No.

No.

Why?

Why did we have to encounter a monster like this?!

I...

I can't end like this...

Looking at the several companions who had already died miserably, at the severed limbs and mangled flesh scattered across the ground, and at the ferocious monster before her, Garona's entire body trembled uncontrollably. Even gripping the sword in her hand had become an incredibly difficult task.

Only when faced with death rushing toward her did Garona truly understand the warnings of those veteran knights.

Compared to the ordinary Abyss Demons she had encountered during previous missions, the Abyss Demons of the North were true Abyss Demons in every sense of the word.

She had always known that the Hall of Ten Thousand Demons strengthened Abyss Demons.

What she never imagined was that the enhancement would be this terrifying.

No wonder every previous extermination campaign had ended in failure...

'I... I... I don't... don't want to die...'

Staring at the massive fist charging straight toward her, Garona was consumed by despair.

Her Holy Energy was nearly exhausted. She had no way of blocking such a powerful attack.

She knew very well what would happen if that blow landed.

She would end up just like Kakaro.

Another pile of mangled flesh on the snowy plain.

Fear and despair became shackles that locked Garona firmly in place, leaving her unable to move.

Dodging was out of the question.

The shadow of despair engulfed the female knight, causing her to close her eyes involuntarily.

As if accepting her fate, she prepared to wait for Death to harvest her soul.

However—

Just as the Abyss Demon's massive fist was about to smash into Garona's head, a familiar voice suddenly rang beside her ear.

Gentle.

Warm.

And incomparably reliable.

"Get down, Garona!!"

?!!

Th-That voice...

Mengxi?!!

Captain!!

The moment she heard that beautiful voice, as clear as silver bells, Garona's entire body shook.

Overwhelming joy burst forth uncontrollably and instantly filled her heart.

The girl's sudden words were like sunlight breaking through dark clouds, instantly dispersing the despair that had consumed Garona.

They brought hope.

The hope of survival.

On a battlefield, throwing oneself flat on the ground was undoubtedly a humiliating action for a knight.

Yet after hearing the silver-haired girl's command, Garona obeyed without the slightest hesitation.

The chains of fear binding her had already been shattered.

This time, her movements were exceptionally smooth.

She threw herself to the ground immediately and even dragged the slightly stunned pink-haired girl behind her down into the snow as well.

The Abyss Demon's hellfire-wreathed fist swept over the heads of the two women.

The scorching heat and horrifying pressure were agonizing, but Garona survived.

And at that very moment—

A silver light suddenly entered the Abyss Demon's field of vision.

As the silver radiance faded, a silver-haired girl appeared before the monster.

She held a longsword.

She wore white armored skirts.

A white mask covered her face.

The instant she appeared and the Abyss Demon sensed the extraordinary Holy Energy emanating from her body—

Its savage nature was completely awakened.

Boundless killing intent erupted from its crimson eyes.

The next moment, the Abyss Demon let out a hysterical roar at the silver-haired girl.

"ROOOOAAAAARRRRR!!!"

Its flaming fist tore through the air once more, carrying enough force to shatter mountains and split the earth as it hurtled toward her.

In response, the silver-haired girl's pale violet eyes narrowed slightly.

Dense silver-white light gathered upon her sword.

The next instant—

Before the stunned eyes of everyone present, the silver-haired girl fearlessly charged directly toward the incoming punch.

"Shua~~"

Accompanied by a flash of sword light and the sound of spraying blood—

The arm covered in black hellfire suddenly separated from the Abyss Demon's body and crashed heavily onto the snow.

The bull-like head atop the monster's shoulders swayed briefly.

Then slowly fell into the snow.

The Abyss Demon that had been rampantly releasing killing intent moments ago was reduced to a headless corpse with astonishing ease.

At the same time—

The other four Abyss Demons attacking nearby knights noticed the silver-haired girl's presence.

Drawn to her overwhelming aura, they instinctively shifted their attention toward her.

After witnessing her kill their companion, they immediately abandoned their original targets and charged toward her with bared fangs.

Yet even when facing four mid-stage Fifth-Tier Abyss Demons simultaneously, the silver-haired girl remained calm and composed.

Within her pale violet eyes flickered a trace of battle lust.

And something even darker.

The desire to kill.

Brilliant silver light once again erupted around her.

As spatial energy rippled outward, four silver swords radiating holy brilliance appeared around her body.

Their cold edges gleamed sharply.

At the same time—

Countless silver chains burst from beneath the snow.

From every direction they shot toward the four Abyss Demons.

Caught completely off guard, the monsters were instantly restrained.

Angry growls erupted from their throats.

As Shadow of Silence Power surged through their bodies, muscles rapidly swelled.

The chains binding them began breaking apart one by one.

Obviously, with only mid-stage Fifth-Tier strength herself, forcibly restraining four Abyss Demons of the same level was impossible.

But that had never been her goal.

The chains existed only to divert the monsters' attention.

Just as the four Abyss Demons focused on tearing apart their restraints—

The silver-haired girl brought her hands together.

Golden light slowly flowed through her eyes.

Wrapped in silver-white energy, the four floating swords transformed into silver arrows powerful enough to pierce the stars themselves.

The next moment—

Silver light flashed.

The four arrows exploded forward like ferocious beasts freed from their cages.

Along with them came an indescribable pressure.

Not one born from Holy Energy.

But from something far deeper.

Sensing tremendous danger, the Abyss Demons instinctively stopped tearing at the chains and raised their heads toward the silver-haired girl in the distance.

The moment they looked up—

They met the incoming silver arrows head-on.

"Pu~~"

Blood splattered everywhere.

All four arrows pierced directly through the Abyss Demons' heads.

The black hellfire surrounding their bodies instantly vanished.

Along with it disappeared the nauseating aura of Shadow of Silence Power.

And their life force.

"BOOM~"

Following a thunderous crash, the four Abyss Demons collapsed into the snow one after another.

Thick black blood stained the pure white landscape.

The moment they witnessed this scene—

The knights of the Asumos Church and the rescued slaves erupted into deafening cheers.

Their excited shouts echoed across the nearby plain.

The exhilaration of surviving death filled everyone with uncontrollable emotion.

Every gaze turned toward the valiant silver-haired girl. 𝒻𝑟ℯℯ𝑤𝑒𝑏𝑛𝘰𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝒸𝑜𝘮

Yet in the face of the increasingly enthusiastic cheers, she remained indifferent.

After casually waving her hand to signal everyone to calm down, she turned her attention toward Garona.

"How are you? Are you alright?"

Her voice was filled with concern.

Hearing those words, the kneeling Garona suddenly burst into tears.

The tension she had held inside for so long finally collapsed.

She threw her arms around the silver-haired girl's waist.

"WAAAAAAAHHHH!! Captain! You've finally come back!! I thought I'd never see tomorrow's sun again!! WAAAAAHHH!!"

"There, there. It's alright now. Stop crying."

Mengxi gently patted Garona's head and comforted her softly.

At the same time—

Mengxi's gaze slowly shifted to the pink-haired slave girl standing behind Garona.

The moment she saw her—

Something seemed to click.

Or perhaps she reached a conclusion.

Mengxi's eyes instantly became ice-cold.

The killing intent within them caused the pink-haired girl to shudder involuntarily.

The next moment—

Under the confused gazes of the Asumos Church knights, and the bewildered stare of the pink-haired girl herself—

Mengxi narrowed her pale violet eyes.

Then she raised her silver sword.

The blade pointed directly at the girl's forehead.

"You..."

"What exactly are you?"

Yumo: ???

Eh??!!