Miss Yumo's idea...

Was actually very simple.

After finally meeting the Child of Destiny she had been dreaming about day and night!

If she wanted to properly stay by Mengxi's side and secretly watch over and assist her growth, then naturally, Yumo needed to raise Mengxi's affection toward her!

Once the affection level got high enough...

The heroine might start treating her as a friend.

Or perhaps as a trustworthy subordinate.

At that point, Yumo could openly stay beside the heroine. It would also make it easier to guide her while setting up future trial stages and efficiently help her become stronger!

Personally raising the heroine herself, hehe~

That actually sounded pretty satisfying~

And right now...

This seemed like the perfect chance to gain some affection points~

Ahead were assassins from the Heavenly Punishment Holy Church.

Behind them was an endless Abyss Demon army.

And her teammates were unbelievably unreliable.

The heroine's heart was probably ice-cold by now!

If she offered a little warmth at a time like this—

'Hehe, it should work pretty well.'

Thinking this, the pink-haired little girl Yumo had transformed into subtly curled the corners of her lips upward.

Then, with watery blue eyes overflowing with concern, she looked pitifully at the silver-haired girl.

Even her voice carried a slight tremble.

"S-Sister, I don't want to leave... I want to stay..."

The pitiful expression, the fragile words, and the way she tightly held the other's hand worked exactly as expected.

Mengxi froze on the spot.

Seeing that, Yumo secretly felt delighted.

However—

After waiting for a moment...

Instead of receiving words of gratitude, she was met with a somewhat angry scolding.

"Have you frozen your brain or something?! Do you even understand the situation right now?! You don't want to leave? What good can staying possibly do?! You're just a slave girl who's not even a church member! What can you accomplish?! Stop making things worse!"

Yumo: ...=-=

Uh...

What?!

Why would she suddenly say that?!

This feels completely different from what I imagined?!!

Wait...

Could it be...

The next instant—

Before Yumo could react, Mengxi impatiently shook off her hand.

"Don't touch my hand so casually. You're filthy."

After saying that, the silver-haired girl looked toward the two Asumos Church knights nearby.

"You two! Why aren't you taking her away already?!"

?!!

"Y-Yes! Yes, Captain!"

Hearing Mengxi's icy tone, the two male knights immediately showed fearful expressions.

After glancing at the black-robed assassins in the distance and the endless Abyss Demons near the walls, they hurried over.

Without any room for objection, they forcefully pulled the aggrieved pink-haired girl off the ground.

Then they dragged her away and fled toward the south.

Meanwhile, Mengxi coldly turned her head.

Her silver sword slid from its sheath.

Her gaze locked onto the two black-robed figures in the distance.

—

"..."

Watching the departing Asumos Church knights, Elbino narrowed his black eyes thoughtfully beneath his hood.

At the same time, the voice of the other black-robed man, Zack, sounded in his mind through communication magic.

'Boss, should we deal with those people who escaped?'

'No need.'

After a brief moment of thought, Elbino calmly replied.

'Those two useless knights don't matter. As for that slave girl? She doesn't look like someone valuable enough to be used as leverage.'

'Could they be putting on an act for us?'

'Unlikely. A noble existence like the Child of Destiny wouldn't care that much about a lowly slave.'

'But when we were observing from afar, she seemed to be taking pretty good care of that girl.'

'Most likely just putting on a show for the civilians. Aren't those hypocrites from the Asumos Church always doing that? As the Child of Destiny, her acting skills are probably excellent. If we chase after them, we might actually be falling into a trap.'

"Uh... alright. If you say so, Boss."

After hearing his captain's reasoning, Zack stopped paying attention to the fleeing group.

His attention returned to Mengxi.

Although the girl wore a mask, her figure and those jewel-like eyes made it obvious that her appearance must be extraordinary.

If he could personally dismember such a beautiful existence...

Lord Demon God would surely be pleased.

Thinking this, a cruel smile spread across Zack's face.

He looked eager to begin.

"Little girl, have you decided yet? Do you want your head cut off in a single strike? Or would you rather die in agony?"

His voice dripped with mockery.

In response, Mengxi merely tilted her head dismissively.

"Compared to those two boring choices, I prefer a third option."

"Oh? And what's that?"

"Killing both of you."

As she spoke, she slowly raised her silver sword.

The tip pointed directly at Zack's forehead.

The gesture instantly twisted Zack's face with malice.

The savagery in his black eyes intensified.

"Kill us?! You? A mere mid-stage fifth-tier?! Both of us are sixth-tier! Don't overestimate yourself, little bitch!"

"Why don't you try and find out?"

"You—! Fine! Then let's try!"

"Calm down, Zack."

Just as Zack was about to release his power, Elbino stopped him.

Maintaining an elegant demeanor, he met the silver-haired girl's beautiful eyes.

"As expected of the Child of Destiny. You're still calm even now. We know you're powerful. You've defeated sixth-tier Abyss Demons despite being below their level. But we're humans. We're different from those fools who only know brute force. The methods you use against Abyss Demons may not work on us."

"And?"

"And if you truly wanted to defeat us, you should've attacked earlier."

"Why?"

"Because my companions have already arrived."

As soon as those words fell—

A cruel smile appeared on Elbino's face.

The next moment—

Two more black-cloaked figures rapidly rushed toward them from the distance!

They were clearly members of the Heavenly Punishment Holy Church as well.

Upon receiving Elbino's summons, they had hurried over from elsewhere in the fortress area.

Their purpose was simple.

To guarantee the complete elimination of the Child of Destiny.

The moment Mengxi noticed the approaching figures, her expression visibly darkened.

Seeing that change, Elbino's grin became even more arrogant.

"Hahahaha!! Regretting it now is pointless! You have even less hope than before!"

As he spoke, Elbino tightened his grip on his twin scythes and assumed an offensive stance.

Black battle aura surged wildly around him.

It condensed into a suit of dark energy armor that wrapped around his body.

The atmosphere instantly became suffocating.

Clearly—

Elbino intended to launch a coordinated attack once his companions arrived.

This would ensure that Mengxi could be captured alive.

The next instant—

"BOOM!!!"

Accompanied by two earth-shaking explosions—

Under the expectant gazes of Elbino and Zack, two black figures suddenly descended from the sky!

They crashed heavily into the ground, kicking up massive clouds of dust!

Seizing the opportunity, Elbino immediately shouted:

"Now! Move— Move? Huh?!?!"

Move my ass!

However—

Before he could finish speaking, Elbino's pupils suddenly shrank.

His words were forcibly swallowed back down.

Because he had discovered an unbelievable fact.

As the dust settled...

Under the dumbfounded stares of the two black-robed men, the two reinforcements from the Heavenly Punishment Holy Church finally revealed themselves.

Only...

Their condition was just a tiny bit different from what Elbino had imagined.

Not exactly full of life.

But they were definitely resting in peace.

At this moment, the two sixth-tier experts of the Heavenly Punishment Holy Church had somehow landed headfirst into the ground.

Their skulls had shattered.

Brains were splattered everywhere.

Dead beyond any possibility of being deader.

Mengxi: ...

Elbino & Zack: ...What the fuck is going on here?!?!

Instantly—

An eerie silence settled over the scene.

Mengxi was stunned.

The two black-robed men were dumbfounded.

The battlefield became so quiet that a pin drop could be heard.

The only sound came from several blood-red butterflies fluttering beside the corpses.

Fwish~ Fwish~

The butterflies were beautiful.

And absolutely horrifying.