Chapter 295

Sayah Yan quickly scanned her surroundings.

Whoosh!

Almost everywhere on the upper deck was ablaze.

There was not a single spot free from flames, whether it was the floor, the sails, the ropes, or the railings.

Even now, the unbearable heat soaked her body with sweat and reddened her skin.

“I was surprised because I thought you quietly died. How sad your lord must be. If your subordinate comes to rescue you and ends up dying,” a vile voice echoed from within the flames.

She knew how to turn a crisis into an opportunity.

Sayah Yan pinpointed her enemy’s location through their breathing, presence, the aura of mana, and the reverberation of their voice.

‘There!’

On the platform, particularly near the ship’s wheel, the flames surged fiercely.

At the moment she gathered strength in her legs to leap up.

Snap.

Like a lie, the flames vanished.

“Huh?”

From the deck, which seemed about to collapse under the roaring fire, from the ropes that swayed precariously, and from the sails that blazed like a flickering wall, the flames disappeared.

Only the warship Tempesta and the tranquil night sea remained.

Sayah Yan narrowed her eyes and drew her dagger.

Adjusting to the bright light, her vision flickered, and an afterimage rushed before her.

A white figure stood before the ship’s wheel like a wheel of a cart.

‘An owl?’

With those bright yellow eyes and the white uniform wrapping their entire body, it almost seemed like a giant bird of prey was perched there.

Swaaaa—.

As if on cue, the night breeze blew, clearing the clouds in the sky, and the moonlight shone down on the deck, allowing Sayah Yan’s eyes to adapt to the darkness.

“…Valenciaunos.”

The man with white hair stood under the moon, wearing a proud and brazen smile.

“Call me Duke, you lowly creature.”

He grabbed the stair railing and stepped down slowly from the ship’s wheel.

Sayah Yan gripped her dagger firmly, remaining tense.

Her foe, a blooded noble, had an atmosphere befitting the name.

His white hair shone translucently under the moonlight, his golden eyes glimmered like cursed jewels, and his gaunt cheeks and red lips exuded madness and dignity simultaneously.

Inadvertently, Sayah Yan stepped back, feeling shame for the fact, and asked coldly, “How on earth…?”

Within that brief question lay dozens of inquiries.

How did he empty the ship? How did he set the ship ablaze? How did he extinguish those flames in an instant? How did neither the sails nor the ropes catch fire?

Valenciaunos smiled faintly and extended one gloved finger.

Whoosh!

From its end, a flame the size of a candle flickered, and he waved his wrist lightly, shooting fire toward Sayah Yan.

She reflexively swung her hand like a sword to block it, soon realizing the temperature was not just lukewarm but rather chilling.

Valenciaunos casually murmured, “It wasn’t real fire. I conjured that flame with magic. The hottest part didn’t exceed 100 degrees. It’s far too low a temperature to overcome the fireproof magic of this ship.”

Sayah Yan let out a grim sound.

An awful sense of defeat engulfed her body.

“It felt burning hot.”

“A person usually suffers at anything above 50 degrees. You must have felt it even more, given you suppressed your mana all this time. With flames swirling around, it’s easy to be deceived.”

“Then the smoke—”

Valenciaunos laughed harshly. “Thickly spreading flames.”

As he recited a brief incantation, smoke began to rise from his gloves.

She let out a grim sound, and he proudly raised his chin.

“It’s a spell called ‘Gray Tear.’ It creates smoke.”

“This…”

She trembled at the realization that she had been completely had, and Valenciaunos descended the last step.

“Will you kindly allow yourself to be captured? Because of you, I’ve gotten into trouble. It’s because I didn’t eliminate you that you have come along with me.”

“Y-!”

“Cariosa also misses you greatly. She’s on another ship right now. If you try to escape or resist, I’ll hang your lord at Bauspirit and advance to the Nayt Archipelago.”

* * *

Sayah Yan couldn’t believe the situation.

She had never fallen behind anyone when it came to stealth, infiltration, or psychological warfare.

The fact that a mere twenty-year-old noble had completely toyed with her, forcing her to flee urgently, deeply scratched at the pride of an assassin.

Her eyes twisted sharply.

“…There’s no guarantee I wouldn’t have blended in among them to escape.”

The more she thought about it, the more Valenciaunos’s smile widened.

“Don’t cling to hope. To answer your question… I’ve encountered your kind several times before.”

“What?”

“Spirit Transfer Law. I might not know how to use it, but I am aware of its existence. You can mask your presence like you’re dead, but upon awakening, your memory becomes muddled and your senses strange.”

Sayah Yan felt fear, not malice.

‘How?’

Valenciaunos approached slowly.

“I know you might be weaker than us, but you’re capable of strange tricks with mana.”

“You.”

“I told you to call me Duke. If your lord wants to breathe even once more.”

In that moment, she gave up the idea of surviving.

Stability returned to her trembling black eyes.

“You’ve already killed Tarti. I’ve come for revenge.”

Valenciaunos shook his head slightly.

A vicious smirk appeared on his golden eyes, reminiscent of a seasoned sophister.

“I’ve killed as many people as there are grains of sand in the sea until now. Many were killed by my own hand, but I’ve also caused numerous deaths with just a number or a document. The ones I killed in such a way remain in memory longer.”

“!”

“I’ve already said, if you resist or flee, I’ll hang that Tarti fellow. So listen closely. If you draw your sword here, the one who will die will be you.”

Thud!

The next instant, Sayah Yan crashed to the ground like the wind.

Swoosh—

Her lean body enveloped in dense darkness, the glimmering blade of her dagger also obscured by shadows, and both her figure and spatial outlines blurred.

Sly!

Shadows advanced like a snake crawling on the ground, leaping like a shark from the water, and the dagger, cloaked in darkness, targeted Valenciaunos’s neck.

‘I don’t know if I can kill him by slicing, but I need to cut first.’

The Bandit Duke stood still, doing nothing.

At the moment she sensed the success of her ambush—

Bang!

“How dare you touch that filthy hand to someone!”

At that moment, Tenitia burst forth from behind the stairs Valenciaunos had descended.

In the knight’s hand was a one-handed sword, ‘Manha.’

“!”

Sayah Yan realized that Valenciaunos looking grandly posed upon the ship’s wheel was all part of his psychological warfare to draw attention.

‘I thought I could outpace something like a sword…!’

The moment she believed she could break through, a red mana blade suddenly arose from the silvery glow of the metallic blade.

It was three times faster than typical knights.

‘Crazy.’

Zing!

The red semicircle cut through the air, and the shadowy assassin was sent flying in the momentum of her charge.

Valenciaunos grinned slyly, saying, “When did I ever say I was alone?”

“I’ll split your mouth open. For sure.”

Sayah Yan pressed her body against the floor and glared at the two.

The opposing knight, Tenitia, stood like a shield before Valenciaunos.

‘This is the worst.’

A magician whose attacks might not even work properly alongside a knight clad in full plate armor was the worst condition for an assassin.

Tenitia howled like an angry wolf.

“You poisoned me, didn’t you? Whatever trick you’re using, you can’t deceive my eyes with mere shadows!”

Valenciaunos commandingly replied, “Spare her. Just let her live.”

In the next moment, moving like a fortress, Tenitia shot forward.

Thud!

A red cloak and strap fluttered wildly as, from the sword Manha, a mana blade ignited once more.

Zing!

Sayah Yan crouched leftward, feinting, and ducked to avoid Tenitia’s sword.

Whoosh!

Then, from up close, she unleashed all of her best techniques.

Thud, thud, thud, thud!

She smashed her elbow into the helmet, kicked the knee with her toes, struck the chin with her palm, and aimed her knee at the side where the liver and intestines resided.

Boom! Crash!

With her dagger wielded in reverse, she probed into the gap of the armor, stabbing, and injected a needle between the eye socket and breath hole, while the blades extending from her toes and heels attacked the knight’s ankle and knee.

Chaak!

With the blade that sprang from the knee, she aimed for the wrist as a bonus.

Lastly, she slightly increased her mana, reinforcing the rotations of her shoulders, elbows, and wrists, and struck with one swift motion.

Crack.

Dark energy gathered in her palm, shooting out.

Thud!

The moment her palm struck against the breastplate, there was a sound reverberating like a giant’s hit, and Tenitia staggered back a step.

“Gah!”

It was a powerful strike strong enough to pierce through the armor’s shock-absorbing magic and thick gambeson.

“Get out of the way, you foolish knight.”

‘I got her. Now leap over…’

Sayah Yan was confident of victory as she leaped.

Thud!

No matter how strong a knight was, if they faced an attack like just now, they would surely become unable to fight.

However, Tenitia stood firm, clenching her left fist tightly.

‘Huh?’

Vwoooom!

Red mana blades kindled fiercely above her platinum gauntlets.

Sayah Yan gritted her teeth.

‘Damn!’

Bang!

Tenitia’s fist slammed against Sayah Yan’s shadow.

Although the darkness enveloping Sayah Yan deflected most attacks, Tenitia served Valenciaunos, who wielded the Power of Spirits, and accurately perceived the essence beyond the murkiness.

The platinum gauntlet tore through the shadows, and the red energy spiraled out into the night sky.

“Gah!”

Sayah Yan soared into the air, then tumbled to the ground.

With a crack, Tenitia snapped her right wrist and declared, “Stay right there, weak assassin.”

* * *

Zing!

Tenitia’s Manha traced crimson lines and circles through the air.

‘If I can land just one cut, it can sever limbs. How dare a pirate dream of revenge? A bandit who rightly deserves to suffer in the abyss?’

Sayah Yan circled around Tenitia, looking for an opening.

‘Earlier, I hit her wrist. My techniques aren’t completely ineffective. If I stay close and end it with a single blow, there’s a chance.’

As the top-tier knight and top-tier assassin each looked for their strike, the red and black shadows dashed towards one another.

Thud!

Slash!

Tenitia aimed to strike down, intending to slice through the deck with her sword.

Zing—!!

However, at the last moment, Sayah Yan took a step back and barely evaded Manha.

Swoosh!

“Ugh!”

With blood flowing from the tip of her nose, Sayah Yan brightened and leaped, twirling in mid-air, grabbing Tenitia’s back.

Of course, she couldn’t strangle the knight in full plate armor.

But.

‘Hair binding.’

Eastern assassins were known for showcasing their peculiar techniques.

Swish!

Sayah Yan’s black hair elongated and burrowed between the gaps of Tenitia’s armor.

Even a platinum armor capable of blocking fire, lightning, and a knight’s sword couldn’t fend off each strand of hair.

Thud, thud, thud! Whoosh!

Like thousands of needles piercing into steel-like muscles, her hair burrowed in.

‘I’ll stab you to death a thousand times.’

However, Tenitia had no intention of simply succumbing.

As soon as she sensed the strange energy, she bent her torso and reached back with her left hand, trying to grab Sayah Yan by the collar and throw her down.

Bang!

Sayah Yan was flung off Tenitia’s back and rolled across the deck again.

“Ts!”

Her long hair reverted to its original length.

Blood dripped from the ends.

“!”

As Valenciaunos was about to conjure flames, Tenitia bellowed, “Assassin! It’s Tenitia! Did you think I would just sit here like a sack of grain on this ship?”

It was a declaration of independence from any help.

Swoosh!

In response, Sayah Yan hurled her dagger, and Tenitia advanced while deflecting it with her fists and sword.

“Let it become a handful of blood!”

Tenitia clenched her fist tightly again, and Sayah Yan made an assassin’s judgment.

‘If this attack fails, I’ll pretend to jump into the sea and head toward the prison section. It’s a gamble. Just one last shot!’

Whoosh!

Tenitia swung her fist downward toward Sayah Yan.

“Receive this righteous blow!”

Though she used her fist instead of a sword to capture, using a sword might have heightened Sayah Yan’s chances of survival.

‘Got her.’

‘Just a little more!’

At the very end, Sayah Yan activated her technique.

‘Ittenkai (Iron Weapon Useless).’

Crack!

Something twisted inside her, and her body transformed as if filled with iron down to her bones.

Tenitia’s fist surged forward with enough force to crush a castle gate, striking Sayah Yan squarely.

Crack—!

The board beneath Sayah Yan’s feet splintered.

Clang!

The ultimate technique, Ittenkai, released with a sound like breaking glass.

“Ha!”

But Sayah Yan did not get knocked back; she managed to hold her ground and seized the opportunity to stab her dagger into the area inside Tenitia’s left armpit.

‘Now!’