"Huh——?""What’s this guy talking about?"

  Hum——!

  Hulim’s wand tip glowed with an intense magical light, far brighter than before.

  "T-This guy...... isn’t he acting strange......"

  A sense of crisis made the armed men stop in their tracks instinctively.

  Just as the spell was about to be cast.

  A sudden wave of danger surged in Hulim’s heart.

  Without the slightest hesitation, she immediately canceled the spell and jumped quickly to the side.

  Boom——!

  Almost as soon as she left her original position, a column of fire erupted out of nowhere from where she’d stood.

  The scorching heat directly melted the ground and ceiling.

  "Oh, quick reflexes. It looks like you little thief might actually amuse me."

  Hulim looked at the figure appearing behind her, gripped her wand a little tighter with her right hand, and her eyes turned serious.

  "L-Lord Morgar!"

  The armed men present saluted the figure one after another.

  "Hehe, you really are a bunch of losers."

  "W-We are truly sorry! This person is too fast—we c-couldn’t catch her......"

  Morgar twisted his neck slightly.

  "Oh, is that so?"

  Snap!

  He snapped his fingers casually.

  Boom——!

  "Ahh——!!!"

  A column of fire rose beneath the man who’d spoken, quickly incinerating him to ashes.

  This guy......

  Hulim’s gaze toward Morgar shifted slightly.

  The shrill scream echoing underground left all the other armed men frozen in place, too terrified to make a sound.

  "Don’t you understand......"

  Morgar said in an impatient, cold tone.

  "I’m talking about how you let yourselves be fooled by such a simple diversion tactic!"

  "If you get it, then get the hell back to the prison and deal with the other intruders——!!!"

  "Y-Yes, sir——!!!"

  The armed men replied hastily.

  They turned and fled immediately.

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  I can’t let them go back.

  Hulim immediately pointed her wand at the men, ready to cast a spell.

  "Oh my~?"

  Boom——!

  Exploding flames forced Hulim to dodge temporarily, and her plan to stop the men fell through.

  "Hey, hey! Staring at those minions won’t do! Come play with me for a bit."

  Hulim looked at Morgar calmly.

  He’s been watching me this whole time......

  There’s no other way. I hope Arthur can hold them off......

  "You...... even kill your own men?"

  "Huh~?"

  Morgar burst into laughter as if hearing something hilarious.

  "Hahaha! Are you joking? These pieces of trash from the lower organization—do they even qualify as ‘our own’? Haha~!"

  As he laughed, Morgar lifted his head.

  "They’re just disposable supplies~! Compared to that——"

  Boom——!

  Flames erupted almost without warning, instantly spreading throughout the entire passage.

  "——let’s make this a big mess!!!"

  ......

  Continuous waves of fire scoured everything underground.

  "Hey hey hey! Come on! What’s wrong? Why aren’t you talking~?"

  Morgar’s constant Fire Attribute spells turned the underground into a lava hell.

  "Hmm——?"

  Suddenly, as if sensing something, the smile on his face gradually faded.

  "You......"

  Splish splash......

  In the center of the flame-covered area, a water sphere was slowly spinning. Inside it, Hulim watched Morgar’s relentless casting with a calm gaze.

  When Morgar stopped releasing spells.

  "Are you done?"

  Hulim asked calmly.

  "B-Bastard~, how dare you say that!"

  Veins throbbed slightly on Morgar’s forehead.

  He stretched out his right hand toward Hulim, and the magic tool on his hand emitted a dazzling red light.

  "Do you think hiding in there will help!?"

  "【......】"

  "Explosive Flame Break——!!!"

  A terrifying fireball glowing with intense white light, hot enough to blind, condensed in front of Morgar’s palm. Its astonishing temperature caused the surrounding air to twist and refract visibly.

  "Die——!!!"

  In the next moment, the terrifying fireball hurtled toward Hulim.

  But at the exact same time Morgar chanted the incantation, Hulim also chanted a certain spell.

  "【......】"

  Splash!

  The water sphere surrounding her dissipated. At the tip of her wand, a similarly terrifying fireball—radiating white light and scorching heat—appeared.

  "Explosive Flame Break."

  Boom——!!!

  The two identical terrifying fireballs collided in mid-air, then erupted in a massive explosion.

  The shockwave from the explosion completely destroyed a large section of the nearby underground passages. The originally narrow space was blown open into a huge cavity, and even the ground above shook as if hit by a small earthquake.

  "Hahaha! Interesting! Truly interesting! You——so you’re also Rank B——!?"

  Morgar’s outer robe was burned away by the shockwave, but instead of being surprised, he grew extremely excited.

  On the other side, though not as disheveled, Hulim’s hood was also blown off by the shockwave. She simply removed her slightly charred mask as well.

  "Hmm? You......"

  Seeing Hulim’s face, Morgar’s smile slowly faded. He narrowed his eyes, seemingly sizing her up carefully.

  "You...... it’s you!"

  "Do you know me?"

  "Hahaha~! Know you? Not before, but I do now! You were part of that dock incident a year ago, weren’t you? I was planning to look for you soon, but you actually delivered yourself to my door! And I never thought you’d be Rank B!"

  That dock incident a year ago......

  Hulim suddenly realized something.

  "......Gulos?"

  "Hahaha! That’s right! We are Gulos! By the way, top talents like you are our favorite, because——"

  "——there’s no better sacrifice than you!!!"

  Boom——!

  Flames erupted behind Morgar’s legs, and he flew toward Hulim at high speed.

  "Die for me——!!!"

  Whoosh——!

  His flame-covered strike missed.

  "Huh——?"

  Looking up at Hulim, who had flown into the air, Morgar tilted his head in confusion.

  "What’s going on? So you can fly too?"

  But in the next moment, he broke into an exaggerated smile.

  "Haha~! Doesn’t matter! This just makes it more fun——!"

  Boom!

  Flames erupted from his feet, and he flew toward Hulim again.

  Hulim activated her Wings of Wind to dodge the direct hit.

  "May I ask you a question?"

  Hulim said calmly as she hovered in the air.

  "Huh~? A question?"

  Boom!

  Morgar’s attack missed again.

  "Could it be that you’re the only Gulos member here?"

  Morgar froze for a moment, then his smile turned dangerous.

  "What do you mean~?"

  "Nothing much. I’m just curious...... For a proper Gulos hideout, is the leader really just someone like you?"

  "Huh???!"

  Veins bulged on Morgar’s forehead.

  Boom!

  Even more intense flames erupted from his legs, and he accelerated toward Hulim.

  Hulim easily dodged by urging her Wings of Wind, but Morgar’s arms also erupted with flames at that moment, allowing him to stop abruptly in mid-air. He then fired flames several more times, successfully changing direction in the air and closing in on Hulim.

  "You little brat! I’m more than enough for this place! And taking you down is child’s play——!"