episode_0058

‘No one heard that, right?’

I shivered with the sense of omnipotence surging through my entire body, yet I looked at my companions with a worried gaze.

I tried my best to hide it, but I couldn’t tell if it had worked as intended.

Normally, even if they had heard, they would have dismissed it as having misheard, but there were many here who were far from ordinary.

As expected, one person caused trouble.

“Wait. Didn’t you just say ‘rape’? I think you did?”

Yas, who had been sitting down after drinking a potion, smiled faintly and raised the question.

True to his nature as someone who thinks about women 365 days a year, he didn’t miss this opportunity.

However, the truth is always ignored.

Alisa reacted strongly to something that was unthinkable by common sense.

“That can’t be! Do you think that person is the same as that trash?”

“Huh? But definitely…”

“Stop talking nonsense! You have no discerning eye, that’s why you’re friends with such trash.”

“No, this has nothing to do with discerning eye…”

“Quiet! Be quiet.”

Alisa, who had dismissed Yas’s opinion, suddenly met my gaze and smiled broadly.

It was a very charming smile.

‘She can smile like that, too.’

Having only ever seen her face contorted with disgust or anger, it was beyond refreshing, almost surprising.

So, I absolutely couldn’t be exposed. Before Shakra, who had been subjected to the ‘rape declaration’, could say anything, I pointed towards the entrance.

“Go.”

“Go? What do you mean?”

“Go out and call for reinforcements. I’ll hold that woman back in the meantime.”

My voice, different from usual, felt a bit unfamiliar.

As I was getting used to the voice modulation, Alisa shook her head as if it were nonsense.

“No! I’ll help too. Even if it’s you, defeating that woman alone is impossible. Let’s fight together!”

“…You’ll be in the way. Leaving quickly is how you’ll help me.”

“Then prove it. Show me proof that you can win!”

She probably meant for me to use aura, right?

Generally, to defeat Shakra, one would need to reach at least the same level.

As I surmised her true intentions, I suddenly thought.

‘But why is she speaking informally?’

She probably doesn’t even know my identity yet, so it’s strange for her to speak so casually. As if my gaze reflected this, Alisa subtly replied.

“Wh-why are you looking at me like that? Aren’t you a first-year too? …Sir?”

The way she added a polite suffix and averted her gaze was uncharacteristically cute.

While marveling at the new facets I’d discovered several times today, I subtly asked Deborah for help.

Deborah, noticing my signal, immediately began to persuade Alisa.

“Ah, Alisa. Let’s go quickly! That person will be able to win.”

“That’s why I’m asking for proof, isn’t it?”

“There won’t be time for that! It’s better if we don’t get in the way.”

“What? Your attitude is completely different from before! You covered for that trash when he ran away, but why are you abandoning that person so easily?”

“Abandon? No! I’m just doing what’s best!”

Despite Deborah’s innocence, suspicion didn’t leave Alisa’s eyes.

The implication “Is there something special going on between you and that trash bastard?” was instantly conveyed, making Deborah’s face droop.

Just as the persuasion stalled, Skadia stepped forward instead.

“Alisa. Put aside personal feelings and act calmly. We’re already exhausted, and we can’t do anything but watch. Getting out of the way is helping. Surely you don’t want that person to be in trouble?”

“Ah, no! That’s not it.”

“Then come. Let’s bring reinforcements from outside.”

With those words, Skadia turned her back.

Seeing her gesture that she would leave first if Alisa didn’t follow, Alisa looked around at the other companions and nodded heavily.

“…Alright.”

Then, she looked at me one last time.

“I’ll be back soon. Hold on until then, okay?”

“……”

“See you in a bit. I’m sorry!”

With that apology, Alisa followed her companions and moved away.

Finally, only Shakra and I remained at the South Gate entrance.

Shakra let out an incredulous laugh.

“Ha! I lost them while I was briefly flustered, didn’t I?”

“……”

“By the way, what did you just say to me? ‘Rape’? I didn’t mishear that, did I? And what did you do? My body feels strange. You did this too, didn’t you?”

No matter how many times she thought about it, she couldn’t understand it within her common sense, so she repeatedly asked questions.

When I remained silent, she exuded a murderous aura and raised her dagger, pointing it at me.

“So you’re not going to say anything. Fine. Let’s see. I’ll see if you can still do that after your entire body is hacked to pieces. Die!”

*Whoosh!*

With a hysterical scream, Shakra’s body blurred into afterimages and dispersed.

She was so fast it was difficult to track her with my eyes. Her full-power speed exceeded the limits my senses could handle.

All I could do was predict her trajectory and defend.

*Slice!*

In the blink of an eye, the dagger grazed my shoulder. Blood splattered with a stinging pain.

But she wasn’t satisfied with just that.

She immediately plunged her dagger into the ground to brake, then bounced off as if propelled, unleashing a storm of consecutive attacks.

Even if I barely managed to block half of them, several wounds appeared every second.

In the end, before even a minute passed, I was covered in wounds. Shakra seemed angry that she had been intimidated by such an opponent, and she spewed forth her rage.

“You worm! You’re even more pathetic than those earlier ones! Die! Just die!”

*Slash! Slash! Slash!*

Feeling that she no longer needed to be cautious, she changed her combat style from hit-and-run to extreme close-quarters combat.

Sword gleams flashed incessantly, carving through my flesh and splattering blood.

Thankfully, I had already wrapped an infinite thread around my entire body, so the dagger didn’t penetrate beyond a certain depth.

Of course, even so, with the heavy bleeding, it was only a matter of time before I collapsed.

‘I have to take her down in one go.’

It wasn’t long before the opportunity came.

“Just fall!”

Shakra, tired of my persistence, thrust her dagger in a straight line to finish me off definitively.

It was a simple, yet sharper and faster strike than anything else.

A blow I could barely avoid, but one that made counterattacking absolutely impossible.

“-Listen closely. There are two crucial things in this technique. The first is understanding your opponent. You find openings by observing the movement of their eyelids and their breathing.”

Facing that attack, I took a step forward.

I poured all my focus into unleashing a single punch.

“-And the second is perfect muscle control. Concentrating and unleashing all your power at the desired moment.”

That completes the ultimate fast strike.

Cain Style.

First Technique.

Shadowless (無影)!

As its name suggested, the fist sliced through the air soundlessly.

Unfortunately, due to my lack of proficiency, it was impossible to replicate Cain’s insane, unseeable strike from start to finish, but it was enough to hit Shakra.

She saw the fist being unleashed but didn’t retreat, seemingly believing her dagger would reach first.

She merely wrapped her entire body in demonic energy, forming a protective barrier.

*CRASH!*

Finally, the attacks struck each other’s bodies.

“Aaaargh!”

Shakra, struck by a blow containing over 700 points of raw, immense strength, was poorly thrown back, rolling on the ground.

Even though she had blocked the impact as much as possible with her protective barrier, she couldn’t handle it, clutching her stomach and twitching.

And I, looking at the dagger that had failed to pierce my skin and fallen, let out a sigh of relief.

‘It truly is an impregnable fortress.’

It had splendidly blocked Shakra’s strike, without an inch of deviation from my expectations.

The problem, however, wasn’t on my side, but hers.

“Ugh… I’ll kill you. I will definitely kill you.”

Shakra’s capabilities were extraordinary.

To think she would immediately launch herself forward the moment she confirmed her dagger couldn’t penetrate my skin.

Thanks to that, the power of Shadowless was considerably nullified, preventing me from subduing her in one go.

Enraged, Shakra vomited blood from her mouth, yet she ignited demonic energy throughout her body and enveloped her dagger in a clear aura.

A sense of crisis loomed.

‘I can block a maximum of two more times.’

No matter how amazing Arachne’s Gauntlets were, they were powerless before that incarnation of destruction.

Still, the hopeful thing was that I had gained a small enlightenment while exchanging that last blow.

‘Was this how it was done?’

I moved my magic power and injected it into Arachne’s Gauntlets.

It wasn’t connecting perfectly yet, but with a little more, I felt like I could reach it.

However, Shakra gave no quarter.

“Die! You worm!!”

The relaxed lady was gone, replaced by a dark elf consumed by bloodlust, rushing towards me.

I constantly retreated.

‘I must not take a direct hit.’

Strongly repeating this to myself, I dodged Shakra’s attacks. If it wasn’t a fatal blow, I was even prepared to take it with my body.

*Slash! Slice!*

Blood splattered from my entire body.

Even the infinite thread I had wrapped around myself was completely cut through in a single strike, unable to reduce any of the force.

“Hah…”

Already, an illusion of my vision blurring made me repeatedly take deep breaths. The moment I hesitated, it would be over.

*Clang!*

Immediately after, I struck away a dagger aiming precisely for my lung.

With just that, Arachne’s Gauntlet, which covered my right hand, *cracked* and became useless.

Now, only one hit remained.

‘Just a little. Just a little more.’

Crisis gave birth to a powerful survival instinct, and within it, humans evolved. I quickly grew accustomed to magic power and assimilated the enlightenment.

Finally, with another strike, the gauntlet on my left hand also cracked, and all opportunities vanished.

I clenched my fist.

“Now I understand.”

“What?”

“I can win.”

Magic power circulated through my entire body with my blood, moving according to my will.

A faint silver aura bloomed from my fist.

When I confidently aimed my fist, Shakra’s face twitched, and she gritted her teeth.

“You’re going to defeat me with just that?”

“Yes.”

“Now you’re talking nonsense. How do you expect a mere fist aura to defeat a sword aura? Have you lost your mind from fear?”

Shakra scoffed with a condescending tone.

However, her eyes never left my fist for a moment.

“Are you afraid?”

“What? What did you just say?”

“I asked if you were afraid. You’re scared my fist aura will shatter your sword aura.”

“Don’t be ridiculous! Me, scared? I can cut you down with a single stroke now.”

People sometimes do foolish things.

That is pride.

This emotion sometimes even overrides the survival instinct.

I provoked Shakra.

“Then, shall we test it?”

“Test?”

“Yes. Your sword aura and my fist aura. Which of the two is stronger?”

“Ha! Why would I get entangled in such a proposal?”

“You would. If you don’t back down now, you can prove that you’re not afraid of me. What will you do? Prove it? Or run away?”

It’s very difficult to guide someone’s emotions as you wish.

Moreover, making them move as you intend without revealing your intentions is impossible without understanding their inner thoughts completely.

However, the current situation is a little different.

Because even if the opponent understands your intentions, there are times when they cannot refuse.

Currently, Shakra’s pride was significantly cracked.

Because she had taken a quite powerful hit from me, whom she had considered an existence worse than a worm.

She would want to confront me head-on, win, and restore her self-esteem.

Shakra gave a murderous smile.

“Fine. I’ll accept. I’ll kill you thoroughly.”

“Come.”

“Die!”

Finally, with a flick of her index finger, Shakra, her face twisted into a demonic grimace, surged forward.

Her trajectory was very simple and straightforward.

“Huuuu…”

I took a deep breath, recalling an image in my mind.

‘My first technique?’

I had just gained enlightenment and clearly understood.

What I truly desired.

I pursued destruction.

Completely opposite to Cain, who used speed as his weapon.

I wanted to possess absolute power that could shatter everything in its path.

With such yearning, I created this technique.

Ruan Style.

First Technique.

Shatter (破碎).

Magic power, extending from my dantian throughout my entire body, converged at my right arm, twisting and rotating like a spiral, reforming into one.

I wove that energy into the form of a fist aura and unleashed it from my punch.

*BOOM!*

Shatter and the sword aura clashed.

Originally, the result of their collision should have been one-sided. But my fist aura was evenly matched with the sword aura.

The fist aura was being cut away in real-time by the sword aura’s cutting power, but simultaneously, the sword aura was being shattered by the overwhelming force contained within Shatter.

*CRACKLE!*

In the end, the fist aura and the sword aura were destroyed simultaneously.