Chapter 106: No Holding Back

"We’ve been walking for hours and still not a single monster in sight..." One of the Awakeners muttered as she glanced around the silent corridor.

"Remember, it wasn’t an ordinary Awakener who entered before us." The squad leader calmly replied without slowing her pace. "It was the Night Empress. This much should be expected."

"Yeah..."

The group quietly continued forward.

Their footsteps echoed throughout the empty labyrinth.

Floor after floor nothing. Not a single monster. Not a single fresh corpse either.

The deeper they ventured, the heavier the silence became.

One Awakener scratched her cheek awkwardly. "...It’s honestly a little creepy."

"It is." Another nodded. "A Labyrinth Gate should be crawling with monsters."

"But there’s absolutely nothing."

The squad leader remained expressionless as she observed the surroundings.

They were already on the sixty-eighth floor.

Yet they hadn’t fought even a single battle since entering.

’Just how fast is she?’

Even as a B-Rank Awakener, she couldn’t help but feel astonished.

A normal raid through a C-Rank Labyrinth would take an entire squad several days to clear.

Yet the Night Empress had gone in only hours before them and somehow every floor behind her had already been completely cleaned out.

Not even a single stray monster had been left alive.

’To continuously kill C-Rank creatures at this pace...’ The squad leader slowly narrowed her eyes. ’That isn’t something two people should be capable of.’

She naturally assumed both the Night Empress and her mysterious companion had been fighting together.

What none of them knew was that from the very beginning...

Only one person had been doing all the killing.

Soon, they arrived at the seventieth floor.

Still...

Nothing.

The group of B-Rank Awakeners continued forward through the silent labyrinth.

"If we encounter the Night Empress and we have to fight her..." The young Awakener trailed off, but everyone understood what she meant.

The squad leader glanced at her before speaking calmly.

"If we do encounter the Night Empress and it leads to an unavoidable battle... we will have to fight."

Her expression remained blank.

"But you all know how powerful she is, so do not let your guard down no matter what."

She looked at each member of the squad.

"Because if you do... you might die."

***

CLAAANG!

Sparks flew as the Long Bone Sword collided with the creature’s claw.

The impact rattled Reiji’s bones, but he didn’t waver.

He couldn’t afford to.

Their eyes locked onto each other as Reiji gritted his teeth and pushed Derat Thorn back with all his strength.

The creature lunged again.

’This thing is way too fast.’

CLAAANG!

Reiji gritted his teeth as he blocked another attack.

Detect Presence was the only reason he could react in time.

Without it...

He wouldn’t have been able to stop the creature at all.

’It can track its movements within this range... but if it starts using long-range attacks... I might be cooked.’

The Anomaly suddenly sent another claw toward him.

This one aimed directly at his ribs.

Reiji saw the attack coming.

But he couldn’t stop it.

If he shifted to block it, he would leave his head exposed to the claw he was already holding back.

It had forced him into a checkmate.

’Hardening.’

Reiji instantly concentrated Hardening around his thoracic region.

SLASH!

"Urgh!"

Even though his thoracic region had become as hard as metal, the claw still tore through it, carving a deep wound and breaking several of his ribs.

Inside the vine sphere...

Aoi watched the battle unfold with her heart in her throat.

She barely even dared to breathe.

This monster had seriously injured Reiji.

And...

It didn’t even look like it had tried.

’Reiji...’

She was worried.

She was scared.

For the first time since blackmailing him and following him into Gates...

She felt that Reiji might actually lose.

And the battle had only just begun.

’Please...’

Reiji dropped onto one knee, using the Long Bone Sword for support as he coughed up a mouthful of blood.

’I can’t believe I was seriously wounded just one minute after the fight began...’

He quickly took a Healing Potion from his Inventory and drank it before slowly standing back up.

The pain gradually subsided.

He wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth and raised the Long Bone Sword once more.

His crimson eyes never left the creature.

The Healing Potion had closed the wound...

But if the battle continued like this...

It would simply reopen.

The creature stared at the weak human.

A creepy smile slowly spread across its wolf-like face.

"Shit..."

A bad feeling instantly crept into Reiji’s heart.

The next second the creature instantly disappeared.

This time it was even faster than before.

BOOM!

Before Reiji could fully react, the creature slammed the side of its body into him.

The impact sent him flying across the chamber.

BANG!

BANG!

BANG!

Reiji rolled across the stone floor several times before finally coming to a stop.

"Argh!"

Pain shot through his ribs.

The wound that had just closed had been torn open again.

This time it hurt even more.

Inside the vine sphere, Aoi clasped both hands over her mouth.

Her eyes widened in disbelief.

She immediately realized what had happened.

’This creature is just toying with him... it knew the wound had closed... so it deliberately attacked that exact spot...’

Her heartbeat quickened as she stared at the enormous winged wolf.

’Where the hell did something like this even come from...?’

’Fuck!’

Reiji slowly pushed himself back to his feet.

’That damn thing hit my side just to reopen my wound!’

He took out another Healing Potion from his Inventory and drank it in one gulp.

The familiar warmth spread through his body once again.

’This creature definitely has intelligence... and it’s strong. I can’t afford to die here... Not after everything I’ve been through.’

"AHHHHH!"

The crimson and amber aura around Reiji suddenly erupted.

Mana surged wildly through his body as he poured everything he had into every active skill.

He wasn’t going to hold back anymore.

Because if he did he would die before he even realized it.

Ding!