"That's an interesting announcement..."
Yuri, who'd been lying down after receiving a face-slapping beating, raised and curled her legs, performing a kick-up. Standing on her toes with arms spread as she balances herself. She gives the animals a naughty stare with a wide grin.
"Now, then, I should take care of you~.~"
Although, the way they sent her flying looks painful and critical. In reality, Yuri didn't feel anything; her toughness as a member of the Ha clan plays a significant role, including the blood of Zahard injected into her body. Well, even if those things weren't present, she was still strong enough to hold them. It's just that she would receive a minor injury.
"Lady Yuri..." Seeing her stand still energetically, Lero Ro let out a sigh of relief. He was also paying attention, but now isn't the right time to put things into discussion. After all, they are still surrounded by enemies.
"Don't worry. I'm fine," hearing Lero Ro call, Yuri reassured him. Her gaze shifted back to the monkey and skeletal figure. Clutching her tiny hands, she kicks the ground, preparing herself to pay them back.
The skeletal figure and monkey were not idle either. The monkey matched Yuri's speed, and the skeletal figure teleported in front of her. Yuri was throwing an attack while at the same time receiving one from her blind side. Although she couldn't defend against it, she would rely on her body to take the blow.
It happens in the blink of an eye; Yuri found herself sandwiched again between the two animals. But before the collusion between them happens, a swirling vortex appears in the center; it's the location of collusion. A boy clad in black clothing materialized slightly above Yuri; she had to look up at the person.
Which is none other than Cheon Dung, seeing what's happening midair. He performs a front flip and axe kicks Yuri at the back of her head, burying her on the ground before grabbing the skeletal figure's arm and monkey claws. Since his movement was faster, they changed their target.
Cheon Dung twisted his body sideways, dragging the two beasts along, and landed on Yuri's head before throwing them in their opposite direction. Once he let go, two identical Mare's Legs appeared on his hand.
While crossing his arms, he fired shots, aiming at their heads and killing them in the process before they could even get away (1 meter) from him.
The two animals turn to ashes, and Cheon Dung keeps on going as if he is walking through the park. He steps on Yuri's back, treating her like a sidewalk. However, before he got away. Yuri clutches his ankle, stopping him from taking another step.
"Where do you think you're going? That hurts..." She grumbled as she crouched in a slow manner.
Cheon Dung didn't say any word and met her fierce gaze instead. Keeping his nonchalant behavior, he reasoned. "I attacked you since I thought you were one of them since you looked like one."
"Oh, is that so?"
The two of them just stared at each other for a while, keeping the pressure intact. On the other hand, by standard Lero Ro was extremely nervous. Although the exam was cancelled. Killing is still allowed. They only told them the passage but didn't explain the other rules, which means the exam might be ongoing and others are taking this chance to kill.
Lero Ro was prepared to die along with Yuri. If his teammates were killed, then he would fail the exam. Regardless of his choice of whether he helps or not, there's no future awaiting him. Grinding his teeth, he reluctantly summoned his weapon slot and pulled out a needle sword.
But contradictory to his thoughts, nothing happened between the two. Yuri stands still and suddenly laughs out loud like a kid receiving her toy. She looks at Cheon Dung with admiration. Truth be told, among her peers no one could be considered her opponent. It's not extreme like others, but Yuri was so talented that she needed to hold back when fighting adults just to let them keep up at ease.
"Hey, what's your name? I am Ha Yuri Zahard, a princess of Zahard! It's my first time fighting someone like you, more or less on my strength—pleasure to meet you!" As she introduced herself, Yuri extended her arm, offering a handshake.
Cheon Dung gave her hand a subtle glance and accepted the handshake. Giving her a short introduction and keeping on going on his way.
Seeing him leave quietly, Lero Ro finally ran after Yuri and asked her with concern. "Lady Yuri, are you okay?"
"Yep... Although it's painful, he held back," she said with a wide grin.
"I see... That's good then," Lero Ro said, but his thoughts were something else: Is she secretly a masochist? Who in the world would be happy after receiving a beating, other than a masochist?
Still, he keeps his thoughts for himself. Yuri has a different kind in her mind, *to think a regular would hold back when fighting a princess of Zahard. I've never been underestimated in my life, but that makes things more fun!*
Once Cheon Dung was gone, Evan showed himself. Seeing the battlefield, like he predicted, something truly happened.
"Hey, Evan, do you know what's going on in here?" Yuri asked him, her gaze slightly narrow. Though not spoken, she clearly has some doubts towards her so-called guide. It comes when Lero voices his suspicion earlier and his thoughts about the exam.
Perhaps, feeling their odd behavior. Evan nodded and explained himself. "Yes, Lady Yuri, this exam was actually..."
Cheon Dung keeps on walking, blinking from one pathway to another. This time, he didn't attack individuals but instead focused on monsters, not that there are many left. Several regulars died along the way, even below and close to Hugo and Kiseia.
*It's a good thing I put them into a safe location before travelling; otherwise, they might have died along the way.*
Normally, for Cheon Dung, taking care of the monsters wouldn't be a problem, but he felt someone's prying eyes on him. So he had to keep his abilities hidden; so far he has only shown three in total. They probably only understand two.
He doesn't know whether it was an examiner or someone from F.U.G., but they are as strong as the two guys fighting earlier. That makes him worry, although he didn't consider them a problem if he is going to fight a big organization while having restrictions and someone tailing him from behind another deadly threat. The chances of him dying were high. He doesn't know if it's just a paranoia, but one can never be too careful. If that hidden threat was responsible for sealing off his powers and memories...
*Too many concerns and uncertainties.* Still, it's something he couldn't just disregard. So Cheon Dung has no choice but to navigate things slowly, especially in this tower where he was imprisoned. At least he would be fine until he reached the 20th floor.