Kail remained silent as he gazed upon the three Masters who had appeared before him. He feared that uttering a single word would act as a catalyst, sparking a fight.
However, he couldn’t maintain his silence forever. After confirming the direction from which they approached, Kail cautiously opened his mouth.
“Did you see a woman on your way here?”
“Hmm— I think I did, but maybe not.”
“Who knows? Could it be this?”
The woman, holding nothing in her hands, spoke and casually tossed over a head that had been beaten to a pulp.
A head with its facial skin completely peeled off, mutilated beyond recognition. As Kail stared at the three people without saying a word,
He couldn’t tell if this was truly Ariah’s corpse or a bluff to shake him.
‘Either way, it doesn’t matter.’
In this situation, getting excited meant death. Even if she were dead, there was nothing he could do about it. With that thought, he tried to calm himself down.
Kail gripped his sword and spoke.
“If you’ve inflicted even a single wound on her, all of you will die.”
Hearing those words, the three Masters smirked in amusement. The large man, having confirmed Kail’s reaction, finally revealed Ariah, whom he’d been hiding, and opened his mouth.
“So this is your weakness, huh?”
“Hahaha, Kail… Sorry. Got caught, didn’t I?”
Know yourself and know your enemy; a hundred battles, no danger.
Realizing Kail’s weakness even before the fight began, the three looked at him with bored expressions.
But Kail quickly changed his expression and snapped his fingers.
Snap! At the sound, an Aura Blade flew in from somewhere, piercing through Ariah’s body.
“Eh-?”
Seeing the Aura Blade, the three quickly released Ariah and backed away. Then, looking around with puzzled expressions, they wondered where the Aura Blade had come from.
Ignoring them, Kail snapped his fingers once more.
Aura Blades pierced Ariah’s already impaled body, and several more fell toward her collapsing form.
“Ka, Kail……”
Watching Ariah fall after uttering her last words, the three stared at Kail in disbelief.
“Wasn’t she your lover?”
“Don’t talk nonsense about lovers. It seemed better for her to die by my hand than yours, so I killed her.”
And then─ Kail gripped his swords in both hands and glared at the three.
“Now that there’s nothing to interfere, we can have some fun fighting.”
As Kail grinned, the three began to look at him like he was some kind of lunatic.
But only for a moment. They exchanged glances, nodded, and then extended their hands to play Rock-Paper-Scissors.
“If you don’t throw, you lose…….”
“Rock-Paper-Scissors!”
“This time, will you let me win?”
The result of Rock-Paper-Scissors was the victory of the large man. Watching the other two concede and step back, Kail raised an eyebrow.
“Aren’t the two of you going to fight?”
“What, are we really going to need three people to deal with a newly-minted Master brat?”
“And yet you came in a group of three?”
“Well, we heard there was an interesting guy. We were curious.”
The large man said this while pulling out a hammer from thin air. Kail realized it was a high-grade pocket dimension magic tool.
The man wielding the hammer smirked as he looked at Kail.
“Don’t worry. These two will just watch.”
Boom! The hammer struck the ground, causing the earth to tremble. Kail glared at him briefly before slowly stepping forward.
The hammer looked impossibly heavy, weighing who-knows-how-many tons. And the man’s massive upper arm muscles gave a rough idea of how he fought: relying on brutally heavy strikes.
‘If that’s the case, the countermeasure is……’
Without taking a single hit, overwhelm with sheer speed and relentless attacks. Having solidified his plan, Kail shot forward.
Speed too fast for the man to react! Confident of victory, Kail was shocked to see the hammer fill his vision.
‘Wha—.’
BANG!
An unbelievably loud sound erupted as Kail smashed through dozens of trees, flying far away.
The man who had hit a home run with a human swung the hammer onto his shoulder and looked at Kail.
“You alright—?”
“Cough!”
“Still alive, huh. Youngsters these days are tough.”
The man muttered praise for Kail, who was still alive, then spun the hammer in his hand as he approached.
The heaviness that the hammer displayed when first pulled out now felt nonexistent.
Sensing something strange, Kail spat out a mouthful of blood and glared at the man.
“What… What’s with the sudden speed?”
“Youngster, your mind’s too rigid. Think about it. That thing on your shoulder isn’t just decoration.”
Tapping his head a few times, the man revealed one of his secrets—though it wasn’t much of a secret anymore.
“This hammer has an anti-gravity device built using the latest magitech.”
“Anti-gravity… what does that even mean?”
“It means I can freely adjust its weight.”
The man had eyed this feature greedily. For an Aura Master, the weight of a weapon held little significance. The quality of their emitted Aura determined the impact.
Having personally wielded the hammer, the man honed his skills with a hammer that weighed nearly zero.
Thus, he devised the ultimate strategy: deceive the opponent and always land the first strike.
“Well, it doesn’t work on those who know.”
For those unaware, it was a guaranteed method to land the first blow.
This man, Hephaestus, had a history of killing many Masters of his caliber with this strategy.
“—Hephaestus, the Holy Weapon ‘Hammer.’”
“Why the name?”
“You should know who you’re dying to.”
Hephaestus approached Kail, who lay on the ground watching him approach. Smirking, Kail looked up at him.
“…Kail Meyer.”
“I know your name.”
“Yeah, but I wanted to hear it anyway.”
Suddenly, Kail’s eyes gleamed with light. Realizing Kail’s will hadn’t broken, Hephaestus became wary of his surroundings.
But even with heightened vigilance, he couldn’t block Aura Blades that materialized out of thin air.
Though not as deadly as a heart-piercing sword strike, Kail’s Aura Blades boasted abilities that were absurdly powerful.
“Guh-!?”
His shoulder and Achilles tendon were slashed. As Hephaestus placed his hand on the ground, another Aura Blade appeared above his head.
Just as he was about to throw his hammer in desperation, an Aura Arrow fired from behind deflected Kail’s Aura Blade.
Kaines’ shot. Seeing this, Kail grimaced bitterly.
“You said you wouldn’t interfere.”
“—Kaines! Are you mocking me!?”
Even as Hephaestus vented his frustration, Kaines shrugged indifferently.
“My arrow was a bit too fast. If it had been slower, it would’ve hit you right as you died.”
“…You.”
“I’ll apologize. Hephaestus, and Kail. I have no intention of interfering in a one-on-one fight. But if my opponent dies, the story changes.”
Kaines aimed his bow at Kail, who understood the meaning behind his words.
As long as Hephaestus lived, it was a one-on-one fight, and Kaines wouldn’t interfere. But the moment Hephaestus died, Kail would be attacked.
Fighting two Masters simultaneously in his current state was suicide.
“…Go.”
Realizing this, Kail glared at Hephaestus and spoke. Hephaestus looked between Kail and Kaines, dissatisfied, then carefully stood up.
“—Brat. Next time we meet, things will be different.”
“All the guys who lost to me say that.”
“Haha, Hahaha! Fine! This time, I admit defeat!”
With those words, Hephaestus turned and left the scene with Kaines. The unknown woman who had been with them had long since disappeared with Hecate.
The fight was over. Kail realized that the world was full of strong opponents. Once you reached a certain level of strength, simple brute force fights ceased to exist.
It wasn’t just about increasing raw power—something else was needed.
To protect himself and others.
Looking at Ariah lying on the ground, Kail thought to himself.
“…Ariah. Aren’t you done yet?”
“—Is it over?”
The moment Kail called her name, Ariah abruptly lifted her head and stood up. Brushing the dust off her body, she stuck out her tongue with a bashful smile.
“You’re pretty hurt… Are you okay?”
“Not really… Can you help me get to the Academy?”
“Just a moment. Woof woof-!”
At Ariah’s call, a worshipper who had been hiding somewhere revealed themselves. Seeing the worshipper under Ariah’s control, Kail relaxed and collapsed.
Watching Kail lose consciousness before her, Ariah carefully embraced his chest. She had never seen him in such a vulnerable state.
‘Kail……’
Thinking she might be able to manipulate him now, Ariah began singing into his ear. Watching Kail’s expression soften as he listened to her song, Ariah chuckled softly.
“That’s enough. If I get caught doing something bad, he’ll get mad again.”
Though her ability could sway his heart, Ariah chose not to use it. Instead, she resolved to seduce him using only her natural charm.
After brainwashing one of her followers, Ariah ordered him to carry Kail. Together with the worshipper, she returned to the Academy.
