Vol 4. Chapter 98: The Past — Part Two

It had to be said,

the golden gemstone Anze had brought was extraordinarily effective.

With the powerful perception abilities of Mebili and the other two peerless powerhouses, combined with the gemstone’s innate ability to resonate with Shadow of Silence Power, even though the Great Winter Forest was unimaginably vast, the three of them soaring through the sky quickly located the anomalous point where the concentration of Shadow of Silence Power was highest.

In other words,

the location of the Demon God’s dependent.

After confirming the enemy’s coordinates,

the Holy Dragon King and his two companions simultaneously unleashed the vast and overwhelming power within their bodies.

Normally, because the power contained within them was far too immense, ✧ NоvеIight ✧ (Original source) none of them dared to casually use it within their own territories.

But things were different now.

Inside the lifeless Great Winter Forest, even if they released their full strength, they would hardly cause any meaningful destruction.

Accompanied by a heaven-shaking aura, the three peerless powerhouses charged directly into the northern ice fields of the Great Winter Forest.

And there,

amid the endless frozen plains,

they found the target of their journey.

However,

the instant they saw the legendary Demon God’s dependent, all three of them shuddered and froze in place, momentarily at a complete loss.

The Holy Dragon King, who had the largest body of the three, saw his dragon pupils contract sharply, his pale-golden eyes filling with shock and disbelief...

?!!

This...

This?

“She is... the Demon God’s dependent?!”

Even Holy Dragon King Mebili, who had seen countless things throughout his life and bore the prestigious title of Guardian of Continental Order, could not help letting out an exclamation.

The reason he was so shocked

was because the image of this Demon God’s dependent was completely different from what he had imagined.

She was utterly unlike the hideous monster with a blue face, protruding fangs, razor-sharp claws, and a revolting appearance that Mebili had pictured.

Reflected in his dragon eyes

was a breathtakingly beautiful black-haired girl.

...

At that moment,

the black-clad figure was sitting quietly at the edge of an icy cliff.

The girl possessed an enviable head of long, satin-smooth black hair, while the ends of her hair were dyed a vivid crimson, red as blood.

Her long hair fluttered in the wind, adding a trace of bewitching beauty to her presence.

Delicately arched brows framed brilliant eyes whose every glance seemed capable of stealing the soul.

Her nose was fine and exquisite, her skin as pale as snow, and her red lips resembled a solitary crimson plum blossom blooming against a field of white, proud and alluring.

Her pair of blood-red eyes, clear and brilliant like rubies, seemed to possess a strange power capable of captivating the heart...

Her figure was tall and graceful.

Her jade-like arms were soft and slender, her long legs smooth and perfectly proportioned, her calves delicate and sleek.

Combined with her fine, tender skin and almost flawless beauty, she stood with an elegance that seemed unreal.

A face like that of an immortal maiden, paired with such a perfect figure, truly made her seem like a goddess descended into the mortal world.

Even the crude beast-hide coat wrapped around her delicate body could not conceal that heart-stirring beauty.

Faced with such an incomparably beautiful woman,

even Holy Dragon King Mebili, who had seen countless beauties in his lifetime, could not help staring blankly.

“Who... who is she? Why is she here?”

Mebili murmured unconsciously.

Of course, the appearance of such a stunning, goddess-like woman in the middle of a dead and silent ice field was suspicious beyond question.

And yet, a trace of self-doubt still arose within the Holy Dragon King’s heart.

Had they...

found the wrong enemy?

Could a girl like this really be...

a monster known as a Demon God’s dependent?

Shouldn’t a Demon God’s dependent be some huge, hideous, savage creature?

How could it possibly be such a beautiful girl?

These thoughts surfaced uncontrollably in Mebili’s mind.

However,

as experienced powerhouses who had weathered countless storms, Mebili and his two companions quickly recovered from their initial shock and immediately rejected that idea.

“No. That’s wrong! There is definitely something wrong with this girl!”

After carefully sensing the aura surrounding the black-haired girl, Mebili’s dragon pupils contracted violently.

The doubt in his eyes vanished at once, replaced by indescribable solemnity and the expression of someone facing a terrifying enemy.

Because

the oppressive energy surrounding the girl

was precisely the legendary Shadow of Silence Power...

This girl was the source of that Shadow of Silence Power.

She was the cause of the abnormal changes in the atmosphere throughout the Great Winter Forest.

“This girl really is the Demon God’s dependent?”

If that was the case,

were they supposed to destroy her immediately?

Although Mebili disliked doing something as cruel as destroying a beautiful flower,

for the sake of continental peace, he, as a guardian, would never show mercy.

Terrifying pale-golden magical power began gathering between Mebili’s dragon claws.

But unlike before, the Holy Dragon King did not rush to attack.

Instead, he stared at the black-haired girl with extreme vigilance.

Unlike his two human companions,

Mebili, as a member of the Dragon Race, possessed far more powerful perception and a terrifying instinct for detecting danger.

After recovering from his initial shock, Mebili immediately calmed himself and carefully sensed the black-haired girl’s condition.

There was no doubt

that the girl contained terrifying Shadow of Silence Power within her body.

Yet on the surface, neither the concentration of that power nor the energy fluctuations around her seemed particularly strong.

At most, they were around the Sixth Tier...

For three Peak Eighth-Tier powerhouses like them, that was hardly worth mentioning.

And yet,

the invisible pressure coming from her very soul made Mebili increasingly uneasy.

Furthermore,

according to the ancient records, living beings who possessed Shadow of Silence Power would gradually lose their reason, becoming bloodthirsty and insane.

Without sufficient strength, it should have been impossible for someone possessing Shadow of Silence Power to remain rational.

Therefore, in Mebili’s view,

the black-haired girl’s strength was definitely far beyond the Sixth Tier.

And if even he, the Holy Dragon King, could not see through her true level,

that could only mean one thing.

Her strength might even surpass his own...

The moment he realized this, Mebili drew in a deep breath.

His dragon claws clenched tightly, and the immense magical power inside his body began surging wildly.

For the first time in his life, he entered a state of full combat readiness.

As he watched this unknown black-haired girl with extreme caution,

Mebili’s mind began racing.

He was thinking about how to avoid fighting an existence like this.

Was there any possibility of reaching an agreement with her?

Could she simply remain in the northern region and refrain from heading south?

After all, this black-haired girl did not seem like the legendary Demon God’s dependents described in old stories.

She did not appear mindless or incapable of communication...

If reconciliation was possible,

that would naturally be best.

If it was not...

then with the three of them at their current strength, could they defeat her?

And even if they could,

what price would they have to pay?

However,

while Mebili was still thinking, Anze, the Heavenly Brave beside him, could no longer restrain himself.

After carefully confirming through the golden gemstone’s resonance that the black-haired girl before them was indeed the ‘Demon God’s dependent,’ intense fighting spirit erupted directly from Anze’s eyes.

Driven by his absolute sense of justice,

fiery crimson Holy Aura burst out of his body like a flood breaking through a dam.

The terrifying shockwave instantly scattered the blizzard above the ice field, dyeing the sky itself crimson.

The vast fluctuations of Holy Aura made the heavens tremble, the earth split apart, and even space itself developed faint cracks.

Even magical beasts thousands of miles away in the Great Winter Forest could sense the terrifying release of Anze’s aura, and they immediately scattered in panic...

Raising a longsword radiating dazzling red light and wrapped in the Church’s Holy Flame,

Anze pointed the blade directly at the black-haired girl’s forehead, showing absolutely no hesitation or pity.

“Don’t think disguising yourself as a human girl will fool my eyes!”

Under the slightly stunned gazes of his two companions,

Anze solemnly declared his judgment to the girl.

Just as the three of them had once faced the Demon King.

“Dependent of the Demon God, I will not allow you to endanger the lives of this continent! Right here...

be destroyed!!”

With that,

Anze tightened his grip on the holy sword, entered Holy Battle Body mode, and charged at the black-haired girl without another word.

At the same time, he signaled Mebili and Helitia behind him to coordinate their attacks.

“His Holiness the Pope already warned us! Against a monster like this, we must strike first! Finish her before she completes her preparations! Mebili, Helitia! Quickly, attack with me!”

...

Faced with the Holy Flame rushing toward her at terrifying speed, a flame powerful enough to purify all evil,

the black-haired girl merely glanced indifferently at the approaching Anze.

She herself remained seated quietly on the shattered edge of the icy cliff.

Her crimson eyes remained perfectly calm from beginning to end...

Like a beautiful doll completely devoid of emotion...

In contrast to the black-haired girl,

the moment Anze launched his attack, his companions Helitia and Mebili immediately revealed startled expressions.

Mebili, in particular, could not stop himself from roaring furiously.

“Wait! You hot-blooded idiot!!!”

At that moment,

Mebili gritted his teeth in anger.

To tell the truth,

even though Anze had been his close friend for many years and a comrade who had shared countless hardships with him,

Mebili still suddenly felt a powerful urge to slam this ‘World-Saving Brave’ into the ground and grind him across it.

Because

it was precisely this attack from Anze

that completely dragged all of them into an irredeemable situation.

They had lost any possibility of resolving the matter peacefully.

And a monster unlike anything they had ever encountered before

had been angered by them...

...

...

The instant he saw his companion attack without hesitation, Mebili tried to stop the impulsive, hot-blooded Brave.

Unfortunately, before the Holy Dragon King could release his power,

the black-haired girl, having sensed hostility, tilted her head slightly.

Her crimson eyes narrowed.

For the first time,

the girl’s expression changed.

And with that subtle change in her gaze,

the atmosphere around them abruptly transformed.

A suffocatingly cold pressure, like the scythe of the Grim Reaper already resting against one’s throat, suddenly descended from above and wrapped itself around the Holy Dragon King.

A seemingly endless torrent of crimson Shadow of Silence Power surged outward from the black-haired girl in every direction!

In an instant, it smashed apart the powerful Holy Aura domain belonging to Anze that had flooded heaven and earth...

?!!

Th-this is?!

“N-no! Come back! Anze!!!”

For the first time in hundreds of years,

Mebili lost his composure and shouted desperately toward his companion.

Unfortunately,

it was already too late.

In the next instant,

under the dumbfounded gazes of Mebili and Helitia, the ice field exploded apart.

Countless blood-red butterflies surged out from beneath the frozen ground...

The swarm blotted out the sky and instantly engulfed Anze.

They devoured his Holy Flame.

And then,

with unstoppable force,

they devoured his entire body as well.

The Brave who had slain the Demon King,

the hero who had saved the world,

the Peak Eighth-Tier powerhouse known as Anze,

did not even have time to let out a single scream

before he was swallowed whole by the endless sea of blood-red butterflies...