Boom!
The wall with a huge hole was suddenly smashed from the outside, and immediately after, a bald man wielding a giant axe strode in through the nearly destroyed wall.
“You little bastard, regret what you’ve done!”
The bald man looked like he’d lost his mind because his companions were defeated, but in reality, he was only pretending in order to fool Hyulim—he actually wanted to dash out and grab his weapon.
It could only be said that Hyulim’s experience in fighting other people was still a bit lacking. With a bit more experience, she might have noticed something odd about the bald man’s sudden loss of reason, especially given how cautious he’d been at the start.
“I’ve learned my lesson. I’ll try not to make the same mistake again in the future… …”
Hyulim muttered to herself calmly, her expression unchanged.
“What? You little brat… …”
Now the bald man was truly getting angry.
“You think you can beat me with that pathetic stick?!”
The bald man raised his axe high and charged at Hyulim with astonishing speed, swinging his axe down hard at her.
Boom——!!!
The floor shattered, a massive hole smashed open, sending splinters of wood flying everywhere in the room, even hitting Fran, who was still lying motionless on the floor.
Hyulim had already moved from her spot the moment before the axe landed, letting the attack hit nothing but empty air.
But she immediately noticed that Fran had gotten caught up in the blow.
This won’t do… … Fran could get hurt.
Thinking this, Hyulim instantly changed her approach. Instead of keeping her distance, she took a single step and closed in on the bald man.
“You little—!”
Seeing Hyulim act so brazenly, the bald man grew even more enraged.
He lifted his axe high again and brought it down on Hyulim with all his strength.
Yet once more, Hyulim dodged with agile ease. No matter how the bald man attacked, Hyulim was always able to evade at an even greater speed.
What the hell… … How is she so fast!?
The bald man couldn’t understand it. They were both using Enhancement, yet he could never catch up to her speed, as if her Enhancement was focused entirely on speed.
What he didn’t know was that Hyulim’s Enhancement was no different from his, but the difference came from her also casting second-level wind magic, “Featherlight,” a spell that lightened her body and reduced movement resistance, thus dramatically increasing her speed.
Because Featherlight left almost no visible sign when activated, the bald man had never noticed.
“Stop darting around, it’s infuriating! Get—”
The bald man roared in fury,
“—DIE!!”
Boom——!
His axe suddenly spun around him at breakneck speed, forming a dangerous vortex of steel.
Hyulim bent her body back, letting the axe storm slice right above her face.
Right after, Hyulim stretched out her left hand toward the bald man and chanted rapidly.
“【ᚷᚲᚠᛏᛗᛜᛏᚠᚪᛡᛃᛋקיᛚᚺᛜᛖᚾהᛤ… …】”
“?”
Seeing her reach out, the bald man was confused, but soon realized what she was doing.
“Flash.”
“Argh—!”
With a bloodcurdling scream, the bald man squeezed his eyes shut and staggered back.
Damn it! Th-this bastard’s got two elements?!
He cursed himself for being careless while desperately trying to open his eyes and swinging his axe wildly to prevent Hyulim from chasing him down.
But the close pursuit he imagined did not come—instead, he heard—
“Fireball.”
Boom!
The fireball collided with the randomly swinging axe and exploded, blasting the bald man several meters back.
“Damn you!”
A three-element mage?!
Now, real fear set in.
For a warrior, letting a mage keep their distance was a deadly mistake!
Ignoring his burns, he gritted his teeth, gripped his now scorching-hot axe, and rushed Hyulim, hacking wildly in all directions in hopes of scoring a hit through sheer chaos.
But Hyulim, with her superior speed and petite frame, remained unscathed even amidst his storm of slashes, occasionally landing blows with her wooden staff here and there on his body.
Thanks to his Enhancement, the bald man could endure Hyulim’s relentless attacks for a short while, but if this went on, it was only a matter of time before he lost.
Growing anxious, his thoughts began to turn toward escape, his gaze darting around in search of an opportunity.
When his eyes fell on the bound Fran, a sudden idea struck him.
Right… … This kid came here to save that little noble! If I take her hostage, I can escape!
Making up his mind, he no longer hesitated.
“Hah—!”
With a furious roar, he summoned another axe storm, forcing Hyulim to dodge and giving himself a much-needed opening.
Now’s my chance!
He bolted straight toward Fran.
As Fran grew closer and closer, a glint of excitement flashed in his eyes.
Almost there, just a little more! As long as I grab her, I can threaten that brat, maybe even turn the tables… …
Fran’s figure was just within arm’s reach. The bald man instinctively stretched out his left hand—just another split second, and he’d have her in his grasp.
But in that moment, a figure suddenly flashed into view.
That small silhouette crouched slightly, right hand gripping the wooden staff, appearing right in front of him, and with a calm face, she uttered two words.
“Hunt—See—.”
Roar—!
In the bald man’s eyes, a colossal beast suddenly appeared, looming over him, a massive paw slowly descending toward him.
Three flashes of cold light swept by, landing on his neck, chest, and abdomen at once.
Boom——!
The bald man’s body was hurled away at record speed, smashing through the last intact wooden wall and crashing heavily into the street outside, where he immediately lost consciousness.
With that, the fight came to an end.
The once pitch-dark room was now completely open to the outside, and even seemed on the verge of collapse.
“Looks like it’s going to cave in.”
Hyulim glanced up at the ceiling, where debris continued to rain down, then hurried over to Fran.
“Uuuu, Hy-Hyulim—”
Fran looked at Hyulim with tearful eyes.
“It’s all right, it’s over now. Let’s talk after we get outside, this place is about to fall apart.”
After burning through the ropes with fire magic, Hyulim helped Fran out of the room.
They hadn’t gotten far when—
Boom!
The house behind them collapsed with a crash, sending a huge cloud of dust billowing out.
“Uuuu… …That was so scary! I thought my life was over! Uuuu!”
Once out of that dangerous place, Fran’s nerves finally gave way, and she broke down, crying her heart out.
“It’s okay, you’re safe now, the bad guys have all been defeated.”
Hyulim did her best to comfort her.
“Uuuu… …Th-thank you, uuuu… …Hyulim… …”
But the comfort only seemed to make Fran cry harder, her tears—and even snot—soaking into Hyulim’s clothes.
“… …”
She must have really been terrified.
Supporting Fran, Hyulim quickly left the old district and handed her over to the patrolling guards. When they learned that the daughter of Baron Bandon, who governed Mente Town, had nearly been kidnapped by foreign slave traders, the guards were utterly shocked.
They immediately gathered a large squad and charged into the old district, arrested the two unconscious men, and thoroughly swept the entire area. For a long time afterward, Hyulim noticed the old district was much quieter than before.
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