Mash couldn’t stop the smile, nor did he want to. As much as he hated killing other people, fighting them was way more exciting than monsters. Most people would be terrified at having their skills sealed. People with the ability to do that were rare, and he should probably be warier. He couldn’t change himself just by thinking about it. His heart was beating quickly, his blood churning through his body. The excitement was filling him with energy, urging him to fight. These people weren’t likely to just let him go, but he would give them the chance.

“I’m just going to the castle, this just looked like a convenient place to stop.”

Mash wasn’t a liar, so he didn’t bother with it. Even if they trusted him, he doubted it would change their plans. He wasn’t normally the best at noticing the small things, but these people were incredibly suspicious.

[This seal is much stronger than the last. Even if I can break it, it would take a while. You will need to fight them without skills.]

Oddly, Mash wasn’t really scared. If anything, he was calm, eager, and a little bit hungry. He wouldn’t eat them, but he was always hungry. Priscilla’s message only added to the thrill.

“Oh, and why would someone like you be visiting the castle?”

The ugly man grinned himself. Even he could tell where this conversation was headed. Mash was going to reply, but one of the other knights spoke.

“Wait, isn’t he the ice guy’s brother. The monster from earlier.”

The man who had spoken had let his hand fall to the hilt of his blade. He had a plain-looking broadsword at his waist. The ugly man in the middle didn’t let his expression change. He still wore a grin. Although, Mash couldn’t help but think that someone that hideous shouldn’t grin like that. It only stretched his already problematic face. After getting interrupted once before, Mash decided to try again one more time. Although, they denied him the ability to speak once again.

“I think the brother of that ice demon is more than good enough.”

The man’s eyebrows narrowed a little and his smile broke when he mentioned Arthur. Ice demon was a new name for his brother though an appropriate one. However, that all but confirmed the fact that these weren’t good knights. Mash didn’t really care what their plans entailed. He could find out after capturing them. That didn’t mean that he shouldn’t take some precautions, and he told Priscilla to alert Arthur of the situation. Even if his brother knew, it would still take him a few minutes to get here.

Mash’s storage space opened beside him, and he swiftly grabbed a wooden staff as one of the knights leaped at him. The knight’s metal boots were loud as he kicked off the stone ground. A gauntleted hand carried a wide broadsword. The knight made a surprisingly compact swing, though Mash had seen better from his brother. He was prepared for the strike, and he dodged the blow to the side. His staff met the top of the swinging blade. It was fast, and the blade sparkled with a purple light. The effect seemed to come from the knight’s hand. A skill in all likely hood. However, the knight didn’t have the speed necessary to make that work.

The staff’s weight multiplied as he pushed the broad sword to the ground. Mash’s swing made the knight stumble forward. The metal clanked loudly, as Mash stepped past the knight and kicked backward. The knight wasn’t incompetent though and had only stumbled from the surprise. He turned his fall into a roll. The sound of metal grating against stone was annoyingly loud, but he ignored it and leaped toward another of the knights. All of the other knights had used the initial attack to space themselves around Mash.

They were surrounding him, only one remained by the alleyway. It was the lookout. The one knight in the narrow escape wasn’t particularly intimidating. He was the smallest of the knights, and probably a foot shorter than Mash too. He probably could’ve escaped if he really tried, but he didn’t want to do that just yet. It might have been arrogance, but he wanted to test himself against these people. His stats were a little higher than what someone could expect at his level, and the first knight hadn’t been all that fast. Skills could make the difference, even still, he didn’t think these people could beat him.

Mash wasn’t planning on killing these fake knights though. It would probably be better to escape first. He considered it again briefly but decided against it. Instead, he turned his leap into a roll, avoiding a swinging fist. The ugly man was faster than the previous knight, but the difference was negligible. The roll ended with Mash’s back to one of the building’s walls. He quickly rose to his feet and yelled a word aloud.

“Attack!”

It was a single word and one that made no sense to any of the knights. They glanced toward the entrance as if they expected a dozen knights to jump out. Nothing came from there though. Although, something did attack. From his still open storage space, a wooden replica of himself jumped from the portal. It was one of his exact replicas and the only one he had saved. His storage space had a finite amount of ambient mana, but one replica could last a day or two inside. Mash had made one and stuffed it in there. He didn’t know if he would need it, but it was definitely as good as the rest of his weapons.

As the wooden puppet jumped at the knight with the broadsword, Mash did the same too. He wasn’t going to let the knight’s confusion go to waste. He thrust the staff forward as fast as he could and aimed it at the still open visor. He aimed right for the center of the man’s face. What would more broken nose even matter?

The staff hit squarely in the man’s nose. The sound of breaking bones was noticeable, and the knight stumbled backward. The knight didn’t take the attack freely. The ugly man moved far faster than before. His hand came out in a blur that Mash could barely keep up with. Mash only had enough time to jump a little. It was a small motion, but it was enough to get his head out of the way. The ugly man’s gauntleted fist still met with Mash’s shoulder. The strike had some serious power behind it, but it wasn’t enough to break bones. Especially because Mash had jumped with the motion of the blow.

He turned in the air though, and skid across the ground with his other arm. The ugly man didn’t have any weapons. It was one relief as a sword there would’ve led to a much more devastating wound. Mash tried to correct his posture. He almost managed to turn the slide into a roll, but the third knight took that moment to join the fight. A boot connected with the center of Mash’s back. Without his domain, he hadn’t been able to keep track of everyone, and he didn’t even brace for the blow.

That was bad, but his body was more durable than normal, and his muscles protected his bones. The kick did send him into a nearby wall. If the other two weren’t dazed or distracted, then the fight might’ve ended at that very moment. Instead, the kick made enough distance to let him get back on his feet. His back hurt as he used the wall to support his stance. Mash briefly glanced at the other two, before turning his glare to the knight who had kicked him.

The knight with the broadsword was struggling with the wooden replica, and the ugly man was still on his back. Mash wondered if he had used too much strength. The sound of the man’s nose breaking had been wet, and it easily could’ve rattled the man’s brain. If that was the case, then the man’s counterattack was probably part of a skill. A passive one at that. That would make this fight more complicated.

If he was out of the fight, for now, that was good enough. Now, he just had three more knights. He included the one by the exit, even though the man would probably run away if he beat the remaining two. The broadsword knight was the weakest, and even with skills, he couldn’t beat the wooden imitation easily. It was hard for Mash to tell how strong his imitations were, but apparently, it was enough to match a weaker knight. His imitation would eventually lose, but it could still distract the man well enough.

That left the one that had kicked him. This knight had a large shield and a small, short sword. The contrast was weird, and Mash assumed that there was a trick involved here. Either the sword, shield, or both were magical. They glowed faintly, but it was clear that the mana wasn’t coming from the knight himself. That was only a little troublesome. This knight was the best equipped, which probably meant that they were one of the stronger ones. The shield was another annoyance. His staff was surprisingly good at deflecting weapons, but it wouldn’t be punching through a shield anytime soon.

The knight saw Mash’s hesitation and moved forward. They probably thought that he was hurt, which wasn’t entirely wrong. The kick would definitely leave a nasty bruise. Well, it would if he couldn’t heal it after the fight. It wasn’t bad enough to slow him though, and Mash tried to take advantage of his speed and get around the large shield. It would’ve worked if not for the ground beneath his feet moving and trapping his right foot in place. Normally, he would’ve seen it with his domain. Mash had come to rely on the ability to see all around himself.

His foot was stuck, and he started falling forward. He caught himself by using the staff to keep himself upright. It struck the ground as he put his weight against it. The force was enough to crack the ground. The knight had planned this, and the man’s shield was cold to the touch. Oddly, Mash focused on the chill as it pushed against his face. It slammed into him and easily flung him back into the wall. His back crashed into the stone, causing him to wince from the pain. The earlier kick made the impact feel worse than it was. Mash grunted and swung with the staff. He had managed to hold onto his staff.

He swung the staff in an upward motion, and it met with the knight’s short sword. It was fine, he was just getting some distance. He brought it down with even more strength and struck the stone across his foot. Even without any skills, he was more than strong enough to break some stone. It shattered and he stepped to the side. This knight could manipulate the stone to some extent, and that made keeping his back against a stone wall a bad idea. It was too bad that he was completely surrounded by stone.

The knight swung his sword again, and this time the stone lanced out beside his swing. It came quickly and Mash couldn’t block all it all. He wondered why they hadn’t just used this from the beginning but didn’t have the time to consider it more carefully. A stone spear cut into his side, but he twisted enough to avoid anything worse. Mash’s staff on the other hand met with the side of the knight’s helm. He had twisted it around the man’s shield. It was a difficult maneuver, but he got a little lucky. The helm’s visor flew up from the strike, and Mash caught a glimpse of strangely purple eyes. It was not a normal color, but he noticed something else about their features. They had narrow eyes and pale skin. It was a distinctly foreign look, and Mash knew that he had stumbled upon something much larger than he had initially believed. This wasn’t just a case of corruption, was it?