As I went further inside, the stench grew worse. The mix of the smell of blood and rotting corpses was stinging my nose.
It was a place filled with countless skeletons, and I had to suppress the urge to vomit.
I thought I had seen some rough sights, but I couldn’t get used to this scene.
“Ugh…”
At least I was glad that my sense of smell had dulled, making the stench a bit lighter.
If that hadn’t been the case, I wouldn’t have been able to hold back my retching.
[Are you okay?]
Silphy asked with a worried tone, and I nodded with a smile.
“Yeah, I’m fine.”
I was here to rescue Yurph, so I could endure this much. Thinking that, I stepped over the squishy remains and walked on.
It was hard to see through the fog inside, but I had no intention of retreating.
At least I still had the strength to block inhaling more of the fog.
After walking for a while, I caught a glimpse of a familiar face through the mist.
A slender black-haired girl lay quietly, looking somewhat gaunt. With her bony arms and fingers, there was no doubt she was Yurph.
Just as I was about to step forward with joy at finding her, Silphy rushed in front of me.
Startled by his sudden action, I stopped.
‘What’s the matter?’
Silphy frowned and admonished me.
[Stay alert and look around. There’s someone else here.]
Following his advice, I looked around Yurph. A man with red hair sat beside her.
His eyes were closed as if waiting for someone, which sent chills down my spine.
[Next time, don’t act recklessly. Be careful.]
‘Got it.’
He was right. If I had rushed straight to her, I would have been ambushed by that guy.
He certainly didn’t look like he was sitting there with any good intentions towards Yurph.
Nodding in understanding, Silphy sighed and moved back to my side.
‘That guy… I feel like I’ve seen him somewhere before.’
Red hair that fell to his shoulders. He was twice my size.
The scars that covered his face, arms, and legs indicated he was no ordinary person.
As I observed him closely, I quickly remembered who he was.
‘…Katra.’
The guy who faced Abel on the train to the Port City Ark. A monster who smashed his magic circle with a single punch and could go toe-to-toe with him.
Remembering how he rushed me with that red aura sent shivers down my spine.
“You’re here.”
Katra muttered as he slowly sat up. Upon opening his eyes, he spotted me and frowned.
His expression was questioning, as if he couldn’t comprehend what he was seeing. With his arms crossed, he scrutinized me and murmured.
“Weren’t you supposed to be with Abel?”
He clicked his tongue and stepped closer. Even from a distance, his massive shadow cast over me.
In a panic, I raised my rapier and aimed it at him. Katra seemed used to such reactions as he smirked and looked at me.
After staring at me for a moment, he frowned again and asked.
“Hey, have we met somewhere?”
“…”
“I definitely remember seeing you somewhere…”
Despite my silence, Katra tilted his head as he tried to recall. Could it be he remembered himself from the train?
Checking my necklace, I confirmed my disguise was still working perfectly.
With different hair and eye colors, how on earth could he feel some familiarity?
He had only seen my face for a brief moment, yet he sensed something off about it.
He was sharper than one should be.
“Well, whatever. That’s not important right now.”
He sighed as if giving up on recalling and looked at me again, making me grip my rapier tightly.
I glared at him, grinding my dry lips.
“This is interesting. Are you saying you want to fight me?”
“Release her.”
“Hmm? You mean this lady?”
Katra pointed at Yurph with a smirk and turned his gaze back to me.
“You don’t think I would use dirty tricks, do you?”
His eyes were filled with the thrill and anticipation of combat.
I involuntarily shivered at the madness of his battle-hungry gaze. It resembled him when he fought Abel—unchanged.
[Get ready.]
‘Yeah.’
I swallowed hard and summoned the power of wind. Just then, Katra kicked off the ground, launching his punch towards me.
With a chilling boom, his fist came flying. Using Silphy’s strength, I redirected it and swung my rapier.
But before I could even anticipate it, his opposite fist targeted my abdomen.
Whoosh.
I leaped into the air using the wind to evade, then kicked downwards with the momentum.
Katra caught my leg with just one hand, grinning and swung his fist again.
“Ugh?!”
Even though I mitigated the impact with a wind barrier, a sharp pain shot through my arm.
It didn’t break, but the pain felt like it was borderline fracturing it. At least it was a relief that I hadn’t blocked with my right arm.
“You’ve got a lot of gaps. Was that your only effort to fight me?”
“…Shut up.”
I knew it.
The gap in power between us was colossal. Unlike me, who was using the spirit’s power fully, he wasn’t even using his aura.
If he weren’t such a battle-hungry type, I would have been down long ago.
But stalling any longer wouldn’t help Yurph’s condition.
“Haah… Hah…”
I steadied my heavy breaths and glared at him. Katra, on the other hand, was relaxed, laughing while standing there.
I couldn’t figure out what to do against someone as formidable as him, who could match Abel.
“Are you scared, lady?”
Katra smirked, taunting me with his finger. Instead of anger, an overwhelming sense of dread washed over me.
Scared? Of course, I was!
He easily dismissed Silphy’s powers, swinging punches without even using his aura.
Getting hit directly was out of the question; even the aftermath had cracked my arm.
The sensation of death was rising up to my throat.
Who wouldn’t be terrified in front of such a monster? If I could, I would want to flee right now.
Without a backward glance.
“Shut up.”
But I couldn’t back down here.
If I fled in fear, I wouldn’t be able to save Yurph, and I would regret that for the rest of my life.
Even if I returned through reincarnation, it would forever remain a haunting memory.
After all, my reason for wanting to become strong was precisely to avoid such regrets.
“Ha! Good spirit in those eyes.”
Katra grinned, seeming delighted as he cracked his knuckles. A rumbling sound echoed as his eyes glowed red.
“Those eyes mix fear and courage…”
No need for me to play the hostage game anymore.
He muttered that and raised his arms again.
‘Silphy, do you think you can do it?’
[Are you going to use that?]
‘If I don’t, there’s no way I can win.’
Conveying my thoughts firmly, Silphy pondered for a moment before nodding.
[..Okay.]
Cool winds began to sweep over my body.
A faint fog started to swirl away in the air, and Katra who was watching exclaimed, “Oh!”
The wind wrapped around me like armor. It became a booster raising my physical abilities.
It was a technique that, although it consumed immense energy, momentarily boosted my physical capacity several times.
“Wind!”
The wind armor enveloped my body.
As I glared at Katra, blood began to ooze from Silphy’s nose. Perhaps due to overexerting himself after a long time, his face was twisted in pain.
[Let’s go. I can’t maintain this long.]
‘How long?’
[At most 5 minutes. We need to finish it within that time.]
Nodding, I charged forward. I swung my rapier at Katra, who was mindlessly throwing punches.
Slash.
With a sound of flesh being sliced, blood surged from his fist. In an instant, I managed to cut him six times, slicing through flesh and bone.
Even then, Katra simply smiled, unfazed by the injury.
“Wow, it seems you’re not all talk.”
A smile arose on his face. No matter how much he was being hurt, that grin wouldn’t fade.
“Then I will step it up too.”
A red aura began to envelop him. With a sizzling sound, Katra’s arm began to regenerate.
His aura possessed the ability for regeneration.
What an annoyingly troublesome ability. No wonder he could afford to throw punches recklessly.
[Right!]
“Hah!”
In an instant, a strike came from my right. Quickly reacting to Silphy’s warning, I narrowly dodged it and swung my rapier again.
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