"Cough! Cough! Damn it—where the hell did this freak come from!"

  A man spat dirt from his mouth as he lay on the ground, cursing.

  At that moment, a gust of wind rustled beside him. The man snapped his head up, only to see the expressionless girl looking down at him from above.

  He scrambled to his feet with a roll backward.

  "Damn you! You freak—everyone, attack together!"

  But no one responded.

  "......"

  Hulim stared at him quietly.

  "You’re the last one left."

  The man glanced around in a daze, realizing he was the only one still standing—everyone else had fallen.

  "You—"

  Thud—!

  A overwhelming wave of drowsiness crushed all his emotions in an instant. His eyes lost focus, and he collapsed stiffly to the ground.

  ......

  With the last sentinel down, all surface enemies were eliminated.

  "Now...... it’s time to head underground."

  Boom——!!!

  A deafening crash echoed from inside the Warehouse Building.

  Hulim spun around quickly.

  Boom——!!!

  Another explosion followed. A large section of the once-intact warehouse crumbled instantly.

  "Is it you...... you scurvy rat who dares to attack me——!!!"

  An astonishing aura engulfed Hulim in an instant.

  She looked up to see a middle-aged man clutching a Mithril Sword standing on the edge of the collapsed rooftop, his gaze locked onto her.

  Through the crumbling warehouse, a huge hole in the floor was visible.

  Did this guy...... punch straight through the ground......

  Silabain stared at Hulim with icy, murderous eyes. Blood still gushed from his thigh. Normally, he could stop the bleeding by tensing his muscles—but he didn’t dare. If he let the pain stop goading him, the overwhelming drowsiness would shatter his will in an instant.

  All his underground subordinates were already dead. If he fell too, the entire organization would be reduced to history tonight.

  "......I see. You’re resisting it with the sting of pain and sheer willpower?"

  "......"

  Silabain’s gaze turned colder.

  "Is that your final words—"

  Boom——!!!

  Another corner of the warehouse collapsed. Almost simultaneously, Hulim’s figure was sent flying backward at high speed.

  A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

  She crashed through several crates stacked at the docks before coming to a stop inside one.

  "Cough...... Ugh!"

  A trickle of blood slipped from the corner of her mouth. Ignoring her injuries, Hulim’s eyes grew colder and sharper. She lifted her head, her gaze piercing through the dust kicked up by her flight to the spot where Silabain still stood.

  "......Rank B."

  ......

  Silabain glanced at his Mithril Sword.

  "You blocked it......"

  A sudden wave of drowsiness hit him again. He bit down hard on his tongue, using the pain to drive it away.

  "Damn it! My condition has deteriorated too much. Normally, I’d never let someone like you block that strike!"

  Suddenly, he snapped his head forward.

  "Here you come——!"

  Boom!

  As the words left his mouth, a super-fast spinning Storm Spear hurtled toward him.

  Shring—!

  The Mithril Sword sliced through the dark night, leaving a silver arc like a sudden moonrise.

  Boom!

  With a single strike, the Storm Spear shattered into pieces. The spreading storm sent debris flying everywhere, but Silabain didn’t move an inch.

  "Don’t look down on me, you brat——!!!"

  Boom——!!!

  Silabain charged forward like a rampaging beast, sweeping aside all obstacles in his path. In the blink of an eye, he was in front of Hulim.

  Watching the Mithril Sword slashing toward her neck at high speed, Hulim could only raise her own Mithril Sword to block.

  Boom——!!!

  The air seemed to explode.

  Hulim’s figure was sent flying in a straight line, crashing directly into the canal and sending up a spray of water several meters high.

  ......

  "Gurgle......"

  Water flooded her lungs. Hulim held her breath, her blurry vision catching a faint figure waiting on the shore.

  "......"

  She had little air left.

  Without hesitation, Hulim used all her remaining breath to chant a spell.

  "【????????????????????????????????????????????????】"

  "Water Breathing!"

  Just as her air ran out, the spell took effect.

  A thin film of air covered her entire body, instantly relieving the suffocating feeling of drowning.

  Hulim gasped for breath, filling her lungs with air.

  Once she recovered, she looked up at the surface again—the figure was still waiting on the shore.

  Before he realized what was happening underwater and forced his way in, Hulim quickly analyzed the situation.

  "......I miscalculated. I never thought a Rank B would be this strong—able to resist Dragon Sleep Incense with willpower alone."

  Worst of all, even with Silabain’s condition severely weakened by the potion, Hulim couldn’t withstand a single blow from him.

  It was only a single rank difference......

  The massive power gap made Hulim suddenly understand why Rank B was considered the threshold of High-Rank Powerhouses, not Rank C.

  Because the gap between Rank C and Rank B was simply too vast!

  They were already two entirely different levels of existence.

  But......

  Hulim gripped her wand and Mithril Sword tightly.

  She had no choice but to fight!

  This was her only chance.

  She had to defeat him here—for good!!!

  Hulim’s eyes blazed with unshakable resolve.

  ......

  "......"

  On the shore.

  Silabain frowned, staring intently at the canal. He had kept track of Hulim’s position the entire time, so he knew she hadn’t moved from the riverbed. He had expected her to try to swim underwater to another landing spot, where he could deliver a fatal blow as she emerged.

  But the current situation was beyond his expectations......

  "Drowned?"

  "No, impossible!"

  As Silabain wondered what had happened to Hulim, the surface of the water suddenly churned.

  "！？？"

  Silabain sensed danger and leaped backward.

  Boom——!!!

  The moment he jumped away from the shore, a tsunami-like wave surged from the canal toward the docks.

  In the blink of an eye, almost the entire dock was submerged. Everything left on the docks was swept away.

  The entire area descended into chaos......

  Splash!

  The tsunami didn’t reach Silabain, but with the dock flooded, he now stood waist-deep in water.

  "......Three attributes."

  Silabain stared coldly toward the canal. What had just happened gave him a clearer picture of Hulim’s true strength.

  Splash......

  The water, carrying tons of debris from the dock, flowed back into the canal. A figure slowly rose from the surface.

  She walked on water, locking eyes with Silabain from afar.