Content Warning: intense violence, injuries, poisoning, death.
When Lucius charged at Arcon, Emilya made her own move against her enemies.
She cast small spells with incantations, just enough to hurt them—not too much damage right away.
She deliberately used incantations because, a short distance away, the other mage was watching her and judging her level.
Since she launches every spell with incantation and does minimal damage, she must be trying to hide her true level.
So either she’s below me—levels 2 or 3—or she’s at my level.
Or maybe…
no, impossible for her to be level 5.
How many chances in a thousand would mean she’s level 5?
Well, for caution, I should still be careful.
She looks confident in her abilities andvery intelligent.
I sense she’ll be interesting.
But I should probably back off; otherwise I might destroy her, and then he’d come after me with soap.
He trembled at the mere thought of what the boss would inflict on him.
— What’s wrong with the other guy?
Why’s he moving around like a worm?
Emilya thought.
Half of the henchmen were still standing.
She urged them forward with a wave of her hand so they’d approach her.
As they launched themselves, they found themselves buried—this time she’d used an earth spell.
They lay on the ground, stunned.
I won’t finish them off right away.
They’ll pay for disturbing and annoying me.
Her last remaining opponent was still standing.
— Come on, over here, Rat-Face.
What’s wrong?
Are you scared of me?
she asked, mocking him.
— You’re looking for me, little one.
You’ll regret it.
He threw an energy ball that, when it hit its target, let the thrower command the person hit.
He did the same when the mage struck someone directly.
He kept throwing energy balls that Emilya dodged easily.
She also analyzed her enemy: his attack patterns, his level, his incantation duration.
She didn’t miss a single detail.
As she prepared to execute her plan, she heard Maria cry out.
When she turned toward her, Melvis was wounded and Lana helped stop the bleeding while Maria held her sword dripping with blood.
While Emilya left the enemies half unconscious, one rose faster than the rest and, while that one was being attacked by the mage, she seized the opportunity to strike the girls in the cart.
Melvis was a bit drowsy, so she didn’t notice at first.He appeared out of nowhere and lunged at Lana with his dagger.
Melvis saw him and pushed her away.
She was wounded in her place.
Seeing he’d failed, he drove Melvis onto Lana and attacked Maria.
This one, caught off guard, drew the dagger she hadn’t returned to Emilya.
She raised the blade toward her attacker, and not expecting it, he lunged straight at her and plunged into her throat.
Realizing what had just happened, everyone froze but the bandit tried to struggle.
That only made it harder to drive the point home, and before he could speak, he was dead.
She couldn’t help screaming, which distracted Emilya, who was about to attack her enemy.
The mage, spotting his second lapse in attention, threw an energy ball that struck her.
Caught off guard, she didn’t have time to defend herself.
The mage, proud of his feat, began hopping around.
— Ha ha ha!
I got you, you dirty bitch!
That’ll teach you to challenge me!
Seeing her no longer move with an empty stare, he grew more arrogant.
— The leader will owe me.
I hope he’ll reward me for this capture.
He approached her, confident she’d fallen under his spell.
He circled around her, then stopped in front of her to issue an order.
— Drop your staff!
She didn’t obey.
— I told you to drop your staff!
— And tell me why I’d do that?
she said with a smirk at the corner of her mouth.
It’s already the second time you’ve called me a bitch.
A Rat-Face type.
She threw a punch that sent him sprawling.
— How?!
he demanded, surprised.
— Do you want to know why your spell isn’t working?
We’re not on the same level, so naturally your pathetic spell wouldn’t work.
— Then you are…
— Yes, level 5.
And you, level 4, right?
Honestly, I don’t understand how you managed to reach that level.
It’s almost an achievement.
He lowered his head, realizing that from the start he wasn’t meant to win this fight.
What were the odds, out of a thousand, that I was right…?
Can I believe it’s not my day of luck.
He thought.
She tried not to show it, but she was furious.
She couldn’t help but emit a deadly aura.
The mage, seeing her anger, began pleading for his life.
Emilya wanted nothing to hear.
She was going to finish him before she saw, atop the hill, the leader still alive.
But what the hell is Lucius doing with an opponent like him?
It shouldn’t have taken him longer than mine.
She looked at her opponent.
— Your leader over there—is he strong?
— Of course!
Our leader is the best!
Your little friend has no chance against him—he’s going to get…
She didn’t let him finish his sentence and snapped another punch to knock him out.
— I didn’t ask you to tell me your life story, she said, furious.
She was going to see how Melvis and the others fared, but she had bad foreboding about Lucius.
She didn’t waste any time and rushed up the hill.
Just as she’d barely arrived, she saw from afar that Arcon was about to deliver the killing blow to Lucius.
He could barely move.
She cast a fireball at Arcon and ran toward Lucius.
— LUCIUS!
she cried, bombarding the enemy with various spells.
He didn’t move.
When she was close enough, she saw he had many wounds across his body and black veins running up his limbs.
Poison?!’ she thought, horrified at seeing his condition.
— You there!
What did you do to him?
He’d struggled to evade her attacks, but none had hit him since she hadn’t aimed at him.
— Oh, really?
I gave him a good lesson for making fun of me.
I’m quite proud of it.
You like?
Oh, I was kind—I didn’t touch his face so you can recognize him despite his injuries, he said with a sadistic smile.
Emilya didn’t respond and simply watched Lucius.
— I should have warned you against such foolish people like him.
Don’t worry—it won’t take long.
She rose gently and looked at Arcon with indifference.
She slowly began chanting a powerful fire spell.
Arcon, seeing her cast it, began to panic slightly.
— What’s wrong?
You don’t like my humor?
She didn’t answer his provocation.
She advanced slowly toward him.
In Arcon’s sleeve, he had one last poisoned arrow remaining.
He thought it was a waste using it on her, but afterward the mage would know how to heal him somehow.
He let her get as close as possible before attacking her at close range.
She kicked him in the stomach, which he blocked, but his spell was ready—so blocking her attack wasn’t a problem.
She cast her spell, and he fired his last poisoned arrow.
She didn’t touch it because she had a shield around her.
However, her spell hit him burning intensely but barely and had ensured the spell would last so he would suffer.
She retrieved Lucius’s weapons, which were a little farther away.
— I went through the trouble of making them for him, and he didn’t even use them.
She turned back to Arcon, who was still burning.
She didn’t completely cancel the spell, leaving it active only on his legs to reduce his mobility.
She looked at him without pity and squatted down.
— Why did you do that?
We could have avoided it if you weren’t so greedy.
— About…
about what you’re talking about?
It’s like that…
that’s how it works here.
It’s…
the law of the strongest.
Your little friend was weak and naive…
that’s why he ended up in this…
She slapped him violently before he could finish his sentence.
— Shut up!
You think I don’t know you poisoned him?
she sighed.
It’s useless continuing to talk to you anyway.
After all, I need to hurry—otherwise he’ll die.
She stood and placed her staff delicately on him.
Instantly, a protective shield surrounded him.
She advanced toward Arcon, grabbed him by his hair and dragged him down the hill.
She threw him just beside the mage, who was still staggered.
She asked Melvis to tie them up and make sure they couldn’t move, and to do the same with the others.
— But with what am I going to tie all of them?
I only have one rope.
She said that, but Emilya was already climbing the hill to go see Lucius.
She picked up her staff, then planted it in the ground.
— Isolation!
It was a spell she’d created herself for a single purpose.
When she was about to use her second type of magic, this one created an invisible black sphere for those outside.
She breathed deeply and called Lucius by his name.
He didn’t respond.
She put two or three cuffs on him before he finally opened his eyes.
— E..Emi..lya?
he said half-heartedly.
— Ah, you’re finally awake?
How do you feel?
she asked, calmly.
— Wh…
what…
— Yes, don’t worry.
You won’t die now.
I won’t let that happen.
She approached him gently and pressed her lips to his.