The body is of intermediate to high-level strength, with abilities focused on physical enhancement.
His weapon proficiency surpasses mere competence, reaching a considerable level.
His particular strengths lie in his speed and merciless precision.
‘That should be enough to sum it up.’
Having finished his analysis of Five, Lloyd swiftly turned his head.
A small needle-shaped projectile whizzed past, narrowly missing his head.
A single strand of hair floated in the air, severed by the near miss.
Lloyd smirked.
“You should be thankful that I have such thick hair.”
“Damn it… How the h*ll did you dodge that?”
“Well, it’s because I can see everything.”
Lloyd’s body, which he now inhabited, possessed extreme hypersensitivity—his vision, smell, and hearing were all extraordinarily sharp. To the extent that the buzzing of a fly in the air sounded as loud as a helicopter.
The previous owner of this body couldn’t handle such sensitivity and died because of it.
‘But for me, it’s perfect.’
Lloyd, or rather Lee Han’s mental fortitude, was on a different level compared to most people. After all, it’s impossible for someone who has experienced death to be on the same level as those who haven’t.
Thus…
– Swoosh.
Lloyd could see it.
Five’s hand as it retrieved a concealed weapon from a buttonhole.
And how the assassin was ready to launch the projectile with just a flick of his fingers.
A sneak attack, but for Lloyd, it was as simple as tilting his head slightly to avoid it.
“Wh-what?!”
The assassin’s eyes widened.
No one had ever blocked his signature move of hiding a weapon in a buttonhole.
But there was no need to worry.
“Die!”
A dagger appeared from his back pocket.
Five’s arm traced a crescent-shaped arc aimed at Lloyd’s neck.
There was no way to dodge this.
– Pssss!
Black smoke from the previous projectile obscured Lloyd’s vision.
“Die!”
Crunch.
A searing heat grazed Lloyd’s ear, causing him to frown as he took a step to the side.
‘I didn’t expect him to block my sight.’
Of course, he could still avoid it, thanks to his heightened senses—hearing, smell, and a sixth sense for detecting mana. Although it was a bit delayed.
“This much is nothing.”
Lloyd extended his leg forward, aiming to trip the assassin.
“What!”
Five, who hadn’t anticipated a physical attack, stumbled. In that instant, Lloyd immobilized Five’s hand with his mana.
‘He’s been moving so erratically, it was hard to catch him.’
One of the conditions for activating the body-freezing magic Lloyd frequently used was that the target had to remain still for a moment.
With both arms immobilized, Lloyd slammed his fist into the assassin’s stomach.
“Urgh!”
The assassin hit the ground hard, blood spurting from his mouth as his arms, still immobilized, twisted at odd angles.
“Argh!”
The assassin briefly lost consciousness.
Lloyd took advantage of this, pulling off all the concealed weapons from his body.
Thud, Thud, Thud.
Weapons clattered to the ground, covering the floor in black.
Lloyd securely bound the assassin’s broken hands, ensuring he wouldn’t be able to move them.
“…P-please don’t kill me.”
Five, using what little strength he had left, tried to crawl away.
Lloyd smiled at him.
“Why would I kill you? It’s a waste of my energy.”
“T-thank you.”
“But there’s a condition. How do you get into that person’s room?”
“Ugh!”
Five suddenly started trembling violently.
What’s going on?
“If you can’t say it because of some kind of restriction, just shout ‘carrot’ or something.”
“C-carrot.”
“Unbelievable.”
Lloyd wiped his cheek.
Blood from his ear had spread across his face, painting it red.
“By the way, who’s backing you?”
“Who…who’s backing me?”
“The people funding the Seventh Death Squad, allowing illegal activities. Who’s behind them?”
“I don’t… I don’t know…”
“That’s unlikely. At first, I thought it was the Harold Trading Company, but now I don’t think so.”
“N-no.”
“Claire mentioned that the person who attacked her last time had a mark of the Blood Cult.”
Five’s pupils quivered violently from side to side.
Does that mean it’s not them or what?
“Could it be… Holy Constantine?”
“Guughh!”
A chilling sound filled the air as the assassin’s eyes rolled back suddenly.
– Fwoosh!
A noise that resembled something piercing flesh was heard, followed by blood streaming from the assassin’s eyes, nose, and mouth.
At the same time, his head slumped down lifelessly.
“… They sure set some harsh conditions.”
Lloyd muttered to himself as he stood up.
He wobbled slightly, his vision momentarily reddening from the overpowering scent of blood filling the air.
“… Time to move on.”
Muttering to himself, Lloyd pulled out a small vial.
Crunch.
As soon as he bit down on the pill inside, the sharp, metallic taste spread through his mouth.
“Let’s see what’s next.”
Lloyd started walking down the hallway in the distance.
◆
“Stand back, Princess Yulia…! No, Lady Yulia!”
“Chief! Are you really going back on your word after saying all that? What does this mean?”
“Hahaha! I thought they’d be flustered, but it seems they don’t even care.”
—Kwaaaaang!
A massive iron mace slammed into the spot where Princess Yulia had just stood.
Dust and stone fragments flew into the air, obscuring the view.
As the dust settled, the silhouettes of a maid and a butler emerged from the haze.
“No one is allowed past this point without an entry permit.”
“Only those with an entry permit may pass.”
“The only thing required is One’s approval.”
“Only approval.”
“Status is irrelevant.”
“It doesn’t matter.”
The maid and butler repeated their words like parrots.
“Quite the creepy twin siblings.”
The village chief frowned as he flexed his muscles, which bulged as if he were wearing armor.
In an instant, his figure vanished.
– Kwaaaaang!
A powerful explosion erupted from the butler’s side.
The village chief, who had somehow gotten behind the butler, was delivering a relentless barrage of punches.
Thud, thud, thud!
Each blow was powerful enough to drive the butler’s legs deep into the ground.
As the butler’s expression darkened, his sister, the maid, swung her massive mace.
It was a nearly impossible blow to avoid for the village chief, who was focused on the butler.
– Kaaaaaaang!
But the mace stopped just short of striking his back.
Yulia shouted out.
“Pay attention to what’s behind you when you attack!”
“Thank you, my lady! I was counting on you!”
“Stay focused!”
Yulia’s eyes glowed with a brilliant blue light as she called out.
Whirl.
Her hands moved swiftly and fluidly, as if she were conducting an orchestra.
The invisible energy that had protected the chief’s back now pushed the maid into a corner.
It was a fast and flexible attack, difficult to block with a large mace.
“Ugh!”
The maid let out a small groan as her back slammed against the wall, the damage to her body steadily accumulating.
The village chief, who had been holding off the butler while observing, sighed.
“Hah. Is this the Estrid bloodline? I can’t even begin to comprehend what kind of magic this is.”
In truth, the village chief had once been a seasoned warrior on the battlefield. His name was still recorded somewhere in the Imperial Palace. He had simply retired to a quiet rural life because he no longer wanted to live a complicated life.
Even to his experienced eyes, Yulia’s talent was not just extraordinary; it was dazzling.
‘Not quite on Lloyd’s level, but…’
Those glowing blue eyes.
It was clear that what she was using wasn’t ordinary magic.
As a result, even the maid, who was at least an A-rank physical enhancement user, was struggling.
The butler, on the other hand, seemed to be close to S-rank in strength.
“Being a magician, it will be difficult for you to withstand my attacks!”
– Boomm!
The village chief threw a powerful punch that slammed into the butler, driving him deep into the ground as if he were a stake being pounded in.
“Hold him down, Princess!”
Crack!
The chief knocked the butler unconscious with a swift kick to the face, then immediately charged at the maid.
The finishing blow should always come from a close-combat specialist.
“Now!”
The moment the princess’s magic stopped, and the village chief’s fist was about to hit the maid.
— Booom!
The stairs beneath them collapsed deeply.
“Damn it.”
The village chief grabbed Yulia mid-air, protecting her as they landed softly on the ground.
When they looked up, everything around them was pitch black, like they had fallen into a well.
The only thing visible was the white ceiling high above.
Peering down from above were the faces of the butler and the maid, watching them like spectators.
“How about our mansion’s protective formation?”
“Protective formation.”
“No intruders have ever made it past this point.”
“Never. Hehehe.”
They laughed mockingly.
“You little brats!”
The village chief picked up a rock and hurled it upwards.
But the rock hit an invisible barrier, wavered, and then fell back down.
“It’s useless.”
“Useless. Hehe.”
Watching the scene, Yulia let out a small sigh.
“It seems the butler is a barrier specialist.”
“I thought he seemed weak compared to his aura!”
“… What kind of place is this, though?”
Just as Yulia began to look around, the village chief urgently threw himself over her, shielding her.
“It’s a trap! Raise your shield immediately!”
– Thwack-thwack-thwack-thwack!
Before he could even finish speaking, a volley of hidden blades rained down on them.
Several blades pierced into the chief’s back, and blood began to flow.
Yulia quickly raised a protective shield to cover them both.
“Are you okay?”
“Urgh. This is nothing. But still…”
Although Yulia had managed to raise her barrier, the sheer number of attacks was overwhelming.
Not only were blades raining down, but also bursts of magic, an insane volume all at once.
“It’s a setup, combining traps with a mechanical device.”
“…The volume is overwhelming. We’re being pushed back.”
Yulia’s barrier visibly began to shrink, retreating until it was just inches away from touching both her and the chief.
It was going to touch.
… It was about to touch.
Just as Yulia shut her eyes tightly in resignation—
– Wham!
The two siblings who had been watching from above were suddenly flung backward.
– “Hup.”
A voice rang out as the sound of someone leaping over the hole echoed.
Soon, a face peeked down from above.
“What are you all doing down there? Hanging out in such a dark, dreary place?”
It was Lloyd.
