Irene joined the demons?
The moment that thought surfaced, Serena’s mind went completely blank.
Could this all be… her fault?
Serena and Irene had been childhood friends. Irene had always been great at making up stories—ones where characters often fell to darkness after being betrayed by family, lovers, or friends. Isn’t that exactly what was happening now?
Betrayed by her closest friend. Exiled by her own family. Misunderstood by the world. If Irene had turned evil and now sought revenge on all of humanity… it actually made perfect sense!
“It’s all my fault! I’m the reason Irene became a traitor!”
Compared to this, all their previous fights and fallings-out were trivial. But defecting to the demons? That was an entirely different matter—this was a matter of allegiance.
“How many people know about this?” Serena asked.
Paluma blinked, then shrugged. “How should I know? But it’s probably still classified. Aside from us, maybe only the guild master knows. He even had the photos delivered to you, Captain Serena. You should know what that means.”
There was still room to turn this around!
“Don’t worry, Serena,” said Reigelieve in her usual calm voice. “Irene-chan wouldn’t do something like that. And even if she did side with the demons, we still have a chance to bring her back.”
“Irene-chan most likely faked her allegiance in order to lure the demon infiltrators into our trap and help us wipe them out, right? You agree, don’t you, Serena?”
“Yes!”
Serena crushed the enchanted photo in her hand and declared firmly, “We’re acting under secret orders from the Marquis. We deliberately staged a fallout with Irene in order to bait the demons into contacting her—so we can wipe out every last one of those rats in one go!”
That’s right. Even if that wasn’t the truth, if Irene had really sided with the demons, then Serena would just have to explain it to her superiors like this: “It was all part of the Marquis’s master plan.”
Now then… how to win Irene back?
Looks like she’d have to find the Lawbook and hypnotize her. Yes, that’s the only way. That way, Irene would belong to her… forever.
Just thinking about it made her heart race and her face flush.
“…Were you able to identify the demons?” Serena asked.
Paluma nodded, giggling.
“We did~ And it’s a big catch! One of the top demon noble houses that produced multiple Demon Generals—the Blood Marquis clan, Bradfern! The current head, Froya, is among them. And with her… that infamous human traitor who worships the Demon King as a god—the cultist known as Soulblighter!”
“They’re after the ‘Lawbook of Endymion’ too?”
“Who knows? But that book’s been sealed inside the city for over a thousand years. Why would news of it suddenly leak now?” Paluma mused, pinching her chin. “Serena, we’d better be ready. This isn’t going to be simple.”
Reigelieve nodded. “This is the Sacred Magus King’s domain. Anything could happen.”
Serena nodded as well, the wind lifting her twin crimson ponytails like flames dancing in the breeze.
At the edge of her vision stood the White Tower at the center of the Mage City. Though she had no idea where Eileen was at the moment, everyone’s objective was surely the same.
“The Lawbook… I must get my hands on it!”
“Then I’ll put a collar on you!”
Next came the PvP battle against the southern gate guards and the drake defending the city. After the fight, Serena knelt beside the corpse of the wyvern, gasping for breath and leaning on her sword.
Her entire body was drenched in blood and grime. The battle had been thrillingly dangerous—she had barely managed to pull through.
The rogue Paluma wore a look of displeasure.
“Seriously, Captain? You guys are supposed to be an S-rank team, and it took that much effort just to get past a doorman? And what happened to the rumors saying you’re the ‘One-Slash Kill’ Sword Saint? Just now, all you did was rely on attack speed and flat damage bonuses—you weren’t even critting!”
“I—I recently swapped out some of my gear. You know, for a change of pace…”
Serena hurried to explain. The truth was, she’d found it nearly impossible to land critical hits anymore. Her crit rate was supposed to be 15%, but in practice, it was far lower—almost like her attacks were cursed never to crit.
Left with no choice, she’d changed her equipment before departure, replacing everything with gear that boosted attack speed and flat damage.
This was the kind of build that the old Serena would’ve looked down on the most! If you can one-shot something, why waste time shaving off damage bit by bit?
And yet now, she’d discovered that this was the only damage output she could still rely on. Her combat strength wasn’t what it used to be—but at least she could still deal some damage.
Paluma drooped her eyelids and spread her hands. “S-rank team? Hah. From what I’ve seen, you’re barely A-rank. Actually, maybe not even that. I mean, your gear’s top-of-the-line—full Tier-15 enchanted sets—and this is all you’ve got?”
“I’m only at +10…” Serena muttered, unable to refute her.
Paluma’s ridicule only made Serena more determined to bring Eileen back—no matter what it took!
She needed that spellbook filled with hypnosis magic!!
And seeing the shift in Serena’s expression, the rogue squinted ever so slightly, revealing a sinister smile.
*****
“Achoo!”
Eileen sneezed suddenly. Just before the second phase of the battle began, she was struck with the odd feeling of catching a cold. Was someone scheming against me again?
“Miss Eileen, could you go over the tactics for these knight armors?”
Froya’s voice brought Eileen back to the present.
She cleared her throat and said, “The knights stationed at the city gates are said to be the royal guard of Saint King Endymion. They were meant to welcome the king back from his conquests. Though their bodies have long decayed, their souls are fused with their armor, turning them into immortal magical beings.”
“To defeat them, you have to take down the red knight leading them. Once their commander is defeated, all the armored knights will cease movement for a period of time!”
Clarette raised a question: “But the red knight is in the back. How are we supposed to take it out first?”
“It’s simple. These armored knights are immune to taunts, but their behavior follows a pattern—they prioritize attacking the weakest target. In their eyes, the weak are unworthy to step onto the red carpet prepared for their sovereign.”
Eileen held up a finger and explained, “So I’ll act as the bait to draw their aggro. You guys focus everything on taking down that red monster!”
“Then what are we waiting for?”
Just as Eileen finished speaking, she was shoved forward by Froya—straight into the aggro range of the armored knights. The once-stationary knights lining both sides of the path instantly lit up with eerie green flames inside their helmets. As if awakened all at once, they surged toward Eileen!
As for her teammates—well, they were doing great. They had already formed up and begun the decapitation strike! But Eileen quickly realized something was wrong—why had everyone charged forward?
Meanwhile, every single knight had charged at her!
Sweat poured down Eileen’s back like a waterfall.
“Wait, don’t run so fast! Someone stay back and protect me!!”
Just when she thought she was going to be hacked to pieces by the knights, a wall of fire suddenly erupted in front of her. The knights who had charged too far ahead were instantly incinerated into ash.
Eileen looked up—and locked eyes with none other than “Master Garhai.”
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