The Heroines Who Framed Me Are Clinging to Me

Chapter 45 - The Seven Kill Squad (2)

A mid to high-level body.

Abilities focused on physical enhancement.

Weapon proficiency beyond just skilled—truly exceptional.

Special strengths: high speed and merciless precision.

‘That about sums it up.’

Having completed his analysis of Osal, Lloyd swiftly tilted his head.

A small, needle-like projectile grazed past his head, slicing through the air.

A single strand of hair floated down.

Lloyd smirked.

“You should be thankful I’ve got a full head of hair, old man.”

“D-damn it! How is he dodging everything?”

“Well, I can see it all.”

Lloyd’s body was hypersensitive—a trait of its original owner. His sight, hearing, and even smell were all maddeningly sharp. To the point where the buzz of a fly sounded like a helicopter.

The body’s original owner had died because he couldn’t handle such extreme sensitivity.

‘But for me, it’s perfect.’

Lloyd—or rather, the consciousness of Lee Han—was on a different level entirely. After all, those who have faced death can’t be compared to those who haven’t.

Thus,

—Ssshh.

Lloyd saw it.

Osal’s hand reaching into a buttonhole to retrieve another concealed weapon.

And how that same hand flicked the weapon with just a rebound of his fingers.

A simple turn of Lloyd’s head was enough to shatter the ambush.

“…Wh-what?!”

Osal’s eyes widened in shock.

No one had ever managed to counter his hidden weapon in buttonhole technique before.

But there was no need for him to worry.

“Die!”

A dagger sprang from his back pocket.

Osal’s arm traced a half-moon arc, aiming for Lloyd’s neck.

This one would be impossible to dodge.

—Sst!

A dark smoke, released from an earlier projectile, clouded Lloyd’s vision.

“Die!”

Searing heat exploded near Lloyd’s ear.

He winced and stepped sideways.

‘I didn’t expect my vision to be blocked.’

Of course, with his sharp hearing, sense of smell, and his sixth sense for mana, he still managed to evade the attack.

Though just a little late.

“This is nothing.”

Lloyd stretched out his leg.

His goal was to trip Osal from the inside.

“What?!”

Osal, unprepared for a physical attack, stumbled, and Lloyd used magic to freeze his hands in place.

‘He was moving too much, so it was hard to catch him.’

One of the conditions for Lloyd’s body-freezing magic was that the target needed to be momentarily still.

With both arms immobilized, Lloyd slammed his fist into Osal’s abdomen.

“Gah!”

Osal was hurled to the ground, blood spurting from his mouth.

At the same time, his frozen arms twisted grotesquely.

“Aaaaargh!”

Osal’s consciousness flickered.

Lloyd pulled Osal’s upper body toward him and stripped away every hidden weapon he had.

Thud, thud, thud.

The floor was littered with countless dark projectiles.

Lloyd then tied Osal’s mangled hands so securely that he couldn’t free them.

“P-please… don’t kill me.”

Osal, using what little strength he had left, dragged himself backward on his relatively unharmed backside. Lloyd smiled faintly.

“Why would I kill you? I don’t want to waste my energy.”

“Th-thank you.”

“But there’s a condition. Ilsal? How do I get into her room?”

“Ugh!”

Suddenly, Osal began to tremble uncontrollably.

What’s wrong with him?

“If there’s something keeping you from talking, at least say ‘carrot’ or something.”

“C-carrot.”

“Unbelievable.”

Lloyd wiped his cheek.

The blood that had trickled from his ear smeared red across his face.

“By the way, who’s backing you here?”

“B-backing?”

“The ones funding the Seven Kill Squad, turning a blind eye to your illegal activities. Who are they?”

“I-I don’t kn-know…”

“That’s hard to believe. At first, I thought it might be the Harold Trading Company, but that doesn’t seem right.”

“N-no…”

“Claire mentioned that one of her attackers seemed to have the markings of the Blood Cult.”

Osal’s eyes darted left and right in panic.

So, is that a no or what?

“If not, could it be… the Holy Constantine?”

“Grk!”

Osal’s eyes suddenly rolled back.

—Pshhk.

A piercing sound rang out, and blood began to pour from Osal’s eyes, nose, and mouth.

At the same time, his head slumped forward.

“…Quite the harsh condition they put on you.”

Lloyd muttered as he stood up.

Swaying slightly, his vision briefly turned red from the overwhelming smell of blood.

“…Let’s go in.”

Murmuring to himself, Lloyd pulled out a vial.

Crunch.

The bitter taste of heavy metals spread through his mouth as he chewed the sedetive.

“Alright, on to the next one.”

Lloyd started walking toward the distant hallway.

◆

“Please, get back, Princess Yulia…! I mean, Lady Yulia!”

“Chief! You’ve said everything and now you’re changing your tune? What’s the meaning of this?”

“Hahahah! I thought that would rattle them, but they don’t seem bothered at all.”

—Kwoooom!

A steel mace slammed into the spot where Princess Yulia had been standing, sending stone fragments and dust flying.

As the dust settled, the figures of a maid and a butler emerged.

“No one is allowed beyond this point without a pass.”

“Without a pass.”

“The only thing required is Madam Ilsal’s approval.”

“Approval only.”

“Status is irrelevant.”

“It’s irrelevant.”

The maid and butler repeated themselves like parrots.

“What a creepy pair of twins.”

The village chief muttered, his muscles bulging.

His body hardened as if he were wearing armor.

In an instant, his figure disappeared.

—Kwooom!

A powerful explosion erupted from the butler’s side.

Somehow, the chief had gotten behind the butler and was unleashing a barrage of punches.

Thud, thud, thud!

Each punch drove the butler’s legs deeper into the ground.

As the butler’s expression darkened,

His sister, the maid, swung her massive mace.

The chief, focused on the butler, found it nearly impossible to avoid.

—Kaaang!

But the mace didn’t strike his back. It stopped just short.

Yulia shouted,

“Keep an eye on your back!”

“Thank you, My Lady! I knew I could count on you!”

“Focus!”

Yulia’s eyes glowed blue as she shouted.

Her hands moved swiftly and gracefully, as if conducting an orchestra.

The invisible energy that had protected the chief’s back now pressed the maid.

It was a swift and fluid attack, too agile for the maid to block with her massive mace.

“Ugh!”

The maid groaned as she was slammed against the wall.

Her body took continuous damage.

The chief, keeping an eye on the butler, let out a sigh.

“Hah. So this is the bloodline of Estrid? I can’t even tell what kind of magic this is.”

The chief had once spent a lot of time on battlefields in his younger days. His name was even recorded somewhere in the Imperial Palace. He had only retired to a quiet village because he no longer wanted a complicated life.

To his eyes, Yulia’s talent wasn’t just exceptional—it was brilliant.

‘Though she’s no match for that boy Lloyd…’

Her blue, glowing eyes.

They were nothing like the magic he knew.

As a result, even the maid, who was at least an A-grade body-enhancement specialist, was struggling.

The butler seemed to be somewhere around S-grade, though.

“It’s difficult for a mage to withstand my attacks!”

—Kwoom!

The chief swung his fist, slamming the butler to the ground.

The butler’s body sank into the earth like a stake driven into the ground.

“Hold him down, Princess!”

Crack!

The chief kicked the butler in the face, knocking him out, and immediately rushed toward the maid.

After all, the finishing blow should always be delivered by those skilled in close combat.

“Now!”

As Yulia’s magic ceased, the chief’s fist was about to strike the maid.

—Kwoom!

The stairs caved in.

“Damn it.”

The chief, who had caught Yulia mid-air, landed safely while protecting her.

When he looked up, the surroundings were pitch black, like they had fallen into a well. The only visible thing was the white ceiling far above them.

From above, two faces peeked down, observing.

It was the butler and maid.

“How do you like the protective magic of our mansion?”

“Protective magic of our mansion.”

“No intruders have ever made it past this point.”

“Not one. Hehehe.”

The two laughed mockingly.

“You bastards!”

The chief grabbed a stone from the ground and hurled it upward.

But the stone bounced off as if it had hit an invisible barrier and fell back down.

“It’s useless.”

“Useless. Heh heh.”

Seeing this, Yulia sighed softly.

“The butler must be a barrier specialist.”

“No wonder he seemed weak despite his aura!”

“…What kind of place is this, anyway?”

As Yulia looked around to assess their surroundings,

The chief urgently shielded her with his body, pressing her down.

“It’s a trap! Put up a barrier, now!”

—Pabababababam!

Before he could finish speaking, projectiles rained down on them.

Several blades embedded themselves in the chief’s back, drawing blood.

A moment later, Yulia’s force field enveloped them both.

“Are you alright?”

“Grrk. This is nothing. But…”

Even though she had raised a barrier, the attacks were overwhelming.

The sheer number of projectiles and the amount of magic being used was absurd.

“It’s a combination of a stationary spell and a mechanical trap.”

“…I’m getting overwhelmed. There’s too much.”

Yulia’s force field began to visibly weaken.

Before long, it had shrunk to the point where it was barely protecting both of them.

It’s going to break.

…It’s going to break.

Just as Yulia was about to close her eyes in desperation,

—Thwack!

The twin siblings watching from above were suddenly knocked backward.

—“Heave-ho.”

A boy’s voice echoed, followed by the sound of someone leaping over the pit.

Soon, a familiar face peeked down at them.

“What are you two doing down there in such a dark, gloomy place?”

It was Lloyd.