Beyond the Eternity

Ira and Yoo-Rin charged toward the whip with explosive speed.

The distance separating them was a mere three meters, with the whip lying precisely at the midpoint. In a contest of speed, the first to act would inevitably seize the advantage. However, this was a situation where both parties rushed towards the whip at the same time.

Thus, the faster one among them would be the winner.

And the winner of the speed contest was already decided.

"Ah!"

Ira snatched the whip from the ground. Just then Yoo-Rin was a fraction of a second behind, closing the gap in an instant. Without missing a beat, Yoo-Rin pivoted sharply, pulling her arm back and driving her gauntlet-covered fist forward with the force of a cannon shot.

The air cracked violently as the strike hurtled toward Ira.

Ira, recognizing the impossibility of countering or defending in such a compromised position, had anticipated this moment. She had prepared her next move well in advance.

Clang!

The Iron fist was abruptly intercepted, colliding with something sharp. The sudden impact sent Yoo-Rin stumbling back with force.

'...What?'

Shock flashed across Yoo-Rin's face as an armored knight stepped forward, emerging seamlessly from the wall. Its sword gleamed coldly as it raised the blade, standing protectively before Ira.

Before Yoo-Rin could react, more knights began to appear, materializing from the walls like specters summoned to battle. One by one, they filled the narrow passageway, and the sound of their heavy armor clinking against stone echoed. In mere moments, the space was crowded with an army of swords and spears, all aimed squarely at Yoo-Rin.

Trapped and surrounded, she realised that escape was no longer an option.

"Tch."

Instead of panicking, Yoo-Rin assessed the situation with a calm, analytical gaze.

The knights, clad in full armor, stood like silent sentinels. Their faces were hidden behind helmets, leaving no hint of humanity. If they were human, this could get troublesome.

She wasn't thinking in a moral sense, but a logical one.

Humans were adaptable, dangerously so. If these knights could learn Ira's combat style and coordinate their attacks, it would turn into a far more lethal encounter.

She didn't know what was going to happen or even given the time to think everything over.

Thud! Thud! Thud!

Without a word, the knights advanced, their weapons raised. The narrow passage restricted movement, forcing attacks to come only from the front and rear. While this limitation hindered the knights, it also posed a significant challenge for Yoo-Rin, who found herself boxed in.

Still, she remained undeterred.

Swish! Swish!

Spears and swords slashed through the air at once.

With attacks coming both her back and front, she decided to completely give up on the possibility of defence.

Exhaling, she bent her knees and gathered power into her fist. Then, with a fierce leap, she slammed her fist into the ground with all her might.

BOOM!!

The floor shattered beneath her, sending violent tremors through the narrow passage. Cracks snaked out in all directions, rippling with devastating force. The knights staggered as their balance thrown off, and their tight formation crumbled into chaos ever so easily.

Seizing the opportunity, Yoo Rin lunged forward like a coiled spring unleashed. Her fist was swung and smashed into the armored chest of the knight before her. The steel plate crumpled inward with a deafening clang, and the knight was hurled backward like a broken doll.

It didn't end there. The fallen knight slammed into his comrades, their momentum disrupted as they collided in a tangled heap.

Thud! Thud! Thud!

Two more knights approached from behind with swords in hand.

Yoo Rin sprinted toward the wall beside her, using it as a foothold. With a deft leap, she used the wall as a springboard, launching herself into the air. Her knee connected with one knight's helmet in a devastating arc, crumpling the metal and obliterating the skull beneath.

The knight crumpled to its knees, lifeless.

There was no message to highlight her victory.

Yoo Rin's sharp gaze caught the black mist seeping from the fallen knight's form. Beneath the armor was nothing—no flesh, no bones, only emptiness.

"As I thought, they're not human," she muttered under her breath.

The ominous mist dissipated as the knight dissolved into nothingness.

Thud! Thud! Thud!!

Another knight charged like an enraged bull, its armored shoulder aimed directly at her.

Yoo Rin sidestepped gracefully, evading the attack by mere inches. The knight, unable to halt its momentum, barreled forward and skidded to an ungraceful stop some distance away.

Her attention snapped toward the whip-wielding woman at the back of the battlefield.

She frowned.

'She's controlling them. I don't know how she's doing so, but it would be a problem if she spawns more knights.'

Ira's whip moved through the air in a serpentine like manner, and her movements seemed to summon reinforcements. If the knights were mere puppets, then fighting them was useless.

That woman was the only real threat. She conclused.

Swururung!

An ominous noise reached Yoo Rin's ears, accompanied by an overwhelming surge of murderous intent. She spun around to find several knights charging toward her.

From their 'Intent', It was clear they had no intentions of letting her escape alive.

Yoo Rin's grip tightened around her gauntlet-clad fist. Gritting her teeth, she met their charge head-on.

The knights swung their massive swords in wide arcs, aiming to cleave her in two.

Clang! Clangg!!

The blades crashed into the ground, and the deafening impact reverberated through the narrow corridor. But Yoo Rin was no longer there. She darted to the side and emerged from their blind spot.

Her fist shot upward in a devastating uppercut, smashing into the chin of the nearest knight.

The impact was monstrous. The knight was hurled off its feet, and soaring through the air.

Without missing a beat, Yoo-Rin grabbed the knight's leg mid-flight. With a powerful swing, she wielded the armored figure like a massive hammer, smashing it into the knights surrounding her.

But she didn't stop there.

Tightening her grip, she continued her relentless assault, using the armored body as a colossal bat. Each swing sent approaching knights flying, crashing into walls and colliding with one another in a thunderous symphony of clanging metal and splintering stone.

In moments, she cleared a path using her new 'weapon'.

What in the world? What kind of brute is this girl? How is she using a fully armored knight as a weapon?! A baseball bat? This is absurd! Absolutely absurd!

Ira's mind spiralled in disbelief. The sheer ridiculousness of the scene momentarily stalled her thoughts. But her astonishment lasted only a fraction of a second.

Steeling herself, Ira raised the whip, spinned it through the air before lashing it forward with all her might.

The tip of the whip sliced through the air in a dangerous arc, but Yoo-Rin was faster. She hurled the knight she had been using as a weapon straight at the incoming attack.

Crash!

The whip collided with the knight's armored body, and accompanying the tremendous sound, its trajectory disrupted as the knight crumpled into a heap.

Yoo-Rin lashed out with a sharp kick, sending another fallen knight's body hurtling toward her.

"...?!"

Ira's eyes widened as she quickly sidestepped the flying mass, choosing to evade rather than counter with the whip. But before she could regain her footing, another armored body was already soaring her direction.

This time, Ira slammed the knight aside with the back of her hand, sending it crashing into the wall behind her.

However, the second knight was merely a diversion.

Before Ira could process the ruse, Yoo-Rin closed the gap in an instant, appearing right in front of her. Her fist was already drawn back, primed for a devastating forward punch.

"Shit!"

Ira cursed under her breath and attempted to retreat, but Yoo-Rin was already too close. The gauntlet-covered fist shot forward like a cannon, aimed directly at her nose.

Ira barely managed to tilt her head at the last moment, letting the fist graze past her cheek. But the force of that fierce punch rattled her eardrums.

Even then, that was not the least of her problems.

Yoo-Rin didn't stop. Drawing her fist back, she unleashed another punch—and then another.

Swish! Swish! Swish!

There was no time to counterattack.

She was caught in a relentless barrage, forced to dodge with every ounce of agility she could muster.

However, even she noticed that something was off.

Yoo-Rin wasn't attacking with her full strength. Her punches lacked the weight and power she'd displayed earlier, and she wasn't even using her hips to generate force. These strikes were fast, precise, and clearly aimed to disorient rather than destroy. In boxing, they'd be classified as "straight jabs."

Even so, Ira knew she couldn't afford to let a single one connect!

Her thoughts drifted back to the earlier exchange when she'd deflected one of Yoo-Rin's punches with her left hand. Initially, she'd intended to block it outright. However, the moment her hand met the incoming fist, she felt the sheer force coursing through it and instinctively shifted to a deflection instead.

Despite her quick reflexes, her left hand wasn't spared. The skin was still bruised, and a persistent ache throbbed through her arm.

She had also taken the full brunt of one of those punches to her face, but it was the merciless headbutt that caused the most damage. A sharp, throbbing pain radiated from her nose as blood trickled down her face, leaving her wondering if the impact had broken it.

Those brief exchanges made it abundantly clear who was physically stronger between the two fighters.

I don't understand at all! What kind of existence is this damn girl?!

Ira inwardly questioned as she narrowly dodged another jab.

Is she the descendant of some ogre? No, an Oni? No, that can't be right—she doesn't have any horns!

Another punch whistled past her ear.

Could she be concealing them with magic? But I'm not sensing any magic apart from those gauntlets!

Her eyes darted to the gauntlets Yoo-Rin wielded, burning with an unnatural heat. Ira's frustration deepened.

Are those gauntlets some sort of enchanted artifact? Is that some kind of Mystery Item?

Unbeknownst to Ira, the gauntlets Yoo-Rin wielded were a gift from her Star Contract, Kim Jakga.

[Item Entity -████ - Earth Scorching Gauntlets.]

†Rating: S

†Object Class: Sleeper

A mystery item imbued with the fragment of an unidentified dark constellation's soul. The Scorchbearer Gauntlets consume the user's spiritual energy reserves to exponentially amplify their output, creating a destructive force.

However, the gauntlets themselves were extraordinarily heavy, requiring the wearer's strength to be at least Level 40 to lift, let alone wield properly.

Just from a glance, Ira knew she would be in problem if she took another punch to the face or any of her vitals.

"Tch! Damnit!"

Ira hissed under her breath as Yoo-Rin's punches grew fiercer and more relentless, pushing her further into a corner.

Gritting her teeth, Ira shifted tactics. Her eyes darted toward one of the fallen knights sprawled lifelessly on the cold passage floor. Extending her hand, she channeled her magic, dark energy surging and wrapping itself around the corpse.

Wriggle! Wriggle!

A thick, unnatural mist seeped into the knight's body, animating it with a semblance of life.

With jerky movements, the knight staggered to its feets and charged at Yoo Rin with its sword raised high.

"....?!"

Yoo-Rin abruptly sensed the murderous intent, halting her punch mid-swing and leaping back.n/ô/vel/b//jn dot c//om

Clang!!

The great sword slammed into the ground where she'd been standing moments before, sparks scattering on impact. Not taking any chances, Yoo-Rin widened the distance between herself, Ira, and the reanimated knight.

Ira smirked faintly and greedily seized the opportunity. She retracted her whip and focused her sorcery once more. This time, she was cautious, conserving her energy reserves by summoning only two additional entities.

From the swirling dark mist emerged two new figures. One carried a bow and a quiver of arrows, while the other clutched a weathered wooden staff.

What are those things? More summons?

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Yoo-Rin clicked her tongue as her eyes darted between the figures.

Tch! As if this situation wasn't bad enough, she brought in more of her lackeys. Should I have attacked instead of retreating?

In such a narrow passageway, evading ranged attacks was almost impossible, especially without a shield or any form of cover. Every step back only worsened her predicament, leaving her with fewer options to counter.

Damn it… if that sister had summoned a full firing squad instead of these three, I'd already be skewered like a pincushion.

Sweat beaded on her brow as she quickly calculated her next move.

Thud! Thud! Thud!

Her thoughts were interrupted as the knight—massive and built like a tank—charged at her with terrifying speed. At the same moment, the Archer nocked an arrow, and the Magus began chanting an Incantation to use magic.