At the same moment, the sky over the Demon Domain darkened.
The girl’s appearance altered the heavens themselves; stars and sun were swallowed by darkness.
She looked as though she had been sculpted from living shadow, always giving Gabriella a strange sense of familiarity, yet she couldn’t place who the girl actually was.
Gabriella took a few cautious steps forward, trying to close the distance to this being radiating overwhelming pressure.
Unexpectedly, the girl completely ignored her.
She raised her hand, aimed straight at Philina, and in an instant unleashed a beam of pure black death-light!
BOOM——!
Gabriella had predicted it and blocked with her sword.
The shockwave shattered the ground behind her, carving the earth like peeling an apple.
The knights desperately raised their swords and poured magic into their defenses, yet the sheer force still sent these King-tier warriors stumbling backward in disarray, nearly unable to withstand the aftershock.
Philina’s legs gave out completely.
She stared blankly at Gabriella and the girl before her.
“All of you, run. I’ll hold her back,” Gabriella said calmly.
“Lady Gabriella, what are you saying?!”
“Run for your lives. Go back the way we came. Leave the Demon Domain.”
“……”
The knights exchanged stunned glances.
They could at least trade a few blows with the earlier armored titan, but this demon girl radiating lethal danger was an enemy they had no hope of fighting.
The Seventh Knight Captain especially felt this way.
He had originally thought demons were nothing more than barbarians, yet this place was a nest of horrors.
Forbidden magic that would be branded taboo among humans looked like child’s play before this dark power.
The demonic armors alone had already exhausted them, and now an even more terrifying foe stood before them.
“Lady Gabriella… we will remember you.”
“Damn it, we can’t do anything!”
“Take care, Lady Gabriella. I will report everything to His Majesty the Holy King.”
The Seventh Knight Captain turned and fled without looking back.
Several other knights quickly followed.
Of course, Gabriella hadn’t told them how to actually escape.
At this point, it was up to fate.
Now it was time to deal with the thing in front of her.
The girl’s appearance and the power she wielded were nearly identical to Isabella’s from eight years ago.
She wasn’t actually that strong.
What truly bothered Gabriella, however, was the girl’s attitude.
She unleashed crushing pressure and murderous intent that terrified every human present, yet she harbored no killing intent toward Gabriella at all.
She merely looked at her, puzzled, as though silently asking, Why are you protecting humans?
Yet Gabriella had never once seen this girl in the Demon King’s Castle.
She didn’t even know who—or what—she was.
A bold idea formed in Gabriella’s mind.
She was curious about this silver-haired demon girl who gave off such a familiar aura.
Perhaps this girl held the truth about the Evil God.
“Guess I’ll have to get a little serious,” Gabriella muttered, brushing dust off her cloak before removing it entirely, revealing the dress beneath.
It wasn’t the most practical for combat, but unlike the other knights, Gabriella didn’t need wide, sweeping movements.
Just when she thought everyone had fled, two girls were still standing behind her.
Ice Saint Tina, and Second Knight Captain Philina—the very girl who had challenged her to a duel earlier.
Tina lowered her head.
A few seconds later, she declared with unshakable resolve:
“Lady Gabriella, this time I will absolutely not run. I will fight by your side until my very last breath!”
“……” Gabriella was momentarily speechless.
Far from being afraid, Tina’s fighting spirit burned brighter than ever.
“Lady Gabriella, I will keep fighting until the end and get you out of here safely. Otherwise, I would be unworthy of the title 【Ice Saint】.”
“I… me too,” Philina said, head bowed.
Gabriella had just saved her life.
She had no idea how she could possibly abandon her and flee alone—even if she had genuinely doubted Gabriella at first.
Gabriella almost laughed from sheer exasperation.
She had never intended for these two to throw their lives away! If anything actually happened to them, how was she supposed to explain it to Elsa…?
Hey, sis, while I was out I accidentally got a bunch of knight captains killed and captured?
That sounded exactly like something a demon spy would do!
She really didn’t want to be misunderstood.
But it seemed she couldn’t talk these two humans out of it now.
Any further words would just waste time.
With no other choice, Gabriella reluctantly accepted their resolve.
Tina attacked first.
She and Philina once again displayed flawless teamwork.
Tina sprinted across the ground, closing in on the girl and launching a feint with a slash of sword pressure—easily dodged.
Immediately after, Philina’s crimson magic arrows followed, actually striking the girl’s shoulder.
The girl showed no trace of fear.
She raised the arm wrapped in 【Shadow】, and the black mist condensed into a massive claw that shot toward Tina like a runaway train.
Tina tried to evade, but the claw was too fast.
She had no choice but to take the blow head-on.
A few seconds later, the wound on the girl’s shoulder vanished completely—Philina’s arrows had been utterly ineffective.
After being hurled back by the claw, Tina desperately formed layer after layer of ice shields to cushion the impact, yet she still collapsed to her knees, legs trembling, strength draining from her body.
The girl’s full attention was now on Tina.
Without anyone noticing, her pristine white legs had been encased in ice, temporarily locking her in place.
Suddenly, a flash of silver streaked through the air. A silver blade slashed toward her delicate, exposed neck.
CLANG——!
The demonic claw the girl summoned collided with Gabriella’s sword.
At that moment, a pair of radiant silver-white wings unfurled from Gabriella’s back.
For a brief instant, the two forces were perfectly matched!
“Who exactly are you?”
“…E…vil…”
Something escaped the girl’s lips.
“An Evil God? Do you know Isabella?”
“Com…plete… Mas…ter…”
“I’m really sorry, but I still can’t let you get close to Lady Demon King.”
Gabriella had originally wanted to try communicating, but now she was certain—this “phantom” had no capacity for conversation.
Talking to her was truly like playing a piano for a cow.
“Then let’s meet again if fate allows it.”
The silver wings behind Gabriella suddenly flared with even brighter light.
The ground where they were locked in stalemate was bathed in silver radiance.
A clear, sharp SCREEEEEE of metal rang out. Silver-white brilliance erupted skyward like a volcanic explosion, manifesting as a colossal silver-white blade that tore through the barrier protecting the Demon Domain and ripped apart the darkened sky.
When the light faded, only the girl’s gradually dissipating husk remained.
Just when Gabriella thought it was over, the girl reached out with her shadow-wrapped arm, grasped Gabriella’s hand, and gently touched the black ring on her ring finger with slender fingers.
“You…?! ”
Suddenly, the shadow ribbons coiled around the girl’s arm writhed like a living viper and burrowed straight into the ring.
Before she completely vanished, the girl’s cherry lips curved into a warm, gentle smile.
…
At the same time, on the plain behind the Demon King’s Castle, several hundred meters from the battlefield.
The Demon King’s army led by Isabella had just arrived.
The moment news reached her that human invaders had assaulted the castle, Isabella had immediately mobilized the demon elite and rushed over.
Suddenly, a silver beam cleaved through the heavens, slicing apart the darkness!
That overwhelmingly familiar silver-white power—
Isabella’s heart violently skipped a beat.
Upon reaching the battlefield, she spread her wings and soared into the sky, gazing toward the figure of the human intruder.
“Gabriella… why is it you?”