Chapter 219

The atmosphere felt so heavy after Kana and Boris vanished.

Not silent—far from it. Near the auction house was still buzzing with confused voices, hurried footsteps, and shouted orders—but to Chelle, it all felt distant, muffled, as if she were standing underwater.

Her eyes kept moving.

Left. Right. Behind. Toward the exit. Toward the shadows between pillars.

Nowhere.

Kana and Boris were gone. Along with the man.

Chelle’s shoulders sagged as the weight of it finally settled in. Her fingers clenched the hem of her dress until her knuckles turned pale. Her chest felt tight, every breath shallow and uneven.

This is my fault.

She should have said something sooner. She should have warned them—told Kana outright that her [Nullify Zone] was unreliable against dungeon items or artifacts. She’d thought about it too late, hesitated, and then… everything had happened too fast.

Suri stood a short distance away, eyes closed, face calm in a way that somehow made Chelle feel worse. Shadows stirred faintly at Suri’s feet, stretching and thinning, slipping along walls and cracks like living ink. Opel murmured quietly to Asha nearby, their voices low and steady, discussing something though they definitely didn't look tense like her. 

Everyone else seemed… composed.

That scared her more than panic would have.

“U-um…” Chelle finally said, her voice small despite her effort. “Kana and Boris are missing.”

No one answered immediately.

Chelle swallowed. “Aren’t you… worried?”

Suri opened her eyes and let out a soft chuckle—not cruel, not mocking, but oddly sincere.

“I am,” she said lightly. “But not for them.”

Chelle blinked. “Huh?”

Suri’s smile curved just a little. “I actually feel bad for that man.”

Opel turned then, placing a reassuring hand on Asha’s shoulder before facing Chelle. His expression was calm, experienced, the look of someone who had survived too many dangerous situations to panic easily.

“The two of them..” he said. “They’re battle maniacs.”

Chelle stiffened.

“They probably don’t even realize it themselves,” Opel continued, “but Kana and Boris are at their safest when they’re fighting together.”

Suri nodded, memory flickering behind her eyes.

She remembered the scarecrow puppet. The way logic had screamed run—and how both Kana and Boris had instead dug their heels in and fought harder, even when retreat would have been easier. Even smarter.

“The way they are now…” Suri murmured, gaze distant. “They could probably fight nonstop for an entire day and only complain about being bored.”

She exhaled slowly, the humor fading just a little. “Still. I’ve been searching. My illusion scouts can’t find them anywhere nearby.”

That finally made Chelle’s heart skip.

“They’re not here?” she asked.

Suri shook her head. “No traces.”

Asha stepped forward then, brows drawn tight, her expression troubled in a way Chelle hadn’t seen before. It was the look of someone grasping at an old memory, pulling it out of the dark.

“…I might know where to find them,” Asha said slowly.

Chelle’s head snapped up, hope flaring bright and sudden. “Where?!”

Asha glanced at Opel, who nodded, his face serious now.

“I confirmed something with my husband earlier,” Asha continued. “That server—the one we were chasing—he felt familiar.”

She paused, then added, “I feel like I’ve seen him before.”

Opel crossed his arms. “We’ve seen him before. Not here. Somewhere else. Probably.”

Asha finished the thought. “The underground district.”

Chelle sucked in a breath. She went there before and heard more rumours around that place. The place where the most dangerous people were hiding.

“We’ve spotted him there a few times,” Asha said. “Mostly drinking. Lurking. Never causing trouble.”

Opel nodded. “I can’t be completely sure it’s the same man. But the resemblance is… very the same.. Maybe the hair is a bit different but they still look the same..”

For the first time since Kana vanished, Suri’s smile—not playful now, but focused.

“At least we have a lead,” she said.

Her shadow stretched, then split.

One became two.

Two became many.

Countless slivers of darkness peeled away from her feet, flowing silently across the ground, slipping into alleys, drains, and forgotten paths—each one racing toward the underground district.

The four of them moved through the streets together.

Not running.

Not even walking quickly.

They let the night swallow their footsteps. The city above them was still alive—lanterns glowing, guards shouting orders in the distance, nobles retreating to warm halls—but with every street they passed, the noise thinned. The buildings grew closer together. The air was colder. Heavier.

If Kana and Boris were down there, they wouldn’t need rescuing yet.

That thought—half reassurance, half prayer—kept Chelle moving.

Suri walked slightly ahead. The shadows at her feet slid along with her, stretching unnaturally, slipping into cracks and alleys that should have been too narrow. Her eyes were half-lidded, unfocused, tracking things no one else could see.

After several minutes, she stopped.

So abruptly that the others nearly collided with her.

Opel reacted first, shifting his weight, shield hand lifting slightly out of habit. Asha reached for Chelle’s arm, steadying her. Chelle’s breath caught as she followed their gazes to Suri.

“What is it?” Asha asked quietly.

Suri didn’t answer right away.

Her brow furrowed, lips pressing into a thin line as if listening to a voice only she could hear. The shadows at her feet twitched, recoiled, then stilled.

“…The server,” Suri said at last.

“I found him.” Suri nodded slowly. “He’s definitely in the underground district.”

Suri hesitated.

“But,” she said. “He’s alone.”

Her head tilted slightly, as if adjusting her angle of view. “He’s running.”

“Running?” Chelle echoed.

“With a large case,” Suri added. “Heavy. Box-shaped.”

Opel frowned. “And Kana? Boris?”

Suri’s jaw tightened.

“I still can’t see them.”

….

Kana’s [High Awareness] didn’t simply warn her.

It screamed.

The sensation tore through her senses like a clawed hand raking down her spine. Space behind her collapsed into pure threat, the air itself bending with lethal intent. For a split second, confusion flashed through her mind.

There is distance between me and Boris. So why—

Why had his presence disappeared so completely?

The realization struck too late. It felt wrong. Unnatural. The same hollow absence she had felt once before, standing against Zia. A presence erased, not moved.

Her instincts howled.

Steel cut through the air. Kana spun, body twisting sharply as she ripped her dagger free with one hand. There was no room to dodge—no time to think. She braced and met the blow head-on.

The collision was destructive. 

Sparks detonated between them as Boris’s spear slammed into her dagger. The force was overwhelming, a brutal shock that surged up her arm and into her shoulder. Kana swore violently, boots screeching against stone as she was driven backward.

She was a bit relieved. At least she was able to successfully block it. 

Barely.

The impact launched her.

She became a human projectile. One of the surrounding men—too slow, too shocked—was directly in her path. Kana slammed into him chest-first, the breath exploding from his lungs as both of them hurtled backward.

They struck the wall together.

The wall shattered.

The wall caved in with a deafening roar, chunks of masonry exploding outward as Kana and the man disappeared into a cloud of dust and debris. The structure groaned, fractures racing outward like veins through stone.

Kana rolled free at the last instant, coughing, ears ringing.

The man didn’t move.

Half his body was buried beneath rubble.

Kana’s eyes flicked over him—chest rising faintly. Alive.

Good.

She pushed herself up—

And froze. Boris’ presence was missing again.

Then as she looked up—

Boris was already there.

His spear was raised overhead, posture perfect, terrifyingly familiar. His feet were planted wide, muscles coiled, eyes empty of recognition but burning with lethal precision.

Kana’s blood ran cold.

[Cleave]

She knew that stance.

She knew that timing.

And she knew—now, with sick certainty—that Boris wasn’t holding back.

Fear hit her like ice water for a second.

Kana threw herself sideways.

The spear came down.

The ground exploded.

The stone floor split apart under the force of [Cleave], shockwaves rippling outward in a violent arc. The impact didn’t stop there—the AOE skill effect surged upward, smashing into the low ceiling above Boris.

The ceiling screamed.

Cracks spiderwebbed instantly, stone fracturing as chunks of rock tore free and rained down. A gaping hole opened overhead, dust and debris cascading like a collapsing mountain. There was no sky on the holes. 

The room descended into chaos.

Children screamed already leaving the basement.

The people surrounding her earlier scattered.

Weapons clattered to the floor as panic tore through the Phantom Thief’s crew. Some fled for the stairs, others froze, eyes wide as they realized they were no longer spectators—but obstacles.

Kana felt it all. They must have not known Boris' capabilities.

Heartbeats exploding into motion. Fear blooming like wildfire. Discipline shattering under raw survival instinct.

And through it—

Him.

The suspected Phantom Thief was already retreating, slipping into the confusion as if he experienced the same situation before. His presence slid away, like a blade disappearing back into its sheath.

There, Kana thought. That’s my opening.

She turned to chase.

Then stopped.

She tilted her head, something’s not right.

Her gaze snapped back to Boris.

If the Phantom Thief was escaping… why leave Boris like this?

Why abandon such a powerful pawn?

The answer struck her with terrifying clarity.

Boris wasn’t being piloted in the first place.

The Phantom Thief probably influenced his mind to see her as the enemy. His mind might be shackled—but his body remembered everything. His strength. His technique. His instincts.

Kana felt a laugh bubble up from her chest before she could stop it.

Her lips stretched into a wide, dangerous grin.

“Oh,” she murmured, tightening her grip on her dagger as Boris turned toward her again, rubble crunching beneath his boots.

“I might not get an opportunity like this again.”

Her pulse thundered in her ears.

For the first time since the chase began—

Kana felt alive.

Not in the distant, hollow way that followed victory. Not in the calm satisfaction that came after surviving another danger.

This was different.

It burned in her chest like a spark finding oil.

Boris had always been like this in the beginning.

When they were newly awakened—clumsy with their skills, reckless with their strength—Boris fought like a beast cornered by the world. Every spar was a battle. Every loss carved something raw into him. He fought to win, not for pride, not for praise, but because he hated losing just like her.

Kana had defeated him back then. More than once.

And every time, Boris came back harder. Hungrier.

Sparring with him had never been easy. His strength and HP were off the charts, his instincts sharp, his will unyielding. Kana had always needed to think three steps ahead just to stay standing. To fight Boris meant to fight someone who refused to accept the idea of defeat.

Then something changed.

A year passed. Then another.

Before they entered the academy, Boris stopped looking at her the same way. He began to hesitate. He pulled his strikes.

His spear no longer followed through. His skills ended a heartbeat too early. When Kana pressed him, he retreated—not tactically, but carefully. Like she was fragile. Like she was something precious that might shatter if he pushed too hard. Like a wine glass, delicate and breakable.

The hunger with him before vanished though it was a different story when fighting dungeon monsters. Kana had felt it every time they trained after that—the absence. The empty space where Boris’s fire used to be. Sparring became quieter. Easier. Something was wrong.

She won more.

Yet somehow… enjoyed it less.

But now—

Now Boris stood before her again, spear lowered, stance perfect, breath steady. There was no hesitation in his eyes. No restraint in his posture. His body moved with absolute certainty, every muscle aligned toward a single purpose.

To win.

No.

To kill her.

Even if his mind was shackled. Even if his will was twisted by another’s hand.

His hunger was back.

And it was terrifying.

Terrifyingly good.

Kana’s grin widened, her heartbeat quicking roaring in her ears.

“So you finally came back,” she whispered, dagger lifting, body settling into motion.

“Welcome back. Old Boris.”

Four Level difference shouldn’t be too much of a handicapped, Kana thought.

Post note:

Yes. Boris is quite a gentleman. 😂
Hope you enjoy the chap ! 🙂