The news of an intruder breaking into the Empire’s Headquarters quickly spread throughout the building.
The intruder showed no interest in any other space and went straight underground, which raised alarms even more.
The underground is filled with confidential documents. Moreover, there’s ‘that’ which must never be released into the world.
Anyway, the Empire dispatched security to eliminate the intruder.
Whoever it was, attacking the headquarters alone was a pretty foolish move. How could the Knights Order be underestimated to such an extent?
That place was highly important, and the Empire had some of its elite forces guarding it.
So, they were probably going to die.
Alone, anyone would.
Until that moment, the knight guarding the underground, Eve, thought so.
*
The intruder who broke into the Empire was stronger than expected. She overwhelmed numerous knights with her small frame.
It’s not an easy feat for one individual to wipe out a unit. Unless there’s an overwhelming difference in power, it’s almost impossible.
But she did it. So effortlessly, without a single wound on her body.
She knew that the intruder, who reached this far while ignoring body size and numbers, was anything but ordinary.
However, she never expected it to be to this extent.
–Bang!!
The sharp metallic clash echoed through the corridor.
Eve, the top knight, stood facing the intruder with her sword drawn.
The blade she received felt heavy.
Was it even possible to swing a sword of such weight without using mana?
Moreover, the sword she was holding was a small dagger. This meant she was not even borrowing the power of a weapon.
She was matching the mana-infused sword of Eve with her pure physical ability.
It was an unbelievable sight to witness.
If this was her pure strength, what would happen if her mana was infused?
“….”
Just imagining it was terrifying.
Perhaps her talent could be compared to that of the Empire’s Sword Saint, she thought.
But—
“Flame.”
It wasn’t just her who had surpassed her limits.
Although she hadn’t been a top knight for long, Eve was also a veteran knight with extensive field experience.
With Eve’s brief incantation, flames enveloped her sword.
The flames bursting from the tip illuminated the corridor, wrapping around the intruder.
Sensing something was wrong, she tried to back away, but it was too late.
The moment she got close to Eve, she was already in danger.
“…?”
Eve took a short breath and detonated the extended fire. A flash bright enough to hurt the eyes erupted.
Then came the deafening roar.
A massive explosion consumed the intruder.
The high firepower flames would have burned any ordinary human to a crisp.
Using the fact that a spellcaster generally had higher resistance than others, Eve forced the flames to self-explode to inflict damage on her opponent.
It might seem extreme to explode oneself along with it, but the top knight didn’t shoulder risks after executing it.
With high resistance, Eve sustained no harm from her flames.
The only one harmed was her opponent.
After that, once the flaming burst passed, the smoky aftermath revealed a woman with blue hair still standing.
Her hair and clothing were slightly burnt, yet she appeared unharmed.
“….”
Eve silently adjusted her grip on the sword.
It was an outcome she expected to some extent. She had controlled her firepower to avoid hurting the fallen knights.
“Anyone conscious, please retreat with the injured.”
Personnel unable to fight would just be a hindrance. Especially to Eve, whose attack methods were mostly wide-ranging.
As time passed, only the two remained on the third basement floor.
The woman with blue hair showed no movement while others cleared the area.
With cold eyes, she stared at Eve. Standing still without moving.
Was she showing mercy to the fallen? No, it seemed a bit different.
The woman seemed uninterested in them altogether. Her golden, emotionless gaze glanced at the retreating individuals.
Her eyes were so hollow it sent chills down the spine, revealing nothing, but one could tell there were no emotions involved.
It was like looking at a stone on the roadside.
At least she wasn’t a monster crazed with murder. If she didn’t attack first, neither would she.
“Step aside.”
The woman with blue hair spoke. Her voice was as cold as her vacant eyes.
Eve readied herself again and met her gaze, trying to grasp her intent.
“There’s business ahead. If you step aside, I won’t kill you.”
Her eyes weren’t lying, and there was no malice sensed.
She laid her purpose on the table honestly.
The fact that she hadn’t taken the opportunity to strike while the injured knights fled could mean that she could potentially overpower them whenever she pleased.
Eve gritted her teeth.
“That’s not possible.”
Rebuilding her broken pride, she straightened her sword. Flames flickered around the blade.
As a top knight, she had a duty to prevent anyone from passing before her.
Therefore, she rejected the other’s request.
“No matter your purpose, I can’t allow you to pass.”
Defending this place was her mission.
“Is that so.”
The woman replied shortly as she raised her dagger. Her acceptance came as quickly as her lack of emotions suggested.
She wanted to avoid unnecessary combat, but if the conversation didn’t align, she seemed ready to act.
A teal wind wrapped around the woman’s body.
The swords clashed in their respective stances.
It wasn’t just their swordsmanship that was similar. Their applications of magic intertwined within their sword techniques overlapped as well.
Eve wrapped flames around her sword, while Ilia wrapped wind around her dagger.
Though their methods differed, both techniques stemmed from the same source.
Eve had inherited the teachings from Leon, the former top knight, while Ilia had consumed him.
That’s why their sword techniques resembled each other.
However, the overall refinement of the technique was higher on Eve’s side. While Ilia had merely taken what someone had built, Eve had constructed her own tower from beginning to end.
In the showcase of their similar sword techniques, Eve pressed forward.
Her speed became her weapon, blocking the path with flames. The flames, now significantly stronger, threatened to engulf Ilia.
Though Ilia was stronger than Eve, their interaction had the worst type of matchup.
With her tactics of confining her opponent with flames to force self-explosion, Eve rendered speed ineffective in front of her.
If speed was an advantage, one could narrow the movement range to the utmost.
Eve slowly and cautiously pressured Ilia, always remaining vigilant.
With all escape routes blocked, once the angles for retreat were eliminated, Eve detonated the flames.
“Explode!”
Eve had already detonated her third flame. It was suspiciously eroding the remarkable vitality of the resilient intruder.
The strong explosion resonated through the entire building from the underground. This time, flames enveloped both Eve and Ilia.
Eve thought she would be able to defeat her this time. The explosion was fueled by maximum mana.
Although the flames engulfed both of them, Eve’s resistance was strong, while Ilia’s was not.
Thus, victory was anticipated.
“Gah?!”
But the first to spit blood was Eve.
Ilia’s extended dagger had pierced through her abdomen.
Eve’s trembling gaze shifted to the pierced area. A sharp object was penetrating her skin, sending horrifying pain.
Then her gaze moved to Ilia’s face. She wore an unusually calm expression for someone who had just stabbed someone.
Ilia coldly pulled the dagger out of Eve’s body.
“What, you…”
She must have detonated the flames emanating from within her. There were no escape routes from the explosion, and the flames near Eve’s body were especially hot.
Did she dive through that temperature, lunging into the explosion to stab? Without using any mana?
It was impossible for a human. It didn’t make any sense.
Eve struggled to voice her fragmented words.
“You’re… not human…”
“….”
There was no denial. This silence could be seen as a wordless confirmation.
“Ugh!!”
Ilia plunged her knife into Eve’s body a second time before bringing her down to the floor.
After finishing yet another battle, she discarded the bloodied dagger and pulled out a new one.
The time it took for Eve to lose consciousness wasn’t long.
As Ilia, with her charred form, attempted to move forward, she looked at the fallen Eve and spoke.
“Good night, Eve. Leon thought of you as a good junior.”
“….”
“You were a good junior. Not as a romantic interest, though.”
The flames extinguished.
Ilia retrieved the key to the fourth basement floor from Eve’s pocket.
