Chapter 359: Labyrinth Race (1)
At that utterly chilling gaze, Evelyn moved before Lennok did.
“……!!”
Clang!!!
Instead of the short bow strapped to her forearm, she pulled out the large longbow from her back and deployed it. The bow limbs rose up like black wings unfurling on either side.
She then drew three arrows, nocked them, and channeled her mana.
Whoosh!!!
Green mana spiraled around the arrows, extending its aura in all directions, and the moment Lennok turned his gaze to that unusual reaction,
Evelyn released the longbow’s string.
Paaang!!!
The three arrows, once unleashed from her hand, curved in different directions immediately after being fired, instantly targeting Maiya, who stood on the ground.
The three arrows, flying long distances into the vast cavern, converged precisely at one point.
The rotating triple-pronged mana caused a repulsion, unleashing a violent explosion.
Kwooosh!!!!
The explosion that erupted beneath Lennok and Evelyn’s feet occupied nearly half of the cavern, bursting outwards.
The storm of deep green mana not only lashed across the ground but, unable to contain its power, extended through the passages in the cavern walls and vanished.
It was an unusual display of power at a glance. Lennok, rather surprised by her aggressive response, turned his gaze to Evelyn.
“Evelyn, who is that woman?”
If Evelyn, who had worked as an Agent in the shadows of the mega-city, unleashed such an aggressive preemptive strike, there must be a fitting reason.
It indirectly proved that Evelyn not only recognized the woman who had appeared on the ground but also had some inkling of her opponent’s power.
“……Maiya Renslit. She was the most exceptional enforcer in the Machine City, Machina.”
Evelyn said with a stiff face.
“I heard she went missing after the Ascension Gate project, a full 20 years ago. I never thought I’d encounter her here……”
“Divine Bow. Evelyn Marcia.”
Maiya’s voice cut Evelyn off without hesitation, coming from right beside them. Both turned their heads almost simultaneously.
Maiya was casually standing on the spacious block where Lennok and Evelyn were, looking down at them.
Incredible speed. In terms of agility, she was undoubtedly comparable to or even surpassed Evelyn.
Instead, she stared at Evelyn’s face for a moment, then spoke.
“To think you’d be recognized by the Eyes of Blue. Did you decide to follow the Lighthouse Keeper and stand by as the world ends?”
“……That’s my line, actually.”
Evelyn replied, her gaze chillingly calm.
“I never thought you, who was said to be the most ascetic among the enforcers of the Machine City, would covet an Ascendant’s relic.”
“Hee hee. You must have studied history quite diligently.”
Maiya chuckled softly and said.
“Everyone has their reasons.”
“…….”
“As much as I’d like to play with a talented junior……”
Maiya’s eyes, looking alternately at Evelyn and Lennok, deepened.
“I don’t have all the time in the world either. Excuse me for a moment.”
“10 seconds.”
Lennok muttered, drawing his rifle.
“Time’s up.”
Maiya, who had approached the two in an instant, disregarding the block order.
Her nimble movements and speed were by no means inferior to Evelyn’s, but even she wouldn’t be able to escape the forced Translocation of this gate.
The moment Lennok thought so and was about to aim his gun at the spot where she would be teleported,
Maiya raised the ball of fur in her hand above her head.
An unknown intangible barrier spread from the fur ball floating in the air, covering her and rotating.
Kii-ing!!!
Her body shimmered with a strange sound of space twisting, but surprisingly, Maiya remained perfectly in place.
“……!!”
Both their expressions changed drastically at the sight of Maiya enduring the gate’s forced Translocation.
The ball of fur hanging from her shoulder. They thought it was merely an ornament, but could it have such a function?
“I had something to ask about Gearsight if I ever met someone from Vulcan…… but if you’ve been active here, you might not know much about the city’s news.”
Maiya said.
“I’m not really interested in Jindun’s legacy. You all can split it up however you like.”
“You think we’ll just let you go?”
Clack!!!
Evelyn, who usually replaced most close-quarters combat with a single arrow, reached for the longbow on her back.
Lennok had seen her response once, a long time ago.
At the factory where Croken Asylus was rampaging, the moment Evelyn saved Lennok’s life. Hadn’t she gripped her longbow, ready to fight the crocodile-giant?
It meant that when Evelyn, who was as skilled in close combat as she was in archery, exerted her full power, she used equipment other than arrow shafts.
It meant she was resolved to face Maiya here and now.
Maiya, who was about to turn away, ignoring her, sighed and reached for her waist.
“Hey…… you’re an archer, are you really trying to pick a fight with me right now?”
“I’ve always wondered.”
Evelyn replied with a smile, pulling the limb of the longbow in her hand once.
Simultaneously, instead of the limbs unfurling like wings in the shape of a longbow, they instead contracted and shrunk, transforming into a size that could be wielded with one hand.
“If the skill of the renowned enforcer from the Machine City could truly compare to that of an Agent team leader.”
“What a pathetic provocation, junior. You need to learn how to properly infuriate your opponent.”
Maiya scoffed and lowered her stance, having confirmed the appearance of the bow limb, which had begun emitting a gentle green magical light.
At the same time, she gripped an impressive angular-bladed knife in a reverse grip and drew forth her mana.
“Still…… well, fine. I’ll indulge you for a moment.”
“Let’s see how long you can afford to be so casual about this…!”
Evelyn and Maiya vanished from their spots simultaneously, twisting their stepping feet.
Tatata-tatatatang!!!
At the same time, a violently intense series of impact sounds, tens of times over, began to echo above the gate in the upper reaches of the cavern.
A continuous roar like a machine gun firing, without a single moment of pause.
Two streaks of light, running freely along the walls and ceiling of the blocks, curved widely, then compressed incredibly quickly, clashing.
The forms of the two, barely visible, only faintly appeared in flashes as they overlapped within the shadows at the moment of impact.
Lennok could only roughly infer how the two were fighting after activating his mana sensing, which didn’t work well in this labyrinth, to its limit.
Ultra-high-speed combat clashing in mid-air with no discernible footing, relying only on the occasionally floating blocks.
It was a clash of reflexes pushed to the extreme, to the point where they couldn’t even properly control their own movements, let alone their opponent’s.
Kagaga-gagak!!!
Zero to sixty acceleration from a standstill.
Not just the speed of movement, but even in the fleeting moments of changing direction, dozens of strategic maneuvers and psychological battles unfolded.
They raced with all their might to seize the initiative in combat and overwhelm their opponent.
Kwaang!!
Even in the fleeting moments of leaping and changing direction while stepping on different blocks, they relentlessly unleashed their weapons.
In battles between such high-level superhumans, speed means the right to strike first.
However, the presence of the blocks floating erratically within this space creates opportunities to overturn a disadvantageous situation.
Hundreds of changes in direction and center of gravity, ignoring front and back, up and down, around a single massive block, in high-angle maneuvers.
Two superhumans, perhaps already beyond Hierarchy, unleashed and wielded their Miniature Universes with full force, aiming for each other’s life.
Ultra-high-speed combat that allowed no moment to breathe. But while sharing the commonality of immense agility, their styles were distinctly different.
At the moment Evelyn manipulated the direction of force with her ultimate inertial deviation, Maiya, conversely, layered her mana multiple times, breaking through all those variables at once.
She created a pale flash by layering mana multiple times, slamming it into her blade to generate incredible penetrative power.
That strangely potent penetrative power must be a culmination deeply related to Maiya’s own Miniature Universe.
Lennok watched the two racing between hundreds of blocks, silently frowning.
‘Too fast……. It’s hard to find a timing to intervene.’
High-speed maneuvers exceeding his perception. Mana sensing that worked less effectively than usual. His Mystic Eye of Possibilities not functioning.
There were various reasons, but fundamentally, the two’s offense and defense were overly balanced.
In a close-quarters battle of that level and speed, Lennok couldn’t easily be sure if his intervention would help Evelyn.
If he could use his Mystic Eye and mana sensing, he would have risked it and made a move…… but with the two abilities he used essentially in combat simultaneously disabled, he had to endure.
Dudududu!!!
As the battle intensified, the scattered mana light deepened in color.
Black-green flashes, twisting and curving dozens of times with each swing, and pale flashes, charging in linear movements, clashed incessantly, indiscriminately shattering blocks all around.
It didn’t take long for the decisive blow.
As if the intense struggle that had just been ongoing was a lie, Maiya’s flash accurately struck Evelyn, slamming her onto a block.
Kwaaaang!!!
“Ugh……!!”
Evelyn immediately got up, but she couldn’t hide the look of pain on her face.
Maiya looked down at Evelyn and shook her head.
“Right. If you don’t want to be teleported, you have to return to the last block you stepped on every 10 seconds. You knew this would happen, didn’t you?”
“…….”
Evelyn couldn’t refute Maiya’s indifferent words.
Unlike Maiya, who bypassed the gate’s spatial Translocation with the fur ball’s unknown ability, Evelyn was still affected by the gate’s environment.
That’s why she was fighting with the penalty of having to return to the block she and Lennok stood on every 10 seconds, even while facing Maiya.
However, Maiya’s expression as she looked down at Evelyn was not very comfortable either.
She, a warrior not specialized in close combat, could not completely overwhelm an archer, especially one whose destination was fixed every 10 seconds.
Although Maiya herself had been injured in her fight with Jawoon, Evelyn’s skill was undeniable.
“I’ve reconsidered you a bit. I just thought you were a talented archer, but how many nobodies did you beat up in Vulcan to fight this well?”
“You’re one to talk, Maiya.”
Evelyn retorted with a sharp smile.
“The number of targets you processed in the Machine City. I still remember.”
“…….”
Maiya’s gaze grew chilling at Evelyn’s mention of the Machine City.
It was virtually akin to touching her sensitive spot. But instead of focusing on fighting Evelyn here, Maiya quickly regained her composure.
She knew that while the doctor’s help had allowed her to temporarily escape the gate’s Translocation, this time wouldn’t last long.
“……Talk all you want. You won’t be able to stop me now anyway.”
As Maiya distanced herself from Evelyn, her body was already very close to the gate.
It was now impossible to prevent Maiya from passing through the gate first.
She glanced back at Evelyn and Lennok, then immediately reached out her hand towards the door in the cavern ceiling.
Just in front of the gate, another forced Translocation was triggered to block her approach, but even then, the fur ball glowed once more, blocking the unknown intangible force.
The moment Maiya’s body vanished beyond the gate, Evelyn slightly lowered her head.
“…….”
“It’s better to let someone like that go ahead. Don’t worry.”
Lennok gently patted Evelyn’s shoulder, her expression now weary.
“Since our path is currently blocked, we couldn’t hold her indefinitely. We’ll have to be satisfied with having learned Maiya Renslit’s skill and secret for now.”
“……Right. For now, we need to focus on what’s below.”
Evelyn, barely regaining her composure, turned her gaze downwards.
“We’ll have to hold out against those guys until your Mystic Eye returns.”
In the cavern below, dozens of superhumans were already facing each other from all directions.