Realization
Did no one hear that?
I shuddered with the omnipotent sensation surging through my entire body, yet I scanned my companions with worried eyes. I'd done everything possible to conceal it, but I couldn't be certain whether my scheme had truly worked. Under normal circumstances, even if someone heard it, they'd dismiss it as a mishearing and move on. But here, there were far too many people who were anything but ordinary.
As expected, one of them immediately caused trouble.
"Wait. Didn't you just say you were going to rape her? Pretty sure that's what I heard."
Yas, still sitting after downing a potion, grinned slyly as he raised the question. True to form for a guy who thought about women every single day of the year, he wasn't about to let this opportunity slip.
But the truth is always rejected. Alissa immediately pushed back against something that made no sense by any rational standard.
"No way! Do you really think he's the same as that trash?"
"Huh? But I'm sure I heard..."
"Stop talking nonsense! You have terrible judgment, that's why you're friends with scum like him."
"No, this has nothing to do with judg—"
"Shut up! Be quiet."
After silencing Yas, Alissa suddenly met my gaze and flashed a bright smile. It was an incredibly charming one.
So she can smile like that too.
Having only ever seen her face twisted with disgust or rage, the sight was surprising—almost shocking in its freshness. Which was exactly why it couldn't be discovered.
Before Shakra, who had just been struck with the Rape Declaration, could utter a word, I pointed toward the entrance.
"Go."
"Go? What the hell does that mean?"
"Get out and call for reinforcements. I'll hold this woman back until then."
My voice sounded slightly different from usual, and the modulation still felt unfamiliar. As I adjusted to it, Alissa shook her head in disbelief.
"No! I'm helping too. No matter who you are, taking her on alone is impossible. We'll fight together!"
"...You're only getting in the way. The best way you can help is to leave. Now."
"Then prove it! Show me evidence you can actually win!"
She probably wanted me to demonstrate my ki. By normal standards, defeating Shakra would require reaching at least the same realm.
As I analyzed her intentions, a stray thought crossed my mind.
But why is she speaking so casually?
She didn't even know who I was yet, so her comfortable tone was strange. It must have shown in my eyes, because Alissa answered awkwardly.
"W-why are you looking at me like that? You're a first-year too, aren't you? ...Right?"
The way she hastily added a polite suffix and averted her gaze was oddly cute for her. I found myself marveling again at these new sides of her I'd discovered several times today, then subtly signaled Deborah for help.
Deborah, catching my glance, immediately stepped in to persuade her.
"Alissa, let's go quickly! If it's him, he can win."
"That's exactly why I'm asking for proof!"
"There won't be time for that! We'd only be a burden if we stayed."
"What? Your attitude changed completely from earlier. You shielded that trash when he tried to run, but now you're throwing this guy away without hesitation?"
"Throwing away? That's not it at all! I'm simply choosing the optimal action!"
Despite Deborah's sincere defense, suspicion lingered in Alissa's eyes. The clear implication—that there must be something special between her and that trash—hit home, and Deborah's face fell.
When persuasion reached an impasse, Scadia stepped forward.
"Alissa. Set aside personal feelings and think coldly. We're exhausted. We can't do anything but watch. Stepping aside is helping. You don't want him to suffer, do you?"
"N-no! Of course not."
"Then come with me. Let's bring back reinforcements."
Scadia turned away as she spoke, making it clear she'd leave alone if necessary. Alissa glanced at the others, then nodded heavily.
"...Fine."
She looked at me one last time.
"I'll be back soon. Hold on until then. Understand?"
"......"
"See you soon. Sorry!"
With that final apology, Alissa followed the group and disappeared into the distance.
At last, only Shakra and I remained at the south gate entrance.
Shakra let out a disbelieving laugh.
"Ha! I got distracted for one moment and lost them?"
"......"
"By the way, what exactly did you say to me earlier? That you'd rape me? I didn't mishear, did I? And what did you do? My body feels... wrong. You did this, didn't you?"
She kept firing questions, unable to process any of it within the bounds of her common sense. When I remained silent, she unleashed a murderous aura and leveled her dagger at me.
"Not saying a word, huh? Fine. Let's see how long that lasts after I carve up your entire body. Die!"
Kain Style - First Form: Shadowless
With a hysterical scream, Shakra's body scattered into afterimages. She was so fast it was difficult to track her with my eyes. At full power, her speed had already surpassed what my senses could handle.
All I could do was predict the trajectories and defend.
Slash!
In the blink of an eye, her dagger grazed my shoulder. Blood sprayed out with a stinging burn. But she wasn't satisfied. She stabbed her dagger into the ground to kill her momentum, then sprang forward like a ricocheting bullet, unleashing a storm of relentless strikes.
Even when I blocked half of them, new wounds opened several times per second. Before a full minute had passed, I was a bloody wreck. Shakra, furious at herself for having feared such a pathetic opponent, roared.
"You damn vermin! You're even more worthless than the ones before! Die! Just die already!"
Slaaaaash!
Deciding no caution was necessary anymore, she switched from hit-and-run tactics to pure close-quarters carnage. Sword light flashed endlessly, slicing flesh and scattering blood.
The only saving grace was that I'd wrapped my body in infinite threads beforehand. The daggers couldn't sink deeper than a certain point. Still, with this much blood loss, collapse was only a matter of time.
I have to end this in one strike.
The chance came soon enough.
"Fall down already!"
Frustrated by my persistence, Shakra drove her dagger forward in a straight, decisive thrust. Simple, yet sharper and faster than anything. I could barely dodge it, but counterattacking seemed impossible.
Listen carefully. The two most important elements of this form are these. First is understanding your opponent—reading the flicker of their eyelids, their breathing, to find the opening.
I stepped forward. Every ounce of my focus poured into a single punch.
And the second is perfect muscle control. Concentrating all your power into one instant and releasing it. That creates the ultra-swift strike.
Kain Style - First Form: Shadowless
As the name suggested, the fist cut through the air without a sound. Unfortunately, my proficiency was still too low to replicate Kain's insane level where the beginning and end were invisible. But it was more than enough to hit Shakra.
She saw the punch coming but didn't retreat, confident her dagger would land first. She simply wrapped her body in demonic energy to form a protective shell.
BOOOOM!
The attacks finally struck home.
"AAAAAAAAAAAGH!"
Shakra was blasted backward, rolling across the floor after taking a condensed strike of over seven hundred points of raw, absurd strength. Even with her protective energy mitigating the impact, it was too much. She clutched her stomach, twitching in pain.
I let out a sigh of relief as I watched the dagger fall, unable to pierce my skin.
As expected of the Iron Wall Fortress.
It had blocked Shakra's strike perfectly, exactly as I'd predicted.
The real problem wasn't on my side—it was on hers.
"Ugh... I'll kill you. I will definitely kill you."
Shakra's prowess was incredible. The instant she realized her dagger couldn't penetrate, she threw her whole body into the attack. Because of that, much of Shadowless's power had been canceled out, and I hadn't been able to finish her in one blow.
Spitting blood, the enraged dark elf raised demonic energy across her entire body and coated her daggers in vivid sword-qi.
A wave of danger washed over me.
I can block two more times at most.
No matter how remarkable Arachne's Gloves were, they couldn't withstand that avatar of destruction. Still, there was hope. Through that last exchange, I'd gained a small realization.
So this is how it's done?
I moved my mana and poured it into Arachne's Gloves. It was still precariously short of connecting, but it felt like just a little more would do it.
But Shakra gave me no opening.
"Die, you vermin!!"
The relaxed older-sister demeanor was gone. A slaughter-crazed dark elf charged straight at me.
I kept retreating.
I absolutely cannot take these head-on.
I repeated the warning in my mind as I evaded her strikes. Unless it was immediately fatal, I'd rather absorb the hits with my body.
Slash! Slice!
Blood sprayed from every part of me. Even the infinite threads wrapped around my body were severed in a single strike, offering no resistance.
"Hoo..."
My vision was already starting to blur. I took deep, steady breaths. The moment I hesitated, it would all be over.
Clang!
I knocked aside the dagger aimed directly at my lung. The impact alone caused the Arachne's Glove on my right hand to crack with a sharp snap, rendering it useless.
One left.
Just a little more. Just a little...
Crisis birthed an intense survival instinct, and within that instinct, humans evolve.
I adapted to the flow of mana at frightening speed and fully digested the realization. Then another strike came, splitting the glove on my left hand as well. All chances had vanished.
I clenched my fist.
"Now I understand."
"What?"
"I can win."
Blood and mana circulated through my body, moving exactly as I willed. A faint silver energy bloomed from my fist.
When I confidently aimed it at her, Shakra's face twitched. She ground her teeth.
"You think that can beat me?"
"Yes."
"Now you're just spouting nonsense. How do you expect mere fist qi to overcome sword-qi? Has fear completely broken your mind?"
Shakra mocked me with a condescending tone, but her eyes never left my fist for even a second.
"Are you scared?"
"What? What did you just say?"
"I asked if you're scared. You're terrified that my fist qi will shatter your sword-qi."
"Don't make me laugh! Me, scared? I can cut trash like you down with one slash!"
People sometimes do foolish things. It's called pride. And that emotion can occasionally overpower even the survival instinct.
I provoked her further.
"Then shall we test it?"
"Test it?"
"Yes. Your sword-qi versus my fist qi. Which is stronger?"
"Ha! Why would I bother falling for such an obvious trap?"
"Because if you back down now, you'll prove you're afraid of me. So what will it be? Will you prove me wrong, or will you run?"
Manipulating someone's emotions exactly as you wish is incredibly difficult. Doing so without them noticing your scheme is nearly impossible unless you understand their inner thoughts completely.
But this case was different. Sometimes, even if the opponent sees through the ploy, they still cannot refuse.
Shakra's pride had been badly cracked. She'd taken a solid hit from someone she'd considered lower than a bug. She would want to crush me head-on, reclaim her dignity, and restore her self-worth.
Shakra gave a bloodthirsty smile.
"Fine. I'll accept. I'll kill you so thoroughly you'll wish you'd never been born."
"Come."
"Die!"
When I flicked my finger, Shakra charged with her face twisted like a vengeful demon. Her trajectory was simple and honest.
"Hoooo..."
I took a deep breath and pictured the image.
My first technique, huh?
From the realization I'd just gained, I finally understood what I truly wanted.
I pursued destruction. The complete opposite of Kain, who wielded speed as his weapon.
I wanted absolute power that could shatter everything in my path.
With that desire, I created this technique.
Luan Style - First Form: Shatter
The mana that flowed from my dantian throughout my body converged at my right arm, spiraling, rotating, and fusing into one.
I shaped that energy into fist qi and released it from my fist.
KWAAAAAANG!
Shatter collided with her sword-qi. Under normal circumstances, the result should have been completely one-sided. But my fist qi stood evenly matched against her sword-qi.
My qi was sliced apart in real time by the sword-qi's cutting force, yet at the same moment, her sword-qi shattered under the overwhelming destructive power contained within Shatter.
Crrrrrack!
In the end, both fist qi and sword-qi disintegrated simultaneously.