Chapter 26

Everyone’s eyes lit up, and like predators chasing prey, they charged toward the Camp at the road’s edge.

But when the vigilantes and guild members arrived, all they found were the grim remains of battle. Noquia was nowhere in sight. Hoping for a clue, they scoured the wreckage, but before long another vigilante cried out.

“The wanted target has appeared in Ratteon Village!”

Faces turned pale. They’d walked straight into a trap. Noquia’s real aim had been the residences in Ratteon all along. Everyone scrambled to rush back.

At Ratteon’s entrance, most of the vigilantes left behind had already been slaughtered. According to the survivors, Noquia hadn’t entered the village at all—she had simply vanished.

“……”

Father furrowed her brow, unease creeping in. While she tried to make sense of the situation and reorganize the entrance defenses, a vigilante sprinted up, gasping.

“The wanted target has appeared in Lucilvania Village!”

“!”

Her mind blanked. Father froze, then ground her teeth and cursed. Leaving half her forces behind at Ratteon, she led the rest toward Lucilvania.

When they arrived in a rush, however, there were no signs of an attack. Noquia had only been sighted—she hadn’t harmed any NPCs, simply disappeared again. Father felt hollow, as though she’d been sent on a fool’s errand.

Back in Ratteon, only part of the vigilantes remained along with Red Snapper, Marco, Leather Flute Hip Song, the twins, and Bastard Kid. The stronger fighters had been pulled toward Lucilvania.

Trying to swallow the uneasy pounding of her heart, Father scanned the area—when suddenly, a familiar silhouette stepped into view.

It was Noquia. The bloodshot veins in her wild eyes, the dark circles beneath them, and her sickly pale face all screamed exhaustion. She looked completely unhinged.

Red Snapper, overwhelmed by her crazed glare, instinctively stumbled back. The vigilantes rushed to surround her, but Noquia cut them down in a heartbeat and lunged straight for them.

“U-Uwaaah!”

Red Snapper screamed and toppled backward. Marco and Bastard Kid rushed to block Noquia, but their guard was pierced in an instant. She tore past them and charged straight at Red Snapper. Instinct took over—they scrambled to their feet and spun around, crawling in a desperate attempt to flee. Just a few more steps—if they could make it inside the village, they’d be safe!

But then—their neck burned with the sensation of being sliced, and the world went black.

When they came to, they were lying in front of the village gates, collapsed in Exhaustion. Around them was a massacre. Noquia was butchering vigilantes and guildmates alike. It was just one woman against them all, yet their forces couldn’t even raise a hand before being torn apart. The sight left them speechless.

Noquia finished off everyone at the gate in mere moments, then slipped away before reinforcements could arrive. The image of that blood-soaked beast vanishing without a sound sent chills down every spine.

Still, perhaps her stamina had finally worn down. None of them had been incapacitated—everyone was only left in Exhaustion, sprawled on the ground. Marco lay staring up at the sky, let out a long sigh, and opened the guild chat.

[Guild] [Marco: It’s a wipe over here…]

[Guild] [Father: What?]

[Guild] [Marco: Quia noona came this way.]

[Guild] [Father: And you’re only telling me now?]

[Guild] [Marco: I was too busy dying to say anything;]

[Guild] [Theo: Looks like she’s bouncing between the Camp, Ratteon, and Lucil, just screwing with us.]

[Guild] [Father: Ha… I’m gonna lose it.]

[Guild] [Holanghee: What do we do? Head back to Ratteon?]

[Guild] [Father: No…]

[Guild] [Father: Theo and Raine, go to Ratteon. Marco and the twins, get back to the Camp. Holanghee, you too—Camp.]

[Guild] [Holanghee: okok]

[Guild] [If It’s You Then Me: Yeah]

Father had divided the forces as best she could, but Noquia kept slipping in and out like a ghost—striking only the weakest, forcing them into Exhaustion, and vanishing again.

There was no predicting her movements. In the end, Father pulled out a desperate measure: abandon two locations and defend only one. The weaker ones would be left as bait, while the rest would lie in wait nearby. Once Noquia showed herself, they’d all descend on her at once.

To fool Noquia’s eyes, only a handful were left at Ratteon’s gate. The rest—vigilantes and guildmates alike—patrolled between the Camp, Ratteon, and Lucilvania, as if still frantically searching for her.

They made a show of chasing false leads, being dragged this way and that by Noquia’s tricks. Then, when the time felt right, one by one they melted back toward Ratteon’s entrance. Most of the vigilantes returned to the Camp, leaving the guild members crouched in silence, waiting.

Not a single one of them moved, no matter what traps Noquia laid. Only the vigilantes kept up the chase. It was bait—and Noquia would have to decide: had they really given up, or was this nothing but a trap laid in plain sight?

Hidden near Ratteon, Noquia studied the handful of guildmates left at the gate. The ones who had hounded her so relentlessly had suddenly vanished, leaving only husks behind. She spun a dagger between her fingers, weighing her choice. It was obviously a trap. But her body was at its limit. She knew she couldn’t win—but if she could harass them one last time, make them suffer, maybe then she’d finally sleep in peace, whether in prison or in a cell.

Decision made, she tightened her grip on the dagger and advanced slowly toward the gate.

The moment Red Snapper, Bastard Kid, and the twins spotted her, they bolted straight into the village. Noquia drew a slow breath, scanning for the ambush. The first strike would almost certainly be Blaine’s gravity magic.

A presence flared on her left. Instantly, Noquia leapt back. A gravity field bloomed exactly where she had stood—but the range was wider than she’d judged, and her body began to drag toward its pull. She tried to break free with a movement skill, but Father was faster.

Bursting from the brush like a thunderbolt, Father’s rapier flashed through the air. Noquia twisted, dodging the longsword’s reach—only for Father to close the distance in the same breath, driving the khopesh in her other hand deep into Noquia’s shoulder, then ripping it across.

Noquia stifled a groan, lashing out with a kick to shove Father away before retreating to the rear and trying to drink a potion. But the ground beneath her feet bloomed with countless magic circles—layer upon layer until they blurred together in a blinding haze. Holding her breath, she searched for the caster. From the brush, a flaming arrow streaked toward her, and she twisted aside just in time.

But the arrow kept chasing her.

“Ah, fuck…”

It wasn’t a fixed spell—it was tracking magic. Fixed spells could be dodged after activation, but tracking magic never let go. And with this many circles overlapping, the barrage would be overwhelming.

Grinding her teeth, Noquia reversed her grip on the dagger and began swatting away the incoming arrows. But there was no way to block them all. A storm of flaming arrows poured down like rain, and as her vision filled with dazzling effects, the guild members moved in for the real assault.

Staying in one spot meant becoming a target—she knew that. But she was too busy batting away arrows to move. Even so, her eyes kept darting around, and at the edges of her vision, flashes of blue and pink hair appeared.

Before she could brace herself, massive axes slammed down from both sides like guillotines. Noquia ducked low, slipping past the blades, and caught the hafts with her forearms. Twisting her arms, she angled the axes into the rain of arrows, using them as shields.

“Hey, come on!”

“Totally cheating!”

Identical voices whined from both sides, and in the same instant the twins yanked their axes back. Noquia leapt backward, chugged her potion—but suddenly her vision went black.

“?”

She froze, glancing around in panic—then noticed the darkness itself was shifting, rippling like a curtain. Glancing up, she realized what it was. Theo’s Veil.

The shroud spread like a maze around her. Noquia’s eyes darted, searching for a way out—but Theo burst from the mist and struck.

Crack! A critical hit landed, heavy damage driving her back. Reeling, Noquia twisted her dagger against her wrist guard, bringing up her knuckled grip and swinging hard—but Theo dissolved into vapor, vanishing.

No impact. No damage. Breathless, she let out a furious laugh and bolted through the maze. Theo appeared again and again, striking without pause—then fading into mist the instant she countered.

“Hey! Isn’t this cheating?! Take off the Eternal and fight me fair!”

Noquia raged, swinging her fists in every direction, hoping to clip him even once. But Theo saw everything within the Veil. There was no chance.

At last, the Veil dissipated like dispersing fog. Noquia gasped as her vision cleared, savoring a single breath of freedom—and then spotted Theo standing not far away.

“You’re dead!”

She flipped the dagger back into her grip and lunged for him. But thunder cracked behind her, and a chill raced up her spine. Noquia spun mid-charge, eyes wide—and saw it. An urumi lashing toward her like lightning.

She leapt, slashing upward with an upper-arm strike to deflect the whip-sword. It glanced off—but she failed to land properly, and slammed into the ground.

Thud! She hit flat on her back, pain forcing her eyes shut—yet instinct screamed, danger! Snapping them open, she saw a blade’s edge already at her face. She twisted her dagger again, dragging the blade against her wrist guard, and caught the steel between her fists.

“Just die already…!”

It was Yorkshire. His entire body trembled as he poured all his strength into driving the sword down. Noquia snarled, twisted her grip, and snapped the blade in two. Then she kicked him away with brutal force and scrambled back to her feet.