As Milin charged forward, eight slender tentacles surged from the Shadow Demon’s back, shooting toward her.
These tentacles were extensions of its body, formed from pure magic power, as sharp as any blade.
“Hmph!”
Milin turned her palm into a blade and carved a Flame Wave through the air—the same move she had used to cut the two tentacles sprouting from the demon’s ribs earlier.
This time, she used both hands, slicing through six of the incoming tentacles in one breath—
But she couldn’t cut through the remaining two in time. She twisted her body at an angle, dodging their direct strikes, but they still severed a lock of her hair and tore off a piece of her skirt.
“Now I understand why no one has asked you to dance. The clothes you’re wearing are hardly ladylike.”
The Shadow Demon’s head had already reformed. He flashed a mocking smile toward the bleeding wound on Milin’s calf… It turned out that the tentacle which grazed her leg had not only taken a piece of her skirt but also a sliver of her flesh.
Milin was wearing a Culotte Skirt today—a trendy outfit that was easy to move in, but a bit out of place for a ball.
And as the demon said, some who wanted to invite her had given up, assuming from her odd attire that she had no intention of dancing.
“…”
‘I wasn’t here to dance anyway.’
Normally, Milin would have just brushed off such a taunt with a smile. But for some reason, hearing this guy’s self-righteous judgment sparked a nameless flame in her heart.
In an instant, she closed the distance and swung a hand blade at the Shadow Demon’s neck, one capable of severing his Shadow Tentacles in a flash.
“…!”
The demon hadn’t expected her to charge and attack without a moment’s hesitation after being wounded.
He barely dodged the strike… but a crimson scorch mark had already appeared on the Mana Barrier covering his neck.
‘This girl’s magic power is absurdly strong.’
That was the demon’s only thought at the moment. Having lived over a thousand years, he had amassed enough magic power within his body to rival an entire army…
Yet this mere sixteen-year-old girl could match him?
“This is your final warning. If you don’t surrender now, I can’t guarantee you’ll survive.”
“What nonsense are you spouting? That last attack must have worsened your leg wound—”
“—”
The demon scoffed at Milin’s warning. He looked down at her leg.
‘Where’s the wound?’
Her leg was clean and smooth, without a single scar.
“…What a nuisance.”
Milin lightly kicked off her High Heels. Then, barefoot on the ground, her Mana Soul Hue blazed forth without restraint.
“You piece of trash… daring to criticize my fashion sense… and wasting so much of my time.”
Her face dark, she twisted her wrists and cracked her knuckles. Amid the popping sounds, the Soul Hue swirling around her grew steadily darker.
Seeing her like this, the demon suddenly felt a primal shudder from the depths of his soul.
“You deserve a thousand deaths… and that still wouldn’t be enough!”
As her words fell, her fist slammed into the demon’s chest. The onlookers saw a dark red circle slowly emerge on the back of the demon’s formal wear.
“That’s…”
“Get back!”
Almost all the Elves present were nobles from the Sea of Trees, and as a magic-kin race, most of them could sense the violent, surging magic power about to erupt.
They fled from their spots in unison, a move that saved their own lives—the dark red circle bloomed into a Fire Pillar.
It pierced through the demon’s body and the rising barrier at the edge of the Venue, slamming straight into the Giant Tree “Nelf” and clashing fiercely with its mana barrier.
The pillar eventually dissipated… but the guests clearly heard the sound of the barrier covering the giant tree shattering.
“…”
The demon stared in disbelief at the charred hole in his chest, unable to speak. None of his tentacles had reacted to that blow… because it was simply too fast.
With a look of terror at the girl before him, he quickly vanished into the shadow at his feet.
“Where do you think you’re going?”
But Milin was faster. She grabbed the demon’s neck and yanked his half-sunk body back out of the muddy shadow beneath him.
“I’ve seen that trick plenty of times.”
“Ghk… ghkghk… cough!”
Milin tightened her grip. The demon couldn’t speak… because his throat was locked in a vice grip.
“Not talking? Looks like you haven’t given up on escaping. Since a hole through the chest didn’t kill you, I take it your kind’s vital spot is in the head. And since your whole body is made of magic power…”
As she spoke, she swept her other hand, cutting off the demon’s entire lower half.
“Ghk… gahk…”
“Does it hurt? It’s just a fake body… Ah, I see. So this is your chosen true form. So if the true form is damaged, even a Shadow Demon feels pain.”
Seeing the demon’s face twist in agony, Milin said with an air of realization.
With another wave, she sliced off all his tentacles at once. Severed from the main body, they fell to the ground, lingered for a moment, and then vanished without a trace.
“Gh… cough…”
“That didn’t hurt much? Those extended limbs don’t seem to matter much if you lose them.”
Milin nodded… then she cut off both his arms. As he writhed violently, she simply chopped off his neck, letting the entire torso thud to the ground.
“Once cut off from the head, the magic power slowly dissipates.”
With only his head left, the demon finally stopped struggling. Unable to speak, he cast a pleading look at Milin—
‘Spare me.’
“Don’t worry.” Milin of course understood that look. “I wasn’t planning to kill you anyway… I have a lot I want to ask you.”
She brought the head up to eye level and gave a small smile.
“Nefi… shouldn’t the guards stop her? The way she’s acting is a bit frightening.”
The Prince, watching everything unfold from the sidelines, spoke to Nephtalia standing beside him.
“Why stop her? Being merciless and unforgiving to enemies… Isn’t that cool?”
Unlike the troubled Prince, Nephtalia seemed to be thoroughly enjoying the show.
The musicians on the dais had stopped playing a while ago… Noticing this, she turned and shouted to the platform:
“Why did you stop? Keep playing! Switch to something that matches the atmosphere… Ah, play ‘Jade Triumph’! The piece played when we welcomed back the greatest Hero in Elf history!”
At their mistress’s command, the musicians hesitated for a moment… but eventually struck up the requested tune.
Amid the stirring melody, everyone’s eyes fixed on the red-haired girl holding a demon’s head aloft.