61. The Chase

61. The Chase

As the auction was nearing its end.

I sat on the rooftop of a building where no one was present, watching the people who had received their won items and were leaving the Academy.

“Found them.”

Finally, I spotted the person who had won the elixir, and I immediately began to put on my mask.

A black balaclava that revealed only my ears, eyes, and mouth. It felt a little constricting, but it would undoubtedly conceal my identity perfectly.

“Are you insane??!! That’s just plain theft!”

Priscilla shouted from beside me. I raised my thumb and replied.

“If you don’t get caught, it’s not theft. I read it in a book.”

“What book?!”

It was content from a book my sister had given me. But the book wasn’t important right now, so instead of answering, I focused my gaze and glared at the person happily trotting away with the elixir in the distance.

The target was entering a dark, deserted alley.

Now’s the time.

“This won’t do. As a member of the family of judgment, I must stop Skadi this time… Skadi?!”

Kuaang!

I forcefully kicked off the ground, shattering the rooftop. Debris flew, and I flew towards my target at maximum speed. Priscilla shouted something from behind, but my speed was faster than her voice, so I couldn’t hear her.

“Claire.”

“Uh, uh?”

As I flew, I spoke to Claire, whom I held in my arms.

“You’ll help me, right?”

“Ugh….”

“I’m counting on you.”

Claire blushed as I smiled gently. Taking her reaction as a positive affirmation, I didn’t hesitate and threw Claire towards the opponent.

For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. If Claire accelerates, I decelerate. Conversely, if I slow down, Claire speeds up.

Kwa-ang!

Flying debris, swirling smoke, and a powerful golden trajectory.

A massive crater, created by smashing through the building, formed along the path Claire flew. Claire, who flew for several hundred meters, unfortunately missed her target due to inaccurate aim.

Waving to Claire, who looked like a tiny dot in the distance, I turned my attention to my target.

“There they are.”

Realizing they were the target due to the obvious attack, the opponent, with their robe pulled deep, was running down the alley. Their running posture was unusual, suggesting they were no ordinary person.

I didn’t have my sword with me, as I had returned it to the guard earlier. However, a skilled swordsman is a weapon in themselves.

Paaang!

I kicked a brick from the ground, sending it flying towards the opponent. The brick flew like a fiery dodgeball from an anime.

The opponent lightly dodged the projectile, which flew in an arc like a meteor, by turning their head.

Even the most skilled person’s movements slow down when their attention is divided. The opponent’s series of actions caused their speed to falter ever so slightly, a small difference that proved fatal for them.

Kwaaang!!

The flying brick collided with the building and shattered. Simultaneously, a shockwave from my fist struck the opponent’s abdomen. But it lacked impact. The opponent had dodged the punch.

“Tch…!”

A subsequent slicing sound. I dodged the dagger the opponent swung. Their leg swung towards me, and I blocked it with my arm. Just as I thought I had grabbed their leg, my instincts screamed at me to dodge.

“…!”

Clang!

A sharp blade shot out from the opponent’s shoe. It grazed my temple. Whether my head or the sword would win was something I’d only know if I got hit, but it wasn’t wise to take such a gamble right now.

“Get lost!”

The opponent pulled something out from inside their robe and threw it at me. As I caught it, I saw it was a small shuriken. Looking closer, I noticed it was coated in poison.

The opponent shouted in surprise. Their voice, magically distorted, was indistinguishable as male or female.

“What, you caught that?! That poison kills even monsters if it touches them!”

“Is that so? You picked the wrong opponent.”

Thanks to being poisoned so often by monsters while fighting in the North, most poisons don’t affect me. Although it had no effect, it’s only right to return a favor if received.

Thud!

I stomped my foot, launching the opponent into the air. Then, I assumed a posture for my palm strike. Everything in front of me was being pulverized by my ultimate attack.

Time slowed, the intervals stretched. In that moment, I saw the elixir bottle glinting inside the opponent’s robe.

“Ah.”

Kwaaang!

My attack missed, and the ground was pulverized. Due to my hasty change in trajectory, my stance was disrupted, and the opponent seized the opportunity to escape from in front of me.

“Hey, don’t run away!”

“Would you stop if you were me?!”

If I had my sword, I would have caught the opponent long ago. But it was too late to regret it.

Poof!

The opponent pulled something from their robe and threw it on the ground. Thick smoke then billowed out. Thinking it was just a smoke bomb, I didn’t hesitate and punched the air, shattering it.

Contrary to my assumption that the opponent had escaped, they were looking directly at me.

Brown eyes meeting my gaze.

And in their hand, dozens of daggers, shimmering with darkness. In the moment I hesitated, a barrage of black blades, filling the night sky, rained down on me.

I deflected them all.

“….”

“….”

The opponent looked at me sheepishly. After fiddling with the hem of their robe for a moment, they shouted at me.

“Hahaha! You fell for it!”

“What?”

Shwoosh!

“Ugh!”

The daggers I thought I had deflected. But the darkness shimmering above them extended like a whip, binding my body. Seeing this, the opponent, though their face was obscured by the robe, said with a wide smile.

“Caught you, you thug! How dare you try to attack me! You’re going straight to Tartarus, you know….”

“Hmph!”

I tore through the darkness with my strength.

“….”

The opponent froze for a moment, silent. After a brief pause, they shouted.

“I’m running away!”

“Where do you think you’re going!”

Whoosh, I quickly kicked out, but my kick only cut through the air. I kicked off the innocent building that had been shattered by the backlash and the opponent began to flee rapidly.

The chase continued. Countless projectiles flew towards me as I pursued. From shurikens to kunai, daggers, poisoned needles, small bombs, medium bombs, large bombs, and extra-large bombs.

Kuaang! Kuaang! Kuaang!

As I deflected them all, numerous bombs exploded in the Academy’s sky. The sight, resembling fireworks, filled the students with fear, and I shouted at the opponent.

“You wicked villain! How dare you commit a bombing in the sacred Academy!”

“Who are you calling a villain?!”

The chase continued. The balaclava was sturdy and still unblemished, and I attacked the opponent with the shockwaves from my punches. Although I couldn’t go all out due to the elixir, this much wouldn’t even hit them anyway, so it was merely a deterrent.

As I darted through alleys towards the opponent, I caught a glimpse of a black silhouette.

-Unni!! It’s me! Unni!!!! I’m here! Unni, do something about this crazy woman!!! Where are you going!!! Unni!!!!!

But this time too, I was faster than the voice, and I continued to fly towards the opponent. The opponent’s cry followed.

“Get lost!”

The opponent pulled out a crossbow from their robe. An arrow silently shot towards my face. I caught the incoming arrow and threw it back at the opponent.

Swoosh!

“Whoa!!”

The arrow pierced the robe. But since it didn’t hit, the opponent continued to attempt escape.

“Hand over the elixir!”

“If you want it, pay for it! But I won’t give it to you anyway!”

The shadow beneath the building flickered and reached towards me. My vision was momentarily obscured, and as I quickly threw a punch, the shadows exploded and disappeared.

“Are you seriously insane?!”

Whoosh, while shouting that, a dagger was swung towards me without hesitation. As I dodged it, a blade shot out from the shoe and attacked me. After blocking that as well, I looked ahead-

“Take this bomb!”

Five small bombs were scattered in the air. Caught in the subsequent explosions, I coughed and blew away the smoke with my fist.

“Ugh?!”

Seizing the opportunity, a blade from under the wrist lunged at me. I tried to block it with my hand, but the opponent was slightly faster.

Clang!

“….”

The blade, which had struck my head beneath the balaclava, broke off. Realizing the shocking fact that my head was harder than the blade, the opponent shouted.

“You crazy, thick-skulled bastard!!”

“Ha!”

Hearing the nickname I had heard so often in my past life, I couldn’t help but laugh. I grabbed the opponent by the neck and slammed them forcefully onto the ground.

Crack, the ground shattered and flew apart. The sound of air being torn echoed everywhere. The thought that I shouldn’t break the elixir occurred to me belatedly, but fortunately, the elixir seemed safe.

The opponent shouted.

“Kugh…! Why is someone wearing a weird mask so strong…!”

“Give me the elixir, and I’ll say it nicely.”

From within the hood of the robe, brown eyes met mine. As I touched them, their chest felt slightly soft, and it seemed the opponent was female.

“I won’t give it to you!”

“Then I’ll take it by force.”

I roughly pulled off the opponent’s robe. What was revealed was….

“H-how dare you try to steal from the Grand Duke of the North! Aren’t you afraid of retaliation for making an enemy of the Grand Duke, you wicked thief!”

A brown-haired wolf beastman, just like me.