Estelle’s bright, pale golden eyes fixed on the armored figure.
She watched as the figure stood up, then turned around and reached for the sword she had dropped.
At that moment, the demon that had been knocked away roared in fury and charged back.
But the armored figure moved deliberately, unfazed.
As if it didn’t consider the demon worth any attention—people wouldn’t be cautious around a flying mosquito because a casual slap could kill it.
The demon’s mental influence ability had a great effect on both Milly and Estelle, especially on Milly, whose goddess’s protection was instantly shattered.
But this special ability had no effect whatsoever on the armored figure, which unsettled the demon.
Though low in intelligence, it was not without awareness.
The armored figure grasped the equipment Estelle had dropped—the silver-gray longsword—and weighed it in her hand.
Her utter disregard for demons enraged the demon beyond measure!
“Roar!”
The demon was already right in front of her when she finally swung the blade.
Estelle tried to open her eyes wide to see clearly, but overwhelming fatigue kept pulling her eyelids down. Just as she was about to fall asleep—
The demon was cleaved cleanly in half…
In an instant!
The girl only caught a glimpse of a slender silver thread cutting through the demon at a speed invisible to the naked eye.
At that moment, Estelle could no longer resist her exhaustion and closed her eyes to sleep.
The armored figure slowly withdrew her sword from the downward chop.
From the demon’s split midsection, red veins sprouted from the left half of its abdomen, plunging fiercely into the right half, attempting to pull the body back together.
Enya sneered and said, “Did you ask for my permission?”
She pressed her thigh down slightly, transforming her hand into dragon claws that plunged deeply into the demon’s body, pulling out its heart.
Black ichor gushed forth.
The red and blue veins twisted into a pulsating heart, restless even in Enya’s palm.
Those vein-like tendrils wrapped around Enya’s arm, trying to envelop her completely.
With a slight exertion, Enya crushed them.
As the heart shriveled, the veins withered like dead vines, drooping utterly, and with a gentle motion, they turned to ash.
Demons—beings of the spirit world—feed on souls.
Or rather… they feed on the emotions within souls that are similar to their own.
The more they consume, the stronger they become, as if completing some form of aggregation ritual.
Eventually becoming demon gods?
They also draw strength from emotions, allowing them to influence the minds of living beings.
This is an innate talent of demons, but unfortunately, this ability was ineffective against Enya.
Each type of demon carries a specific name. This one was called—
Nightmare.
After the demon’s heart in Enya’s palm dissolved, only a wooden comb remained.
It was from a very ancient time, and after losing the demon’s possession, it could no longer resist the erosion of time.
Turning her hand, Enya emptied the fragments onto the ground and then walked toward Estelle.
The thick plate armor shimmered, then dissolved into a stream of light that condensed into a small point.
It flew to the long earlobe revealed beneath her silver hair, transforming into a reflective black teardrop earring.
At this moment, she fully embodied the appearance of the Dragon Princess.
A black halter-style lining hugged her curves, supporting a pair of full white “rabbit breasts.”
Her pale grayish-white high-slit gown, also off-shoulder with a halter neck, was cinched at the waist with deep brown leather, shaping her slender waist.
Her pink-white shoulders were bare, with a diamond-shaped cutout on her chest and a matching diamond opening on her back, revealing a pair of small dragon wings the size of fans.
The skirt’s back hem was slit at the tail, fastened with two buttons to adjust the size.
The slits in the skirt allowed for ease of movement, exposing smooth, shapely long legs clad in black lace garter stockings.
The gaps showed a flash of tender, pale thigh.
On her feet were brown high-heeled boots.
Enya’s nails were crimson claws.
Her palms and forearms were covered in fine black scales that gradually shifted from black to gray and then to a shimmering pastel pink—like wearing a pair of exquisite long gloves.
Crystals pink scales also adorned her brow, the corners of her eyes, and her cheekbones—these soft scales felt almost like skin.
Between her silver-white strands sprouted a pair of black dragon horns.
Behind her, a fleshy dragon tail swayed gently, and her golden-red vertical pupils exuded an imposing majesty, lending her beauty a strange, exotic allure.
Enya sat down beside Estelle.
Estelle was already asleep.
Her delicate face had regained some color.
The furrowed brow was now relaxed, and she no longer appeared to be having nightmares.
“Estelle…”
Enya reached out carefully to stroke the soft cheek, wary of scratching it with her claws.
This child was so much like Enya’s younger self that it felt as if she was looking at her past.
Apart from the little one she had managed to birth—Rosily—she couldn’t think of anyone else…
But I’ve only ever hatched Rosily!
So, there was only one possible creator of this child—
Vivienne.
“So this is the ‘surprise’ you were talking about, huh?”
For Enya, there was little joy, but the surprise was definitely overwhelming.
Enya hadn’t come straight here on the way but had wandered through the forest for some time, hunting stronger magical beasts and doing some postnatal rehabilitation.
If she had delayed any longer, it was very likely…
She lifted Estelle into her arms, letting the girl’s head rest against her chest.
Enya wrapped her hands around the girl’s thin, fragile body.
“Vivienne used Alchemy to create you, didn’t she? But why didn’t she send anyone to protect you? How could she just let you run off alone into such a dangerous place?”
“How… how could she be so irresponsible? No matter how busy she is with her career…”
“Sigh…”
Since Enya’s blood ultimately brought this girl into the world, Estelle was her daughter by blood.
And also Rosily’s… older sister?
Perhaps after Rosily’s birth, Enya had become much more sentimental.
Enya stood up with Estelle in her arms, about to leave, but suddenly remembered something and walked over to the shoulder-length chestnut-haired goddess priestess lying among the flowers.
She recognized Milly because Milly was her client.
Milly had come here to gather the black Anling flower needed for potions.
Enya had once cultivated it here and knew the route well.
She had earned a processing fee, material fee, and information fee—a triple profit.
But Enya hadn’t expected the northern mountain range to have become so dangerous.
She had never seen demons here before; demons usually appeared only in crowded places.
Because they fed on people.
Enya poured a bottle of holy water into Milly.
Watching her drink it down, Enya winced.
This was holy water personally made by the Elven Saintess.
Although Enya still had quite a lot, the thought that it could fetch tens of gold coins a bottle made her frown involuntarily.
No profit yet, but a huge loss already!
Milly’s nightmare curse was lifted, and the expression on her face softened.
Enya picked her up, tucking her under one arm.
Behind her, dragon wings slowly grew to their normal proportions.
She leapt lightly and then flapped her wings, flying above the Ruined City.
She soared straight toward the stone wall ceiling, but naturally, she didn’t actually collide with it.
Instead, she slipped inside and rose above the ground, reaching the northern mountain range.
This was the first time Enya had flown with these wings in the real world.
She turned her body, locking her gaze on a spot deep within the forest.
Enya carried the two of them and flew toward that place.