“Selian? Then I’ll ask you to do what we discussed earlier.”

Selian and I were conversing at a distance from the main group. There was no concern about being surrounded, and fighting Vulcan in a crowded area would surely lead to unpredictable consequences.

“Don’t worry. Have I ever let Elysia down?”

Selian replied with a reassuring smile as if to calm me.

“No, you haven’t. You’re one of the few people I absolutely trust.”

If anyone had let down expectations, it was me. I’ve failed to meet Selian’s expectations before, but she has never failed mine. Even if she said something completely ridiculous, I would just assume I was mistaken and overlook it. After all, I had never suffered from taking her advice.

Sure. For example, even if someone claimed that elves are a treacherous race, I would believe her without a doubt. Ah! Thinking about Lindy, it’s not entirely unfounded.

“…They’re here. Get ready.”

As I pondered these trivial thoughts, I felt a menacing and ominous aura in the distance, just as Selian had mentioned. It was undoubtedly the presence of Vulcan, who was probably getting overly excited about the upcoming fight.

“Yeah. Be careful.”

I left Selian in her spot and quickly hid myself. I completely suppressed any signs of my presence, not even exhaling. Even when a butterfly flew by and landed on my nose, I remained still as a rock, quiet as a tree.

On the other hand, Selian started to make quite a ruckus, in a different way. It wasn’t that she was physically jumping around, but she began to unleash her energy, aura, and presence into the surroundings. Selian’s presence already dominated the area.

Just as we sensed Vulcan’s aura, he quickly reacted to Selian’s revealed aura. In the distance, Vulcan—who initially had no intention of hiding himself—started charging toward us. He was covering the distance quickly, despite how far away he seemed.

As planned, Selian didn’t seem flustered by Vulcan’s sudden approach; she simply raised her sword in silence. The sensation of Vulcan’s energy drew closer, closer, and finally, it appeared as a tiny speck in the distance. And then—

Bang!

The tiny dot that had been indistinguishable from afar suddenly exploded with power, closing the distance in an instant and colliding with Selian. The sound of their blades clashing barely seemed believable, the impact was so rough.

With the collision came a cloud of dust that obscured our view. However, after that, an unsettling silence enveloped the area, as if the loud noise from earlier had never happened.

As the dust settled, both of their figures became clear again. It was a relief to see Selian looking quite alright, while Vulcan appeared surprisingly composed as well.

They stood within a distance that allowed either to react at any moment, and it was Vulcan who broke the silence first.

“You. You’re not that girl from yesterday.”

Vulcan probably expected to see me here since we had locked eyes yesterday. However, when he opened the lid, it was not me but a completely different person who appeared before him. It would be an unexpected situation for him. To be precise, it’s not that he didn’t expect it; his mind was too full of thoughts about fighting me to entertain any other possibilities.

But after raising an eyebrow for a moment, he soon broke into a wide, crazy grin. He looked genuinely thrilled.

“Ahhahaha!”

Vulcan began to laugh heartily, his booming voice echoing. His loud laughter was so overwhelming it made me want to grimace, but since I was hiding, I couldn’t even block my ears for fear of being discovered by the slightest movement. If I were to go deaf at a young age, it would all be that jerk’s fault.

“Well, this is good. I came expecting a battlefield and was disappointed to find only a bunch of kids, but to find such a delightful surprise just a few days later… There are even two of you, huh? I’m feeling lucky!”

Truly, he was a madman. Clearly, from our previous clash, he must have realized that Selian was no mere novice, yet he showed no hint of worry; instead, he seemed even more exhilarated. I knew this was his nature because of our past encounter, but seeing it again after a long time still felt hard to get used to.

How dare he express that he’s interested in Selian? Even though I know the meaning behind his words is different, it’s still an infuriatingly obnoxious expression. This only added another reason for Vulcan to earn a death sentence in my books. Selian, who had been quietly listening, must have thought there was no value in hearing more from him. She immediately raised her sword and charged.

With every clash of Selian’s sword against Vulcan’s rough fists, the fierce sounds of battle reverberated in the surroundings. This was the first time I had a chance to witness Selian’s full power. Her sword was much faster, sharper, and stronger than I remembered.

She had completely regained the strength she possessed in her past life over the short but long three years, and had even grown stronger. I thought I had barely caught up, but it seems that the difference in accumulated experience wasn’t something that could be easily closed. Still, just standing side by side with her satisfied me halfway. The other half, of course, was left as a motivation to surpass her.

Given how much stronger she had become, I wondered if she might take down Vulcan on her own, but Vulcan’s resistance was proving to be unexpectedly formidable. In fact, calling it resistance seemed ridiculous; he was calmly deflecting Selian’s attacks with a certain ease that suggested he was well ahead.

But I wasn’t worried. The plan was for Selian to simply hold Vulcan in place. It didn’t matter if Selian was stronger than I had anticipated or if Vulcan was equally strong; as long as Selian kept Vulcan tied down, the plan remained intact.

Yesterday, Vulcan had caught onto my presence without fail, but fortunately, he didn’t notice me this time since Selian was releasing her energy. In the midst of the battle now, it would be even harder for him to sense me.

Of course, one could question if sharpening senses during battle would make it easier to be noticed, but with Selian being the formidable opponent, I was sure that his heightened senses were entirely focused on her.

Finally, I started moving my feet slowly. Stepping carefully between the chaotic exchanges of blows, I maneuvered thoroughly into Vulcan’s blind spot. Naturally, there were limits to how close I could get, but positioning myself close enough for a single strike would suffice. For an assassin like me, that distance was more than manageable.

This was a strategy I could employ because of Vulcan’s simple-minded nature. Had any of the other Four Heavenly Kings been here, it wouldn’t have been worth attempting at all. Although I had excluded this strategy before since I needed to hide the fact that I was an assassin from my friends, this time there was no reason to hold back.

However, the moment I drew the Holy Sword, I would undoubtedly be discovered. The presence of the Holy Sword was not something I could conceal at will. Therefore, I gripped the scabbard in one hand and the hilt in the other while still keeping the Holy Sword sheathed.

This technique is often referred to as draw-cutting. Of course, since the Holy Sword is a sword and not a blade, I’d call it draw-sword technique. Yet no matter how grandly one puts it, in reality, it’s a technique with little practicality, and in fact, it’s a useless move that only hinders you with the scabbard in hand, causing more harm than good.

Still, I prepared to execute the draw-cutting. No matter how much it’s treated as a gimmick, it’s surprisingly useful for an assassin who needs to catch the opponent off-guard for a single strike. Plus, the scabbard helps conceal the presence of the Holy Sword, making it the most useful tool at this very moment.

Three steps, two steps, one step…

Finally, Vulcan stepped within my range. Without further delay, the Holy Sword was drawn from its scabbard and swung swiftly at Vulcan.

There was no sound. No presence. No prelude. This strike was exceptionally clean and quick, ranking among the best I had executed.

Thud.

And what reached my ears was nothing but the sound of something falling to the ground.