The leader of the group was a male in his early twenties who wore a set of white and silver combat gear that belonged to a fighter-type class. On his hands were a pair of metal gauntlets with a faint white aura lingering around them. He went by the name Killsight and was the leader of a small organization named Kill On Sight, a group of players that primarily focused on PVP and assassination-type jobs. Their ultimate goal was to become the next Fatal Touch!

"My, compliments will get you nowhere. Unfortunately for you, I have no interest in men." Valentine responded nonchalantly.

"Hah, I guess there are some women with unique tastes. Well, that's too bad. If you had become my woman, maybe I could have offered you some protection—after I collected my reward, of course." The leader of the group cackled.

"I'm a man, you know." Valentine sighed.

"A futile attempt. You want to try causing confusion? Your tricks won't work on us, witch! Attack!" Killsight commanded.

Man? Impossible. How could a man be so pretty? It was obviously a poor attempt at seeking to throw them off or stall for time!

Following Killsight's command, seven players rushed forward while two remained behind and prepared a range-based attack. They planned to immediately overwhelm Valentine with sheer numbers. And, since he was clearly a magic caster, they would not give him any chance to cast his spells!

"But, I really am a man... Should I try cutting my hair again? No... The last time I did that, I got yelled at. Not to mention, I still got mistaken for a woman. Maybe I should try wearing more manly clothes?" Valentine muttered to himself as the members of Kill On Sight closed in on his position.

"Heh, this will be even easier than I thought." Killsight thought to himself as a grin formed on his face.

In Killsight's eyes, Valentine had already given up and accepted his fate when he did not take the initiative to launch an attack. Now that the members of his guild had narrowed the distance, even if he had an instant cast spell or two, the end results would remain unchanged.

"Since it's this easy, maybe we should go for the bonus, after all," Killsight said to himself.

Swoosh!

The players from Kill On Sight arrived within striking range of Valentine as three of them approached from angles directions, coordinating their attacks to leave Valentine with no room to escape!

"Die!" One of the players cried out as they leaped into the air and swung their sword forward full force.

"So noisy... Tempo Sequence: Retrace." Valentine said as he lightly twirled his finger in a small circle.

In an instant, a tiny wisp of light blue mana formed at his fingertip. The next moment, the wisp released a widespread pulse that swept over those present.

The players from Kill On Sight had no time to react as the pulse of mana passed through their bodies.

Crash! Thump! Thump!

All of a sudden, excluding Valentine, everyone on the battlefield stopped moving. Some abruptly fell to the ground, while others remained standing. However, every last one of them seemed to be frozen in place! Even the player who struck out at Valentine with his sword was currently suspended in mid-air!

Then, the next moment, something bizarre happened.

"...Your tricks won't work on us, witch! Attack- huh?" Killsight halted his words as a look of confusion formed on his face. But, he was not alone.

The other members of Kill On Sight were just as confused and had a similarly perplexed expression.

"What just happened?"

"Did we lag?"

"Eh? How did I get back here? I was just attacking..."

"Was it an illusion spell?"

To everyone's surprise, they had somehow been returned to their initial positions before they followed Killsight's order to attack!

"Earlier, you mentioned something about a reward. Since that's the case, I assume you were hired by someone else to attack me. I suppose you lot are also the reason why my communication suddenly started to act up." Valentine stated.

Not too long ago, Valentine started having trouble with the system's communication features. Initially, he figured it had something to do with the area. However, he quickly discovered that there was a group of players shadowing him. In the end, he quickly linked the two together.

However, cutting off one's communication was not something inexpensive and done on a whim.

"I don't know who wants me dead, but this group is clearly just a set of pawns. Then—shall we find out who the mastermind is?" Valentine internalized.

At the same time, Killsight was still trying to process what had just occurred. But, no matter how he looked at it, the only thing he could think of was that Valentine had powerful illusion magic at his disposal.

"Don't give her any time to cast again! She's an illusion mage! Whatever happens, don't let up! She won't be able to instantly cast forever!" Killsight shouted as the white aura around his gauntlets encompassed his body. This time, Killsight planned to personally make a move!

As Killsight charged ahead, after traveling a few steps in Valentine's direction, a pentagonal-shaped field of mana appeared beneath his feet.

The moment his foot came into contact with the mana, three chains shot out and ensnared Killsight, instantly immobilizing him!

"What is this?! I can't move..!" Killsight struggled to break free of the chains; however, physical force was useless as the chains were created from pure mana.

Though Killsight was not the only one caught by the chains. The other members of Kill On Sight were also ensnared as they attempted to close the distance a second time. And, upon being struck by the chains, besides having their movement obstructed, their mana was also drained.

However, when Killsight witnessed what came next, his fighting spirit rapidly evaporated as his eyes widened from shock and his expression turned pale.

"How is this possible...? What the hell kind of illusion is that...?!" Killsight muttered as his gaze was drawn to the massive pentagonal-shaped field of mana in the sky.

The most shocking part was that there were not just one of these huge magic formations, but rather twenty!

"We're doomed..."

"It's over."

"What the hell is this monster?"

Most of the players from Kill On Sight were at a loss for words. How were they fight against something like that?!

"Zarkox First Sequence: Full Release." When Valentine uttered these words, multiple bright beams of light erupted from the magic sequences in the sky.

The beams of light struck out with perfect precision, hitting their target without fail and inflicting a great deal of damage. Those with a lower amount of health were eliminated after one hit. But, even those who were somewhat sturdy could survive more than four beams of light.

What was amazing about these lights was that they left no scars on the earth and did not damage any of the surroundings. Nor did they release sound. It was just the appearance of a flash of light and before the members of Kill On Sight knew it, their vision had turned gray as they perished under its effects!

...

After several seconds passed, the rain of light beams ceased and the Zarkox Second Sequence: Mine Fetter that Valentine used to ensnare Killsight and the other players also vanished.

By the time the spell ended, there were only two individuals remaining—Valentine and Killsight.

"I kept one alive because I wanted to ask a few questions, but... It might prove to be a little troublesome." Valentine thought to himself as he furrowed his brows.

At the moment, Killsight was in a state of total shock. There was a blank look on his face as the overwhelming power he just witnessed constantly replayed in his mind.

Killsight carefully selected the most skilled members of his organization. All of them were at least a Hunter on the Siren rankings—a couple had even reached the rank of Shadow!

As for Killsight himself, after countless hours of grinding and completing missions, he managed to barely squeeze into the Master rankings of Siren. He could still not compete with the core members of those top guilds, but he was confident enough to go head to head with their elite members and come out on top.

Killsight no longer saw a beauty before his eyes when he looked at Valentine. Now, all he could see was a terrifying monster!

"This insurmountable gap... I haven't felt it since I met one of the Grandmasters... Are you telling me this woman is as strong as those monstrous Grandmasters?" Killsight internalized as cold sweat ran down his back.

"I have a few questions for you. I hope you can answer with some sincerity. But, first... How about you get rid of this communication block?" Valentine said with a smile.

Phhhtk!

"?!"

Out of nowhere, Valentine felt his entire body jerk. And, when he looked down, he saw a golden set of claws that looked to be made out of flames emerging from his chest.

"You should eradicate your enemies without mercy. Letting your guard down for even a second—Naive." A mysterious and distorted voice sounded from behind Valentine.