The forest fell into a suffocating silence.
Dozens of figures surrounded them now—blades drawn, eyes glowing in the dark like predators closing in on their prey.
The woman's breathing grew heavier, sweat trailing down her face as her daggers hovered defensively around her.
"…Damn it," she muttered, her grip tightening as her eyes darted around, searching for even the smallest opening.
Kael remained completely calm, the horns still resting in his hand.
His expression didn't change.
No tension. No fear.
Even as they were surrounded, he simply stood there—quiet, unmoved, as if none of it concerned him.
"Should I interfere now…?" Kael whispered to himself, glancing toward them.
"Kill him now!" the bald man shouted.
At once, countless men surged forward toward the woman, their eyes filled with killing intent—grinning like they were enjoying it.
The woman clicked her tongue.
"…So annoying."
Her floating daggers trembled, then shot forward in a sharp spiral.
CLANG! SHUNK!
Steel clashed. Bodies dropped. Blood scattered across the grass.
But more kept coming—too many. All she could do now was defend herself from the incoming blades.
From the side, one man slipped through her defense and swung his blade—
She was struck by a blade in her waist. Blood slowly seeped out, staining her clothes.
She immediately pressed a hand against the wound to slow the bleeding.
The pain was intense—so sharp it made her clench her teeth hard.
"Ghh…!"
Her control wavered. One of her floating daggers dropped to the ground, clattering against the earth.
She struggled to maintain the remaining daggers in the air, their movements becoming unstable as her focus faltered.
The men's faces twisted with excitement as they sensed an opening.
"Hahaha~ kill her now! She's weaker!" one of them shouted.
The others grinned, pressing forward with renewed aggression, seeing her faltering stance as an opportunity.
"Ugh… I think I'll have to use my trump card early," the woman muttered through gritted teeth, still holding her wounded waist as she struggled to keep her remaining daggers afloat.
She quickly pulled out a potion from a small pouch at her side—a bottle filled with red liquid.
The moment the bald man saw it, his expression changed. The sinister smile vanished, replaced by sudden panic.
"Move! Kill her now! Don't let her drink that—that's a Hexathron Serum!" he shouted urgently.
The moment his voice rang out, the men surged forward with everything they had.
"Stop her!"
Blades flashed in the firelight as several rushed in at once, striking from multiple angles, all aiming to cut her down before she could drink it.
The woman's eyes narrowed.
"Tch… too late."
Her fingers trembled—not from fear, but from exhaustion and pain.
She bit the cork loose and tilted the bottle.
A blade came down toward her neck.
CLANG!
One of her remaining daggers shot up at the last second, intercepting the strike. The force shattered the dagger on impact, fragments scattering into the air.
Another attacker slipped through from the side.
"Die—!" he shouted.
The woman didn't hesitate. She tilted her head back and drank the entire potion in one motion.
A vein bulged on the bald man's forehead as his teeth clenched in anger.
"…Tch."
He stepped back slightly, eyes narrowing.
"This was supposed to be a simple kill…" he muttered under his breath. "I didn't expect her to have a Hexathron Serum. This is dangerous for my men."
For a split second, everything froze.
A blade was just inches from her skin.
Then—
BOOM!
A violent surge of crimson energy exploded outward from her body, blasting the surrounding men backward. The air itself shook as a blood-red aura ignited around her like burning flame.
The ground beneath her cracked under the pressure.
Her wound sealed almost instantly, blood stopping as if time itself had been forced to obey her body. A fallen dagger lifted from the ground, now floating again—but this time wrapped in a dense crimson glow.
Her eyes slowly lifted.
They were glowing red.
"…You should've listened," she said softly.
From a distance, Kael remained still, watching without a single change in expression.
"…So that's her trump card."
The woman moved the moment her power fully awakened—her speed exploding forward in a blur of crimson light.
Claws and floating daggers tore through the air as she dashed between the enemies.
"Ughh!"
A man barely had time to react before he was struck, thrown back by the force of her attack.
Another man collapsed to the ground.
"If this continues, all my men will be wiped out… but…" the bald man whispered to himself, eyes narrowing. "She only has five minutes in that state. After that, she'll be paralyzed for five hours."
A cold smile slowly formed on his face.
Then he stepped forward, raising his sword as a blue aura began to flow along its edge.
"Everyone, fall back! I'll handle this myself!" he shouted.
The men quickly pulled back, creating distance.
The bald man stepped forward alone, blue aura flaring along his blade.
The woman stopped, her crimson eyes locking onto him.
"…Finally," she said.
Then—
They moved at the same time.
In the next instant, they collided—steel meeting steel as their attacks clashed head-on.
CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!
Sparks burst into the air with every strike, their movements too fast for the others to follow, blue and crimson auras crashing against each other in a violent exchange.
"Huh! You're so protective of your own men… how touching," the woman mocked, her voice cold.
The bald man was already at a disadvantage—forced purely on the defensive, blocking each strike as sweat ran down his forehead.
"But it's useless," she continued, her crimson aura flaring stronger. "In five minutes… all of you will be wiped out tonight."
The fight continued, relentless.
The bald man's hand was already bleeding, his grip weakening as he barely held onto his sword.
Then—
The woman saw an opening.
Without hesitation, she lunged forward, her claw thrusting straight toward his chest.
"Shit—!" the bald man cursed under his breath.
Then he suddenly shouted. "Brother!!!"
Then—a sharp sound of metal rang out.
A man wielding a two-handed sword appeared between them, intercepting the strike. His blade caught her claw mid-thrust, sparks bursting from the impact.
"Ha… Brother Valka. You're here," the bald man said, relief flashing across his face.
"!? …Valka…!" the woman whispered, her eyes widening. "The mad butcher who tears apart everyone he fights…"
She immediately leapt back, creating distance, her stance shifting into a guarded position.
Behind her—Kael still stood there, unmoving.
"This is bad… he's Grandmaster level. I only have two minutes left before the potion wears off…"
Her jaw tightened in frustration, a flicker of panic crossing her face.
"But… why is that idiot still here? Does he think this is some kind of show?!"
Valka's gaze slowly shifted toward Kael.
For a brief moment, the battlefield fell into an unnatural silence.
"…You," Valka said, his deep voice pressing down on the air like a weight. "You're the one they're protecting?"
The bald man stepped aside quickly, still bleeding, but now smirking through the pain.
"Kekeke… Brother Valka, don't waste time on him. He's just a Mortal Level… but he's got horns and some artifacts."
"The only thing we need to do is take her down—the Red Assassin," the bald man said through clenched teeth.
Valka's gaze remained fixed, heavy and unreadable.
"Red Assassin… you were strong at the start," the Mad Butcher said calmly, his tone almost amused. "However, now you only have two minutes left before the Hexathron Serum effect disappears."
A faint grin formed on his face.
"And after that… you'll be nothing more than a paralyzed woman. Even a child could kill you."
"Ha… hahaha."
The woman's expression tightened, but she didn't respond.
Instead, her crimson aura flared violently, as if trying to burn away the pressure of his words.
"…Tch," she clicked her tongue.
Her grip on her floating weapons steadied again, but the faint tremor in her body betrayed the truth—time was still ticking down.
Two minutes.
She knew he wasn't lying.
Valka took a slow step forward, his two-handed sword dragging across the ground, carving a faint line through the earth with a grinding sound.
"I don't care about your condition," he said coldly. "If you're dangerous now, I'll cut you down now."
The bald man's grin widened.
"Kekeke… Brother Valka, finish it quickly."
The pressure in the air thickened as Valka's killing intent locked onto her, the ground beneath his feet beginning to crack from the sheer weight of his aura.