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While we both took our distances, I had no time to waste on glaring each other. If I didn’t take the initiative to attack, my time would be up.

Fortunately, his right eye still hadn’t regained its vision, so I managed to create a blind spot. That said, his right side was blocked by the lumber. Still, my threads could attack even from that space.

It bent like a whip, a flexibility that was something unachievable with normal bladed weapons, and slashed from that narrow space. However, it wasn’t a simple sideways sweep, but more like a thrust of a spear.

But the man seemed to have predicted that, he twisted his body to dodge the attack. It took some time to recover the thread after that miss. He thought that my attack created an opening and once again came with the tackle.

If an adult pushed me, my light body could be easily be sent flying. He was probably aiming for that weakness.

But that was within my calculations. I still had one more thread left. I swung it downwards and attempted to bisect him. But even that failed to land a direct hit.

In the middle of his rush, he planted his short swords in the ground and abruptly changed his course. He got himself separated from the lumber and exposed his body to a vast space.

That was a danger zone where attacks could come from any direction. However, my threads that missed were in no position to do a follow-up attack.

He faced me once again and plunged forward. With our positions changed, the mountain of lumber was now behind me. If he crashed my frail body on it, I could faint just from the impact.

Stealing is his specialty? You kidding, right? This b̲a̲s̲t̲a̲r̲d̲’s crazy used to battles.

I cursed him in my mind while also expressing my admiration. He wasn’t letting his guard down even against a child like me. He always chose the most optimal plan and attacked the way I would hate the most.

Most likely, he led a life full of dangers where a moment’s negligence would’ve cost him his life. That’s why he showed no negligence even if the opponent was a child.

Since my path of retreat was blocked, I could only move forward. Resolving myself, I thrust my katana and intercepted him. Having the blade trust before his face halted his charge. He had to either dodge or block it, otherwise, it would land a fatal wound.

Sure enough, he swung his short sword sideways and flung my katana away. Due to the difference in our strength, it left my hands far too easily. Then he used his other short sword to thrust at me.

My katana was gone, and my two threads weren’t ready for use. Behind me was the lumber, and I couldn’t move on either side due to my forward momentum.

Checkmate… The man thought and revealed a twisted smile.

However—He got careless.

During all our previous exchanges, my katana never completely left my hand. If I felt like it, I could even tie my hand to its grip. His attack couldn’t have sent it flying just like that. The fact that he failed to catch onto that was his downfall.

I quickly moved my hand behind my back and pulled out a dagger. It was the one I took from their hideout. I only knew it was a magic sword, but I didn’t know what kind of magic it held within. Even so, it was a dagger that could cut.

For an instant, I used my own Stealth Gift. I hadn’t used it until now, so he should’ve been taken by surprise. He lost track of me for a moment and then once again perceived me. By that time I was already right beside him and were grasping his hand.

I sealed the movement of his hand with my strengthened arm, thus his attack stopped. Following it, I thrust the dagger in his abdomen with all my strength.

“Kaaah!?”

With that shriek, he stopped all movements. A bit below his belly button and a little left… or right from his point of view. That was where his kidney was. As a finisher, I twisted the dagger and gouged out the wound, making it an unrecoverable wound. With that, nothing but the highest recovery magic could save him.

He vomited a large volume of blood and dyed my shoulder red.

“This is the end.”
“I-I never thought… I’d lose to a brat… Like you.”
“You were quite good.”

The man leaned onto me. I laid his body down and addressed him. Naturally, given who he was I couldn’t let my guard down. While staying alert for a potential counterattack, I heard his final words.

“There’s no saving me now… This is my last wish, let me see… Your face.”

Hearing his request I removed my scarf that covered my hair, mouth and half my face. Then, my soot-covered face appeared, my silver hair fluttering in the night wind. And finally, my heterochromia red and blue eyes.

“What the, so you really were a brat… And a girl. Your… Name?”
“Reid.”
“Same as… One of the Six Heroes, huh.”
“I am that hero. I got reborn through the reincarnation magic. Though I became a girl.”
“Hahah… Hahahahaha! No way! I failed to catch such a huge prey…in…the end…”

Mustering his final ounce of strength, the man burst into a laugh, scattering spit and blood everywhere with bloodshot eyes. He continued laughing until the very end, then his body convulsed and he gave his final breath.

After confirming that his heart had completely stopped, I rose to my feet.

“Well, you were one troublesome opponent.”

Then muttered those words while looking down on his corpse.