“...Ummmm…”
Iliya looked around with a pained expression, as if she had a headache.
She understood the concept of Second Ordeal well.
To put it simply, it was a battle royale where one had to survive in harsh terrain.
It was obvious that they would be thrown into an area sward with Demonic Creatures with only a simple bundle of survival tools.
In that regard, the current situation was definitely sothing she couldn’t grasp, even if she mustered all the common sense she possessed.
“...Where on earth did you get all those?”
When Iliya asked that in a troubled voice, one of the n surrounding her spun the longsword in his hand without answering.
“...”
‘No, seriously!’
‘I thought this is a test of survival where we’re supposed to go barehanded?’
‘But those guys are fully ard! They clearly want to kill us!’
‘No matter how I look at it, these people didn’t barge their way into the Hero Selection ‘fairly’ at all!’
‘Is this the thing that Lana was so smug about?’
“...”
After looking at the sunlight that was reflected off their longswords and armors, Iliya looked down at her own attire.
Cloth boots, pants and top.
Compared to the opposition’s gear, which wouldn’t look out of place even on a real battlefield, hers looked more like a farr’s attire.
If soone had the power to get these kinds of people into the Hero Selection, that ant they were incredibly powerful. That also ant their minions wouldn’t be ordinary folks.
Even for her, facing such skilled individuals with just this kind of equipnt, she’d need to risk her life to even begin.
“Excuse , could you at least tell why you are doing this?”
“Iliya Krisanax, you are not our target.”
“...Huh?”
“You can still walk away. We shall spare you if you do.”
The man who said this then pointed his sword at Dowd, who looked as if he had lost his soul.
“Our target is that man. Keep quiet and step back. We can at least spare your life then. Killing a Hero Candidate would cause quite the aftermath, so we’d rather not do it if we have the choice.”
“...”
‘Their target is Teach, huh?’
Iliya nodded solemnly.
‘Alright, now that I know their objective, it’s easier to guess their affiliation.’
‘Since they are going for Teach, then I can make an educated guess from a list of potential suspects…’
“...”
After a mont of thought, Iliya asked in an even more solemn manner.
“...Where are you from…?”
“...”
“You see, there’s more than just one or two people who want him dead, so if you could at least give a hint about who—”
“...This is your last warning. Step back now and hand over that man.”
‘Ah, they’re from the Holy Land.’
From their words and the battle-oriented Graces imbued in their equipnt, Iliya managed to deduce as such.
Which ant, they were people who had co in under Archbishop Luminol’s influence.
After figuring out this far, everything suddenly made sense for her. Considering what Dowd did to his daughter, it would be strange if they didn’t pull out sothing like this.
“...Sigh.”
Iliya sighed before pulling out a short dagger from among her bundle of tools.
‘Its edge is blunted…’
The dagger was clearly not ant for combat. At least it could be used for skinning or cutting at. In other words, it was no different from junk.
“...What do you think you’re doing?”
Soone questioned why she was pulling that out, but…
At the very next mont…
-!
That sa person shot up vertically.
Because Iliya had swiftly approached him and thrusted the dagger in her hand upwards.
If his equipnt had been any worse than this, it wouldn’t be weird for him to be knocked out right then and there. That was how much force she put behind that strike.
The man who was flung into the air then fell onto the ground. At this sight, his comrade furrowed their brows before opening up his mouth.
“...What are you playing at?”
Instead of answering, Iliya glanced back briefly.
She carefully observed Dowd’s reaction.
Usually, he was soone whose eyes always sparkled with intelligence when he was thrown into a combat situation, but now, only bewildernt enveloped his expression.
“...”
There wasn’t the slightest hint of him ‘returning’ yet.
Which ant, without her, he was as good as dead.
“...Have you lost your mind?”
As she did so, such a comnt ca out from the front.
“Even if you’re a Hero Candidate, it’s impossible for you to take on all of us with such poor equipnt. Do you wish to die that badly?”
“Of course I don’t.”
Iliya spun the dagger in her hand before letting out a smirk.
“But, you see, if it’s for Teach, it’s worth risking my life at least once.”
“...”
The group of n drew their swords with a sigh before activating the Graces on their equipnt.
“...This is your choice.”
At worst, he was a high rank Battle Priest, but either way his combat capabilities were beyond Iliya’s.
And that wasn’t even considering his subordinates. Fighting them here was pretty much a suicidal move, as her odds of victory was just flat out zero.
“Then die here, Iliya Krisanax.”
“...Sigh.”
However…
This ti, instead of running away…
Iliya rely let out a sigh and scratched her head.
‘What a hassle.’
‘Seriously, your luck when it cos to people is the worst, Teach!’
‘But…’
“Guess I’m also to bla for falling for him first.”
Following that, Iliya and the ard n clashed fiercely.
“...Eleanor?”
Soone suddenly appeared from the black space, of course I’d be dumbfounded like this.
[...You.]
I wasn’t the only one who reacted as such. After seeing Eleanor emanating grey aura from all over her body, even the White Devil’s eyes shook.
After that, she gritted her teeth.
[In and my mate’s nest…that damn punk’s Vessel da—]
Hearing those words, my expression imdiately beca twisted.
‘...Nest?’
But, she hadn’t told such a thing.
Her choice of words sounded extrely ominous.
“...”
Ah, I see.
I understood.
‘...She had no intention of letting out from the very start.’
As soon as I thought that, a bitter smile ford on my lips.
The reason why she imposed such cumberso restrictions like roles or whatever was to seize the ‘initiative’.
Getting to follow the role ant she’d pull so trick to trap in this world with her forever.
And if I were to break my role, just like what I did, she’d just yap about how I broke the restrictions or whatnot to extort the ownership of my soul.
Both paths would end in facing a hellish dilemma of being bound by this punk.
Moreover…
I wasn’t the only one who realized this. Eleanor, who had been silent until now, spoke up about it.
“...Nest?”
Her red eyes shone even more intensely.
Was she angry? No, she was already way past that.
“From the very start…you…”
And then, in the following sentence…
Her voice was torn apart.
[You were planning on ú´ÂÁö, monopolizingî°¡ that man, weren't you?]
“...”
“...”
Wait.
As soon as I heard the static co out of her voice, I instinctively knew.
Eleanor wasn’t the one who spoke.
But another entity using her ‘body’ to speak.
[Grey…!]
And as Yuria’s expression changed, rage surged in the White Devil’s eyes.
[How dare you show your shaless, brazen face…! In my space…!]
Of course, it wasn’t like she was amicable prior to this…
But now, she made an expression as if she had encountered her mortal enemy.
Following that, white aura flickered throughout the space.
The pitch black space instantly turned white, proof that the White Devil was trying to exert her full power.
[I WILL KILL YOU–!!]
While the Demonic Aura of Devils was always threatening, the intensity of the White Devil’s Aura within this Image World was on another level. It even surpassed the ti when Grey Devil managed to exert her aura in the Material Realm.
“...”
Anyway, there should be so kind of backstory between these two.
I an, there was no way they ca to hate each other so much for no reason at all.
As I was thinking this, White Demonic Aura surged towards Eleanor all at once.
However…
-!!
-!
-...
The Demonic Aura stopped suddenly.
As if ‘ti’ itself had been frozen solid, the White Demonic Aura that touched its grey counterpart completely froze.
[...!]
At that sight, the White Devil’s expression twisted slightly.
[...]
And then, at the sa ti…
Ti itself froze.
The color of the surrounding space was slowly ‘eroded’ from pitch-black darkness to grey.
Which ant the White Devil was losing initiative.
‘...Does this even make sense?’
Even I was taken aback when witnessing this.
All Devils, regardless of the dinsion, held a supre status, capable of exerting their power within another’s Image World.
However, at least when it ca to any ‘ntal-related’ domain, the White Devil was ahead of them all.
But to think the Grey Devil could display this level of ability within a world where that kind of existence held absolute dominion. How could this be?
-...
-...!
Due to the creeping Grey Aura, the space that was already desolate to look at began to halt completely, making it looked even more bland.
It affected everyone, whether it was Eleanor, who was being used by the Grey Devil, , or even the White Devil.
The latter seed to be able to move sowhat though, perhaps because she belonged in the sa hierarchy as Grey. anwhile Eleanor, the Vessel and I, who possessed the Fallen’s Seal, were both frozen.
[...Haaaa…]
Then, sothing descended from the sky.
Following a sigh and a Swish…
A being landed gently on the ground.
On top of their head, a ‘crown’ reminiscent of a halo rested.
This was the Grey Devil.
A Ruler of Pandemonium.
The strongest one among them all.
[Because of you… Because of you, my mate… Because of you-!]
As soon as she saw the Grey Devil, the White Devil let out a cry of perhaps despair.
[I know.]
That response imdiately returned.
[I am sure you ú´Â hate . And I also know ú´Â you think that man’s death later is my fault.]
“...”
Words that I couldn’t just let pass over my head were heard.
‘I’m going to die?’
‘Later?’
“...”
‘Hey, Grey Devil? What is that supposed to an?’
While I was thinking this…
[But still.]
The pupils of the Grey Devil opened up horizontally.
When compared to the innocent and naive appearance she usually showed , the difference was chilling.
There was malice.
One that was concentrated with a pitch-black emotion held for the one across from her.
While wearing such an expression, the Grey Devil reached right in front of the White Devil in an instant.
“...!”
For the first ti since I had seen this being, she was wearing such an intense amount of malice that made think that it was fitting of her to be called a ‘Devil’.
In a mont, as a suffocating sensation simultaneously enveloped , the Grey Devil stretched out both hands towards the White Devil.
[That ¾î°¡ man…]
And then, as soon as they made contact…
The White Devil was ‘torn’ to shreds.
It happened in an instant, as if she had been thrown into a shredder.
The entire figure of the White Devil blurred and flickered, like a video that had been disrupted by signal interference.
Her mouth opened. Though it was probably to scream out in agony…
But, before she could even do that, the Grey Devil grabbed the only intact part of the shredded White Devil - the head.
[He is ¾´öC mine.]
Following that, the punk slamd that head onto the ground.
With a full swing, as if clearly intending to ‘smash’ it.
Again, the figure of the White Devil flickered. Her expression twisted in terrible pain.
[He is ÇÏ¿¡ mine.]
Without paying any attention to such a phenonon, the red glow in the Grey Devil’s eyes intensified with ferocity. She lifted the White Devil’s head again…
And slamd it down onto the ground.
Again.
And again.
Repeatedly.
As if she was dead set on completely annihilating the being in front of her.
With a Crack, the ground broke apart. White fragnts scattered in all directions.
The area shook as if struck by an earthquake. Yet even so, the hostility emanating from the Grey Devil showed no signs of abating.
As if laying down punishnt for daring to lay hands on what belonged to her.
[Do not öCÏ¿ lay your hands on him.]
Along with a Craaaaack…
The space shattered into pieces. Along with the remnants of the White Devil’s body, the Demonic Aura that had risen in the area dispersed like shattered glass.
“...”
‘Dude.’
‘Sure, I get that you’re strong, but both or you are Devils.’
‘What the fuck is this overwhelming difference in power?’
The Grey Devil displayed strength that was far beyond it should have been capable of.
Almost as if…
She had gone beyond the hierarchy among Devils, being the sole one to exert a power almost akin to a transcendent.
‘...But how?’
Though I didn’t know what had happened for this punk to be that powerful…
For now…
“...”
‘Grey Devil scawy…’
I thought that with all my /genesisforsaken
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