“Ugh…!”
Haval, who had been lying on the ground with dust as his blanket, let out a faint groan as he pushed himself up.
Thanks to his armor, he hadn’t suffered any major injuries, but the shock that had dug into him made every bone in his body creak.
With just that one blow, Haval could painfully understand the extreme gap between him and her.
The opponent was a formidable foe on par with Lakan. There was absolutely no chance of winning in a one-on-one.
“They really weren’t kidding when they said your strength is beyond that of a Troll…!”
“These days, everyone keeps saying that. Trolls aren’t that dangerous of a monster. They’re just strong but as dumb as a rock.”
Krimhilde chuckled as she approached him, rambling something that sounded like an introduction. Haval couldn’t help but let out a hollow laugh of disbelief.
“But I see I was reckless…!”
Then he smiled victoriously, the pain making his brow furrow and giving him a grimace closer to a pained smile, but it was undeniably a triumphant grin.
“I admit I was caught off guard. It was indeed an unexpected attack. Who would have thought it would be this reckless and violent?”
“Reckless? That’s a serious slander. This is not reckless—it’s bold!”
“And you have no conscience at all. You’re supposed to be human!”
“…I don’t think you’re one to talk about being human. As if you’re any different!”
His honest retort seemed genuinely offensive, and Haval laughed heartily, even forgetting the pain.
“You have a sharp tongue. But that’s all it is. Reckless, arrogant, and even careless. No way you’re living long with that personality!”
“And you think you’re any different?”
Krimhilde’s predatory eyes lit up as she once again readied to pounce.
Thud!
[Ever Frost] and [Divine Might].
Eisenstein’s bioweapon, the chilling cold of Valkyrie implanted in her arms, bestowed her with superhuman strength.
“This is ridiculous. The one who’s going to die due to carelessness is calling others reckless… Honestly, you shouldn’t be saying that!”
“Hah, don’t you get it yet? Look up!”
Haval laughed heartily as he dramatically pointed his finger.
“Were you really thinking I, Haval, would wander around unguarded?”
The shout hinted—no, blatantly revealed—the presence of guards. His outstretched finger pointed above Krimhilde’s head as if to suggest she check it out.
“Not unguarded? Hmm, it feels a bit too cruel to kill an expectant mother.”
But did she think that a moment’s check would leave room for error? Instead of looking up, Krimhilde glared at Haval, only tossing sarcastic remarks his way.
“Go ahead and prattle on. That nonsense will be your dying words!”
But Haval simply scoffed at her low-level provocation; there was no anger in him.
There was no reason to be angry.
In his one eye, he could already see the subordinates jumping over roofs and walls, charging toward Krimhilde.
Five personal guards, armed with the magical artifacts secured from the dungeon. The elite handpicked from the guild.
‘Even if they are at Lakan’s level, if it’s a six-on-one…!’
I can win.
Even if I can’t completely overwhelm and kill her, I can definitely drive her out from this place.
Haval was certain of it.
Boom!
As three monstrous figures jumped in to follow his subordinates, just before the bloodbath began…
“What…?!”
“Yahhh!”
A girl with black hair spun in mid-air like a top, wielding a large sword. The whirlwind of slashes merged with the blurred blade, slicing down the two adventurers trying to block her panicked movements like they were nothing.
“Fuh… is this really okay…?”
Beside her, a girl with beast-like ears suddenly appeared, throwing daggers wildly as she charged at another adventurer like a wild animal.
“Something like this?!”
An adventurer man, who thought he could handle the incoming daggers with a spear, displayed an overconfident calmness contrasted by his slow and weak movements.
…Of course, Ashel had no intention of letting him be that relaxed.
“You’re far too slow!”
Ashel ripped the cork off a potion bottle with her teeth and hurled the poison-filled bottle at the man’s face while yanking his arm back with her other hand.
Splat!
A barely audible sound of rupture.
The daggers that had been flying towards a different target suddenly seemed to get caught on something, and, after a brief pause, they zipped back toward the man.
Their movements were reminiscent of a tailed tadpole, thanks to the crimson-hued thread entwined around the dagger handles.
“What the…!”
Shock flickered in the adventurer man’s eyes.
Before him was a suspicious-looking bottle and a girl with a beastly face. Behind him, six daggers were coming right back at him.
It would be difficult to avoid everything in mid-air, especially since the ground was so far below.
‘Venom. Fast acting? Probably the daggers too. Can’t block them all. Then…!’
If he couldn’t block everything, he’d have to sacrifice a piece to save his own skin.
Ignoring the daggers coming in from behind, he thrust the spear forward to knock the bottle away, aiming straight for Ashel’s life.
Clank!
Did he exert too much force? The venom bottle shattered upon meeting the spear’s tip and sprayed its contents everywhere.
With a splash, the corrosive venom poured onto the adventurer man’s face, and the poisoned daggers plunged into his back.
Three were deflected by his armor and flew away, two bounced off the spear and went flying, but one expertly wedged itself between the gaps in his armor.
As he had guessed, the venom coating the blade seeped into the wound, turning his skin and flesh black.
“Ugh…!”
The adventurer man gritted his teeth, feeling as if his back and face were on fire. Yet, amidst the excruciating pain, he was still convinced of victory.
Whoooosh!
The spearhead was already close to Ashel.
“Cheh…!”
Ashel quickly raised her arm to guard her chest, deflecting the spear tip, but the adventurer man’s confidence didn’t waver. He was certain that he could easily pierce through even thin armor with his spear.
‘I’ll skewer that heart right through the armor!’
Yet, his thrust which was supposed to unleash a gust of cutting wind barely even scratched her gauntlet.
Ding!
He was met with a failure that didn’t even leave a mark.
“…Huh?”
The adventurer man was left dumbfounded, even forgetting his pain for a moment.
“What… is this?”
Even black steel armor shouldn’t withstand a blow like that. This was beyond what he had ever considered possible.
In fact, Ashel, who had blocked the attack, was equally surprised.
‘Whoa, this armor’s insane!’
The gauntlet, handed to her by the woman named Hilde, who had threatened her into joining her side, was supposed to just be borrowed this once.
She couldn’t fully utilize its original power as she wasn’t a Valkyrie, but she was already amazed by the strength she could feel.
What she didn’t realize was that the gauntlet was made from 100% pure mithril, a rare metal forged by melting down raw materials.
Even with a magical weapon that could pierce through steel, an ordinary adventurer would never dream of damaging it.
‘Did I really have this wrapped around my body? Does Hilde have a lot of money or something?’
As Ashel marveled at the gauntlet’s performance, she smoothly moved her body to grab the adventurer man’s arm, stopping him, and drove a dagger into the base of his neck.
Thwack!
“Ugh…!”
Stunned into silence by the shocking reality, or maybe stiffened by the poison spreading through him, the adventurer man had no time to react before he bled out.
To lose his life so easily to someone clearly inferior was a humbling end; he wouldn’t even be able to close his eyes in peace.
…Well, there wasn’t much to this after all.
He wouldn’t be the only one journeying into the afterlife, and the demise of the other two would make his look positively favorable.
“Hahaha!”
An laugh so clear it sent chills down spines.
The girl with red eyes, her disheveled platinum hair flowing, reached her arm towards the remaining two adventurers.
“Haah!”
“This little brat!”
Her movements were blindingly fast yet hopelessly reckless, so the two adventurers managed to stab her arm with their blades.
Slash!
Her thin arm split apart, spraying blood like a fountain.
The spear had torn through flesh and muscle, fracturing bone. Any ordinary human would have likely died from shock before bleeding out from such a severe injury.
However, unfortunate for them, Elleadra wasn’t an ordinary human.
“Ahaha! That hurts!”
Even with such a critical wound, she didn’t flinch, stretching out her arm towards the adventurer who had stabbed her in the chest.
“What the heck is this monster?!”
As he felt the girl’s hand on his chest, it ooze and squirm like clay, causing him to gasp in shock.
And then, the next moment…
Bam!
His body inflated three times over before bursting, splattering flesh and bone fragments like a balloon pierced with a pin.
“What the hell?!”
A fellow adventurer beside him, showered with the gore, was left in shock, trying again to stab out with his sword.
Or rather, he tried to strike.
Crunch!
But as Elleadra swung her opposite arm, a flash of crimson light burst around the man’s neck, causing his head to drop like fruit being harvested.
Thud.
The bodies now lied sprawled on the alley’s ground. Just like that, as soon as five adventurers appeared, they were all left defeated.
“This… this is…!”
This time, the truly startled Haval took half a step back, lips trembling.
His guards had been utterly wiped out before he could react. Everything had ended so quickly that he couldn’t tell if it was reality or a nightmare.
“…Why didn’t I realize that you weren’t alone?”
Krimhilde raised the corners of her mouth sky-high.
