episode_0191

Flames roaring!

I scattered flames in all directions, trapping Eileen and me in a circular arena-like space.

Then, above the hand that had extinguished the flames, I generated cold and lightning energy, respectively.

Crackling!

The two attributes instantly merged—. After forming Ice Lightning, I observed Eileen’s reaction, ready to clash at any moment.

‘If necessary, I’ll incapacitate her first.’

No matter how close to Special S-rank an Awakener she was, or even if she was a melee-type, she couldn’t remain unharmed after a direct hit from Ice Lightning.

The most powerful and effective magic I could unleash.

A chill ran down my spine. Not only was I sweating cold, but I found myself unconsciously swallowing dryly.

Eileen Lewis was here now… The tension that ‘that woman’ might also be with her made me flinch.

‘…The Elder is fine. I’ll have to see what condition he’s in, but I just need to rescue him and get out immediately.’

It wasn’t our objective to go all the way, after all. I didn’t know Eileen’s stance, but my immediate goal was to rescue Gwon Hwang Elder.

In fact, I could feel two presences circling above, trying to sneak into the basement of the abandoned building.

Perhaps there were more allies, but I believed Cheon Soyul and Baek Ayun alone could handle one Bishop. Believing that, I began to narrow the range of the flames.

Crackling, crackling…

“……”

“……”

The fiercely surging flames gradually tightened around Eileen and me.

No matter how formidable an S-rank villain she was, she likely didn’t have flame resistance.

‘If I got burned by those flames and got into trouble, well. The same would apply to me…’

As I had only unjustly gained the flame ability, I wasn’t a mage with flame resistance myself. It was a double-edged sword for that reason…

For that reason, if I had to inflict damage on my opponent, it couldn’t be an attack using flames.

It was at that very moment. Eileen flinched, trembling the iron shard in her hand; it was a minuscule movement, but I didn’t delay my reaction.

BOOOOM!

Immediately, I condensed all my mana into a platinum-colored sphere. The gathered energy surged as if it would explode at any moment, and Eileen and I attacked each other simultaneously.

CRASH!!!

I hurled the sphere. The Ice Lightning, cutting fiercely through the air, froze its surroundings as it flew towards Eileen, who, without a change in expression, swung her iron shard at me.

SWISH!!

“……”

Whiz! A light but undeniable sound echoed. A black sword energy, arriving faster than the sound, grazed my cheek.

And before the blood floating in the air could even fall to the ground, the Ice Lightning exploded.

A deafening crash!!!

A heavy, intense sound flashed briefly. The compressed cold froze Eileen’s entire body, and simultaneously, lightning burned her whole body.

Whether a magic user or a melee fighter, it was a brutal power that no human could withstand.

However.

Crack, crackle.

“…Are you serious?”

Cracks slowly began to appear in her frozen body.

She broke through that? And in less than ten seconds?

“Damn monster…”

I, my voice filled with dismay, immediately pushed off the ground with a soft sigh.

If I couldn’t defeat her in one blow, I had to at least capitalize on this opening.

What attack would be most effective? A sonic wave detonated at close range? Should I first restrict her movement with plant manipulation? Or with intangible form—.

“Damn it.”

CRASH! There was no time to ponder methodologies. Before that, Eileen’s blood-red eyes flashed as she broke free from her frozen state, and I was forcibly left with only one option. It was the best I could do.

I narrowly dodged the outstretched iron shard by becoming intangible, twisted my body, half-raised my leg, and unleashed my full leg power.

It was simple, yet classic.

To deliver a powerful blow head-on.

“……”

THUNDEROUS CRASH!!

Was this a power she couldn’t disregard this time? For the first time, Eileen’s expression showed a flicker of rigidity, and she swiftly raised both arms to push my leg away.

I narrowed my eyes and kicked her violently once more.

WHAM! With a heavy impact sound, the black-haired woman was sent sliding backward across the dirt.

‘…She practically ignored Ice Lightning, yet she reacts to this attack?’

A question arose. Ice Lightning should have been superior in raw power. Did she possess a special ability against long-range attacks?

“…Tsk.”

Either way, it was unwelcome news for me. What good was a mage if their long-range attacks were sealed?

It was a good thing I was a hybrid, half-hack mage…

“……”

Should I consider this fortunate? It was a slightly strange feeling, but in any case, it wasn’t a relaxed situation enough to lose focus.

A rapid series of explosions!

Her explosion-inducing characteristic was certainly annoying for me as well.

As she had defeated Lee Cheonsang the Sword Demon, she was all the more threatening.

Every time Eileen swung her iron shard, explosions continuously erupted. It felt like watching a mage waving a wand…

‘…It feels like our roles have been reversed.’

I couldn’t help but feel a strange mix of emotions. A mage trying to engage in close combat, and a melee fighter acting like a mage—what a mess.

I, sweating profusely, dodged the explosions, and as soon as I saw an opening, I moved swiftly.

Dash!

I pushed off the ground forcefully, surging forward. Turning intangible once more, I then pulled plant vines and wrapped them around my forearm.

KABOOM!

“Ugh.”

After blocking the detonating explosion with an improvised ice shield… I immediately kicked Eileen’s leg, and the moment her posture was momentarily disrupted.

“I got, you…!”

WHIP! Through precise plant manipulation, I pulled plant roots and vines from all around the area to our location.

Eileen quickly aimed her iron shard at me, reacting swiftly, but.

“Go on, detonate it.”

CRASH! I didn’t care and took the explosion head-on. For one, I had wrapped my entire body in mana, and besides, I had a cheat ability.

Of course, she couldn’t have imagined that I had copied Violet’s super regeneration, a power possessed by someone who once worked under them.

“Urgh…”

It wasn’t that there was no pain, however.

I still had to let out a brief groan.

Instead, as a corresponding benefit, I succeeded in tightly binding Eileen Lewis’s entire body right after.

THUD!

To prevent any unforeseen mishaps, I swung my arm and seized Eileen’s wrists.

Holding her down with one hand, I climbed on top of her. Several sharp icicles floated in the air as a threat.

“Pant, pant.”

“…Ugh.”

So I breathed heavily, and Eileen formed quite a displeased expression.

We remained in a fierce staring contest, buried in a brief silence.

Suddenly, I lowered my gaze… and realized that her body, bound by the plant vines, somehow appeared quite alluring.

No, rather. As if by chance, the way she was tied up, though I hadn’t intended it, perfectly highlighted her figure in the style of turtle shell binding—.

“……”

My expression subtly changed. I didn’t know if Eileen had noticed the change, or if she had, if she understood its meaning.

I didn’t care. I simply reached out, not resisting the sudden impulse that arose.

Where did I reach? If you ask that, you’ll naturally realize it when you hear the sound that followed.

Squish…

“…Huh?”

And that was the moment Eileen Lewis, the serial S-rank killer, uttered a voice unlike her own for the first time.

‘What ‘huh’? Are you a little girl?’

Soft… Squish…

Squeeze, squeeze, squeeze.

Mm.

‘She is a woman, yes. Soft.’

It was perhaps a moment where I was consecutively thinking quite off-kilter thoughts.

“…Ah, eh. Ah.”

Just as Eileen’s face, which had been so white it felt almost pale, began to turn red.

“…What are you two doing?”

From behind, I heard ‘someone’s’ voice, one I hadn’t heard in a very long time.

I unconsciously flinched and turned my gaze behind me.

Gwon Hwang Baek Muyeom, supported by Baek Ayun, walking out with a rather varied array of injuries and a haggard complexion…

looked at me, then at Eileen pinned beneath me, and finally surveyed the shattered surroundings.

“Well.”

He then mumbled, as if dumbfounded.

“By any chance, did you two… fight?”

“…Huh?”

“Why are you doing such pointless things…?”

“…??”

I looked at Baek Muyeom with a truly bewildered expression on my face.

And while I was steeped in such bewilderment.

“You, crazy bastard…”

“…Ah.”

Eileen, having broken free from her bindings, gritted her teeth and slammed her iron shard into my temple.

With the iron shard, of course.

WHAM!!