(POV Contractor)
I should have won.
One meter away, a perfect shot, and no room to dodge. Yet here she was, Agnie still standing tall with her sword glowing, as if death was nothing more than an illusion to her. The Blessing of Radiance she had prepared in advance became the perfect shield, deflecting the bullet that should have ended this fight in an instant.
I wasn't stupid. I knew this battle wasn't over.
Agnie turned to me with a gaze full of determination, her expression as cold as ever, as if nothing could faze her. I took a deep breath, reloading my flintlock, then quickly drew the short sword hidden within my cane.
She moved first.
A flash of light from her divine sword sliced through the lingering crimson fog. I raised my cane-sword just in time to block her strike, but the impact sent me stumbling backward.
Strong.
Damn it.
I leaped back and fired another shot. She tilted her head slightly to the side, just in time, and my bullet hit nothing but empty air.
Taking cover behind a tree, I gasped for breath. I needed a new strategy.
Because of the unique nature of the Crimson Fog turning an empty battlefield into a separate space from reality, I could hold her off for a little longer.
I quickly reached into my coat pocket and grabbed three small bottles: a Recovery Potion, a Strength Enhancement Potion, and a special poison potion.
The Contractor slightly opened a small gap at the tip of his raven mask.
I uncapped the first two and downed them without hesitation. Heat spread through my body as my muscles regained their strength. I carefully stored the last bottle away. This poison would be my trump card.
From behind the trees, I heard Agnie's footsteps. She wasn't rushing, she knew I was planning something.
I closed my eyes, feeling the flow of the Crimson Fog drifting in the air. I couldn't fight her in a battle of raw strength, so I would wage war in a different domain.
Inside her mind.
The Contractor began his move. The fog around us pulsed slowly, as if alive.
I sharpened my focus, drawing it toward a single point around Agnie.
Now, I just had to wait.
(POV Agnie)
I despise traps.
Of all the types of opponents, I dislike those who rely on deception rather than honor in combat. This Contractor wasn't just a swift fighter, he was a patient predator.
I could feel the fog around me shifting. The air grew heavier, thicker. I tightened my grip on my sword. This wasn't ordinary fog.
I stepped forward slowly.
In the next moment, an eerie sound began to echo around me.
I turned to the right—a dark shadow flickered between the trees. To the left—I saw a figure identical to myself, standing there with a gaping wound on its neck. I frowned. An illusion?
I knew this Contractor had the ability to manipulate dreams, but I didn't expect him to use it while conscious.
I needed to get out of this fog.
"Oh Great God, please protect this wretched Hierophant."
I chanted a prayer, divine light enveloping my body. The Blessing of Radiance not only shielded me from physical attacks but also purified existential effects. The light slowly began eroding the mist around me.
But it wasn't fast enough.
(POV Contractor)
I smirked. She was trying to fight off the illusion with her divine power.
Good. That meant she had to split her focus between clearing her mind and facing me physically.
BAM!
I pressed my foot into the ground and launched myself out of the fog at full speed. My short sword gleamed under the moonlight.
She reacted quickly, her blade spinning toward me.
I didn't try to clash with her.
Instead, I vanished into the air.
Or at least, that's what it looked like to Agnie. I had manipulated my own shadow using Crimson Fog, creating the illusion of rapid movement.
In her confusion, she swung her sword in the wrong direction.
An opportunity.
I twisted my body in midair, aiming my flintlock at the weak spot in her shoulder armor.
BANG!
My bullet pierced through the gap between the metal plates, forcing her to take a step back.
Not a fatal wound, but enough to throw her off balance.
I didn't give her a chance to recover.
Reaching into my pouch, I grabbed a small vial—a poison potion.
One drop was enough.
I smashed the vial onto the ground, letting the toxic fumes seep into the air. The Crimson Fog carried it slowly toward Agnie.
I saw her frown, realizing something was off.
She looked at me, eyes narrowing.
Damn.
She caught on faster than I expected.
BOOM!
Agnie stabbed her sword into the ground, releasing a surge of divine energy from her body. A golden wave of light swept through the forest, dispersing my red mist and neutralizing the airborne poison.
I had to leap back to avoid its reach.
She wasn't just a powerful warrior, she was someone who understood her enemy's tactics and adapted quickly.
Hit and run.
I didn't have many options left.
I needed to change my strategy again.
BOOM!
I hurled an explosive potion at the ground. Agnie jumped back, avoiding the small blast. It wasn't meant to injure her, just to create a moment of distraction.
Hit.
In that fraction of a second, I switched back to escape mode, darting behind the trees, vanishing once again into the shadows.
Run.
Agnie let out a sharp breath.
I could see it in her expression, she was starting to get a little tired.
Good. I was tired too.
This wasn't a fight that could be settled easily. It was a battle of wits and endurance.
I held back a smile.
"So..."
I spoke quietly from behind the trees.
"Are you starting to see nightmares, Agnie?"
She didn't answer, but I noticed the way she gripped her sword tighter.
I had shaken her mind. But it wasn't enough.
From behind the tree, I observed her closely. Her fingers clenched firmly around the hilt of her sword, her breathing was heavy, yet her eyes still burned with resistance. She wasn't afraid—not like most opponents I had faced before.
But something was different this time.
She wasn't standing still.
Whoosh!
In an instant, she was already dashing toward me at an unbelievable speed!
I instinctively dodged to the side, but her slash still caught my coat, tearing through it from shoulder to chest. The fabric fluttered, exposing small wounds on my skin. I grinned, but inwardly, I cursed this situation.
"Dammit, do you have any idea how expensive this coat is?!"
She had changed.
This was no longer a strategic duel like before. She had decided to dominate.
From the very beginning, she had been watching my movements, trying to predict every attack pattern I used.
CLANG!
One more slash. I blocked it with my sword-staff, but the impact sent a tremor through my arm. I could feel the divine energy flowing from her blade, almost like an electric current jolting my body every time our weapons clashed.
I fired my flintlock at her stomach.
BANG!
"Ck!"
Agnie deflected it with her sacred chain, letting the mental bullet ricochet into the air. I clicked my tongue in frustration. She wasn't going to let me shoot her twice.
Now, I knew she wouldn't give me another chance to vanish into the shadows.
"Don't expect to run again,"
She said coldly.
I smiled, even though I knew the situation wasn't in my favor.
SWIRL—
I leaped back, releasing a thicker burst of Crimson Fog, trying to create my defensive zone again. But this time, she wasn't caught in it.
TISSS!
Agnie charged straight into the fog, letting her Blessing of Radiance burn through the crimson mist like fire consuming dry leaves.
Damn.
I had to act fast.
I stabbed my short sword into the ground to steady my landing and activated my blood manipulation technique. The red mist around me started flowing toward my palm, forming a sharp blade that gleamed with a deep crimson hue.
As Agnie emerged from the fog, I slashed straight at her.
BLARGH!
My bloodied sword struck her abdomen, piercing through her armor, though not deeply. Yet, even as her blood started seeping out, she didn't slow down in the slightest.
If anything, she became even more ferocious.
BUK!
With a swift motion, she slammed the hilt of her sword into my stomach, forcing me to stumble back, nearly collapsing. The air was knocked out of my lungs, and before I could even gasp for breath, her blade was already swinging toward my neck.
I had only a fraction of a second to react.
Throwing myself to the ground, I let her sword cleave into the tree behind me.
BRAK!
The trunk shattered in half, the sound echoing through the forest.
I was starting to lose control.
Even that last attack had caused significant internal damage, I could feel the subtle bleeding in my gut from the impact.
Agnie was now an unstoppable storm. She wasn't hesitating anymore, wasn't toying with me. She was only focused on crushing me.
I gritted my teeth. If I kept defending like this, I would lose.
I had to fight back directly.
I pulled out my flintlock, this time firing without hesitation—twice.
BANG!
BANG!
One of the bullets struck her shoulder, but she reacted as if it were nothing more than a mosquito bite. She lunged straight at me, her sacred chains spinning through the air, coiling around my right arm in an instant.
Damn it!
HISS!
Divine energy burned into my skin, the pain like a thousand scorching needles stabbing into my flesh all at once. I gritted my teeth and yanked the chain with all my strength, trying to disrupt her momentum—but she was already close, her face inches from mine.
"You can't win."
She said softly.
I could only smirk.
"And you haven't seen all my tricks yet."
I drove my knee into her stomach, forcing her to step back slightly. It was just enough to create a small opening.
With my left hand, I thrust my short sword into her side, aiming precisely at the gap in her armor.
SRAK!
Warm blood splattered onto my hand.
I felt her body tense for a moment, but before I could pull my blade back, Agnie took advantage of the position and slashed her sword across my shoulder.
SRAK!
I gritted my teeth as the sacred blade tore through my flesh, leaving a deep wound. I nearly lost my grip on my sword, but I forced myself to hold on.
We were both bleeding, both injured, but neither of us was willing to back down.
I took a deep breath. I still had one more trick.
I let go of my sword for a brief moment—not to surrender, but to grab the last small bottle hidden beneath my tattered coat.
It wasn't poison.
It wasn't a healing potion.
It was a controlled explosion potion.
Agnie saw the bottle. Her eyes narrowed. She knew I was about to try something.
I threw it straight at the ground between us.
BOOM!
The explosion erupted in an instant.
Both of us were blasted backward by the impact. I hit the ground hard, heat surging across my skin.
I rolled backward, struggling to get up as quickly as possible. But I could feel the blood trickling from my shoulder wound. My body was reaching its limit.
However, when I turned to Agnie, I noticed something that made me smirk.
Her sacred armor was starting to crack in several places.
Even though she had dominated the fight for the past few minutes, she had also taken wounds that couldn't be ignored.
We locked eyes.
I took a deep breath, steadying my thoughts.
Agnie tightened her grip on her sword, blood still dripping onto the ground.
The forest around us was in ruins.
The air was filled with red mist, dust, and the remnants of explosions.
But one thing was certain—one of us would fall before the night was over.
And I had no intention of being the first.
"Interesting... you're actually making me excited, bastard."