Chapter 67

It's in the third person, but it's not a casual conversation.

In the early morning as the crows flew towards the reclamation of the fortress, she was in trouble.

"Tch...! ...So persistent!!"

There is a term for night raids and early morning attacks among the Yomi, but for a magician, they are troublesome.

That's what she was thinking with a somewhat calm mind.

She was being attacked now. Because they were dressed in black and their faces were not visible, she couldn't tell who they were, but she guessed they were a pair of assassins. She had figured that out.

Her frustration grew with each attack since leaving Claris.

She had repelled them many times.

She had burned their flesh, shattered their bones, and taken their consciousness with her magic many times.

Although she couldn't take their lives due to their coordinated attacks, she had inflicted deep wounds and repelled them.

Under normal circumstances, they wouldn't be able to fight anymore. She would be unable to stand up. She had inflicted wounds that would make anyone feel that way, yet after a while, they would come back to attack her again. Her limits were approaching.

"Enough, turn to ashes!!"

With a roar, her red hair began to change. The tips of her long hair wavered and eventually began to heat up.

Her hair, now aflame, attacked the assassins as if following her will. The flames, like whips, lashed out, turning the surroundings red.

The fallen leaves on the ground dried and burned in the heat that could melt iron. Even the trees were charred.

Her iron armor, which she wore, glowed red with the flames.

While avoiding the flames, the assassins approached.

The small flames rising from the ground and trees were no problem for them.

Her fiery hair, known as <Blazing Hair>, would not even scorch their hems if they didn't receive its direct hit.

"Ugh!"

Normally, close combat was not her forte. Moreover, the assassins' sword techniques were extremely fierce.

The techniques for killing humans, the refined strikes that could take a life with the fewest moves, could end the life of someone without combat skills in the blink of an eye.

They wielded these skills with both hands and in pairs. Their attacks came at her like a storm, inflicting sure wounds.

Her armor was being worn down, and the gauntlet on her hand, which had taken the brunt of the attacks, was now exposing her skin.

(Physical enhancement is no use...!)

She inwardly clicked her tongue.

The assassins were each imbued with fighting spirit, and of course, their strikes contained it. Their attacks easily tore through the thick iron armor.

"Give up. We are not beasts."

In the midst of the assault, one of the assassins spoke. The muffled voice through the mask covering his mouth further irritated her.

"So, what are you saying!"

She swung her Blazing Hair widely. A horizontal slash to sweep both of them away, but the assassins, who danced in mid-air, were not even grazed.

"If you accept death, we will end your life without pain."

"We, too, have such mercy."

She glared at them, repeatedly clicking her tongue.

Even after being repelled so many times, they still had the nerve to speak like this. She wanted to retort, but the fact that she was cornered was also true.

The temperature of the area rose as her magical power increased with her anger. Sensing this, the assassins retreated without even looking at each other.

"Swallow the wax, spread the flames, and dwell in my hand, become a sword of glory and pierce my enemy, <Flame Thorn>!"

"…!"

The assassins tried to stop her incantation, but her Blazing Hair blocked them. The numerous flames they swung wildly delayed them.

Then, countless flames formed an orange mass and scattered in all directions as thick stakes.

"…Impressive"

One of the stakes hit the right leg of one of the assassins. The stake that pierced it burst in the next moment, engulfing the leg.

A sound like a paper balloon being crushed echoed. The thigh of the right leg where the flame stake had pierced was torn and splattered.

"Not yet!"

Taking advantage of the reduced mobility, she swung her Blazing Hair. But just as the flame whip was about to catch the assassin, the other one cut off the tip of her hair.

The tip of her hair, glowing red and emitting light, melted and disappeared before it hit the ground.

One more strike. While she was about to swing her Blazing Hair, the injured assassin was carried away and retreated into the woods with the other one.

"Until next time, Miss Tetra Hedron. Next time, we will finish you."

And with that, they disappeared into the thin darkness created by the trees.

"…I won't lose"

Grinding her teeth, Tetra stared at the thin darkness where the assassins had disappeared.

It has been four days since Tetra left Claris.

The secret city of vice, Claris. With a strong sense of justice, she couldn't ignore the crimes taking place in Claris and fled the city.

Her destination was the secondary capital, Ilyne. In a large city, her reports would not be suppressed, and proper action would be taken. She believed this, as she found it difficult to doubt people.

She knew she was being targeted by assassins as soon as she left the city. The orders must have come from one of the influential figures in Claris. They had moved quickly to crush Tetra, who was trying to destroy their playground.

She couldn't involve innocent people.

If she stayed in the city, she might involve innocent civilians. That's why she chose to walk through the mountains instead of the mountain path.

If there were to be casualties, it would be from her magic rather than the assassins' blades. She was aware of this, so she made her choice without hesitation.

In the afternoon, she was attacked again.

The black assassins. Their wounds seemed to have healed, and she could no longer tell which one she had injured.

"…You're doing well for not being able to use magic…"

The voice she muttered was half in admiration and half in exasperation.

They knew each other's bodies well. By massaging each other, they promoted healing at a speed dozens of times faster than a normal person.

They never betrayed each other. This was a feat only they could achieve, a result of their long training.

Together, they could hunt demons.

Together, they believed they could even fight dragons.

"Let's go"

The short word was the signal to start the battle.

Her Blazing Hair swung, and the storm of white blades raged. Trees were knocked down, and the ground was scorched.

The Nerg forest would not catch fire. This allowed Tetra to freely use her Blazing Hair.

If she had fought on the road or the mountain path, she would have been quickly finished off due to concern for the surroundings. In that sense, advancing through the forest was the right choice.

She ran through the forest, casting magic and aiming at the assassins. They dodged, sometimes hiding behind trees, and aimed at Tetra. Her Blazing Hair, which cut through the trees, and the assassins, who used pebbles and leaves to distract and sneak up, continued their battle.

There was no conclusion. Their abilities were evenly matched, and neither could find a decisive move.

However, the limit would come.

Tetra's left hand was completely exposed. Her gauntlet had shattered.

"Ah! Enough!!"

She threw the gauntlet, now just a piece of scrap iron. Even with her body enhanced by magic, it was impossible for it to hit an assassin.

Until now, the assassins had retreated temporarily to regroup, but this time, it was Tetra's turn to retreat.

Compared to the assassins, who shared their supplies and healed each other, Tetra was weak in a war of attrition. The difference was clearly shown in the result.

She scattered distracting flames while running through the forest.

However, the assassins, enhanced by fighting spirit, were faster than Tetra.

Every time they were about to catch up, she swung her Blazing Hair and cast large-scale magic. Still, she was gradually cornered.

"…! This!"

Tetra's feet stopped for a moment at the sudden appearance of a stone wall in the forest.

It was a fortress abandoned in the mountains. The windows were broken, and there were several openings that could serve as entrances.

She made a quick decision. She cast several fireballs at the assassins behind her to distract them.

Silently, the area around the assassins turned into a sea of fire.

Then, she jumped. With her enhanced legs, she ran up the wall. She ran into the open window on the top floor.

The room she rolled into seemed to be filled with bats, which flew out of the window one after another.

Ignoring them, Tetra looked out the window.

Checking the surroundings, she found that this room had only one window. The assassins would have to come up from here.

Thinking this, she spread flames.

"Swallow the wax, spread the flames, and dwell in my hand, cunningly entangle my enemy, <Ambush Fire>"

As she chanted, thin threads of flame wrapped around the window like a web. The almost invisible threads, like a spider's web, waited for the assassins.

Of course, that alone was not enough. Thinking this, Tetra increased the firepower of her Blazing Hair.

The heat that burned the walls and floor. The sizzling sound of the burning confirmed her victory.

Then, a black shadow flew into the window.

(Got you!)

Tetra was inwardly pleased, but the next moment, she was confused.

The black shadow was engulfed in flames. The threads of fire, which immobilized and burned the target, were part of the magic <Ambush Fire>.

That was fine. But the black shadow was small.

(…! This is just a piece of cloth!)

The assassins wouldn't fall for such a simple trap. They had thrown a rolled-up spare garment.

"Even the famous <Blazing Hair> seems unaccustomed to fighting humans."

A voice echoed in the room.

A strike from the side. Her left hand, now without armor, received a deep wound.

Blood splattered. Not good. She needed to stop the bleeding quickly.

Seeing the wound, Tetra panicked. The small wounds she had received so far had not been poisoned, but this bleeding was bad. Her arm was getting cold, and a small pool of blood was forming on the floor.

She wanted to treat it, but with them around, it was impossible.

They must have entered through the window while she was distracted by the burning shadow. They might have entered from the hallway, but it didn't matter now.

How to drive them away. Magic. Spells.

She thought, but couldn't find a way.

Her escape route was cut off. If she moved too much in combat, she would soon lose consciousness from the blood loss.

Was this the end? Blood dripped from her clenched lips.

"Have you given up? It's a bit late, but wise of you."

The assassins slowly closed the distance.

She couldn't die here. She had to expose that city.

She had a reason not to die. But even so, she couldn't do anything.

A new shadow appeared in Tetra's eyes, which were about to give up.

Behind the assassins, something flew into the room through the window. The assassins, surprised, turned around.

Escaping to the fortress on this day was probably Tetra's misfortune.

A fox, with red glowing eyes, looked at the three of them.