Kaviel had just arrived when he saw Truth “comforting” her student, Rachel.
At this moment, Rachel kept wiping the corners of her eyes to stop the tears from streaming down her cheeks. Her expression was filled with anger, yet she looked deeply aggrieved.
As the squad captain who gave orders, it was already humiliating enough to be taken down by a demon first thing.
But to be cruelly mocked by the very criminal being escorted? That was unbearable!
Yes, I’m a bit weak, so what? Even so, I’m not someone you can mock. What’s your status compared to mine?
Desperate to reclaim her dignity, Rachel shot Truth a furious glare, silently telling her to back off.
Truth only laughed harder, wearing a teasing smirk as she reached out and patted Rachel’s head, who was half-kneeling on the ground before her.
“Tsk tsk, such a little weakling who can’t bear to lose face.”
Enough is enough! Rachel slapped Truth’s hand away and was about to grit her teeth and push her off when she suddenly heard her teacher’s voice from behind:
“Rachel, no rudeness!”
Kaviel had taken command of Rachel’s squad with the main force and was now attempting to track down the fleeing Desire Demon. The bodies of the two Shadow Demons had been properly collected as well.
Just like the small monsters in dungeons, the materials harvested from demons could be used to craft many powerful magical items.
“Hah, my teacher’s here, you’re finished!”
Rachel didn’t push Truth away but directly accused her, sneering coldly, because she knew her teacher hated demons the most in the world— and hated those who kept company with demons the second most!
If she didn’t have to escort her to the army camp, her teacher would probably have torn that person to pieces on the spot.
Hmm… With her teacher backing her up, Rachel began contemplating the fate of the two priests.
The High Priestess Tia had just saved her, so maybe she deserved a lighter sentence.
But this one named Truth, who cowardly released a thick fog on the carriage and prevented other demon hunters from coming to her rescue?
She deserved a heavy sentence, definitely a heavy sentence!
“Ah, it’s you, the demon hunter who always wears a helmet,” Truth recognized Kaviel and greeted him proactively.
Heh, trying to cozy up? Rachel stood up, dusted herself off, crossed her arms, and looked on as if enjoying a good show.
If her own teacher wouldn’t side with her, what chance did this one have?
“Haha, you actually remember me? I’m quite happy about that. And the High Priestess Tia is here too.”
Kaviel, who had seen Truth from afar, smiled cheerfully and gave Tia a knightly salute.
Tia returned the salute, and the two exchanged greetings amicably, leaving Rachel slightly stunned on the sidelines.
Why… would her teacher recognize these two priests, and why was the atmosphere so relaxed?
With her teacher’s level of discernment, she should have easily detected the lingering demonic aura on Truth.
Could it be that the teacher relaxed her guard just because the other was a priest? Thinking this, Rachel quickly tugged at Kaviel to warn him:
“Teacher, this one has a demon’s aura on her!”
“Yes, I know.”
Kaviel replied, then continued to ask Truth if she intended to visit the army camp, since she had once said she would come.
Truth readily agreed. She wanted to see the level of the Demon-Hunting Army under the Life Goddess and also find out what the Life Goddess was planning.
The conversation continued pleasantly…
“Eh?” Rachel froze in place. Why was her teacher so indifferent toward her?
–
In the late afternoon, just before dusk, Suna walked out of the Dea Underground Labyrinth looking downcast.
No matter what, she couldn’t compete.
Those damn adventurers swept through like a swarm of locusts, leaving nothing behind. Forget the monsters— they didn’t even spare the common burrowing lizards.
And those were just wild animals! They chopped them in half vertically!
It was utterly depressing.
And still, they weren’t satisfied with just the treasures in the chests. They carried the entire wooden treasure boxes to the Dea City marketplace to sell. There was even a long line forming outside the boss room on the labyrinth’s first floor, with mercenaries charging twenty silver coins to cut the line.
So Suna had spent the entire afternoon and only managed to claim six small monsters, never even seeing the first-floor boss.
But for a lone wolf like her, that was already a pretty good haul. After all, the other adventurers moved in parties of four or more—sharing good fortune and breaking up in times of trouble.
“Maybe I should wait until Reg and Truth have time to come together. But right now, one is the backup hero and the other is the saintess— they’re both really busy. Come to think of it, the only one who’s even willing to pay attention to me is the demon on Truth’s body…”
Sighing, she went to the spot where she first met Ariel, but Ariel was nowhere to be found.
Sigh, another busy person, huh? Fine, I’ll just take the carriage and check out that small hill before dark.
Suna hadn’t even used a few of her High-Quality Potions as she emerged from the mist.
In fact, Ariel was actually asleep on an old tree nearby…
–
On the Dea Plateau east of Dea City, after parking the carriage, Suna climbed the small hill and gazed at the thinning mist on the horizon.
The sunset was slowly descending beside the mist—it was undeniably beautiful.
“What on earth happened here? It stinks!”
After enjoying the sunset, Suna turned around, pointing at a large patch of grass stained black by an unknown liquid. The smell was bloody, yet somehow not quite.
Her intuition told her this was the place Ariel had described.
The precious Soul Blood of the profaned demon had been casually scattered here by Truth, turning the nearby landscape into a grim sight.
The profaned demon’s corpse was gone— if Suna had seen it, she probably wouldn’t even dare get close.
Enduring the stench, she searched around and soon found Ariel’s magic wand—the upper half broken by Truth’s own hand:
“So beautiful… is this what excellent quality looks like?”
Though half broken, the golden Fire Rune patterns on the wand’s surface still gleamed brilliantly.
The mysterious crimson Crystal embedded at the top flickered and pulsed like a living thing. Just holding it, Suna could feel a surging, pure fire elemental power.
“So… so extreme!”
Not far away, she found the lower half of the wand and noticed the ancient runes carved on the grip were all designed to enhance the fire element’s destructive power.
There were no runes for stabilizing mana concentration or speeding up casting.
How scared must Ariel have been that her attack power wasn’t enough?
Wait a moment, this residual aura is…?
Trying to piece Ariel’s wand back together, Suna soon sensed a familiar aura at the break.
Looking closely, Suna guessed that a powerful claw had torn Ariel’s wand apart.
It seemed to belong to a demon— and she had felt it before!
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