Chapter 56: Q & S

"…Hoo."

Queen exhaled a hot breath.

Her body hung upside down from the highest training spot in NOX, with several weights dangling from her.

She was enduring that load solely with her physical strength, having restricted her internal energy.

Drip. Drip.

Beads of sweat rolled down her forehead and fell to the ground.

This was a unique training method of Killing Veil called Weighted Pressure, designed to stimulate the entire body.

It was one of the gates she had to pass through to master the Silent Shadow Kill Technique.

‘At first, it felt like I was going to die from exhaustion, but now it’s actually refreshing.’

She had cried plenty when she first started—it had been that hard.

But it was still better than the life she’d had before joining NOX, and she clenched her teeth to follow that man’s footsteps.

Now she had reached the point where normal weights no longer satisfied her, and she had to keep adding more.

"Hoo…"

Originally, this was the kind of training one could abandon after reaching a certain level, but Queen liked Weighted Pressure the most—its stimulus was direct and undeniable.

‘NOX should be fairly well established in the capital by now. As long as the matter on Lahan’s side is resolved, there shouldn’t be any problems.’

Of course, she didn’t forget to use her spare moments to think over the organization’s general direction and concrete plans.

Carl’s capabilities were beyond comparison, and he had never once failed.

But there was no way things would go smoothly forever.

There would be accidents along the way, and crises threatening the very existence of the organization.

Queen prepared for such situations from the shadows—so that even if they staggered or swayed under storms, they would never break.

‘The most urgent matter is still manpower.’

When they were moving between provincial territories and cities, NOX’s existing strength was enough.

Since NOX had started as an elite small force, each member’s skill was several times greater than that of a normal group.

But in Polfoardel, the Empire’s capital, individual skill alone was not enough.

With such a huge population gathered, they needed a sufficient headcount for the organization to have form.

‘But we can’t just increase numbers recklessly.’

Every member of NOX had to go through basic training—

—to weed out spies or those with hidden malicious intent, and to instill loyalty to NOX.

They were already building many new training facilities to bring in fresh recruits as the organization expanded.

If they could endure through this year, recruitment would no longer be an issue.

The problem was the manpower shortage right now.

"…I wonder when I can reach 5-Star."

With their current resources, the only way to make up for the lack of manpower was to raise each person’s skill.

That was why she never neglected her martial arts training.

Her Silent Shadow Kill Technique had been stuck at 4-Star for nearly a year.

She thought a change in environment would give her the stimulus she needed, but something was still missing.

"Hey."

"…"

Hearing a voice from below, she looked toward the doorway and spotted Second leaning there.

Second casually tilted her head before stepping into the training room.

"You’re working hard. Did you find a clue to break through to the next stage?"

"I wish."

Still hanging upside down, Queen answered in a drained voice.

"How’s the job I gave you?"

"I sent Gallon For as a substitute. Six said it was fine, but sending him out before he’s fully recovered didn’t seem right, so I told him to rest a few more days. It’s not like we’re in a desperate rush yet."

"Good. We should warn the others as well."

Lahan’s post had been temporarily reassigned from Six to Gallon For.

Even though they were manipulating Dirsen using the Soul-Seizing Technique and isolation, someone still had to keep watch.

And now that an unknown third-party force had appeared, extra caution was necessary.

"You haven’t pinned down where they came from, right?"

"Of course not. Not a single trace. They were meticulous."

Second shrugged.

"As expected of the Empire. Strong people like that pop up without warning. No wonder it’s called the ‘Demon Den.’"

"Master said the same thing—that it’ll only happen more often from now on. Anyway, good work."

Even after Queen’s words implied she could leave, Second didn’t go.

She stayed where she was, hesitating slightly, looking up at Queen.

"What?"

"What do you mean, what?"

"Why are you fidgeting like a puppy that needs to pee?"

"When did I ever—"

"…Exactly forty-seven seconds ago."

Queen narrowed her eyes at Second’s unusual behavior.

It didn’t take her long to realize the reason.

"You want to train that spear technique, don’t you?"

"…Well, we’ve both been really busy for a while."

Second pouted, unhappy her thoughts had been exposed.

Finding it rather cute, Queen let out a laugh.

‘Normally she’s so straightforward, but when she’s the one asking for something, she gets all shy.’

There was simply no way to dislike her.

"Alright, let’s do it. I was just getting warmed up anyway. I planned to train seriously after this."

"…Really?"

Second beamed at her words.

She then dashed out, saying she’d go get her spear, and quickly left the training room.

Before coming to the capital, Second had learned a new spear technique from Carl.

Naturally, it was martial arts from the Central Plains—far superior to the spear techniques she had originally practiced.

But it wasn’t easy to train.

The technique was so powerful and fierce that without someone to receive the blows, it was difficult to continue through the forms.

The other Black Label members were all busy with their own schedules, and those below their rank struggled just to withstand a single strike.

In the end, the only suitable partner was Queen, who often stuck by her side.

"I brought my spear. Come down."

When Second returned, she held a pure white spear, different from her usual one.

Seeing that she was clearly serious today, Queen answered with a wry smile.

"We can start right—"

Swaaash—!

Before Queen could finish, Second sprang upward to the ceiling where she hung.

Without a shred of hesitation, the tip of the white spear stabbed sharply through the spot where Queen had just been.

Thwack!

Queen’s figure scattered into black smoke.

Since it had happened without any warning, Second showed a slightly surprised expression.

"When did you get this fast?"

"Don’t you think I’ve been going easy on you all this time?"

Tak.

Landing on the floor, Queen loosened the hair she had tied up during Weighted Pressure training and lifted her head.

Amid fluttering purple strands, she smiled as she looked at the Queen hanging from the ceiling.

"I realized a few things while watching Master fight. I haven’t told you yet because I wanted to surprise you later."

"Yeah?"

Tak.

Lightly kicking off the ceiling, Second dropped to the ground and took her spear stance.

Golden light surged along the white spear, radiating a sharpness like the claws of a white tiger.

"That’s just like me. I was planning to surprise him later too."

Kwaaang!

With explosive force, Second kicked off the ground and charged at Queen again.

Her momentum was as reckless as a white tiger lunging at prey.

Queen immediately stepped into the Dark Flow Footwork and hid her body among the shadows.

She wasn’t foolish enough to take Second head-on.

Swish, swish! Swoosh!

The chase and evasion continued.

Although Queen, who had trained in assassin martial arts, was at an absolute disadvantage in open combat, the Silent Shadow Kill Technique was not solely specialized for assassination—

—depending on how it was used, it was also a first-class martial art capable of direct confrontation.

Klang!

Deflecting Second’s downward-pressing spear with a diagonal parry, Queen slipped into her guard.

Slash.

The dark blade slashed out.

It was threatening enough to cut off the very tips of Second’s hair.

Second bent her body backward, kicked the ground, spun in the air, and widened the distance from Queen.

"Phew, that’s vicious."

"Seems like I’m still far from surprising Master."

"…So that’s how you want to play it?"

The back of Second’s hand gripping the spear bulged with blue veins.

The aura flowing along the white spear gradually condensed, narrowing in form and increasing in density.

She was pushing her control over her internal energy to the extreme, aiming for faster movement to catch Queen.

Thud─!

With a deeper tremor than before, Second kicked off the ground and rushed at Queen.

Jjjjjjak─!

The spear tip swung wildly, drawing golden trails in the air.

Queen danced among them with Dark Flow Footwork, dodging swiftly, and whenever Second overextended and exposed an opening, she thrust in with chillingly precise strikes.

Klang! Crack!

Their figures tangled and clashed over and over.

If there was ever a definition of a fierce contest between equals, this was it.

"Hoo."

There was a spectator to this fight.

Six, who had come to see Queen for another matter, leaned against the wall like Second had earlier and watched their sparring.

Every clash sent strong gusts of wind that made his hair flutter.

Seeing the force reach all the way here, he could tell both of them were steadily ramping up—but since he had no way to stop them, he simply enjoyed the view.

‘Impressive, both of them.’

If he were to rank the strongest within Black Label, both would be in the top five.

‘Excluding Master, the strongest is King, then…’

Ace, Joker, and after them came Queen and Second.

Queen and Second were practically even—it was honestly hard to tell who was superior.

By rank, Queen was higher, so he rated her slightly above for now.

He could hold his own in NOX, but compared to them, he was far lacking.

"Six."

"…Ah, Lady Seven."

While he was momentarily distracted, a languid-looking woman approached him.

She was Seven, a fellow Black Label member and the mage responsible for NOX’s magic tools and artifacts.

Incidentally, she had contributed greatly to recreating Isolation here.

"Pulled another all-nighter?"

"For me, night is day. More importantly, I heard you were injured—are you alright?"

"It’s just a minor wound. It’s almost healed now."

Six lifted his hand wrapped in thick bandages.

The attacker he had faced the other night had been an unexpectedly skilled fighter.

If they fought again, he’d probably die in seven out of ten encounters.

In the other three, mutual destruction would be the best outcome.

"I see."

"By the way, could you get me more of Arachne’s web? I lost all the Heavenly Silk Master made for me."

"Master made a spare for just such a case. Come get it later."

"Ah, I see."

Six’s face brightened.

He hadn’t expected a contingency plan to be in place.

As always, only Master truly understood his art.

"So, when did they start over there?"

"Not long ago. They’ll probably keep at it for hours."

"…I came at the wrong time."

Seven yawned lightly.

Then she turned away, waving her hand at Six.

"Let me know when they’re done. I’ll pick up the Heavenly Silk then."

"I will."

"And tell me who won."

"I’m curious about that myself."

Leaving Seven behind, Six looked back toward the fight in the training room and let out a quiet chuckle.

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