The Assault
"That trash..."
Alissa's face twisted into a deep scowl as she stared at the retreating back. That shameless rapist had betrayed them the instant a crisis hit. She was almost suspicious of herself for not seeing it coming sooner.
Yuni, standing beside her, displayed a look of pure disgust that was rarely seen on her face. To Yuni—who had been ready to stand against Shakra for Abel's sake even at the risk of her own life—Luan was nothing more than a traitor. She couldn't force someone to risk their life for a friend, but turning one's back without a shred of hesitation was something Yuni could never imagine doing.
Even Yas looked flustered, but only Deborah defended Luan.
"Ev-everyone, calm down! He's probably gone to get help. Professor Sara is right over there!"
The group's faces showed a slight easing of suspicion once they realized this a beat too late. But Alissa immediately shot back.
"No way. You must not know that trash very well. He's more than capable of betraying us."
"That's not true! Luan isn't that kind of person."
"What would you know? You're not defending him just because you're in the same class, are you? Don't assume what you've seen is the whole story. That kind of thinking will get you killed."
"Ugh... but it's really not like that!"
Despite having gone through similar experiences, the two held completely opposite views. It was such a ridiculous scene it could only be a prank of fate.
Scadia, who had been watching the argument, let out a small chuckle and cut in.
"Both of you, stop fighting. There's no point in us turning on each other here."
"But..."
Deborah had plenty she wanted to say, but she'd promised to keep it secret, so she could only mumble with her mouth clamped shut.
Alissa gave the strangely calm Scadia an odd look.
"You're not upset at all? Your fiancé just abandoned you. I'd have thought you'd be the angriest one here."
"Well. I never expected anything from him in the first place, so I'm not sure how I feel. He's always been that kind of person."
"...Right. You would know him better than I do."
Alissa nodded in understanding at the meaningful remark that implied prior experience.
As the commotion seemed to die down, Shakra—who had been watching with amusement—spoke up.
"Is that the end of the little quarrel? Why not keep going? I was enjoying it."
"...I have no intention of playing along with you anymore. You'll kill us whether we surrender or not anyway."
"Hmm...? How composed. I was looking forward to seeing that pretty face twist in agony."
Irritated by Scadia's cold response, killing intent flared in Shakra's eyes as she drew her dagger. Surging black magic energy wrapped around the blade, then stretched out like threads, materializing sharp auras all around them. Even without being cut by the dagger itself, simply touching that energy would inflict fatal wounds.
Alissa muttered under her breath.
"Sword Silk."
Sword Silk was a technique only those above level 150 could use. The fact that she wielded it as easily as breathing meant she had long since surpassed 150 and reached level 200.
Everyone sharpened their focus and quickly formed up. Without needing orders, they created a formation protecting the mages—Scadia, Deborah, and Yuni—at the center. Abel stood at the front, shield raised high.
"We won't go down easily!"
"Ahaha! Really? Then please make it fun for me. Here I come?"
At the signal, Shakra moved. She took slow steps with her long legs before suddenly accelerating sharply.
Clang!
She scraped past the shield in an instant. But letting one's guard down would be fatal. As if the first strike had been nothing more than a greeting, she flowed like water, leaping cleanly over the formation and charging straight at the mages.
"Not on my watch!"
Yas moved quickly to intercept. But she twisted her body in mid-air, dodging his scimitar, and thrust her dagger at Yuni.
As Yuni faltered, unable to react in time, Scadia stepped forward.
Ice Spear
Rapidly condensed cold air formed into a two-meter ice spear that shot forward. Shakra clicked her tongue, swatted it aside, and leaped back to her starting position.
The entire exchange had taken less than three seconds.
Yuni touched her neck belatedly and bowed her head.
"Th-thank you."
"It's nothing. More importantly, focus. The moment you hesitate, you die."
"Right! I'll be careful from now on."
Following Scadia's harsh but effective advice, Yuni switched her casting from offense to defense. There was no chance of victory anyway, so their only option was to stall for as long as possible.
At that moment, Abel slammed his shield.
Clang! Clang!
"Come at me!"
Mana spread through the noise, provoking Shakra. But she reacted instantly, deploying a protective aura around herself that completely nullified the effect.
"You brat. That only works on amateurs. Take this chance to learn it well. Of course, today will be your last lesson!"
Swooosh!
Shakra moved again. She circled them rapidly before suddenly cutting a sharp curve that seemed to defy physics, charging in before their eyes could even track her.
Her target was Alissa.
"You made a mistake!"
Alissa poured every ounce of concentration into a storm of quick, probing strikes. Normally an opponent would retreat from such shallow but fast attacks. That was exactly what she'd been aiming for—but Shakra didn't retreat an inch.
Without slowing down in the slightest, she slipped through with the smallest possible movements, deflecting the rapier and closing the distance.
"Farewell?"
Shakra swung her dagger with a casual goodbye.
Slash!
The blade sliced through Alissa's neck. Or so Shakra thought. But she immediately realized there had been no sensation of impact at all.
The instant she realized it, Alissa's counterattack and magic came pouring down. Shakra nimbly withdrew with agile footwork and shook her head. Clenching and unclenching her fist, she became certain her senses had been slightly misaligned.
Her gaze snapped toward Deborah.
"So it was your doing? As expected of the Grey Magic Tower Master's disciple. I'll have to kill you here and now."
"Try it if you can!"
"Oh? Braver than I expected. I wonder what the Grey Magic Tower Master would think if I cut off your head and delivered it to her?"
Truly enraged now, Shakra radiated killing intent in thick waves. She drew a second dagger from her waist, her expression deadly serious as she looked for an opening before launching a sudden assault.
Her speed was on an entirely different level. The daggers left afterimages as they shredded the entire space around them. The group was thrown into chaos. Blocking one dagger left them open to the other. Barely stopping that one allowed the first to come flying back at a vital point. She even threw them, so they couldn't relax even when distance opened up.
The party's stamina drained rapidly. Their wounds multiplied.
And finally, the first serious casualty appeared.
"Starting with you!"
Slash!
While Yas focused on the dagger flying at his side, Shakra slipped in unnoticed and cut him deeply. Fortunately his organs seemed untouched, but blood poured from the gaping wound along his flank. Because the injury was caused by magic power, potions would only stop the bleeding—the wound itself wouldn't close.
With one fighter's combat ability gone, the rest began falling helplessly. Scadia gathered every ounce of her mana and launched an ice crystal, thinking there was no chance of victory, but Shakra swatted it away effortlessly. The hope the others had placed in that attack only made their morale plummet further—an utter backfire.
In the end, everyone except Abel was injured and collapsed.
"What now? Everyone's down. I bet you're all regretting it right about now. Why did I ever befriend Abel? Why did I even come here with them? Should have run away like that idiot earlier, huh? What do you think?"
"Huff... huff!"
"Oh dear, too exhausted to even speak? Hehe! Can't be helped. Then let's finish this. I'll kill you with a special technique. Consider it an honor."
Shakra smiled mockingly as she approached at leisure, raising her dagger. The misty energy around it suddenly compressed, forming a second blade.
It was Sword Aura.
Seeing the dagger sparkle brilliantly like captured starlight, groans of despair rose from the group. Hopelessness swallowed the entire area.
Abel, who had stood firm until the very end, let his shield drop from his hand. He had concluded there was no longer any chance of victory. That didn't mean he'd given up completely—he simply thought it was worth trying even the slightest possibility. For that, he could swallow his pride as many times as necessary.
The moment he tried to kneel—
Thud. Thud.
Footsteps echoed from the passage behind them. The quiet but heavy presence drew every gaze.
There he was. The silver-haired, golden-eyed masked man who had saved them during the training incident and vanished like the wind.
"You are..."
Alissa reacted first. Facing her savior once again in a moment of crisis, she felt a flicker of resentment—but it was completely overwhelmed by relief. She wasn't the only one. Deborah, who had believed without doubt that he would come to save them, and even Scadia, who had been quietly nursing a sense of defeat, all regained their hope in an instant.
Only Pernia watched with suspicious eyes, but that didn't matter.
In the rapidly shifting atmosphere, Shakra immediately realized the man before her was extremely dangerous. The power she sensed was negligible, but she knew better than to trust only that.
Shakra tightened her grip on her dagger.
'Kill the highest priority target first.'
There was nothing more pathetic than missing an opportunity by being complacent. Just as she swung at Abel, the masked man spoke as if he had foreseen it.
"Lower your body."
"Huh? Y-yes...?"
Abel let out a dumb sound but obediently followed the instruction. Immediately afterward, the masked man's right fist thrust forward, unleashing a massive shockwave.
BOOOOM!
Formless energy shot out in a straight line from his fist, grazing Abel by a hair and slamming into Shakra.
"Damn it!"
Shakra thrust her dagger forward instantly. Sword aura collided with the formless energy, creating violent repulsion. The impact cracked the surrounding walls and shook the entire area like an earthquake.
Unable to withstand the force, Shakra was blasted backward, carving a long furrow into the ground. She had barely managed to defend herself, but couldn't handle the full power—a trickle of blood ran from the corner of her mouth.
"Who the hell are you!"
The injured Shakra screamed at the masked man.
Meanwhile, the masked man who had already passed Abel declared before the aftermath had even settled.
"...What?"
Shakra's face filled with utter bewilderment at the absurd declaration.