Chapter 203: The Swordsman and the Witch - 7
Chapter 203: The Swordsman and the Witch - 7
While Pairan had been staying at the Blue Seal Barracks, Jiha had dug up information on her.
He'd anticipated trouble, and his gut feeling had been right on the mark.
'It was gravity, wasn't it...'
Back when she was Asira's Super Rare, Pairan's Special Ability was generating a Gravity Field around her.
It weighed down enemies while she moved freely, making it an incredibly troublesome ability in close combat.
The downside was heavy Mana consumption that prevented prolonged use, and it left her vulnerable to long-range attacks.
Now that she was a Unique, her power must be beyond what it once was.
Jiha watched her carefully, a Grade 2 dagger in one hand and Gladius in the other.
Leaving the greatsword sheathed on her back, Pairan drew only the longsword at her hip, stroking the blade for a moment before lunging straight at him.
Once a Mana-based Special Ability manifested, it didn't simply vanish.
'Which means Pairan's Special Ability, even enhanced and refined, is still gravity-based. She'll favor close combat.'
As she charged, Jiha immediately hurled the dagger.
The idea was to close in while she was dodging or deflecting it.
But Pairan didn't bite. She leaped back diagonally with a great bound, evading the dagger cleanly.
"......."
Jiha was momentarily impressed that his plan had missed its mark.
A normal Unique, confident in their strength, wouldn't have backed off like that. Pairan had opted for the safer play.
Smiling, Jiha pulled another dagger from his coat.
"I never said I only had one."
"......."
This time, Pairan responded by slowly walking toward Jiha.
An extremely cautious approach—a tactic meant to force him into making the first move.
'She's pretty good...'
Up until now, the Uniques Jiha had faced—except for Yura—had possessed absolute confidence in their own skills.
Chosen as Uniques from an early age, they had never faced an opponent who truly put them on edge.
And if they ever did, it had been another female Unique.
To them, Jiha, a Common-rank human male, naturally looked like an amateur.
In combat, Jiha had exploited that gap in their mindset to crush them easily.
But Pairan was cautious.
This Yogwi, a rags-to-riches story who had risen from Rare to Super Rare and now all the way to Unique, possessed real combat experience earned from the very bottom.
'So she's a tougher opponent than Lungtao...'
Jiha steeled his resolve and retreated.
If the enemy wasn't going to blindly charge in relying on her rank, he needed to be more careful himself.
As Pairan kept her cool, Jiha spoke up.
"Come to think of it, what's with this sudden obsession over Asira?"
If the body was careful, he'd go after the mind.
"......."
The moment Asira's name came up, an opening appeared in Pairan's impenetrable guard.
"You betrayed Asira and became her enemy. And now you're putting on this act of caring about her, labeling me the bad guy while you scheme against me with a blade. Don't you think you look a little ridiculous?"
"So?"
Beneath the icy voice, he could feel the heat.
Jiha's precise jab was rattling her, making her angry.
"Asira's just generous by nature. You're nothing but a traitor who joined the enemy. What are you even thinking? You really thought that if you killed me and sweet-talked her, you could just waltz back..."
Pairan lunged.
His provocation had hit home. As Jiha threw the dagger, he poured strength into the arm holding Gladius.
Pairan spun her longsword deftly in her hand, using the pommel to knock away the dagger flying straight for her forehead. Then, in the same motion, she reversed her grip and slashed the blade upward toward Jiha's chin.
It was like a snake slithering along the ground suddenly baring its fangs and springing at him.
'A reverse-grip upward slash?'
It's hard to put real force behind such an unorthodox attack. But Mana can exert power that transcends positioning.
Wasn't this the same clever trick she'd used when fighting Lungtao?
Admiring the move, Jiha leaped backward to retreat.
In that instant, his body grew heavy as a purple-hued Mana spread across the area.
Pairan's Special Ability, the Gravity Field, had activated.
The added downward pressure combined with his backward leap threw Jiha off balance, and a sword strike came flying straight at his face.
'Did she read my mind?'
Her calculation must have been that if Jiha tried to block with Gladius, she could simply keep hammering him.
Instead, Jiha summoned a Shadow Hand, which grabbed him and hurled him farther back.
While flying backward, he spread his Wings to land gracefully. Thanks to the continuous accumulation of his Mana, this whole chain of actions felt trivial now.
"......."
Even though the distance between them had widened in an instant, Pairan didn't panic and charged at him again.
She judged that once she was on the offensive, she had to keep pressing it.
But Jiha summoned another Shadow Hand and pulled more daggers from his coat.
Seizing the opening when Pairan swung her sword to disperse the Shadow Hand, three Grade 2 daggers flew at her sequentially, aimed at her forehead, chest, and abdomen.
Jiha's throwing skills were nothing special, but he'd thrown them at close range right when Pairan's movement stopped, making them effective.
Pairan swung her sword to deflect the daggers, but upon sensing the energy infused in the last one, she quickly retreated.
It was an attack where Jiha had used his Special Ability, Weapon Enhancement, temporarily turning that dagger into a Grade 1 weapon.
Coming to a halt, Pairan didn't charge again and just watched Jiha warily.
"You have a lot of Special Abilities."
"I've picked up a few."
As he answered, Jiha confirmed once more that Pairan was no pushover.
Bringing up Asira provoked her anger and unsettled her, but the effect was momentary and faded quickly.
A fight isn't won by fists alone.
To win, you need a cool head and a steady heart as well.
'It's a deadlock...'
Jiha specialized in infighting, but closing the distance against someone who generated a Gravity Field was tough.
He had no Special Ability to subdue her in one decisive long-range strike.
On the flip side, Pairan's ability favored close combat, and if Jiha kept dodging and sticking to ranged harassment, it would be difficult for her to seize the upper hand.
It was a standoff between an infighter and an outfighter.
Jiha still had cards to play, and Pairan was still keeping her greatsword in reserve.
'My objective was to gauge Pairan's skill, so this is enough for now. There are plenty of other ways to crush her anyway.'
Jiha lowered his sword.
"Let's leave it here for today. If this gets more serious, it's bound to draw eyes. That's the last thing you'd want, right?"
"......."
Pairan sheathed her sword without a word.
She, too, had realized Jiha was no easy mark, so she decided to wait for her next chance.
But the glare she fixed on Jiha remained icy cold.
A person with clearly defined likes and dislikes. Jiha smiled and taunted her further.
"Speaking of which, how about this proposition? Instead of me breaking up with Asira like you want, what if you handle my sexual needs instead?"
"......Have you been treating Lady Asira with that kind of mindset?"
Pairan's expression shifted, and her reply came out a little longer.
Her voice was quiet but trembled slightly. She was furious from head to toe.
Jiha simply wagged a finger.
"What's in my head isn't the issue, so just answer."
"......I refuse. I'll simply kill you."
"Oh, really? The goal got upgraded, did it? And how exactly are you planning to explain killing me to Asira?"
"......."
Pairan remained silent, but her face said she didn't have a good answer.
She acted level-headed, but the crude talk of 'handling sexual needs' had clearly made her blood boil.
This time, Jiha offered a carrot.
"For the record, I did set up your quarters right next to Asira's and created an opportunity for you to talk. Shouldn't you be a little grateful?"
"I should be grateful to Lady Asira for still treating me the way she used to."
Asira really is popular.
Kamain had eyes on her, and now Pairan, a woman no less, was secretly pursuing her too.
Though Asira herself was completely oblivious to how her subordinates looked at her, doting only on Yura.
"Come to think of it, does Asira not know you're hiding your feelings?"
"............."
Pairan's face went rigid as stone.
Caught completely off guard by Jiha's direct accusation, she couldn't say a single word, as if struck in a vital spot.
Jiha let out a scoff.
"Are my eyes just for decoration? I can see you squeezing your thighs together because you want to rub up against Asira. Spare me."
"......Don't be vulgar. It's not that kind of feeling."
"Oh, so instead of rubbing, you want to slip a finger in, is that it?"
"......."
As Jiha kept mocking her, Pairan just glared fiercely.
She wanted to draw her sword again, but since Jiha was no easy opponent, she had no choice but to resort to words for the moment.
"Did Kamain tell you?"
"No. I could just tell from looking at you."
Jiha was now certain why Pairan had defected.
She'd left because she couldn't stand the thought of being caught harboring romantic feelings for Asira, someone of the same sex.
The secret she'd been hiding all this time had just been exposed by Jiha.
"......What do you plan to do?"
Pairan looked at Jiha with a complicated expression.
It was clear she'd never imagined he'd read her heart in an instant.
"That'll depend on how you behave. For the time being, just sit still."
"......."
Jiha likely wouldn't have picked up on it right away if they'd met alone.
But the fact that Pairan was Asira's former subordinate, combined with the ebb and flow of their conversation and her reactions, had given him certainty.
'Well, I've definitely found a weakness... but it's not enough.'
There was a lot of information he wanted to extract from Pairan.
Since he'd secured a weakness, he could take his time and make her spill it all.
When Pairan hesitated, Jiha tsked.
"Forget any thoughts of murder and erasing evidence. Asira will end up knowing everything."
Pairan had been trying to eliminate Jiha without Asira's knowledge.
Which was why she'd shown up abruptly and acted this way.
"......Using a person's heart as a weakness—how cowardly."
"And you just picking a fight out of nowhere is righteous? Wow, you thought your Unique rank gave you the advantage, so you just barged in, and that's righteous? If I'd only refused verbally, would you really have just backed off?"
"......."
After a moment of speechlessness, Pairan abruptly asked,
"Did you get Lady Asira the same way?"
"Why? If you learn the method, do you plan to try it yourself?"
Pairan hesitated several times before finally removing her hand from her sword's hilt.
"Don't say it."
"So long as you behave."
It was like he'd acquired a slightly rebellious hunting dog.
One that would only be watching for an opening to bite him, but that chance would never come.
While Jiha was smiling leisurely, footsteps could be heard.
It was Uben.
The moment the third party arrived, Pairan turned and left without a second thought.
Watching Pairan pass by, Uben looked concerned.
"The atmosphere was quite dangerous. Should I post a guard on her?"
"No, don't bother. Asira will keep an eye on her for now."
Even if Pairan burned with hostility toward Jiha, she wouldn't dare make a move as long as Asira was nearby.
Nodding in agreement, Uben stated his business.
"Guason wishes to see you tonight, Commander. He says that Quority Rosen has made a move and intends to meet with the Species Alliance. He claims he wants to meet you in person this time and deliver the information."
"Is that so?"
"He also attached a note saying there's something relating to Leticia Yormun. He demanded that Leticia Yormun be present at the meeting."
"So he's got some brain in that head after all..."
Guason Lochek. Among the male elves, he was one of the few who at least knew how to gather intelligence.
"He'll be begging for his life, no doubt..."
Jiha snorted.
Men always go soft on the women they give their hearts to—he could see right through Guason's transparent scheme.
"Well, fine. I'll play along for now."
He would give him one chance.
If he didn't like what he saw, he could just crush him then.