“Oh dear, oh dear.”
As Dylan quickly turned his head, a ray of white light streaked past his side.
It seems to be the cane he captured.
“That kind of ambush won’t work.”
Dylan wore a rather refreshing smile.
For Yerna, it was undeniably unpleasant, causing her expression to twist.
“Tell me, where is Luke?”
“Cough cough, isn’t the more important question, ‘What are you going to do now’?”
“……”
Creak. A chilling sound emitted from the friction of teeth as she gripped the stolen cane tightly.
Unlike before when she was unarmed, now with the enhancement magic on her body, it was incredibly exhausting to control her strength to prevent the cane from breaking.
She swung the cane once more, scattering it like dust.
The ‘Larme Aganum’ preloaded in the cane was fired from the tip in accordance with Yerna’s whisper-like incantation.
As she moved her body, intending to dodge it lightly, Dylan realized another spell was aimed at him and hurriedly waved his hand to cast a defensive spell with the brooch he had pinned to his chest.
“Eek!”
Thud, thud!
The ray changed its trajectory, piercing both the floor and the ceiling.
Did he just fire the same spell three times in a row?
‘Larme Aganum’ is a single-shot projectile offensive spell; how was he able to fire it three times consecutively?
Wondering what trick Yerna had employed, Dylan quickly discerned the answer as he looked at her hands.
In one hand, she gripped three canes, held upright like claws.
Oh, she used three canes to cast magic simultaneously.
How she did that, he had no idea.
“That’s quite impressive. You could put on a show with that.”
As Dylan mocked her again, Yerna glared at him, seemingly regretting the previous failure.
“You should have definitely killed him back then, no matter what.”
“Hahaha! Maybe? But you see, speculating on the past is pointless.”
Dylan shrugged.
“And about that cane, it belongs to our facility, so….”
Whoosh.
In an instant, Dylan vanished from sight.
‘Did I miss his movement?’
A moment of panic.
And then, a voice came from right behind her.
“I’d like it back.”
“What the—!”
As she hurriedly turned her head, what came into Yerna’s view was a fist rapidly approaching her.
Wham!
A powerful impact, not just an ordinary punch but one enhanced by magic, carried an immense force.
If it weren’t for her own enhanced body, that single blow might have knocked her unconscious.
In a brief moment of confusion, the sensation of the cane had vanished from her hands, as if it had already been stolen from her.
“You’re really greedy, stealing not just one but three.”
“Cough…!”
Yerna rolled to her feet immediately after the fall and lunged at Dylan.
Since she just used magic, he must be…!
“Oh dear, how frightening.”
Snap!
Dylan laughed as he snapped his fingers.
Then, just like before, black flames erupted without warning.
Yerna was taken completely by surprise.
What kind of magic produced that? What’s the risk?
Wasn’t continuous use impossible?
She realized there was no escaping this and quickly raised her coat to block the flames.
Though her forest keeper’s magically coated coat could effectively ward off Dylan’s black flames, it caught fire intensely.
Despite having some wear, it was absurd that a single blow could strip the magic coating away. What kind of firepower was that?
Scrunching her brow, Yerna tore off the coat and threw it aside.
After all, she couldn’t wear it any longer.
Whoosh!
Dylan raised the corners of his mouth mockingly, looking amused.
“Hahaha! This is getting spicy! What’s this, are you planning a strip show every time you get hit? I’m really looking forward to it!”
“Shut up.”
Yerna’s voice was sharp, yet Dylan didn’t back down at all.
“Make me.”
———
“What the hell is that! What the hell is going on!”
A man was fleeing from hell.
Hell, yes.
There was no better word to describe this situation accurately.
Screams, moans, and the stench of blood.
The moment he turned his head, what he saw was a corridor transformed into what looked like a hellish realm.
No one could have imagined that this corridor would turn into such a scene just this morning.
The once sparkling white floor was now stained red.
The busts that originally adorned the corridor had companions of similar shapes, making them appear mundane.
The pillars and walls seemed to have been splattered with red paint, as if graffiti by street delinquents.
And, in that horrifically red space, there was one being that seemed completely out of place.
A girl with platinum hair, sporting horns that didn’t match her cat ears, and striking mismatched eyes.
Wearing a pristine white frilled blouse and a black frilled skirt, along with white pantyhose and black shoes.
Showcasing an outfit unsoiled, she walked among the people—or what were once people—with an expression as emotionless as a doll.
Only the sound of her shoes clicking against the floor echoed.
Click, clack.
Upon reaching the end of the corridor, several white rays shot towards her.
“Die, die!”
“You monstrous girl! Die!”
“Please, just die!”
Those hiding in ambush sprang out from the corner and cast magic.
It was such a sudden attack that they were confident it would take her by surprise.
However, she seemed not the least bit startled, her emotionless gaze fixed on the magic aimed at her.
-I refuse.
A voice with no emotion, and with that, the white rays vanished like mirages.
This was a forced interpretation and dismantling of magic utilizing instantaneous reflexes and instinct-level magic-calculation abilities.
Due to the backlash from forcibly dismantling the already cast magic, their canes emitted a pop! sound before completely losing their function.
The circuits must have burned out completely.
Suddenly disarmed, they stared blankly at their canes as if denying reality, and cried out their spells as if in screams.
“Larme Aganum!”, “Larme Aganum!”
Yet the canes did not respond to their summons at all.
They only saw.
A pure embodiment of death approaching them without a single drop of blood or speck of dust on her.
“Eek!”
“Monst—, monster…!”
“Help me, help me!”
They pleaded, but the result was nothing more than a reproduction of the countless horrors that had occurred before.
Plop, thud.
Small stones pierced their vital points.
Their weakened bodies slammed into the floor, convulsing.
Creating puddles of blood on the ground—that was the process.
Magic dismantled immediately upon use.
Those that couldn’t dismantle avoided through a slight movement.
Even a single drop of blood that might splatter could not touch her clothes, merely falling to the ground.
Not a hair on her was harmed.
Approach was impossible from the start.
How on earth could anyone face such a monster?
No matter what they did, they couldn’t even slow her down.
Thus, no one remained who stood on two feet behind her.
It seemed only three classifications existed behind her.
Corpses, soon-to-be corpses, and those who would never awaken again.
Where on earth did that insane killing machine come from?
And what, exactly, was that elf girl ‘protecting’?
Finally, the man fleeing came to a halt.
The reason was simple.
“Ah.”
Because he reached the end of the corridor.
In his frantic escape, he had unwittingly ended up at a dead-end.
No way, did he really cross such a long corridor already?
Stairs, where did the stairs go? They hadn’t been visible at all while running away…!
He hastily pulled out a portable device and began to make indiscriminate contacts on the staff channel.
“Damn, please, anyone respond!”
As the silence stretched, cold sweat poured down his back.
The cane threatened to slip from his fingers repeatedly.
Anxiously measuring the distance to her as she approached, he witnessed one groaning comrade, in response to her gaze, mercilessly executed by a stone shard sent flying towards him.
Was there truly no hesitation in her killing?
That was no child; it was surely something wearing the guise of a child.
And its essence was clearly evil!
Yes, undoubtedly!
“Someone, anyone! Please answer…!”
Could it be that they were already all dead?
Please don’t let it be just me left, I don’t want to die yet.
An age that felt like eternity passed, and fortunately, someone picked up the channel.
“What’s up, why the sudden emergency transmission? What’s going on?”
“It’s total annihilation! They’re all dead! She kills without blinking an eye! Magic doesn’t work at all! I need backup, now!”
“What? Annihilation? Intruders? How many are there that you’re facing total annihilation?”
“Just one! Just one! That elf girl and that little brat…! She’s not just a brat; she was a freaking killing machine!”
“What? Are you messing with me? What the hell are you talking about?”
“Shit, does it look like I’m messing around? This is literal hell! Please send backup….”
“What—-crackle—what’s that—crackle—what are you saying—crackle—speak clearly—crackle….”
“Wait, hello? Hello? What the hell, why is this suddenly cut out…!”
What the hell, is it really not working at a time like this?
Please, you’re expensive. Do your job!
In a moment filled with confusion and anger, he pounded the device as emotions difficult to articulate bubbled up within him.
At that moment, he felt a presence right next to him.
Straining to turn his stiff neck.
Hoping, desperately hoping, that what he felt was just a figment of his imagination.
But, regrettably, it wasn’t.
“Hiieeek-!”
He dropped the device in shock.
She quietly bent down and picked it up.
-Take this.
———
“Ah—, ah. Can you hear me?”
“Ah, I was surprised when the connection suddenly dropped. Say that again, what’s going on? What’s this annihilation about?”
“That’s enough of that for now, the boss’s life is in danger!”
“What? What do you mean the boss’s life is in danger?”
“The intruder is targeting the boss and killing everyone. Where is the boss right now? Is he with the elf girl?”
“Ah, I’m sure he’s at the main gate with her… But what exactly is going on? Should I head to the main gate?”
“Are you listening or not?”
Clack.
He unilaterally ended the call, smashed the device without hesitation, and looked at the one commanding him.
His dazed gaze implied he had already lost his edge.
After a moment, an order was issued.
-Sleep.
