Chapter 215: Toward the Darkness
“Grey Dove” was truly a top-level archer.
Fast, accurate, ruthless.
These words described her perfectly. She was someone who would do anything to become stronger, and someone who would do anything to win.
She always chose the methods she was best at, and the places that gave her the biggest advantage.
She wasn’t above sneaking attacks, poison, threats, or dirty tricks. Those kinds of things were her everyday tools.
But—
CLANG!!!!
—when faced with overwhelming strength, all those tricks became meaningless.
Now, she was up against the furious "Red Crow", who had lost someone she considered family.
People often say that being too emotional in a fight causes you to miss important details. But in a tight alley like this, Evelia didn’t need to care about the small things.
She just needed to defeat Grey Dove, cut off her arms and legs, and force her to reveal where Rachel was.
—She definitely knew.
Grey Dove looked like one of the leader types, so Evelia was sure she had the information.
And for that, Evelia would fight with everything she had.
Her strength wasn’t something to joke about. At first, her mind hadn’t fully adjusted to her new body, and she felt like she was weaker than before.
But as time passed, she got used to it. This body, which held a power far beyond any ordinary human body, finally started to show its true strength.
For an archer, the most important thing is keeping distance. At first, Grey Dove didn’t dare get close to Evelia because of this. But now, Evelia was moving faster and faster, nearly flying across the ground. Her arrows couldn’t keep up anymore.
Grey Dove still had some heavy, armor-piercing arrows that could kill in one hit.
But those kinds of arrows needed time to charge and aim. If she could get just 30 seconds of distance, she could fire them properly.
“—Damn it!”
After seeing Evelia dodge every single arrow, Grey Dove suddenly realized that she had picked the wrong place to fight.
She had chosen this dark alley for two reasons.
One, she had already memorized every path and turn from above. If Evelia tried to run, she could predict where she'd go.
Two, she was used to being a killer in the shadows, darkness was her home ground. As long as she kept some distance and used her bow, she thought she could beat Evelia.
But she was wrong.
Darkness was also Evelia’s specialty.
This alley was long, giving Grey Dove enough space to move around as an archer. But the cost was how narrow it was.
And in this narrow space, using long weapons like spears, Grey Dove’s usual close-range choice, was a big mistake. She usually used her heavy arrows as makeshift spears in close combat.
But in such a tight alley where she couldn’t swing side to side, they became useless!
Still, she didn’t give up.
In fact, Grey Dove was getting excited.
Even though she was clearly at a disadvantage, even though she felt irritated, once she realized she had met a strong opponent, her blood started to boil.
This was a new challenge. And for her, challenges should always be set on hard mode!
CRACK—!
As Evelia closed the distance fast, not giving her time to retreat, Grey Dove made a sudden move.
She grabbed a medium-sized arrow and snapped off the tip, turning it into a short weapon.
Big moves weren’t useful in a place like this. Only small, fast weapons could work here.
CLANG!
Under the flowing pink strands of Evelia’s hair, the two finally clashed at close range. The loud sound of metal against metal echoed sharply.
Evelia was incredibly strong, and Grey Dove, even though she specialized in archery, wasn’t weak either.
When their weapons met, the sheer force of the clash made both of their hands go numb.
“Huff... huff…”
Grey Dove breathed in the air, filled with killing intent, almost as if she was drawing Evelia’s anger into her lungs.
Like it—like it, like it, like it!
She loved this kind of fight. She loved this pressure!
Huff... hee hee... hahaha...
She smiled wildly, almost like a madwoman, at Evelia’s emotionless face.
The stronger the opponent, the more it meant to defeat them.
Either she kills me, or I kill her!
Shhk!
Evelia, now very close, didn't hesitate. She summoned another short dagger using her alchemy mark, and with a flash of cold steel, aimed straight for Grey Dove’s throat.
But Grey Dove wasn’t someone who could be taken down in just a few moves. She wasn’t just anyone, she was one of the top assassins, with her own codename.
She had already predicted Evelia’s close-combat attack and the movement of her other hand.
After all, people with alchemy marks never leave a hand idle unless they're planning to fight directly or use a hidden weapon.
So, she was certain Evelia would draw another dagger. And from their current positions, the most likely move would be a backhand slash to the neck.
And she was right.
So, she was ready.
An archer’s tools aren’t just arrows. They also have the bowstring!
Grey Dove tied a heavy arrowhead to one end of the bowstring, making it like a throwing chain.
She flung it out and caught Evelia’s arm just as she moved in. With a strong yank, she pulled hard, so hard that even someone as strong as Evelia lost her balance.
Evelia stumbled for a moment, pulled by the sudden force.
In that brief instant, Grey Dove ducked and wrapped the other end of the bowstring around Evelia’s leg. The more Evelia struggled, the tighter the bowstring pulled on her limbs, stopping her from moving freely.
Now, she just needed to strike, just one more hit—
“—?!”
But before Grey Dove could pull out another weapon, Evelia had already found the knot that held the string tight. With one sharp slash, she cut through the annoying rope.
Then, with a high kick, she sent the still-attached arrowhead flying toward Grey Dove’s face.
Unfortunately, Evelia was still wearing the long dress she had worn when she went out earlier.
Her kick, though dangerous, made her skirt fly up. The flowing fabric blocked her vision, so even though she reacted quickly, she couldn’t aim well.
The arrowhead only scratched Grey Dove’s shoulder, drawing a line of blood, but not a serious injury.
Grey Dove took that moment. While Evelia's skirt was still up, she jumped back to put more space between them. At the same time, she drew her bow again and fired another arrow straight at Evelia.
Whoosh!
The light arrow flew through the air, cutting through the lifted skirt. Evelia dodged quickly, but it still left a small wound on her cheek.
“Tch.”
Evelia wiped the pain off her face with an annoyed expression and frowned.
Without hesitation, she swung her dagger and cut off the lower part of her long skirt, turning it into a short one.
As for her long hair, which was also getting in the way—
Of course, she wouldn’t cut her hair. Armand had once told her that he liked her beautiful pink hair.
So instead, she picked up a broken piece of an arrow that Grey Dove had dropped, snapped off a section, and used it to twist her long hair up into a bun.
“Heh heh...”
Seeing that she had managed to wound such a strong opponent, Grey Dove smiled again with her crazy expression.
Yes, as long as she could hurt Evelia, she still had a chance—
But in the very next second, just as she finally regained her footing and prepared to pull out a stronger arrow—
Evelia was gone.
In just the blink of an eye, Evelia disappeared from Grey Dove’s sight.
“...?”
Grey Dove looked ahead with confusion and caution. Maybe it was just because Evelia was no longer visible, but the darkness in front of her felt even deeper than before.
—Where did she go?
Grey Dove held her bow tightly and stared straight ahead. Darkness was supposed to be her advantage, her “home field.”
So why—why had she lost track of her target?
She couldn't hear any strange sounds, couldn’t see any movement. Evelia seemed to have completely melted into the darkness, becoming one with the shadows. Grey Dove couldn’t locate her no matter how hard she looked.
—Calm down. Just calm down.
Grey Dove told herself this, trying to quiet her thoughts so she could pick up even the smallest trace of Evelia.
But she couldn’t calm down.
Her heart pounded hard with both tension and excitement. Her ears were filled with the sound of her own fast breathing.
“Huff—haa—”
She swallowed the extra saliva that came from her nerves, and tried to breathe out her stress.
She was supposed to be the one in control, attacking from the shadows while the enemy stood in the open. But now, the roles were reversed.
She couldn’t see anything, couldn’t hear anything. Even though there was light, everything she saw looked pitch black.
She didn’t know where Evelia was, or what she was doing…
But she could feel it clearly.
That strong killing intent.
Evelia was watching her.
The one who was supposed to be the prey… now, somewhere in the dark, hunting her.
All she could hear was her heartbeat, thump-thump, faster and faster.
She thought she saw something, but maybe it was just a trick of the shadows.
Her nervous body wouldn’t relax. Her sweaty hands gripped the bowstring so tightly it was slippery.
Clink.
A small stone fell from the wall.
—There!
Grey Dove instantly aimed her bow at the sound and shot without hesitation.
Thump.
It hit the wall.
Just another useless arrow.
Click.
Another sound, this time from a loose brick.
Again, Grey Dove shot without delay.
Still, no scream. No sign of a hit.
—Where is she?! Where did she go?!
This game of hunter and prey was starting to get on her nerves.
—Come on already! Come fight me! Don’t just hide in the shadows!
“Damn it! Stop hiding!”
Her shout was louder than her own heartbeat. Her anger was now stronger than her earlier excitement.
“—?!”
And then, just as she wanted, it happened.
Right above her, Evelia appeared once again.
But maybe it was no longer right to call her Evelia.
She now wore a deep red cloak, her entire body surrounded by the feeling of death itself.
Crack.
To make sure she had a living person to question, Evelia didn’t hesitate. She twisted and broke Grey Dove’s fingers, every single finger that could pull a bowstring.
The person standing there now was Red Crow.