Debuff Master

‘What did he say just now? Is this old man dreaming or something?’ Siegfried wondered. Then, he concluded that Quandt’s grievous wounds had made him hallucinate or something, so he ignored the old man’s ramblings and continued on feeding the old man the potion in his hands.

Woooong!

He did not stop at just that and even infused his mana into Quandt to speed up his recovery and wrapped bandages around his wounds.

Siegfried did his best to apply the best first aid he could possibly do to save Quandt.

Perhaps it was due to his efforts, but Quandt seemed to have stabilized and was no longer in danger of dying. It was fortunate that his wounds were not fatal ones, and Siegfried was able to get to him just in time.

“King Siegfried…” Quandt groaned.

“Do you feel better now?” Siegfried asked.

“Yes, I feel better…” Quandt replied. Then, he looked at him and said, “King Siegfried…”

“Yes?”

“I mean, how can I turn a blind eye after seeing all of this? Besides, you and the Bavarian Workshop are my partners, so I can’t just let you die like that.”

“Thank you. I truly thank you from the bottom of my heart.”

“Thank me later,” Siegfried said. Then, he went to the other blacksmiths and applied first aid to them as well.

After a while, more people came to the workshop to save the injured.

“Hurry up!”

“Move them!”

“Damn it! Call for more healers! We need more healers!”

“Heal the Head Blacksmith first!”

The workshop was in utter chaos, and many people were busily running around in an attempt to restore order.

“But what in the world happened here? Which brave moron would dare to do something like this?” Siegfried asked Quandt, who was receiving treatment from a healer.

He used the perfect words “brave moron” to describe the perpetrator. The Bavarian Workshop was one of the top three workshops on the continent, and whoever dared to mess with them was surely going to pay the price.

The price for doing something like this to one of the top three workshops on the continent was more expensive than the perpetrator’s life.

“Shakiro…”

“Hmm?” Siegfried doubted his ears once again. Then, he waved his hand in front of Quandt’s face while wondering, ‘Is this old man still out of it?’

“Excuse me, Quandt-nim?”

“Yes?”

“Are you alright?”

“W-What are you doing?”

“I’m checking whether you’re back to your senses or not.”

“...?”

“I have a feeling you’re still out of it.”

“...?”

“How will Master Shakiro do this when he’s already dead? Also, he’s not the type of person who would do something like this even if he’s alive.”

Truth be told, Siegfried was not that familiar with the Weapon Master, Shakiro, as the time he spent with him was far too short. However, he learned from that short while they spent together just how pure and upright of a person Shakiro was.

Shakiro’s disciples were the true testament to his personality, as every single one of them was righteous and just.

However, there was no point in discussing whether Shakiro was a good or evil person.

Why?

Because Siegfried had witnessed him die with his own eyes…

“Don’t lose your heart, as it will be your strongest weapon. And if you do manage to become powerful one day, then I want you to use it for the greater good. I want you to become a responsible person who knows how to use his strength in the right way.”

“Siegfried… I consider you… my disciple…”

Weapon Master Shakiro left those final words before breathing his last and disintegrated into nothing.

In other words, there was no way Shakiro could have committed this massacre, as he was already dead.

“I think you hurt your head quite badly. Please tell the healer exactly how you feel and get well—”

“No,” Quandt cut him off. Then, he looked at him with seriousness and said, “I’m sure it was Shakiro.”

“Hmm… I think you’re in a worse state than I thought…” Siegfried muttered.

“I’m fine,” Quandt grumbled. Then, he looked him straight in the eye and said, “The one who ran rampant in our workshop, infiltrated the Hometown of Death, and stole the Demon Sword Papiyas was Shakiro. He might’ve been wearing a robe and a hood, but I’m certain it was the Weapon Master.”

“Hey, are you joking right now? Master Shakiro has already passed away. I saw it with my own eyes,” Siegfried retorted.

“Did you check his body?” Quandt asked.

“Body? Yes, I did,” Siegfried replied confidently.

“Did you bury him with your own hands?”

“I wanted to but I couldn’t. His body disintegrated into dust and was scattered by the wind. I would’ve buried him if I could, but he just disappeared after leaving me his will.”

“Then he’s probably still alive.”

“Huh?”

“Do you think it’s difficult for someone like Shakiro to fool you?”

“That is…” Siegfried muttered, unable to respond. He barely obtained the Debuff Master class at the time, and his level was still very low back then.

There was no discussion needed on whether Shakiro could fool someone like him or not.

“Why don’t you ask?” Quandt said.

“A-Ask what…?”

“Ask the blacksmiths whether it was Shakiro who did this or not.”

“Hold on.”

Siegfried went around and asked the blacksmiths still receiving treatment whether the culprit behind this incident was indeed Shakiro or not.

***

“He used whatever weapon was lying on the ground like an expert… I can only think of one person in this entire continent that can do something like that, and he is none other than the Weapon Master, Shakiro.

“The speed at which he swapped his weapons… Even my trained eyes could not follow it. Who else could do something like that if not the Weapon Master?”

“I had the privilege to watch the friendly duel between Shakiro and Randoll once, and the skills the culprit used today were exactly the same as the ones he used in that duel.”

The testimony of the survivors all pointed at Shakiro being the culprit.

“Impossible…” Siegfried muttered. He was having a hard time accepting the things he was hearing, ‘Master Shakiro is still alive? And he did something like this?’

It was then.

“Listen,” Quandt said. Then, he proceeded to reason with him, “Even I can’t believe Weapon Master Shakiro is alive, so I’m sure this whole situation is far more unbelievable for you.”

“Y-Yes…”

“But the biggest reason I’m suspecting the Weapon Master is the culprit is due to the Demon Sword Papiyas being stolen.”

“The Demon Sword Papiyas…?”

“It’s the demon sword Shakiro used during the peak of his career.”

“A demon sword…”

“Shakiro was a unique martial artist that could use every single weapon, and he was exceptionally strong when wielding that demon sword.”

“Hmm…”

“Also, Shakiro requested us to keep that demon sword after he retired, and that could only mean—”

“The only person who knows the location of the Demon Sword Papiyas is… Master Shakiro…”

“Precisely.”

“But if Master Shakiro is still alive… then why would he do something like this…?”

Siegfried was confused. Sure, he could accept the fact that Shakiro was still alive, but why would he do something this crazy at the Bavarian Workshop?

‘Don’t tell me… Is it another one of his disciples?’ Siegfried suspected Shakiro had another disciple, just like his first disciple, Gerard.

“Is it possible he had another disciple somewhere?”

“A disciple?”

“So what happened was…” Siegfried proceeded to explain everything that happened with the Weapon Academy and Shakiro’s first disciple, Gerard.

“Hmm… That is indeed possible,” Quandt nodded and replied. Then, he questioned, “But I think this person was too skilled to be a mere disciple. He managed to defeat all of our guards like they were nothing, so that means he should at least be a Master.”

“The disciple could’ve reached the realm of a Master, right?”

“Yes, that is possible, but—”

“There’s no way Master Shakiro would do something like this,” Siegfried cut him off.

“I think so too, but every piece of evidence is pointing at him right now.”

“I understand why you would think so. Then, I guess we should track down the culprit first.”

“The exact same thing was on my mind,” Quandt replied with eyes full of bloodlust. Then, he growled, “It doesn’t matter whether the culprit is the Weapon Master, Shakiro, or whoever it is. They will pay for what they did today.”

“Allow me to help,” Siegfried said without a hint of hesitation.

This was a rare occurrence where Siegfried offered to help without asking for anything in return. After all, he was the type of person who would double–no, triple-check the rewards before accepting any request for help.

“Are you sure? Aren’t you a very busy person?”

“It’s alright. This incident is definitely somehow related to Master Shakiro. He is my master, and I am his disciple, so I need to get to the bottom of this no matter how busy I am.”

“Thank you. I can be rest assured knowing you are helping us.”

“Don’t mention it.”

However, Siegfried’s intentions were completely different from what he said.

‘If Master Shakiro is really the culprit, then I have to find him first and make sense of what’s going on. That’s the only way I can protect him,’ Siegfried thought.

The Bavarian Workshop was hell-bent on getting back at the culprit regardless of their identity, and it was only a matter of time before they found the culprit. Anyone targeted by one of the top three workshops on the continent was as good as dead, and what if Shakiro was still alive and was truly the culprit behind this incident?

Siegfried was not going to sit around and watch Shakiro die at the hands of the Bavarian Workshop.

“Then, I’ll go track the culprit down,” Siegfried said.

“Alright, our workshop will do our best, too, so please let us know if you find anything,” Quandt replied.

“Okay,” Siegfried said before rushing out from the workshop.

***

Meanwhile, hundreds of carriages and carts were on their way toward the border of the Proatine Kingdom. All of these belonged to the Aphrodite Merchant Company, and they were carrying works of art to decorate the Proatine Kingdom’s castle.

Inside the carriage at the end of the convoy.

Thud! Thud!

A man wearing a long robe with his face covered with a hood was looking out the window. With him in the carriage was a merchant of the Aphrodite Merchant Company, Shylock.

The merchant looked very uneasy sitting across from the man. His uneasiness was understandable as the man possessed the ability to kill him in the blink of an eye.

Shylock was not merely assuming the man’s capacity to kill, as the man killed the servant in the carriage in an instant and threw him out without anyone, except for Shylock, noticing.

Then, the man simply sat in the servant’s seat as if nothing happened.

Shylock was just a merchant, so there was nothing he could do other than be stricken with fear by the man’s cruelty.

“W-Who are you…? Why are you doing this?” Shylock asked. Then, he said, “Do you not fear the consequences of your actions?”

“Silence. I’m going to kill you if you utter another word,” the man threatened in a low voice.

“...”

“Tell them I’m your guard when we reach the border.”

That was the end of their conversation…

The man did not entertain any question, nor did he say anything else after that. A few seconds later, however, the man seemed to have remembered something, and he asked, “Ah, do you perhaps know where the Weapon Academy is?”