Rei’s words echoed within the waiting room, but no words were heard in response.

If anyone had been watching, it might have looked like a bad performance of sorts.

But……even so, Rei had sensed that there was still someone lurking in the room, so he didn’t make any attempt to store away the Death Scythe.

A few minutes passed as Rei remained in a fighting stance.

「What’s wrong? You’re not planning on just hiding like this and letting me leave, are you? Then maybe I should just burn this room down. It’s ruined anyway, so it will take a lot of work to fix it up.」

Rei’s words were half-serious.

It was true that the waiting room had sustained considerable damage during his fight against the assassins and it would take a lot of work to fix it back up. Burning the place down wasn’t something that would usually be considered an option……but for better or worse, Sistoi, who was hiding in the room, knew how crazy Rei could be.

He might actually burn the whole place down. Considering that, Sistoi couldn’t just keep hiding and he eventually appeared from a wall in the waiting room……the wall Rei had been keeping an eye on the whole time.

He hadn’t been inside the wall or hiding in a box close to the wall. He was literally just up against the wall.

「……Heh.」

Rei murmured in admiration.

His murmur held several meanings.

Firstly, the colour of the cloak that covered the man’s body changed slightly with every move he made, secondly, the man’s face was familiar to Rei.

(A magic item with an effect similar to a chameleon’s protective skin……?)

Rei thought to himself as he looked at the cloak, which seemed to blend into its surroundings with the slightest movement.

In fact, a similar magic item had been used by a member of the Church of Holy Light back in Labyrinth City Exil, but unfortunately, Rei hadn’t found out about it.

If he had known, he would have wanted it due to its practical effect.

In terms of ability to hide, the cloak the Church of Holy Light had was several levels better than what Sistoi was using. However, the drawback was that if the person using it moved, the concealment effect would wear off immediately, revealing them.

In comparison, the cloak used by Sistoi didn’t lose it’s concealment effect completely when he moved.

After revealing himself, the effect of the cloak disappeared in a few seconds, reverting to the appearance of an ordinary cloak.

(If an ordinary person were to use it, it would be a bit tricky, but when someone as skilled as this guy uses it, it really is troublesome.)

Throwing away his internal thoughts, Rei spoke towards Sistoi, who was still wrapped in the cloak.

「It’s been a few days. You ran away back then, you planning to run away today?」

Although his words were intended as a provocation, Sistoi shrugged his shoulders under his cloak, as if he were used to such comments.

「The situation is very different now that was back then. ……But, you killed them so easily. These guys were innocent, ordinary people, right?」

「That’s not what someone who brainwashes ordinary people should say. In the first place, it would have been better if you guys hadn’t tried to pull anything funny. Besides……」

Glancing towards the dismembered corpses on the floor, Rei continued speaking.

「Even if they were captured alive, do you think they could be brought back to normal? These guys have no emotions, no memories, and no thoughts.」

Hearing Rei’s words, Sistoi simply nodded while carefully holding the dagger in his hand, checking if Rei showed any openings.

「Of course. It might take some effort, but with the right methods, they can be returned to normal.」

「That’s a lie.」

Rei answered without a moment’s hesitation.

「It would have taken a considerable amount of time to completely brainwash them to this extent. If that wasn’t the case, you would have attacked us with people like this when we first entered the Bestir Empire.」

Although Rei said that, it was ultimately nothing more than a guess without evidence.

However, he believed that Sistoi was setting a psychological trap to disturb him, so he followed his instincts as he replied.

Did Sistoi realise that or not? In any case, he responded with a small smile on his face.

「If you feel that way and don’t regret it, then it’s fine.」

Even as they exchanged words, they both observed each other, creating openings, inviting attacks, and engaging in highly complex tactics.

To an ordinary person, the two just looked like they were talking to each other while holding their weapons.

Their highly advanced exchange could only be understood when seen by someone with a top class level of skill.

The slightest arm movements while speaking, the position of their feet, even the number of times they each blinked were taken into account.

(Tch, even after all this work, he still doesn’t show any weakness. He’s still a monster. Even compared to back them, his skills have improved. ……What’s going on?)

No matter how he looked at it, any openings Rei showed were ones deliberately shown and there were no openings in the true sense.

For that reason, Rei was a very difficult opponent, even for Sistoi.

(But, there’s no way for me to run away here. ……Not when our lives are on the line, huh.)

Thinking to himself, he once again poured magic power into his cloak.

The cloak’s ability to blend into the surroundings was demonstrated again.

It didn’t make much of a difference if he stayed still with it, but if he used it while moving, it might serve to make Rei feel uncomfortable, even if it wasn’t the decisive factor.

Regardless, the outcome would be to his advantage.

And, although Sistoi didn’t realise it, it gave him another advantage.

That was……

(That cloak is quite something. I want to get it somehow.)

Yes. It was that Rei wanted that cloak.

It was a cloak that allowed one to blend into their surroundings. When travelling on your own, it was a very convenient magic item. There was no doubt it would be a great help in his eventual fight against Noiz, which was why Rei wanted to get it at all costs.

That was why it was necessary to defeat Sistoi without causing any major damage to the cloak, but Rei didn’t think it would be that difficult.

That was because after their previous fight, Rei had judged he was clearly superior in skill.

「Okay……let’s do it.」

Muttering briefly to himself, Rei closed the gap to Sistoi with the Death Scythe in hand.

He had already decided that any additional damage to the waiting room no longer mattered, it wouldn’t make any difference.

That was why there was no hesitation in his actions.

「Tch-!」

Sistoi fell back to avoid the blade of the Death Scythe that swung towards him without hesitation.

Right now, their positions were reversed from what was expected.

Normally, fighting with a long weapon in an enclosed space would put you at an overwhelming disadvantage.

However, it was different for Rei.

It was true that things like shelves, chairs, and tables in the waiting room were a hindrance, but for Rei, the magic empowered Death Scythe didn’t even consider them to be obstacles.

In fact, even now, as he closed the distance to Sistoi, who had jumped backwards to avoid his attack, the Death Scythe cleaved through a nearby chair. Rei chased after Sistoi, hoping to deliver an attack to Sistoi’s neck.

In this situation, the space in the waiting room rapidly disappeared……in other words, Sistoi was at a disadvantage as he ran out of space to move.

「You’re doing something nasty.」

Sistoi managed to avoid the Death Scythe that was aiming for his life as he swept his cloak.

In between Rei’s attacks, there were opportunities strike with his dagger, but for some reason, he would always dodge instead of attacking.

(Tch, what’s going on!?)

Rei was internally annoyed.

It was an opening that Rei was deliberately showing. After having to focus on avoiding attacks for so long, seeing an opening would definitely make Sistoi want to attack and land a fatal counter. However, there was no sign that Sistoi planned on taking full advantage of the opportunities.

No, to be exact, he would start an attack, but he would never go through with it. Whenever he found an opening, he would try to attack with his dagger, but for some reason, he would stop himself and move to evade instead.

Such halfhearted attacked were more stressful to Rei than they were to Sistoi.

And that wasn’t the only strange thing.

「Fuu-!」

With a sharp breath, the Death Scythe swung down. The blade slashed through the surrounding walls towards Sistoi, who having fought Rei in this short period of time, would normally have avoided by crouching down.

Anticipating Sistoi’s crouch, Rei used the shaft to deliver a sweeping attack immediately after. That was what he had been planning. But, for some reason, Sistoi didn’t crouch and instead jumped back to put some distance between him and Rei.

(Is he reading my mind as well!?)

The Death Scythe spun around, absorbing the force from the attack that sliced the wall, as Rei stood up and faced Sistoi while cursing him in his mind.

He had felt this frustration many times since he started fighting against Sistoi.

Whenever Rei invited an attack or revealed an opening, it felt like Sistoi knew it ahead of time.

Because of that, it was only natural for Rei to misunderstand that Sistoi had some kind of magic item that allowed him to read the minds of his enemies.

But, of course, Sistoi didn’t have such a magic item.

If such a magic item existed Sistoi would have wanted it as well, but unfortunately, he had never heard of a magic item with such an effect.

Then, why was Sistoi able to avoid all the traps set by Rei? It was purely based on his intuition.

An intuition that came from being in this line of work for many years, having lived in a do or die environment in the slums since he was a child. The alarm bells in his mind only rang louder as he faced Rei.

It was like walking on a thin line between life and death.

「Persistent, aren’t you!」

Rei made an attack that swept along the floor before scooping up.

At the same time as he made the attack, Sistoi leapt backwards, as if he had been expecting it. A the same time, Rei took a dagger out of the Misty Ring and threw it with his right hand.

Once the speed of his attacks reached a certain level, he was able to control the Death Scythe with just his left hand while making another attack with his right hand.

This was an attack based on the method Noiz had used against Luzi and was the first time he had tried such an attack.

However……the dagger didn’t pierce Sistoi, nor did the Death Scythe cut him apart……Sistoi jumped to the side avoiding both attacks that pierced the air and the wall.

「Again, huh.」

Such unnatural evasive actions were made over and over again.

Rei had no doubt he was superior in terms of physical ability and he could tell that he was superior in skill as well.

However, for some reason, every attack he made was avoided and it was no longer something that just made him feel uncomfortable.

(There’s clearly something. It’s probably not a magic item either……?)

At first, Rei thought it might have been a magic item that could read his thoughts or predict a few seconds into the future. But, as Rei continued to attack, he started to realise that probably wasn’t the case.

He didn’t have any definitive proof. However, since coming to Elgin, Rei had been in countless battles……something that an ordinary adventurer would not understand due to the intense fights he had been in.

(In that case……all I have to do is to push all at once to the point he can’t do anything!)

Saying that as if to encourage himself, Rei pushed the speed of the Death Scythe even further.

A downwards swing, a slash, a leg sweep, a horizontal slice, followed by a punch or kick.

Sistoi initially manage to handle the initial burst of intense attacks……but eventually his limit was reached.

It was true that Sistoi’s intuition was sharp. It was because of his intuition that he was able to become so well known in the underworld.

But……he had never faced someone like Rei, who could unleash attacks with such speed and intensity.

The result was……

「Alright, that’s it.」

He was unable to evade an attack in time and the blade of the Death Scythe was held against his neck.

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