Abyss Demons, this existence was the nightmare of every race upon the Anqieka Continent.

Whenever Abyss Demons appeared, the various races of the continent would cast aside their grudges and join hands against these terrifying walking calamities. These savage, bloodthirsty monsters tore apart and devoured all living things, spreading disasters such as death and plague across the entire continent.

Everyone turned pale at the mere mention of them, wishing nothing more than to exterminate them as quickly as possible.

However,

the overwhelming power of the Abyss Demons was far beyond what ordinary people could contend with. Even specially trained armies and church knights had to pay a terrible price to defeat one. When facing Abyss Demons, most people only had a single option—

run for their lives.

As for where the Abyss Demons actually came from?

At first, the people of the continent had no idea. They only knew that thousands of years ago, these monsters had first appeared within the Winter Forest at the northern edge of the continent.

Only after generation after generation of pioneers ventured into the Winter Forest to investigate—many of them sacrificing their lives in the process—was the mystery finally solved.

The Hall of Ten Thousand Demons.

This ancient palace hidden deep within the Great Winter Forest was the source of all evil.

Inside the hall existed a strange and eerie black energy, and that sinister power was precisely the {N•o•v•e•l•i•g•h•t} source from which the Abyss Demons were born. Ordinary magical beasts and animals living within the Winter Forest would undergo drastic personality changes after coming into contact with the black aura, becoming incomparably bloodthirsty and savage, hostile toward nearly all living creatures. The power within their bodies would also rise continuously!

Creatures infected by this black aura—

were known as Abyss Demons.

—The Abyss Demons come from the Hall of Ten Thousand Demons. It is the evil power within the hall that gave birth to these monsters!—

The scholars of the continent quickly arrived at this conclusion.

The moment this theory was announced, the entire continent erupted into chaos. In order to completely end the tragedies brought about by the Abyss Demons, the various races and empires united to form a massive allied army, marching grandly toward the Winter Forest in hopes of locating and destroying the Hall of Ten Thousand Demons!

However,

the people had severely underestimated the number of Abyss Demons inside the Winter Forest.

Abyss Demons already possessed intense hostility toward all other races and would instinctively attack places where living beings gathered. Naturally, when the allied army confidently stepped into the Winter Forest, they attracted the attention of countless Abyss Demons.

Among them,

were even several whose strength had reached the terrifying Demon King class.

In the end, the allied army suffered a crushing defeat.

Less than one-tenth of them returned alive.

From that point onward, the various powers across the continent no longer dared to openly gather armies and enter the Winter Forest. At most, they would dispatch small squads of three to five elites to secretly infiltrate the forest, hoping to complete “decapitation missions” without attracting the attention of other Abyss Demons.

Of course,

most of those missions ultimately ended with the entire squad “going missing.”

Eventually,

the major factions abandoned offense in favor of defense, constructing defensive lines outside the Winter Forest to prevent the Abyss Demons from leaving the woods.

And so, several centuries passed in relative “peace.”

However,

three hundred years ago, the various empires and races discovered an unbelievable fact.

The number of Abyss Demons detected around the forest had begun rapidly decreasing!

In the past, there would be more than forty sightings every month. A hundred years ago, that number had fallen to only a dozen or so.

And now,

there weren’t even ten sightings in an entire year.

This inevitably caused people to begin wondering—

Had something happened deep within the Winter Forest that caused the number of Abyss Demons to plummet? Or had the strange energy inside the Hall of Ten Thousand Demons begun running dry?

Did this mean the danger of entering the Winter Forest had decreased?

As similar speculations continued spreading, more and more elite squads from various factions gathered their courage and once again stepped foot upon that frozen land.

Their objective was singular.

The Hall of Ten Thousand Demons.

—

Inside the Great Winter Forest — beside the Chegewa Glacier,

a five-man adventurer squad sat resting by the riverside while vigilantly observing their surroundings to prevent an Abyss Demon ambush.

All five members were tall and powerfully built, dressed in white robes embroidered with wing-like symbols woven from rare golden threads. If anyone else had been present and seen that iconic insignia, it would have been easy to identify their origins.

They came from the Asumos Church,

the most powerful religious organization upon the entire Anqieka Continent.

The five-man squad led by the Hero, Pix, had come to the Winter Forest under direct orders from the Pope as a special operations team tasked with investigation.

However,

sitting beside the squad at that moment was an existence that seemed completely out of place.

It was a little girl dressed in ragged cloth clothing, delicate and adorable like a doll carved from jade.

Her beautiful gray twin-tails swayed gently, while her emerald-like eyes sparkled with vitality. Combined with her tender childish face and slender, delicate body, she naturally inspired pity in others.

Though still young, she was undoubtedly an extraordinary beauty in the making.

And yet,

such a beautiful face paired with such tattered clothing created an unsettling contrast.

The little girl who had appeared before them at such an inappropriate place caused Hero Pix to frown slightly.

‘Strange...’

Judging by her clothes, she was clearly a poor child. Perhaps one of the northern barbarians from around Mora Village?

But in a place like the northern frontier, how could the child of some savage tribe possess skin so delicate and flawless?!

This caused Pix to grow suspicious of the girl’s true identity.

However,

no matter how carefully he sensed her, he could not detect even the slightest trace of magic, battle aura, or the unique Shadow of Silence power possessed by Abyss Demons.

She was completely ordinary.

An ordinary little girl,

appearing alone inside the Winter Forest?!

How was that possible?!

Pix’s aqua-blue eyes filled with confusion and disbelief.

And while he was still pondering the little girl’s identity, the nearly two-meter-tall burly man sitting beside him—Beckham—slowly stood up, carrying a piece of bread as he walked toward the girl.

Then,

under the strange gazes of the rest of the squad, Beckham crouched down with a smile and handed the bread toward the little girl.

“Here, little one, this bread’s for you.”

“Hm? Really?”

The little girl looked up at the dark-skinned, muscular uncle before her with delighted eyes.

“Yep. It’s for you.”

“That’s great!! Thank you, Mister!!”

After receiving Beckham’s confirmation, the little girl happily accepted the bread and held it like a precious treasure in her hands. The caution in her eyes toward the five-man squad gradually faded as well.

Seeing this, Beckham revealed a satisfied smile.

At the same time, he noticed the simple wooden hairpin atop the girl’s head, crafted from evergreen wood. The craftsmanship itself was rough and held little artistic value, yet it was strangely eye-catching.

Because at that moment,

two tiny white birds with crimson feather crests stood obediently atop the hairpin.

This caused Beckham to raise his brow with amusement.

“Little sister, are these two birds your pets? What are their names?”

“Xiaodie and Xiaojing.”

“Oh? I see.”

While reaching out to tease the two little birds, Beckham sat beside the girl with hidden intentions.

When the little girl showed no reaction, he even reached out and patted her shoulder, the smile on his face gradually turning somewhat lewd...

The sight caused the other four squad members—including Pix—to reveal disgusted expressions.

Of course,

Beckham himself didn’t care in the slightest about his companions’ looks.

His attention had already become completely focused on the girl’s beautiful face and immature body, while all sorts of inappropriate thoughts continuously surfaced within his mind...

And after realizing the little girl didn’t seem uneasy or unhappy about having her shoulder embraced, Beckham grew even bolder. His massive body pressed directly against hers.

A top-quality little thing like this—

there was no way he intended to let her go~~

“Little sister, why’d you come to the Winter Forest all by yourself? Even the outer regions are extremely dangerous.”

“I came here looking for food. Dangerous? Is this place dangerous?”

The little girl blinked curiously, innocence filling her emerald eyes.

Seeing such pure eyes fixed upon him, Beckham became even more excited.

“Of course it’s dangerous! This is the Winter Forest! If someone with your tiny body runs into an Abyss Demon, you’ll get eaten until not even scraps are left. Sigh, fine, Uncle will take you home later. Where’s your house?”

“No need, Mister, I can go home myself. But didn’t you say this place is dangerous? Then why did you all come here?”

“Haha, us? We’re elite members of the Sunlight division under the Asumos Church. We came here, of course, to search for the Hall of Ten Thousand Demons~”

Beckham said with a grin.

Originally, he intended to use his Sunlight identity to further gain the trust of this naive little girl.

However,

the instant those words left his mouth,

the smile on the little girl’s face slowly disappeared.

Replacing it was an indescribable killing intent, while an eerie red glow gradually surfaced within her emerald eyes. Even the surrounding air began growing colder and colder.

“Searching for the Hall of Ten Thousand Demons? You people... what do you want with my mother?”

Before Beckham could even react, the monstrous bird’s blade-like separated wings sliced cleanly across his waist, instantly cutting the nearly two-meter-tall brute in half!

Scarlet blood splashed across the ground, while the organs scattering through the air further stimulated the creature’s savagery.

After releasing a shrill, ear-piercing screech,

the two monstrous birds suddenly transformed into streaks of black light and charged toward the remaining four dumbstruck church members.

In an instant,

the earth split and the mountains trembled.

The monsters’ sinister shrieks and the church members’ miserable screams instantly shattered the riverside’s silence.

—

“Lili!!!”

Seeing his companion’s heart torn out by one of the monstrous birds, Pix gripped his sword hilt with trembling hands. The hatred within him surged like a collapsed dam, completely swallowing his rationality!

“You bastard!!”

Fixing a deathly glare upon the little girl in the distance, Pix let out a hysterical roar.

Although he had no idea why this little girl could command Abyss Demons, she was undoubtedly the mastermind behind everything! She was the one who summoned those two Abyss Demons and ambushed his completely defenseless teammates!

The desire to avenge his companions consumed Pix’s mind.

A powerful pale-blue sword aura erupted violently from his body, attaching itself to the holy sword in his hand and transforming it into a five-meter-long energy blade radiating destructive fluctuations!

The terrifying strength of a Sword Saint exploded forth without reservation at that moment.

The sky trembled.

The earth wailed.

The overwhelming sword aura even began distorting space itself. Even the two monstrous birds nearby let out frightened cries and instinctively retreated backward.

“I’LL KILL YOU!!”

Roaring furiously, Pix transformed into a streak of lightning and shot toward the little girl, his sword aimed directly at her neck.

However, 𝒻𝓇𝑒𝘦𝘸𝑒𝒷𝓃ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝒸ℴ𝘮

facing the Hero’s all-out strike,

the little girl still wore that cruel smile. Tilting her head slightly, she deliberately let out a dramatic cry.

“Big Sister!! Someone’s bullying me!!”

?!!

‘Big sister?! She has companions?!’

An ominous feeling instantly rose within Pix’s heart.

And in the next moment,

that premonition became reality.

An earth-shaking roar exploded beside his ears.

“RAAAAAAAOOOOOOHHHHH!!!”

The moment the roar rang out, the surrounding giant trees were instantly reduced to ashes by terrifying heat.

A gigantic white wolf suddenly burst forth from the sea of flames, its crimson vertical pupils overflowing with killing intent and savage bloodlust!

The instant those eyes locked onto him, Pix felt a chill run down his spine.

And after sensing the suffocating black energy surrounding the giant wolf’s body, his face immediately filled with shock and despair.

‘Impossible... De-Demon King class?!’

After the shock came death.

The giant wolf’s fangs instantly tore through Pix’s enormous energy sword with overwhelming force. His protective sword aura, magical barriers, and even the specially crafted church armor around his body were all utterly destroyed beneath the wolf’s bite.

Every single defense shattered completely.

Along with Pix’s own flesh and blood.

.....

....

....

Looking down at the five corpses that had already been ripped apart beyond recognition, the little girl disdainfully brushed aside her gray hair.

“Why are there more and more idiots like this lately? So annoying.”

The little girl complained casually.

After muttering a few words, she turned helplessly toward the giant white wolf currently tearing apart Pix’s corpse and couldn’t help punching the wolf lightly on the head with her tiny fist.

“Big Sister, stop eating them! If Mother sees this, she’s going to scold you again!!”

However,

the giant wolf clearly didn’t care about the little girl’s warning. It casually ripped off Pix’s head, held it in its mouth, and spoke in a slightly low voice.

“This Hero guy had quite a lot of energy inside him~ It’d be such a waste not to eat him~~ Besides, Mother isn’t here right now, so relax~”

“Sigh... Big Sister, why can’t you ever learn your lesson?”

The little girl raised a hand to her forehead in frustration.

“Whatever. Just don’t blame me later after you get yelled at. I already warned you.”

“It’ll be fine~ Mother isn’t even here, nothing bad’s gonna happen~”

“Oh? Really?”

“Hm? Liyu, what do you mean by that?”

Instinctively sensing danger, the giant wolf raised its head uneasily toward its younger sister, who was currently smiling mischievously.

Very quickly,

the giant wolf realized why her sister was grinning.

Because the space behind them had already begun distorting.

Staring at the blood-red spatial magic circle that appeared without warning, along with the blood-colored butterflies fluttering around it, the giant wolf froze.

The severed head in its mouth dropped directly onto the ground.

‘N-no way... it can’t be this coincidental, right...’

In the next moment,

a crimson light flashed.

Under the giant wolf’s nervous gaze, a girl dressed in an exquisite flowing black robe slowly appeared before them.

The girl looked around sixteen years old, slender and graceful, carrying both youthful innocence and subtle seduction.

Her silky black hair draped over her shoulders, while the ends faded into blood-red crimson. Her snow-white skin was flawless and translucent, and her breathtakingly beautiful face resembled a masterpiece personally sculpted by the gods themselves—beautiful enough to make all things pale in comparison.

Those ruby-like crimson eyes were bright and clear, filled with a soul-stealing charm.

And the moment the black-haired girl narrowed her eyes slightly,

the overwhelming pressure of a supreme being suddenly descended.

When those cold eyes filled with killing intent locked onto the giant wolf, the latter immediately felt its spine go cold and began trembling uncontrollably.

In the next second,

the black-haired girl pursed her lips and angrily scolded,

“Limo! How many times have I told you already?! Don’t eat those things! You little brat, is your ass itching for a beating again?!!”

The girl’s voice sounded as beautiful as flowing spring water, soothing to the soul—

yet hidden within it was an indescribable pressure.

It frightened the giant wolf named Limo so badly that her entire body trembled violently. She let out a pitiful “Awoo~” cry before instantly shrinking down into a husky-like form and hiding behind her younger sister Liyu without hesitation, looking at the black-haired girl with terrified eyes.

Seeing this, the black-haired girl shook her head helplessly before turning a stern gaze toward the gray-haired little girl protecting the “husky.”

“And you too, Liyu! Didn’t I tell you not to provoke Heroes on your own?! I still need them to properly help the ‘female lead’ do her job!”

“Sorry, Mother.”

Liyu nodded obediently.

However,

there wasn’t the slightest trace of remorse visible within her emerald eyes.

In simpler terms—

I know I was wrong, but I’ll absolutely do it again.

“Sigh...”

Looking at these two troublesome “daughters,” the black-haired girl let out a conflicted sigh and rubbed her temples with her finger.

“Why are you two always so troublesome...”

—

The black-haired girl’s name was Fan Yumo.

She was the creator of Limo and Liyu—

and also the very target these church knights had always sought to destroy.

The source of all evil known as the Hall of Ten Thousand Demons...