“Who?”
A chill swept over Donna, as though she had fallen into an ice cellar.
As a mimic magical beast from the deep sea, her perception was naturally sharper than a human’s. Those sensitive tentacles extended outward, each one a separate sensory organ. Logically speaking, not even the slightest movement within several miles should have escaped her senses.
Yet she had not noticed at all when the woman behind her had approached.
Had she just arrived?
No. Judging by Muen Campbell’s reaction, this woman should have arrived long ago. Donna had simply only noticed her now.
Had she been following them this entire time?
And not only Donna herself—had all six of them on her side failed to discover her?
“Who are you?”
Donna forcibly suppressed the fear in her heart. She had grown up in the sunless deep sea. By all rights, she should have long since lost the concept of cold.
Yet when that slender finger pressed against the back of her neck, she actually felt as if her entire body had been frozen solid.
“Move.”
However, the girl behind her had no intention of talking to Donna at all. Her crescent eyes curved as she smiled gently and alluringly.
But hidden within that gentleness was a surging night.
Donna felt herself being surrounded by shadow. Countless chaotic whispers echoed through those shadows. Ghostly figures flickered. Crimson eyes opened somewhere unknown, greedily and hungrily staring at the fresh blood meal that had delivered itself to their door.
“The Authority of the Silent Moon!”
Donna screamed, every soft part of her body spasming violently.
“You’re the Empire Silent Bureau’s newly appointed Swordbearer! Anna Kaplin!”
“Oh my.”
Anna seemed surprised, yet her expression did not change in the slightest as she sighed.
“I didn’t expect even seafood that crawled out of the deep sea to know my name.”
“Why are you here?!”
Donna’s fanged mouthparts snapped shut. Her thoughts raced, and very quickly, she remembered certain rumors concerning Muen Campbell.
Damn it.
This was Muen Campbell’s lover!
Was this the woman Demon Child had mentioned earlier, the one supposedly on a date with Muen Campbell?
No!
Although Demon Child’s information had been vague, the Salvation Society still possessed records. The woman he mentioned was supposed to be a maid from the ducal estate.
This woman was another lover!
What the hell?
He ran into two lovers at the same time?
That Muen Campbell... was he dating two women simultaneously?
Scumbag!
There was no time to think further.
Terrifying shadows had already spread toward her. Donna knew very well that this power originated from the Authority of an Evil God. If she became trapped within it, there would be absolutely no possibility of survival.
In desperation, several thick tentacles slammed toward the shadows. It was as though an invisible tsunami had erupted, causing the entire district to shake violently.
The shadows stagnated for a single instant.
Donna immediately seized the opportunity and flashed away from the range of the shadow attack.
But those several tentacles did not escape with her.
They remained completely inside the shadows.
Crunch. Crunch.
A horrifying chewing sound echoed from within the darkness.
Donna’s expression turned extremely grave.
In only a single exchange, she had already been forced into severing her own limbs just to survive.
“Senior, so it really was you.”
Now that Donna no longer blocked the way, Anna naturally walked over to Muen.
Her crescent eyes lowered gently, autumn water rippling within them.
Anna gazed at the man before her, whose every movement could tug at her heartstrings. Her smile was soft as a breeze drifting beside a riverbank.
“You knew I was here, Junior?”
“I vaguely sensed it earlier, but I only confirmed it after getting closer. Even I didn’t expect Senior’s concealment ability to have become this terrifying.”
Muen sighed sincerely.
“You’re almost better than me already.”
“I learned from you.”
“As a certain great poet once said, blue comes from indigo, yet surpasses indigo itself. Just like Senior now...”
“Enough sweet talk.”
Anna tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, displaying a charm belonging to her alone.
“So Junior was specifically waiting for me here?”
“What else? Did those idiots really qualify to waste my precious time?”
Muen still maintained his one-knee kneeling posture. Like a knight offering his loyalty, he offered the flower in his hand.
“Look. I specifically picked out the most beautiful flower here. A... rose.”
The crimson rose was fresh and vibrant, tender as a beauty’s lips.
This was not rose season. This flower had clearly been cultivated with great care to survive weather that did not belong to its season.
“Do you know the meaning of roses?” Muen asked affectionately.
“Of course.”
Anna lowered her head and gently inhaled its fragrance.
“Passionate love?”
“Although I know a single flower cannot prove anything... that is indeed my meaning.”
Muen slowly rose to his feet.
One lowered her head.
One stood up.
The two gradually drew closer, as though they were about to cross the boundary divided by the flower and—
“Hey! You cheating bastards!”
A shrill voice abruptly interrupted them.
Donna exploded with rage once more.
There were many things she could tolerate.
Pig teammates dragging her down.
Higher-ups mysteriously running away.
Even the stench of humans.
But the one thing she absolutely could not tolerate—
Was being ignored.
And yet these people had ignored her again and again.
She was going to tear that bastard man apart alive, then swallow that bitch whole!
“Why didn’t you use this opportunity to escape? It was such a good chance.”
Anna turned back helplessly. The smile on her face gradually faded, replaced instead by bone-deep coldness.
“Escape? Hah. Since you managed to lurk around us this long, that means our movements are already exposed. Running now is useless. Facing the Judgment Archbishop’s pursuit will only become even more hopeless.”
Donna’s body writhed violently. New tentacles quickly regenerated from her wounds while huge amounts of foul-smelling slime spilled out, hissing as it corroded the ground.
It was highly toxic mucus.
A representation of her fury.
“Therefore, our only path to survival now is to kill you and capture that bastard man alive. Then we can negotiate with the Church and the Empire!”
“Oh my... you’re smarter than I expected. Indeed, I already reported your location to the Church. Originally, I planned to let them handle you.”
A strange smile appeared on Anna’s face again.
Then she turned toward Muen beside her.
“By the way, Junior, what were you doing in a place like this?”
“Nothing much. Just wandering around.”
Muen revealed an extremely standard smile.
“Wandering around? That really doesn’t sound like you. Back at the academy, you always worked yourself so hard that people worried for you.”
“You need balance between work and rest. Otherwise, no matter how sturdy the plow is, it’ll eventually break from overuse.”
“That makes sense. But wandering around alone is boring. After we finish dealing with this place, let me accompany you.”
Anna smiled sweetly as she suggested it.
“Won’t it interfere with Senior’s work?”
Muen maintained his smile.
“If it delays your schedule, that wouldn’t be good. If you’re busy, I don’t mind choosing another time. How about tomorrow? I’ll wait for you on a street paved entirely with roses.”
“It’s fine. It won’t interfere with anything. Most of my work was originally pushed onto me intentionally by that woman anyway. Now that she’s gone, over half my workload disappeared too. Taking a stroll can count as a reward for all my hard work.”
“Senior shouldn’t be so easily satisfied. That kind of mentality gets people bullied in the workplace.”
Muen frowned with genuine concern.
“Well, that’s because the one accompanying me is you, Junior. If it were anyone else, I wouldn’t be willing.”
Anna’s beautiful eyes suddenly shifted.
“What about you?”
“Of course I’m willing. Being able to stroll with Senior is my highest honor.”
Muen looked utterly blissful.
Only perhaps because the battle earlier had been somewhat intense, a few insignificant beads of sweat had appeared on his forehead.
“Still... right now, the important thing is dealing with the trouble in front of us.”
He turned toward Donna.
“Naturally. It’s only a minor inconvenience. It’ll be dealt with quickly.”
Anna completely withdrew her gentleness as well.
The shadows surged again.
Countless chaotic whispers echoed through every corner untouched by sunlight. The sharp, eerie sounds resembled stones scraping across glass, unbearable to hear.
Donna instinctively tried to block her hearing, only to realize these sounds were not entering through her auditory organs at all.
They appeared directly inside her mind.
Shadows had been born inside her thoughts.
“When...”
Donna’s expression changed violently. She instinctively tried to expel the shadows with magic, only to discover her magic could not touch them at all.
Was this the power of an Evil God’s Authority?
Still, since it had not activated immediately, it was clearly not an instant-death ability. Compared to what Muen Campbell had just displayed, this was at least somewhat acceptable.
Although inwardly shaken, Donna quickly forced herself calm again and shouted:
“You lot... if you’re not dead yet, get up and help! Otherwise we’re really dying {N•o•v•e•l•i•g•h•t} here!”
“...”
“...Fuck.”
Within the drifting dust, Ghoul staggered to his feet, coughing blood violently. A massive dent still remained in his chest.
“What the hell happened? Why did I suddenly...”
“I don’t know either.”
Atel activated healing magic on himself.
His injuries were not too severe because his final Holy Light barrier had activated at the critical moment.
But for a fragile mage like him, he had still only been a step away from death.
“Ah, my leg, my leg...”
Demon Child continued groaning nearby, though nobody paid attention to him.
“Damn it! How did this bastard know the characteristics of my puppet? How did he know?!”
“It seems the intelligence we obtained had errors.”
At some unknown point, the poisonous fog had completely dissipated. Shaman rose while clutching an obviously broken arm.
“Muen Campbell’s trump card isn’t the black flame at all. He has something else!”
The four regrouped into an encirclement once more.
Although they had suffered terribly at the start, just as Donna had said earlier, they no longer had any retreat.
This operation could only succeed.
Failure was not an option.
The more cornered a beast became, the fiercer it would become.
“So? Do we still have a chance?” Atel asked, remaining the calmest among them.
“Yes.”
Donna answered:
“And a very big one.”
“Oh?”
The shadows continued spreading as Anna smiled ambiguously.
“You still dare speak so confidently at a time like this? Earlier you couldn’t even deal with Junior alone.”
“That was only because we were careless and misled by the intelligence those idiots sent back!”
Donna burned with fury.
If time could reverse, she would definitely drain every Salvation Society intelligence officer into dried corpses first.
Though considering things now, the Judgment Archbishop had probably already casually crushed those people into meat paste anyway.
No difference.
“That was merely a mistake. I don’t believe we’ll lose a second time!”
“And why do you think that?”
Even Muen was shocked by Donna’s confidence. Had his earlier time-stop instant kill really not been shocking enough?
“Your attack earlier was indeed shocking—but precisely because it was too shocking, I refuse to believe that power belongs to you!”
Donna declared firmly, as though she had seen through him completely.
“You’re only a fifth-rank warrior! By what logic could you instantly defeat four enemies stronger than yourself and possessing such dangerous abilities? You’re not Crowned! It’s impossible!”
“...”
All right.
That did sound somewhat unreasonable.
But this was a fantasy world, wasn’t it?
Was there really no problem with discussing science here?
“Muen Campbell’s power definitely comes from that Crowned father of his—or perhaps some other powerhouse. Intelligence also said he was very close with Indra King before. But things like that definitely have usage limits. Once? Twice? Personally, I think only once. Otherwise he wouldn’t waste so much time talking here and would’ve killed us directly already. Therefore, the only troublesome one left is this Swordbearer lady.”
Donna’s tentacles spread outward. Terrifying pressure surged like the deep sea itself. Though she could not remove the shadows inside her body, she temporarily forced back the surrounding darkness.
“Although I know I’m not your opponent, I believe I can still stall you for a few minutes.”
“You probably can.”
Anna nodded. She had roughly grasped the strength of this humanoid octopus already.
Against any ordinary peak fifth-rank expert, Donna likely truly possessed the ability to win.
Unfortunately—
She had met a certain bad man.
And herself.
“Then it’s simple. Judging from your earlier behavior, if we capture Muen Campbell, you’ll obediently surrender too, won’t you?”
The eyes on both sides of Donna’s head narrowed smugly.
“Oh my.”
A look of “panic” appeared on Anna’s face.
“So you accidentally discovered my weakness.”
“Hah! Don’t be too surprised. After all, I possess intelligence far beyond you humans. Discovering your flaws is extremely easy for me!”
“...”
“...”
Good lord, what peerless wisdom.
Muen’s cheek twitched.
If one said Donna was stupid, she truly had managed to formulate countermeasures immediately despite suffering a disastrous opening loss.
But if one said she was smart...
...her actions also looked no different from seeking death.
In the end, it still came down to insufficient intelligence.
Which was exactly why intelligence mattered so much.
Muen could not help asking himself inwardly—
If he had known Senior would appear here, he absolutely would never have brought An to this place for a date and clothes shopping!
“You still dare ignore me?! Regret it, Muen Campbell!”
Overwhelming killing intent erupted from Donna. She had been completely enraged now, no longer caring about life or death. After strongly attacking the enemy’s psychological defenses, she immediately prepared to strike.
“Although it’s somewhat dishonorable, who told us we’re six against two? Six against two—you have absolutely no possibility of victory!”
“...Why do people in this world always measure things by numbers? No matter how many pieces of trash there are, trash is still trash.”
Facing killing intent from all directions, Muen sighed helplessly.
He really did need to finish things quickly now.
Otherwise, if this dragged on too long, explaining things to An later would become troublesome too...
“Let’s start with the four of you first—hm? Wait.”
Muen suddenly vanished.
Dodging the attacks of all four people, he let their desperate assaults strike empty air before instantly appearing directly in front of Donna.
Donna was momentarily shocked by Muen’s speed, but before she could react, she saw him stroking his chin while carefully examining her.
Then he asked:
“Earlier... how many people did you say you had again?”
“Six against two. What’s your point?”
Muen’s sudden appearance and question were so abrupt that even Donna’s supposedly brilliant octopus brain failed to react properly. The large eyes on both sides of her head stared at him blankly, making her oddly adorable.
“Six? Where exactly did your sixth person come from?”
“What are you babbling about now? Trying to stall for time again? Of course we’re six people. Me, Demon Child, Atel, Ghoul, Shaman... hm?”
Donna froze completely.
She looked at Muen.
Then at her tentacles.
“Me.”
First tentacle.
“Demon Child.”
Second tentacle.
“Atel.”
Third tentacle.
“Ghoul.”
Fourth tentacle.
“Shaman.”
Fifth tentacle.
Five.
Five people.
“...Right? You’re clearly only five people. So where’s the sixth person you mentioned?”
Muen’s expression turned serious.
Even if Donna possessed peerless wisdom, there was no way she could miscount her own group.
Was there a hidden ambusher?
A secret trump card preparing to attack from concealment?
“Senior.”
Muen looked toward Anna.
“They really only have five people.”
Anna’s expression likewise became solemn.
“I’ve been following them the entire time. From beginning to end, there were only these five. No one else.”
“...Five? No, that’s impossible. There were clearly six. I always believed there were six. Definitely six! You all think so too... right?!”
The fierce attack atmosphere from moments earlier abruptly froze.
Demon Child and the others looked at one another, terror appearing on their faces.
Because within their own understanding—
There really had been six of them.
Donna.
Demon Child.
Atel.
Ghoul.
Shaman.
But that was only five.
Then who was the sixth...?
“It’s me.”
Ding ding.
A bell shook gently.
It was a small bronze bell, exquisitely crafted, producing crisp sounds as it swayed.
Atel recognized it instantly.
It was the warning bell they used for alerts. He had personally engraved the detection formation onto it himself.
The bell had apparently always been there.
Yet only when it rang did everyone present finally notice its existence.
And likewise—
Finally see the person ringing it.
“Good afternoon, everyone.”
The figure was tall and thin, with grotesquely elongated limbs. He wore a fitted suit that seemed one size too small, and with one absurdly long hand, he tipped his top hat toward them politely.
His appearance immediately brought to mind an insect stick.
Yet compared to his bizarre physique, the other aspects of him were even more shocking.
He was a pale person.
A pale suit.
A pale hat.
Pale skin.
Pale hands.
Pale feet.
A pale face.
No—not exactly a face.
Strictly speaking, he had no face at all.
What everyone saw was merely a blank pale surface.
“What... the hell is that thing?”
Donna’s voice had begun trembling.
Even with her self-proclaimed superior intelligence that looked down upon foolish humans, the endless succession of shocking developments had begun overloading even her brain.
What the hell?
This thing had also been following them?
And she had never noticed it at all—
No.
She had noticed it.
Not just her. Demon Child, Atel, Ghoul, and Shaman had all noticed it.
But at some point, unconsciously, they had begun treating it as one of their own companions.
That was even more terrifying than the Swordbearer hidden among them.
Because this thing had directly affected their thoughts.
“So it was you?”
Among everyone present, only Anna remained comparatively calm toward the suddenly appearing pale figure, though she still raised a brow slightly in surprise.
“You hid yourself within their perception, so only Muen and I couldn’t see you? Heh. Quite an impressive method.”
“Nothing special.”
The Pale Man tipped his hat toward Anna again like a casually greeting acquaintance.
“Who told you Swordbearers were so frightening?”
“...”
“Senior knows this ghost thing?”
Muen’s sweat became visibly heavier too.
His panic was not much less than Donna’s anymore, because he had finally realized something.
His completely ordinary trip with An to buy clothes and go on a date...
...had suddenly become very not ordinary.
“I encountered those five while tracking this thing.”
Anna’s eyes narrowed.
“But judging from appearances, its target was never those five.”
“Hm? Then...”
“Hehehe. Correct. My target naturally was not those five idiots. Using the blessings granted to me by my Lord on them would simply be too wasteful. Besides, to some extent, they were even helping me.”
The ominous feeling in Muen’s heart intensified further.
“So my target...”
The Pale Man suddenly turned toward him.
Although he lacked any facial features at all, Muen could clearly feel that he was being stared at.
“...is you!”
Fuck!
I knew it!
“...Why?”
Muen looked miserable, almost wanting to cry.
“I’ve barely even left the house lately. How exactly did I offend another bizarre freak that crawled out from god knows where?”
“You didn’t offend me.”
The Pale Man’s voice suddenly became fervent.
“The one you offended... is my Lord!”
Your Lord?
Don’t tell me—
Muen’s thoughts raced wildly as he tried to determine which Evil God yandere widow had once again become unable to tolerate being abandoned by him.
Abundance?
Sacred Tree?
Moon?
No, the Moon was already dead.
Or was it... Aimier?
Yet after thinking through them all, none seemed connected to the bizarre existence before him.
Unfortunately, there was no longer time to think further.
“Be careful. This thing’s abilities are strange!” Anna warned.
Muen immediately raised his guard.
At the same time, the ancient bell rang once more.
He had already appeared directly in front of the Pale Man.
Didn’t matter what this thing was.
Cut first, ask questions later!
Elizabeth left its sheath.
Dazzling blade-light transformed into a crescent moon slash aimed directly at the bizarre figure.
Naturally, Muen did not hold back.
This was a full-powered strike.
Even Donna’s face paled slightly while watching it from nearby.
Yet the Pale Man showed no intention whatsoever of dodging or defending.
He did not even launch a counterattack.
He simply allowed the blade-light to split apart his body.
At the same time, he raised both hands before his face, palms facing Muen, thumb and forefinger touching to form a hollow circle.
Within that hollow—
His pale “face” suddenly transformed into a pitch-black vortex.
“The stars shall guide your return!”
“Shit!”
In that instant, Muen finally understood exactly which Evil God widow—
No.
Which Evil God had come looking for revenge this time.
The Lord of the Stars!
God damn it, how long had it even been?!
Your revenge came way too fast!
Couldn’t there at least be some kind of cooling-off period? I could’ve burned a few more cultists for you first to repair our broken relationship!
Muen desperately wanted to curse out the Lord of the Stars’ nonexistent relatives several more times.
Unfortunately, there was clearly no longer time for that.
Because within the depths of that black vortex—
He had already seen glittering stars.
“Enter the abyss and receive my Lord’s blessings together, Muen Campbell!” the Pale Man shouted joyfully.
“Get lost! You’re not even handing out free eggs! Who the hell wants to go?!”
Muen instinctively tried to retreat.
Too late.
The black vortex instantly expanded, swallowing the Pale Man whole.
Muen slashed again, but even the blade-light disappeared into the darkness. Not only did the vortex fail to vanish, its expansion became even more terrifying.
Very quickly, Muen himself—
Anna, who had moved to pull him away—
And the five utterly bewildered Salvation Society members nearby—
Were all swallowed into the vortex together.
Darkness flashed.
Everyone vanished completely.
The street became empty once more, as though nothing had ever happened.
...
...
“Hm?”
In another district not too far away, a girl overflowing with holy aura suddenly raised her head. Her delicate nose twitched slightly.
“This aura...”
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