Chapter 187: Chapter 186 : Trap (2)
The chamber where Sakura waited felt like a trap disguised as calm.
Cracked stone walls surrounded the space, etched with faint, ancient lines that pulsed softly in the dim blue glow of floating crystals. Far away, the echoes of fighting and collapsing rock rolled through the tomb, but here everything was quiet—too quiet.
Sakura stood with her back against the wall, one foot braced casually against the stone, her arms folded.
Arthur stepped into the center of the room.
His crimson eyes met her violet ones, and for a heartbeat there was only that silent tension between them—the kind born from shared history and the knowledge that this time, one of them might not walk away.
"Shall we begin?" Arthur said in a low voice.
Sakura’s lips curled into a sharp smile.
A bow materialized in her hands—beautiful and deadly.
Its body was made of pale, moon-white wood veined with silver, its limbs carved into a sleek, predatory curve. Tiny, intricate runes shimmered along the bow’s surface, gliding like living script. The string hummed with restrained mana, emitting a faint, high-pitched tone that made the air vibrate.
"Let’s finish this once and for all," Sakura said.
Inside his mind, Arthur’s thoughts turned cold.
’System, any luck using extraction on her?’ Arthur asked.
[ I’ve been trying for a while, Host, but still no luck. ]
Arthur clicked his tongue mentally.
’That bitch is smart,’ Arthur thought. ’She’s taken precautions.’
He took a single step forward, his aura tightening around his body.
"I’m ready," Arthur said, his gaze fixed on Sakura. "You should also prepare yourself to be absorbed."
Sakura laughed softly, lowering the bow slightly.
"I’ll hold you to that," Sakura said.
───────────────
She raised the bow in one smooth motion.
Mana surged into her right hand.
In the next second, an arrow formed between her fingers—a shaft of condensed energy, bright and pale, with swirling symbols rotating around its tip like a miniature spell circle.
She nocked it and drew the string back.
Her movements were clean and efficient, without a single wasted motion or unnecessary flourish.
The string stretched, humming louder as she pulled it to its full length.
She aimed directly at Arthur’s heart.
Then she released.
The arrow flew.
It sliced through the air with terrifying precision, the mana surrounding it condensing into a focused stream that tore through the corridor. Its path remained straight and true, locked onto Arthur as though it were tethered to him.
Arthur didn’t move.
His eyes narrowed.
He raised one hand slightly, allowing his power to flow outward.
Infinity activated.
The moment the arrow entered the thirty-centimeter radius around him, its speed faltered. Time itself seemed to thicken around the projectile. Its furious momentum slowed as though it had suddenly plunged into an invisible sea of syrup.
The sharp whistle of its flight faded into a slow, dull hiss.
The arrow crawled forward.
Arthur watched with calm detachment as it lost all force and fell harmlessly to the floor before him.
Nothing happened.
He lowered his hand.
"Is that all you’ve got?" Arthur asked calmly.
Boom.
The fallen arrow exploded.
Mana erupted outward in a violent blast. The floor cracked beneath the explosion, and the shockwave struck Arthur like a physical wall.
The force hurled him backward.
He slammed into the stone wall behind him, carving a shallow crater into it. Dust rained down across his shoulders and hair.
Pain flickered through his body—dull and manageable.
He grimaced, more annoyed than injured.
Sakura’s laughter drifted through the settling smoke.
"Why? Was that not enough?" Sakura asked lightly.
Arthur pushed himself off the wall, rolling his shoulder to test the damage.
Sakura tilted her head, her eyes gleaming.
"Don’t become too overconfident," Sakura said. "Did you already forget that I can see the future—and the actions you’ll take?"
Inside Arthur’s mind, the system sighed.
[ You really are an idiot, aren’t you? ]
Arthur muttered beneath his breath.
"Shut up," he said quietly. "Getting laughed at by her is humiliating enough."
He barely had time to reset his stance.
Another arrow formed in Sakura’s hand.
She raised the bow, drew, and released in one fluid movement.
The arrow streaked toward him, mana twisting around it.
Arthur’s instincts screamed.
He launched himself sideways, his boots scraping against the stone as he dodged to the right.
This time, he moved.
The arrow curved.
Its trajectory shifted mid-flight, guided by an unseen force. It bent and corrected itself, chasing Arthur’s new position, as though Sakura had fired not at where he was—but at where he would be.
BOOM.
The arrow exploded exactly where he had dodged.
The blast struck him from the side and hurled him across the chamber.
He crashed into another wall, cracks spreading outward from the impact.
The air escaped his lungs.
His ribs protested sharply.
Sakura laughed once more.
"Did you really think you were the only one who got stronger?" Sakura asked. "I’ve been training too, you know."
Her aura expanded, pressing against him like a heavy weight.
"And now," Sakura said, "I’ve finally broken through to S-rank."
She raised the bow slightly, her eyes sharp.
"If you were a normal B-ranker," Sakura continued, "I would have already killed you. But I’m not naïve enough to become overconfident."
Her gaze swept over him, assessing his posture and the lack of serious injury.
"I can already tell," Sakura said, "that even after landing two perfect attacks, you’ve barely suffered any serious damage. Looks like you’ve acquired a rather troublesome bloodline."
Arthur dusted off his sleeve, his expression flat.
"Yeah, yeah," Arthur said. "Don’t try to sound like a know-it-all. I hate people like that."
Sakura’s mouth twitched.
Another arrow formed, this one sharper, its mana flaring violently along its shaft.
She lifted her bow.
She released.
The arrow shot forward even faster than before, screaming through the air as blue mana trailed behind it. The pressure it carried caused the surrounding air to tremble.
Arthur watched calmly.
He didn’t dodge.
He didn’t move.
From his storage ring, he pulled out a Desert Eagle pistol—matte black with golden engravings along its barrel.
He had borrowed it from Evangeline before they separated.
[ Talent – A-Rank Sharpshooter has been activated. ]
His vision sharpened.
Distances.
Angles.
Trajectory.
Everything became clear.
His crimson eyes followed the incoming arrow, calculating the exact point where the two projectiles would meet.
The arrow rapidly closed the distance.
Arthur raised the pistol.
His grip remained steady.
He pulled the trigger.
──── BANG ────
An anti-mana bullet burst from the barrel, cutting through the air with perfect precision.
The bullet collided directly with the arrow.
──── BOOM ────
Mana and anti-mana violently clashed.
A shockwave spread through the corridor as cracks appeared along the arrow’s surface.
A moment later, the mana projectile shattered into countless fragments of fading light.
The anti-mana bullet also lost its energy, dissolving into dark particles.
The two attacks had perfectly canceled one another.
Arthur lowered the pistol slowly, smoke rising from the barrel as his gaze remained fixed on Sakura.
Arthur lowered the gun, his lips curving slightly.
"Now’s my chance."
He launched himself forward.
While closing the distance, he continued firing, each shot carefully aimed.
Bullets streaked through the air, forcing Sakura to move, adjust, and react instead of freely aiming.
Sakura’s eyes narrowed.
She twisted her body, leaning and stepping aside with minimal movement.
Bullets grazed her sleeves.
One clipped a strand of blue hair.
Another passed close enough to her cheek that she felt its heat.
Arthur couldn’t help feeling a flicker of respect.
’She already knows where I’ll shoot,’ Arthur thought. ’She’s dodging before I even pull the trigger.’
Sakura clicked her tongue.
"He figured it out sooner than I expected," she muttered.
She glanced sideways down the corridor beyond the chamber.
Her eyes focused on something only she could see.
Then she turned and ran, bow still in hand.
Arthur narrowed his eyes.
"What is she up to now?"
He followed without hesitation.
Sakura sprinted down the corridor, her boots pounding against the stone. She fired arrows backward over her shoulder, launching rapid shots that twisted through the air.
Arthur raised his pistol.
Bang. Bang. Bang.
He shot them down one after another.
Mana explosions erupted behind him as he continued advancing.
One bullet finally grazed Sakura’s arm.
She hissed as a thin line of blood appeared.
Even she couldn’t dodge everything at that speed.
"It has to be here somewhere..." Sakura muttered beneath her breath, her eyes scanning the walls and ceiling.
’Here...?’ Arthur thought. ’She’s looking for something.’
The corridor widened before ending at a tall stone wall.
The wall was covered with intricate symbols and runes, coiling over one another like a complex magical lock.
Faint blue light pulsed through the carvings like a heartbeat.
Sakura’s eyes lit up.
"Found it."
She stopped directly in front of the wall, lowering her bow.
Arthur slowed behind her, his pistol still raised, though his attention shifted toward the symbols.
"Finally," Arthur said. "You can’t run anymore, huh?"
Sakura ignored the taunt.
She simply smiled.
She placed her palm against the engraved stone and poured mana into it.
The runes greedily absorbed her power.
Lines of light awakened, racing across the wall.
Symbols illuminated one after another, forming a glowing lattice that spread from floor to ceiling.
White light exploded outward.
Arthur raised an arm to shield his face.
"What the hell is that woman doing now?" he muttered.
The light engulfed the corridor.
When it faded, the dead-end wall had changed.
Two massive doors now stood where the stone had been.
They were identical in appearance, yet each radiated a completely different aura.
The left door pulsed with calm, stable magic.
The energy felt controlled and measured.
The right door was entirely different.
Ferocious, guttural roars echoed from behind it.
The sounds rolled down the corridor like thunder.
The stone floor vibrated beneath Arthur’s feet.
Sakura didn’t hesitate.
She grabbed the handle of the left door and stepped through without looking back.
She disappeared.
In the next instant, Arthur understood.
He had been left with the second door.
The one filled with monstrous roars.
The one that sounded as though countless beasts wanted nothing more than to tear apart whoever entered.
The vibrations intensified as something enormous slammed against the opposite side.
Sakura’s voice drifted faintly from the left doorway.
"It’s game over for you, Arthur."
Her eyes curved into crescent moons in his memory.
"Don’t die too quickly."
Arthur’s mouth twitched.
On his shoulder, Black puffed up his feathers in panic.
The crow’s eyes widened.
"Caw—!"
He immediately tried to fly away from the roaring door.
Arthur’s hand shot out.
He grabbed Black by the neck—not enough to hurt him, but enough to stop his escape.
"Don’t you dare run away, you bastard."
Black’s wings drooped.
Resignation filled his beady eyes.
"Caw..."
Arthur turned back toward the door.
The roars grew louder.
More impatient.
They pounded against the stone like thunder.
He exhaled slowly taking deep breaths.
’How the hell did it come to this...?’
He stared at the door as the guttural sounds echoed through the corridor.
He had walked directly into Sakura’s trap.
Exactly as she had intended.
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