Ryuu froze, of course. The one in front of her was a god.
For someone of the Lower World to try lying in front of a god from Heaven was no different from showing off petty tricks before a master.
And no matter how she looked at it, she had been caught.
Caught red-handed, on the spot, without the slightest room left to argue her way out.
Since he could identify her so confidently, then the thing she had feared most had still come to pass. Because of her recklessness, the haven she had sworn to protect with her life, The Hostess of Fertility, had been dragged into this after all.
At that thought, the thin lips hidden beneath the shadow of her hood pressed into a straight line. Even now, she still did not remove the hood concealing her face.
But this was her mistake.
It was her excessive protectiveness toward Syr, that obsession buried deep in her bones, that had led her to make such a panicked, bird-frightened misjudgment and ultimately bring trouble upon herself.
If she had done wrong, then she had to admit it.
Ryuu took a deep breath. The hands that had been tightly gripping her daggers slowly lowered, and the posture of a cornered enemy ready to strike dissolved away, replaced by an almost humble apology.
"I'm very sorry."
"As you said, for certain deeply personal reasons, I formed some unnecessary and disrespectful suspicions toward you."
"That was a mistaken judgment caused by my own obsession."
"I sincerely apologize for the trouble I've caused you."
"If there is any way I can make amends…"
Her voice was still cool, but the sharpness from before had faded, replaced by sincerity.
"There's no need for compensation."
"I already heard that line once today."
However, Haimer had no interest in hearing another formulaic apology.
Especially now.
Compared to verbal regret, he wanted something more tangible.
So, with a flick of his wrist,
Hummm
The silver spear that had been hanging casually in his hand drew a cold arc through the air, then came to a steady stop at his right side, the spear tip angled toward the ground with a crisp, low hum.
"Come to think of it, judging from the elf lady's reaction, you were probably once a fairly high-level adventurer."
"If you truly want to make it up to me, how about sparring with me?"
"Right here."
"As long as you can satisfy me, then tonight's matter will be treated as though it never happened."
"And more than that…"
"If you can beat me, not only will I let you go, I'll also grant you one request, so long as it doesn't cross my bottom line."
"Well?"
"That sounds like a fair deal, doesn't it?"
Haimer had naturally said that with a purpose in mind.
Whether that purpose could be achieved, however, still depended on how Ryuu reacted.
"???"
Ryuu jerked her head up. The sky-blue eyes that had remained hidden in shadow until now widened instantly, her face full of disbelief.
A spar?
With a god?
This was insanity.
"You must be joking."
"You are a god!"
"In the Lower World, gods are absolutely forbidden from using divine power."
"And besides… if I accidentally injure you and trigger the passive protection mechanism of a god's divinity, you'll be forcibly returned to Heaven!"
"Relax."
Haimer cut off her concerns.
"What I want with the elf lady is a contest of skill. A pure exchange."
"No divine power, no Authority, only a clash of martial technique."
"As for the reactive mechanism you're worried about…"
He let out a soft laugh.
"Don't worry."
"I guarantee nothing will happen."
"Even if you truly have the ability to put your blade to my throat, I still won't use even the slightest trace of divine power."
Ryuu fell silent.
Only then did she realize he was serious. This god was not joking.
And the situation before her was already painfully clear.
If she refused, if she failed to satisfy this god's interest, tonight was unlikely to end cleanly.
And since this god had already said that much…
"Then excuse me."
"But I tend to go too far."
"Please be careful, Lord God."
Ryuu bit down lightly, and her gaze instantly sharpened.
There was no path back.
Then there was only battle.
Since the other party was a god and had made that promise, then this truly was nothing more than a pure contest of skill.
As the former Gale.
As a Level 4 second-tier adventurer.
As a revenant who had spent countless times walking the edge of death, honing assassination and speed to their utmost limits.
In pure technique, she had absolute confidence.
A god might possess endless life and boundless knowledge, but with physical ability restricted and divine power sealed, a mere mortal shell was not necessarily guaranteed victory over someone as battle-hardened as her.
At that thought, Ryuu adjusted her breathing and slowly lowered her center of gravity. The hands hanging at her sides tightened once more around the twin daggers hidden in her sleeves.
If she was going to fight, then she would fight with everything she had.
That was respect toward a god, and responsibility toward everyone else.
The night wind itself seemed to still.
The alley fell utterly silent.
Only the occasional distant noise from the streets beyond made the pressure here feel even heavier.
Then, in the next instant,
Boom!
A dull explosion rang out.
It was the sound of the soles of her feet smashing off the bluestone pavement.
Ryuu vanished, she was simply too fast.
As Gale, a Level 4 who specialized in speed, the burst she unleashed in that instant was so quick it left behind a green afterimage.
There was no probing and restraint.
The moment she moved, it was already a killing strike.
She had originally assumed that in a narrow alley like this, a long weapon ought to be difficult to use, while short, compact daggers should dominate the terrain.
Making full use of that advantage, Ryuu used the rebound from the wall to twist in midair and complete an unbelievable reversal.
In an instant, she cut into Haimer's blind spot on the right.
That was where a spear should have failed to cover.
Got him!
A sharp light flashed through Ryuu's eyes.
Her twin daggers struck like venomous snakes, aiming straight for the nerve in Haimer's wrist.
Disarm him, and the result would be decided.
However,
just as her blades were about to touch Haimer's wrist, she heard:
"Too slow."
The calm voice reached her ears even faster than the wind.
Haimer braced the spear to his right against the wall and used the recoil to snap the butt of the weapon precisely into the side of her dagger.
Pak
A crisp sound rang out.
Ryuu felt an irresistible force surge into her wrist.
And it was more than just a deflection.
That force traveled through the dagger and into her arm, numbing nearly half her body.
"How is that possible?!"
Pain shot through her, and she squeezed one eye shut in shock.
Haimer's timing had been exact.
Before she could adjust her posture, the silver spear seemed to come alive in his hands.
A weapon that should have been clumsy in such a narrow space moved like a serpent.
There was no need for broad sweeps.
Only a few small flicks of the wrist.
The shaft, the tip, even the butt of the spear, every part of it became a deadly weapon.
Clang!
Clang!
Clang! Clang! Clang!!
The dense ring of metal crashing against metal connected into one continuous stream throughout the alley.
The speed Ryuu had always prided herself on became completely useless.
No matter what angle she attacked from, and no matter how she used the terrain to shift direction, that spear always appeared one step ahead on the path she had to take, casually dissolving every one of her attacks into nothing.
It was like a seamless wall of sighing steel.
Hopeless.
So this is… the martial skill of a god?
The more she fought, the more frightened Ryuu became.
At the level of pure technique, the gap between them was nearly dimensional.
She was the one desperately running, calculating, changing moves.
And the other side, the other side moved as though taking a leisurely stroll, without even shifting his footing by half a step.
It was like an adult toying with a child who had only just learned to walk.
"I don't believe it!"
Ryuu clenched her teeth, and the stubbornness unique to an elf erupted completely in that instant.
Her speed surged upward again.
Her entire figure became a blur, whipping up a storm inside the narrow alley.
Once more, she caught a fleeting gap during the instant Haimer changed his breathing.
Her daggers crossed.
She drove straight for the centerline.
This strike was impossible to evade.
Yet in the face of that killing blow, Haimer made only one simple move.
Instead of retreating, he stepped forward into the attack.
At the same time, he slammed the spear in his hand down against the ground.
Dong!
The heavy sound was like a hammer striking the heart.
Borrowing the rebound force from that impact, the shaft sprang up and, with terrifying speed that arrived later but struck first, smashed with perfect precision against the crossing point of the two daggers.
Bang!
The force exploded in an instant.
Ryuu felt a sharp pain in both palms. She could no longer hold her weapons.
Both daggers flew from her hands, spinning through the air before burying themselves three inches deep into the walls on either side.
And the silver spear,
the moment it knocked the daggers away, it drove forward along the same motion.
At last, it came to a steady stop less than a centimeter from Ryuu's throat.
She froze on the spot.
"Looks like the elf lady hasn't held a blade for quite some time now, has she?"