S-Rank Harem: I Became My Character with Extra Control Skill-Chapter 44: Debt - End of the Duel, Something Lurks in the Dungeon
Even though the fight between Helen and Solaris had reached a point where one more blow could have decided the outcome, a voice in Solaris’s head distracted him.
The telepathy he was using was probably communication with Irnina, according to what Karol had just said.
Helen, with a furrowed brow, raised her voice at Solaris.
"Stop wasting time and focus on our fight, you idiot!"
Solaris didn’t respond, nor did he look at her. He remained completely focused on the voice inside his head.
Ryan turned to Karol.
"Do you think he’s trying to call his dragon?"
Karol didn’t take her eyes off the center of the room.
"I’m not sure. After all, they’re demons. They don’t have to respect a duel."
"I get it," Ryan replied.
’Of course,’ he thought. ’But we weren’t going to respect that duel either if things went wrong.’
At that moment, Helen charged.
As she cut through the air toward Solaris, sword pulled back and body fully extended, she activated her skill with a calm, unhurried voice.
"Critical Aura."
The sword glowed.
What followed was a clash of metal that echoed throughout the entire floor.
Solaris’s dagger received the impact and held it for a fraction of a second, but the force behind that strike was far greater than he had probably calculated.
He was sent flying backward and slammed hard into the stone wall.
When the dust settled, Solaris had a deep cut on his left shoulder — exactly where the edge of the sword had grazed him before the dagger deflected the angle.
Helen landed, straightened up, and looked at him with one hand on her waist and the other resting her sword on her shoulder.
"I told you to focus on our fight, idiot."
Karol had her fists clenched at her sides, trembling as she kept staring at Helen.
"All this time fighting..." she murmured, "and that wasn’t even her full power?"
"Of course not." Mirian rested her chin on her hand with the tone of someone stating something completely obvious. "She may be an airheaded hothead, but she has great fighting instinct. Even when we were Rank C, her skills saved us more than once."
She said it with a calm, proud smile toward her companion.
Solaris stood up from the wall. His gaze looked slightly unfocused for a moment.
"It’s nothing. I just got distracted a bit. You focus on what you need to do."
A short pause.
"No buts. I’ll see you there in a moment."
He turned his eyes back to Helen.
’So Irnina isn’t coming,’ Ryan thought, not taking his eyes off the scene.
Solaris began sheathing his daggers behind his hair with calm movements.
Helen frowned.
"Huh? What do you think you’re doing? Are you seriously trying to run away?"
"Shut up. There’s no point taking you seriously. Your own companions said they would intervene the moment you were about to die."
Solaris finished sheathing his daggers. "That tells me everything I need to know about this fight."
"And you really think you can beat me, little demon?"
"Of course I can. But it’ll be another time." Solaris’s voice lost all combat tone without any transition.
"Right now, Rigal’s sentinels are roaming the dungeon. They most likely want to fight the most worn-out group. Whether it’s us or you, I won’t give them that satisfaction."
Karol gave Ryan a quick glance.
Ryan nodded and processed the information in silence for a moment.
"Rigal’s sentinels... Could they have a grudge against us because I ruined part of their plans last time? Or are they here for the demons serving Demon King Rohan?" Ryan said quietly.
"Either way, there must be a lot of them if Solaris wants to retreat. Or maybe he’s just lying," Karol murmured.
But Helen wasn’t satisfied with Solaris’s answer.
She started walking toward him, her expression showing clear anger.
"What are you saying? You’re just a damn coward. Come and face me!"
"We’ll meet again," Solaris replied as he searched for something in his pocket.
’Is he trying to escape?’
"Ah, no you don’t!" Helen swung her sword back with full force. "Straight Repulse!"
The wave shot out horizontally, powerful and direct toward Solaris’s position.
It tore through the dungeon walls as if they weren’t there, ripping stone, dust, and darkness in a straight line that left a deep empty corridor several meters long.
Ryan scanned the area from one end to the other.
There was no trace of Solaris.
Helen stabbed her sword into the ground and sat down, leaning her back against the blade.
"Tsk. The bastard ran away."
Ryan and his group gathered around Helen.
Her clothes were torn and burned, leaving much of her skin exposed.
"Hey Helen, you were amazing in that fight!" Karol shouted with bright eyes, leaning in very close.
Helen blushed slightly at the genuine compliment.
"Why are you blushing, you idiot? You let our enemy escape," Mirian cut in.
"Shut up. It couldn’t be helped."
"You insisted so much on fighting alone, and this is how it ends. Hey Ryan, say something to her."
"Yeah, you’re right, but first..."
Ryan extended his hand toward Helen.
"Recovery."
Helen smiled quietly, as if appreciating how her body felt while receiving the healing skill.
"It would have been good to finish Solaris off once and for all. A while ago I fought his dragon and it was really strong. Together they might become a problem."
Ryan paused and was about to speak again.
He was interrupted by Helen’s sudden embrace.
"Ryan! Hehe~"
She jumped on him, knocking him to the ground, and began kissing him passionately.
"I missed you a lot, you know?"
"What is this? Isn’t it a bit early for the debt payment?"
"It’s not that. I really wanted you to see me fight seriously. Did you see it? Tell me what you think."
’So that’s all it was? How childish.’
Ryan gently stroked her head.
"Of course I saw it. You’re really strong, Helen."
She smiled brightly.
"Hey, lovebirds! We’re here too, you know," Mirian grumbled.
[Automatic Debt Collection Initiated]
