The moment Claire opened the safehouse door, she was sent flying through the air.
In that instant, I had already grasped the situation.
‘I’m fucked.’
Standing at the entrance was a Werewolf covered in gray fur.
A Rank 7 Adventurer and vicious criminal, Garbo stood right before us.
RUMBLE.
As the door closed, a gloomy-looking man shuffled out from behind him.
“Haa… so everyone was hiding here….”
Marco, the Slave Trader nicknamed the “Leech.”
He looked exactly as I remembered from the screen—short, with disheveled hair.
His unfocused eyes and deep dark circles stood out most of all.
Anyone could tell from his limp, unnatural movements that something was wrong with him.
“I thought I’d die waiting… Do you have any idea how much money this time would be worth…?”
I ignored Marco’s miserly complaints.
The true threat demanding my attention was the muscular Werewolf.
The pressure radiating from him made my body instinctively want to react.
I forcibly suppressed that natural response and studied our enemies.
‘…No Crossbowmen?’
The Crossbowmen who had attacked us earlier were nowhere to be seen.
Had Marco left them outside because they were getting in the way?
Well, against four Knight Trainees and one Mage, a single Rank 7 Adventurer was already more than enough.
“Grrrr….”
There was not a trace of reason in the Werewolf’s eyes.
Considering Garbo’s criminal disposition and the ferocious nature of the Beastkin known as Werewolves, it was only natural that they would perform a brain transplant to make him easier to control.
Replacing a Werewolf’s brain with that of an ordinary wolf to ensure obedience was already an open secret on the black market.
‘A Blue Wolf? Or maybe one of the more intelligent breeds?’
Just then, I heard Claire getting back to her feet behind me.
A quick glance showed that her armor was only slightly dented.
Apparently, the Werewolf’s first kick had merely been a warning.
“Anything broken?”
“Fortunately, no.”
That was a relief.
I had no desire to deal with that terrifying bastard by myself.
After exchanging a glance with Claire, I slowly backed away.
Marco looked at her and asked excitedly,
“Haa… you’re Claire, aren’t you? The commoner-born knight who graduated at the top of her class…?”
“…Why are you suddenly asking—”
Claire looked unsettled by his obsessive interest and started to answer.
I cut her off with a warning.
“Don’t answer him. He’s just insane.”
“Ah, yes.”
As though I did not even exist, Marco began muttering to himself.
“Ah… I’ve never had a knight before… I want one. She looks impressive too, so she’d make an excellent addition to my collection… I can’t take it anymore… hurry….”
Marco twisted his body as his excitement grew.
Then he ordered Garbo, who stood behind him,
“Garbo. You can kill everything else… but keep that Mage and the woman alive… Especially the woman. Do not kill her… It’s fine if you injure an arm or a leg… those can be repaired….”
TAP!
The two-meter giant closed the distance in an instant.
Claire raised her sword and began taking a stance.
Was she trying to get herself killed in this cramped place?
I grabbed her arm and shouted,
“Just run deeper inside!”
After yelling at her, I started running too.
Claire finally sheathed her sword and followed after me.
Sensing Garbo pursuing us from behind, I immediately recorded new Word Magic.
『Ice Wall』
A wall of ice rapidly rose from the floor.
I had devised it after seeing the Crossbowmen’s attacks—a shield with defensive strength comparable to iron armor.
Even that, however, was nothing more than a way to buy time against a Rank 7 Adventurer.
CRASH!
The Ice Wall shattered beneath the Werewolf’s powerful claws.
I had expected him to break it, but not in a single strike.
Fortunately, the flying fragments made him hesitate for a moment.
That was enough for us to reach the wider area farther inside.
Claire glared at the approaching Garbo and spoke with grim determination.
“Young Master Allen. I will hold him back. Please escape when you find an opening. He is far beyond an opponent we can defeat.”
Mm.
I knew that too.
But did she actually have a plan?
“I feel like he’ll catch me right afterward and tear me apart.”
“…I will hold him for as long as possible. Even if every bone in my body is broken.”
“There’s really no need to go that far.”
“It is fine. You already saved my life, Young Master Allen. This is the least I can do to repay you.”
Repay me, huh?
I appreciated that she thought of it that way, but I would rather she did not throw her life away over something like this.
Wouldn’t it be better to stay alive and repay me over time?
“Let’s fight him together first. What’s the worst that can happen? We die?”
My voice trembled slightly, but I hid what I was feeling.
Of course, this was not a situation where I could simply act on emotion.
It was a conclusion based on calculation.
Our odds of surviving were probably higher if we fought together than if I tried to escape alone.
“Young Master Allen….”
Whatever she thought of my reasoning, strength returned to Claire’s eyes.
She had just been betrayed by nobles she trusted.
If I abandoned her now as well, would she even be capable of fighting properly?
“Oh…? So my clients were all here too…?”
Marco eventually entered the room and spoke theatrically when he saw the bodies lying there.
He did not look particularly surprised.
Something occurred to me, so I asked him,
“Hey. Weren’t you working with them? Why did you have your men shoot at them too?”
The Crossbowmen’s bolts had repeatedly targeted them as well.
Blondie had claimed it was merely a mistake made by the Combat Slaves, but there was no way that was true.
Marco smiled and answered in a sticky voice.
“They had no value as collectibles….”
“Value?”
“The continent is overflowing with nobles… Maybe someone from a ducal house would be worth something, but sons of barons aren’t even worth collecting… And nobody knows what happens inside a Labyrinth… How often do you get a chance to kill nobles…?”
I glanced at the bodies.
So even if I had never encountered them, they would all have died anyway.
“I can’t wait anymore… Garbo. Bring them both to me….”
At his command, strength returned to the Werewolf’s body.
Damn it.
He was about to attack again.
Did my magic and Claire’s sword truly have enough power to stop that beast?
I discarded every optimistic assumption and considered only the facts.
‘…Certain defeat.’
He had not earned the title of Rank 7 Adventurer merely because of his size.
If we wanted to win, we needed something capable of bringing us closer to his level.
After a brief moment of thought, I made up my mind and spoke to Claire.
“Claire. I need time to prepare a spell.”
“How much time…?”
“At least five minutes.”
Claire stared at me for a moment.
Then she silently stepped forward.
Garbo approached.
With each step, the oppressive pressure coming from him grew stronger.
As though trying to shake off her fear, Claire let out a battle cry.
“Haaaah—!”
Even as I watched her approach Garbo, anxiety tightened inside me.
I forcibly tore my gaze away.
If I had chosen to trust her, then that was the end of it.
I needed to focus on what I had to do.
‘…I wasn’t planning to use this here.’
Strictly speaking, this could hardly even be called magic.
Magic and Skills alike were techniques fueled by the resource known as mana.
Their power depended on how much mana was consumed, making them a kind of equivalent exchange.
This, however, demanded far too much compared to the reward it provided.
‘…Still, nothing is worth more than my life.’
The medium was blood.
Any source would work as long as blood could be drawn.
I brought my thumb to my mouth and made a small wound.
Blood began dripping from my finger.
Slide.
Using the blood, I started drawing a pattern on the back of my left hand.
I used mana to form a perfect circle.
Inside it, I slowly inscribed a six-pointed star.
The moment the vivid pattern solidified, my heart pounded heavily.
THUMP.
The preparation was complete.
My heartbeat was slow but powerful.
Soon, it would accelerate exponentially.
I steadied my breathing and looked forward.
The battle had already begun.
WHOOSH!
Claire’s greatsword announced the start of the fight.
Her strike traced a broad arc toward Garbo’s torso.
It was not intended to inflict a decisive wound.
It was a probing attack meant to gauge her opponent.
Her swordsmanship was also the reason we had retreated into this wider area.
Her techniques could hardly display their full power in a narrow space.
CLANG!
Just before her sword reached its target, claws larger than a human hand blocked it like a shield.
The claws, the hardest part of his body, were like an impregnable fortress.
The impact shook Claire’s sword and threw her off balance.
The beast extended his claws toward her left thigh.
“Ugh…!”
A strained sound escaped her as her body failed to respond as quickly as she wanted.
Claire hurriedly pulled her sword back and shifted her weight to protect herself.
BANG!
“Ugh…!”
With a tremendous impact, Claire was thrown high into the air.
She rotated once, struck her sword against the ceiling with a CLANG, and landed without losing her stance.
Watching from afar, Marco’s eyes gleamed.
“Her movements are excellent… She’s beyond the level of a Knight Trainee, isn’t she…? I want her even more now….”
For once, I agreed with him.
Claire’s speed and strength were already comparable to those of an ordinary Apprentice Knight.
Considering her potential for growth, it would be a waste for her to die here.
‘Let’s see.’
Only three minutes had passed.
The question was how much longer she could hold out.
Her opponent possessed the trained body, experience, and Skills of an Adventurer, combined with the instincts of a beast.
He might have lost his reason, but that probably had little effect on his raw combat ability.
Claire understood that better than anyone.
Even so, she closed the distance with Garbo once again.
WHOOOSH!
Her sword rushed toward him without the slightest hesitation.
Even as Garbo defended casually, her assault continued.
Contrary to my expectation that she would soon exhaust herself, the arcs drawn by Claire’s sword only multiplied.
CLANG!
Her relentless attacks denied him any chance to counter.
She was moving desperately, forcing herself beyond her limits.
Perhaps that effort was finally being rewarded.
Garbo, who had remained relaxed until now, began retreating.
“GRAAAH—!”
Garbo tried to turn defense into offense, but Claire gave him no opening.
The trajectories of her sword became too fast for the eye to follow.
It had no official name, but it was practically a Skill already.
Claire had clearly surpassed her previous limits.
And because of that, something unexpected happened.
WHOOSH!
Her sword, which had been moving at tremendous speed, suddenly changed its trajectory.
Claire’s strained expression made it obvious how much stress the movement placed on her arm.
Gritting her teeth, she brought the sword down.
SLASH!
Garbo’s left arm dropped away from him.
“GRAAAH—!”
Whether from pain or fury, Garbo roared and froze in place.
Claire did not miss the opening.
Maintaining her momentum, she launched one final attack toward his neck.
WHOOOSH!
The pressure from the sword swept across him before the blade itself arrived.
If that strike connected, there would be no further chance for him.
The battle would end in an instant.
The sword rapidly approached Garbo’s neck.
Just before it landed, a horrible roar erupted from him.
“GRAAAAAAAH!!”
I knew immediately that it was different.
It was not the ordinary roar of a beast.
There was mana within it.
A powerful will.
[Rank 7 Adventurer ‘Garbo’ activates the Skill ‘Beast’s Roar’.]
“!?”
The instant Claire heard it, her body froze.
It was a Skill that forcibly stopped a nearby target.
Sensing danger, the Werewolf did not stop there.
[Rank 7 Adventurer ‘Garbo’ activates the Skill ‘Moon-Reaping Claw’.]
Moon-Reaping Claw.
A secret Skill unique to the Werewolf clan.
A pale-white glow began shining from Garbo’s claws.
In the game, it was a famous technique said to possess enough power to cut even the moon.
“No!!”
Marco shouted when he saw the deadly attack.
But Garbo’s hand had already escaped his control.
Damn it.
I had hoped Claire could buy me just one more minute.
Cursing inwardly, I drew up my mana.
『Ice Wall』
An ice shield rose and shoved Claire away.
Four shields appeared in succession, continuously forcing her farther back.
The first Ice Wall shattered like glass.
CRASH!
The second was pierced through like paper.
THUD!
The third split apart and collapsed.
CLANG!!
The fourth cracked in half.
CRACK!
Even after the final Ice Wall broke, the remaining force of Garbo’s attack scraped across Claire’s armor.
CLANG!!
The strike left only a minor wound.
Fortunately, it was nothing serious.
It would have been nice if that were the end of it.
[Rank 7 Adventurer ‘Garbo’ activates ‘Blood-Claw Paralysis’.]
It was a Skill that inflicted paralysis on anything wounded by his claws.
Despite the injury being small, Claire collapsed like a puppet whose strings had been cut.
Holding my pounding chest, I closed the distance and slowly dragged her away.
Marco stopped Garbo and released a sigh of relief.
“Haa… I thought he was really going to kill her….”
Marco called Garbo back and calmed his agitation.
“You’re all right…? Nothing important was damaged, was it…?”
Ignoring him, I laid Claire down in a corner.
Marco lowered his excited voice, tilted his head, and asked,
“But… why is an Executioner from a Mage Tower here…?”
“A Mage Tower?”
“Don’t pretend you don’t know… Your incantations are unnaturally short… And since you use Ice magic… you must be from Glacie….”
The Glacie Mage Tower.
A Mage Tower in the North that researched Deluge and Ice magic.
His reasoning was certainly logical.
It was also wrong.
“Sorry, but you’ve got the wrong person.”
“No… there’s no way I wouldn’t know….”
“I’m telling you, I’m really not.”
“Whatever… Even if you are from a Mage Tower… I was supposed to capture you anyway….”
Marco once again placed Garbo in front of him.
“The higher-ups are desperate to find Mages right now… They said to bring in anyone as long as they aren’t a Mage Tower Master… Unfortunately, you’re not quite rare enough to be exempt….”
Following his master’s command, Garbo stepped forward.
His severed left arm had already regenerated.
It was the Werewolf clan’s extraordinary regenerative ability, but even for them, the speed was abnormal.
He had probably undergone some illegal procedure on the black market.
‘Haa… this is insane.’
A Rank 7 Adventurer.
And a Werewolf on top of that.
Even with Blood Magic, I had no idea how great a price I would have to pay.
“GRAAAH—!”
But seeing him roar and bare his claws made one thing clear.
There was no other option.
I placed my right hand over the left side of my chest.
THUMP-THUMP-THUMP-THUMP.
My heart was beating several times faster than normal.
The blood-drawn pattern on the back of my hand pulsed at the same rhythm.
I clenched my teeth and spoke the Word Magic.
At the same moment, the pounding of my heart began echoing in my ears.