At the sound of “Ella,” Lala was nearly scared off the bed.
“Hmm?”
Who else could sneak in here so quietly except her?
If Zero hadn’t made her presence obvious, Ella wouldn’t have caught sight of her long, straight black hair in the moonlight.
Looking at her like this, the assassin girl had a kind of classical beauty.
Slender, not tall, small, quiet.
“I remember you said last time that you hoped I’d make a bit of noise in the future, so I called your name.”
As Zero said this, she quietly climbed onto the bed and hugged Ella from behind.
If I’d known, I would’ve said I hope you never come again last time, but that’s not easy to say—too many demands might not be accepted.
But could you not come from behind! I’ve got a psychological shadow!
But now, the problem isn’t front or back; it’s that she’s here in bed tonight—what is she up to!
Ella cautiously probed, “Zero, is something the matter tonight?”
“Mm.”
The low voice behind her nearly stopped her heart, but thankfully, the other girl only asked a question:
“Ella, do we really have to solve things here in Harbor City?”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean, can we just ignore it and go somewhere else?”
Ella’s beautiful wine-red eyes flashed a question mark.
No way, are you a Hero?
Is this something a Hero would say?
Harbor City has nearly a hundred thousand people, and you just want to leave it?
Even if you don’t care, I have to—I can’t watch my brothers suffer on the mountain.
A Demon King without territory, can you still call that a Demon King?
“Zero, our situation in the Royal City is very delicate. We need a place like Harbor City—this is our best chance.”
Ella said softly, “And if we leave, Harbor City without an army won’t be able to resist the Siren. Whatever they want to do, the people will suffer.”
Lala really is a good girl with the world in her heart.
The girl behind her fell silent, not making a sound for a long time.
Just when Ella thought she had fallen asleep and tried to gently break free from the embrace, she heard the girl speak again: “Actually, my past is hard to talk about. I’ve never been willing to tell it.”
“Eh?”
What’s going on?
“You all found out last time—the Silent Sanctuary is a bloody place for training assassins, and in my generation, it became even more insane. They gathered us together, made us rely on each other for more than ten years, treating each other as family.”
“But then, one day, they demanded that half of us die every year. Using the cruelest methods, they selected the most talented among us.”
As she listened to the girl’s story, Ella blinked with her back turned.
Zero probably thought she didn’t know, but she actually knew even more.
After all, there are only so many ways to train professional assassins, and the bloody internal ones are even fewer—anyone could guess some of it.
More importantly, during that secret interrogation, Wesley had poured out his grievances to her, saying that many of the measures taken later were simply unavoidable.
For example, during that generation’s training, the kingdom suddenly began scrutinizing the Silent Sanctuary.
Although it hadn’t reached the stage of a complete purge, they had already started to cut deep.
The budget was halved in the second year! Halved again in the third!
So, the bloodiest orders in the late stage of the Silent Sanctuary were, on one hand, meant to push the young assassins to their limits, but on the other… were also due to practical reasons.
They ran out of money.
“None of us wanted to do it. After growing up together for so long, we were like family. But one night, someone went mad—blood seeped out from under the tent, staining the grass dark red.”
Zero’s body trembled slightly; recalling or speaking of this memory caused her deep pain.
“The next day, I was attacked by someone else. Former loved ones became unrecognizable. I was terrified and sad, but I really didn’t want to die, so… I killed many people.”
Ella sighed silently.
The morbid humor she felt a moment ago vanished with the girl’s pained voice, even leaving her a bit guilty.
Zero would never know that the reason for the second major misfortune in her life was that the people controlling their fates had their budget cut.
That truth might be even crueler than the bloody orders.
After thinking for a while, the pink-haired, thunderous beauty asked gently, “How many did you kill?”
Zero was silent for half a minute before forcing the words out of her throat: “Most of them were killed within a year. They tried to join forces to get rid of me, so altogether, I killed… 24 people.”
“And yesterday… ah, never mind.”
She blurted it out, thinking it was 24 in one day, but it turned out that was the total.
What a mess.
Back when I was doing the Sanctuary Purge, I… just in one day, I…
“Ella, are you afraid of me?”
Zero hugged the girl tighter.
“Do you think I’m a cruel person?”
“…”
Well, the twenty-some people she killed were all those she’d relied on for years—the emotions must be complicated.
“Of course not, Zero. You’re a good girl.”
Ella comforted her gently.
The person behind her trembled a little more.
“Really?”
“Really. You know, when I was at the Demon King’s Castle, I also killed many people to survive, used all sorts of schemes, and even learned evil Dark Magic from the Demon King.”
So, isn’t Lala a good girl, too?
“We’re the same, Zero, we’re the same.”
Even though she was being hugged from behind, Ella’s gentle heart still reached the girl through her soft voice.
After another half minute, Zero took a light breath.
“Thank you, Ella.” she said.
“I’ll draw my blade for you.”
Oh my—!
Ella thought she was getting emotional and was about to do something drastic, especially after mentioning blades—her little butt instantly tensed up.
But after a few minutes of tension, she realized she felt nothing at all.
Not even the feeling of being hugged.
“Zero? Zero?”
She turned her head—no one was there.
The whole room was empty except for herself.
Ella sat up in bed, wiping the cold sweat from her forehead, and looked carefully in the moonlight, confirming that Zero had really left.
“Crazy!”
Even though there was a small incident, it wasn’t a big deal since nothing actually happened…
In any case, Demon King Aio still cares about the brothers on the mountain, and tonight’s plan wouldn’t change.
Only three days left until the ritual—time waits for no one.
Tonight, with the dark moon and high winds, it’s the perfect time to get things done.
She waited another half hour, estimating that Zero should be asleep by now, then got up and went to the window, opened it, and leapt out under the moonlight.
“Heave-ho!”
Magic surged, along with her agility and power techniques.
Her delicate feet landed lightly on the ground.
It’s time.
Elite Monsters of the Sea Demon Tribe, I’m coming for you.