Chapter 170: Rival (1)

“…”

Allen Meir couldn’t breathe.

It felt like a sword was aimed at her heart.

At her solar plexus.

At her eyes, her forehead, her chin—every part of her body felt targeted by a honed blade.

She’d never felt this before.

Even facing the Hell Hound hadn’t been this intense.

This was…

“Allen Meir, Shylock, Queir.”

Then.

A low voice pierced her dazed mind.

It was Harang’s voice.

The black-haired youth stepped forward, looking far more exhausted than usual but still more dependable than anyone.

He spoke firmly.

“Run. Find the exit and escape.”

“What?”

“No way!”

“But…”

“You’ll only get in the way.”

A cold statement.

But true.

The red-haired woman was an incomprehensible force. Her surging Killing Intent, her gaze, her blood-red blade—nothing wasn’t terrifying.

Harang was right.

They couldn’t help.

“Get out, quick.”

“…”

“Hurry, hurry!”

Shylock forcibly grabbed Queir’s hand and pulled her.

Allen Meir did the same. They fled the boss room with steps careful not to provoke the red-haired woman.

“…”

“…”

Soon, only the two highest-ranked Godok remained in the chamber.

‘This will be tough.’

Harang thought, looking at Maya, the second-ranked.

Strictly speaking, her swordsmanship was inferior to Gael’s. Gael, who wielded over five—seven—basic elements, was a formidable opponent even for him.

But Maya was strong.

She had something inexplicable. Except for the early years, Gael had never beaten her in a ranking match.

‘I was careless.’

Harang honestly admitted his mistake.

He overlooked that Maya could target him anytime.

He ignored the possibility that she could approach with a disguise even he couldn’t detect.

He forgot that Maya always struck when he was at his weakest.

It was a mistake that wouldn’t have happened in the village.

‘But… I’ll win this time too.’

Grinning, Harang smiled.

Maya, letting out a hollow laugh, said.

“Haha, laughing? In this situation?”

“Why not?”

“If you’re pretending to be calm, stop. You’re weak now. Physically and mentally.”

“No. I’m genuinely calm. I may have forgotten the village’s teachings, but I’ve learned far greater ones in the outside world.”

“…”

“Though I suppose the same goes for you. Nice sword.”

Harang pointed at Maya’s sword.

A repulsive red blade, as if soaked in corpses.

Its stench was foul, like her Killing Intent.

She liked it.

Hearing Harang, Maya stroked her blood-red blade and replied.

“A fine sword. Unlike yours.”

“Why? Mine’s pretty good.”

“It doesn’t seem like it can withstand your Aura.”

“It’s fine. If I end it before that…”

Shweeeek-!

…he tried to say.

Three daggers shot from Maya’s chest with blinding speed.

Harang dodged with slight movements.

Or tried to.

Boom!

Boom!

Boom!

The daggers exploded near his body, their fragments targeting his entire frame.

Harang didn’t panic. Sensing the explosion, he focused Aura on his lower body. His thigh muscles swelled as he leaped, swinging his sword twice in midair.

Whoosh-!

Whoosh-!

Sharp sword winds aimed at Maya’s upper and lower body.

Of course, such a hasty midair attack didn’t faze her. Bending her torso and lightly jumping, she dodged the winds and waved her sword like a staff.

Woooor-!

Woooor-!

Dozens of red hands tore through the air, pressing Harang. Cold and solid, like ghoul’s touch.

He asked, stunned.

“Black Magic? When did you learn that?”

Maya didn’t answer.

Instead, she launched a fiercer attack on Harang, suspended by the red hands.

Wooong, a grayish-white Aura bloomed like a flower. Combined with the red blade, it resembled a rose of death. As she waved it, dozens of Aura projectiles danced in intricate patterns toward Harang. They weren’t just fast but tricky, making deflecting and blocking with Aura more effective than dodging.

‘She’s trying to make me waste Aura!’

Boom, Harang released Aura from his entire body, blasting away the red hands and Aura petals, landing on the ground.

“Ha, ha.”

His breathing was ragged.

His sharp thoughts faltered, and his senses dulled. His muscles were filled with lactic acid from overexertion. His body felt heavy, like mercury replaced his blood.

Forcing out Aura to block the projectiles cost him dearly. She was in peak condition, but he wasn’t.

‘I need to end this quickly.’

Resolving himself, Harang dodged Maya’s onslaught and took a deep breath.

The brief surge of vitality temporarily restored his Aura flow.

Swaaa-.

Dark energy from his body made his movements stealthy.

Crackle, crackle-.

Lightning energy made them unpredictable.

An application of Dark Lightning, Dark Dragon.

Like a dragon hidden in darkness, Harang briefly disrupted Maya’s vision and got behind her.

She quickly found him, but it was fine.

40-60.

With a bit of luck, maybe 50-50.

Judging he could trade blows, Harang poured all his strength into his legs and shot forward.

Shweeeek-!

Incredibly fast.

But more terrifying was his mindset—charging without regard for his life, ready for mutual destruction.

“!”

Maya’s eyes widened.

Harang’s lips curled into a smile.

She’d have to dodge.

If not, both would take critical damage, but in her advantageous position, she had no reason to take such a gamble. She’d likely retreat with a frown, taking minor losses that wouldn’t affect the overall fight.

‘Then I repeat this.’

Harang nodded inwardly.

Yes, this was the only way.

Keep betting his life, accumulating small gains until he could topple the mountain!

…But that strategy failed before it even began.

Grin.

Maya, mirroring his smile, didn’t retreat and thrust her sword forward.

Boom-!

“Ugh! Cough, cough!”

“Urgh, ugh!”

A massive shockwave swept the chamber, pushing both swordsmen back dozens of steps.

Blood flowed from Harang’s mouth. His muscles, bones, and organs were clearly damaged. His head spun from the blood loss. It was the worst situation.

Maya wasn’t unscathed either.

She’d lost her left arm. Stumbling from the sudden amputation, she used a village technique to stop the bleeding, but she was far from fine.

But.

‘…If we keep fighting, I’ll definitely lose!’

Harang’s expression darkened.

A miscalculation.

His opponent wasn’t Gael. It was Maya.

Unlike Gael, who pursued clean victories through caution, Maya was a demon who didn’t mind rolling in mud and blood.

Realizing retreating would disrupt the fight’s flow, she chose to meet Harang’s reckless attack head-on.

She lost her left arm, but so what?

She’d win the fight anyway!

“Ha, ha… Harang, as I said, you’re weak.”

“…”

“If it was the old you, phew, you wouldn’t rely on your opponent’s mistakes. You wouldn’t have met me in such a careless state. You forgot the village’s teachings… phew, huff. I didn’t. That’s your downfall.”

“…Is that, phew, all you have to say?”

“What else, huff, is there?”

Finishing her words, Maya walked toward Harang.

Her steps were awkward from imbalance, but only for a moment. After three steps, she perfectly adjusted, raising her sword with a demonic grin.

Harang couldn’t stand.

Kneeling on one knee, like a statue, he could only look up at his rival.

Then, the variable struck.

Shweeeek-!

Clang!

“…”

Maya looked toward the boss room’s exit.

Gnats had gathered. The one with the pointiest ears had shot an arrow to restrict her movement.

“Harang! Run!”

“Recover in the back! We’ll hold her off…”

“Earth spirit! Become a mountain and punish my enemy!”

With Queir and Shylock’s shouts, Allen Meir’s incantation rang out. A crack formed in the ground, and an earth giant rose, swinging a massive fist at Maya.

Naturally, she wasn’t one to be hit.

“Annoying pests.”

Slash!

Muttering briefly, Maya cut the giant with her Aura Sword.

Psssh-!

She threw a dagger through the gap, piercing Allen Meir’s throat.

“Allen! No!”

“Shylock! It’s too late! Focus on fighting her!”

The elf archer and human Rogue’s belated cries echoed.

Maya didn’t care. She’d seen too much pain in the village.

Her attention was elsewhere.

‘Harang, you’ve really gotten weak.’

Haha, she laughed hollowly.

It was absurd.

A Godok showing emotional turmoil at others’ deaths.

Even 30th-ranked Maria wouldn’t show such disgrace. Other Godok would’ve calmly assessed the situation, attacked, or fled.

“But you didn’t.”

Psssh-!

Psssh-!

“Ugh!”

“Argh!”

Two more daggers hit Queir and Shylock.

They avoided fatal wounds due to preparation, but they wouldn’t interfere for a while.

That was enough.

Enough time to take the head of the pitifully weakened Harang and clean up.

Then.

Swoosh-

“Hm?”

Harang stood.

Wooooooong-!

“…!”

An Aura Sword surged from his blade.

Grayish-white.

Naturally.

Unless it was a Sword Master’s, all Aura was grayish-white.

But why?

To Maya’s eyes, the Aura from Harang’s sword seemed…

‘…For a moment, it looked red…’

Slash-!

“…”

Her thoughts stopped.

Maya looked at her chest.

Red.

Redder than her hair, redder than her blade.

Blood gushed from a diagonal wound.

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