As she drew closer to the suspected location, Hulim suddenly stopped in her tracks while passing through an open hall.

  "What’s wrong? Why aren’t we continuing?"

  Boguna caught up slowly from behind.

  "We can’t go any further."

  Hulim replied calmly.

  Tap, tap!

  As soon as she finished speaking, two sets of footsteps echoed—one in front, one behind.

  Two figures appeared, blocking Hulim’s path.

  From their auras, both were Rank B Powerhouses......

  "Well, well...... Is this the only rat scurrying around here?"

  One of them spoke up.

  But his words weren’t directed at his companion or Hulim—they were aimed at someone behind her.

  Boom——!

  Almost simultaneously, an attack struck at Hulim from point-blank range behind her.

  "Oh......?"

  Boguna wore a look of surprise.

  "You actually dodged it?"

  Seeing Hulim had distanced herself from the three of them, the two men opposite Boguna were also shocked.

  "Hey, Boguna—could it be your skills have rusted? You can’t even take down someone like this?"

  "Hmph! Impossible. But I am curious——"

  Boguna turned his gaze to Hulim.

  "How did you notice?"

  "......Is it that hard?"

  Hulim stared at Boguna calmly.

  "......"

  "Not long ago, I realized they seemed aware of our presence and could track our location quickly—yet we barely exposed ourselves. So the answer was obvious......"

  "Heh... Hehehe, I see!"

  Boguna burst into laughter.

  "So you knew there was an inside man all along? That’s why you kept your guard up around me?"

  "You could put it that way."

  "Hahaha, fascinating. But——"

  "What a shame~......"

  After laughing, a cruel and cold expression spread across Boguna’s face.

  "——This is where you meet your end."

  Flames ignited in Boguna’s palm, and the other two drew their weapons.

  "......Is that so?"

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  Faced with the three threats, Hulim remained calm.

  "You’re right......"

  She held her wand horizontally with both hands gently.

  "I can’t move forward without dealing with you first."

  As her words faded, her body slowly lifted off the ground. Layers of faint white light glowed around her, and her hair and robes fluttered without any wind in the hall.

  Immediately afterward——

  "【???????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????】"

  "Thunder Magic—Thunder Armor Enchantment!"

  Boom——!!!

  Countless bolts of lightning instantly filled the dome above the Grand Arena, bathing the entire hall in a blinding white light.

  The lightning then converged on Hulim, forming a set of thunderous armor radiating intense power around her body.

  "Rank B——!!?"

  The three stared wide-eyed in disbelief.

  "You’ve been hiding your strength this deep!? And this magic......"

  "I have a question......"

  From behind the thunder, Hulim looked at Boguna and said faintly.

  "Hmm?"

  "Boguna, what is your true goal?"

  "Hmph!"

  Boguna snorted.

  "Do you think I’ll tell you?! The two of you, attack with me! Kill her quickly! They have a secret antidote that counters the poison mist—we must stop them before they rally more forces! Otherwise, this will get troublesome!"

  "What?! "

  The other two Rank B leaders were shocked by Boguna’s words.

  "No wonder...... Even the powerful poison mist that affects everyone below Rank A didn’t stop you. So you have something like that!"

  "Later, I’ll use the excuse of failing here to rejoin the others. Gather your men and capture all of us—remember, don’t kill everyone."

  "Don’t worry! We know our limits. We won’t expose your identity!"

  "Good! Now——kill her!!!"

  In an instant, Boguna unleashed a prepared Tier 4 Fire Magic at Hulim.

  "【??????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????】"

  "Fire Magic—Fire Dragon’s Breath!"

  The other two Rank B leaders also unleashed their own attacks.

  One manipulated the earth, summoning a giant stone warhammer that smashed toward Hulim. The other, covered in a fiery red aura, charged at her at high speed.

  Faced with the incoming attacks, Hulim waved her wand forward.

  "【?????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????】"

  "Thunder Dragon Descends!"

  Boom!

  A massive bolt of lightning erupted from the tip of her wand, slamming directly into the fire and stone warhammer.

  Boom——!

  The collision of attacks triggered a massive explosion. The shockwave almost blew off the dome above, and cracks spread across the surrounding walls from the aftershocks.

  "Die——!"

  The attribute-less Rank B leader, surrounded by violent aura, charged through the explosion’s smoke and reached Hulim.

  Hulim waved her wand.

  Boom!

  A bolt of lightning struck the leader head-on.

  Bang——!

  He was sent flying, slamming hard into a wall and embedding himself in it. Thanks to his violent aura’s protection, however, he wasn’t seriously injured.

  "Damn you——"

  He pulled himself out of the wall, glaring angrily at Hulim, who still showed no change in expression.

  "Bastard!!! Don’t get so cocky——!!!"

  Bang——!

  He shattered the wall with a kick, then shot toward Hulim like a cannonball, accompanied by the roar of air being torn apart.

  At the same time, the other two launched additional magical attacks.

  "【????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????】"

  "Earth Hammer——!"

  "【??????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????】"

  "Fire Storm——!"

  The large-scale Fire Magic sealed off the entire hall.

  The deadly Earth Magic attack raced toward Hulim, combined with the rapidly approaching melee fighter.

  In short, the three had coordinated to suppress her from all angles.

  Yet......

  Hulim merely waved her wand gently forward.

  "【????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????】"

  "Earth Surge!"

  Boom!

  In an instant, the entire hall’s floor shattered, surging upward rapidly to form a giant cylindrical stone wall that enclosed Hulim inside.

  Bang!

  The attribute-less Rank B leader crashed directly into the stone wall, shattering chunks of rock. He then waved his sword in a blur, frantically hacking at the barrier blocking his path.

  Boom!

  On the other side, the giant stone warhammer also slammed into the wall—creating numerous cracks but inevitably grinding to a halt.

  As for the remaining Fire Storm, it was completely blocked outside the wall.

  "Damn it——! What the hell is this?! How can she use so many different attribute magics?! Is she even human?!"

  The attribute-less Rank B leader shouted in fury.

  No matter how hard he hacked at the wall to break through, the earth continued to surge upward, repairing the wall almost as quickly as he destroyed it.

  Inside the wall,

  feeling the constant attacks from outside, Hulim recalled a technique she’d recently learned.

  "Let’s try that......"

  She gripped her wand tightly with both hands, holding it upright, then closed her eyes and focused her mind, splitting her magic power into countless tiny fragments.

  When everything was ready,

  she suddenly opened her eyes!

  "Scatter——!"