The Academy’s Weakest Became A Demon-Limited Hunter
chapter-238

A man swung his sword in tandem with his step.

Isaac evaded, letting go of the dagger lodged in the burly man’s hand, and then punched the face of the man swinging the sword.

The man’s face caved in for a moment.

Kwajik!!

With the sound of something shattering, the man’s body flew through the air.

Kwadadang.

The man’s flying body overturned several tables and bounced off the ground, before finally slamming into the outer wall. He was already unconscious.

For a moment, the atmosphere froze. Such overwhelming force was not something easily witnessed in a rural area like this.

However, the group of men quickly regrouped. Not knowing exactly how strong Isaac was, they decided to rely on their numbers and their size to overwhelm him.

Soon, Isaac kicked off the ground.

For a few minutes, all sorts of noises leaked out from the tavern. The sound of wooden tables and chairs breaking, glass bottles shattering, and shouts. But above all, the most prominent sound was the screams of pain.

Alice was planning to stop anyone who tried to flee from the tavern, but that didn’t happen.

A moment later, Alice stepped inside the now-quiet tavern.

“Baby, are you done?”

“Not yet.”

Inside the wrecked tavern, human traffickers laid scattered, their bodies encased in ice. All had broken limbs or were bleeding heavily, with no part of their bodies left unscathed.

Moreover, the chilling cold from the ice restraints seeped into their bodies, causing them to groan in pain.

Isaac stood over the burly man with a dagger stuck in his hand, peering down at him. Tears streamed down his face.

“I-I’m sorry…! I’m sorry! Please, stop this…!”

Isaac firmly twisted the dagger lodged in his hand.

“Aaaaargh!!”

The burly man let out a scream mixed with sobs.

“I still haven’t been given an answer.”

Isaac adjusted his glasses. The cold demeanor of the young boy instilled fear in the burly man.

“S-sixty five…! I saw them four days ago! According to my estimate and the records, that’s how many there are…!”

“How many people are transported, and how often?”

“Every five days…! It doesn’t matter how many. The more, the better, they said they’d pay more…!”

It was quite a progress. Although the number of sacrifices was not yet sufficient, if left unchecked, Isaac would have died suddenly within two weeks.

Isaac looked at Alice.

“Alice, stay here and keep things under control when people arrive.”

“Take care.”

Isaac created ice restraints to secure the burly man and then headed to the tavern basement. He had already mapped out the route with [Clairvoyance].

The eerie basement had several cells. There were only seven adults and five boys and girls imprisoned.

The adults, haggard and worn out, brightened at the sight of Isaac. They desperately pleaded to be rescued, promising to do anything.

Kwang!

Isaac shattered the cell doors with a weak [Frost Explosion], breaking the restraints that bound the prisoners in the same way.

“Go now.”

“Thank you, thank you…!”

They hurriedly fled the basement.

Next, Isaac broke the cell door where the children were held and entered. All but one flinched and trembled in fear.

Isaac leaned down and smiled brightly.

“It’s okay, let’s get out of here.”

The faces of the terrified children showed a mix of relief and suspicion. Isaac tried his best to reassure them.

He told them that there was no need to stay here any longer and that they could go up to the pretty lady waiting upstairs. Though they couldn’t fully understand the situation, they rushed out of the cell and escaped the basement.

However, one girl remained rooted to the spot, as if her feet were glued to the ground.

A kid… she was too old to be called a child. She appeared to be in her mid-teens at most.

“…”

Isaac waited for the remaining girl to leave the cell, but she just stared at him intently.

Isaac couldn’t sense any fear from the girl.

It wasn’t that she lacked a sense of reality. The girl knew exactly what situation she was in. She simply didn’t feel fear.

“Why aren’t you leaving?”

The girl pointed at Isaac.

“You’re a Prince from a fairy tale.”

The girl smiled, comparing Isaac, who had come to rescue her, to the Prince from a storybook she had read.

Isaac was actually relieved. If she saw him as a Prince, it might help mitigate the trauma this ordeal could have caused.

The girl wore a red cloak and had an elegant appearance. However, unlike her looks, there was no hint of nobility in her attire.

If she had been brought here, she likely wasn’t from a high-status or wealthy family.

Isaac asked.

“Where’s your mother?”

“She’s dead.”

“Your father?”

“Dead.”

“...Are you from this village?”

“No.”

“How did you get here?”

“I rode a magic beast.”

“Where’s the magic beast?”

“Dead.”

The girl answered with a constant smile on her face, obviously enjoying the situation. Isaac realized that her heart was broken.

Isaac sighed and apologized for asking about her parents. But the girl just tilted her head and asked, “Why are you apologizing?”

There was no need to explain. Isaac grabbed the girl’s wrist.

“Let’s go for now.”

“Prince, your hand is big.”

Isaac left the underground prison with the girl.

* * *

“Thank you for your hard work, Ice Sovereign.”

“Please take care of them.”

“Leave it to us.”

The group of men that had used the tavern as a hideout and the people rescued from the basement were handed over to the followers of the Helize Church, who had followed from afar.

The saintess who had chosen to become my ally assigned her most trusted followers to me. These followers were all affiliated with the Academy Church.

The Holy Kingdom of Bardio was founded to separate religion and politics, but like the Empire, it was responsible for its citizens. Therefore, it was better to leave the matters concerning the Empire’s citizens to the Helize Church, which constituted Bardio.

The followers were spread across various branches that I had given them. We had agreed beforehand that the Helize Church would handle the aftermath whenever my minions attacked a branch.

Now, it was time to head straight to Ropenheim Barony. Alice and I were about to board a carriage.

At that moment, the girl in the red cloak approached me.

“What’s your name, Prince?”

She seemed to want to say hello before we parted ways.

“Isaac.”

“I’m ‘Michelle'. Isaac oppa, can I give you a gift?”

The way she called me, “oppa." didn’t bother me... at all.

“What is it?”

She gestured for me to come closer.

I bent down to meet her eye level, and she gently placed her hand on my forehead and closed her eyes.

“May the blessing of the incarnation be with you.”

She murmured softly and then opened her eyes again.

I didn’t feel anything special.

“What was that?”

“I prayed for you.”

Michelle smiled.

She was just an ordinary girl, in terms of both level and constitution. Her heart was in tatters, which made her psychological state seem strange.

Well, let’s take that as a good thing.

“Thank you.”

“If you’re grateful, then marry me in the future.”

“...?”

So suddenly…?

“I fell for you at first sight.”

It was quite bold to entrust her future to a man she had just met today.

However, her innocence made me smile.

“Michelle, marriage isn’t something you decide so easily-”

“Baby.”

Alice suddenly appeared by my side, grabbed my hands with both of hers, and pressed her ample chest against my arm.

“It’s time to go now. We don’t have much time, do we?”

“…?”

I was just about to leave anyway. I said, “Yes, let’s go” and turned around and boarded the carriage.

“Was it Michelle? How did a kid like you… it must have been terrifying. It’s okay now, you can relax. Since you’re young, people will take good care of you.”

Alice spoke kindly, patting Michelle’s head covered by the red cloak.

The two girls looked at each other. Alice smiled gently, while Michelle let out a cold, sudden laugh.

I watched Michelle through the open carriage door and said, “Take care. If you need anything, tell the Church.” And with that, Alice boarded the carriage and closed the door.

Soon, the carriage departed.

For a while, Michelle quietly watched the departing carriage.

* * *

“What is this…?”

The carriage had flipped over, its wheels spinning aimlessly. The followers of the Helize Church had been subdued and were unconscious, with bright red blood splattered around.

Only one follower regained consciousness quickly. Enduring the severe pain in the back of his neck, he assessed the surroundings. His mind was a jumble, but the situation was clear.

They were transporting the people Isaac had handed over in a wagon. Then someone attacked the driver, knocking him out, causing this unexpected disaster.

The human traffickers had already turned into cold corpses.

A fluttering sound accompanied by a fearful groan was heard. The follower turned his head toward the sound.

A girl, wearing a red cloak, walked through the puddle of blood. In her hands were strange hatchets of unknown origin.

A muscular man, missing an arm, was crawling away from the girl. However, her steps showed no hesitation.

Michelle’s golden eyes glinted.

“S-save me…! Please…!”

“Don’t beg.”

Michelle shook her head coldly and raised her hatchet.

“You’re no different from the foolish wolf.”

Kwajak.

Michelle swung her hatchet in a flash.

The blade split the man’s throat and embedded deeply into his body. The man barely managed to let out a scream before he lost his life.

Michelle’s billowing cloak was the color of blood. The dark memories and sworn vows it contained were deeply embedded within.

Michelle wiped the blood off her face with the back of her hand. She was quite calm, like she was already used to this.

These men were wolves that devoured people. Michelle had purposely gotten herself captured by these wolves to get to their leader. She was going to get rid of them all.

But Isaac, that man, seemed intent on doing what Michelle had planned to do. If that was the case, Michelle decided there was no need for her to act. Even while being imprisoned, she realized his incredible strength

Now, there was little left to do.

Just trim the branches.

Michelle’s hatchet transformed into a form of mana and seeped into her body. She made eye contact with the follower who regained consciousness.

Suppressing the overwhelming fear flooding in, the follower quietly prayed, “O Lord, please protect this foolish one…”

Michelle ignored him, adjusted her red cloak, and walked away.

***

Deep in the night, someone repeatedly knocked on the entrance to Baron Ropenheim’s mansion.

The attendant grumbled about who could possibly be knocking at this hour as he went to open the door.

Standing at the door was a young man with silver-blue hair, Isaac. The attendant felt a sense of unease at his familiar appearance.

“Excuse me, is Baron Ropenheim here?”

Isaac asked politely, with a smile on his face.

Despite the unease, the attendant showed a disgruntled expression towards Isaac, who was looking for the Baron in the middle of the night.

***