Chapter 42

There had been hunters like him in my past life, too.

They’d seem perfectly normal one moment, then suddenly attack people the next, or abduct someone and torture them without a second thought.

It was the price of conquering dungeons with unstable mana—it drove them mad.

But some hunters were exceptionally cruel, regardless of any dungeon-crawling.

They were psychopaths, either numb to the pain of others or, worse, delighting in it.

Hunters who lost their minds in dungeons might at least regret their actions once they regained their sanity.

But not these bastards. They felt nothing. They were just irredeemable trash.

‘And the only solution for hopeless trash is to burn it.’

I scanned the office.

‘That’ll do.’

A pile of used teacups had been carelessly abandoned on the table.

I picked up the filthiest one, still half-full of coffee.

“Hey, wanna catch?”

I asked playfully, as if inviting him to a game, and threw the cup at the assailant.

Instead of catching it, the man simply ducked his head slightly to dodge.

*Smash!* The cup shattered against the wall, splattering dark liquid everywhere.

The assailant, now covered in coffee, stopped his torture and turned to face me. The air grew chillingly cold.

“…What do you think you’re doing?”

“Just testing if your ears work. Seemed like you couldn’t understand me.”

“Don’t be rude. Wait your turn.”

I shrugged.

“He’ll die if you keep that up.”

“And?”

“I told you. I have business with him. It’ll be a problem if he dies now.”

“What does that have to do with me?”

“It has everything to do with you. Because if you don’t stop, I’ll kill you.”

“Kill me? You?”

“Yes.”

“…Interesting.”

A faint hint of amusement colored the man’s voice, but the atmosphere only grew more menacing.

His voice carried a power that could overwhelm an opponent.

‘Who is he? A hunter?’

Asking the constellations would have been faster, but the chat window was still frozen.

Annoying when they were there, frustrating when they weren’t.

‘Hunter or not, I’ll find out when we clash.’

There was no need for further conversation. He had no intention of stopping, and I had no intention of backing down.

I could figure out the assailant’s identity after I subdued him.

The tension stretched taut, like a rubber band pulled to its breaking point.

Now, it was just a matter of who would strike first.

I kept my eyes locked on the man.

As I controlled my breathing, gauging the right moment to attack, he slowly pulled the sword from the Master’s shoulder.

It wasn’t an act of retrieving his weapon before a fight, but an extension of the torture.

“N-No! Aaaaargh!”

The sword, which had pierced straight through the chair, slid out smoothly.

The Master’s screams were so loud they made my ears ring.

I gritted my teeth and warned him.

“You twisted bastard… I told you to stop.”

“Then stop me. If you can.”

“Fine. I’ll make you regret those words.”

I kicked off the ground and leaped into the air.

I swung Arondight swiftly, and the assailant sidestepped, countering with a light flick of his own sword.

It was a brief exchange, but it was enough to gauge his skill.

He was a master swordsman. At the very least, far superior to Alex.

‘But trying to parry Arondight is the wrong move.’

Of course, from his perspective, he had no other choice.

He couldn’t have known that a normal sword stood no chance against Arondight.

I smirked triumphantly from under my hood.

*Clang!*

As expected, the assailant failed to parry my blade.

Arondight bit halfway into his sword’s edge.

It must have been a fine blade, as it didn’t break, but the edge was noticeably damaged.

I remained tense, anticipating his counterattack.

But then, unbelievably, the man’s arm went limp. The sword blocking Arondight was pushed back until it was nearly at his chest.

‘What is he doing? Is he in shock because he didn’t expect his sword to be pushed back?’

The man was making a clear mistake. He should have been looking for an opening to counterattack during this brief pause, not spacing out.

‘Strange. For someone who doesn’t even know the basics, his swordsmanship is far too refined.’

Whatever the reason, his mistake was my opportunity.

I put my full weight into Arondight.

Using my entire body, I pushed him away from the Master.

The assailant, who had been blocking Arondight with his sword, was sent stumbling backward.

*Tatatak!*

We moved as one, our swords crossed in an X, until we finally separated near the wall.

The assailant had belatedly come to his senses and twisted away to break free from me.

He swung his sword toward my chest.

I arched my back like a bow, dodging his blade. *Swoosh.* The silver edge passed just over my nose with a deadly hiss.

I quickly snapped my back straight to regain my posture. My hood fell off in the process, revealing my face, but I had no time to worry about it.

‘Huh? What’s this?’

The assailant, who I expected to press the attack, inexplicably created more distance between us.

Come to think of it, his last attack seemed intended to make me retreat rather than inflict a fatal wound.

Did he realize he couldn’t face Arondight with his own sword?

Is that why he’s backing away from my sword’s range, to escape?

If so, he had just made a fatal error.

‘Too bad for him. The sword isn’t even my specialty.’

The sword was just an ability I awakened after becoming a hunter. I was originally an athlete, more accustomed to using my body.

I shifted my grip on Arondight, holding it like a spear, and hurled it at the man.

Instead of parrying it, he ducked low, letting Arondight fly past him.

*Thwack!* Arondight embedded itself deep into the wall where he had been standing.

‘Just as I thought.’

The corners of my mouth lifted into a smirk.

My real aim had been that fleeting moment when his gaze would shift to dodge the sword.

I didn’t miss the instant he ducked. I sprinted forward with all my might and, at the perfect spot, used my momentum to launch a spinning kick.

The man, still rising, threw his arms up to shield his face, blocking the kick.

*Thud!* The immense impact sent him staggering.

“Kuh!”

Back when I was a Taekwondo athlete, my specialty was the spinning hook kick.

A properly landed kick could generate over a ton of force, meaning it wasn’t an attack a person could simply block with their body.

Before he could recover, I kicked his calf out from under him, sending him to the ground.

Then, I mounted his prone back, reached over, and seized his throat.

“Hh!”

A sharp intake of breath came from under the hood.

But he wouldn’t be able to breathe properly.

I leaned down over the back of his hooded head.

“I don’t know if you realize, but this is a vital point. A steady press will slowly suffocate you to death. A sharp strike will kill you instantly.”

“You… wouldn’t want to do that… would you?”

The man replied slowly, his voice strained.

To speak even when he could barely breathe, and with a hint of laughter in his tone, no less.

‘Wow, this guy must be completely insane.’

If his sword had been just a little stronger, if he hadn’t ducked to avoid Arondight…

I wouldn’t have been able to gain the upper hand so easily.

If the fight had dragged on, it would have been impossible to subdue him without getting injured myself.

“You haven’t figured it out after seeing my face? I’m Astell Ruthius. The Mad Princess who gets a pass for killing people because everyone assumes she’s not in her right mind.”

“That… would depend… on the opponent.”

“…Are you saying I can’t kill you?”

“Now… you’re getting it.”

“What are you talking about? I’ve never seen you before today.”

“Your memory… is worse… than I thought.”

I looked down at the man again.

I couldn’t see anything now that he was face down, but I was certain I’d seen his lips and chin earlier.

‘Was it because of what he said? His lips seem familiar.’

A shade of red like crushed flower petals. A lower lip slightly fuller than the upper.

The elegant line that ran from his philtrum to his lips, and down to his chin.

It wasn’t a common feature, yet I was sure I had seen it before.

‘Where did I see it? Where have I…’

Suddenly, a brief image flashed through my mind.

A dangerously captivating smile.

As if possessed, I yanked back the man’s hood. Black hair spilled out, and the bitter scent of musk filled the air.

Then, a chillingly beautiful profile was revealed.

“…The Second Prince!”