Bet?
That’s impossible.
Aoluola held her breath, pondering the other party’s identity while thinking about how to leave herself a way out.
If what the other party said was true, it meant she knew Sister, and they seemed to be quite familiar… If she dared to risk it and bet on that lie, the nature of things would shift from unintentional harm to the much graver crime of malicious injury.
But if what the other party said was false, and she wasn’t really familiar with Sister, only having found out her information from somewhere… No!
She must know my Sister!
Aoluola’s heart pounded wildly. Suddenly, she realized she’d overlooked something crucial—how had the other party recognized her!
She checked her disguise again, from head to toe, tightly wrapped, mask unblemished. Apart from the pale green hair hanging at her chest, there was no personal feature visible. Thinking back, the other party had only called out her name after she spoke.
Eliminating all impossibilities, whatever remains, no matter how unbelievable, must be the truth—
The other party not only knew Sister, but knew her very well.
So well, she could recognize her just from her voice, hair color, and general figure.
But!
Aoluola really didn’t know this white-haired girl named Vyea.
There was no such person in her memory. Otherwise, with Vyea’s outstanding aura, looks, and that dangerous edge, she would definitely have left an impression.
Correction, a deep impression.
Aoluola walked in the darkness of the Ice Cavern, circling around the completely unconcerned Vyea standing at the center, moving slowly.
She moved without a sound, the wind lifting her black cloak like a delicate willow in a breeze—if you ignored the deadly Sword in her hand.
As a High-rank Shadow Assassin, her assassination skills were already honed to perfection.
Whether it was among the High Demonkin surrounded by countless fiends, or on the grand halls guarded by thousands of human Generals, Aoluola had successfully completed assassinations.
Yet Vyea, alone before her, seemingly full of openings, still gave her the same crushing pressure as that time she sneaked into the Capital, attempting to assassinate a Court Official under the guard of hundreds of Palace Knights.
This was a formidable foe.
“But only the dead can keep secrets.”
Aoluola thought to herself. She’d heard this saying from the Captain back when she was the irreplaceable assassin in the Hero Squad.
Now that she was sure the other party knew Sister, she couldn’t go for a kill anymore. The best plan was retreat.
After all, the other party had no evidence against her. If she slipped away now, she could simply deny everything later.
Aoluola’s eyes brightened as she came up with an idea, and immediately put it into action—turning swiftly, she prepared to sneak away.
This mission should be left to those folks outside.
Life and death are destined by fate, wealth is determined by the heavens; whether you live or die depends on your own fortune.
Before leaving, seeing the silly white-haired girl still standing there waiting for her to surrender, Aoluola couldn’t help but raise her middle finger from afar, her heart full of disdain.
“Tch, since you know my Sister, I’ll spare your life this time. Be grateful for my mercy! Hmph-haha!”
Gana!
With a wave of her sleeve, Aoluola turned and strode away confidently—then, with a loud bang, she crashed into an ice wall. The sudden pain made tears spring reflexively to her eyes.
Where did this ice wall come from!
While her mind was still reeling in confusion, a shadow loomed over her.
Vyea, who’d been standing in the center of the Ice Cavern, now appeared directly in her escape route, looking down from above. Those green eyes gleamed coldly, and the next words sent her plummeting into the abyss.
“When did you start imagining I hadn’t prepared any tricks to stop you from escaping?”
Damn!
She knew it—this scheming, obviously lying, white-haired cockroach wasn’t so easy to handle!
Aoluola gritted her teeth against the pain, drew the Sword from under her coat and stabbed at Vyea, but she had no intention of mutual destruction. The moment the Sword thrust towards Vyea’s chest, she pushed off and tried to escape using the momentum!
First rule of assassin survival: when in doubt, charge recklessly.
If you can’t, always be ready to run—always leave yourself a retreat.
“Run as much as you like.”
Vyea curled her lips in a faint smile, pulling out the Sword from her chest and twirling it in the air as if she were spinning fireworks.
Your moves here are pretty good, but the thought of me being the winner later just makes me want to laugh.
Run!
Run for your life!
Aoluola felt like she’d met a monster. This white-haired Vyea was definitely not an ordinary human.
“Damn it, I was just here to steady the situation and prevent accidents in the hunt. How did I run into such a troublesome character!”
The key was, she’d never even heard that the Southern Territory hid such a figure.
That didn’t make sense.
A competent assassin must always have a grasp of her target. That’s why she’d gone through the passenger list of the Starlight Lily of the Valley in detail.
Including Vyea, though the Vyea on the list had the body of a little girl.
But with years of experience as an assassin in identifying and recognizing targets, she saw at a glance they were the same person.
But who would have thought that the adorable, not-even-weaned-looking little girl would turn out to be the biggest variable in this hunt.
Aoluola began to regret not bringing more people down to check out the situation. However, after the Mirage suddenly vanished, she had lost contact with those above, and was now temporarily unable to return to the surface.
As long as enough time passed, those above should realize something had gone wrong with this hunting plan.
“Hopefully, they hurry up and take the ship.”
Aoluola considered her current predicament, planning a new escape route in her heart.
Suddenly.
A familiar sword tip pressed against her neck, sending chills down her spine. In an instant, Aoluola’s body went rigid, not daring to move.
“The cat-and-mouse game is over,” Vyea said, pressing the Sword more firmly. “If you don’t want your Sister to receive a box every day containing pieces of her little sister’s body, you’d better throw away all your weapons now. Don’t play tricks. I know you have exactly thirteen Daggers hidden on you.”
Aoluola’s face turned pale, her lips tightly pressed together. Under this terrifying threat, she found she couldn’t even speak.
“Seems your conscience isn’t completely lost. You do still worry about your Sister,” Vyea said, pulling out a White Pearl from her pocket and saying calmly, “Mirage Demon, Mirrored Flowers, Water Moon can be lifted now.”
As soon as the words fell—
The Sword at her neck vanished, and Vyea’s figure dissolved like a shattered bubble.
The world spun and reformed around her.
What!
Aoluola stared in disbelief, reaching out with trembling hands to touch her unharmed neck. Suddenly, everything became clear.
How—how could this be?
Vyea had been standing all along on the bright, spacious ground at the center of the Ice Cavern, watching her quietly with those emerald eyes, without moving a single step.