“I’ll ignore this ‘female lead’ thing for now! But what the hell is going on with the ‘male lead’?! Didn’t he already die thirteen years ago?! Did you people fail back then?!”

Liyu stared fixedly into Saiboke-Baniya’s eyes.

For the first time ever, an unprecedented brutality surfaced within the little girl’s emerald gaze. The overwhelming aura of violence caused everything within dozens of miles to fall into deathly silence.

Driven by fury, the hand around Saiboke’s throat tightened unconsciously, making it harder and harder for him to breathe.

Although Liyu usually tried her best to maintain the image of a well-behaved child in front of Yumo, her essence was still that of an Abyss Demon.

And not just any Abyss Demon—

but one of the strongest and cruelest Demon King-class beings among them.

Once the savagery buried deep in her heart was stirred awake, the consequences would be unimaginable...

Fortunately, Limo hurried forward from the side and tugged nervously at her younger sister’s sleeve.

“L-Liyu! Liyu! Stop already! You’re going to strangle him to death...”

“Hm? Strangle him to death?”

Only after hearing her sister’s words did Liyu realize she had lost control of herself a little.

If he died, then regardless of anything else, explaining things to Mother afterward would become troublesome.

Thinking of that, Liyu unwillingly loosened her grip and released Saiboke’s neck.

The latter immediately slid weakly down from the massive boulder as though he had been granted amnesty, collapsing onto the ground in an inelegant heap while gasping desperately for air.

Even so—

despite being treated so violently, Saiboke’s face never showed even the slightest trace of displeasure.

He completely understood Liyu’s emotions.

After all, when he had first learned this news himself, he had also been both shocked and enraged. He had even smashed his office desk into powder on the spot.

Among everyone around Lady Yumo—

aside from Lady Yumo herself—

there was not a single person who wanted the “protagonist group” alive.

Every single one of them wished to eliminate them as quickly as possible.

He was no exception.

After wiping the blood from the corner of his mouth with a handkerchief, Saiboke took a deep breath.

“Lady Liyu, I understand your feelings, but please calm down. Back then, we absolutely did not fail. After the Duke killed the ‘male lead,’ not only did he cut off his head, he also dug out his heart and followed it up with five consecutive Saint-tier spells, reducing him completely to ashes. The ‘male lead’ was unquestionably dead beyond death.”

After hearing Saiboke’s explanation—

and with Limo comforting her from the side—

Liyu gradually calmed down.

However, her emerald eyes still brimmed with confusion and incomprehension.

“He died? Then what’s with the one inside the Snow Night Empire now? That damned Crown Prince?!”

“Apologies, we still don’t fully understand either. But according to the intelligence reports, that man also bears those golden patterns behind him. It should indeed be the ‘male lead.’”

“What? Th-this...”

“We’re puzzled as well, so the investigation is still ongoing.”

“Fine then.”

Liyu took a deep breath through clenched teeth, though dissatisfaction still lingered heavily within her eyes.

That was right.

Liyu was extremely unhappy with Saiboke’s actions.

“Fine, let’s say you didn’t screw up back then. But why did you have to tell Mother about the protagonist group this time?! Couldn’t you just deal with them privately?! Xiao’s already at the Law God tier now, right? Is killing two inexperienced brats really that difficult?!”

Facing Liyu’s questioning, Saiboke shook his head.

“To be honest, secretly handling things this time would not be easy. The ‘male lead,’ as the Crown Prince, remains inside the imperial palace of the Snow Night Empire at all times. As for the ‘female lead,’ shortly after we obtained information about her, she entered the headquarters of the Asumos Church. Those two places cannot simply be erased as casually as before.”

As he spoke, Saiboke slowly stood up with difficulty and began employing the persuasion he excelled at most.

“And besides, Lady Liyu, think carefully about Lady Yumo’s condition over the years. What is the thing that concerns her most?”

“The male and female leads... and their companions?”

“Yes. The thing Lady Yumo cares about most is the protagonist group! If the male and female leads were secretly eliminated by us without her knowledge, then even afterward, Lady Yumo would still continue worrying herself over the ‘protagonist group’! Is that really something we want? Watching her devote all her energy every single day to something that no longer even exists?”

Recalling the previous months when Mother had ignored them in order to prepare equipment for the protagonist group, Liyu immediately shook her head repeatedly.

“N-No, it isn’t.”

“Furthermore, even if we succeeded, secretly attacking the capitals of two major powers would never remain hidden forever. If one day Lady Yumo were to discover what we had done, what would she think? We acted on our own authority, deceived her to her face, and secretly killed the ‘protagonist group.’ If Lady Yumo learned the truth, she would definitely be utterly disappointed in us. Lady Liyu, Lady Limo, neither of you wishes to disappoint Lady Yumo, correct?”

“N-No, we don’t.”

Liyu and Limo exchanged glances before answering almost simultaneously.

Making Mother disappointed in them was one of the things they feared most.

After hearing Saiboke’s explanation, Liyu had completely calmed down.

She even bowed solemnly toward him in apology.

Beside her, Limo obediently copied her younger sister’s movements and performed the same bow as well—

although hers was somewhat clumsy and not entirely proper.

“Sorry, Little Sai. I got a bit too emotional just now.” 𝐟𝐫𝕖𝗲𝘄𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝕧𝐞𝚕.𝕔𝕠𝐦

“It’s alright, Lady Liyu. I understand.”

“But after Xiao told you to inform Mother about the protagonist group, what’s the plan afterward?” Confusion still lingered in Liyu’s emerald eyes.

Faced with this expected question, Saiboke smiled faintly.

Only this time, however, a chilling coldness quietly seeped into that smile.

“We all know that Lady Yumo has always hoped to nurture the ‘protagonist group’ so they could eventually destroy her, correct? That is why she constantly orders us to gather intelligence about them and endlessly prepares those so-called trial stages. None of us want that, do we?”

“Mhm.”

“At the same time, none of us wish for Lady Yumo to continue wasting her energy waiting for these so-called ‘Children of Destiny,’ right?”

“Right. So what exactly is Xiao planning?”

“It’s very simple. In Lady Yumo’s eyes, there only seems to be one male lead and one female lead. So first, we inform Lady Yumo that the male and female leads have appeared, allowing her to know that the protagonist group truly exists.”

Saiboke’s smile deepened slightly.

“And then... if the male and female leads were to suddenly die in some unfortunate ‘accident’~ then Lady Yumo would probably abandon her ‘suicide’ plan entirely, wouldn’t she?”

“Oh? That actually sounds kind of reasonable.”

Liyu raised a hand to her chin and fell briefly into thought.

Beside her, although Limo barely understood anything, she still imitated her sister and placed a hand beneath her own chin, pretending to “think” as well...

The three of them sank into contemplation.

However—

right at that moment—

a streak of crimson light suddenly flashed across the sky.

An incomparably familiar and overwhelmingly powerful aura abruptly burst into the sensory range of all three of them, causing their expressions to change instantly.

?!!

“Th-that aura?!”

In an instant, all three abandoned their thoughts and turned in shock toward the eastern region of the Great Winter Forest—

the direction of the Hall of Ten Thousand Demons!

At that very moment, a scarlet pillar of light had erupted from the Hall of Ten Thousand Demons and pierced straight into the heavens!

The endless clouds across thousands of miles were obliterated instantly!

Terrifying Shadow of Silence Power—

along with an incomparable pressure that seemed to originate from the depths of one’s soul—

continuously exploded outward from the center of the crimson pillar!

The vast power spread wildly in every direction like a collapsed floodgate!

Mountains shattered and the earth split apart!

The instant countless Abyss Demons and magical beasts were swept by the crimson aura, they immediately lost consciousness and collapsed to the ground.

Even beings as powerful as Limo and Liyu felt an unprecedented trembling sensation.

Violent winds howled across the land.

The sky itself was suddenly torn apart.

Crimson radiance replaced sunlight and bathed the entire world, draping all creation beneath a scarlet veil.

Then—

under the joyful gazes of the three—

the endless crimson Shadow of Silence Power that had been released outward suddenly began surging back inward violently, converging toward the central region of the Hall of Ten Thousand Demons!

The release and condensation of power—

those were the two most crucial steps when using transformation magic for the very first time!

And now—

the “release” phase had already been completed.

Meanwhile, the “condensation” phase also appeared to be proceeding smoothly.

Which meant...

“This transformation spell actually works!!!”

Limo and Liyu exchanged looks before revealing ecstatic smiles at the same time.

In the next instant, both sisters explosively unleashed the Shadow of Silence Power within their bodies and charged directly toward Yumo’s location, advancing head-on through the violent storm of power.