Chapter 29

Flam swung Soul Eater with all her might.

Pang—Crack!

The slash aimed at Dane's neck was once again avoided as he retreated.

The iron mass, swung in vain, shattered the wooden floor.

Though he missed this time, Dane's back was against the wall, leaving him no place to retreat.

Even if he wanted to counterattack, the distance was not suitable for a crossbow.

He would have no chance to counterattack unless he discarded his main weapon and relied on the dagger at his waist.

This is the finishing blow—Flam boldly and bravely stepped forward, discarding the hesitation born from doubt.

Dane held his buckler diagonally upward and curled his fingers.

As the coiled rope extended, the wire shot out with a whoosh.

When the pointed metal block hit the wall—Clank!—it opened like a flower blooming from the impact, transforming into a hook.

Dane poured mana into the mechanism hidden in the back of his shield, rapidly reeling in the wire, and moved as if flying through the air to the launch point.

The blade of Soul Eater, which was supposed to cut through his body, sliced through the air.

Flam immediately turned around.

Dane, clinging to the wall, pulled the trigger and fired a bolt at her.

"Just a single shot—!"

She resolved to knock it down and readied her sword.

"You're too naive, Spread!"

This was the signal to activate magic.

Boom!

The bolt, which seemed to ignite in mid-air, exploded and split.

The numerous fireballs rushed at Flam all at once.

Judging that she couldn't block them all with her sword, she leaped to the side and rolled to land.

Dane continued to shoot arrows at her.

"Spread, Spread, Spread! Hahaha, whether it's a curse or something, a mere slave thinks they can beat me, a hero, without my help!"

Flam, running desperately to escape the rain of fire, had some of the bolts graze her shoulder, tearing her clothes and causing blood to seep out.

The wounds healed quickly, but the pain distorted her face.

The floor burned, and the smell of scorched wood filled the church.

But then, the attack momentarily slackened—she didn't miss this opportunity.

"Ughhh!"

From an unstable stance, she swung her sword, releasing a knight's sword technique, the Ki Sword Slash.

A sharp blade of energy flew straight at Dane.

He moved his fingers again, pulling a different thread, and the hook clicked, releasing its hold.

"So what?!"

Aiming for the landing point, Flam released another Ki Sword Slash.

"Haha, you're a beginner! Float!"

Once again, Dane's fire attribute magic—air exploded beneath his feet, and his body floated into the air.

Crack!

Naturally, the attack aimed at his landing point missed, only shattering the wall.

Without touching the ground, Dane shot another wire from his floating position, reeling it in while firing his crossbow.

Flam, anticipating another Spread, used Soul Eater as a shield.

"Idiot! The next one is Burst!"

The bolts did not spread.

They contained a magic that would explode upon impact with an obstacle.

Click—such a slight sound of impact.

Flam's spine froze.

Dane smirked.

The next moment, the bolt was supposed to explode upon impact—

But things didn't go as planned.

Flam's arm tensed, mana was transmitted and conducted.

The activation of the magic—

"Reversal!"

—barely in time.

Whoosh!

The bolt, imbued with Burst, was deflected and now flew toward Dane, seeking retribution.

Flam had already seen the reflection.

He must have anticipated this from the start and, without hesitation, released the hook and landed on the ground.

Boom!

A second later, the impact point exploded spectacularly.

The force was so great that the wall was completely destroyed, leaving a hole.

"Wow, you're surprisingly good. You used it earlier, but that's magic, a rare attribute."

Flam completely ignored Dane, who spoke to her casually.

She scanned him and his equipment silently to assess his strength.

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Dane Finneas

Attribute: Fire

Strength: 561

Mana: 212

Health: 409

Agility: 854

Senses: 633

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Total 2669—his strength is at the lower end of B-rank.

As expected, he doesn't seem to have the strength worthy of an A-rank.

Still, with the support of his subordinates, he managed to rise to this position.

However, something seems different today.

His strength is being boosted by something.

Probably—by the equipment he wears.

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Arrogant Leather Armor

Quality: Legendary

[This equipment increases your mana by 442]

[This equipment increases your agility by 301]

[This equipment protects you from poison]

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Clever Iron Buckler

Quality: Legendary

[This equipment increases your mana by 375]

[This equipment increases your agility by 299]

[This equipment increases your senses by 108]

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Auto Crossbow

Quality: Uncommon

[This equipment increases your mana by 12]

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Ambitious Iron Dagger

Quality: Legendary

[This equipment increases your strength by 241]

[This equipment increases your mana by 224]

[This equipment increases your health by 301]

[This equipment steals the opponent's mana]

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The total stat increase from equipment is 2303.

Combined with his original stats, it brings him to 4972, a top-tier B-rank ability.

Especially, his mana, which was originally low, has increased by over 1000.

Perhaps that's why he's using so much magic.

The crossbow, prioritizing the weapon's performance, has a low rarity, but it's not something that can be easily obtained by adventurers in the West District.

"Curse" equipment is shunned by adventurers and is cheap (or not available at all), but legendary equipment shouldn't be so easily obtainable.

"Are you using a scan or something? Just seeing that won't change the difference in strength."

"Is this equipment really yours?"

"Of course, it's genuinely mine, given to me by my kind friends. You could say it's a symbol of our bond."

"Selling your bond and selling your soul to the church, and you talk about bonds?"

Dane laughed through his nose at Flam's remark.

"Hey, you seem to want to make me the bad guy, but think about it. Your life or the bond with your friends. Which would you choose? Don't be a crybaby. Look at the reality and answer. Surely, a good girl like you wouldn't talk about bonds, right?"

"I'd choose bonds, even if it means sacrificing dozens of people."

Imagining Milkit's smile, Flam stated this with no hesitation.

If her actions were to hurt her, the current Flam would stab herself in the chest without a second thought.

"Ugh! You're so disgusting, really disgusting!"

That's—because it's genuine, it's even more annoying.

He waved his hand and said with a laugh mixed in.

"You're just a kid who knows nothing. Haha, I wonder why I'm even dealing with someone like you..."

But to Flam, his words seemed to be piercing him as well.

Rather than willingly lending a hand to the church—perhaps he had no choice, lamenting his own powerlessness, a mockery similar to Flam's in a way.

Indirect self-harm, the false tears of a child seeking attention, a kind of self-display.

No matter how sympathetic the circumstances that led to their confrontation might be, it didn't matter.

Flam was solely focused on killing Dane.

"Imagine it, your life's work being destroyed by an 8-year-old kid! Haha, wouldn't you laugh? Wouldn't you laugh!"

But he didn't stop talking about himself.

He just had to talk, no matter what.

"But I saw it! The overwhelming power!"

In Dane's mind, the glory of the past replayed like a slideshow.

But all of that was now in the past.

Now, he was a servant of the church, a lackey, a dog, who boasted of eventually swallowing it all, following an 8-year-old boy.

His pride was in tatters.

"Do you want sympathy?"

Flam added to his misery.

For the first time, the ease in Dane's expression disappeared, and it twisted in anger.

Veins bulged on his temples, and his face turned red—

"Haha, no, no, I don't want that! I don't want that at all!"

—He howled.

Flam understood.

What Dane wanted to say, what he wanted to spew out even if he knew his opponent was the enemy, was his own weakness.

He wanted someone, anyone, to understand and empathize with, not out of sympathy, but out of resonance.

Perhaps there was a hint of hope that someone like Flam, who had fallen from hero to slave, might understand.

"What's this Spiral Children, what's the church, what's proliferation, what's connection! Bullshit, bullshit, bullshit, bullshit, bullshit!"

He went into a frenzy.

There was nothing left.

There was nothing to reclaim.

He wailed, unable to bear the pain of loss.

"I am the king of this West District! I rose from the slums, and with my hands and my head, I climbed to this position! Do you understand? And now, I can't even kill a single girl without this thing!?"

An eyeball appeared through the hole created by the Burst earlier.

They swarmed in, filling the hole, creating a grotesque multi-eyed creature, making the spine shiver.

"What are you trying to say?"

Flam glanced at the hole and asked, then looked at another wall.

There, an eyeball was embedded, the front half visible, including the black pupil.

It wriggled and moved forward slightly.

It must have penetrated the wall.

And there were not just one or two, but ten, a hundred, watching Flam from all directions.

If this continued, the church would soon be filled with eyeballs.

Perhaps this conversation was a stalling tactic—Flam thought for a moment.

But seeing the tragic expression on Dane's face, she immediately dismissed the idea.

It seemed that these were separate matters.

"What? You don't even understand that... Haha, hahaha, ahahahaha!"

Dane's dry laughter echoed in the hall.

"Haha... Ha, ah... Ah..."

But soon, his voice lost its strength, and he slumped, his hands hanging limply.

"...I don't... I don't understand anything. Ah, ah, I don't understand anything. What do I want? Losing to a kid, begging for my life, abandoning my friends, being protected by the church, having my food, clothing, and shelter guaranteed, living a regular life. What is that, huh? What is that? It's boring, isn't it? This is the end I hated the most, the one I never wanted to reach! Ah, it's boring, my life from now on, everything is boring! It's so boring!"

Dane's voice echoed.

He didn't know who he was talking to.

"Hahaha! Ah, ah... Ah... Hey... Flam... The idiots I used to hang out with... They're all dead, right?"

He was probably referring to the 20 or so adventurers who attacked Flam.

Flam answered in a monotone.

"Idi