"Ohh… what's a human doing with monsters? And how do you know my name?" Tormund asked.

He pulled out two arrows from the quiver strapped horizontally across his back. His outfit was light, just a leather shirt and pants, clearly made for movement, not protection.

Typical of him. He always relied on agility over distance or defense.

"Oh, I know more than just your name, wielder of Hawk-Eye (A+)," I said, smirking.

The moment I mentioned it, his expression cracked, just for a second, but I saw it. His right eye twitched, his jaw tightened.

So, I was right.

Not many even in the SBV know what skill he has. Tormund guarded that secret well, and for good reason.

Hawk-Eye, the A+ variant of Archer King (S+), gives him unmatched vision and precision, but it also chains him. Once he activates it, he can't move until he releases the shot.

That single weakness is what kept the skill from reaching S-tier, despite its monstrous power.

I could almost hear his thoughts spinning. How I knew, who told me, if I was bluffing.

His lips curved into a tight grin.

"I would've let you live if you switched sides…" he said, voice steady but laced with anger.

"But since you somehow knew my divine gift…" His bow creaked as he drew it back, the air trembling around him.

"…Guess this is your last day."

And with that, every archer behind him took their stance in perfect sync.

The sound of strings being pulled filled the air like a death knell.

I lifted my arm slowly, my palm open to the sky.

Tormund frowned, confused for a moment, but still, he didn't hesitate.

His bowstring twanged, and an arrow with a faint green aura came tearing through the air toward me like lightning.

Screech!

The air split apart as Blood Raven appeared in front of me, freed from the etherium on the top floor behind me.

The blade shimmered black-red as it caught the arrow midflight. Sparks burst out like small explosions when steel kissed steel, and the sound rang sharp in the morning air.

The arrow spun away, harmless, as I flicked my wrist. Blood Raven twirled once, smooth and practiced, the edge singing a cold metallic note. A smirk tugged at my lips.

That smirk was enough to piss Tormund off.

"Tsk." He clicked his tongue and shouted, "Men! Shoot!"

I stabbed the sword into the ground as I raised my hand again and opened a dark oval hole in front of me,

A rift of black mana that stretched and curved, swallowing the light around it.

The arrows screamed toward me but vanished into that darkness, sucked into the void.

A moment later, the arrows came flying out of two new rifts I'd opened, right behind the archers.

Metal clanged and men shouted as their own arrows bounced off their armor, confusion erupting in their ranks.

My eyes fell on the eagle crest on their breastplates, the mark of SBV. A bad memory twisted inside me.

I drove Blood Raven into the rift before me.

Tormund's instincts kicked in. "Get away from the holes!" he barked.

Too late.

The tip of my sword had already pierced through the joint of one soldier's armor on the other side.

"I'm fine," the man grunted, pressing a hand to the stab wound.

"Activate the form!" Tormund yelled.

"But sir, you're out of—"

"Just do it!"

Before the soldier could move, I fired a dark beam through the rift, the black energy bursting forward like a lance. But the man in the center stabbed a glowing cross into the ground, golden runes spreading out like roots.

The beams hit the barrier and vanished.

[Sanctum Cross (A–). It blocks all mana-based attacks, no matter the force.]

Tormund's eyes blazed with fury, his aura flaring dark green near his pupils.

"So you're the one who used that sinner's magic to slaughter those hundreds of God's servants!" he spat.

He must have meant those hundred soldiers he had randomly picked from the base and got erased by me earlier.

"That's right," I said calmly.

The archers regrouped inside the barrier's protection, their bows raised. The cross's field shimmered faintly.

"Prepare to di—" he began.

"Not just those hundred," I interrupted, lifting my finger. "Even these thirty... mm? What was that? Servants of God? Yeah, them too."

Blood Raven hummed in my grip, dark mana bleeding along its edge.

He grinned, baring his teeth. "Have you lost your—"

I snapped my fingers.

A boom split the air. The soldier who'd been stabbed earlier exploded into red mist, chunks of flesh and shattered armor spraying in every direction.

The blast ripped through the others beside him, killing the nearest ones instantly and flinging the rest out of the barrier.

Before they could even scream, I fired several dark beams into the rift, and each one hunted down a target, piercing through chests, cutting limbs, burning through armor.

When the dust settled, only a few remained, barely breathing.

Tormund stared at the scene and then his arm twitched. His bow flashed green, and an arrow tore through the air so fast it nearly split sound itself.

Whip!

I tilted my head just in time. The arrow sliced past my cheek, close enough to make my ear ring, leaving a thin cut that trickled blood down my jaw.

I blurred. One blink and I was before him.

His bow collided with my katana, the force sending a shockwave through the ground.

He moved faster than most archers could think. He twisted the bow, drew the string, without an arrow, and I dropped low on instinct.

Gush!

The air above me ripped apart. Air bullet.

He didn't stop. The bow spun again in his hands, gleaming as sunlight hit the runes carved into its limbs. He aimed low towards my crouched form.

Dark mana leaked from Blood Raven, smoking like black fire as I slashed upward.

He jolted back on instinct, dodging the balde's slash..

But the mana at the sword's edge condensed into a wave that crashed into him like a tidal blade.

Mana slash.

He flew back, skidding across the dirt, vanishing into the smoke.

It can't be that easy, can it?

Then, thunk!

An arrow ripped through the smoke straight at me. I jerked to the side. It missed, but not by much. A clean slice along my cheek burned hot, blood dripping to the ground.

I narrowed my eyes.

How did he survive a direct hit?

He blurred past behnid me, his bow aimed down to me.

I jumbed on istinct and the arrow hit the spot I was in next instant, the explosion made be airborne.

Then I saw it, the faint silver cross pendant swaying near his chest, glowing faintly green with each pulse of his aura.

A passive defense charm.

"I see…" I muttered, as my feet skid back from the impact, my arms planting Blood Raven into the ground to steady myself. My boots dug into the dirt as I exhaled slowly.

I stood up slowly on my feet. Analysis complete. Intermediate aura: output amount slightly higher than Lydia's. Agility: onpar with Lydia's. Techniques: mid-tier.

This fight might take a while.

He wasn't smiling anymore.

Neither was I.

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