THUD!
Lilya's body slammed into the ground, back first.
The impact was heavy—her body bounced slightly before rolling halfway and coming to a stop at an angle, one shoulder lower than the other. Her blonde hair spilled messily, covering part of her dirt-stained, blood-smeared face.
The air was forced out of her lungs.
Empty.
Silence.
Dust and damp soil lifted faintly around her, then slowly settled back down.
Stillness.
For a moment.
Then—
A breath.
A harsh inhale.
Broken.
But—still there.
Her chest rose and fell with difficulty, exposed to the dimming evening sky barely visible through the gaps in the trees. Every breath felt like it was tearing something inside her apart.
Blood trickled from the corner of her lips, running down her cheek before dripping onto the ground.
Warm.
In contrast to the lingering cold inside her body.
But that cold—
Changed.
The poison that had been spreading wildly now felt… restrained.
Still there.
Still agonizing.
But no longer overwhelming.
As if something was holding it back, slowing its spread before it could reach a point of no return.
Her consciousness returned little by little.
Blurry.
Unsteady.
But not gone.
"…hah…"
The sound escaped weakly from her throat.
Her fingers twitched.
Slightly.
Shaking.
Still moving.
Still alive.
Then—
Her body jolted.
"—khh…!"
A violent cough shattered the silence.
Her lungs seemed to restart after nearly stopping. Air rushed in harshly, followed by a sharp pain that spread like something tearing from within.
She gasped.
The cough turned into a series of ragged, uneven breaths.
And with a sudden convulsion—
Blood spilled from her mouth again.
Her vision trembled.
Yet—
Her mind did not collapse.
The pain came in relentless waves—sharp, cold, and heavy—forcing her body into chaos.
Her breathing staggered.
Her muscles tensed uncontrollably.
But beneath all of that—
Her awareness remained intact.
Clear.
She knew what had happened.
She knew where she was.
She knew—
The danger wasn't over.
Lilya's vision slowly came into focus.
And she saw—
A large shadow approaching.
THUD.
THUD.
THUD.
The hobgoblin with the hammer was walking toward her.
Heavy steps.
Certain.
Unhurried—as if it only wanted to confirm that the thing it had struck had truly stopped moving.
A few steps behind—
The axe-wielding hobgoblin stood still.
Watching.
From the side—
The one with spiked gauntlets began to move as well, closing in.
Lilya took a short breath.
"…hhh… that 'Voice of the World'… it came again when I was at my limit…"
Her voice was barely audible.
"…even a second later… I would've died…"
She paused.
Feeling her body.
The pain was still there.
The poison still eating away at her.
But—
Not as violently as before.
"…the poison… is being suppressed…"
Her eyes narrowed slightly.
"I can still move…"
Her fingers clenched.
Not strong.
But enough.
She pressed her hand against the ground and forced herself up from where she lay.
Her shoulder lifted.
Her elbow braced.
Her body trembled violently as she tried to sit—almost collapsing before managing to hold herself up.
Her breathing was still uneven.
But her mind—
Did not waver.
"…I'm not panicking…"
She whispered softly.
Not courage—
But realization.
"…if this were the old me…"
A flash of memory crossed her mind.
Her past self.
"…I would've already run without thinking…"
But now—
No.
There was no urge to flee blindly.
No paralyzing fear.
Only—
Calculation.
"…what can I do now…"
Her gaze lifted, locking onto the two hobgoblins drawing closer.
"…fighting two hobgoblins…"
Her breath caught.
"…even if my physical stats are level 100…"
She clenched her teeth.
"…my combat experience… is still that of a beginner…"
Honest.
Cold.
Clear.
"…and without this status…"
She felt it again.
That thin layer inside her.
Something suppressing the chaos within.
[Fear/Panic Resistance: IMMUNE]
Her eyes hardened.
"…I would've given up long ago."
She took a deep breath.
Slow.
Holding back the pain spreading through her body.
Then—
She closed her eyes.
Searching.
Reaching.
"Hikaru…"
The memory surfaced again.
An arena.
A battle.
Pressure.
A similar situation—
Surrounded.
Outmatched.
Yet not breaking.
She saw it.
Not as memory—
But as an answer.
Movement.
Rhythm.
The way of fighting.
And slowly—
Her body began to understand.
In front of her, the two hobgoblins were now within striking distance.
The hammer wielder raised its weapon.
The axe wielder stepped wider—
ready to cut off any escape.
Behind them—
the spiked one remained still.
But its pressure grew heavier.
Watching.
Waiting.
Lilya opened her eyes.
Her gaze had changed.
Sharper.
Focused.
"…I don't need to be perfect…"
She whispered.
"…I just need to move… like he did…"
Her hand reached for the branch on the ground.
Gripping it tightly.
[Alert]
The voice came again.
Calm.
Certain.
[Skill: Air Cut – Lv.100 (Max) – Activated]
Lilya's eyes widened slightly—
but did not waver.
She raised the branch slowly.
Her breathing was still heavy.
Her body still broken.
But her mind—
Fully alive.
"…good…"
One small step forward.
Unsteady.
But stable.
"…I understand now."
The evening wind blew gently.
Leaves rustled.
And in the middle of that circle of death—
Lilya no longer looked like prey.
But—
Someone who had begun to understand how to fight.
The two hobgoblins paused for a fraction of a second.
Not out of fear.
Because they saw it.
That change.
Her breathing, once chaotic—now steadier.
Her gaze, once wavering—now sharp and locked.
They glanced at each other.
Not panicked.
Not afraid.
Instead—
Their grins widened.
"Grrk…"
The sound was low.
Satisfied.
The prey wasn't dead yet.
The hobgoblin with the hammer stopped.
One step from where it had been.
Its massive body lowered slightly—knees bending, shoulders pulling back. The muscles in its arms tightened like twisted ropes.
It rolled its neck slowly.
Crack.
Crack.
Then it stretched.
Casual.
As if everything before this hadn't been a real fight.
But when it lifted its hammer again—
The air changed.
Something wrapped around the weapon.
A red aura.
Not bright—more like visible heat.
Thin, vibrating, but dense.
It flowed from its grip, coating the hammer's head like pulsing energy.
The ground beneath its feet cracked faintly.
Pressure rose.
Lilya saw it.
[Battle Instinct]
Her eyes didn't blink.
She didn't look at the hammer.
She saw—
The origin of the movement.
The rotation of the hips.
The weight shift.
The angle of the swing.
"…coming from upper right… straight downward crush…"
One controlled breath.
Short.
Then—
The hobgoblin vanished.
The ground exploded beneath its feet as it lunged forward with impossible speed.
In an instant—
It was in front of her.
The hammer came down.
Not just fast.
Heavy.
As if the air itself was being dragged down with it.
BOOOOM—
But—
What it struck—
Was empty.
[Quick Step]
Lilya moved a fraction of a second before the swing landed.
Not a leap.
Not panic.
Just—
A small shift.
Her barely responsive leg twisted at an impossible angle, her heel acting as a pivot as her body leaned just enough to slip past the attack.
She didn't fully "dodge."
She slipped through it.
The hammer struck the ground beside her.
BOOM!!
The earth exploded.
Mud and debris scattered.
The shockwave pushed her half a step away, her hair lifting from the force—
But—
She was still standing.
Unsteady.
But standing.
"…too heavy… if that hits directly… I'm done…"
Her mind noted it.
Calmly.
Without panic.
The hobgoblin froze for a moment.
Its eyes narrowed.
It saw.
It knew.
That attack—
should not have been avoided.
Yet its prey—
did it.
Slowly, the corner of its mouth lifted.
Not anger.
Interest.
It pulled the hammer from the ground.
The red aura pulsed stronger.
Denser.
Then—
Something moved.
Without sound.
Without warning.
In Lilya's blind spot.
[Battle Instinct]
Too late by half a second.
Enough to realize—
not enough to fully react.
Behind her—
The hobgoblin with the spiked gauntlets was already there.
Closer than it should be.
Faster than she could track.
Its grin—
Widened.
Its eyes narrowed with pleasure.
It didn't raise its weapon high.
It didn't need to.
Its right fist pulled back slightly.
Short.
Efficient.
Deadly.
"…—!"
Lilya had just begun to turn—
When the punch was released.
The air trembled.
A single straight blow—
aimed at her side.
And this time—
It was too close.
But—
Too late doesn't always mean impossible.
[Battle Instinct]
The world narrowed instantly.
Not to the punch—
But to the moment before it.
Lilya saw its shoulder.
Saw the muscle contraction.
Saw the direction of force.
"…head—"
Her reflex moved.
Not to evade.
To meet it.
Her hand rose.
The branch swung—
[Sword Slash]
CLANG!!
A sharp impact exploded in the air.
Not wood against flesh.
Not ordinary metal.
But a clash of two forces.
The pale blue aura of Lilya's swing collided with the brutal force coating the spiked gauntlet.
A shockwave spread from the impact.
The ground beneath Lilya trembled.
Her body was pushed half a step back—
but not blown away.
The hobgoblin—
Staggered.
Just slightly.
But enough.
Its eyes narrowed, clearly surprised its attack had been stopped.
And in that instant—
Lilya didn't hesitate.
Her left hand clenched.
Her body rotated with the momentum—
and she threw a straight punch.
"—HA!"
THUD!!
Her fist struck the hobgoblin's jaw.
Hard.
Short.
Precise.
Its massive body lifted off the ground—
sliding back several meters before stopping.
But—
It didn't fall.
Its feet dug into the earth.
It lowered its head briefly.
Then slowly raised it.
Its grin—
Still there.
The hobgoblin with the hammer lifted its head.
Its eyes narrowed.
Then—
The veins in its arms bulged.
The red aura flared wildly.
No longer pressure—
Rage.
"GRAAAK!!"
Its roar tore through the forest.
The ground cracked as it lunged forward again.
Faster.
More violent.
But—
The pattern…
The same.
[Battle Instinct]
Lilya didn't see the end of the motion.
She saw the beginning.
"…same…"
A breath in.
"…but stronger."
The hobgoblin charged.
The ground exploded beneath it again.
The hammer rose—
then came down.
BOOOOM—
But—
Again—
Empty.
[Quick Step]
Lilya didn't retreat.
She stepped in.
Closer.
Slipping inside the swing's range—
a zone untouched by the hammer's path.
The ground exploded behind her.
The shockwave hit her back—
but she was already moving.
No hesitation.
No pause.
"…like that…"
The memory surfaced.
Hikaru.
His movement.
His rhythm.
Not opposing strength—
but dancing within its gaps.
Lilya raised the branch.
A short, sharp swing.
[Sword Slash]
CLANG!!
The hammer had just begun to rise—
and her strike hit its shaft.
Shifting its trajectory.
Breaking its rhythm.
Not destroying—
But opening—
A gap.
"…now!"
Her body spun.
Fluid.
Seamless.
As if every movement had already been decided.
[Chain Strike]
Step in.
One short strike to the wrist.
Crack.
Its grip weakened for a fraction of a second.
Second strike—
to the elbow.
The massive body staggered.
But didn't fall.
Not enough.
"…keep going!"
[Quick Step]
She vanished from its right—
appearing on its left.
Her movement wasn't perfect—
her leg still lagged—
but fast enough—
to stay in its blind spot.
Her eyes narrowed.
Locking on.
"…neck—no…"
"…too tough…"
"…joint—"
She saw it.
A point.
Its shoulder.
Where muscle met bone.
Where power gathered.
[Precision Cut]
Her swing fell.
Short.
Exact.
—CRACK.
A dry sound snapped.
Not a deep wound—
But enough to disrupt its structure.
The hammer—
Dropped.
The hobgoblin roared.
Its arm lost strength.
"…not done."
Her body spun again.
Deeper.
Closer.
Into what should have been a lethal range—
But now—
Empty.
[Air Cut]
The branch trembled.
The air split.
Not just a swing—
but compressed pressure—
formed into an invisible blade.
She swung.
Horizontal.
—SHHHHHK.
The air in front of the hobgoblin split open.
Its chest tore apart.
A long—
deep—
gash.
Blood burst out.
Its massive body stepped back.
Still standing.
Still alive.
But—
Unsteady.
"…now… finish…"
Her breath was heavy.
But her eyes—
Sharp.
Calm.
She stepped forward.
One final step.
Gathering what little strength she had left.
All of it.
The branch rose.
Blue light formed—
denser than before.
Sharper.
More—
precise.
[Sword Slash]
The swing fell.
Vertical.
Splitting.
Without hesitation.
Without doubt.
—SHHK.
Silence.
For a fraction of a second—
nothing happened.
Then—
A straight line appeared from shoulder to waist.
Deep.
Clean.
The massive body froze.
Its eyes widened.
Disbelief.
Then—
It split apart.
Two halves slowly separating—
crashing to the ground with a heavy thud.
BOOM.
Blood flooded the earth.
The red aura—
vanished.
Silence returned.
Lilya's breath trembled.
Her body shook violently.
The branch nearly slipped from her hand.
"…hah…"
She stood.
Unsteady.
But—
Still standing.
One hobgoblin—
Had fallen.
But—
It wasn't over.
In front of her—
The axe wielder.
And the one with spiked gauntlets—
Still remained.
And this time—
They weren't playing anymore.
But before Lilya could steady her breathing—before her thoughts could form the next move—something else slipped into her awareness.
Not from the two hobgoblins in front of her.
Not from the battle.
But from somewhere else—
From the narrow path through the bushes—the place she had believed Cecilia to be.
That presence came suddenly.
Cold.
Not just temperature—but something that pierced through her skin, creeping straight into her bones.
Like an invisible hand reaching directly for her heart.
Lilya froze for a fraction of a second.
Her breath stopped.
And for the first time since the battle began—
Her instinct didn't point to the enemies in front of her—
But beyond them.
Toward her destination.
[Alert]
[Foreign Magical Element Detected]