Under the dim night sky, the forest had turned into a silent battlefield. Crimson fog drifted between the trees like a living entity, moving at the will of the raven-masked Contractor. The moonlight, which should have been a guiding light, was now swallowed by the dense mist, making everything feel like an illusion beyond trust.
Agnie adjusted his stance, lowering his center of gravity while gripping a sun-ornamented sword tightly in his hand. Sacred chains coiled around his arm, ready to be unleashed at any moment to restrain his opponent. His breathing remained steady despite the oppressive atmosphere dulling his senses.
For now, the red fog couldn't breach the five-meter radius of Agnie's Divine energy barrier. Bullets would no longer have any effect on him. He had already gauged the extent of his opponent's strength.
Step—
Step—
From within the mist, light footsteps echoed, almost like whispers carried by the wind.
Swing!
The paladin reacted swiftly, swinging his sword in a wide arc, unleashing a wave of divine energy that dispersed the mist. Yet, nothing was caught in its wake. Only silence answered.
SING!
A sharp whistling sound suddenly rang out.
BANG!
A gunshot! Agnie moved on reflex, tilting his body to the side, allowing the bullet to pass just a few centimeters from his shoulder guard. He frowned. That pistol wasn't just an ordinary firearm... the bullet carried a faint trace of existential energy, barely visible to the eye. If he had been even a fraction slower, the effects could have been far worse than a mere physical wound.
"Haha, your divine energy might be able to withstand my flintlock bullets. But I wonder... can it endure existential energy?"
The Contractor sneered from within the mist.
CRASH—
Without hesitation, he stomped the ground, dashing forward with incredible speed. Years of training at the academy had taught him one thing, standing still against a Contractor was a death sentence.
SWOOSH!
A short sword hidden within a wooden cane emerged from the mist, striking from an unpredictable angle.
KWANG!
Agnie parried with a swift slash, sparks of light bursting as metal clashed against metal. The Contractor didn't retreat; instead, he pressed forward aggressively, using the close range to his advantage, launching relentless attacks.
SWING!
CHWAK!
CLINK—
A series of rapid strikes traced down Agnie's left shoulder, cutting in a pattern that lined up with his vital points. Each movement was deliberate, these weren't random swings.
He recognized the pattern. Efficient, leaving almost no openings. The Contractor wasn't relying solely on speed or strength but precise calculations. Every short slash and thrust forced Agnie to shift his stance, gradually restricting his movement.
SRING—
Realizing this, he leaped backward and swung his chain. It shot out like a serpent, aiming to coil around the Contractor's leg. Yet, as if predicting the move, his opponent kicked the end of the chain aside before shifting into a new position.
"You're not just an ordinary paladin."
The Contractor's voice finally emerged, slightly muffled behind his raven mask.
"At the very least, you're better than the novices who came with you."
Agnie didn't respond. Instead, she raised her left hand and clenched the air. The chains that had previously failed to bind the Contractor moved on their own, as if alive, now pursuing their target with greater precision.
The Contractor leaped backward, but at the same time, he pulled out a small knife from his pocket and stabbed it into his own palm. Fresh blood trickled down before abruptly solidifying into a thin blade, which he controlled with his fingers to slice through the chains before they could reach him.
Agnie was momentarily surprised but refused to let herself be distracted for long.
"Oh, Merciful God. Let Your servant feel Your grace and blessings. Let Your faithful follower bask in Your divine favor."
Agnie landed steadily, hurriedly yet devoutly reciting her prayer.
"—Blessing of Radiance."
Her aura flared in golden light, repelling the crimson fog that loomed around them.
"So this is how you fight?"
The Contractor spoke again, this time raising his still-bleeding right hand. The crimson fog surrounding him swirled violently, then condensed into a small vortex in his palm.
"I won't let you!"
Realizing the danger, Agnie dashed forward to disrupt him. She swung her sword in a diagonal slash, forcing the Contractor to defend. However, her opponent simply spun gracefully, evading the attack while simultaneously releasing the crimson vortex toward her.
The paladin leaped aside, but the fog was no ordinary physical attack. The moment she inhaled it, her head grew heavy, as if her mind was being pulled into another world.
T-this—
"An illusion, isn't it?"
The Contractor's voice dripped with sarcasm.
"The Blessing of Radiance is an exceptional spell. At the very least, it can keep my crimson fog at bay for a little while."
Agnie bit her tongue hard enough to jolt herself back to reality.
TUNG!
However, the Contractor was already behind him, swinging his short-bladed cane sword with a powerful strike. Agnie barely had time to react, managing only to raise his sword and block the attack. The impact, however, forced him back several steps.
The Paladin quickly analyzed the situation. The Contractor was neither faster nor more resilient than him. However, his advantage lay in his cunning, his use of the mist, and his attacks that could disrupt his opponent's focus.
"Agnie, isn't it? Judging by your swordsmanship, you must be a fresh graduate from one of the Knight Academies."
The Contractor scoffed. He could see the fear lurking in Agnie's eyes.
If this continued, Agnie knew he would lose.
He twisted his sword, activating the sacred enchantment embedded within its blade. A surge of golden light erupted from his weapon, spreading outward in a circular pattern that dispersed the surrounding mist. The Contractor was forced to retreat, avoiding the divine light, while Agnie seized the initiative.
Boom!
With speed greater than before, he lunged forward, launching a relentless combination of slashes and thrusts that left the Contractor no time to think. For the first time, the Contractor was entirely on the defensive, forced to parry and evade without any chance to counterattack.
Until finally, Agnie found an opening.
He twisted his sword in a deceptive motion, feigning an attack to the left before suddenly thrusting the blade toward the Contractor's right shoulder. However, something strange happened.
His sword passed through empty air.
The Contractor's figure had vanished.
Agnie's eyes widened. Another illusion?!
From behind him, the sound of a flintlock mechanism clicking echoed.
Bang!
Before he could turn around, a gunshot rang out.
His sharp reflexes saved him. Agnie twisted his body, deflecting the bullet's trajectory with his chain, but the distraction was enough to throw off his balance. The Contractor, now back in his real position, dashed toward him, a knife poised to strike at his throat.
The Paladin spun swiftly, narrowly dodging the lethal thrust and slashing at the Contractor in return. But his opponent had anticipated this, redirecting his own blade to parry the attack before leaping backward.
They returned to their starting positions.
The two fighters locked eyes, their breaths slightly heavier than before.
Agnie understood one thing—this was not a battle he could win with brute strength alone.
The Contractor also realized—against a Paladin like this, talent alone would not be enough.
(POV Changed)
The raven mask remained completely still as the Contractor took a slow, measured breath. His eyes, hidden beneath the shadow, studied every minute detail of his opponent—the rhythm of her breathing, the tension in her muscles, even the slight forward shift of Agnie's weight, signaling her readiness to lunge at any moment.
She's starting to read my movements.
The Contractor realized that his illusions and crimson fog were no longer having their full effect. Agnie was too disciplined, too well-trained to fall for the same trap twice. If he wanted to win, he needed to change his approach, exploit momentum, and seize even the smallest openings.
His fingers lightly brushed the grip of his flintlock while his other hand remained on his cane sword. Prolonged close combat wasn't an option, but allowing Agnie to dictate the pace of the fight was even worse.
Click—
The Contractor pulled back the jaw screw of the flintlock slightly with his thumb, opening the bullet chamber. He needed to load his gun, but instead of conventional ammunition, he compressed a small amount of crimson fog into a bullet.
In an instant, he moved.
His first step wasn't an attack but a feint. He leaned forward as if initiating an assault, baiting Agnie into reacting. As expected, the paladin swung her sword in a horizontal arc, attempting to cut him down before he could close the distance.
SHRRK—
But at the last moment, the Contractor twisted his body to the side, allowing the blade to only graze the fabric of his cloak. At the same time, he pulled the trigger of his flintlock.
BANG!
The bullet shot forward with incredible speed, but Agnie had already anticipated it. Her chains lashed out, intercepting the projectile mid-air and shattering it into harmless fragments.
Yet, the Contractor didn't stop there.
Using the momentum he had built, he closed in, slashing with his short sword at an unpredictable angle. Agnie barely managed to react, twisting her body with minimal movement to evade the attack.
But the Contractor had already accounted for this.
SWIRL—
The once stagnant red mist now reacted to his own flowing blood, swirling, condensing, and suddenly erupting into a dense vortex around the two of them.
For the first time in this battle, Agnie completely lost sight of him.
In that precious fraction of a second, the Contractor took a step back, drawing in a breath he had nearly held through the entire exchange.
I need a finishing move.
Relying on stamina in a prolonged fight against a Paladin was not a wise choice. He had to end this with one final, unpredictable strike.
CHWAK!
Agnie swung his sword, divine light tearing through the mist and revealing the Contractor's form once more. But what he saw was not a defensive stance—it was something else entirely.
The Contractor had stabbed his own chest.
Drip—
In mere seconds, blood trickled out, but it did not fall to the ground. Instead, it formed thin, nearly invisible threads, linking his body to Agnie.
The Paladin realized the danger, but it was already too late.
The blood threads drained something from him. A fraction of his energy, a slight shift in his balance, just enough to slow him down for the briefest moment.
And in that instant, the Contractor vanished from his sight.
"Too late."
CLICK—
From behind, the sound of a flintlock's mechanism echoed once more.