Chapter 22: First Assault (3):
The assassin, struck by Ridipin’s arrow, cried out in pain and let go of Reina. I seized that moment to snatch Reina away and dashed toward Ridipin.
Though the assassin quickly regained his senses and reached out to grab us—
Thwack!
Another arrow flew in and pierced the assassin’s arm.
“Aaargh!”
He screamed in agony, nearly passing out, but I focused solely on running.
If we kept going, my aura armor would recover—but if we engaged him now, the assassin would retaliate somehow.
Most importantly—there was a hole in my stomach right now!
Ridipin looked over us, clearly worried.
“A-Are you both okay?!”
“I’m fine, but Ban is…”
I raised a hand to signal I was okay, then pulled a violet potion from my inner pocket and chugged it.
It was an elixir I’d snatched from Ria—an overpowered item that healed all wounds and fatigue with a single dose.
The side effect was fainting shortly afterward due to its potency, but I didn’t care. Now that Ridipin could shoot properly, the end of this ambush wasn’t far off.
As soon as I drank the elixir, the hole in my stomach rapidly closed. My breathing steadied, and both Ridipin and Reina let out sighs of relief.
“I seriously thought you were going to die.”
“Delinquents always have tough lives.”
I tried to lighten the mood with a joke, but suddenly Ridipin bowed her head and apologized.
“I-I’m so sorry! If I’d fired just a little sooner…!”
Then Reina also started apologizing.
“No, if I’d used aura, the fight would’ve been over already, so it’s my fault—”
“N-No, more than Reina, it was me—”
This could go on forever. I lightly tapped both their shoulders and said,
“Calm down, both of you. The fight’s not over yet. Let’s argue about who messed up later.”
The two looked a little uneasy, but soon turned their focus back to the assassin and readied for battle.
“But since I got stabbed, you both owe me a meal later.”
Reina immediately bopped me on the head.
“Owww!”
“You’re joking at a time like this?!”
That hurt even more than getting stabbed, but it lifted the mood.
Though Reina was grumbling, she looked relieved that I was alive. Ridipin smiled slightly as she looked at us.
“So, Ban. Ridipin fired the arrow you were looking forward to. Got a plan ready?”
“Honestly, it’s not much of a plan. You and I open the path, Ridipin lands the shots. That’s it.”
Simple, but effective.
I handed the Sword of Wind’s Blessing to Reina.
“Take it.”
“If I take this, you’ll be weaponless.”
“I’m a mage. Knights use swords. Plus, I’ve got spares—use it freely.”
Reina hesitated for a moment, then smiled and accepted it.
“I’ll try to return it in one piece.”
“Break it if you must—just don’t get hurt. You living gives meaning to this fight.”
“I-I’ll finish it in one go!”
Ridipin, having overcome her trauma once, was now full of confidence. She wasn’t as reliable as Reina yet, but a bit cute in her own way.
“Alright then, let’s take down this weirdo pretending to be 18 years old!”
The assassin, though tormented by inner conflict, composed himself and began circulating aura.
The two conflicting auras slowly stabilized.
Only after the intense pain faded did he pull out the arrows lodged in him and release Ridipin’s aura.
In front of him stood Ban Jo and the others, ready to attack again.
Instead of rushing in, the assassin reevaluated the situation.
Once he began using aura, the fight should’ve ended. Whether or not one had aura was a huge factor.
The Serenia-style and Ban’s mana stone made things tricky—but nothing insurmountable. The assassin had no doubts he would succeed in his mission.
That is, until he got hit by Ridipin’s arrow.
‘This mission might fail.’
Aura Break, a technique that damages the opponent’s body by sending aura into them, could be used by anyone who understood aura.
But it required a weapon to be embedded in the target first, which made it impractical in most cases.
However, when used at range, those limitations vanished.
‘And to think her aura density is higher than mine.’
Unlike mana or holy power, aura doesn’t get consumed. It’s a battle of quantity and density.
For Ridipin’s arrow to pierce through meant her innate archery talent exceeded his trained swordsmanship.
Thinking it would be easy to kill a student, he had prioritized infiltration and escape over full equipment. That misjudgment now came back to bite him.
‘Not much time left…’
Killing Reina wasn’t the end—he also needed to escape alive.
The ambush was timed for when professors’ attention was drawn to a commotion in the central plaza. But once that was resolved, Iris Academy’s professors would soon head here.
If captured and his memories were read via magic, he’d have to take his own life.
Time was limited. With Ridipin awakened, even killing Reina had become difficult.
If this were any other mission, the assassin would have given up. But—
‘This mission must succeed.’
He took a deep breath, got into stance, and charged at Ban Jo.
This time, Reina intercepted him directly.
Their aura-charged swords clashed, pushing Reina back. The assassin immediately twisted his sword to slash her again—but an arrow interrupted.
[Light Archery – Flash]
A radiant arrow flew like a streak of light.
The assassin barely raised his sword to block, but Reina closed in.
‘She can’t hurt me anyway. I’ll take care of that arrow first…’
But Reina wasn’t aiming for him—she was aiming at his sword.
Clang!
With support from [Low Wind’s Blessing], her blade deflected his.
“…!”
Then Ridipin’s arrow followed, smashing through his aura armor with a powerful shockwave.
Pain surged again, but the assassin gritted his teeth and struck at Reina.
If their plan was to ensure Ridipin’s attacks landed, he would let them and take Reina’s head in return.
‘Even if I die here, the mission comes first…!’
A deadly blow laced with killing intent and aura.
Reina staggered under the pressure—until Ban stepped in and blocked the assassin’s sword.
Clang!
The assassin roared,
“Ban Astrea!”
“Quit messing with Reina—go play with the arrows instead!”
As he said it, another [Flash] arrow flew—but this time, the assassin deflected it.
Ting!
The arrow bounced mid-air, but Ban caught it and stabbed it into the assassin’s shoulder.
Still charged with aura, the arrow pierced his armorless body—and shattered his aura armor again.
“Aaargh!”
Already enduring the pain of Aura Break, the flood of additional aura sent his powers into a frenzy, knocking him unconscious for a moment.
Ban shouted,
“Ridipin! Hit him with your strongest shot!”
“Yes!”
Ridipin aimed three arrows at once.
She wasn’t sure if she could still use the technique she had learned, but—
‘Ban believes in me!’
She didn’t hesitate.
[Light Archery – Trichromatic Light]
The arrows spread in an inverted triangle, each spinning and converging at a single point.
Red, green, and blue auras merged into a single explosive impact in front of the assassin.
Boom!
Dust rose where he stood, and Reina and Ridipin smiled in victory.
But Ban knew it wasn’t over.
‘Phase 3 starts now.’
Phase 3 of the assassin: abandon defense and go all-out in offense.
They had almost defeated him with small attacks—but in Phase 3, one blow could annihilate them all.
Ending it with [Trichromatic Light] would’ve been ideal, but the power wasn’t quite enough.
Just as Ban expected, the assassin unleashed his aura again.
The arrows embedded in him and the aura inside him vanished, concentrating fully into his sword.
Reina and Ridipin panicked—but had no time to react before he charged at Ban.
‘Start with Ban Astrea.’
All their attacks stemmed from Ban. The assassin revised his target priority.
He swung horizontally—but Ban anticipated it and leapt high, aiming his wand to cast a spell.
The assassin dropped his sword and punched Ban in the stomach.
Boom!
With a heavy thud, Ban crashed through the outer wall of a nearby building.
‘No matter how skilled, a mage with no proper defense won’t survive that.’
The assassin grabbed his falling sword and turned to his next target.
Accelerating with a stomp—
Ridipin, thinking he was after Reina, quickly fired a suppressive arrow imbued with aura—but she was wrong.
His second target: Ridipin Lightjustice.
As long as she interfered, killing Reina would take too long. So she had to be eliminated first.
Ridipin hurried to use her archery.
[Light Archery – Trichromatic Light]
But unlike before, the assassin was composed—and now familiar with the technique.
He deflected one of the arrows before they converged, throwing the whole formation off and easily breaking the spell.
“…!”
Unlike before, he nullified it effortlessly.
He appeared in front of the stunned Ridipin and struck her jaw.
Thud.
She collapsed, unconscious.
Only one remained.
With bloodshot eyes, the assassin locked onto the lone Reina and charged.
She was slow to react—shocked that her friends had fallen. But thanks to [Low Wind’s Blessing], she barely blocked in time.
Clang!
But his sword had grown heavier—it wouldn’t last.
First clash: strain on her arm.
Second: her blade started chipping.
Fifth: her shoulder strained, and her arm began to go numb.
Eighth: her sword, unable to withstand the aura, shattered.
Crash!
As the assassin’s sword pierced through the flying fragments and rushed toward Reina—
A magic circle lit up beneath their feet.
Whirrrr!
The floor shot up, creating a wall between them and blocking his blade.
He quickly withdrew his sword to cut through the wall and Reina, but—
A man appeared behind Reina, wrapped an arm around her waist, and pulled her back.
Boom!
The wall shattered, revealing the man’s face.
Dressed entirely in black, with a hood and mask—a mysterious figure.
He spoke in a strange, electronic tone.
“That’s enough. Any further, and things get tricky for me.”
“…Who are you?”
“Me?”
Ban Astrea—or rather, Kim Sehyun—smiled with his dark eyes flashing.
“Just a nosy passerby?”
