The Revenge of the Soul Eater

Miroslav Sauzar ③

 

  「『Take flight, unseen bird of prey――Invisible Eagle!』 」

 

  Together with the end of her chant, an invisible blade leaped through the air.

 

  The wind magic of the 2nd realm definitely hit the monster――the harpy that is flying in the air, and it caused a deep wound on the monster’s right wing.  

 

  The monster with an old lady’s face, torso, and a strange-looking lower body of bird feathers could not remain flying in the air; it screamed as it started to fall down in a spiral.

 

  Did it crash into the hillside? Or did it hit the branches of the needle-leaf trees? Whichever the case, it would never be safe falling from that altitude.

 

  After killing that harpy, Miroslav then immediately went after her next target.

 

  There were 7 harpies that attacked her.
3 of them were defeated.
More than half of her enemies are still alive.

 

  Harpies are ferocious, and their appetite is strong.
It’s not rare for them to hunt monsters that are bigger than themselves in flocks.

 

  4 harpies could easily tear one human up and eat them.
They are definitely enemies she can not be careless with until the very last one of them is dead.

 

  Miroslav locked onto the next target of her 『Invisible Eagle』spell with a sharp gaze.

 

  Then, maybe it’s because the harpies felt her sharp will to fight, their movements in the air visibly fell into disarray.

 

  These flying monsters are indeed ferocious, but on the other hand, they are also cowardly creatures that will just flee once they determine that they are at a disadvantage.

 

  The harpies probably judged that they were no match for Miroslav after her blades of wind reduced the number of their comrades to half in the blink of an eye, so they decided to turn their back to the human and fly away. 

 

  However, them doing that only made them prey to Miroslav, as she unleashed her magic at them mercilessly from behind.

 

  1 harpy, 2 harpies, the number of monsters started to quickly decrease.

 

  In the end, only 1 out of 7 harpies escaped safely.
It turns out Miroslav had killed 6 harpies in the short fight.

 

  She was glad that the outcome of her solo hunting on Mount Skim was an excellent one.

 

  As if it was attesting to that fact, Miroslav’s body trembled greatly.

 

  The red-haired magician then immediately checked her own level and made an expression of joy and relief as she clenched her fist after a brief pause.

 

  After that, Miroslav left that location quickly.
That’s because she is wary that the sounds of battle and the scent of blood will draw in new monsters.

 

  She welcomes monsters coming up to her, but back-to-back battles would be unfavorable for her.

 

  She headed to a place that has a simple tent set up, and there was a barrier that wards off monsters encircling that tent.

 

  This is the spot Miroslav is using as her base on Mount Skim.
She has settled down here as she continued to single-mindedly hunt monsters.

 

  Needless to say, that is a dangerous act.
A magician that is a party’s backline staying on Mount Skim alone could be better described as suicide. 

 

  However, it’s exactly because she’s doing that that she could obtain a tremendous amount of experience, as Miroslav had already gained 2 levels since she left Ishka and became level 『17』. 

 

  In exchange for that, about half of the magic stones in her bag that was originally stuffed with them were already gone.  

 

  Magic stones are just as the name implies, they are ores that have mana inside.
They can greatly lighten the burden of the magician.

 

  They are valuable items; there’s no doubt that Miroslav could make a fortune if she exchanged those single-use magic stones for money. 

 

  If her father sees this, he would probably become half-mad――A dark smile surfaced on her face with such thoughts.

 

  The magic stones that she has used in her battles up until now and the tools she used for the barrier that’s currently set up, everything was purchased with the support of the Sauzar company.

 

  She told her father that she needed those things for the gryphon extermination and how she could connect them to a house of Earl when she completes the mission――But as a matter of fact, that reasoning was just her swindling him.

 

  Why? That’s because Miroslav had no intention to fight gryphons in the first place.

 

◆◆◆

 

  To dismantle『Falcon Sword』.

 

  Miroslav’s aim in the incident this time could be summed up with that one sentence.

 

  Her reeling Larz and Iria into taking separate action was also a part of this plan.

 

  In this context, to dismantle includes Miroslav’s relationship with Larz as well.
To sever the two childhood friend’s relationship and have Larz all to herself――That was not what she planned at all.

 

  The love she certainly once had for Larz has severely faded now.

 

  The one month where she was pulled into a bottomless swamp― Whether it was hatred or lust, she had never experienced being struck by emotions that raw before.

 

  Compared to that richness of emotions that teased even her soul, both the affection from Larz and her admiration for him felt as light as cotton candy.

 

  What occupied Miroslav’s heart right now was the fear, disgust, regret, remorse, atonement, adulation, affection, and obedience that she has for Sora.

 

  That whirlpool of violent emotions was what ended up washing away the feelings Miroslav had before like a flooded river.

 

  That’s how she was able to have the resolve to dismantle 『Falcon sword』which took them five years to build.

 

  ――However, if she didn’t come to hate Larz, that means she wouldn’t want to hurt him either.
Naturally, she had never once thought about something like killing him.

 

  If anything, Miroslav made the plan this time to help him.

 

  From what Miroslav can tell, Sora doesn’t really hold strong hostility towards Larz.
The fact that Sora had given her clear orders against Lunamaria and Iria but nothing regarding Larz is evidence of that.

 

  However, Larz would probably never stop seeing Sora, who took Lunamaria from him, as his enemy.
If Iria ends up in Sora’s hands as well, the hostility Larz has towards him will burn even more intensely. 

 

  Then, if that continues on, Sora will definitely see Larz as his enemy.

 

  Before things get to that point, she has to make the hostility Larz has towards Sora disappear.

  But that is not something that’s easy to accomplish.

  That is because the one who manipulated Larz to hate Sora is none other than Miroslav herself.

  If she suddenly changes her attitude and starts taking Sora’s side, Larz will get suspicious no matter what.

 

  That’s why she decided to make use of the gryphon quest that Larz brought upon himself.

  Avoiding suspicions by doing what Larz wants when he’s fixated on clearing up his reputation, she started to get the stage ready behind the scenes.

 

  Miroslav’s aim was simple.

 

  After Larz lost Lunamaria, his fame as an adventurer weakened and he grew frustrated.
That frustration gradually grew after his clash with Iria.

 

  Larz himself knows better than anyone else that the gryphon extermination this time was irrational.

 

  ――Thus, when he loses even Miroslav, just how much will he lament and regret?

 

  ――Then, when he’s saved from that grief and regret, all the hostility he has will probably start to disappear.

 

  Therefore, this situation on Mount Skim was perfect.

  No matter how much Larz dislikes Sora, if he wants to help Miroslav as soon as possible, he would have no choice but to ask a dragon rider since they can fly in the sky.

 

  It was a cheap trick to make Larz have no choice but to rely on Sora.
Since Miroslav chose to stay behind herself, Larz will not be able to ask the adventurers’ guild for help.
Even if he does, the guild won’t take action.

 

  Even the three other party members who she hired as Larz’s bodyguards- They would most likely explain the situation to the guild quickly so that nobody would think that they abandoned her.

 

  If there’s any problem, it would be that she doesn’t know when Sora will be back from the village of Melte, and she doesn’t know if Sora will actually rescue her.

 

  She had once thought of using the name Alexandra to send a messenger to the village of Melte, but in the end, she didn’t do that and just went to Mount Skim.

 

  That was because there was something she made up her mind on.

 

   Suppose that her plan this time goes well, 『Falcon Sword』 gets dismantled, and Larz and Sora come to a truce, what is she going to do after that?

  Miroslav was going to return to Sora after she sent Larz out of Ishka.

 

  However, Sora probably wouldn’t think that she’ll come back to his side.
If that wasn’t the case, he wouldn’t have told her he’s not going to meddle with 『Falcon Sword』 after he takes Lunamaria and Iria.

 

  Sora probably thinks Miroslav’s actions were to have Larz all to herself.

 

  Looking at it from another perspective, that already shows that Sora doesn’t have any interest in her.

 

  He released her so that she could be used as a tool to destroy 『Falcon Sword』 from inside, so there is neither trust nor faith there.
It would profit Sora if she listened to his orders, and if she doesn’t, he’ll just kill her as his enemy.
That was probably all that was.

 

  Miroslav is putting her life in danger to level up on the mountain so that she could show Sora that she can be of use to him.

 

  From her experience during the month that she was captured, she is certain that Sora had learned something that’s close to “energy drain” but different in nature.

 

  And looking back at his words and actions of that time, she predicts that it was something that had to do with his level.

 

  To put it bluntly, what Sora seeks is high-level food.
If that’s the case, if she reached a level that Sora cannot resist, it should make him interested in her.

 

  If there was one thing Miroslav miscalculated, that would be as soon as Sora returned from the village of Melte, he went to the capital.

 

  At that time, Larz hadn’t returned to Ishka yet, so of course, he could not ask Sora for help.

 

  As the result, Miroslav’s solo hunting had already gone over 5 days, and soon she will be reaching the 10th day.

 

  For adventurers, camping out is an everyday occurrence.
Miroslav wouldn’t say anything about something of this degree.

 

  However, it’s not like she’s comfortable living in a way where she can’t take baths and doesn’t have enough clothes either. 

 

  Not only did she have limited food and water, the barrier she put up doesn’t work on every single monster either.

 

  She had already woken up during many nights from the sounds of beasts stepping on fallen leaves.

 

  She is aware that she is not in good shape, and at this rate, she wouldn’t even have the energy and strength to leave the mountain. 

 

  But still, Miroslav remained on the mountain.

 

  The situation right now was still within her expectations.
If that wasn’t the case, she wouldn’t have brought enough magic stones where she wouldn’t run out even if she kept using them for 10 days.

 

  She continued her monster extermination.

 

  Maybe she had already gone crazy long ago――She continued to kill monsters while she was driven by such suspicions.

 

  But her efforts paid off in the end, perhaps.

 

  When Miroslav heard the wings of a wyvern 3 days later, her level had further increased by 2 and reached level “19”.