The moment the hooded man stepped into the ruined hut, Greg suddenly realized his mistake.
He had relied far too heavily on his foreknowledge of the original game's plot, taking everything for granted.
Since he had known that when the protagonist arrived in the original storyline, the ritual targeting Silvia was already complete and Professor Audrey had gone completely insane—
...he had failed to consider another possibility now that he had interrupted the process early:
Would the true mastermind hidden behind the scenes choose to show up in person to clean house because the plan had been disrupted?
He should have thought of this.
Professor Audrey was merely a pawn being used.
For her to obtain dangerous items like the stone tablets and the Breath of Slumber, there had to be a true orchestrator behind her.
When a pawn slipped out of control and risked exposing clues, was it not only natural for the player to step in and clear the board?
Yet he had still been careless.
Blinded by the superiority of knowing the plot and a touch of self-satisfaction at staying one step ahead, he had assumed that subduing Audrey and securing the key evidence meant the incident was practically resolved.
He had underestimated the complexity of this real world and the variables beyond the plot.
Unlike Audrey, who was merely being used, the hooded man before him exuded a genuinely dangerous aura.
He was a true believer of the Mother of Depravity, a real and undeniable enemy of humanity.
"Danger! My other half! Leave this place immediately! The filthy faith and intent to kill coiled around this man are extraordinary—he is absolutely not someone you can fight head-on at your current stage! Forget about that girl for now and get out of here!"
Nightmare's ethereal voice urgently rang out in Greg's mind, heavy with unprecedented gravity and warning.
Greg's heart sank.
Even Nightmare was so wary...
Yet, after spending time together, neither logic nor emotion would allow him to abandon Silvia and flee alone.
Setting aside Silvia's poor condition right after being kidnapped, Greg could not stomach letting this dangerous intruder take her away or kill her.
Not to mention, the opponent's targets clearly included himself as well.
"S-Save me! Your Excellency! I followed your instructions! The ritual... the ritual was interrupted by this despicable student! Quick, help me subdue him! Take back the stone tablets and the Breath of Slumber! My son still needs..."
Lying limp on the ground, Professor Audrey clung to him like a desperate lifeline. She struggled to raise her head and let out a shrill plea to the hooded man, a morbid hope rekindling on her face.
However, she could not finish her words.
Pfft!
A dark flash of axe-light moved faster than the eye could track, leaving a blurry arc in the air.
Professor Audrey's pleading stopped abruptly.
Her eyes widened as she looked down at her chest in disbelief.
There, a clean slice pierced right through her heart, blood slowly oozing forth.
She opened her mouth as if to say something, but managed only a brief gasp. The light in her eyes rapidly faded, and her head dropped lifelessly, completely devoid of breath.
Clean, swift, and ruthless.
"The plan... was originally for you to succumb completely to madness during the ritual. Now that a blunder has occurred, a cleanup is naturally required."
The hooded man pulled back his battle-axe, his voice remaining raspy and dull, as though he had merely crushed an annoying bug.
Without glancing at Audrey's corpse, his icy gaze relocked onto Greg and Silvia.
"Now, it is your turn. Hand over the items, as well as that girl. Do not make me repeat myself a third time."
Greg took a deep breath, forcing down the chill in his heart and the shock of Audrey's death.
He stepped to the side, shielding the pale Silvia completely behind him, and whispered rapidly in a volume only the two of them could hear:
"Silvia, listen carefully. Leave this room immediately and run toward the academy. Don't look back, and run as fast as you can!"
"B-But Senior Greg, what about you..."
Tears welled up in Silvia's eyes from anxiety. She wanted to stay and help, but the lingering weakness from the Breath of Slumber bound her body. Her limbs were faint, and her mana circulation remained sluggish.
At this moment, let alone casting any threatening light magic, she could barely manage to run quickly.
This sense of powerlessness pierced her heart like a knife, making her feel agonizingly miserable.
"Stop talking and go! Staying here will only drag me down!"
Greg shouted sternly, his tone sharper than ever before.
He had to force her to leave.
Silvia trembled at his harsh rebuke. Staring at Greg's resolute back, then glancing at the cold-blooded hooded man, she finally bit her lip, choked back her tears, stumbled around, and ran toward the exit of the ruined hut with all her strength.
Seeing this, the hooded man seemed about to move, but Greg had already stepped between him and Silvia, fighting spirit igniting in his amber eyes.
"Your opponent is me."
"...You court death."
The hooded man seemed provoked by Greg's refusal to cooperate—or perhaps he had never intended to leave any witnesses alive in the first place.
Without another word, he kicked off the ground fiercely. The decaying floorboards groaned under the strain as his whole body surged forward like a fired cannonball, bringing heavy wind pressure as he lunged straight at Greg!
The dim, dull, short-handled battle-axe in his hand carved a bizarre arc through the air, aiming directly for Greg's neck!
Battle erupted in an instant!
The moment they clashed, Greg felt immense pressure.
This hooded man's strength was likely on the same tier as the Floor Boss of the dungeon's first layer, Lady Eight-Legs—or perhaps even higher!
Furthermore, unlike monsters that relied on instinct and massive bodies, this was a formidable humanoid enemy who possessed rich experience, ruthless moves, and an understanding of tactics and magic.
Even more troublesome was that this was not inside a dungeon.
One of the core advantages Greg relied on for fighting above his level—the 40% all-damage bonus provided by the [Dungeon Pioneer] talent—was completely useless here.
This meant the power of his basic magic was drastically diminished.
"Fireball!"
"Water Gun!"
Fighting while retreating, Greg continuously dodged the hooded man's heavy axe chops and the sharp earth spikes that occasionally burst from the ground.
Seizing gaps in the assault, he counterattacked using LV2 Fireballs and LV3 Water Arrows.
A Fireball struck the hooded man's cloak, igniting a small cluster of flames and scorching part of the fabric, forcing him to blow it out with the wind pressure created by swinging his axe blade.
The Water Arrow was weakened by a layer of pale yellow earth-attribute shield flowing over his body, leaving behind only shallow marks.
Yet his attacks were not entirely ineffective.
During a coordinated sequence where Greg intentionally used a Fireball to block his movement and a Water Arrow to ambush his lower body, the hooded man's evasive movement slowed slightly, causing his broad grey cloak to catch fire and tear open.
By the flickering firelight, Greg caught a vague glimpse through the tear in the cloak... revealing a section of a tail covered in dense, dark scales!
"A Demon, just as I thought!"
Greg's heart chilled.
The faith of the Mother of Depravity had actually spread into the forces of the Demons. In that case, she might really...
Just as Greg was momentarily distracted, the hooded man's attacks grew even more violent.
Not only did he possess staggering strength, but his speed was also blazingly fast. Coupled with his rich combat experience, he often combined simple slashes with sudden earth spikes bursting from beneath Greg's feet or sides, creating lethal kill set-ups.
Relying on his LV2 Earth Magic Resistance to reduce earth magic damage and his LV2 Blunt Resistance to dull the shock of axe strikes, along with his improved Constitution and Agility stats, Greg barely managed to maneuver within the narrow ruins of the wooden hut, though he faced danger at every turn.
At one point, the hooded man anticipated Greg's dodge path, sweeping his axe horizontally to block escape while the ground suddenly heaved, sharp stone spikes locking down the space to Greg's left, right, and above!
No way to dodge!
"Bracers of Darkness!"
Greg gave a low shout and hesitated no longer. His arms were instantly covered by jet-black bracers with ominous dark mist swirling across their surface.
CLANG—!!!
The dim battle-axe struck the dark bracers viciously, unleashing an extraordinarily dull boom as if two colossal boulders had slammed together.
The black mist churned violently. The terrifying physical force and mana infused in the axe blade were largely swallowed up like stone sinking into the sea, yet the residual impact still left Greg's arms numb and his blood churning. He slid back several paces, carving deep ruts into the ground.
"This is...!"
Failing to land a decisive blow, the hooded man immediately leapt back using the counterforce to put distance between them. Under his hood, his gaze fixed intensely on the rapidly vanishing black bracers on Greg's arms, his voice tinged for the first time with clear shock and alertness:
"A bizarre power... so pure and ancient... Are you, too, following some deity... long lost to the river of time?"
Rate on N.U.
