Chapter 18: Cunning
"Just... let me live," the woman rasped, her voice trembling as her hands remained raised in surrender.
She looked at Leo pleadingly, her tear-streaked face bloodied and pale, conveying a true picture of desperation.
But despite her convincing act, Leo wasn't sold on her performance.
Sizing her up, he remained poised for combat while his mind swirled with suspicion.
Something about her plea gnawed at him, setting off every alarm in his head. Her words were too measured, her movements too calculated.
She was a vixen, a conniving liar if Leo had ever seen one and although he couldn't recall if he'd encountered someone like her before, something within him assured him she was not to be trusted.
'Should I let her leave?' he wondered momentarily, only for a voice deep within him to stir—a cold, primal whisper that said:
Trust no one.
It wasn't the first time this voice had surfaced during the test, and over time, Leo had learned one thing about it: the voice was never wrong.
He tightened his grip on his dagger, his body growing even more tense.
If she was desperate, then she was dangerous, for desperation often made people lie, cheat, and kill without hesitation.
"If you want to live," Leo finally said, his tone steady and devoid of emotion, "slowly take out your teleportation crystal and crush it. You'll be teleported out of the competition—alive."
The woman blinked, her breath hitching as though she hadn't expected this response.
It was a clever offer. If she truly didn't have her partner by her side and only wanted to leave the prison terrace alive, crushing the teleportation crystal was the fastest and simplest way out.
However, the reluctance on her face to do so gave Leo all the assurance he needed to confirm that leaving the test wasn't her true intention.
She was likely hoping to find her partner after escaping, planning to regroup and return stronger. She had no intention of abandoning the entrance test just yet.
Leo observed her body language carefully, noting how her shoulders sagged and her body slumped at his offer, as though the weight of his demand had drained her remaining strength.
However, instead of protesting, she cunningly agreed, acting as though his proposal made absolute sense.
"I... okay," she said softly, nodding as she moved her trembling hand toward her tunic pocket.
Even though it appeared she was ready to comply, Leo didn't relax.
His sharp eyes stayed locked on her every move, watching the deliberate slowness of her hand like a hawk.
It was at this moment that he caught the faint flicker in her eyes—a flicker that betrayed her true intentions.
She's stalling.
The realization struck him like a vice. His knuckles whitened around the hilt of his dagger as his instincts screamed louder.
Her hesitation, her subtle glances—these weren't the actions of someone defeated. She was calculating, looking for an opening.
Eventually, she drew out the teleportation crystal and held it up as though ready to follow his instructions. But just as her fingers seemed to tighten around it, a soft smile played on her lips, and she mouthed the words "Dark Fog."
In an instant, darkness exploded around her, a swirling fog that engulfed the terrace within seconds.
The air grew dense, thick shadows coiling around her like living tendrils and blotting out all sight.
Leo staggered back, his dagger raised high and his heart pounding. "Felix!" he barked, his voice cutting through the unnatural haze. "Stay alert!"
"What the hell is this?!" Felix responded, his panicked voice echoing from a distance, his tone laced with fear.
He stumbled backward, the fog closing in, choking his vision as it grew denser.
The woman's lips curled into a smirk as she moved soundlessly through the fog. Her pulse thundered in her ears, her breaths shallow and ragged. She had one chance left, one desperate move to turn the tide in her favor.
'I only have enough mana for one skill—this Dark Fog. I have to make it count,' she thought as she tightened her grip on her blade.
'The fat one. He's the weak link. Take him out, and the other one crumbles.'
Her body burned with pain, her wound screaming with every step she took, but she continued to push forward, driving herself onward with sheer willpower.
With a burst of speed, she dashed toward Felix, her blade poised for a final, desperate strike.
But before she could reach him, a sharp, searing pain shot through her back. Her eyes widened in shock as her body went rigid.
Thud.
She collapsed, paralyzed from the waist down, as she felt the sharp sensation of a dagger embedded firmly in her spine.
'But how? Just how did he hit me through the fog?' she wondered, her mind blanking from the pain as a shriek escaped her lips.
She was certain her [Dark Fog] skill had effectively blocked Leo's vision, making it impossible for him to pinpoint her location.
But she had underestimated him.
Suspicious of her from the start, Leo had closely followed her gaze and body language, anticipating her intentions before she even made her move on Felix.
Even through the fog, Leo had a rough idea of where she might be and hurled a couple of daggers in that direction, with the second one finding its mark in her spine.
If he was in the woman's position, he too would have chosen to target Felix in hopes of survival, and it was that same logic that helped him take her down now.