Chapter 34: Turning Tables

"You… brat!" Liliana spat.

It was no use, yet the captured woman still refused to give in to the situation. Suddenly, I saw her face stretch and her lips curl up in a disgusting grin. Her eyes were huge in their sockets as she gave me a distorted evil grin.

"W-what the-?!" I exclaimed, noticing something strange about her.

The moment I sensed danger, I leapt away from her body, as a great amount of power was welling up within her.

>VOOOOMMM!!!<

The tension in the atmosphere suddenly shifted and an ominous aura started leaking out of Liliana. Her paralyzed body slowly began moving and before I knew it, she stood upright and began flexing her hands while staring at me.

The fierce expression on her face made me gulp, and the intense pressure she emitted caused a few beads of sweat to appear on my cheeks and forehead.

"You little shit… you got too cocky!" She said as she cracked her stiff neck.

Somehow she had gained the ability to move, despite the drug I gave her. This situation was the worst possible outcome, because it guaranteed a total disadvantage to someone like me who wanted to avoid a direct confrontation, from the very beginning.

"You're one hell of a smart bastard, I'll give you that. I never thought that you could plan this far ahead and play me for a fool…" She said, and began digging her hands into her maid uniform to bring out several more needles from within it.

"However… it seems you've overlooked one simple factor..... Magic!" Her demented grin grew wider.

Instantly, her body became coated with mana, shining with a faint color in the darkness that surrounded us.

"Y-you… why are you using magic? The alarms will be sure to go off." I said nervously.

"Don't bother! No one will be coming to your aid and no alarm will be set off!" Liliana stated, clearly enjoying how my eyes darted everywhere.

"W-wha-?! What did you do?!" I burst out, glaring at the devilish assassin.

"You really didn't think this through, did you? After all, I was using magic to communicate with my employer, yet the magic detector never picked up the mana being used to transmit our sounds." She smiled and as she said this, my eyes bulged as more sweat ran down my cheeks.

"That's right! For a few minutes, I can disable the magic detector with a counter magic tool, a jammer to be precise!" She replied, bringing out a tiny object from her maid outfit.

'Just how many things does she have hidden underneath that garment?!' My mind rang.

"It's a good thing you blabbed away like a fool while I slowly used my magic to cure myself of the paralytic effects of the drug you gave me, thereby undoing its effects," Liliana remarked.

"My body still feels weak, and my nerves aren't at their top form, but with enhancement magic, that won't be a problem. It appears your plan has failed, you lose!"

Apparently, it wasn't 'Checkmate'! Was I being in too much of a hurry? Did I rush things too much? Had I underestimated my opponent?

Liliana began advancing slowly, filling the needles in her hand with magic. This caused the tiny, sharp spikes of death to glow light blue.

"You had me flustered for a second, but this is truly the end! I'll wrap things up quickly since I can't use the jammer for very long. It's a shame… I really would have enjoyed making you suffer a little longer!"

With this final statement, and a cruel smile clearly illuminated on her face, Liliana lunged at me with three needles on each hand and fixed between her fingers. A single hit would prove fatal since she was targeting compromising spots in my body.

'I'm too slow to dodge her enhanced movements. The magically strengthened needles will easily tear through my skin like butter and pierce even my most inner recesses.'

As her pace quickened the dust picked up, and it appeared as though I neared my death.

I should have known that she would be able to use magic. Since Liliana was able to interfere with my Lightning magic, she had to be a skilled mage. Using healing magic and enhancements were not beyond her.

"Now die, brat!" She yelled excitedly.

If only I had thought of it… then I would have planned for a countermeasure… Why didn't I think of a scenario like this?

A smile formed on my face as I closed my eyes.

'It looks like this is the end…'

Liliana's mana slowly faded the closer she got to me, and her enhanced body suddenly trembled, causing it to grow stiff once again. The woman's eyes bulged as she noticed the changes that were occurring, and without her volition, her body came to an abrupt halt.

I opened my eyes to find her needles very close to my body, they were merely inches apart. Her body trembled and it was clear that the young lady had lost control.

"W-wha-?!" She suddenly lost her ability to speak, and her face depicted severe pain and shock.

My smile grew wider and the scared, shocked, and flustered look I had feigned vanished. My expression was replaced with a condescending one, so with a stoic face and dead, cold eyes, I stared at the suffering woman.

Her eyes showed that she had tons of questions, which was totally understandable.

Anyone who witnessed the scene would be confused.

"You stalled for time by letting me waste my time explaining the details of my plan to you. You healed yourself with magic and enhanced your body so it would be in an optimal state. You killed me and completed your mission. The end…." I mumbled, walking past her while observing her frozen body.

She seemed to be trying to say something as she struggled to form words, but it was of no use.

"… At least, that was how it was supposed to go. Right, Liliana? However, this sudden situation has occurred, and now you have no idea what happened."

I circled the poor maid, like a shark revolving around its prey, finally arriving once again in front of her.

"You must be utterly confused right now. I should enlighten you, shouldn't I?"