There was no need for either side to wait.

Snap. Goeun flicked her fingers. Flames surged from her long pipe.

The blaze shot up high enough to touch the ceiling. Then it flattened out horizontally, morphing into a single arrow of fire.

And its target was…

“…!!”

Of course, Lee Taebaek.

Snap!

She flicked her fingers again. The fire arrow shot forward with the ferocity of a bowstring released.

Whiiiish!

Lee Taebaek reflexively unleashed a Tremor Stomp with his front foot. A deafening boom echoed alongside the splintering creak of wood.

The wooden flooring broke loose the screws that had pinned his body in place, and he sprang straight up vertically. Dust clumps and sawdust pooled beneath him were flung up along with him.

It was over in an instant.

The fire arrow hurtling toward his brow suddenly halted midway with a jerk. It had been blocked by a barrier.

Too early to relax.

This wasn’t just any fire arrow. It was magic.

Refined Samadhi True Fire, no less. He knew it wouldn’t end there.

He pressed tight against the barrier, curling his body like he was hugging his ribs to his chest. He needed to crouch even lower.

Preparing for the explosion.

His prediction was spot on.

The blocked fire arrow boiled in place before detonating. The single flame split left and right from the flooring at its center. It packed enough punch to make him curse.

Sizzle.

The barrier’s edges glowed red-hot first. Then it began charring black at the rims.

This is her idea of “holding back”?!

He’d barely escaped the flames. It had exploded right in front of his face, literally inches away.

Sweat slicked his palms. Cold sweat or heat, he couldn’t tell. But that wasn’t the issue right now.

“Not bad reaction speed.”

Goeun smirked around the pipe between her lips. She looked pleased. Damn, smiling? After nearly killing him?

“No need to burn down the whole shop.”

“Thanks for caring about my empty home, but worry about your own body first. I prefer real-combat tests.”

He wanted to see that pretty face crumple. A murderous impulse bubbled up to his throat.

He’d never lost his cool even against Team Leader Seo, the province’s top beauty. Lee Taebaek was the type to deliver his signature stab equally to beauties. No big deal.

And she’d just tried to kill him. “Holding back” or not, he’d nearly ended up as roast chicken.

The electric chair nightmare was still fresh in his mind.

Flames ignited in his eyes. Crimson glow like midnight neon. His hostility translated straight to action. He channeled killing intent into his sword-gripping fist.

Grip.

He wanted both hands on the blade, but he had no hand to spare. He’d have to etch his stab with just his right-hand strength.

But don’t get swept up in emotion.

Harness courage, suppress recklessness.

Stay calm and observe, especially now.

Raw skill-wise, she outclassed him.

She hadn’t even gone all-out yet.

[Bullet Time] needed to be saved.

Draw out more of her moves first.

Save the trump card for last.

His fleeting thoughts ended.

The instant the flooring crumbled to ash, he straightened his crouched back.

Boom!

Then he kicked off like he was shoving the floor away. He slipped out from behind what had been his cover. He circled to keep a set distance, sliding sideways. Wherever he brushed past, wooden planks stood erect in a row.

A shadow fell over Goeun’s face. Her sharp eyes scanned the wooden walls that had formed in an instant.

Her cherry lips pursed round. Inside, she was impressed by Lee Taebaek’s move.

A brainiac, huh?

The first strike was meant to test his handling. He’d overcome it spectacularly, like showing off.

Meant to force a dodge, but he turned the floor into walls? Beyond the rumors.

Innovative. Plenty of test subjects before, but none like this.

The test subject’s combat power, how long he could last against a superior foe, and the peak potential tapped when going all out. That was the goal.

Lee Taebaek fit perfectly. Prime material.

Reaction speed aside, his quick thinking was exceptional.

Tsss.

Killing intent pierced through the wooden wall and into his skin. Like magma boiling beyond.

Chill.

He’d just witnessed it.

Yet the killing aura felt like facing a blood feud, shrinking his pores instinctively.

Remove one barrier, and he’ll strike from the blind spot, right?

That fair White Path face scheming like a snake screamed Black Path.

And not just that.

His resolve to kill those he targeted was peak Demonic Cultist.

A prime talent embodying all orthodox and demonic paths.

Goeun flashed an excited smile. This sudden man soothed her boredom.

“Commander-in-Chief finally sent a decent one.”

By now, wooden formations enclosed her space. It was like being caged in a lattice of timber.

“Meant to check from basics, but guess I gotta show my stuff.”

Samadhi True Fire. Basic magic any mage could wield. Too mundane for an advanced practitioner.

In Kergel Magic Tower, just a lighter nowadays. However.

Goeun twisted restrictions to her advantage.

A foundational spell no one bothered with.

She self-imposed limits: only this spell. Boosting power beyond limits.

Each squeezed Samadhi True Fire rivaled a grenade.

Paradox: power surged as the caster was cornered. Essence of magic and restriction.

But stopping there wouldn’t be Goeun.

Even amid the tower’s monsters, she was a promising mage.

Slurp.

She pulled out the long pipe she’d been holding in her mouth. Used it like a brush to draw a fiery cross. Smoke scripted strokes in air.

Whoosh…!

Ten fireballs orbited her. Baseball-sized buds.

“Still, I’ve lowered the output to seventy percent. You’ll get burns at worst, not die.”

“…Crazy bastard…”

Voice leaked from beyond the wood.

“Oh my, says the pot to the kettle.”

Goeun smiled it off.

“Once you dip into magic, sanity’s out. Don’t know? It’s okay. I’ll teach you step by step.”

Even she could get caught in her magic—that restriction. Power near dynamite.

Snap!

One fireball bloomed chest-wide. Then another in sequence.

Five fireballs unfurled like blossoms in spring breeze.

“Went big, but how can I help it when it’s fun? Might as well flower-view.”

Not Samadhi True Fire.

Samadhi True Blossom fits.

Boom!

After that, explosions were nonstop.

Boom! Bwoooom! Kraaang!

Flames shredded wooden walls. The timber array melted beyond burning.

Bar glasses shattered from heat. Eunko Bar became hell’s miniature.

“Hahaha! Perfect time to refurnish!”

Flames cleared Goeun’s view. But no sign of him.

Then.

Goeun tilted her head to dodge a thrusting blade from behind. If Samadhi True Fire was magic basics, ambushing blind spots was assassination canon.

“Predictable.”

“I know.”

Lee Taebaek whipped the blade’s arc upward.

Goeun leaned back, stepping one foot away. Whoosh. Blade grazed just a few hairs below her ear.

He exhaled shortly. He connected the motions seamlessly. Buffing [Strength] and [Agility] would let him reel in the blade at its peak.

Slash!

Slashed diagonally. This time, she thrust the pipe into the blade’s path.

Screeech!

Blade met pipe, sparks flying.

Goeun tugged her lip. Feint, shift, relentless tenacity. Right up her alley.

“Know the big misconception?”

Mid-clash, Goeun leisurely glanced back. Lee Taebaek frozen mid-pull.

“The misconception is that because mages gave up martial arts, their dynamic vision disappeared too. Most fatal mistakes come from that.”

“…”

Huu, long exhale. Laughter-laced smoke assailed his face.

Her fingers moved. Flicking again.

“Charging head-on? Judgment error. But test passed. Accepted as Eunko Bar lodger—”

He had no spare hand, so he used his foot. His back kick surged at her hand.

Too bad her finger flicked first.

Snap.

Five flames morphed to fire arrows.

Then streaked like meteors.

The exposed Lee Taebaek dropped his kick. If he kept extending his foot, he’d be hit defenselessly.

Luckily, his muscles were very elastic. Maybe because his level had risen, his athletic performance was excellent.

Now is the time for the stubbornly gripped umbrella to shine.

Blocking the all-around barrage was impossible. The silver lining: four of the five were approaching from behind.

Para Blade can handle.

Just one. Exactly one.

There was no room to dodge. He had to deflect it with his blade.

But easier said than done.

Absurd. Near impossible.

Unless he froze time.

Yeah.

Suspend the flow of time, and that was it.

She’d lack counters then. Spatial limits, her “restraint.”

Now is the time to bring out the trump card.

No delay.

The moment he showed his killer hand, she’d counter instantly. Ceding attack to stronger foe? Idiot move.

Lee Taebaek closed his eyes, then slowly opened them halfway. Lashes veiled glassy pupils.

A flash of light from his brain spread to his toes.

His spine tingled, dense with nerves.

Focus converged to a point.

Lee Taebaek murmured low.

“Know another misconception?”

Best revenge was…

“Seeing desperate faces and thinking the fight’s over. Complacency, unaware.”

Returning the favor.

He swung the blade. The afterimages along his arm’s trail dragged like a series.

Goeun’s eyes blanked. Man’s moves outpaced her perception.

The thermal gradient shifted from red to purple, the rainbow’s end, in a blink.

The slipping blade bisected the fire arrow precisely as the umbrella snapped its closed mouth wide open.

Bwooom- Bwoooom-.

Elastic booms trailed. By fifth burst…

Slim fingers invaded his view. Classic martial grab.

Qinna Hand.

Caught off guard by the unexpected attack, his hand shot out instinctively. She was a martial artist too.

Thwack!

Lee Taebaek booted her chest hard. Finally avenging the thwarted kick.

She clutched her solar plexus, reeling back. He couldn’t miss the gap.

He hurled Para Blade, then clasped her retreating hand like interlocking fingers.

Hand gripped, her balance crumbled—wobble.

Crack.

Goeun’s fingers hyperextended beyond limit. Five digits mangled.

Crunch!

He snapped the remaining fingers like chalk. Goeun looked more dazed than pained.

First time for this.

This too, then.

Slap!

Blood sprayed onto his cheek.

Again.

The woman’s waist bent like a shrimp.

Guts-rattling agony flipped her eyes back.

With her hand bound, she couldn’t dodge.

He withdrew his fist from her dantian.

She collapsed knees-first, hand still gripped.

He coldly eyed his bloodied fist. He released her hand and shook off the blood.

“So that’s how it went.”

“…”

Her hands were bandaged like sausages. Kang Hyeonseong heard the story from the bedridden Goeun.

“His hand was so vicious. He nearly shattered my dantian for real!”

“…So you lost? To him?”

“It wasn’t life-or-death, so I didn’t use my full power.”

Goeun’s smile was bright and cheerful.

“But complacency was my downfall. Lost fair.”

“No… What the hell, sigh.”

Kang Hyeonseong’s face was odd. There was no proper reaction possible.

“…Calling Taebaek back to HQ.”

“No.”

Goeun said firmly.

“I’ll raise him myself.”

“What…? Live with the guy who did this to you? Finally snapped?”

“Demons bickering’s worse. This is just skinship. Plus, I struck first…”

“Assassin?”

“No, I was the one who used something like an assassin’s move.”

Kang Hyeonseong glared sharp; Goeun dodged vaguely. Sighs unending.

“Ease up, friend.”

“Fuck friends.”

“Easier for me anyway. Better sharp-handed than lecherous under one roof.”

Kang Hyeonseong covered his eyes. His forehead throbbed. When he lowered his hand, he saw the stark white ceiling.

“Lee Taebaek… What the hell are you…?”

Only that escaped.