Two-Faced
Two-Faced
Shadow.
A pitch-black trail streaked through the air.
Even as Mirkella closed in on them in an instant, they didn't panic — they adapted fluidly.
-Boom!
He deflected the razor-sharp shadows surging up from beneath his feet with his hammer.
What followed was a diagonal slash from a greatsword and twin axes hurtling through the air with a sonic crack.
The combination flowed as naturally as water.
"Hup!"
Mirkella twisted her body to narrowly evade the greatsword, then stomped her foot to conjure shadow and deflect the flying twin axes.
But the onslaught didn't end there.
Bang! An unexpected gunshot rang out, and simultaneously, sparks erupted from the hammer's wedge as it accelerated.
The blow, swung at a speed that defied the mass of such a heavy blunt weapon, struck Mirkella squarely in the ribs.
-Craaash!
"Kuh...!"
Mirkella hastily wrapped her cloak of shadow around herself to block it.
But she couldn't fully absorb the impact.
She flew in a wide arc, tumbled across the ground a couple of times, then scrambled to her feet.
That was when it happened.
The twin axes she'd deflected came hurtling back like boomerangs from afar, slashing across Mirkella's lower back.
-Shrrrk!
It was a completely unexpected, unorthodox attack.
Her cloak blocked the slash, but again, not entirely.
A shallow cut carved itself into her skin.
"Tch...!"
Mirkella clicked her tongue irritably, as though humiliated by the fact that she'd been struck.
Then she spat out blood-flecked saliva — "Ptui!" — and twisted her expression into a fierce scowl.
These bastards were no pushovers.
For Mirkella to be pushed back, even momentarily — they were fighters of considerable skill.
Were all these so-called gladiators like this?
If so, that was a bit of a complication.
'She let her guard down and paid for it, sure... but I can't take these guys lightly.'
If these three represented the average, there was a high probability of a tough fight ahead.
I needed to raise my level of caution.
As I internally revised my assessment of them upward, the gladiators caught sight of Mirkella huffing and puffing and sneered at her.
"Not bad! For a wench, anyway!"
"Still, a cum-dump like you can only do so much no matter how hard you try. Why not just surrender instead of making a fool of yourself? I'll personally make sure you feel... cherished."
At their mockery, Mirkella let out a hollow laugh, as if dumbfounded.
"Ridiculous. You keep calling me a wench, this and that — but isn't that Gladiator of yours, the one you worship, also a wench and a female?"
"Lady Gladiator has transcended gender. She is a god. The absolute being of this world who presides over destruction and creation, the ruler of all things encompassing the whole of Valhalla. Comparing her to the likes of you is preposterous."
"Indeed, it's nothing short of blasphemy. So I take back my offer to cherish you. It seems you'll need to be handled... rather harshly."
They readjusted their grips on their weapons.
At the same time, Mirkella again took a stance to lunge forward.
It was a hair-trigger situation where a clash could break out at any moment.
Right before that happened, the gladiator in the center suddenly let out an "Ah!" as if he'd just remembered something he'd forgotten, then raised his hand sharply, cutting through the tension.
"Wait. Before we continue, I'd like you to understand that this is a duel. We responded to your charge in the heat of the moment just now, but the principle is one-on-one."
"Wow, you're telling me that now? After all that, now? Even after all that provoking earlier?"
"Still, this works in your favor, doesn't it? Wouldn't you rather fight a single, honorable, fair duel than face three of us at once?"
"Well... do whatever you want. It makes no difference to me whether you all come at me or one at a time."
He had a point.
But having already taken a hit, Mirkella seemed like she didn't give a damn either way.
Probably because her pride was wounded — she had the distinct air of someone who just didn't care anymore.
"Hey, doesn't she seem a little... off? She went in acting all confident and already got smacked once."
Ha Hui-ryeong, who'd been watching the whole process from a distance, offered her assessment with a dubious expression.
I nodded.
"Well... she does have a bit of a clumsy streak. But those guys handled it well just now. Their coordination was perfect. You would've struggled too if you'd faced them for the first time, wouldn't you?"
"No? No, I wouldn't. If it were me, I'd have gone full power from the start and finished it in the first move. Total annihilation. A lion gives its all even when hunting a rabbit."
Ha Hui-ryeong wore an insufferable smirk as she wagged her finger side to side.
I let out a small sigh.
Ha Hui-ryeong had a point — if Mirkella had gone at maximum output from the beginning, the outcome might have been different.
But then she'd have ended up killing them, wouldn't she?
Killing was strictly forbidden outside of duels held in the arena, so Mirkella had to use her power in a restricted manner.
Essentially, it was a fight with a handicap from the get-go.
"Old man, you know anything about those three?"
"I do not. Gladiators are hardly few in number, and these are Nameless, their names unknown. How would I know of them?"
I'd tossed out the question hoping to glean anything at all, but the only answer I got was that he didn't know.
Still, it wasn't entirely without yield.
The fact that these guys were Nameless meant there were stronger ones stacked up like a mountain, didn't it?
'This commission's difficulty is higher than I expected.'
I wasn't sure if this was worth the cost-benefit.
Was it really right to go through all this suffering just to retrieve one letter from Hui-ryeong's mother...? For a moment, deep skepticism washed over me.
A bitter smile crept onto my lips.
At the same time, things were being settled on Mirkella's end.
"Graaaaah!!"
With a raucous scream, the gladiator wielding the twin axes went flying.
Mirkella raised her fist high and let out a triumphant shout.
"Eushyaaaa!!"
Next was the gladiator with the hammer.
He held out for quite a while, but against the relentless barrage of shadow strikes, he ultimately had no choice but to collapse.
"Next!"
At her spirited cry, the greatsword wielder — who appeared to be the leader — stepped forward.
Incongruous with his large frame, he had a piece of candy in his mouth. He smirked as he took his stance.
"To think you'd take down all my brothers. You've got some solid grit for a wench."
Abruptly, water coiled around his greatsword. Spray erupted from the guard, coiling around the blade and extending its already long reach even further.
"But I can see the exhaustion written all over you. I propose that you withdraw honorably this time, and we test each other again on another occasion. What say you?"
"Huff... huff... You scared...?"
"...Your courage is admirable. However, excessive courage becomes mere recklessness."
The gladiator's expression went cold.
Of all things, it seemed he couldn't stomach the provocation that he might be scared.
"I'm coming."
Those words were the only warning.
In an instant, his form wavered like a mirage, and suddenly he materialized right in front of Mirkella's face.
Even Mirkella seemed somewhat flustered, as though she hadn't anticipated this level of speed.
The gladiator didn't miss the opening.
Kiiiiing...!
The greatsword, drawn from its sheath, swung horizontally, and the blade clashed against the shadow she had frantically conjured.
A sound like grinding metal rang out as the water wrapped around the blade rippled and churned.
The water spinning at high speed along the sword's edge acted like a chainsaw.
"Ngh...!"
The shadow split apart.
It was shredded to tatters by the sharp saw-like edge.
The moment her defensive measure vanished, Mirkella put a wide distance between them.
And as if determined not to let the opening slip, the gladiator charged at her in a beast-like posture, clinging close to the ground.
"Gahahahaha!! Yes, that's it!"
The sight of him charging wildly like a four-legged animal seemed almost comical at a glance.
But the moment you witnessed the chill of the blade behind it, any hint of laughter vanished, and tension set every nerve on edge.
He grew even more reckless, at times seeming willing to give flesh to take bone.
But Mirkella's head remained cool.
With sunken eyes, she observed the movements, calmly reading the trajectory of the sword.
A variable arose in the midst of the exchange.
Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud!
The gladiator charged again, hugging the ground.
But this time, he had a dagger drawn from his waist.
Thunk!
The dagger stabbed into the ground.
Simultaneously, his body spun as if performing a circus act, and the massive greatsword whirled right after.
Screeeech... Boom!
She hastily guarded with shadow against the unexpected strike, but the impact sent Mirkella hurtling far back.
She shouted in disbelief.
"What in the...! To pull off a move like that! But how long can you keep it up...!"
Mirkella was right.
A sword technique that relies entirely on a single dagger to pivot the body places a tremendous physical burden on the user.
This was practically a stunt, a bizarre spectacle.
But in terms of style points, it was a perfect score.
"This dance won't end — it'll go on until this body of mine is completely spent!"
He didn't stop and continued his onslaught.
Swoosh — just as before, he spun twice, then lightly swung the dagger forward, scattering a spray of water.
And using that stream of water, he slid as if gliding right up to Mirkella, then swung the greatsword upward from below.
"Alright, that's enough! The game's over!"
Losing patience, Mirkella stopped dodging and clapped her hands together.
Immediately, darkness erupted from beneath the gladiator's feet.
A shadow in the form of a thick tentacle struck his lower back directly, throwing his stance into disarray.
Naturally, his attack went wide along with his twisted axis, and the tentacles that followed bound his arms and legs completely.
Thwump!
"Guhk...!"
Mirkella's elbow exploded into his solar plexus.
Then, spinning her body in a full rotation, she slammed a roundhouse kick into his temple.
With a crack, the gladiator's form staggered.
To keep him from resisting any further, Mirkella kicked his right leg out from under him with full force, utterly collapsing his center of gravity.
He went down, chin hitting the floor first, and what remained was a one-sided beating.
"You're! Nothing! Special! So what's! All the! Damn! Posturing!!"
Thwack, crack, crunch.
After gleefully stomping him for a good long while, Mirkella finally seemed satisfied. She let out a sigh of relief and wiped the sweat from her forehead.
Then, she turned around with a bright smile.
An innocent, carefree smile, as if to ask — is there a problem?
Given her rampage like a berserker just moments ago, it was rather jarring.
"Resolved. Though rather than relieving my stress, I think it's only made me more irritated. It would've been better if they'd been weaklings who couldn't even fight back. A bit of a shame."
"Uh... right. Good work."
Naturally, the rest of us could only wear wry expressions.
...This girl's a serious piece of work, isn't she?
The moment I'd seen those tentacles, I'd realized she'd deliberately dragged the fight out.
Even though she could have taken them down at any time, she'd intentionally waited until her opponent had played every card before finishing him off.
Maybe she fit in so well with us because her nature was fundamentally similar to ours?
It was more than a little absurd, but... well, I didn't think it was such a bad thing.
Hell, just looking at the people who'd gathered around me — every single one of them had a fierce temperament and a somewhat twisted sensibility, didn't they?
Compared to them, Mirkella was practically adorable.
Nothing I couldn't handle.
"So now, what should we do? Leave these guys here and be on our way?"
"Hmm..."
At Kim Ha-yoon's question, I trailed off for a moment.
We'd won, but I hadn't given any thought to what to do with them afterward.
And since they were all completely unconscious, I didn't see much use in them anyway.
Should we really just leave them here and go?
"Why not take them with you? They are gladiators — they will accept the outcome of the match. Most likely they'll comply with whatever demands you make. They may prove useful later on."
"Hm, I agree with the old-timer. Leaving them in our debt can't hurt."
As I mulled it over, the old man casually offered his opinion, and Angelica agreed.
Now that I thought about it, it didn't seem like a bad idea.
These were guys who prattled on about honor, so they wouldn't forget a favor.
I nodded.
"Alright, let's do that. Load those bastards up. And hey, worst case, we can always use them as meat shields."