I Reincarnated Into A Single-Celled Organism! - I Reincarnated into a Single-celled Organism! - Chapter 177

“Erika, barrier!” I barked.

“A-ahhh! Yes!”

As the six men charged us at once, Erika began to erect a barrier. Thankfully, she had been preparing the ingredients secretly since they appeared, and the men only managed to make it a few feet before the barrier was erected. The leader was able to stop, but two of the men charged right into the barrier, and they were thrown back like they had been struck by harm, flying ten feet away.

“You… what is this?” The leader’s eyes flashed.

“Didn’t you know?” I tilted my head. “Erika isn’t just from the Academy, she trains under the Grand Mage of Barriers. One could say that this is one of her talents.”

“Hiding behind a barrier?” The leader’s expression was starting to lose his calm demeanor. “Coward!”

“Spirit…” Erika spoke in a way she was sure the men outside couldn’t hear us. “This isn’t like the barrier I made outside when we fought that larger bandit troupe. I used an amulet my mistress imbued with her power. This one is only at my strength and can only last about fifteen minutes.”

“That will be enough.” I smiled and patted her head again, causing her face to turn red before I turned and spoke loudly. “Fifteen minutes will be enough.”

Penelope looked at me, her expression somewhat cold, but she looked away quickly. What was that look?

“Fifteen minutes?” The leader snorted. “You think I won’t be able to kill you in fifteen minutes.”

“I think it’s already been five minutes.” I shrugged. “This is a busy pathway, so you’ve not only needed to send the guards away but have the guards block the path from anyone coming or going to the academy. Now that the barrier has been made, someone somewhere has to suspect something is going on and will be sending people to check.”

“Y-you…”

“You’ve already wasted five minutes. Do you think those guards can hold people back for fifteen? To close a populated street for twenty minutes, do think anyone in town would be dumb enough to believe in a bandit attack? You’re not only offending the Academy but also a main branch. You seem to think the Capala household is at your level. This is because they are a side branch and the side branches are competing against each other. However, you have the daughter of one side branch and the fiancée of another, both with direct ties to the main branch. Any infighting within the Capala household will be instantly resolved as they all come for you!”

“Me? I-I’m just following orders!” The leader stepped back, his lips trembling as my words dug into him.

“Your orders will destroy the Stride household. You think you’re going to walk away from this, patsy? Even if the Stride family survives this obvious attack on the Academy and the Capala family, you absolutely won’t survive. You’ll be strong up and torn apart by vultures!”

“Enough!” He shouted. “All of you, attack the barrier! We must kill them before anyone arrives!”

He was completely panicked now. All the men lunged forward, using a variety of attacks on the barrier.

“Spirit!” Erika spoke in desperation. “This is no good. I said fifteen minutes if they left it alone. If they are attacking it, I won’t be able to last two minutes.”

“I know,” I responded. “Just hold as long as you can.”

Had I not said anything, the leader would have realized this barrier could be broken through in short order anyway. Instead, it was better he was panicked and desperate. At least, that’s what I thought.

“Any other bright ideas?” Penelope asked, giving me a flat look.

“I might have one.” I smiled back, causing her expression to turn odd for a second before glancing away.

A minute later, the barrier started cracking. However, at the same time, the attacks of the bandits were growing weaker too. The only one was standing back, the leader, frowned. He had been watching them, but now he had an uneasy expression on his face.

“What are you doing?” He demanded.

“S-sorry, boss… I’m getting, exhausted.” One of the men said.

Another dropped his weapon, unable to lift it anymore. A third suddenly fell to his knees, unable to get up.

“You…” His eyes flashed to me. “What did you do?”

“You gave me plenty of time to distribute toxins.” I shrugged. “I’d be a fool not to… if it’s any consolation, it’s just a stamina drainer. You won’t die from the toxin.”

“Toxin… you…” His face turned even more ugly.

“S-spirit…” Erika’s face was sweaty, and she looked like she was struggling.

“Sorry, I wasn’t able to differentiate ally from foe. Still working on designing a proper vector. You can put poisons into all kinds of vectors, viruses, bacteria, or just chemicals… As long as it can get into the body and affect the appropriate biochemistry, it can be considered a successful vector. I don’t have any reliable vectors yet, so this is just pure toxin. I learned about it from a question in the exam. It gave me an idea of how to create it.”

“You…” Penelope also collapsed to the ground.

“It’s okay, I’m not affected. I’ll take it away from here.” I looked over at Erika. “You’ve done enough.”

As if my words were a comfort, a smile formed on Erika’s face as she collapsed to the ground. The barrier collapsed as she hit the ground. She wasn’t unconscious, but she didn’t have the energy to move.

“Die!” The leader raced at me.

“Oh? Well, you weren’t attacking, so you probably have a bit more energy left than anyone else.” I pulled out the blade from my Luminal Space and then slashed.

It was a lazy slash, but he was already weakened by the toxin. Even if he hadn’t been, my strength was at a level that I could have sent him flying regardless, but it was at least an excuse. He had managed to reserve quite a bit of strength and he put it all in that strike, hoping to kill me if nothing else. He was shocked when his blade struck mine and it felt like hitting a solid wall. He went flying back, slamming into the ground with a thud. His blade went flying away in two pieces.

No one would suspect I used any extra strength though. After all, he had already been affected by the toxin, and anyone who investigated knew my blade.

I heard a gasp. “The Eternal Harmony Blade?”

It was Erika. She had just enough strength that she was able to get her head in a direction she could watch. The toxin sapped all of their energy, and I didn’t know exactly how long it lasted since this was the first time I was using it, but it didn’t paralyze them or make them unconscious or something like that.

“That is the prince’s sword?” Penelope was similarly trying to watch, although her position wasn’t as good. “How did he get that? The bet?”

“No wonder they wanted to attack spirit,” Erika stated.

The blade might have been a boon, but it certainly wasn’t the reason for the attack. I didn’t decide to clarify though. The girls could believe what they wanted to believe. It was probably for the better that this was spread as the reason. I’m sure even the families trying to kill me would agree with that.

I put the blade away once the leader was subdued and then brought out a simple dagger. I walked up to the first man who was struggling to move, but he had a bit of armor on and the added weight made him stuck on the ground like a turtle. In a single motion, I lifted his head by the hair, took the dagger, and slit his throat. There was a moment of silence, and then I heard Erika gasp.

“Wh-what are you doing?” The leader had managed to roll over in time to see his companion killed.

“Me?” I asked pointing the bloody knife at my chest. “I’m killing bandits.”

“Y-you…”

“Spirit…” Erika spoke up. “T-they probably aren’t bandits. They are likely the servants and bodyguards of the Stride household. If you kill them, it’s like attacking the Stride household.”

Penelope rolled her eyes. “Do you think he doesn’t know that? He’s killing them anyway.”

“Do you dare?” The leader cried out, although he grew panicked as I walked to the second guy, who panicked, flailing desperately as I walked up to him.

“How can I know they are nobles? They presented themselves as bandits. Shouldn’t I take people at their word?” I stabbed the guy in the throat as he stared up at me with disbelieving eyes.

“What’s happening to them?” Erika gasped.

The bodies I stabbed were quickly dissolving. The first one was already gone, and the second looked like a melted candle. It was grotesque enough that Erika and Penelope both looked away.

I lifted my dagger. “Toxins. Just cleaning up my messes.”

“I heard…some assassins use such toxins…” Penelope gasped, looking at me like she just realized something.

I had lied about the reason, but I didn’t see a need to correct her.

“Stop!” The next one I walked toward cried out. “There is still a chance for you if you just stop!”

“It’s too bad there is no chance for you.” He died a moment later.

“You can’t do this! I demand mercy!” Another guard cried out.

“Demand? Did you offer me a chance at life when you set upon my life?” I asked, my eyes flashing with anger. “You can take my life, but I can’t take yours? Is that what you think?”

I threw the knife this time. He didn’t have as much armor, and it hit his chest squarely, piercing his heart. I walked up and yanked it out a moment later.

“Let’s not go too far.” The leader appeared calmer than the other remaining guards. “You’ve got your revenge. You can stop now. It’s not too late.”

“He’s correct. “Penelope spoke up, her voice not condescending this time. “As much as I hate to admit it, you can kill all of the guards, but you can’t kill him. He’s likely not a bodyguard, but one of the nobles under Jordan directly. The others are prepared to die in battle, but if you kill him, you’ll directly offend the Stride household.”

I looked back at Penelope. Her expression was sincere and I realized she was genuinely trying to help.

“So, you’re saying I can kill the other bodyguard then.” Penelope’s expression turned perplexed as I turned to the last one.

“No, no!” he shouted, but then, I provided the killing blow.

Congratulations! You have reached level 4.

Oh, look, I leveled.