When I transferred to the sky, what I saw was Elna engaging in battle with a pair who seemed to be vampires.
Honestly, that much didnāt surprise me.
What surprised me was that Fine was near the battle.
Fine, who had climbed the clock tower, was constantly looking up.
When she saw Elna knock a flute out of one of the vampires, she barely managed to stretch out her hand and catch it.
The moment I saw that, I was already moving.
I descended at maximum speed, casting every spell I could to streak toward Fine like a meteor.
The vampire who had his flute taken began to destroy the clock tower, throwing Fine outside.
At that moment, instead of reaching out, Fine threw the flute toward Elna.
Fineās face as she fell was one of satisfaction. I found it unbearably annoying, and I accelerated even more.
"Brat!"
The vampire released a magic projectile.
The instant it was about to hit Fine,
I deflected the magic projectile and embraced Fine in mid-air.
I felt a reassuring warmth and sighed in relief. I made it in time. She was saved.
I might have been the most anxious Iāve been recently.
And it had been a while since I felt this irritated.
"Who are you... to nullify my magic projectile...? State your name!"
"...Belonging to the Adventurer Guild's Imperial Capital Branch, SS-rank adventurer Silver... I have come to slay you."
I declared it calmly, filled with anger.
It was a vow. A vow not to let you escape.
"Lord Silver...?"
"...Donāt take unnecessary risks."
"Iām sorry... for acting rashly again..."
"...Weāll talk later. But... well done. Leave the rest to me."
I gently stroked Fineās head, and she blushed slightly.
As I lowered the blushing Fine to the ground, I looked up at the vampires in the sky.
There were only two vampires who could plan such a large-scale crime.
Heretics among vampires, marked as bounties by the Adventurer Guild. S-rank bounties, the brothers Sam and Dean.
"Lord Silver! Good luck..."
"Yeah, leave it to me."
After answering, I smoothly ascended into the sky.
Sam and Dean, who had heightened their vigilance, were both looking at me.
Of course, they would. The condition to become an SS-rank adventurer is to defeat S-rank monsters. In other words, I have defeated opponents equal to or greater than Sam and Dean in the past.
"I didnāt expect an SS-rank adventurer to show up... Iām surprised."
"Damn! One after another, itās just a hassle! You guys! Donāt interfere with my brotherās plan!!"
The smaller one, who was yelling, was probably the younger brother, Sam.
So the more powerful vampire was the older brother, Dean.
"Iām surprised too. You were supposed to be quiet since becoming bounties. You should have been living in fear, knowing that SS-rank adventurers would come if you moved."
"Donāt mock us! We were just waiting for the right moment!"
"But that moment has passed. The defense forces and knights have held back the monsters, and Iām here. Your plan is over."
"Hmph! Do you think youāve won? The flute was taken, but what now? There are still plenty of monsters, and if you and the hero are defeated, we win!!"
What, these guys.
They intend to take on both me and Elna at the same time.
Surprised, I looked at Elna, but she also had an unhappy expression.
"Youāve been underestimated. It took both of us to be on equal footing."
"Youāre the one underestimating us! We havenāt even used our full strength!"
"Then show us! Iāll annihilate you in the name of Amsberg!"
"No, Elna von Amsberg. I appreciate your enthusiasm, but Iāll take care of these guys."
I said this to Elna, who was striking a cool pose with her sword.
She turned her gaze to me.
With a frown, she glared at me as if she couldnāt believe it. It wasnāt a face a girl should make.
"Silver? Are my ears bad? I just heard you say youāre going to take my prey?"
"I didnāt say it that way. Your ears must be bad. A knight should protect the emperor. Iāll take care of these guys."
"Hey! Itās the same thing! You should step back! I was the one who first engaged these guys!"
"The emperor seems to be unguarded?"
"The emperor himself ordered me! I wonāt back down! Besides, these guys said the one word I hate the most! Iāve decided to cut them down... Step back. Iāll cut you down too."
Scary.
Sheās really angry. What did they say? Really.
I thought I would get support from Leo.
"Hah! Youāre so confident. Do you understand that the situation is at best a stalemate?"
"Stalemate? I think youāre clearly at a disadvantage."
"Silver. Donāt you see the situation below? The emperor is about to be killed. That hero seems eager to fight us. What if you go to support him? As an adventurer belonging to the empire, the emperor is important, right?"
The situation below is indeed at a disadvantage.
One of us should go to support them. If things continue like this.
But heās making a big mistake.
"I donāt belong to the empire. I belong to the guild. An adventurerās job is to protect the people of the entire continent, not to protect a country. I donāt get paid by the state, so I donāt care if the emperor dies."
"What?"
"If you donāt want him to die, let someone else protect him. I protect the people of this city, not the privileged class. I protect the people of this country, not the country itself. There should be people who collect taxes and have promised positions to protect the empire. Itās the job of the imperial family and knights to protect the empire. If they donāt do their job now, they have no value. So I wonāt take their job."
"Take their job?"
Dean seemed to have doubts about my words.
And the answer to his doubt soon arrived.
From the south of Kiel.
The sound of someone kicking the ground came from the side of the large group of monsters. The sound, like thunder, grew louder and louder, and then stopped as a royal appeared.
"Thatās...!?"
"Knights! Eighth Prince Leonard Reaux Ardler commands you! Protect the city of Kiel!! Charge!!"
Saying this, Leo led thousands of knights in a charge.
The monsters were unprepared for the sudden appearance of the knights.
Sam and Dean tried to stop them, but Elna and I stood in their way.
"Silver, letās do this. You take that one, and Iāll take this one?"
"Thatās a good proposal. Iāll accept it."
With our targets set, we immediately moved into combat readiness.
Below, the knights led by Leo were sweeping through the monsters like a flood. The excited monsters could only see forward. They had no way to counter a charge from the side.
Eventually, they would be seen as a threat and counterattack, but for now, they were safe.
Iāll take care of this guy in the meantime.
Thus, the Kiel defense battle entered its final phase.
ā ā ā
"Damn! A mere human!!"
Dean moved while firing countless magic projectiles, and I pursued and countered them.
The sky was lit up with bright light, like fireworks.
Dean seemed to be growing more frustrated with the scene.
In fact, it seemed they werenāt serious when fighting Elna. They were clearly more powerful now. They probably considered escape but decided to get serious when they couldnāt.
Showing his sharp fangs, a characteristic of vampires, Dean approached me.
He seemed to have decided that magic attacks wouldnāt work. He was indeed battle-hardened.
"Tch!"
I countered with magic while clicking my tongue, but Dean dodged it gracefully.
I tried to put some distance, but before I could, he got close and punched me in the stomach.
"Ugh!"
"Hah! Whatās wrong, SS-rank adventurer!?"
"Shut up!"
The magic I launched in retaliation was dodged, and Dean moved behind me.
Realizing it was bad, I channeled magic to protect my body.
Dean clasped his hands and brought them down on me with all his might.
I felt a shock like being hit by a hammer as I was slammed onto the main street of the city.
"Ouch! Doing whatever you want..."
"Whatās wrong? It seems you canāt even touch me when Iām serious?"
"What are you doing!? Youāre not that strong! Youāre holding back! Youāre holding back! Do you think that stance is cool? Itās not cool at all!!"
I was taunted by the enemy and scolded by my ally for some reason.
Adventurers donāt have it easy.
But Iāll accept this much.
For my important younger brother and the knights he involved, who could have arrived quickly but didnāt, to gain an advantage in the imperial succession, and for the soldiers of the defense forces who were forced to do so.
And for the people in this city.
For all of them, this level of pain is nothing.
But my irritation is reaching its limit.
"Hmph! Itās ridiculous to hide in fear of someone like you! Youāre just a human after all!"
"Seems you were hiding. Vampires have their limits too."
Saying this, I got up without any trouble.
There were no wounds on my body. Of course, no damage either.
Dean was surprised by this, but he soon realized something was wrong with the surroundings.
"Ugh!! My arm!! Wait, what?"
"Painful! Painful...? Healing?"
None of the defense soldiers fighting at Kielās walls or the knights who charged into the large group of monsters had died since I appeared.
They recovered immediately even when injured.
"You...! Were you using a healing barrier while fighting!?"
"Half right."
The barrier I had set up wasnāt just a healing barrier.
I had set up a healing barrier upon arrival and maintained it while fighting, preparing another spell.
The preparations were complete.
"I was fighting while setting up two barriers. One of them is now complete."
At that moment,
A giant magic circle appeared over the entire city of Kiel, and a large number of chains emerged, binding Dean and Sam.
"What! Such a thing!!"
"Damn! Release us!!"
"You canāt undo it. Ancient magic, Cursed Chain Barrier. It weakens the bound by cursing them. Are you ready... you two?"