beyond that. How can you artificially do this?”

“Skills I’ve recently mastered. If you’re interested, I’ll teach you later. Not sure if you’ll manage, though.”

“If you say that, it must be tough. Still, I’m curious, so I’ll ask later.”

“Hm, it’s not that it’s hard… Never mind. It’s tough to explain. And that’s not what’s important right now, is it?”

“Right. That’s not what matters.”

Harang and Hagio exchanged a glance.

Then they both turned to Benedicto.

“…!”

The old priest flinched.

But the experience and cunning of a former bishop kept him from trembling.

‘I can’t look weak!’

He glared,

his expression growing angrier.

How dare mere mortals intimidate a priest officially recognized by the Holy Kingdom, the heart of the continent? He steeled himself, ready to rebuke them at any moment.

Then—

As if realizing something, Harang let out an exclamation.

“Ah.”

“What?”

“Us.”

“Yeah, us.”

“We came here all fired up, but will this actually improve things?”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, think about it. The gatekeepers, the instructors, Samuel Seton—none of them listened to us.”

“Right. So?”

“That means this stubborn-looking priest probably won’t listen either.”

“Hm…”

Hagio’s expression grew serious.

It was convincing. Uncharacteristically for Harang, he was making a lot of sense.

“But beating him up until he listens feels off. This old man’s from the Holy Kingdom. If we thrash someone like that, stronger people might come from the Holy Kingdom. We beat them, and even stronger ones show up… If a kids’ fight balloons into a conflict with the entire Holy Kingdom, that’s the opposite of what we want.”

‘This lunatic, how far is he thinking?’

The priest wore a dumbfounded expression.

It was absurd.

Sure, they were strong for their age, but they weren’t remotely on the level to talk about challenging the entire Holy Kingdom.

But Hagio took Harang’s words seriously.

Godoks—

beings created by the sorcery of Black Magicians.

In other words, beings who needed to keep their distance from the Holy Kingdom in some way. It was better not to escalate things further if possible.

“But the situation’s already escalated.”

“True.”

“You’re right. We shouldn’t have let it get this big. I rushed in blindly, angry that they targeted the kids… That wasn’t like me. If I’d quietly sought out the Hall Master and this priest and killed them both… It would’ve been much cleaner.”

“Exactly.”

“W-What!”

“What did you just say…!”

Samuel Seton and Benedicto gasped in unison.

It was only natural.

People casually talking about killing them?

And it didn’t seem like a joke. The subtle killing intent made their words feel genuine. Slowly, their legs began to tremble.

And that wasn’t all.

Harang spoke again.

“How about it? Should we do it now?”

“Do what?”

“What we planned.”

“Planned?”

“Why do you keep repeating me? If we kill the instructors, the Hall Master, the priest, and the paladin… no information about us will reach the Holy Kingdom, and the orphanage issue will fizzle out. Something bigger will overshadow it.”

“True, but… isn’t that too big? That might bring people from the Holy Kingdom’s capital.”

“Even if they come, their investigation won’t narrow down to us. You’re just an orphanage teacher.”

“Hm.”

Wooong.

Wooong—!

“W-Wait…”

“You guys, hold on…”

The Hall Master and Priest Benedicto swallowed hard and called out to them.

The intensifying killing intent.

The hardening expressions.

The increasingly sharp gazes.

Everything screamed that their words weren’t a joke.

Then—

Whoosh.

“…!”

“…!”

Suddenly, Harang turned toward Benedicto.

And he began walking toward him.

“W-What… You bastard! You think you’ll get away with this? No, I mean, I was wrong. I was wrong! I won’t do it again. I’m sorry! I’m sorry for trying to take the kids’ home for a few coins… You bastard! S-Stop, stop coming closer! Sir Köln! Sir Köln! Hurry, get up and protect me…”

Benedicto rambled incoherently, unaware of what he was saying.

But Harang’s steps didn’t stop.

Slowly, but surely, he closed the distance, reaching right in front of the priest.

“Waaah!”

“Eek…!”

With a loud shout, Harang made Benedicto faint. An unwanted liquid streamed from his groin.

Watching this, Hagio asked with a baffled expression, “What did you do?”

“Just messing around.”

“Messing around?”

“Yeah. No matter what, we can’t kill everyone here. We’re part of the outside world now.”

“Hm, true.”

Hagio nodded.

Sure, these guys had done something despicable, but they hadn’t committed a crime worthy of death.

As Harang said, things might have been different before, but having adapted to the outside world, their sense of propriety told them this wasn’t right.

“So what do we do now?”

“Hm… I don’t know.”

“No plan, huh?”

“Yup.”

The two mumbled dumbly, and the Hall Master watched with an even dumber expression.

It all felt like a dream.

Not just a dream, but a nightmare—a truly wretched one. If he could turn back time, he’d have avoided getting entangled with these orphanage teachers from the start. That realization saddened Seton.

‘Please, someone, anyone, clean up this mess!’

He didn’t want to see this anymore.

He didn’t want to deal with Harang or Hagio ever again. He was willing to give up almost anything to make that happen.

Then—

Philip Portville, arriving late and out of breath, surveyed the scene.

“…What in the world happened here?”

“Well…”

After quickly hearing the story from Hagio, he frowned.

As expected, these young hotheads had caused a massive incident.

This wouldn’t do. There was no way to resolve this within Ruibil.

Of course, there was a way.

In fact, this might work out better for him.

After a moment of thought, Philip Portville suggested subtly, “Does the orphanage have to stay in Ruibil?”

“Pardon?”

“Come to Marzen. I’ll arrange a place for you.”