Ting!
The sharp sound of tal ricocheting rang out.
Si-Hyun’s hastily conjured barrier had deflected the sudden dagger strike. However, the shield, activated in a rush, failed to maintain its form and shattered into fragnts, dissipating almost instantly.
“Hmm…”
The assailant, a female assassin clad in a blood-red robe, smirked as if she found the situation amusing.
Her cat-like eyes glead sharply, reflecting her predatory intent. Without hesitation, she lunged at Kurosawa Takeru again.
“You bastard!”
Thanks to Si-Hyun’s quick intervention, Kurosawa avoided a fatal injury. Drawing his auxiliary weapon—a dagger—he engaged the assassin in a tense lee.
Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!
Each clash of blades sent sparks flying. Despite being renowned as Japan’s “Divine Archer,” Kurosawa wasn’t just skilled with a bow. His physical prowess also made him a formidable close-combat fighter.
‘I never expected the dungeon boss to use stealth for a surprise attack…’
The ambush had failed. The assassin’s biggest advantage had already been squandered.
Roaring with confidence, Kurosawa shouted,
“I’ll handle this woman! Everyone else, focus on the bull!”
His voice was brimming with bravado.
Si-Hyun, watching him with a faintly disapproving expression, understood enough of his words to grasp his intent.
‘…He’s not going to win.’
The assassin was undoubtedly the true boss of this dungeon. Si-Hyun was certain of it. After all—
‘Isabelle…’
She knew this assassin. Knew her far too well.
‘So, you’ve crawled back again.’
Why Isabelle kept reappearing was beyond Si-Hyun’s understanding. Wasn’t this world supposed to be at peace after the Demon King’s defeat? Why did remnants of chaos keep sneaking back in to cause trouble?
With a sigh, Si-Hyun turned away.
If Kurosawa wanted to fight, she would give him the opportunity. After all, it was a leader’s duty to let their party mbers prove themselves. Not that it mattered, considering the communication barrier.
‘I’ll switch in at the right mont.’
From the start, Si-Hyun hadn’t considered Kurosawa a capable ally. A party mber who ignored orders was no different from a hindrance. Besides, with a capable mage like Sato Ichiro, they already had enough damage dealers.
Si-Hyun resolved to wait patiently for the right mont to intervene, all while staying vigilant.
‘First, we deal with the bull and the whip-wielding rider.’
Then, she would make sure Isabelle tasted bitter defeat.
The battle split naturally into two fronts:
Si-Hyun’s team, along with Sato, engaged the colossal bull and its rider.
Kurosawa, anwhile, found himself locked in combat with Isabelle.
“Pfft, nothing impressive about her!”
Kurosawa scoffed, his voice tinged with mockery.
He watched Isabelle carefully from a slight distance, his expression turning more serious.
‘She’s strong, no doubt…’
But he wasn’t convinced he would lose. In close combat, where speed was crucial, he was confident in his abilities. Moreover, for a supposed boss, her attacks didn’t feel overwhelmingly dangerous.
He envisioned the perfect scenario: defeating Isabelle one-on-one, then switching to his bow to help finish off the bull.
Swish!
A dagger flew toward him. Calmly, Kurosawa deflected the projectile with precision.
In that instant—
Hiss—
White smoke began pouring from a small object that had fallen to the ground unnoticed.
‘Smoke screen?’
Kurosawa clicked his tongue in annoyance and started to retreat.
But Isabelle was faster.
Like lightning, she closed the distance, her dagger flashing toward him. Kurosawa, relying on his quick reflexes, twisted his body to evade the strike.
Once again, the fight devolved into a fierce lee within the smoke.
Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!
Though her fighting style was unfamiliar and unconventional, Kurosawa remained composed.
He was being pushed back, but only because her tactics were strange and erratic. He calmly assessed the situation.
‘I just need to get out of the smoke.’
Once he was outside its range, he could regain control of the fight.
Or so he thought.
Boom! Crash!
A sudden explosion erupted.
The blast ca from sothing Kurosawa had stepped on—a trap.
He had been monts away from escaping the smoke, but the unexpected explosion caught him off guard.
Though his high-ranking hunter physique allowed him to endure the damage, the impact created a critical opening in his movents.
Isabelle wasted no ti.
Her sharp eyes glead, seizing the opportunity.
Squelch—!
Clang!
The sharp dagger sliced into Kurosawa’s shoulder, cutting deep.
“Aaargh!”
Kurosawa scread in agony, unable to hold back the pain.
In a brutal close-quarters battle, even the slightest opening was fatal. Isabelle, a seasoned assassin, never missed the chance to exploit a vulnerability she had carefully orchestrated.
From this mont, the tide of the battle shifted dramatically.
While Kurosawa managed to escape the smoke, the real problem began—he was being relentlessly overwheld.
The injury to his arm slowed his movents, and Isabelle continued her relentless, unconventional assault.
Slash!
Finally, Kurosawa’s right arm was severed, the limb dropping to the ground with a sickening thud, spraying blood across the floor.
“Hrrgh!”
I’m going to die! I’m going to die like this!
His fingers trembled. His breaths ca in ragged gasps. His entire body froze in terror. Staring at Isabelle with wide, panicked eyes, he croaked,
“N-no… this can’t be happening…!”
Staggering, he fell onto his backside, scrambling desperately to crawl backward.
Isabelle smiled a cold, predatory smile, her expression akin to a cat toying with its prey.
“Hmm-hmm…”
It was ti to end this. Isabelle’s sharp eyes glinted as she twirled her wrist, preparing for the final blow.
But just then—
Clang!
Her dagger was deflected, knocked aside by Si-Hyun’s sword.
Isabelle retreated smoothly, her expression unfazed, as though she had anticipated this intervention.
“You’re finally here,” she remarked casually.
“...Yeah,” Si-Hyun replied.
“That guy wasn’t much fun. Did you pick the wrong man to save?”
“...”
Si-Hyun didn’t bother responding. Instead, she glanced briefly at the despair-stricken Kurosawa before casually picking up his severed arm and reattaching it with precise magic.
Kurosawa, utterly stunned, could only gape at her.
Ignoring him entirely, Si-Hyun shifted her attention to Isabelle, who was still smirking.
“Not in the best mood today, huh? Been having rough nights lately?” Isabelle teased, her voice dripping with mockery.
“...”
“C’mon, with a pretty face like yours, all you have to do is smile sweetly and shake those big—”
“Hey.”
Si-Hyun cut her off, her voice cold and steady.
“Stop spewing nonsense and co at , flat chest. Front and back—you’re the sa either way.”
“...What?”
“You’ve been wanting this all along, haven’t you?”
Isabelle’s cheerful grin faded, her face hardening into a steely glare.
“Well then… I’ll kill you.”
Tap!
Isabelle lunged at Si-Hyun without hesitation.
Calmly, Si-Hyun began layering debuffs as she intercepted Isabelle’s attack.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
The sharp sounds of their blades colliding echoed through the room.
Isabelle had the advantage in both speed and strength, yet she still found ti to hurl taunts mid-battle.
“This feels disgusting. Why don’t you stop ssing around already?”
“Then die.”
“Your mouth’s gotten pretty dirty.”
“Thanks to you.”
The blunt retorts left Isabelle unimpressed. She frowned, finding no enjoynt in Si-Hyun’s dry responses.
Si-Hyun, anwhile, remained calm.
In her past life, when she was alone in this otherworldly realm, such provocations might have shaken her.
But not now.
Now, she had family, friends, and a ho to return to.
‘…That won’t work on anymore.’
The life she had reclaid through countless struggles would not be shattered again.
Clang!
Hiss—
As Si-Hyun deflected another thrown dagger, smoke began to spread again, repeating the earlier pattern.
But this ti, she was prepared.
Gathering information through her mana spread across the surroundings and recalling Isabelle’s habits, Si-Hyun calmly evaded the incoming dagger strikes, twisting her body just in ti.
Unlike when Isabelle had caught Kurosawa off guard, her side attacks were precisely read and countered by Si-Hyun.
‘So, it’s from the side this ti.’
This was Isabelle’s strategy: using traps to lead her opponents into her grasp.
But Si-Hyun had already mapped out the traps’ locations and types. Navigating her way out of the smoke with precision, she erged unscathed, a stark contrast to Kurosawa’s earlier struggle.
“You slippery little rat!” Isabelle growled, clearly irritated.
“Yeah, yeah.”
“Tch! Damn it!”
Isabelle’s frustration was evident.
Despite having the upper hand, she couldn’t understand how Si-Hyun remained so composed.
For Si-Hyun, the situation was simple. While she hadn’t seized full control of the fight, she wasn’t losing ground either.
Her knowledge of Isabelle’s tactics, combined with her thodical responses—purifying poisons, dispelling magic, and countering attacks—ensured that no fatal blow could land.
This was Si-Hyun’s way of fighting: turning any battle into a stable, drawn-out contest where she thrived.
‘…This isn’t as bad as I thought.’
As long as she stayed patient, she was confident she wouldn’t lose to anyone—not even Isabelle.
Isabelle was undeniably strong—stronger than anyone Si-Hyun had encountered on Earth.
But she wasn’t as formidable as Si-Hyun rembered.
If Isabelle were truly at the level she had once known, Si-Hyun wouldn’t have had the breathing room she currently did.
‘Did sothing happen after she left the Hero’s party in the latter half?’
Though they hadn’t stayed together until the end, Isabelle had managed to endure with the party for quite so ti. Had sothing happened, or was it just nostalgia distorting her mories?
‘…It doesn’t matter.’
Whether her mories were flawed or Isabelle had actually changed, it wasn’t important.
What mattered now was that Si-Hyun had the upper hand. She had enough room to experint with a slight shift in strategy.
While keeping Isabelle at bay in the relentless close-quarters combat, Si-Hyun began to calmly assess the flow of the entire boss room.
A more efficient way to clear the dungeon.
A thod to achieve an even more satisfying result.
And a strategy to push Isabelle into a psychological corner.
Si-Hyun was confident she could defeat Isabelle one-on-one. But she wanted sothing beyond that—a decisive, absolute victory.
‘...Alright, let’s do this.’
Her decision was swift. As the party leader, she chose the most optimal allocation of resources, which also happened to be the best way to infuriate Isabelle.
“Jason! Over here!”
“Yes, understood!”
Even while battling the bull, Jason imdiately responded to Si-Hyun’s command. He unleashed a skill that pushed the bull back with raw force, clearing the way.
Despite the abruptness of the order, Jason acted without hesitation. As soon as he saw Ji-Ah covering his position, he sprinted to Si-Hyun’s side.
“Should I take care of this one?” he asked, gesturing toward Isabelle.
“Yes! Show her what an impenetrable fortress looks like!”
“Hahaha! That’s easy!”
The towering man turned his gaze toward Isabelle, who scowled deeply and shouted,
“Hey! Don’t you dare run away!”
“Run away? Don’t be ridiculous. And speaking of fairness, where’s yours?”
Si-Hyun grinned mischievously as she continued,
“I’m just using the most efficient thod. Once we’re done with the bull, I’ll give you all the attention you crave. In the anti, have fun with him.”
“You insane bitch!”
Isabelle unleashed a string of curses, her frustration boiling over.
Jason stroked his beard as he observed the scene with mild amusent, then blocked her path.
“Now, where do you think you’re going?”
He stood firmly in her way, like a mountain unyielding to the wind.
Jason’s towering figure lood over Isabelle like a large dog staring down at a small cat. With Si-Hyun’s buffs coursing through him, his confidence was overflowing. To him, Isabelle appeared almost adorable.
‘The Saint’s command is simple: be an unbreakable fortress.’
And as long as he didn’t break, there were no restrictions on how he fulfilled that role. Being a fortress didn’t an he couldn’t attack.
With a ferocious grin, Jason charged at Isabelle, his movents resembling a rampaging beast.
“Hahahaha!”
“Gah…!”
This was an entirely different kind of opponent compared to Kurosawa Takeru.
For Isabelle, Jason was the worst possible matchup.
In a multi-party battle like this, the core damage dealer being pinned down by a tank was a disastrous scenario for her side.
‘If this keeps up, it’ll turn into a long, drawn-out fight…!’
A long fight.
The mont that thought crossed her mind, Isabelle’s expression hardened.
She knew exactly what that ant: this battlefield would turn into the Saint’s stage.
The enemy’s condition would remain stable, while her side would be worn down by accumulating debuffs.
‘I can’t… I can’t let that happen!’
Grinding her teeth in frustration, Isabelle’s movents grew desperate.
But Jason wasn’t about to let up. He charged at her again, a juggernaut she couldn’t stop—an unstoppable locomotive barreling toward her.
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