That said everything about what kind of man he was.
“Fine. I have many more questions, but I will settle for the answer to one,” Claire said. “Why have you come to this world?”
Was that Claire’s voice leading the interrogation? She spoke so neatly and coldly to the ifrit. This tone, echoing with rage and hatred, was remarkably different. Somehow, her voice didn’t move Cain at all. The corners of his mouth curled upward like a Cheshire cat, as if he’d suppressed his emotions the entire time and was about to crack.
The dam burst, spilling out in a wave of malicious laughter. “Fantastic question! I have but one goal. Send my troops into this world via dungeons, eliminate its human inhabitants, and take over the world, my pretty lovely little one.”
Whump. I felt Cain’s mana balloon to the same level as the ifrit’s in an instant—proof that he was ready for war.
“Dammit!” I cursed. I swiftly raised Nameless in opposition, but Cain moved faster. He summoned at least ten blood-red magic circles around himself.
Claire circumvented them.
“Pardon me,” she said. She was the picture of cool-headed ruthlessness, swinging her sword faster than I could count. After each magic circle lay ruined and unable to activate in her wake, her next target was Cain’s throat. “Haaa!”
Cain clucked his tongue in frustration. “Blood Wall!”
Ten walls of blood appeared in the space between them, a barrier of red. Claire slashed through them one by one but grew slower each time. When she reached the last, she was forced to a standstill. Her eyes narrowed in dissatisfaction as she dodged back from some unseen force.
“You can defend against me?” Claire said.
“Fine words from the girl cutting through my prized Blood Walls!” he countered.
“Don’t you have other abilities at your disposal?”
“Who knows? Do I?”
The two of them glared at each other. I didn’t feel anger or panic as I stood nearby; I felt reassured. How could I feel anything else? Yes, Cain was strong. Easily as strong as the ifrit. But watching him and Claire go head-to-head proved how incredible Claire was. I couldn’t hope to take Cain out on my own, but Claire could definitely defeat him. It was a huge weight off my shoulders to know I wouldn’t have to fight this powerful enemy. I could support Claire from the sidelines and protect Hana and the others.
So I thought. In reality, my trial was just beginning.
They looked like they were prizefighters sizing each other up, but they were actually building mana for their next attacks. Claire’s aura dwarfed Cain’s. He snickered when he noticed the disparity.
“That’s some frightening power you’ve got there. What you deployed against the ifrit was the proverbial tip of the iceberg, hmm?” he mocked. “I’m sure I have no chance against you in a duel…but unfortunately for you, time is up.”
“Time is up?” she asked. “For what, exact—”
“No!” I gasped.
Claire and I widened our eyes, unable to believe the sight before us. A soft glow wreathed her body. We both recognized it as the activation signal warning she’d soon be teleported to the Return Zone.
That much was typical. She defeated the ifrit, the dungeon boss. The unbelievable part was what wasn’t happening.
“Why is it only working on Claire?!” I shouted, losing my cool.
That light should’ve enveloped our whole group. Me and everyone else. But it didn’t. Claire was about to get sent to the Return Zone, leaving us with this villain!
This isn’t happening, this isn’t happening, this isn’t happening!
My head nearly exploded from the torrent of denials flooding it.
“Call it my backup plan,” Cain said. “When I took ownership of the dungeon, I rewrote the rules. The one who defeats the dungeon boss goes back to the Return Zone, meaning you, girlie, leave alone.”
Was that even possible…?
Wait… Yeah, when Claire defeated the ifrit, the system only told me that I’d gained XP—nothing else. No takedown rewards at all! I couldn’t even conceive of how much power Cain held as the “owner,” but that surprise was quickly replaced with numbness. Something far more urgent demanded attention: Cain. He was strong, stronger than the ifrit, and he planned to execute us. If we lost Claire, who could beat him?
“Claire!” I cried, reaching for her, praying that she wouldn’t disappear. Claire gripped Cursed tightly. Her expression was conflicted until her eyes widened and focused on…me.
Why? Why me?
I was nothing compared to her. What did she see in me when we locked eyes?
Claire flipped Cursed over and stabbed it deep into the ground.
“Absolute Ruler!”
A magic circle expanded from the sword and swathed everyone except me, Claire, and Cain in a barrier of ice. She took one last look at me and whispered, “They’re in your hands.”
The glow surrounding Claire flared into blinding light. When it receded, she was gone. Our only hope of defeating Cain had vanished into thin air.
I held my empty hand aloft.
As I stood, rattled, Cain turned to me and spoke with saccharine cordiality.
“Is this an ice barrier for protecting the powerless? Sadly, then, that leaves you and me,” he sighed. “Foolish girl, entrusting this bout to a weakling. You’d best not waste energy on hoping she’ll find help, by the way. The Gate closed the moment she arrived. I’ll crush you worms long before you can try to wriggle away from me.”
Cain’s sanguine glare burned with such venom that it threatened to stop my heart on its own. A chorus of worried voices rose up behind me, but the ice barrier flattened the sound to a hush.
That ice separated me from them, which meant the only person who could protect any of us was…
“Me,” I breathed out.
Their lives were in my hands again, and I was against an enemy stronger than the ifrit I’d failed to defeat. I had no hope of winning, not even a scrap. Hopelessly, I stepped forward to do battle with malevolence incarnate—with Cain—anyway.