“…..”

“Hey, hurry up and leave! You wanna die?!”

“…. Oppa.”

‘Damn it… What the hell am I supposed to do?’

No matter how much I thought about it, there was no way out. Fight? Against four of them? Trying to fight in this situation would be nothing short of suicide.

As I hesitated, Yu-lim tightly shut her eyes and opened her mouth.

“…. Oppa. Leave me behind. Instead… please take care of Yoo Hyun.”

“Noona! What are you saying…! Hyung, you’re not serious, right?!”

“…..”

‘Just… leave them behind. Then… I can survive. I can even save Yoo Hyun…’

We hadn’t known each other for long. If I thought of them as mere pawns on a chessboard, it was simple.

I could always find new allies to use later. Gambling in this disadvantageous situation was a choice only an idiot would make.

But before I knew it, words completely different from my thoughts spilled out of my mouth.

“…. Everyone, get ready to fight. Watch out for the archer. Yoo Hyun, you have a dagger, right? You and Noona hold out for now. If the situation looks better, give me a hand.”

As I made it clear I intended to fight, the guy holding the axe sneered.

“Hah… You’re really going to fight? Forget your worthless sense of justice. You’ll regret it later.”

Ignoring his words, I barked my orders.

“I’ll go for them first. Follow me. Avoid the arrows no matter what!”

“Oppa!”

“Yoon-sung hyung!”

The moment I finished speaking, I charged toward them. I heard them calling for me from behind, but I ignored it. Right now, I needed to focus on the fight.

‘The leader can wait. First, I’ll take care of that axe-wielding idiot.’

The difference between having a class and not having one was significant. I had to deal with the ones without classes first and save my magic for the leader.

“This bastard!”

The guy in front of me swung his axe. It was a slow, clumsy movement, but the problem was that I wasn’t much better at fighting. Blocking the axe with my shield, I aimed my blunt weapon at his torso.

“Damn it!”

He barely managed to roll away. Meanwhile, two others had gone after the kids, and the leader, who had a class, thrust his sword at me from the side.

Clang!

“Gahh!”

The strength behind his attack pushed me back even though I blocked it with my shield.

“Damn it!”

I was struggling to fend off attacks from both sides. As I blocked and struck back a few times, a scream came from where the kids were fighting.

“Ahhhhh! You crazy bitch!”

“Die! Die, you filthy bastards!”

It seemed like Yu-lim had dodged the archer’s attack and successfully stabbed one of the others with her dagger.

While my attention was briefly diverted, a fierce strike aimed for my leg. I barely blocked it with my shield.

“Huff… Huff… Damn it…!”

Seeing me panting, the leader smirked and spoke.

“Ha… I’ll give you that. You block and dodge well. But how long do you think you can last? Are you relying on those kids?”

‘Damn it…!’

Squelch!

“Argh!”

While I was busy blocking the axe-wielder, the leader’s sword slashed my arm holding the blunt weapon.

“Gahhhh….”

“You son of a bitch! You’re dead meat!”

Thud!

The pain made me drop my weapon, and the axe-wielder kicked me to the ground.

“Ugh…!”

“Hah… You pathetic piece of shit. Wait here while I deal with the kids.”

“No…!”

I couldn’t let him reach them. Slowly gathering my magic, I muttered under my breath.

“Bu… Burn… Flame.”

I felt my magic drain from me as flames erupted. The axe-wielder, not expecting me to use magic, was caught completely off guard.

“Ahhhh! Ahhhhhhh!”

He flailed like a burning insect, writhing in pain.

“You bastard…!”

“Ugh…!”

The leader climbed on top of me, his hands closing around my neck. It seemed he didn’t care much for his comrades but couldn’t tolerate me resisting.

“I’ll make sure you die painfully…!”

“Ugh… kugh…!”

‘I… can’t breathe…’

As I gasped for air, I looked toward the kids.

‘As expected… there’s no way we can win…’

“Ahhhh!”

“Noona!”

“Damn it, this bitch is feisty. What are you going to do about my arm, huh?”

“Don’t you dare touch my sister!”

“Scram, you little punk!”

Thud!

“Ugh… Noona…”

“Damn wench…”

One of the attackers, his arm injured by Yu-lim, grabbed her by the hair and lifted her head.

“Oh, you’ll pay for this. You dared to stab my arm?”

The situation was hopeless. There was no way out. My consciousness was fading.

“Arghhhhhh!”

Suddenly, light began radiating from Yoo Hyun. It was reminiscent of the light during a class change, but far more intense.

“What? What’s going on?!”

At the same time, Yu-lim’s body began glowing white, and her wounds started to heal.

Sensing something was wrong, the leader shouted.

“Kill them! Kill them now!”

As they rushed toward Yoo Hyun, a woman’s voice rang out from somewhere.

“Who do you think you’re trying to kill?”

******

“Who do you think you’re trying to kill?”

The sudden voice startled the attackers, making them pause and turn toward its source. A woman holding a spear stood there, her gaze fixed on the scene.

“What the…?”

The man choking me froze upon spotting her, his grip loosening enough for air to rush back into my lungs.

“Ghhk… cough… hack… ugh…”

“…. Who are you? Did you come here alone?”

The attackers tried to question her, but the woman said nothing more. She only glared at the man pinning me down with an expression so cold it seemed to freeze the air.

“Hey, I’m talking to you! Who the hell are you?!”

Finally, with a chilling expression, she spoke.

“…Who am I? I’m the one who’s here to kill you.”

The moment those words left her lips, the woman dashed toward me with astonishing speed. The leader, who had been choking me moments ago, was visibly shaken by how fast she closed the gap.

“What… what the hell?!”

Swish—

“Huh?”

In an instant, the leader’s head was severed from his body, hitting the ground with a dull thud. Blood spurted like a fountain from the headless corpse.

Splat—

The woman stood still, drenched in blood, as silence settled over the area.

“Ahhh! W-What the hell just happened?!”

The other two men looked utterly terrified, unable to comprehend the swift death of their leader.

‘Damn it, what just… happened? Even I’m shaking…’

‘Was that speed even human? Was she moving at human limits?’

The leader, while not as formidable as Jo Chan-ho, had still been among the strongest I’d encountered. I never imagined he’d die so effortlessly.

The woman knelt on one knee beside me, her expression a mix of concern and contemplation as she spoke.

“Wait here for a moment…”

Without waiting for a response, she turned toward the remaining two men and started walking toward them slowly.

“S-Stop! Wait, stop right there!”

The man holding a blunt weapon panicked as he saw her stop, desperate to talk his way out.

“H-Hey… Look, we only did this because the boss told us to. There’s no point in fighting each other, right? We’ll leave. We’ll even leave all our food. Okay? L-Let’s just go our separate ways!”

The woman replied in an icy tone, her expression unchanging.

“…Don’t overthink it. You messed with someone you shouldn’t have. Besides, you didn’t spare anyone begging for their lives, did you?”

“M-Madwoman! Don’t come any closer!”

The man grabbed Yu-lim by the neck and yelled.

“Kyahhh!”

“Stay back, you bitch! Come any closer, and I’ll snap her neck! Drop your weapon!”

“Noona! No! Don’t do it! Please don’t!” cried Yoo Hyun, trembling in fear.

“…Now you’re taking hostages? Do you really think that’ll save you?”

“Damn it! What, are you going to kill me?! Huh?! Try it, bitch! Let’s see if you can kill me before I break her neck!”

The woman sighed, rubbing her forehead as though tired of this nonsense.

“Fine. I can’t drop my weapon for my own safety, but I’ll stand still and raise my spear over my head. How about that?”

“D-Do that! But don’t you dare move closer!”

The two men, still holding Yu-lim, began backing away cautiously while keeping their eyes on the woman.

And then, in a flash, she moved.

With a powerful swing of her arm, the spear flew through the air and struck the man square in the face.

Crunch!

His body crumpled to the ground, the spear embedded in his head. Yu-lim dropped to her knees, trembling in shock.

“Wh-What the…?!”

The archer, who had been stepping back alongside the first man, froze in place, staring in disbelief at his fallen comrade.

Without missing a beat, the woman approached the remaining attacker. Though the archer tried to react, he was too slow. The woman delivered a brutal kick to his stomach.

“Gah…! Hrrrk… bleagh!”

“Shut up.”

Thud!

She retrieved her spear and drove it straight into the man’s throat. His body convulsed like a skewered fish before finally going still.

“Huff… huff… haah…”

Yu-lim, pale and gasping for breath, seemed overwhelmed by the thought that the spear could have hit her had it been slightly off target.

Yoo Hyun ran to his sister, crying.

“Noona! Are you okay?! Hic… hic… sob…”

“Y-Yeah… I’m okay. Stop crying, you idiot…”

“Hic… sob… It’s my fault! Because of me…!”

As the siblings embraced each other, I slowly limped toward the woman, who had finished off the attackers. Bowing slightly, I spoke through labored breaths.

“Cough… Thank you. If it weren’t for you, we’d all be dead. I don’t even know how to repay this debt… thank you so much.”

‘I need to stay on her good side no matter what.’

Just from what I’d witnessed, it was clear that angering this woman would be a grave mistake. She had single-handedly taken down three opponents in mere moments, while I had barely managed to kill one.

‘She’s on a whole other level.’

Even compared to Jo Chan-ho or the now-deceased leader, this woman was in a league of her own. I couldn’t imagine any scenario where Yoo Hyun, Yu-lim, and I together could even scratch her.

“I can’t thank you enough. If there’s anything you want, even all the food we have, it’s yours. Thank you again.”

I meant every word. If she wanted, she could take not only our food but also our lives without breaking a sweat. Losing food was a small price to pay for surviving this encounter.

While expressing my gratitude, I discreetly checked her status screen.