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“Then, move now!”

The moment the thought struck, Maria’s figure darted forward. The attackers, who had been lured by the Sphere Exercises and were being manipulated like puppets, reflexively followed Maria’s path. At first glance, the seemingly chaotic advance was enough to keep the giant, who had been engaged in a delicate battle with Maria, quite busy.

“Damn it, using such tricks!”

As the giant frowned and swung his greatsword, trying to secure a slightly advantageous position, Maria followed the wave of people moving by inertia and hid herself. The Sphere Exercises she had spread out to turn her enemies into puppets were now condensed so thinly that they could barely be felt on her skin.

Like a fish swimming through flowing water and slipping through the gaps between rocks, Maria’s figure stealthily advanced toward the giant… and finally succeeded in approaching his blind spot.

A phrase she had heard from her mentor, Sophia, flashed through her mind.

<What? You want to know how to instantly panic an enemy stronger than you? Well... it depends on your level.>

<Well, this time, I'll teach you a method suitable for your level. The key is to start by calmly hiding your presence amidst the noise and chaos...>

Amidst the noise and chaos, she alone quietly hid her presence. Like a ghost hiding in the shadows of a bustling street. She gathered and condensed her energy, ensuring no force leaked out, and moved forward calmly, stepping lightly.

The residual force that began to condense in her limbs during this process. Maria carefully circulated it, transforming it into an unprecedented elasticity centered around her Lower Dantian. And finally, the moment the giant’s opening entered her range.

Maria’s figure, hidden in the shadow of the puppet she had been using as a medium to control the swarm of enemies, suddenly leaped out and extended her pale hand.

“What!?”

The giant, who had missed Maria’s presence until that moment, turned around in surprise.

“But it’s too late!”

The principle of stillness within motion. The power of a thunderbolt capable of tearing the heavens and earth bursts forth from the calmest place between clouds. The elasticity condensed around her Lower Dantian burst forth as if it had been waiting, following Maria’s subtle touch. All Maria had to do was guide the path of this force.

The sound that erupted upon impact wasn’t loud. It was merely the sound of a sandbag bursting. However, this wasn’t because the force of Maria’s strike was insignificant.

It was a strike that controlled every ounce of force, leaving no room for sound to escape, a true spectacle of striking power. It embedded itself perfectly into the giant’s exposed lower side. Instantly, the man’s eyes widened, veins popping in the whites of his eyes. Overwhelmed by the blow, he temporarily couldn’t even breathe properly, drooling and trembling violently, a sight clearly visible to Maria.

But she couldn’t let her guard down. Maria cleanly gave up on attempting a follow-up strike at the moment of impact. After all…

*Whoosh!*

The giant’s body, which should have been temporarily convulsing and unable to breathe, reversed as if lying, unleashing a fierce slash. If Maria had let her guard down and taken even one more step forward, she would have been split in half.

Still, Maria, who had narrowly avoided the slash by using the Iron Bridge Technique to lower her body, rose using only her waist strength and struck out with both palms. She aimed to disrupt the giant’s center of gravity by deflecting the trajectory of his greatsword with her footwork.

But as she extended her hand, Maria clicked her tongue.

‘Damn, he’s already half recovered? He’s annoyingly tough.’

She was starting to feel a bit tired of the giant’s toughness, who could still counterattack even after taking her best shot head-on.

‘This is really it. I need to get out of here soon.’

If she hesitated any longer, the opportunity she had worked so hard for would be lost. Quickly assessing the situation, Maria began to leave without hesitation.

“Grr, hey, stop!”

The giant’s enraged shout came from behind, still not fully recovered from the damage, but Maria didn’t pay any attention to it. The giant began to spew curses and insults, but Maria, who had already left without hesitation, didn’t look back.

When Maria checked the location of the third-floor staircase, those who had been guarding it had already moved toward the direction of the fourth-floor staircase. They had moved quickly after reading the meaning behind Maria’s actions.

From the traces left on the staircase, Maria could also deduce something else. Despite having exhausted her puppets in the battle with the giant, the number of attackers still outnumbered the church’s clergy.

As she sprinted down the corridor toward the fourth-floor staircase, Maria pondered the fleeting judgment she had made and immediately struck the backs of the attackers she encountered.

*Crunch, thud!*

“Argh!”

“My arm!”

“My leg!”

The attackers, who had been struggling to break through to the fourth-floor staircase, couldn’t properly respond to Maria’s sudden assault from behind. In fact, they couldn’t even muster the courage to respond. More than half of the attackers here had just been puppets under Maria’s Sphere Exercises.

Even so, Maria didn’t hesitate to strike them. She had no choice. As she passed through the corridor before striking, she had seen not only the bodies of the attackers but also those of the Strabenher Church’s clergy.

It hadn’t been a long time, but they were people she had gotten to know and lived with. They were also all good people. Even after learning she was a Paladin’s disciple, they didn’t treat her specially, and even knowing she wasn’t on the path to becoming clergy, they didn’t ostracize her—truly good people.

Seeing them lying lifelessly on the cold stone floor, any trace of mercy in Maria’s heart had already evaporated.

Maria’s hands were merciless as she plunged into the group of attackers. The moment her figure brushed past them, the attackers’ joints were either broken or dislocated, and their muscles twisted. Strange noises of *crack, snap, thud* echoed from their limbs as they fell to the ground one after another.

In this, there was the trace of all the techniques Maria had learned from Sophia, diligently built up over time.

Maria, who had diligently practiced Sphere Exercises, could read the flow of power in close combat even with her eyes closed. In addition to this, there were two more foundations of her martial arts: the Flower-Piercing Capture Technique and the Heaven Net Earth Web Stance.

A month after starting Sphere Exercises, Sophia added the Flower-Piercing Capture Technique to Maria’s training regimen.

The Flower-Piercing Capture Technique involved quickly moving around to catch scattered petals, feathers, or pieces of paper with one’s fingertips. This training made transitions between advance and retreat smoother, improved jumping ability, greatly enhanced grip strength, and refined fingertip movements.

Once the Flower-Piercing Capture Technique was on track, a new training method was added: the Heaven Net Earth Web Stance. This training involved using lightness skills and palm techniques to bring down countless flying birds, mastering the control of targets through Sphere Exercises and swift, free movement.

Maria continued this training on ships with seabirds, and sometimes underwater with fish. When the ship docked on land, she practiced with sparrows, other wild birds, and insects.

The graceful movements honed by Sphere Exercises, the swift and precise movements of the Flower-Piercing Capture Technique, and the flowing yet ever-changing energy of the Heaven Net Earth Web Stance combined to make Maria’s hands a terrifying weapon in themselves. This wasn’t limited to close combat.

“Ugh, we’ll be done for if we get close! Everyone, keep your distance and attack!”

Some attackers, realizing that getting close would only result in their joints and muscles being neatly separated, chose to attack from a distance with crossbows or hidden weapons. After all, they weren’t all fools to stubbornly stick to close combat.

In fact, these were the ones who had achieved the most in the attack on Strabenher Church. In other words, they were the ones who had sacrificed the most clergy.

And when they began to attack Maria in the same way they had killed the clergy, karma caught up with them.

“Argh, the hidden weapons aren’t working!”

“She’s catching crossbow bolts with her bare hands!”

After training in the Flower-Piercing Capture Technique and the Heaven Net Earth Web Stance, one’s ability to react to projectiles and hidden weapons from various directions naturally improved remarkably. Moreover, thanks to Conra’s sensory training, Maria’s spatial awareness had greatly improved without her realizing it, allowing her to recognize and move in dark rooms as if it were broad daylight.

The crossbow bolts and various hidden weapons that filled the air were controlled by Maria’s techniques as if their fierce momentum and power were lies, and they turned back to bite their owners.

When Maria threw a captured bolt back at the crossbowman like a dart, creating a neat hole in his body, the attacker cursed in agony.

“Just die already, you damn witch!”

From Maria’s perspective, this was truly the pot calling the kettle black. With a bewildered expression, she couldn’t help but retort.

“Is that something you should be saying when you’re the ones who barged into a perfectly fine church and started slashing people?”

Of course, Maria’s rebuttal didn’t get through to the attacker’s brain. Such people, who only care about their own position, usually lack empathy. Maria didn’t expect much either, so she simply forced them to experience empathy by inflicting pain and fear.

Maintaining a delicate balance between tension and relaxation, Maria could switch between Flower and Foot techniques in an instant according to the principles of Thunderous Resolution. Each time her hands and feet, fluttering like feathers, swept through the Sphere Exercises like a whip, the attackers were helplessly thrown aside.

But even after reducing the number of attackers, Maria couldn’t let go of her worry. The man she had left behind would soon arrive.

“Everyone, quickly retreat to the fourth-floor shelter! If he comes, I can’t guarantee your safety!”

“Then, what about you, Sister Maria?”

“I’ll buy some time! I’m the only one who can do that here!”

Forcing those who couldn’t bear to leave her behind with harsh words, Maria stayed at the rear of the retreating group, buying time until all the church members had crossed the bridge to the shelter. And then. As she stood with her back to the bridge, arms hanging loosely, the heavy sound of footsteps echoed in her ears.

“So, you ran all the way here? It seems there’s nowhere left to run, so what will you do now?”

“You took my Ghost Lightning Seal head-on, yet you’re already fine… Truly a monstrous recovery.”

“Well… that really hurt. If I didn’t have a body refined by the Silver Ghost Sacrificial Art, I might have lost the strength to fight from that one blow.”

Despite the giant’s casual demeanor, Maria grew even more wary.

As she had felt when they clashed earlier, the opponent was clearly superior to her in many ways. Her attacks had worked so far only because she had caught him off guard with unfamiliar techniques, not because her skills far surpassed his.

‘Even so, I can’t let that man pass.’

If possible, she had to stop him, even if it meant cutting the bridge. This conviction weighed heavily in her heart.

Soon, the standoff between Maria and the man unfolded once again at the fourth-floor bridge.

 

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