Exam (9)
“Long time no see.”
His voice rang out short and low, but that single phrase was enough. Kara’s pupils trembled faintly, betraying her fear. Her hand gripped the staff tighter, and the cold sweat trickling down her cheek laid her emotions bare.
“H-How... are you... here...”
Kara’s voice shook, her words stumbling from her lips. But Arnold showed no interest in hearing her out. His gaze swept the surroundings, taking stock of the situation.
“You’ve caused quite the mess.”
Arnold spoke quietly, his sharp eyes scanning the chaotic scene. The battlefield was a picture of brutality. The forest charred black, thick with dark red blood, and his battered acquaintances—some miraculously still breathing—filled his view. This was the epicenter of despair, hope long abandoned.
“Ah, Arnold...”
It started with Adria, then one by one they recognized him, forcing out hoarse voices.
“Master...!”
“How’d you get here...?”
“Arnold!”
“Run—quick...!!”
Their desperate pleas echoed through the air, but Arnold didn’t flinch. If anything, their concern struck him as ironic. These people, barely able to stand themselves, were worrying about him.
“Kara...”
His gaze settled back on her, his expression complex. Resentment simmered in his eyes. But ironically, it wasn’t aimed solely at her—it turned inward as well, toward the mess he had helped create.
“Ugh...”
Kara squeezed her eyes shut and gritted her teeth. She knew that look—weighty, piercing.
Memories of their clash five years ago swirled in her mind.
“You’ve definitely gotten stronger. Far more than five years ago.”
Arnold’s voice carried subtle undertones—praise? Contempt? It landed heavy in Kara’s chest all the same.
Gazing at the Kara before him, one realization hit him. Her power wasn’t coincidence. He bore responsibility for pushing her this far. Fate’s tangled web, a butterfly effect of coincidences casting him as the hero. Their meeting five years back had seemed a mere fluke. But now he knew: she wasn’t ordinary. She was a boss monster from the game—and stronger than in the original.
No one was solely to blame. He hadn’t known then, so he’d written it off as foolish happenstance.
“Looks like we can’t avoid a fight...”
Kara forced the words out, her voice barely steady. Arnold answered not with words but action, slowly drawing his sword. The ominous gleam on its blade amplified the surrounding chaos, ratcheting up the tension. The faint tremor in Kara’s fingertips betrayed her dread.
“Now that I’ve seen this, I can’t just walk away—”
Boom—!!
But before he could finish, a massive explosion rocked the forest.
“Good...!”
Kara’s preemptive strike. If battle was inevitable, seize the advantage—a shallow but shrewd move.
“Arnold!!”
Adria’s cry pierced like a scream. The earth-shaking blast and choking black smoke seemed beyond human endurance.
“This much power... surely...!”
Kara believed it too—a fleeting victorious smile crossed her face.
But—
“Where do you think you’re swinging that.”
In an instant, his sword cleaved the air, unleashing a fierce gust. Contrary to Adria’s fears, Arnold emerged from the smoke unscathed.
“Arnold!!”
“Eek...?!”
Color and hope returned to Adria’s ashen face. Fear, meanwhile, flooded Kara’s eyes.
“O-One more!!”
Flames erupted from her staff’s tip once more, heralding the battle’s true start.
Boom—!
Explosions, swirling infernos, and clashing steel engulfed the field.
“Ugh...!”
Kara’s unease swelled as Arnold relentlessly carved through her flames. She bared her teeth to retreat, but space constricted like chains on her ankles.
“Kara, it ends here.”
Arnold’s voice was low and unyielding as he called her name. Each step thundered against the ground, thickening the air itself.
Kara raised her staff, chanting a spell laced with fire.
“Still a monster through and through...!!”
Flames vortexed at the staff’s end, birthing a colossal blaze that surged toward Arnold.
——!
Yet Arnold held his ground. He lifted his sword deliberately, slashing through the flames and pressing forward. The fire parted around him, scattering harmlessly.
“Your flames won’t stop me.”
A lightning gleam rippled from his blade’s tip.
Kara whipped her body back in serpentine grace. Her snake tail swept a massive arc to engulf him.
But Arnold, anticipating it, leaped lightly aside. His sword tracked her like a living predator.
“That’s right—keep running.”
Arnold whispered, anger and scorn laced in his tone.
“The end’s already decided.”
“Keuk!”
Panting, Kara chanted anew. Tension warped her features further.
“Chaos of Lamiel’s heart, shield me and shatter this foe!”
Formless shadows erupted around her, lunging to devour Arnold.
One sword stroke shredded them all. It wasn’t mere swinging—pure, overwhelming force infused it.
“Weak. Pathetic.”
Arnold closed in. His steps grew lighter, his blade’s edge keener.
“Euk!”
Terror gripped Kara; defeat dawned instinctively. No matter her skill, this man—then or now—was unbeatable.
“Then like this!!”
Yet surrender wasn’t in her. Channeling her last reserves, she summoned titanic flames, eyes blazing with resolve and despair.
“You go down with me!”
Kara screamed, pouring every ounce of mana into the blaze. Flames cloaked her, raging fiercer.
Her choice: mutual destruction.
“You want to die together?”
Arnold’s gaze turned icy as he tightened his grip.
Crack—
“Euk...?!”
His sword smashed her staff dead-center. It shattered, flames dissipating into the void.
Silence reigned.
The blaze’s remnants vanished; only Arnold, sword lowered, reflected in her eyes.
“M-My... staff...”
Kara stared dumbly at the fragments in her hand. Her voice quavered feebly, her iron momentum evaporated.
Arnold loomed eternal, radiating majesty.
“Just like our first meeting.”
Arnold sighed softly, easing his sword down. Pity and resolve mingled in his eyes.
He raised one hand skyward, murmuring a low chant.
“Fire Ball.”
Basic magic, unadorned. Yet the heat and flames from his palm were anything but ordinary. The orb hovering above burned sun-hot, warping the air. Lamiel’s warriors recoiled on instinct.
Roar—!
Kara eyed the flame, exhaling a brief sigh. Reluctance, regret, madness churned within.
She remembered his past dominance.
But this magic dwarfed it—sharper, fiercer.
“Uueuk...!”
Kara clutched her trembling form, eyes clenched shut.
Her subordinates’ worried cries rang out, fading into distance.
“Queen!”
“...!”
Then Arnold unleashed the flame.
Roar—!
Vast inferno swallowed Lamiel’s queen. Amid the searing heat, she embraced her fate, eyes closing.
All faded. The battlefield sank into hush once more.