16. Red Evil Mercenary Corps
"Come at me, then. If it's your goal you're after, you'll have to break this body first."
With Dina settling into her stance right in front of her, Regina stared silently, a question bubbling up inside. What kind of guts did this little girl have to charge at her? Did she not know who Regina was? But that didn't add up— she'd just mentioned something about a "beast," and while Regina had no idea who that referred to, it meant she'd at least witnessed the fight...
No matter. A pup that doesn't fear the tiger. Youth bred fearlessness, sure, but...
Nah, whatever. Don't overthink it.
What was the point? Her resolve hadn't changed: for her objective, she'd deal with this girl one way or another.
Regina drew the dagger from her thigh sheath, gripping one in each hand. The instant she lunged to press her attack, though, she sensed something off again.
No openings?
Dina had none. Despite her childlike frame, the aura she exuded was as unyielding as a battle-hardened veteran. Her stance looked sloppy at first glance, but there was no way to exploit it.
How the hell...?
Regina hesitated. Then a sinister chill washed over her, her body shuddering like a warning bell. She backpedaled swiftly, leaping several paces away.
Dina arched one brow with an amused grin. "Hoho, you've got sharp instincts, girl."
A shame—she'd almost gone for it. Regina's charge just now had been shadow-quick, light-speed fast; even seasoned fighters would struggle against that velocity. Innate talent or rigorous training, it didn't matter—that blistering pace would overwhelm anyone here.
Anyone but Dina. Anyone but this little girl.
The moment Regina rushed in, Dina's eyes—her gaze—locked onto every motion. As if it were routine, she'd already prepared her counter. Had Regina barreled ahead blindly, Dina would've slipped inside her guard and knocked her out cold with a single punch.
Regina realized it soon enough. Tension flooded her body.
She's no ordinary girl.
Stronger than me. No—much stronger. Even pegging her as merely my superior was arrogant hubris.
She's way stronger than me. Insanely so.
This girl in a child's shell was a top-tier powerhouse. How many foes had Regina faced who outclassed her? Plenty, of course. Off the top of her head: the Water King who'd slashed her throat deep enough to nearly kill her; the Fist King guarding Tronen's royals; the platinum-rank from the Adventurer's Guild; countless empire elites she'd crossed during jobs.
But none had pressed her like this.
This pint-sized girl was no girl at all.
...I can't win. No way in hell. What is she...?
A monster, if she had to label it. An ancient demon honed over millennia, maybe.
Regina had glimpsed Dina's true nature, more or less. But fleeing wasn't an option. Fail the mission, and the child she protected would suffer.
She needed to wrap this up fast, yet here was an insurmountable wall.
What do I do...?
As Regina gripped her sweat-slick daggers, wrestling with the dilemma—
"Well, if you won't come, then this body shall go to you."
With that, Dina stepped forward—tap-tap—and launched herself. A faint whoosh, afterimages scattering like mist, and she was in Regina's face, whipping out a high kick.
One leg stretched skyward in a razor-sharp arc. Regina reacted in time, twisting her body just enough to dodge.
"Urk...?!"
Shrieeeek...!
Missed, yet it cleaved the air with lethal menace. Devastating power. A direct hit would've been fatal at least.
But targeting her head with their height gap meant a wide stance. Dodging left her exposed—impossible to counter comfortably.
Regina's eyes widened. She thrust her dagger at Dina.
But a powerhouse like Dina wouldn't leave herself open. She seized Regina's stabbing arm with both hands, wrapped her legs around it, and mounted. Then, in a flash, she locked the arm between her thighs, hugged it tight, and reclined backward like a pendulum.
Thud! Regina crashed to the ground.
Dina twisted her hips, wrenching the arm. "One down for now."
Pop. Bone dislocating. Agony lanced through Regina's brain.
"...!"
Excruciating. Yet Regina bit down hard, stifling even a whimper. With her free hand's dagger, she stabbed at the arm-breaker.
"Oh ho? Got some grit, eh?"
Dina released and retreated before the blade struck. Regina scrambled up, resetting her stance.
"...Hoo."
One arm dislocated. Treating a scrub with such leisure? At least the bone wasn't snapped. A pop like this was familiar; jam it back quick and done. But for some reason, it wouldn't seat.
"Having trouble resetting it? Of course. This body used a special trick to yank it."
This dated back to the far-distant past—back when Dina roamed back alleys as their queen, before joining the hero's party. A dirty trick for disciplining unruly underlings: dislocate without shattering, injecting mana between bones to misalign them, preventing easy reset.
Why bother with the hassle? someone might ask.
"Now, come on! This body hasn't even warmed up yet."
Guarding Behena alone back there was boring. Subdue or kill? Easy either way. Why not play a bit? She hadn't sparred with Bella or Cheong-ah lately anyway, what with the rush.
Dina grinned, beckoning the lip-biting, glaring Regina. "Come on!"
This body was still bored!
§
While Dina toyed with Regina out of sheer boredom...
What were Bella, Cheong-ah, and Ian up to? The trio had long reached the territory, infiltrating toward the lord's castle via a secret passage.
The tunnel was brutally narrow—barely wide enough for one crawling on their belly. They hunched low to squeeze through.
Dank, pitch-black. Grumbling was inevitable, and Bella's short fuse blew first.
"...Sneaking in is such a fucking pain. No other way besides this shithole?"
"You suggested it, Bella. If we get caught infiltrating, Karlson'll be in danger."
"Yeah, so quit bitching and move. Stop shaking your ass."
Cheong-ah and Ian's rebukes followed in turn. Ian, right on Bella's heels, sounded especially irked by her thrusting hips in his face.
Bella smirked, waggling them deliberately. "What? Sis's ass in your face got you hard?"
"The fuck you say, you crazy bitch."
Bedroom wimp who couldn't squeak, now mouthing off. He itched to smack that cheeky rear.
But Ian knew work from play. Endure...
"Playing innocent, huh? We all know your dick's rock-hard already."
"Argh, shit...! Cut the bullshit!"
Fine, she kept pushing because he let her. Smack!
"Eek...?! Why'd you hit me?!"
"Shut up and crawl."
"...Tch, fine. Fuck."
"We'll save Karlson and settle this later."
"Mmm? Looking forward to it, hubby."
"...Bella, shut it and move."
"Hehe, okay, okay."
How long had they wormed through the claustrophobic dark? Eventually, they emerged into faint moonlight.
"Where... here, I guess."
Right outside should've been the garden behind the lord's castle... Bella muttered, pulling out the interior map from Behena and unfurling it.