Thud, thud.
Footsteps echoed across the stone stairs.
I quietly watched Kain's back and followed behind him.
There was no hesitation in his steps as he walked ahead.
The basement I was entering for the first time in a while was still dark and damp.
One step, then another.
The farther the light, the colder the air grew, and the darkness deepened.
Only Kain's shadow stretched long in the faint lantern light.
Following behind him, I tightened my grip on my staff once more.
Thud, thud. Tap.
The footsteps of Kain, who had been walking ahead, stopped.
At the end of the underground passage, a faint light was leaking through the crack of a half-closed door.
From inside, low, rumbling voices could be heard.
"One... no, two."
Kain whispered.
It was a voice so small that it wouldn't be heard if one didn't strain their ears, yet his tone was filled with certainty.
I inadvertently took a breath, then slowly exhaled.
The burning tension in the center of my chest subsided slightly.
"Can you do this?"
I asked, and Aileen nodded.
Her lips were still parched, but this time her hands weren't shaking.
To be honest, if she couldn't at least manage this much, we'd be in trouble.
As I approached the door, the conversation between two men inside became clear.
"Hey, Boss Bron, right? He was chewing out that noble bastard, and that bastard just couldn't do shit!"
"Really? Our boss is that impressive?"
"You bastard, why would I lie about that!"
"No, it's just that last time you also—"
A noble? What in the world were they talking about?
Just as the thugs were about to digress into idle gossip, Kain began to move.
Kek.
A short breath. And then silence.
As he slipped into the room like a shadow, no more sounds could be heard.
When I poked my head in, the two men were lying quietly on the floor.
Kain carefully opened the door on the opposite side inside the room, checked beyond it, and spoke in a low voice.
"It's bigger than I thought."
The underground structure Kain had heard about was in the shape of a cross.
Based on the stairs we had descended, there was one room ahead and one door leading to the back.
It was a structure with one more room on each side of the long hallway.
Each section was clearly divided, and the walls were finished with stone.
It clearly wasn't a space these thugs could have built themselves. It was highly likely that it had originally been used for a different purpose.
This time, I moved first.
I channeled mana into the end of my staff, creating a ball of water the size of a fist.
My target was a man at the end of the hallway. He was leaning against the wall in a completely defenseless posture.
Creak.
I held my breath carefully and opened the door slightly.
Aiming my staff through the gap, I recalled the spell.
[Water Bullet]
Shwick—thunk.
The mass of water quietly shot out and struck the man's head directly.
Immediately after came a low thud as it hit the wall.
From the double impact, the man's body swayed and collapsed.
Thud.
There was no scream, no resistance.
Just like that, he quietly met his end.
I waited for a while to see if anyone would come out after hearing the sound, but fortunately there was no sign of anyone.
As I was inwardly relieved, Kain turned his head slightly to look at me and said,
"Nice. Let's go in now."
We carefully opened the door and stepped into the hallway.
A faint groan was heard the moment we stepped out. It was from the room on the left side of the hallway.
As I approached the room door, a foul, bloody stench flowed out.
I furrowed my brow. Kain pushed the door open, and Aileen quietly gritted her teeth beside me.
"Tsk."
"Ugh, this place is..."
The inside was bigger than I thought. An iron torture chair, a floor stained with blood, and people kneeling in the corners.
All of them had their hands bound, and their eyes were full of fear.
They weren't criminals. There were old people, children, and the injured.
Judging by their shabby clothes, they were clearly residents from the outskirts.
Aileen swallowed a groan. I silently grabbed her. She couldn't let herself be easily shaken by this sight.
In the center of the room, a man sat with his back to a large desk.
Tangled long hair, forearms with prominent rope marks, and at his waist, a whip stained with blood.
"Hm? Who are you?"
He raised his head. His gaze was fierce, and somewhere within it, a hint of madness lurked.
He didn't seem particularly surprised to see us.
"You're not Bron."
Kain stepped forward.
The bastard slowly rose from his seat.
"Bron? Looking for the boss? Who sent you? Don't tell me it was those noble bastards?"
I answered while condensing water at the tip of my staff.
"Who sent us isn't important. What's important is—"
Swish!
Kain moved first.
The moment he confirmed the bastard wasn't holding a weapon, he charged in an instant and swung his dagger.
The bastard raised his arm and snatched at Kain's wrist, but Kain's attack didn't stop there.
A follow-up kick immediately struck the bastard hard behind the knee.
"Kuk—!"
Thud.
The bastard fell to the floor, but rolled to the side and immediately drew the whip from his waist.
"—in the end, that you're going to die here."
"Ha, an interesting one."
"Take care of those people."
Kain said to me, glancing at the bound captives.
*Thinking about the captives at a time like this—is he more decent than I thought?*
I nodded. Twirling my staff, I drew up my mana.
[Water Barrier]
Shwick!
Light burst from the end of the staff, and in an instant a curtain of water formed, shielding my body.
Without delay, Aileen ran over and began cutting their restraints with her knife.
Kain and the man fought fiercely, tumbling over each other.
Kain's dagger was swung lightly and smoothly, while the whip the bastard held was heavy and sharp.
Sharp sounds like tearing wind, a killing intent that seemed to reach flesh and bone.
"What's going on!"
"How did these brats get in!"
Damn it, there were more thugs?
About five or six thugs who had heard the noise came pouring out from the opposite door in the hallway.
I raised my staff toward them and drew up my mana.
[Water Bullet]
Thunk!
The one leading took a hit to the head and collapsed on the spot.
The remaining thugs faltered. But soon they bared their teeth and rushed in again.
*Damn it. I'm almost out of mana.*
I gripped my staff tightly with both hands again.
Looking back, Aileen was undoing the people's bindings.
Kain was still tangled up with that man, their blades clashing dangerously.
My heart was beating fast.
*I have to buy time.*
I pressed the Water Barrier right up against the door and stood face-to-face with the thugs.
*Screw it!*
Then, raising my staff like a war hammer with both hands, I swung it directly.
Whoosh! Thud!
"Kuhuk!"
The crystal orb at the end of the staff struck the thug right under the nose.
He spilled a few teeth and collapsed to the side.
*This... it's harder than I thought?*
"Wh-what is with this bastard?"
"He fights with a staff? Step aside, let me try!"
Clang! Tung! Tung!
The clumsy clashing sounds of steel and crystal.
The one who had luckily taken a direct blow retreated while spurting blood from his nose, but the rest began recklessly throwing themselves at the Water Barrier.
*This... it's not going to break, is it?*
Anxiety welled up in my throat.
My lips went completely dry, and sweat pooled in my palms.
But I couldn't back down.
Whoosh! Whoosh!
I swung my staff around with a desperate grunt.
I smashed one bastard's knee and pushed back another's chest.
"Kkeuk...!"
Strength was beginning to leave my arms.
My body was growing slower.
But the bastards in front of me also looked quite exhausted.
*Hold on. If I hold on just a little longer—*
A sharp cracking sound came from the barrier as a fissure formed.
Damn it... is it not going to hold?
"I undid them all!"
The moment I envisioned a hopeless outcome, Aileen's shout burst out.
Finally, the last binding had been undone.
Whether they would add to our fighting strength was uncertain, but at least numerically, the odds had shifted in our favor.
"Kuk!"
As luck would have it, a short shriek erupted from behind.
Turning my head, I saw Kain standing with the bastard laid out on the floor.
Red blood stained the tip of his dagger, and Kain's shoulder was also drenched in blood.
*It's over.*
The thugs who had been charging with bloodshot eyes just moments ago now retreated warily, watching Kain's reaction like children who had caused trouble.
And when one took the lead in fleeing, the remaining ones frantically followed suit and ran.
I considered chasing them for a moment, but our purpose for coming here in the first place wasn't to eliminate thugs.
"...Are you okay?"
I asked, looking at Kain's shoulder.
At first I thought it was the other bastard's blood, but looking closely, his flesh was torn.
"Tsk, this is a bit embarrassing."
Kain tore off a piece of his clothes as if it were no big deal and wrapped it around the wound.
It didn't seem to be a serious injury. That was a relief.
"Now there's only one room left at the front of the hallway, right?"
"Do you think... he's there?"
"If he's not there, he must have been outside."
Kain looked around and tossed out the words curtly.
Well, it was unfortunate from our standpoint, but it probably didn't matter much from Kain's perspective.
I also turned my head and surveyed the surroundings.
The people gathered beside Aileen were looking this way with anxious expressions.
Now the problem was what to do with those people.
Just as I was thinking that, Aileen cautiously approached and spoke.
"I'm sorry. I insisted on coming along for no reason and couldn't even help..."
Aileen hung her head low.
Her expression wasn't really visible, but something about her seemed thoroughly dejected.
She seemed disappointed in herself for not being helpful in the fight.
"No, you're doing more than enough."
It wasn't empty words.
Naturally, I recalled when I had first come to this place.
Back then, I had been a greenhorn who stood in the back, unable to do anything, merely reading the room.
No one had said anything to me like that, and instead, they had helped me.
"..."
Perhaps my sincerity had reached her, for Aileen's expression softened slightly.
As she slightly raised her head, a faint sense of relief passed through her eyes as she looked at me.
"It's nice seeing friends supporting each other, but we're out of time, so shall we get going?"
Kain, who had been watching from the side, cut in.
His tone was light, but his gaze was already fixed on the next situation.
"What should we do with those people?"
"Well, they'll have to manage on their own. Hey, you can leave now."
"Th-thank you!"
Before Kain even finished speaking, they ran toward the exit in unison.
A strange emotion lingered in Kain's eyes as he watched them.
We moved along the hallway to the innermost door.
Kain stood in front and knocked on the door nonchalantly.
Thud, thud, thud.
After a moment, an unexpected reaction came from inside.
"Who is it!"
A rough, low voice.
I didn't know if it was Bron, but someone was definitely inside.
"Boss! It's me, Beron."
Kain answered calmly.
Beron. It was the name of a thug I had heard on the first floor earlier.
"Beron? What's the commotion outside?"
"Some of the boys got into a fight, so there was some noise while I was breaking it up."
Not a single word, not one breath faltered.
He didn't look like someone who had been fighting just moments ago.
"Hm, is that so? Come in."
Clack.
The sound of the bolt unlocking came from inside the door.
Kain looked back at us with a shrug, then grasped the handle and pulled.
Screech!
The moment the door opened, a sharp blade slashed before my eyes.
A blow aimed at the neck.
Kain reflexively twisted his body, but the blade grazed past his face.
"Keuk!"
Kain retreated while clutching his left eye.
Blood seeped out between his fingers.
"What the...!"
Before that door stood Bron, whom I had seen before.
A great sword held in both hands, and an oppressive aura that was anything but light.
He wore a smile as though he were enjoying this situation.
"Hahaha! Beron? Small fries like him aren't allowed anywhere near this room."
Damn it. He hadn't been fooled from the start.
Had he tried to lure us in for a surprise attack?
"Brats? Hm? You're... that girl, aren't you?"
Bron's gaze shifted to Aileen.
The corners of his mouth slowly twisted.
"To think you'd walk in here on your own feet, is this divine intervention?"
His tone was laced with composure.
He regarded us with the relaxed attitude of someone looking at mice caught in a jar.
Screech!
Bron threw the door wide open and stepped forward.
As if he didn’t even regard us as fighting strength, he charged straight at Cain.
Cain drew his dagger and counterattacked, but with one hand pressed over an eye, his movements looked slower than before.
I could see his balance slipping, little by little.
‘Damn it, my mana…’
All the mana I had left was enough for a single Water Bullet.
Even that was far too little to gather into anything powerful.
The only hope was that Bron didn’t know I was a mage.
I hid my staff against my body as much as I could, brought my hand behind my back, and began condensing mana.
A faint moisture coagulated at my fingertips, gathering like a bead.
The two of them were locked in a fierce struggle, but Cain, his vision unstable, lost his balance for an instant.
His body staggered, and Bron’s two-handed sword drove in without missing the opening.
‘No! It hasn’t gathered enough yet…!’
Just as I was about to force the Water Bullet out anyway—
Click!
The pouch at my waist sprang open, and Gerang leaped out.
“Gerang!”
A familiar sight I had seen before.
That tiny body sprang up between Cain and Bron, and a blue barrier spread open.
Shwaaaak!
A wall of flowing water formed in an instant.
Bron’s two-handed sword struck it with a clang!
“What the hell is this…!”
For the first time, Bron’s eyes wavered.
Cain did not miss that moment.
He steadied his staggering body and corrected his stance once more.
Clang! Clank!
Before long, as if he had grown accustomed to his half-obscured vision, Cain lunged at Bron fiercely.
His dagger was pitifully small compared to Bron’s two-handed sword, but that short blade instead sought out gaps and dug in.
Before Bron could properly put his strength into a swing, Cain closed the distance tightly and kept driving inside.
“Khh!”
Bron fell back in confusion, taking a defensive stance.
His two-handed sword required large movements, but at such close range, it became more of a burden.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
Cain moved far more lightly than before, as if he had been freed from something.
But his movements were gradually growing fainter.
From the continued battle and blood loss, I could see the strength slowly draining from his body.
“Haha, is that all you’ve got?”
Bron seemed to notice it too, and instead raised his momentum, pressing Cain with sheer stamina.
Cain began to be pushed back again.
Aileen rushed in to help, but she had chosen the wrong opponent.
Thud.
Aileen took a kick to the abdomen and was sent flying backward.
“Heh heh, I’ll deal with you separately in a bit.”
Bron swept his gloomy gaze over the fallen Aileen.
Then, as if intending to cut Cain down in a single blow, he raised his two-handed sword high.
Now.
[Water Bullet]
In that brief instant when his body was left wide open, I did not hesitate.
The Water Bullet I had condensed to the limit shot from my fingertips, slicing sharply through the air.
Shwaaaak—! Thud!
“Kheuk—!”
The fierce Water Bullet struck Bron squarely in the jaw.
The moment his body bent backward, Cain’s dagger drove in again and again as if he had been waiting for it.
Clatter! Thud.
And with that, it was certainly over.