Dragging the two disguised sentries to a corner, he tied them up tightly.

  Arthur began searching the abandoned church thoroughly.

  Soon, he spotted something unusual beneath the statue base—all that remained of the broken deity.

  "Found it."

  He twisted a stone.

  Boom——!

  The statue base rumbled, sliding to the side to reveal an underground passage.

  Arthur checked the entrance carefully, confirming there was no danger before stepping down cautiously.

  Shortly after he disappeared into the passage, the statue rumbled again, sliding back into place and concealing the entrance once more.

  After some time, Hulim—clad in her mage’s black robe—arrived at the abandoned church.

  "Strange—there’s no one guarding the ground floor?"

  Though confused by the arrangement, she was here to rescue someone and didn’t dwell on it.

  It didn’t take her long to find the entrance beneath the statue either.

  Boom——!

  With two successive rumbles, silence returned to the abandoned church above ground.

  ......

  Hulim walked steadily downward along the dark, winding passage.

  After a while, she reached a relatively flat section.

  "......Still no one?"

  She’d overlooked the lack of guards above, but it was odd that even the underground entrance was unguarded.

  For a moment, Hulim wondered if the gang had lied to her.

  "Either way, I should keep looking......"

  A few minutes later, she realized she hadn’t been deceived.

  Watching the patrolling guards pass by, Hulim hid in a corner, still puzzled by their tactics. The interior seemed heavily guarded, yet the most critical entrance was completely unprotected.

  Once the patrols were gone, Hulim emerged—without making a sound.

  "Since I’m in the right place, finding the captives comes first......"

  But she soon realized her plan was naive.

  Whoever had built this underground structure had made it incredibly large and complex, its coverage area far exceeding that of the above-ground church—it was practically a maze.

  This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

  Judging by the old traces on the walls, it had been built a long time ago—possibly even before the church above burned down.

  "I can’t find anyone like this."

  "It looks like I’ll have to take more drastic measures......"

  Just then, a figure approached slowly from ahead.

  "Perfect—this one will do."

  Hulim held her breath, lying in ambush as she waited for the patrol to draw near.

  She found it strange that the patrol moved so sneakily, like an infiltrating thief......

  Oh well—perhaps he was up to no good and didn’t want to be discovered.

  When the sneaky figure was within two meters, Hulim struck.

  "What——?!"

  The sudden attack startled the patrol, but his reaction was surprisingly fast—he defended himself instinctively.

  Thud——!

  Hulim had aimed for the back of his head, but he raised his arm just in time to block. Even so, the immense force sent him flying.

  "This guy......"

  Hulim frowned. Were these guys really this strong?

  Could a random patrol member block her attack?!

  She hadn’t used full force—afraid of injuring him too severely to question later—but even that strike shouldn’t have been deflectable by an ordinary Rank C fighter.

  "Wait! Wait! One of your own! I’m one of your own! Stop attacking!"

  A hoarse voice came from the fallen patrol.

  "......?"

  Why was his reaction like this after being attacked?

  Still, it worked to her advantage.

  This time, I’ll take him down for good!

  "Tch! Troublesome......"

  Seeing Hulim preparing to attack again, the man stopped shouting, clicked his tongue, and quickly chanted an incantation under his breath.

  Whoosh——!

  The sound of rushing wind filled the air as Hulim lunged.

  At the same moment, the "patrol" unleashed his magic.

  "Flame Sword——!"

  Huh? This move, this voice......

  Hulim froze. The strike aimed at his neck veered downward, grazing his arm and knocking him a full 180 degrees around in place.

  Thud!

  "Ah??? "

  Arthur lay on the ground, stunned.

  It took him three full seconds to react—what he’d seen earlier had been nothing but an afterimage. By the time he’d summoned his Flame Sword, she’d already closed in.

  How is this possible?!

  Is a mere guard this strong!!?

  Does that mean I never stood a chance from the start......

  I’m sorry, Alice—big brother is useless......

  "Arthur?"

  "Huh??? "

  The expected final blow never came. Instead, a familiar voice reached his ears.

  Arthur scrambled to his feet and stared at her.

  "Y-You can’t be——Hulim?!!!"

  Hulim nodded, then removed her mask.

  Seeing her face, he confirmed it was indeed Hulim.

  "What the hell is going on!!"

  Arthur exclaimed, pulling off his own mask.

  "Hulim, why are you here?"

  "What about you—why are you here?"

  "To rescue someone."

  "Same here!"

  "Team up?"

  "Naturally!"

  The two quickly agreed to cooperate.

  "Now that we’re teammates, there’s one thing I need to confirm with you, Ms. Hulim~!"

  Arthur suddenly smiled, his tone turning odd.

  "?? What is it?"

  "You—you definitely held back before!!!"

  "......"

  After a few seconds of silence.

  "N-o-p-e~"

  Hulim replied in a mechanical tone.

  "Stop lying!!! You totally exposed yourself just now! I didn’t even have time to react before you took me down! You’re way stronger than you usually let on!!!"

  "And when you lie, you’re completely expressionless—you don’t even blink! I can tell you’re lying at a glance!"

  "Really?"

  Hulim touched her face.

  I should be more careful next time......

  "‘Really?’ You have no self-awareness at all......"

  Arthur was too exhausted to complain.

  "Whatever...... We’ll talk about this later. First, let’s rescue the others!"

  "Speaking of rescuing people—I had an idea earlier."

  "Funny—I thought of a plan too, after you ambushed me!"

  ......

  Beneath the abandoned church.

  A real patrol guard was making his rounds in the underground passage.

  "Hmm?"

  Something had flashed by in the passage to his right. He stopped immediately,

  gripped his weapon, and approached cautiously.

  But when he reached the spot, there was nothing there.

  "Strange—was it my imagination?"

  Scratching his head in confusion, he prepared to return to his route.

  Suddenly, he heard the sound of rushing wind behind him.

  Then his consciousness went blank......