episode_0218

“Ah.”

The moment Ryu Seeun opened her eyes, she had to roll her body. She couldn’t do otherwise, seeing the double-bladed axe filling her vision.

Bang!!!

“……Gasp!?”

She probably looked pathetic frantically rolling her body, but wasn’t it better than having her head split open by the blade?

Ryu Seeun immediately cast a spell, without even time to ponder such an obvious thought.

She extended her hand, condensed mana, then unleashed a dark aura towards the man in front of her.

Blast!

“Aargh!”

She wondered if it would work, but fortunately, the attack landed successfully.

The hulking man, directly struck by the dark mana, clutched his face and thrashed about.

The blindly swung axe didn’t feel very threatening. Its trajectory was such that she could evade all of its blows calmly.

“Phew.”

Ryu Seeun took a deep breath, trying to calm her loudly pounding heart as much as possible.

Hadn’t she expected this? From the moment she followed Lee Hyunjin, it was a given that she would be fighting in a life-or-death battlefield.

Yang Chan-ho, considering her status as a student, had told her, ‘You don’t necessarily have to join the subjugation team,’ but it was she who refused.

Because she hated just watching helplessly anymore. Because she was tired of being unable to do anything, like when the academy was attacked.

‘I can do it.’

She had received power. Though it wasn’t a realm she had cultivated purely through her own efforts, it was an ability passed down to her by someone she truly trusted and followed like a father.

Ryu Jinseong’s ‘Darkness’ had made her into a formidable Archmage.

What that realm signified was clear.

S-rank.

At the very least, she wouldn’t have to worry about being unilaterally overwhelmed while facing the man in front of her.

With increasingly clear eyes, Ryu Seeun unleashed a barrage of spells.

Plant tendrils scraped the ground as they rose, shot towards the man, binding his massive body, and the mana that spread out in waves allowed her to ascertain her location.

She didn’t possess the formidable detection ability to pinpoint her exact coordinates like Lee Hyunjin, but she could still roughly guess.

Soon, realizing what kind of space she had been dragged into, Ryu Seeun froze, her face pale.

“Under, the sea……?”

Good heavens. Ryu Seeun murmured absentmindedly, then covered her mouth.

She had heard that the Moonlight Cult Leader wielded space, but…….

‘I never imagined they would be this omnipotent.’

Even if she was still inexperienced, for a single Archmage to be unable to even perceive its workings, was it truly such a subtle spell?

Meanwhile, the axe-wielding man, a bishop of the cult who had once been mobilized to attack Jeokho Academy, was still screaming all sorts of abominations while entangled in plants, but it wasn’t particularly important.

Ryu Seeun bit her lip, trying to grasp the situation.

At any rate, she had been with Lee Hyunjin right before, and as such, their eyes had met when she was swept into the spatial rift at the last moment.

‘Is Sunbae okay?’

She briefly wore an anxious expression, then quickly shook her head from side to side, clearing her mind of distracting thoughts.

Who was she to worry about whom? Lee Hyunjin, though he might appear somewhat lacking on the surface, his abilities were beyond doubt.

So now was the time to prioritize taking care of herself.

Hesitation vanished from Ryu Seeun’s eyes.

CRASH!!!

“You…!”

And that was the moment the man broke free from the plant tendrils.

Even in the completely black space, his shaved head and burly body stood out.

“……Hmm.”

Ryu Seeun instinctively felt repulsion at his appearance, but despising someone based solely on their looks wasn’t the right attitude.

For that reason, she tried to look at him without prejudice as much as possible, but—.

“……All those women from Cheongsong Academy treat me like dirt.”

“Huh, what?”

“That woman who used lightning, and you too, how dare you act like that when you don’t even know who I am…!”

The man’s voice rose, his arms trembling. But Ryu Seeun focused only on the person mentioned earlier, rather than his latter words.

‘That woman who used lightning……?’

Could it be Soyul Sunbae? Among the female students of Cheongsong Academy, she’s certainly the only one who handles lightning magic, but.

‘Come to think of it, I heard something happened in the sea near Busan.’

Thinking about it carefully, it seemed she had indeed overheard something in passing.

If so, was the man in front of her someone who had once clashed with Cheon Soyul?

After a moment of contemplation, Ryu Seeun reached a conclusion and curved her lips into a smile.

“Hmph.”

“……You’re laughing?”

And that laugh precisely grated on the man’s nerves, but from Ryu Seeun’s perspective, it wasn’t even a matter to consider for a moment.

“I hate to say it, Mister.”

By snapping her fingers, she consecutively summoned plants. This way, she built an advantageous environment for herself, then drew up darkness to engulf the surroundings.

Ryu Seeun wore an expression of utmost confidence and sneered at the man.

“I wonder if you know that I’m stronger than Soyul Sunbae.”

“……What did you say?”

“If you merely fought that Sunbae to a draw……. Against me, well? I wonder if this can even be called a proper fight.”

Though it was a line that, if Cheon Soyul had heard it, might have led to considerable torment under the pretext of being arrogant, what did it matter?

The person concerned wasn’t present, and as long as that was the case, Ryu Seeun didn’t need to guard her words.

Thus, Ryu Seeun smiled, wanting to savor this moment of smug satisfaction a little longer.

“Mm-hmm, a strong person needs a strong partner, right? In that regard, I’m the only wife truly suited for Sunbae—.”

CRRRRRAAAASH!

“—but really. Shouldn’t you at least wait for me to finish what I’m saying?”

Blocking the axe that struck down from the front by intertwining plants, Ryu Seeun raised her mana, not losing an ounce of her initial composure.

Whooooom……!

Dark mana began to bloom over her shoulders, and naturally, it was the man who was crushed by its overwhelming momentum.

“……You!”

By all accounts, she was a mere greenhorn who hadn’t even passed her twenties. Yet, the mana she possessed definitely didn’t seem to be at the level of her age.

The man, who was evaluated as an S-rank villain despite being on the lower end, decided to consider the mana Ryu Seeun was emitting as false.

An absurd amount of mana. It must be fake. If they clashed in any way, its true nature would surely be revealed.

The man thus suggested to himself, revealing his yellowed teeth with a ferocious expression.

“I’ll kill you horribly. No, rather, until you beg me to kill you, I’ll rip off your limbs and then rape you.”

“……Oh really?”

That threat contained such a menacing aura that even someone with a considerably bold personality would find it hard to dismiss easily.

But Ryu Seeun, at least, seemed utterly unaffected by the intimidation, letting out a provocative laugh.

“What can I do? Whether by agreement or by force, there’s only one person in this world who can take off my clothes.”

SCREEECH! Even as she spoke, the swung double-bladed axe savagely scraped through the air, but Ryu Seeun smoothly dodged the attack.

“Indeed, I am quite charming. Hmm, I understand. You might want to have your way with me.”

The man didn’t respond to the words that followed. However, his expression was definitely tinged a bright red.

At the very least, it seemed beyond doubt that the man was feeling anger and humiliation from Ryu Seeun’s words.

Towards him, Ryu Seeun openly lifted her top slightly, revealing her bare skin.

“So, what?”

Perhaps alluringly, or perhaps setting a trap……. With a soft flutter, she smiled with her eyes.

“Try it if you can.”

“…….”

“If you truly can, that is.”

The provocation was immensely effective. The man’s eyes rolled back, and then fierce destructive energy imbued the axe blade, beginning to pour down towards Ryu Seeun.

*****

A space steeped in darkness without a single light. Though I realized this was an underwater cavity through sound waves, pinpointing the exact coordinates was difficult.

Because the power that dragged me here just happened to be spatial manipulation.

How should I put it, whenever I tried to interfere in some way from the aspect of spatial magic, it felt like the attempt itself was repeatedly blocked?

I definitely felt something akin to a barrier restricting me.

“Tsk.”

I clicked my tongue and turned my head sideways. Locating other people or thinking about joining them would have to be put aside for now.

Now was the moment to focus on the enemy in front of me.

Black hair reaching her shoulders, eyes as red as blood. A form-fitting suit, and a black iron whip imbued with an ominous aura.

“……Still, I thought we had established a rather amicable relationship, you know.”

It was I who spoke first.

It was an ill-suited attempt at conversation.

“Don’t you think so? We cooperated for a brief moment, fought against the same enemy, and even had a bit of a conversation.”

“…….”

“Well, although it seems I’ve come here to subjugate you all like this…….”

Idly running a hand through my hair, I summoned Yeonhwa’s flame into my right hand.

The face revealed in the slightly illuminated space was certainly beautiful.

“Still, just in case, hmm. Thinking of our past acquaintance, I’ll ask you one thing.”

I aimed the flame towards the woman—Eileen Lewis—and posed a question with a colder voice and more menacing gaze.

“Where did you send the girl who was with me? Haru, you legal loli bastard.”

“…….”

Eileen’s eyes began to sink, filled with coolness.

……But was she reacting because I cursed her boss?

“Hmm…….”

“…….”

“Is that woman perhaps not here ri—.”

“Use polite speech.”

“……What?”

“I told you to use polite speech, didn’t I? Do you really want to die?”

“……?”

I made a questioning expression, and with that, the conversation ended.

—I think it might be better if you spoke a bit more formally. There’s a limit to tolerating someone so much younger spewing informal language.

‘……Aha?’

Just as I belatedly recalled our conversation in Istanbul, Eileen stomped the ground and swung her iron whip at me.