His exceptional reflexes had worked against him.

When an arm reached out from around the bend in the underground waterway, Najin reflexively opened his eyes wide to identify what the hand held and prepare for it. His reflexes were indeed remarkable, and he succeeded in doing exactly that.

But success did not necessarily mean the best outcome.

Najin saw the lantern clutched in the outstretched hand. The vivid blue flame inside it flickered. The instant that flickering flame registered on his retinas, he felt as though the world had turned upside down.

He saw the vivid blue flame burning.

The burning flame cast a shadow.

The flame's shadow imprinted itself on Najin's retinas.

The change happened in an instant. First, he lost his sense of balance. Second, the landscape before his eyes warped. Third, the sensations within his body fell into chaos. Was he standing? Had he fallen? Or was he...

His vision and senses were hopelessly confused.

“Najin!”

But even now, the voice ringing within him remained undistorted. It was not something he heard with his ears, but a resonance in his soul. As Merlin's voice echoed, Najin clenched his teeth hard.

Even amid his disordered senses, he felt something approaching. Trusting his instincts, he thrust out his arm and kicked off the ground.

THUD-THUD-THUD-THUD!

The bone stakes fired at him buried themselves in his body.

But his outstretched hand blocked the stake aimed at his face, and pushing off the ground had at least kept them from piercing his vital points.

It was an astonishing maneuver for someone whose vision and senses were scrambled. But that was as far as it went. Having leaped without checking his surroundings, Najin fell into the flowing water.

SPLASH!

SHHHHH...

Almost at the same instant Najin fell into the water, a bolt shot forth. It burst through every corpse blocking its path and flew toward the hand holding the lantern. But it never pierced the arm.

CREEK. CRE-E-EAK. SCREEEECH.

A defensive spell unfolding over the arm had caught the bolt. A moment later, the spell shattered with a crash. Destroying a mage's barrier with a single shot was impressive... but it did nothing to improve their situation.

CLICK.

At last, she emerged from around the bend.

A woman holding a lantern burning vivid blue, adorned with ornaments made of human bone. Pauve, the dark mage who was their target, smiled.

“Impressive.”

Her broken bracelet dropped to the floor with a clatter.

It was the bracelet that had borne the cost of her defensive spell. Something that could withstand four sword strikes from a typical Sword Expert had shattered in a single blow.

The power was startling, but Pauve merely offered a brief exclamation of admiration. She showed no sign of serious alarm.

She still had plenty of artifacts on her. With a leisurely smile, she looked at the Ranger aiming his crossbow at her.

“But are you sure that's wise? Your companion has already fallen into the water. Shouldn't you go rescue him?”

As she spoke, she tapped the floor with her staff. A circle rose behind her. Pauve smiled and shook the lantern in her hand.

“If you fall into the water after this gets you once... you'll never get back out. He'll drown unless you save him. Shouldn't you hurry up and dive in?”

One circle. Bone stakes.

The bone stakes whistled through the air. Just before they reached Kaufman, he pulled his crossbow's trigger. The weapon boomed, and the poncho he wore pulled low stirred.

CRUNCH.

The bolt shattered the bone stakes. Cutting through the scattering bone dust, it stopped just short of Pauve's nose. This time, it failed to break her barrier. Concentrated directly in front of her, the barrier caught it.

“How cold. I don't care for men with no loyalty.”

Pauve clicked her tongue and aimed her staff.

“But what can you do? Nothing is more helpless than a shooter without someone on the front line.”

One, two, three.

Three circles rose behind Pauve. And circles were not the only things appearing behind her. Corpses with rolled-back eyes and two dark mages emerged from around the bend.

Knights and inquisitors were among the corpses.

They were likely those who had entered ahead of them, or those reportedly killed by the dark mages recently. Kaufman clicked his tongue at the sight. This had become troublesome.

2.

The Ranger, Kaufman Theosis, assessed the situation.

Two Two-Circle dark mages.

One Four-Circle dark mage, and more than twenty corpses they could use as mediums. That alone would be difficult to handle without preparation...

'And she even has a Masterpiece.'

A lantern-shaped Masterpiece. Flameshadow.

He did not know its precise effect. But judging by how that fellow had lost his balance, moved strangely, and fallen into the water when the lantern flickered...

It was likely some kind of hallucination or sensory disruption.

The flame in Pauve's lantern had almost died out. Seeing it gradually grow again, seeing it grow, he presumed it was an artifact that required time to recharge. Having worked that much out, Kaufman exhaled slowly.

A difficult opponent.

And this was their home ground.

He had yet to finish studying his prey, and the battlefield put him at a disadvantage. But... so what? Kaufman was a Ranger, and before that, he had been a soldier. He had fought in unfavorable conditions more often than favorable ones.

What mattered was turning the situation around.

The corpses rushed toward Kaufman.

The dead knights and inquisitors stood guard around Pauve. Behind the advancing corpses, she and the dark mages chanted their spells.

Establish a front line and prepare a powerful spell. Dark mages, and yet they were using textbook tactics.

“Tsk.”

Clicking his tongue, Kaufman pulled the ballista's trigger and let its recoil carry him. There was no need to bother aiming at corpses charging straight at him.

THOOM.

The recoil drove Kaufman far backward. As he retreated, he released the ballista. By the time it hit the floor with a heavy thud, his hand was already inside his poncho.

It emerged holding throwing daggers.

The massive bolt had already thinned the corpses' ranks considerably. Daggers struck among the survivors in rapid succession. As corpses toppled with blades through their heads, his view cleared. Beyond them stood Pauve, her staff aimed at him.

Droplets of blood floated above the staff she pointed.

Kaufman knew that spell.

It was a favorite of the Fresh Blood School's alchemists and of necromancers. A spell that used blood as its medium. It required so much blood that anyone outside the Fresh Blood School would struggle to use it... but dark mages were an exception.

They did not need to use their own blood.

Some corpses lay fallen despite being struck by neither dagger nor bolt. Their skin was utterly parched, as though every drop of blood had been drained away. The blood drawn from them swirled above Pauve's staff.

Three circles.

The Third-Circle spell, Blood-Red Ray.

A spell exactly as its name described came at him. A ray of blood shot from the tip of her staff. With its destructive power making it a favorite among dark mages, Kaufman knew the spell well.

He knew how to counter it just as well.

Kaufman lowered his stance and snapped his fingers. The daggers embedded in the corpses glowed bright blue. He was no mage, but he knew how to use magical tools. The more weapons he could use, the better.

Inscribed on the five daggers was “Refraction.”

The glowing blue daggers refracted the Blood-Red Ray. Avoiding the ray as it bent this way and that, Kaufman thrust his arm straight forward, toward the dark mages standing beside Pauve.

THWIP-THWIP.

Bolts shot from the crossbow mounted on the back of his hand.

They disrupted the dark mages' chanting, buying him a few seconds. Kaufman drew the greatbow from his back and nocked an arrow in the same motion.

He had repeated this movement thousands, tens of thousands of times. With one smooth motion, he drew the bowstring to its limit.

HISSSSSSS!

The refracted Blood-Red Ray came back around, melting the waterway's walls. It returned at terrifying speed. He would thin their numbers before it reached his back. With that thought, Kaufman was about to release the drawn bowstring.

BLUB.

He heard a sound. A sound from nowhere.

An instant later, something burst from the channel, cutting through the current. It was Najin, scattering droplets, bone stakes still embedded in his body.

Sword aura already sheathed his blade.

Spinning in midair, Najin drove his sword into the waterway's ceiling. The moment he embedded it in the stone, he withdrew his sword aura. With the blade thus anchored, he planted both feet against the ceiling.

All of that took one second.

Sword aura wrapped around the embedded blade again, spilling light. As he pulled his sword free, Najin kicked off the ceiling and lunged at Pauve.

“...!”

Pauve whipped the staff she had aimed at Kaufman toward Najin. The returning Blood-Red Ray scraped along the waterway's walls and was about to turn toward him.

WHISTLE.

Kaufman grasped the situation at once and released his bowstring. His arrow aimed for Pauve's staff. The Blood-Red Ray pouring from its tip melted the arrow, but before it could melt completely, it struck the end of the staff.

The staff's aim shifted. The Blood-Red Ray narrowly skimmed past Najin, who twisted his body and swung his sword.

His snow-white sword aura traced a pure-white arc. Sweeping in a half-moon, it struck the defensive spell wrapped around Pauve. The spell could easily block four strikes from an Expert...

CRACK.

But it could not stop Najin's strike.

The snow-white sword aura split the defensive spell. Just as the violently surging aura was about to reach Pauve's neck, the spell exploded with a resounding crash.

The Second-Circle spell, Veil of Rejection.

Its repulsive force hurled Najin far backward.

Driven all the way back to Kaufman's position, Najin let out a long breath. Kaufman was looking sideways at him in disbelief.

“... You actually made it out alive.”

An incredulous mutter.

Najin did not explain that, from the moment he had fallen into the water, he had driven his aura-clad sword into the wall and moved blindly against the current. He merely gave a brief piece of information.

“That hallucination lasts about a minute and a half.”

From the instant his senses had warped, Najin had counted the time in his head—the duration of the effect of that Masterpiece, Flameshadow or whatever it was called. Having conveyed that duration, he panted harshly.

Bone stakes were embedded in his body.

And having had to hold his breath underwater, his breathing was labored too.

He was in poor shape. Without any information, he had suffered a critical injury in their first encounter. Pulling the bone stakes from his body, Najin steadied his breathing.

“Mr. Kaufman.”

“Speak.”

“How many can you handle?”

“You tell me first.”

Najin looked ahead, his sword hanging at his side.

Two dark mages clustered around Pauve, and the corpses they controlled. Judging by the dead inquisitors and knights, handling them alone looked rather difficult.

“You crazy bastard...!”

While the two men talked, Pauve glared at Najin with wide eyes. Despite her Veil of Rejection, his sword aura had managed to rake her skin just before he was repelled.

Blood ran from her neck. Pressing her palm against it, Pauve ground her teeth.

Muttering curses, she struck the lantern hanging at her waist roughly. Fully recharged, Flameshadow flickered vivid blue once more. Seeing the lantern flicker, Kaufman was about to close his eyes.

“I'll fuck that bitch up.”

Najin's voice rang in Kaufman's ears.

“Handle the rest yourself.”

“What?”

It was an order.

Before Kaufman could ask what kind of insane nonsense that was, Najin stamped down. With a heavy boom, cracks raced across the waterway's floor.

An instant of acceleration.

Najin kicked off the ground and charged. With his eyes closed, Kaufman could not see it, but his breath caught. The presence he had sensed for that instant was utterly ferocious.

3.

Najin kicked off the ground and sprinted.

With mana raised in an instant, his speed was no less than a Sword Seeker's. The dark mages could not track his sudden charge with their eyes.

By the time they recovered their wits, he was already right before them.

But the dead knights and inquisitors reacted to his movements, however belatedly. They brought their swords down toward Najin, and Pauve thrust the lantern at him. Yet Najin had already closed both eyes.

His eyes were shut, but he could sense their presence.

Najin took another step forward. Carrying the momentum of that step into his swing, he slashed his sword. As the Veil of Rejection shattered and began to repel him, he thrust out his hand.

... The Veil of Rejection produced its repulsive force twice.

The first pulse occurred immediately, focused on the weapon that had broken the veil. The second came after a brief interval, spreading over a wide area. Merlin had told him that, and he had just experienced it himself.

Having experienced it, Najin aimed for that interval.

Having experienced it, he swung his sword with one hand.

The sword that had broken the veil, and the left hand holding it, snapped backward. But his right hand remained. His outstretched right hand seized Pauve by the collar. As the repulsive force pushed his body backward, her robe pulled taut and constricted her throat.

“Ghk!”

Her breathing faltered. Her magic faltered.

Najin would never miss that opening. Stamping his raised foot into the ground, he swung his arm. Using even the repulsive force driving him back, he hurled Pauve away.

Pauve flew far into the distance.

Away from the dark mages supporting her and the corpses protecting her. A dead knight belatedly swung its sword, and an inquisitor swung its polearm... but by then, Najin had already kicked off the ground and was charging after her.

He sprinted toward the isolated Pauve.

His eyes remained closed.

Watching Najin charge with his eyes closed, Pauve clenched her teeth. Did he intend to fight with his eyes shut the whole time? Let him try, if he could. Rubbing her neck, she swung the lantern in a wide arc.

Flameshadow was a Masterpiece.

If merely closing one's eyes could counter it, it would never have been called a Masterpiece.

'The moment it gets him again.'

This time, she would pierce his torso with a Blood-Red Ray.

Just as a smile formed on Pauve's lips, Najin opened his eyes. Then he stared directly into the flickering flame.

His eyes were wide open.

And they were colored platinum.