"Master," the saber girl said again.

Kael froze for half a breath.

(How did she appear here?) he thought, eyes widening slightly.

He had not felt a teleportation surge. No spatial distortion.

One moment, she had not been there—and the next, she stood between him and the incoming blades as if reality itself had bent to place her there.

Her long hair flowed down her back, catching the light of the terminal’s fading glow.

Her white eyes—empty of pupils, empty of mercy—turned slowly toward the group of attackers.

"Who... who is that girl?" one of the men shouted, instinctively stepping back.

"She wasn’t here a second ago!"

Darius burst out laughing, though there was a crack in it—a strain that betrayed his nerves.

"Hah! Look at this!" he mocked loudly. "Coward... you got a girl back up now?"

The others laughed with him, though some did so hesitantly.

Kael pushed himself up from the ground, brushing dust from his shoulder. His grip tightened around his sword.

"She’s not—" Kael began.

The saber girl raised her hand.

He stopped.

She stepped forward instead, placing herself fully between Kael and the nine men. Her posture was relaxed, almost careless—but there was something terrifying in how natural it looked, as if standing before enemies was her default state. 𝓯𝓻𝒆𝙚𝒘𝓮𝙗𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝒍.𝙘𝓸𝙢

Her gaze settled on Darius.

"You raised a blade against my master," she said quietly.

Her voice wasn’t loud.

Darius sneered. "Master? Are you serious?"

He lifted his sword again, pointing it at her chest.

"Are you some kind of servant? Or did he buy you too?"

The saber girl tilted her head slightly.

"...Ignorance," she murmured.

Then she moved.

One moment she stood still—

The next, she was gone.

A thunderous crack split the air as the ground behind her shattered, stone breaking under the force of her acceleration. Before any of them could track her movement, she appeared behind the leftmost attacker.

Her sword flashed once.

Not a wide swing.

Not a dramatic arc.

A single, precise cut.

The man collapsed instantly, his weapon clattering uselessly to the ground as blood sprayed across the stone.

"What—?!"

Another man barely managed to turn before she was already upon him. Her blade struck the flat of his sword, snapping it clean in half like brittle glass.

Her knee drove into his abdomen.

CRUNCH.

He flew backward, slamming into a wall and sliding down, unconscious before he hit the ground.

Panic erupted.

"Spread out!"

"Surround her!"

Three men rushed her at once.

The saber girl exhaled.

Her sword traced a circular arc.

CLANG—CLANG—CLANG—!

Three impacts rang out in rapid succession. She deflected one strike upward, twisted her wrist to parry another sideways, and stepped inside the third attacker’s guard.

Her pommel struck his jaw.

His neck snapped back.

He dropped and then she spun.

A kick shattered another man’s knee, sending him screaming to the ground.

Before his scream could finish—

Her blade pierced his shoulder, pinning him to the stone floor.

"AAAAH—!"

She ripped the sword free and turned.

Seven of them were down.

Some are unconscious.

Some bleeding.

Some were too terrified to move.

All of it had taken less than ten seconds.

Kael stood frozen, breath caught in his chest.

He had seen her fight in the dungeon.

He had seen Rank A power.

But this—

This was different.

There was no resistance here.

No struggle.

She wasn’t fighting equals.

She was erasing them.

The remaining two—Darius and one trembling companion—stood rooted in place.

The last companion dropped his sword.

"I—I surrender!"

Darius’s face was pale now. Sweat streamed down his temple.

"What the hell are you?" he demanded, voice shaking despite his effort to sound angry.

The saber girl turned to face him.

Her white eyes locked onto his.

"I am a saber," she said simply. "Forged for combat. Bound by defeat. Loyal by law."

She lifted her sword and pointed it at his throat.

"You threatened my master."

Darius staggered back a step.

"Y-You think I’m scared of—"

He lunged.

A reckless thrust aimed straight at her heart.

Kael moved instinctively.

"Wait—!"

Too late.

The saber girl’s blade intercepted Darius’s sword effortlessly.

CLANG.

She twisted.

The force sent Darius’s weapon flying from his hands.

He stumbled forward—

And stopped.

Her sword hovered a hair’s breadth from his neck.

Unwavering.

Darius swallowed hard.

His legs trembled.

"I—I didn’t mean—"

"Silence," she said.

She leaned in slightly.

"If my master had not intervened," she continued, voice lowering, "you would already be dead."

Kael stepped forward quickly.

"That’s enough," he said firmly. "Stop."

The saber girl froze.

Then she lowered it slowly and stepped back, returning to Kael’s side.

"Yes," she replied. "As you command."

Darius collapsed to his knees, gasping for breath, humiliation and terror flooding his face.

The remaining conscious men scrambled backward, dragging the wounded with them.

"L-Let’s go!"

"They’re monsters!"

Within seconds, the street was filled only with groaning bodies and the distant sound of hurried footsteps.

Kael exhaled slowly.

"...You didn’t have to go that far," he said quietly.

She turned to him.

"They attacked you," she replied. "That is reason enough."

He studied her.

"You followed me... all the way from the dungeon?"

"I live in your vision"

"How?"

She paused.

"...I do not know," she admitted. "When you were expelled from the dungeon, the bond pulled me. I was awakened inside your vision."

Kael’s brow furrowed.

"So the contract... is deeper than I thought."

She nodded once.

"I exist because you defeated me," she said. "And because you did not abandon the beast girl."

Her gaze softened—just slightly.

"You are not a false master."

Kael looked away.

"...Stop calling me that."

She inclined her head. "As you wish."

He glanced around at the aftermath—broken stone, bloodstains, scattered weapons.

"This is going to cause trouble," he muttered.

"Shall I erase the witnesses?" she asked calmly.

Kael nearly choked.

"No! No—absolutely not."

She blinked, genuinely confused.

"...Understood."

He sighed, rubbing his temples.

"Stay close," he said. "But don’t draw attention."

"Yes."

A few minutes passed after the chaos finally settled.

Kael stood near the terminal gate, forcing himself to breathe steadily while his heart gradually slowed.

He adjusted the strap of his bag and instinctively reached inside.

His fingers paused.

Then froze.

"...What?" he muttered.

He dug deeper, pulling out supplies one by one. Dried beef—gone. Two elixirs—missing. The emergency rations he had stuffed at the bottom was empty.

Kael’s jaw tightened.

(Damn...)

His mind raced back through the fight, the ambush, the frantic movements.

Somewhere between being knocked down and the chaos that followed, part of his bag must have torn open.

(I need to head back.)

He exhaled sharply, frustration flickering across his face. Time was already against him.

The saber girl, who had been standing silently behind him, tilted her head.

Her white eyes narrowed slightly.

"You are missing supplies," she said.

Kael stiffened.

"...You noticed?"

"Yes," she replied simply. "Your heartbeat changed. Your mana flow destabilized for a brief moment."

He let out a tired breath.

"Before we head back to the dungeon," Kael began, rubbing the back of his neck, "I need to go back and—"

"I shall go."

Her response cut through his sentence cleanly.

Kael blinked.

"Huh?"

Before he could react, the saber girl turned.

The air behind her compressed violently.

A sharp boom echoed as the ground cracked beneath her feet—and she vanished.

A sudden gust of wind blasted past Kael, whipping his coat and nearly knocking him off balance.

Loose dust and paper were torn from the ground and hurled down the street.

Kael stared at the empty space she had occupied, eyes wide.

"...That speed," he murmured. "That was Rank S."

Even among Rank S, that movement was extreme. No visible mana flare. No chant. No preparation.

Just raw, overwhelming physical authority over space itself.

Kael clenched his fist.

(She really is a monster...)

The terminal gate hummed faintly beside him, but he didn’t activate it. He waited.

Seconds passed.

Then—

Another violent gust slammed into the street.

The saber girl reappeared in front of him, boots skidding slightly as she halted her momentum.

The shockwave rattled nearby windows and sent startled cries through the area.

In her arms were several familiar bundles.

Dried beef.

Wrapped elixirs.

Even the cloth that had torn from Kael’s bag.

She knelt and placed them carefully at his feet, as if arranging offerings.

"These were lying near the terminal," she said. "Some had been trampled. I retrieved all that remained usable."

Kael stared.

"...You went there and back... in under a minute."

"Yes."

"You crossed half the city."

"Yes."

"...Without teleportation."

She nodded.

Kael let out a slow, incredulous laugh.

"I didn’t even finish my sentence."

"You did not need to," she replied. "Your intention was clear."

He crouched down and quickly checked the supplies. Some packaging was damaged, but most of the food was intact.

"Thanks," he said quietly.

She straightened.

"It is my role."

Kael paused.

"No," he corrected, meeting her gaze. "You chose to help."

Her expression flickered—just slightly.

"...Perhaps."

He stood, re-packing the supplies more carefully this time, reinforcing the bag with spare straps.

As he worked, his thoughts churned.

(A Rank S saber bound to me... a dungeon that expelled me... Yumi is still inside...)

Nothing about this situation was normal.

Kael slung the bag over his shoulder again and adjusted his sword.

"Alright," he said. "Let’s go."

The saber girl stepped closer.

"Back to the dungeon?"

"Yes."

She nodded once.

"I will clear the path, Master!"