A narrow corridor was filled with several nimble new model agents.
At the extremes of the straight hallway, I and my enemies were positioned. They numbered around five or six, but it was uncertain who might burst out from the doors scattered along the corridor.
The staircase was on the other side.
A glance to the side revealed a layout map. The words “Department Head’s Office” stood out prominently on the second-floor diagram. In other words, I had to go up that staircase to subdue the News Department.
Of course, this was the stronghold of an intelligence organization, so I couldn’t fully trust the layout. I could only infer that the general structure would be similar.
After all, it was them that needed to hang on, not me.
Once the true identity of the News Department was revealed, it would be evident which side would be in deeper trouble. The News Department certainly had the motive to subdue me.
In that case, all I had to do was respond to the fight. The corners of my mouth twisted up as I spoke.
“…Bring it on.”
With the taunting words that flowed out again, shadows began to scatter.
It was at that moment I finally took a step forward.
The first to rush in was a News Department member who got hit on the shoulder by an axe. He had chased me from the front gate, and perhaps still feeling unsatisfied, he pulled another dagger from his coat.
Of course, my steps were quicker.
With a thud, my axe smashed down on the man’s remaining shoulder. A chilling sensation of crushing cartilage was transmitted to my hand.
Along with the blood and water, the man’s scream erupted as he lunged at me.
“Ahhh!”
Leaving the downed man behind, I took another step as two new agents rushed toward me.
The slicing air from their movements was ferocious.
With a swoosh, two thrown daggers cut through the air at strange angles. It was a stunning display of throwing knife skills, but their intention was obvious.
Taking the opportunity to strike the daggers aside, they would aim to embed blades in me.
Of course, I didn’t need to accommodate that intent. My arm was already raised high from pulling out my axe.
As I gritted my teeth, the muscles in my arm contracted. The moment my axe shattered the air, it was as if a ray of light was flying.
The sound of one of the incoming daggers clashing pitifully echoed as it bounced away. There was still one dagger left, but it didn’t matter.
I began to sprint forward.
The heavy flow of time instantly unraveled.
With a crunch, the sound of my axe blade partially crushing his forearm resonated. The News Department man, perhaps not expecting to lose his weapon in this situation, stared wide-eyed.
But that was only the beginning.
As I twisted my body to dodge one dagger, my hand axe veered off its trajectory on its own. The next thrown axe struck down the last remaining News Department member.
It happened to be a man who was preparing to leap.
His body, just barely rising into the air, couldn’t withstand the momentum of my hand axe. His upper body toppled over.
The sound of flesh and muscle being crushed was an added bonus.
At that moment, I was already close to the leading News Department member. He was merely staring stupidly at the axe blade embedded in his own arm.
Naturally, he couldn’t react to me.
I slammed into the News Department member.
Thud, two solid bodies collided.
“Cough!”
With the impact of my shoulder, a strangled sound escaped the News Department member’s lips.
One man fell, and I pulled the axe from the shoulder of the News Department member who was now falling through the air.
Then, I plunged the axe blade into the remaining shoulder that had hit the ground.
With a crunch, the sound reverberated in my ears.
“Ahhh!”
Now down to two, my eyes scanned the remaining enemies like a beast.
The last two were leaping toward the wall. The final one seemed to be mumbling an incantation. As always, mages were tricky opponents.
The swords of the two women slammed against the wall next to me.
Once again, there were daggers, but their tips glistened. It was clear they were coated with poison.
My hand seized the space around me.
The two women’s blades, taking bizarre trajectories, whizzed past me.
It was a close call. Had I been even a moment late, I would have suffered the same fate.
Another step forward, and my hand axe mercilessly crumbled the shoulders of the two women.
“Ahhh!”
“Ugh…!”
One of them, perhaps trained, bit her lip to stifle her scream. Yet, both ended up sprawled on the ground.
By that time, the mage’s incantation was nearing its end. I had little choice.
Once again, the hand axe was thrown.
With a fierce slicing sound, light fell upon them. The mage’s scream was inevitable.
As I pushed off the ground, someone suddenly struck my side.
I heard a crunch and turned to see a door had shattered. Through the shadows that erupted from within, a white blade gleamed.
I couldn’t fend off this attack.
With a thunk, a dagger pierced my arm, causing my body to stagger to the side. Thankfully, I had just managed to raise my arm to block it.
The man didn’t even seem to think about pulling the dagger out. He immediately withdrew his hand in an attempt to pull something from his coat.
Another hidden weapon, no doubt, and I wasn’t about to just wait and see.
My remaining arm gripped the man’s arm. A look of confusion appeared in his eyes.
If he had investigated me, he’d have a rough idea of what would happen next.
I pulled with all my might and swung his shoulder down. Like lightning, the man slammed into the corridor.
Thud, the shockwave shook the wooden floor.
“Ugh, gack…!”
The man could not withstand the impact, and a ridiculous groan escaped from his mouth. It was to be expected.
Due to the corridor’s tight space, his lower body was trapped against the wall at a right angle. I heard a crunching sound, so his spine must have been affected.
That must hurt, I thought as I glanced at his convulsing body.
As I lifted my hand, the hand axe slapped against my palm. My eyes absentmindedly scanned straight ahead.
With a screech, a door lined up along the corridor swung open.
There remained two rooms before the staircase, and two figures stepped out.
I smirked and asked, “Is this all you have?”
Of course, there was no answer.
One woman, who was relatively close to me, rushed toward me. Each of her hands grasped a dagger.
She was a tricky opponent. I took a step forward, bringing my axe down.
Clang, my axe bit into the space between their crossed daggers. Trembling arms, but the hand axe was a weapon swung with one hand, not two daggers.
When the woman braced herself and deflected my axe, I naturally found an opening.
She aimed to dive into my embrace.
What she momentarily forgot was that the hand axe was a one-handed weapon, which meant I still had one arm left.
As prepared, my hand fumbled at my waist, unleashing a burst of light.
There wasn’t even a sound.
The blade that emerged struck the woman’s side. Though she tried to block with her arm, there was little she could do against the sudden strike.
That was her downfall.
My hand axe pierced through the woman’s arm and sent another body sprawling to the ground.
Worried she might rise again, I stomped down on her remaining wrist, crushing it.
“Ugh, grrrr…”
With rib-crunching sounds, strangled moans escaped the woman’s lips. That was enough.
My eyes turned to the last remaining opponent.
He had been waiting, ready to throw away his weapon.
It was a wire.
With a weight at the end, it seemed it could be used both for disabling and striking if needed.
Indeed, it was a bizarre weapon typical of the Empire’s Intelligence Department.
The weight swung wildly like a living snake. I immediately began to sprint.
And just before I collided with the weight.
My upper body leaned back as I slid across the floor. I extended my arm and grasped the wire.
A crackling sensation warned me of an electric charge. I didn’t know why, but it was familiar.
I twisted my body and yanked the wire as if to wield it.
A sudden tug brought something along, and at that moment, crackling electricity surged through my arm muscles.
Electrocution made my muscles involuntarily contract, sending blue sparks racing through my brain.
However, there was a silver lining.
Because of the forced muscle contraction, the pull on the wire was augmented. The man’s body soared into the air like a fish snagged on a fishing line.
Thud, the sound of him crashing to the floor made him bounce off once.
The current ceased around that time.
As I pulled again with force, his body was dragged toward me. With each passing moment, our distance closed, and fear painted the man’s eyes.
Because, by then, my hand was gripping the hand axe.
The moment he arrived before me was his last.
Thud, a splash of blood erupted into the air.
“Ugh, agh… Aahhhh!”
With another scream erupting as if it were only natural, I had to cover my ears with my remaining hand. Even so, the sound that burrowed into the rest of my ears wouldn’t fade away.
I said in a voice tinged with disdain.
“Stop screaming, okay? You’re an intelligence agent, aren’t you? Can’t you handle a little pain?”
“Gah, kuh kuh… You, insane bastard….”
Yet the man only chuckled in response to my jibes.
With a fierce grin, he warned me.
“Y-you dare touch the Empire’s Intelligence Department? Do you think you’ll walk away from this unscathed?”
I fell silent for a moment. My gaze briefly wandered to the side before looking down at him again.
A smile crept up at the corners of my mouth.
“Then why did you touch me?”
And before he could retort, my hand axe drove down once more into the man’s shoulder.
As his body writhed in pain, another scream tore from his lips.
It was still loud. Unable to bear it any longer, I stomped down hard on his head.
With a thud, the man’s scream was cut off.
He had fainted.
And that was the end.
The News Department had been wiped out. Only one person remained.
My eyes scanned beyond the staircase. Faint but unmistakable heat emanated from the other side. Someone was definitely there.
As if I had received an invitation, I turned my feet in a trance.
The “Queen of the Martial Arts Festival” was waiting.
