The moment the hooded man stepped into the dilapidated shack, Greg suddenly realized a mistake.
He had taken everything too much for granted because he relied too heavily on his knowledge of the original game's plot.
He had already known that by the time the protagonist arrived at the scene, the ritual involving Silvia would have been completed and Professor Audrey would have gone completely insane.
But because he had intervened early and stopped the process, he hadn't considered another possibility:
Would the true mastermind hiding behind the scenes choose to appear in person to clean up the mess once their plans were disrupted?
He should have thought of it.
Professor Audrey was merely a pawn being used.
For her to obtain dangerous items like the stone tablets and the Breath of Slumber, there had to be a true guide behind her.
When a pawn lost control or even threatened to expose clues, wasn't it perfectly normal for the player to step in and handle the situation?
Yet, he had been careless.
Clouded by the superiority of knowing the plot and a bit of smugness from being one step ahead, he had fully believed that once he subdued Audrey and secured the key evidence, the incident would be more or less over.
He had underestimated the complexity of this real world and the variables that existed outside the scripted plot.
Unlike Audrey, who was merely being used, the hooded man before him exuded a truly dangerous aura.
This was a genuine believer of the Mother of Depravity, a true enemy of humanity.
"Danger! My other half! Leave this place at once!" Nightmare's ethereal voice rang out in Greg's mind, carrying an unprecedented weight of warning. "The foul faith and killing intent coiling around this man are extraordinary. You cannot face him head-on at your current level! Forget the girl for now, just run!"
Greg's heart sank.
For even Nightmare to be this wary...
However, after spending time together, whether for personal reasons or out of basic decency, he couldn't just abandon Silvia and flee alone.
Setting aside the fact that Silvia was in poor condition after her kidnapping, Greg simply couldn't accept letting this dangerous individual take her away or kill her.
Not to mention, the opponent's target clearly included him as well.
"S-Save me! Your Excellency! I did exactly as you instructed! The ritual... the ritual was interrupted by this wretched student! Quickly, help me subdue him! Get the stone tablets and the Breath of Slumber back! My son still needs..."
Lying paralyzed on the floor, Professor Audrey looked at the man as if he were a lifeline. She struggled to lift her head, letting out a shrill plea to the hooded man, a sickly hope reigniting on her face.
However, she didn't get to finish her sentence.
Psh!
A dark flash of an axe, faster than the eye could follow, left a blurred trail in the air.
Audrey's pleading stopped abruptly.
Her eyes widened as she looked down at her chest in disbelief.
A smooth cut had pierced straight through her heart, and blood was slowly seeping out.
She opened her mouth as if to say something, but only a short gasp escaped. The light in her eyes faded rapidly, her head slumped powerlessly, and she went completely silent.
Efficient, precise, and heartless.
"The plan... was for you to go completely mad during the ritual. Now that there's been a leak, a cleanup is naturally required."
The hooded man retracted his battle-axe, his voice remaining raspy and flat, as if he had merely crushed an annoying insect.
He didn't even look at Audrey's corpse as his cold gaze locked back onto Greg and Silvia.
"Now, it's your turn. Hand over the items and the girl. Don't make me say it a third time."
Greg took a deep breath, forcing down the chill in his heart and the shock from Audrey's death.
He stepped to the side, completely shielding the pale Silvia behind him, and whispered quickly in a voice only the two of them could hear:
"Silvia, listen carefully. Leave this shack immediately and run toward the academy. Don't look back, and go as fast as you can!"
"B-But Senior Greg, you..."
Silvia was so anxious that tears welled up in her eyes. She wanted to stay and help, but her body was still weak from the Breath of Slumber. Her limbs felt heavy, and her mana circulation was sluggish.
At this moment, let alone casting threatening light magic, she might not even be able to run very fast.
This feeling of powerlessness felt like a knife twisting in her heart, making her incredibly distressed.
"Don't argue! Just go! Staying here will only drag me down!"
Greg barked, his tone harsher than it had ever been.
He had to force her to leave.
Silvia flinched at his sharp command. Looking at Greg's resolute back and then at the cold-blooded murderer in the hood, she finally bit her lip and, with tears in her eyes, stumbled around and ran toward the shack's exit with all her might.
Seeing this, the hooded man seemed ready to move, but Greg had already stepped between him and Silvia, his amber eyes burning with a fighting spirit.
"Your opponent is me."
"...Seeking death."
The hooded man seemed provoked by Greg's defiance, or perhaps he never intended to let any witnesses live in the first place.
Without another word, he kicked off the ground. The rotting floorboards groaned under the pressure as he launched himself forward like a cannonball, a heavy wind pressure trailing behind him as he lunged at Greg!
The dark, dull short-handled battle-axe in his hand traced a bizarre arc, aiming straight for Greg's neck!
The battle erupted instantly!
From the very first exchange, Greg felt an immense pressure.
This hooded man's strength was likely on the same level as the Floor Boss of the first layer, Lady Eight-Legs, or perhaps even higher!
Moreover, unlike a monster that fought with instinct and a massive body, this was a formidable humanoid enemy who was experienced, ruthless, and knew how to use tactics and magic.
What made it even more difficult was that they weren't in the dungeon.
One of Greg's core advantages for fighting above his level—the 40% total damage bonus provided by the Dungeon Pioneer talent—was completely useless here.
This meant the power of his basic magic was significantly reduced.
"Fireball!"
"Water Gun!"
Greg fought while retreating, constantly dodging the hooded man's heavy axe swings and the sharp earth spikes that occasionally erupted from the ground.
He seized gaps to counterattack with his Level 2 Fireball and Level 3 Water Arrow.
The Fireball struck the hooded man's cloak, igniting a small cluster of flames and scorching part of the fabric, forcing the man to swing his axe to blow them out with the resulting wind pressure.
The Water Arrow was weakened by a swirling, pale yellow earth-attribute shield on the man's body, leaving only shallow marks.
But the attacks weren't entirely ineffective.
In a coordinated move where Greg used a Fireball to block a path and a Water Arrow to ambush from below, the hooded man's movements slowed slightly as he dodged. A tongue of flame licked the wide gray cloak, tearing a hole in it.
By the flickering firelight, Greg caught a glimpse of something through the tear... a tail covered in dark, fine scales!
"As I thought, a Demon!"
Greg's heart tightened.
The faith of the Mother of Depravity had actually spread into the territory of the Demons. If that were the case, then she might truly be...
While Greg was momentarily distracted, the hooded man's attacks became even more violent.
Not only did he possess incredible strength, but he was also extremely fast and combat-hardened. He often combined simple hacks with sudden Earth Spikes erupting from under Greg's feet or sides to create lethal traps.
Relying on his Level 2 Earth Magic Resistance to mitigate some of the magical damage and his Level 2 Blunt Resistance to dampen the impact of the axe, combined with his improved constitution and agility, Greg barely managed to maneuver within the cramped ruins of the wooden shack, but the situation was perilous.
At one point, the hooded man predicted Greg's dodge path. A horizontal sweep of the axe blocked his retreat, while the ground suddenly rose as several sharp stone spikes sealed off the space to Greg's left, right, and above!
There was nowhere to hide!
"Bracers of Darkness!"
Greg growled, no longer hesitating. His arms were instantly covered by bracers as black as ink, with an ominous dark mist flowing over their surface.
Clang—!!!
The dark battle-axe slammed hard against the black bracers, producing a dull, heavy thud like two giant boulders colliding.
The dark mist churned violently. The terrifying force and mana contained within the axe blade were mostly swallowed by the bracers as if falling into a bottomless pit. However, the residual impact still left Greg's arms numb and his blood churning. He slid back several steps, leaving deep furrows in the ground.
"This is...!"
Having failed to land the blow, the hooded man immediately used the momentum to leap back, creating distance between himself and Greg. His gaze from beneath the hood stared intently at the rapidly fading black bracers on Greg's arms, his voice tinged with clear suspicion and wariness for the first time:
"A bizarre power... so pure and ancient... Are you also... following some deity who has long since been lost to the river of time?"
Rate on N.U.
