Lightning-fast strikes rained down, and sweat poured from Haeyoung’s body like a heavy downpour.
“Haa… Haa…”
Her breathing was ragged.
Whether it was the tension or something else, her body felt much heavier than usual.
Despite her diligent physical training, had she put too much force into her movements?
As time passed, heat surged through her body.
‘She’s too fast!’
Her opponent’s speed far exceeded her expectations.
She wasn’t overwhelmingly outmatched in terms of strength.
However, in every other aspect, the difference in skill was glaringly obvious.
The most significant gap was speed.
Just keeping up with her opponent’s movements visually was exhausting, forcing her into a defensive stance.
Even as Miyuki unleashed strikes fast enough to make Haeyoung’s tongue click in disbelief, her expression remained utterly unchanged.
“……”
At a glance, her swordsmanship seemed simple and monotonous.
Yet, upon closer observation, it became clear that there wasn’t a single wasted motion.
Her style was designed solely for one purpose—to kill her opponent.
Her blade, embodying a restrained elegance, was sharper than any beast’s fangs.
‘…I can’t just keep defending like this.’
Not even five minutes had passed since the duel began, yet Haeyoung’s body was already riddled with small wounds.
None were serious enough to hinder her movements, but at this rate, she wouldn’t even be able to put up a proper fight before losing.
‘Get it together.’
She was shrinking back more than usual.
There were many reasons for it, but the biggest factor was a drop in confidence.
Lately, she had been facing opponents far stronger than herself.
And with the arrival of Taeseong, an absolute anomaly, she had been forced to confront just how weak she truly was.
She understood that Taeseong was a special existence beyond common sense.
But that didn’t make her any stronger.
A sense of helplessness had taken root within her, slowly corroding her spirit.
The greatest strengths she possessed—her energy and determination—were no longer functioning properly.
The truth was, Haeyoung was much stronger than she thought.
Her past experiences had nurtured her growth, allowing her to accomplish far more than she realized.
She was the only one who didn’t see it.
“It’s about time to finish this.”
Miyuki retrieved her blade and swiftly formed a series of hand signs.
In an instant, afterimages of her figure solidified, splitting into five.
The two managers observing from the room exchanged glances, as if there was no longer any point in watching.
“It’s over.”
“I don’t think she even needed to use ninjutsu to win.”
Lee Eunha, who had belatedly recognized something, muttered.
“…No wonder her name sounded familiar. That manager must be from the Iga ninja clan.”
“Oh? You’ve got a sharp eye, miss.”
Ignoring the remark, Eunha turned to Taeseong and Gi-jun.
“She’s using ninjutsu… and that sword. It’s one of the legendary blades wielded by the Iga clan’s head. I thought the Iga clan was nearly extinct… but it seems they still have successors.”
Yoo Gi-jun, clearly impressed, asked,
“…How do you even know all this, Deputy?”
“Oh, just… I picked it up somewhere.”
The truth was, Lee Eunha had an insatiable intellectual curiosity.
She prided herself on being well-versed in all sorts of knowledge.
If there was anyone in the organization who could match her in that regard, it would probably be Choi Harin, the head of the intelligence division.
But at this point, nothing surprised her anymore.
Reincarnators, returnees, spirits, and psychics all existed in this world—what was a ninja compared to that?
What frustrated her, however, was something else.
Taeseong knew Haeyoung’s combat abilities better than anyone.
That’s why he had given her advice.
Had that advice become a hindrance instead?
She was performing worse than usual.
‘Believe in yourself, Oh Haeyoung.’
Miyuki’s five duplicates all looked identical to the original.
[You fool! How long do you plan to stay on the defensive?! Haven’t I told you time and time again?! Don’t waste time trying to compensate for your weaknesses—focus on maximizing your strengths! Your strength and recovery ability are your greatest assets!]
Yeah.
If I let this end like this, I won’t be able to grow any further.
I need to become stronger.
—Fine. If you lose, you’ll learn something from it. If you win, you’ll gain something from that as well. Use that as fuel to move forward, and eventually, you’ll see the path ahead.
‘For the sake of achieving my goal.’
Haeyoung recalled Taeseong’s advice and the reason she had joined the Tree organization as a manager.
She made her decision.
‘Grandfather.’
[What is it?]
‘Lend me your strength.’
[So, you’ve finally made up your mind.]
‘Just 10%.’
[You still don’t trust me?]
There was nothing to lose by going all out here.
After all, she was just an Epsilon, while her opponent was a Delta.
If the result was already decided, she might as well throw everything she had at it.
“Alright, screw it—let’s go all in!”
Divine Descent (降神).
Her rank temporarily rose to Delta.
The evolving artifact, Ragnar Lothbrok’s Pendant, radiated a blinding light.
“……!”
Even with just 10% of its power, an explosive force surged from her core.
A sensation of joy dominated her entire being.
‘Now I understand why Grandmother warned me about this.’
Haeyoung charged toward the clones, swinging her axe left and right.
Despite the sudden shift in momentum, Miyuki remained composed and countered each attack calmly.
Her movements were as light as a feather.
But with each swing of Haeyoung’s axe, fresh wounds appeared on Miyuki’s body.
Slice!
Her shoulder was cut.
Slice!
Her side was slashed.
Slice!
Her nape was grazed, yet she pressed on with relentless determination.
In fact, the more wounds she sustained, the fiercer her attacks became.
‘Just one hit! I just need to land one clean hit!’
It was reckless, brute-force combat.
Yet, as time passed, it was Miyuki who began to falter.
For the first time, her previously unreadable expression twisted with unease.
‘Was she hiding her true strength all along?’
They say offense is the best defense.
Now that Haeyoung had turned aggressive, her strengths were finally shining through.
Miyuki’s combat style was precise.
She relied on speed and accuracy, targeting vital points while whittling down opponents with ninjutsu and hidden weapons.
But that also meant each of her individual strikes lacked overwhelming force.
Haeyoung, on the other hand, charged forward with unrelenting ferocity, swinging her axe with bloodshot eyes.
Her roar echoed through the training hall.
“Uwaaaaaahhh!”
Her appearance, so frenzied that it made one doubt whether she was truly the same person as before, was that of a berserker.
‘Has she lost her reason?’
Miyuki tried to maintain her composure as she persistently aimed for vital points.
Yet, even in her frenzied state, her instincts seemed sharper than ever, as she evaded lethal strikes while taking most attacks head-on.
Meat for bones.
Simply put, she was sacrificing flesh to claim the opponent’s bones.
Every time her axe sliced through the air, the piercing sound it produced was enough to make Miyuki sense the looming danger.
‘If I take even one clean hit, I’ll be the one finished instead.
To think an Epsilon-ranked opponent possesses this level of combat ability…’
Haeyoung, her body looking as if it had been submerged in a pool of blood, grinned at Miyuki.
“……?”
A moment later.
Miyuki realized the meaning behind that grin.
In the midst of fending off Haeyoung’s relentless assault, she had unknowingly backed herself into a dead end.
The moment she belatedly grasped the situation and attempted to scale the wall to reposition herself—
Boom!
Haeyoung swung her axe down, striking the ground.
Fragments of the shattered floor shot up, blocking Miyuki’s escape route.
Had she been her usual self, she would have calmly handled the situation.
But in her current state, she was psychologically shaken.
From the very beginning, as a Delta-ranked warrior, the thought of losing to a mere Epsilon-ranked opponent like Oh Haeyoung had never crossed her mind.
She had been so certain of victory that now, finding herself in such a predicament, she couldn’t help but panic.
And in the end, that lapse in judgment led to an unexpected turn.
For the first time, Haeyoung’s axe managed to graze Miyuki.
Whoosh!
Even so, Miyuki swiftly retrieved her sword to parry the blow.
But Haeyoung’s axe came crashing down with the force to shatter both her weapon and her body.
Crash!
Unable to withstand the impact, Miyuki was sent flying and slammed into the wall.
As she staggered to her feet, the first thing that entered her blurred vision was Haeyoung’s axe, descending with enough force to split her skull in two.
“…I surrender.”
Thud.
The moment those words left her lips, Haeyoung’s axe came to an abrupt stop.
Had it descended just a fraction more, the contents of Miyuki’s skull might have been exposed for all to see.
Haeyoung gasped for breath.
“Haa… Haa…”
Only then did the crimson light in her eyes fade, returning to normal.
As if her strength had left her, she let out a dull thud as she dropped her axe and collapsed onto the floor in a spread-eagle position.
A pool of blood formed beneath her.
Somehow, the victor looked far more battered than the defeated.
“Hehehe.”
Despite everything, she let out a weak chuckle, seemingly pleased with herself.
Struggling to raise her upper body, she turned toward the transparent wall.
“…Hehe. I won!”
She grinned broadly, forming a V-sign with her fingers.
And then, she promptly passed out.
Miyuki checked her own condition before rising to her feet.
‘I must have at least three or four broken ribs.’
Gripping her injured side, she looked down at Haeyoung.
‘Assuming I would win without question was my mistake. In the end, it was my arrogance that led to my defeat. I won’t try to justify it as carelessness—I must push myself even further.’
“Hmph… I won… I…”
Hearing Haeyoung’s sleep-talking, Miyuki let out a quiet chuckle.
Then, she hoisted Haeyoung onto her back and carried her toward the waiting medical team.
‘Ugh, I’m going to get a facial cramp at this rate.’
Gi-jun, who had been barely holding back his laughter, finally burst out into a fit of laughter.
“Puhahahaha! Seriously, that was amazing. How does someone even think to flash a V-sign in that situation? Hey, Hitomi! What do you think? Isn’t our administrator just the cutest?”
Unlike Gi-jun, who was roaring with laughter, Hitoshi wore a face as sour as if he had swallowed something foul.
“…It’s Hitoshi, not Hitomi.”
“Oh, my bad, my bad. I’m not great at remembering names. But why aren’t you answering my question? That administrator you looked down on—that lowly Epsilon-ranked Korean administrator—just defeated a mighty Delta-ranked administrator!”
“……”
Hitoshi, rendered speechless, remained silent.
Seeing this, Gi-jun grinned wickedly and continued taunting him.
“Oh? Why so quiet now? Knock, knock, Hitoshi? Are you there? Ah! Ah! Can you hear me? Or maybe you’re so shocked you’ve gone mute?”
Gi-jun was relentless by nature. Moreover, his years of gaming had honed his skills in verbal combat to near perfection.
‘This bastard had the audacity to spend all day looking down on us—talking about Epsilon this, Korea that—well, look at him now.’
“You sure loved running your mouth all day, but now that things aren’t in your favour, you’ve suddenly shut up? That’s some impressive tactical retreating. Is that how you managed to become Delta-ranked?”
Face flushed as red as a tomato, Hitoshi could no longer contain his boiling rage and shouted—
“Step outside. Now.”
“What, you think that’ll scare me?”
