Volume 2, Chapter 52 – Just in the Way

“This is…”

The Abomination’s grotesque, hideous face was covered in horrific scars. And on that nightmarish visage, there appeared a rare expression of pure astonishment.

As a Legendary creature, there was almost nothing the Abomination hadn’t seen before. Having lived for tens of thousands of years, it was no longer the curious little being that once stayed in the academy laboratory, knowing nothing about the world.

Yet even so, aside from the emotion of anger, which came easily to it, this time, it felt utter, overwhelming surprise.

Though anger still burned within it, that astonishment occupied a large part of its mind.

In the Abomination’s eyes, the iron hook it had thrown to attack Tianyin was nowhere to be seen. Instead, all that remained was a tangled mess of chains tightly wrapped around where the hook should have been.

The Abomination had never experienced such a situation before.

“My attack… was just neutralized like that?”

Though it seemed like Tianyin had spent quite some time toying with the flying hook, in truth, from beginning to end, only a few dozen seconds had passed.

Yes, just a few dozen seconds. In that short time, Tianyin had somehow dealt with the hook that had been relentlessly pursuing her, using a strange, yet oddly effective method.

“Despicable human!”

Whether from fury or humiliation, the Abomination’s massive, twisted face split open as its huge mouth bellowed those five words.

And indeed, that was perhaps the best description of what Tianyin had just done, turning its attack back on itself in such an absurd way.

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However, if those words had come from anyone else’s mouth, they might have sounded reasonable. But hearing them come from the mouth of an undead creature… The irony was almost painful.

“Huh? How am I despicable? You’re just a big dummy, that’s all~”

“You…!”

The Abomination felt as if it had never been so insulted in its entire existence.

After all, from the moment of its creation, those old mages who made it had marveled at its intelligence.

Those memories were distant and blurry now, but the words they once spoke, praising its cleverness, it still remembered clearly.

“Ah, look! Number One can even tell colors apart!”

“So smart! It even understands addition and subtraction.”

“This is the most brilliant specimen we’ve ever created, Number One can even understand our words now!”

And so on, and so on.

Its natural-born intelligence had always been its greatest pride.

But now… that very pride was being mocked from start to finish by this tiny human girl before it.

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“You…! Die!”

All its rage and humiliation condensed into one short, explosive phrase, words that perfectly embodied the furious turmoil in its heart.

The iron hook, still tightly bound in chains, suddenly shot out with force. At the same time, the chains themselves snapped, whipping outward toward Tianyin’s surroundings.

It was clear, the hook was meant to strike her directly, while the broken chains were meant to seal off any route she could use to evade.

Not far away, the elven girl who had been watching, once terrified for Tianyin’s safety, had smiled in relief when she saw Tianyin easily defuse the Abomination’s attack.

But when the chains suddenly burst apart and shot toward Tianyin alongside the hook, that gentle smile vanished instantly, replaced by deep tension, worry, and fear.

As the deadly assault neared Tianyin, the elf girl bit her lip, as if making a desperate decision.

Meanwhile, Tianyin stood motionless, expressionless, simply watching the oncoming attack.

She already knew, the shattered chains were meant to block her movements, preventing her from dodging.

But…

“Did you really think I needed to dodge your attack?”

She whispered softly to herself, in a voice only she could hear.

Then, she slowly raised her right hand, and extended a single finger.

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To be exact, her index finger.

The enormous hook, tearing through the air with a shrieking howl, flew straight toward her.

But at the very last moment, it struck her outstretched fingertip.

In an instant… the area fell silent.

The mighty iron hook, powerful enough to crush her in a single blow, was stopped effortlessly by Tianyin’s one finger.

Its blinding speed, so fast it was nearly invisible, came to a complete, abrupt halt the moment it touched her finger.

Not only that, it couldn’t move forward even a single millimeter.

“This…”

The Abomination could hardly comprehend what it was seeing. Yet the fact was undeniable Its full-force attack had been stopped by a single finger.

And precisely because it understood that so clearly, an uneasy dread began to rise in its chest.

If it could sweat, its entire forehead would be drenched by now.

“You… you’re not a Legendary…”

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After a long silence, the Abomination finally muttered in disbelief.

“Hmm? When did I ever say I was a Legendary?”

Tianyin smiled lightly, withdrawing her finger.

At that moment, the massive hook stopped still in the air, and all the chains surrounding her turned sharply, flying back to the Abomination’s hands, where they reattached and restored their original form.

“You… who are you? Why did you attack the Graveyard without cause?”

Though it already had a good idea of who she was, and even suspected she was a Throne-class being, the Abomination still spoke carefully, suppressing the killing intent that had filled it moments before.

“Why, huh?”

Tianyin gracefully adjusted her long, silvery-white hair that had been slightly tousled from her earlier movement. Her crimson eyes grew distant, as if she were pondering something.

“It’s just… this fortress happened to be in my way~”

Finishing her words, she stuck out her tongue playfully.

The Abomination: “……”