Leave a comment

In a dark, narrow alleyway, as if it had been painted with a brush, silver flashes and wildfire-colored sparks bloomed and scattered repeatedly in the dim darkness.

The black dancer, who called herself Eupho, danced fiercely but bewitchingly. The glamorous dance was a dance of death. Her slender limbs crawled smoothly through the narrow space like a mollusk.

Seletina couldn’t help but be amused by Eupho’s movements as she maneuvered Elyutinias.

Even with her dynamic vision and reflexes, Seletina could not predict where Eupho’s knife would come out from. Even a moment of carelessness could lead to her head being cut off.

It was a feeling that Seletina missed terribly, as such fears sprouted up in her interpersonal battles.

A ferocious beast scraped past the struggling Seletina. Lichter pulled his kukri knives from their holders on both thighs and dove into the black briar. His posture could only be described as ridiculous.

Lichter’s kukri knife, which crawled on the ground, barked five times in the blink of an eye. However, Lichter’s wild slashes, reminiscent of a shark’s turbulent teeth, did not reach Eupho. Her body passed between them glamorously, like a shimmering mirage.

“Back at you.”

Saying this, Eupho’s kick landed on Lichter on the cheek. The windmill-like side-head kick staggered Lichter. Although Eupho’s kick was sharp it lacked weight. It wasn’t effective enough to overpower Lichter, and he spat up the blood that had pooled inside his severed cheek in an abhorrent manner.

“Verdict. You, can’t beat, me.”

Eupho made a reserved declaration of victory from behind her black face veil and readjusted the grip on her knife.

“She’s strong.”

Seletina bristled at Eupho’s declaration. She herself was convinced by Eupho’s words. Elyutinias that Seletina handled couldn’t be wielded to its fullest in an alleyway as narrow as this.

If she swung widely she’d hit the walls. However, if she controlled her movements and swung it in a narrow way her sword’s range was superior to that of Eupho’s knife.

Lichter’s kukri knives were not as restricted as Seletina’s Elyutinias, but even so, it was fair to say that his uninhibited fighting style was greatly restrained there.

“Me, catch you. Get reward. Eat until full. Happy.”

Eupho, who was muttering something, couldn’t help but smile as she thought about the future. Seeing Eupho like that, Lichter showed off his canine teeth in a smile and leisurely thrust a kukri knife at her.

“Yo, black girl. You think you’ve won, haven’t you? The fight is just starting. If you think you’ll go and eat your fill after you’ve caught this angel right here, then I hate to break it to you, but you’ll have to get through me first.”
“You can’t win, against us.”
“Us?”

Cold sweat trickled down the spines of Lichter and Seletina. There were three more presences blended into the shadows. Three girls who looked exactly like Eupho appeared, standing out from the blackness of the alleyway.

“Gold Rank Adventurer Team Flowing Shadows”
“That is us.”
“Us four are one.”
“All sisters as one.”
“We advise you to surrender.”

Four pairs of eyes watched over Lichter and Seletina, bringing down an ominous feeling.

“Four of them? Now this is quite a pinch, ain’t it Dear Angel?”
“I told you to not call me that!”

Gradually, a searing sense of urgency burned through Seletina.

The adventurers. In this world, there was still no clear line between the contaminated areas defiled by the Demons and the areas where people lived, and there were many unexplored territories. Adventurers were those who investigated contaminated areas or similar regions and were paid by the Adventurer Association.

They faced many dangerous missions, and it was not uncommon for them to encounter Upper Rank Demons. Adventurers were strong. After all, one couldn’t become an adventurer without being strong.

That was the public’s perception of those known as adventurers. And the Gold Ranked Adventurers stood at the pinnacle of all adventurers. The golden plate that hung around their necks was a medal that only the strongest could attain. They were expected to be exceptionally strong.

Seletina bit her lower lip, feeling the weight of the situation.

I should’ve talked with her first. But still, it’s unusual for gold ranks to be after money.

“Throw away, weapons.”

Eupho said.

“So? What do we do?”

Lichter asked Seletina while playing with the kukri knives in his hands.

“Do you have any bright ideas on how we can manage to escape the alleyway and get out without killing people, Lichter?”
“If I did, I’d be a genius magician playing Jenga with golden bars right about now.”
“I guess you’re right.”

Seletina exhaled heavily, seemingly giving up on the idea. They had no geographical advantage and were outnumbered. If they moved about aimlessly they could end up in the main street, endangering the lives of innocent people.

Seletina slowly relaxed her grip over Elyutinias.

“Lady Seletinaaaaaaaa!!!”

Seletina quickly turned to look at the voice calling out to her. She saw Elita running to her while yelling. Tears were streaming down her face and snot was dripping from her nose.