NOVEL NEXT Chapter 18
Chapter 18
“Aaaah!”
I screamed and immediately distanced myself from Leira. The pain in my side almost made me collapse, but I gritted my teeth and endured.
If I fall now, I’ll die. That gut feeling hammered into my mind.
“E, Eether!”
I immediately rummaged through my bag and pulled out an Eether vial. I hastily brought the vial to my lips and drank it.
Whoosh. A chilling coolness spread through my body, along with a bright blue glow. At the same time, the pain in my side quickly subsided, and the wound began to heal.
“Dear me. You’ve got something troublesome there, junior. Potions are incredibly expensive items, you know.”
Keek! Leira stood before me, her broom extended toward me as she spoke.
Upon closer inspection, a sharp steel blade protruded from the tip of the broom. It was nearly two meters long. For her, shorter than me, it would drag on the ground.
That long blade. Its peculiar shape. And the iron ball still inside her cart. There was no denying it anymore.
“So, it was you after all… you damn serial killer…”
The culprit.
The true identity of the culprit was the maid before me, Leira.
I had thought there might be some twist, something unexpected, because we’d communicated well. But no, there was none. This woman was the fiend they talked about.
Chhaang! I immediately drew my sword. I lifted the Eether vial to my mouth. In accordance with my will, the vial glowed green and its power spread through my body from the corner of my lips.
“… Alright, let’s go for it.”
The effects of Wind Eether began to take hold. My senses expanded, and time seemed to slow down. I narrowed my eyes and glared at Leira, who swished her broom.
The effect of Eether would last about five minutes—just enough to survive one battle. I needed to end this quickly.
“I’m going!”
I shot forth, pushing off the ground. Whoosh! My body erupted with an explosive speed I couldn’t have imagined.
I was startled by how much faster I approached her than I expected.
“Kruuuh!”
In spite of everything, I swung my sword at Leira. But my movements were too clumsy. She slightly tilted her head, easily dodging my attack.
Our eyes met for a split second as I panicked.
“Danger!”
I immediately brought the Eether vial to my lips again. A bright yellow light burst forth, seeping into my body. Just as her blade pierced toward my abdomen, there was no time to respond with my sword, so I tightly shut my eyes.
Caaang! Fortunately, her blade didn’t pierce my stomach but instead sparked and bounced off. Leira’s eyes widened momentarily, but she quickly regained her composure and backed away.
It was a subtle movement befitting a skilled assassin.
“… That bottle of yours is really annoying. Did you enhance your defenses? It’s surprising that my blade doesn’t penetrate even bare skin.”
Leira retreated toward the cart. Without hesitation, she raised the iron ball. A heavy metallic sound echoed as the chain on the iron mace extended toward her feet.
A sinister grin crept onto Leira’s lips as she swung the mace wildly in the air. A chilling rush of air filled the surrounding space.
“Let’s see if you can withstand this too.”
As if I could withstand that monstrosity. If hit, I’d be flattened like a pancake. Clutching my sweaty sword, I fixed my gaze on her every movement.
Finally, she flicked her wrist. The mace shot toward me at lightning speed. Breathing deeply, I inwardly grinned.
I can see it. I can dodge it!
“… Now!”
Calculating the timing, I twisted my body just as the iron ball approached. Whoosh! A dangerous noise grazed my cheek and passed by.
She didn’t expect me to dodge, and Leira froze momentarily, her eyes wide. This was my chance. I leapt toward her again.
This time, there won’t be any mistakes!
“Die!”
My lightning-fast thrust surged toward Leira.
She tried to summon the mace once more, but perhaps due to the unexpected speed of my approach, she bit her lips.
“… Grr!”
Scheeeeng! A metallic tearing sound rang out—Leira raised her broom’s blade, perfectly countering my strike. Blocking such a perfectly timed ambush, was she really human?
But it’s fine. I didn’t intend to kill her in the first place, so creating this brief opening was a complete success!
“Infiltrate!”
As I cast the skill, I swung my sword fiercely at Leira’s face. Half a beat off from the last attempt—this was the true timing I had aimed for!
She was in the process of resetting her stance, and for a moment, her eyes couldn’t track my incoming attack. This was due to the effects of Infiltrate, which made my blade semi-transparent. Leira’s expression suddenly darkened.
“Not bad…”
A loud voice escaped Leira for the first time. I noticed something glimmering from the corners of her eyes, and instinctively leaned my upper body backward.
It was a fleeting judgment.
“Krk!”
Our figures crossed briefly. I coughed, startled, as I looked down at my body.
The trajectory of the blade cutting across my chest was clearly visible. The leather armor I had strapped over my chest tore effortlessly at her single strike. Even the Eether-infused protection didn’t matter as it left a vivid streak of red blood.
“Huh. It’s been a while since I’ve been injured. I really thought I was going to die. Really.”
On the other hand, Leira touched her slightly cut neck. She licked the sticky blood that smeared her fingers. Her expression in doing so exuded an indescribable madness.
Her composed look and her completely unruffled breathing confirmed it. No matter what, this woman was indeed a monster. My instincts, which had been mere suspicion before, solidified into certainty.
‘I can’t win.’
Of course, there was not a shred of intention to give up. I immediately swallowed another Water Eether. Healing the wound, my condition was restored.
It was time to shift to Plan B.
“Infiltrate!”
Pwshik! A deflating sound accompanied my semi-transparent state. I immediately rushed toward Leira. She merely watched without reacting at first, then suddenly swung the chain she had in her left hand.
Shurrrrr! The chain wrapped around quickly as the iron ball previously planted in the ground rushed toward me. This ambush sent a chill down my spine.
“Huh-ek!”
The iron ball grew in an instant. Without time to think, I rolled on the ground.
Kwaang! A massive sound echoed behind me. So, she has adapted to my Infiltrate skill this quickly? I felt a chill run down my spine as I quickly leapt away. Leira was already raising her blade toward me as I charged forward.
She was in full defensive posture, with no openings to exploit.
But that was fine. I had no intention of breaking through her defenses from the start.
“Damn it!”
I hurled the Vestark I was holding straight toward Leira’s face with all my strength.
She-aeck! By chance, I must have hit the perfect center of balance. The sword moved without a single wobble, slicing viciously through the air as if it were going to split her head in two.
“What…?!”
Even Leira, whose expression rarely changed, wore a look of surprise at this unexpected attack. Desperately raising her sword, she deflected the incoming strike. Caaang! A metallic sound tore through the air as my Vestark was helplessly deflected and tumbled across the ground.
But it had done its job. It had drawn her attention long enough for me to approach within striking distance.
I clenched my fists tightly and charged at Leira.
“Grrraaah!”
Plomp! I drove myself into her arms. Clutching tightly at the frills of her lavish maid uniform, I thought in the moment: Good, there’s so much to grab onto.
“Uwaaah!”
As I screamed with all my might, I pushed Leira fiercely backward. Like throwing a tackle in American football.
Leira let out a shocked exclamation of “uh—uhh.” Before she could regain her senses, we both plunged headfirst into the sewage water.
Plops. A spray of water erupted. The sticky texture of the sewage was palpable. Waves of foul odors assaulted us. I immediately straightened up.
“Puuuh!”
There was no time to feel uncomfortable. This was actually my very last chance!
I immediately took another intake of Wind Eether and emerged from the sewage. I picked up the Vestark lying nearby.
And I began running as fast as I could. Casting the skill with all my might, I shouted:
“Infiltrate!”
With Leira, who had just surfaced from the water, behind me, I fled in earnest with my semi-transparent body.
That was right—it was a straight escape. A blatant retreat.
While using a skill to remain undetected, I ran for all I was worth.
“Ha… phu… hu-uhk!”
Swishing sound!
Thanks to drinking the Wind Eether just moments ago, my speed was incredibly overwhelming. The scenery sped past me as if I were in a car. The wind harshly slashed across my face, and my ears began to feel clogged.
I was quite far from where I’d knocked down Leira, yet I didn’t stop my escape. The terror she had instilled in me was monumental.
“Just a little more… just a bit longer!”
I had returned to the starting intersection and continued to move forward from there.
I had already explored all the routes ahead—front, back, and the left canal. None of them led to an exit. The only place left was the right canal. There had to be an exit in the right canal.
I would finally escape this wretched place when suddenly…
“… I didn’t know you could use a sword in such a way. You caught me off guard.”
A voice came from behind. A chill ran up my spine from my fingertips. It was Leira’s voice.
But the voice was somewhat distant. Judging by the sound, it was far enough that even the reach of her mace wouldn’t touch me. I let out a sigh of relief in my mind and prepared to increase my pace.
“Kruh, Hu-uhk?”
That was until I saw Leira’s broom blade pierce through my chest.
“That… How…”
The strength drained from my legs, which had been tirelessly running. Soon, I buckled and collapsed there.
Time seemed to slow down. I turned around desperately. Just as I had expected, Leira was quite far away.
She had her arm extended, and her torso was bent forward. She was in the pose of someone who had just thrown something.
Her throwing of that object—the blade of her broom—was proven by the fact that it had just pierced through me.
“Thank you, junior. I learned something.”
Squelch, squelch. Her boots, soaked in sewage, entered my field of vision. She had reached me.
The scene was all too familiar. That familiarity imparted a certain reality to me, and unwittingly, a hollow laugh escaped me.
“Hah. Hahaha…”
I failed.
Once again, I failed to survive.