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“Goodbye, Doctor. This time, unlike usual, I’ll make sure you don’t open your eyes again.”

Mirae aimed at Hop once more. And in the very next moment…

“Annihilation…”

– Splurt

A dagger flew from somewhere and pierced Mirae’s wrist.

“What?”

“Guuaaaah!!!”

The attack aimed to sever her wrist or interrupt her casting, but due to Mirae’s high durability and her remarkably fast incantation, she successfully cast the spell, resulting in a massive hole appearing in Hop’s side and inner left arm.

It wasn’t exactly what Mirae had in mind when she aimed for the center, but it was a sufficient lethal injury.

“What the hell? It didn’t kill me because I missed? I mean, I thought I was gonna die anyway… But who was that?”

Mirae, with a rather annoyed expression, pulled out the dagger lodged in her wrist and scanned her surroundings.

However, no matter how much she looked around, there was no sign of anyone, not even a shadow.

‘Throwing a dagger like that and hiding their presence… impressive skills, huh? An adventurer from the rogue class?’

If her opponent was a thief, it was an unfavorable matchup for Mirae, being a mage.

But Mirae was not the type to lose in a one-on-one against a human just because of an unfavorable matchup.

And the reason thieves have the advantage in person-to-person combat is that they can hide.

Ignoring the sudden disruption, Mirae raised her wand again, aiming it at Hop.

“Are you still hiding? I need to deal with this one~”

Whether Mirae’s provocation worked or not, someone emerged from the darkness, blocking her and Hop.

“Mirae, what’s that look? You’re definitely not a regular nurse, are you?”

Upon recognizing the identity of the person who appeared, Mirae smirked as if she had expected someone to show up.

“Hmph, you don’t look like a typical hero either.”

The figure was draped in a dark, heavy cloak with a hood pulled over, revealing none other than Serin.

She was a royal special agent, specialized in infiltration, disguise, and assassination.

“But showing yourself after just a little provocation? You’ve lost the initiative now, haven’t you?”

“I didn’t reveal myself due to the provocation.”

“?”

Serin pulled something that looked like a firearm from under her cloak.

She raised her arm high and aimed it at the window that had been opened beforehand.

– Peeeeeew-!!

Without hesitation, she fired it.

Making a loud noise, it shot skyward, leaving behind traces of smoke and burn marks in the sky.

“Since this will alert everyone quickly anyway.”

“What? You had that?!”

What she pulled out was a signal flare, used during times of war.

A red powder to announce a sudden enemy attack.

“I may not know exactly how strong of a demon you are, but this place is right in the middle of the kingdom’s capital. The kingdom’s elite soldiers and distinguished hero-class nobles will start gathering quickly. Let’s see you try to survive this.”

“What a pointless act.”

This time, Serin attempted a threatening provocation, but Mirae remained completely unfazed as she aimed her weapon back at Hop.

“You and that teacher over there won’t be able to escape in under a minute…”

“Stealth.”

“Isolation.”

As Mirae was speaking, Serin, who had tried to activate her skill while pulling her hood tightly, suddenly found herself stopped by walls of space surrounding her, making it impossible to move.

“Ugh~ Just trying to talk while you’re using skills… I can’t stand you thieving types! Just no romance whatsoever.”

“……”

‘She must have placed restrictions around the spatial magic to seal off the teacher, but did she release it, just like that? This means my calculations are off…’

To respond to spatial magic, one must possess similar abilities to manipulate space.

In a matchup between a thief and a mage, it wouldn’t have been difficult to reveal herself while finding a chance to hide again, but Serin had no means to counter the spatial magic.

Having lost her advantage while protecting Hop and firing off signal flares, she now found her position weakened.

The only way to respond to spatial magic in this place was…

‘Is the teacher unconscious?’

Only Hop, who could manipulate space.

While keeping an eye on Mirae, Serin discreetly checked on Hop’s condition.

‘!!’

Fortunately, Hop was not unconscious.

Though he was bleeding and had part of his body blown away, he was still managing to send signals with his eyes and hand gestures to Serin, who was stuck in the corner behind her.

‘Run back!’

Understanding the signal, Serin returned her gaze to the front.

“Anyway, you’re going to die now, regretting the fact that you didn’t stay hidden.”

Mirae seemed to have finished murmuring and raised her wand, aiming it at Serin once more.

“Connection, Annihilation.”

Mirae pierced through the space blocking her in front and immediately unleashed her spell.

“Connection.”

At the same time, Hop pierced the space from behind Serin.

“Stealth.”

And having received the signal from Hop, Serin instantly retreated, vanishing from Mirae’s sight.

Having failed to attack, Mirae pressed her hands to her forehead in irritation.

“Aah~ This is so annoying!! Is that jerk not dead yet?”

Mirae was about to check on the state of Hop, who lay soaked in blood on the ground, but…

With a dismissive sigh, she stretched out her hand and unleashed magic.

Various elemental properties and dark magic rained down like a storm.

“Severance.”

In response, Hop stopped pretending to be dead and began an incantation to block Mirae’s spells with the walls of space.

“To think you’re still alive, quite tough…”

– Whoosh

Mid-sentence, Mirae pulled back to evade.

Without making a sound, Serin swung her dagger at Mirae’s neck, completing her sudden attack before disappearing into the shadows once more.

“Ugh, are you gonna keep talking while using skills!? Enhance Spatial Density! Flare!”

Frustration surged through Mirae as she blocked the spatial magic and unleashed a fiery flash that illuminated the room.

Immediately, Serin, clad in a dark cloak, was revealed as Hop’s spatial barrier vanished.

And at that moment,

“There! There’s a battle over there!!”

Shouts from soldiers echoed distantly.

The soldiers searching the vicinity in response to the signal flare reacted as the flash exploded inside the house.

“What? Already?”

The locations of the rehabilitation center and Hop’s house were right in the capital, allowing for such rapid responses.

Mirae wasn’t the type to be scared of mere soldiers, but since she needed to escape from this place, being held back was a troublesome situation.

“Weakening local spatial density, Simplified Space Movement Array set up.”

Mirae released the spatial magic constraints just around her.

And…

“Destruction’s Song.”

Mirae cast the most powerful spell among those that didn’t require focus she could use.

Soon, this area would become a sea of fire as flames rained down from the sky.

‘The soldiers are still gathering, so might as well weaken the humans’ power while I kill the teacher too~’

As far as Mirae was concerned, she had yet to sense any hero-class mages or clerics capable of halting this.

“Move.”

Without delay, she activated the Space Movement Array and made her escape.

– Rumble rumble rumble…

“What, what is that…”

Shortly after, the soldiers gathered around Hop’s yard, but upon witnessing the large fireballs dropping from the sky, they all froze in fear.

“All mages, form ranks! Activate shields using Magic Circle A to respond! Don’t panic, take your positions!!”

Despite their own panic, the commander of the kingdom’s stationed troops began to control the soldiers, knowing they had no chance of stopping this.

Though the soldiers thought they couldn’t handle it, they still wouldn’t just stand there to die, so they began to assume their formations as instructed.

“Teacher…!”

And despite the busy movements of the gathered soldiers, Serin first examined Hop’s condition.

What Serin saw was horrifying; Hop’s left arm had been brutally torn apart, with the inner half missing, and his left side was punctured, drenched in blood. Still, the remaining tissue appeared to be holding together somewhat, forming a grotesque shape.

Serin quickly assessed Hop’s situation.

This must be…

‘He must have somehow managed to block the attack, prioritizing the crucial parts inside. Has he fixed the space? I’m not really sure, but it’s still a dangerous state. Too much loss of tissue, and the blood loss…’

Just as Serin surmised, Hop had managed to protect his vital organs by stabilizing the space inside his own body.

Despite the spatial magic restrictions, he learned to weaken its effects in the area where his body occupied, allowing him to come up with the best defense he could with all his strength and wisdom.

“Teacher. Are you conscious?”

“Serin…”

Hop was barely conscious, but his voice was a raspy, cracked tone.

Serin poured a potion into Hop’s mouth.

Although his wounds might close momentarily and replenish some of his blood, it was not enough to salvage his condition.

It was dangerous. He was on the brink of death. If this continued, the teacher would…

“Just… give me a moment. I need to stop… that…”

“Teacher! This isn’t the time for that…!”

“I need to… if that falls, everyone will die. With the ability to use space, I… must…”

Is this man really trying to save people, despite his condition?

Serin’s heart ached as she recognized how deeply he cared for others, but there was nothing she could do at that moment, so she gently moved Hop’s body to allow him to look up at the sky.

Hop appeared to be preparing to cast a spell, reaching his hand towards the sky.

“Sever…”

Desperately gathering his concentration, Hop attempted to begin his incantation, but then his eyes squeezed shut in anguish as he gritted his teeth.

“Damn it. The spatial restrictions failed to lift. I can’t do anything…”

He slumped, feeling the strength drain from his body.

The kingdom’s soldiers were extending their shields, layering them in the sky, but how long could they hold against it, nobody knew.

Thinking they must at least get Hop out of here, Serin struggled as she realized that it was impossible to carry his body in the present state.

With a blank stare at the sky, she could only watch.

And then,

“Hey, what’s with this spatial density? Where’s Hop?”

“?”

Out of nowhere, a voice searching for Hop rang out.

Turning her head toward the direction of the sound, Serin saw none other than…

‘An Elf?’

It was Keineu, the Elf King and childhood friend of Hanamana, who had sensed something amiss with Hop and rushed over.

 

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