"You..."
Shadowless's eyes narrowed into thin slits, as if evaluating whether my words were true or a bald-faced lie.
However, after reading his details in the Akashic Records, I also knew he wasn't one to ignore even the slightest possibility of them being true.
"Tsk!" He clicked his tongue while pointing a dagger at me. "What do you want, brat?!"
Hearing his words—mixed with anger, confusion, and hope—I smiled.
"Of course, I need you to release me from here. Do that, and I'll tell you where your sister is," I said. "If you can't believe me, I wouldn't mind sending you to her myself."
Against my poker-faced smile, Shadowless's expression grew worse and worse. His mind should have been turning rapidly at the moment, while he simultaneously prayed that my words were true.
"...You'll keep your word, right?" he asked, slowly lowering the dagger. "You'll help me save my sister?"
"Of course~!" I nodded, still smiling.
At that point, Shadowless began pacing toward me. His hand was still gripping his dagger tightly. I'm sure that if I showed even the slightest suspicious movement, he'd throw that dagger straight at my throat and end me once and for all...
'10 meters...'
However, he was definitely underestimating me.
He moved, his steps soundless, carefully approaching. His movements looked as if he was ready to jump away if things went south. However, even if he realized something was wrong—
'It's too late.'
As soon as he crossed the five-meter mark, entering the range of my Dominator's Hand, I activated the skill. My target was, of course, to kill him instantly.
I grabbed his head and began twisting it 180 degrees vertically.
It was a quick operation, not even taking half a second... but it seemed that I was the one who underestimated my enemy.
"I knew it...!"
The Shadowless I caught, whose head was now twisting behind him, growled in anger—no, that figure exploded into smoke and turned into a wooden effigy!
"Damn, are you a ninja or something?!"
Just as those words left my lips, a flashing blade flew toward my face.
This guy... he's lost it!
Weren't I supposed to be a hostage?!
What's the use of killing me, you idiot?!
While such thoughts circled in my head, I didn't hesitate. I twisted my neck, avoiding a direct hit. Still, the dagger dug into my cheek, carving a long, bloody line across my face.
'Fucking... painful!'
The pain felt like my face was burning!
But despite that, I didn't stop. I've been discovered anyway—there's no point in playing prisoner!
With a light tug, I destroyed the ropes binding my hands and legs. Then, I—
"RUN!"
I mean... I'm just four years old. Basically a toddler. What do you expect me to do?
Fight toe-to-toe with that crazy ninja? No way!
The moment my surprise attack failed, that was already the end of my plan. There was no way I could catch him off guard now that he was aware of my intentions.
Thus, the most optimal choice was to run away.
After observing the place earlier, I had already determined the location of the closest wall. I headed there in a straight line before punching a hole through it with Dominator's Hand.
Jumping outside, I quickly applied Fire-element buffs—Haste and Strength—to my body, allowing me to run as fast as an adult. Of course, even then, I knew I couldn't outrun the ninja bastard. Turning toward the forest, I blasted off.
WHOOSH!
The sound of something cutting through the air reached my ears, and by instinct, I ducked. A dagger flew right through where my neck should have been!
It didn't end with one or two—dozens came raining down on me!
"Damn it!"
Being on the receiving end of a one-sided attack was too frustrating!
"Never in my entire four years of life did I pray this hard to use attack magic...!"
I'm no Superman, though.
It's not like I have eyes on my back.
Thus, in just a few seconds, my body was riddled with wounds.
In fact, it was a miracle that I could still run at all. Seems like I have an animal-like survival instinct, at least~!
But with more injuries came more bleeding, and the more blood I lost, the slower my movements became.
"Haaah... haaa...!"
Despite barely covering a hundred meters, I was literally gasping for air.
Dragging my heavy legs forward in a desperate escape.
Unfortunately, the enemy was too wary.
He didn't dare come close to where my ability could reach. Instead, he kept throwing daggers at me from afar. He was quite calm and collected despite having lost his composure... wait, that's contradicting, isn't it?
WHOOOSH!
Another dagger whistled through the air, and my body moved by instinct, ducking down.
However—
"AGH!"
Instead of dodging it, my actions were predicted. The dagger struck my shoulder, embedding itself deep. From the sensation, it had punctured my lung, making it even harder to breathe.
"D...AMN!"
I cursed at the top of my lungs.
Still, as my strength drained away, I fell forward.
Unable to run, I could only crawl, trying to reach the closest tree ahead. I dragged myself to its roots, groaning as I leaned my back against the trunk.
"Haa..."
My breathing was so shallow that my head started to feel light. I was short of oxygen.
But that wasn't all. A shadowy figure stood before me, just outside my range, glaring down.
"You brat..." Shadowless growled, teeth grinding in chagrin. "Die...!"
"..."
Seeing him raise his dagger, its blade glinting above his head... I smiled.
"No..." I squeezed out, barely audible. "It's my victory."
"Hah?"
As confusion crossed his face, a flash swept across his neck.
It was so fast that even I couldn't see it... But I had sensed the presence long ago, steadily approaching.
A head rolled off and hit the ground with a dull thud, followed by his body collapsing quietly. Blood spurted from the clean cross-section of his neck.
As I applied a water-element healing spell to my wounds, trying to slow the bleeding, I turned to the figure who had arrived and smiled.
"You're just in time... Fa... ther..."
And then, my vision faded to black.