THUD!

'Hah. Is that all...?'

The moment that delicate hand struck him, Bellows's mouth twisted slightly. For all the force with which she had shaken even the air, the power in her hand was surprisingly light. Granted, that was thanks to the 『Barehanded Attack Nullification』 he'd just used. Still, now that he'd nullified Li Qingyu's attack, there was no need to be wary of her. Or so he thought.

THOOM!

On his chest, where Qingyu's hand had touched, a black lotus mark had appeared. One petal broke away from it, and a heavy impact made his chest ache. But that was only the beginning.

THUD, THUD, THUD!

"Ghk?!"

With every petal that fell, the black lotus grew more distinct. The impacts intensified in turn, rattling his organs and making his joints creak. At last, all eight petals scattered, and the black lotus mark sank deep into his body.

BOOOOM!

"Gaaagh!"

Bellows collapsed, coughing up blood. The eight petals lodged in his organs had resonated with one another and caused a tremendous explosion. The psionics, already amplified, had been amplified further through resonance, then detonated all at once at vulnerable points inside his body.

If 『Constellation Descent』 hadn't strengthened his body, and if 『Barehanded Attack Nullification』 hadn't nullified most of the impact, his organs would have been torn to shreds. It wouldn't have been surprising if his entire body had exploded.

"Hmm. Perhaps the Fifth Supreme Technique wasn't quite enough. Should I have used the sixth instead?"

The girl who had delivered that terrifying blow murmured with an incongruously carefree expression. Bellows spat at Li Qingyu, "You... monster...!"

"Monster? That's a cruel thing to say to a frail girl like me."

Qingyu smiled.

Bellows shuddered as he looked at her. It wasn't only because the last blow had shown him, painfully, how far her strength surpassed anything he'd imagined. Beneath her cheerful smile, her dark eyes held nothing but coldness. In that instant, he understood: to Qingyu, this victory was so inevitable it wasn't even worth celebrating. He had never stood a chance. And he knew what fate awaited him.

'No. Not yet!'

Before despair could swallow him, a pain that jolted his head helped Bellows steady his faltering resolve and focus. He was one of the Liberation Brigade's ghosts, blessed with a great power. He wasn't so weak that something like this could drive him to despair.

'This is still within the range of what we anticipated.'

Given the Seven Dragons Society's reputation, he'd known from the start that things might turn out this way. That was why the Brigade had gone to the uncharacteristic trouble of targeting its subsidiaries and weakening Leviathan as much as possible before launching the assault. Killing Qingyu would have been ideal, of course, but if that was impossible, he had to settle for the next best option.

'Then what I need to do is...'

Even as blood poured from his mouth, he furiously sorted through his thoughts. Once he'd settled his priorities, Bellows acted at once.

"『Public Transportation Act, Enacted』!"

FLASH!

It happened almost instantly. Bellows grabbed a banner that had fallen nearby and activated his skill. The banner rose into the air, carrying him away from Qingyu like the wind.

[Ah!?]

Yu Na-gyeong's eyes widened. As Bellows flew past on the banner, he reached out and snatched something up: the box containing the Violin of Deepest Black, which Qingyu had dropped during the fight. Then, as if he had no other business there, he flew on.

[Is that guy seriously grabbing the loot and running?]

The moment he had the box, Bellows shot straight up through the corridor without looking back. Na-gyeong stared in disbelief. After all his arrogance, she hadn't expected him to turn tail like this.

"Oh my. So there was a way around it."

[Princess, what are you doing?! We have to hurry after him! What if he teleports away?]

"I'd like to, if I could, but I can't pursue him quickly right now."

[What?]

"I'm still bound by 『High-Speed Movement Prohibited』."

[... Huh? I thought that restriction had worn off.]

While Na-gyeong was beside herself with impatience, Qingyu followed Bellows with leisurely little hops. Na-gyeong had noticed her moving slowly, but hadn't realized it was because of the restriction.

"No, it's still in effect. All the other restrictions are, too."

[Then how are you moving at all? Surely 『Bipedal Walking Prohibited』 hasn't worn off on its own...]

"Because I'm not walking on two legs."

[What?]

For a moment, Na-gyeong was too baffled to make sense of that. Then she noticed something she'd missed because Qingyu's movements looked so natural: the strange way she kept hopping.

[Wait. Are you saying the restriction doesn't apply because you're hopping on one foot instead of walking on two?!]

"More or less."

[How does that make any sense?!]

Na-gyeong was dumbfounded. She might have believed it of an ordinary unique skill, but 『Rule of Law』 was comparable to an Absolute Skill. She couldn't believe a bit of wordplay had made a fool of it.

"It makes perfect sense," Qingyu answered calmly. Precisely because the skill was 『Rule of Law』, a trick like this could get around it.

"『Rule of Law』 is certainly a difficult skill to deal with. It can produce all sorts of effects and force others to obey the laws its user sets."

Attack, defense, support, healing—few skills could do all of those things. In its versatility, 『Rule of Law』 had a clear advantage over other unique skills.

"But from what I've seen, it has as many conspicuous weaknesses as it has powerful effects."

[Weaknesses?]

"For one thing, why did he take my attack while practically defenseless?"

[Uh... because you're that good at hitting people?]

"Normally, perhaps. But I can't move quickly right now because of the restriction."

[Now that you mention it... Why didn't he block you?]

Na-gyeong tilted her head. With Qingyu unable to move quickly at all, her attack shouldn't have been so hard to block.

"Perhaps for the same reason he's been floating around instead of walking."

At Qingyu's words, Na-gyeong's eyes widened. She thought back to when Bellows had first started moving through the air, and an idea struck her.

[Don't tell me... 『High-Speed Movement Prohibited』 and 『Bipedal Walking Prohibited』? His own skills restrict him, too?]

"The law applies equally to everyone, after all."

Unless someone could bribe the skill, Qingyu said matter-of-factly, surely no one could do what the law forbade. Na-gyeong let out a groan.

[So that's why he didn't use 『Teleportation Prohibited』 right away when he was chasing me—and why he deliberately flew away?]

"If he banned teleportation, he'd cut off his own escape route. He wouldn't want to use it unless he had to."

[Then he could just ban it and lift the skill later... No. He can't do that, can he? That's why he can't impose restrictions carelessly.]

"Yes. That's probably its second drawback."

If he had to obey the rules he made and couldn't easily revoke them, that was no small weakness.

[... I had no idea 『Rule of Law』 had so many loopholes.]

"Of course it does."

Na-gyeong was stunned by the unexpected flaws in 『Rule of Law』, the near-cheat-like unique skill of the legendary Court Archduke. Qingyu spoke to her as casually as ever.

"No matter how well you write a law, it always has loopholes."

[That sounds awfully convincing coming from you, Princess...]

One of the seven princesses of the criminal Seven Dragons Society—and one of the owners of the Seven Dragon Group, which held the world's wealth—would certainly be an expert on breaking and circumventing the law. Na-gyeong could only shake her head in amazement.

Qingyu had cleverly exploited 『Rule of Law』's loopholes and analyzed someone else's unique skill from just a handful of clues. At this point, Na-gyeong almost felt sorry for Bellows. Of all people, he'd run into Qingyu, been toyed with, and fled.

But the feeling didn't last. Na-gyeong snapped back to the present.

[Wait! This isn't the time to calmly analyze his skill! We need to catch him!]

"Do we?"

[Why are you even asking? He took Team Leader's violin! What if he gets away?]

Na-gyeong stamped her feet. After all that chaos, losing the violin would leave them with nothing to show for it.

"I doubt anything will happen."

[Exactly! Nothing will... What?]

Na-gyeong stared at her, dumbfounded by the carefree answer. Qingyu smiled back.

"Have you forgotten? This is Leviathan."

She raised her head slightly and watched Bellows, riding the banner, finally make it out of the Underground Dragon Palace. Then she added quietly, "Leviathan may be easy to enter, but it isn't a place you can leave whenever you please."

* * *

"『Emergency Welfare Support Act, Enacted』."

"『Medical Protection Act, Enacted』."

Bellows struggled to activate his healing skills even as he gasped for breath and coughed up mouthfuls of blood. Fortunately, the treatment seemed to work. The bloody coughing fits that had brought up pieces of his organs eased considerably, and a little strength returned to his body, which had been too weak to move.

But that was all. He still felt as though his organs had been torn to shreds, and he could barely get around. Qingyu's blow had done him that much damage.

'What a fucking mess,' Bellows muttered inwardly.

It might have been different if he'd faced a Monarch. But to end up like this at the hands of a princess of the Seven Dragons Society, a group a thousand years behind the times... If Ryu Gang-cheol saw him now, Bellows might cough up blood and die from shame rather than his injuries.

'Still, the mission hasn't failed yet.'

The box tucked under one arm was his one consolation. If he escaped with it, he could endure any humiliation his defeat brought. For the Liberation Brigade's ghosts, blessed with great power, the mission they'd received from "above" had to come first.

'All that's left is to escape, but...'

Bellows assessed the situation quickly. Qingyu was still bound by 『High-Speed Movement Prohibited』, so it would take her time to catch up. That gave him ample time to leave Leviathan. The problem was what came afterward.