According to the battle plan, Vina immediately ignited the rampaging wind element.
In an instant, a fierce gale swept through the courtyard, lifting the fallen leaves off the ground.
Using the chaos as cover, they quickly took their positions.
However, Kru had no intention of pursuing them.
His own body was undergoing a transformation during this time.
After being sliced in half vertically by Celes, he simply split into two, each half swelling up, and both mouths began to speak independently.
“Why do you condemn us? In this world, all intelligent beings are the same. Intelligence is the Cursed of Desire. In order to obtain what they want, people are willing to offer up something in exchange.”
“Some offer up hard labor, some offer their bodies, some offer their dignity, and some even offer their lives.”
“As for us, we’re just a bit more greedy—we’re willing to offer the entire world.”
“Hahahahahahahaha!”
The overlapping voices from Kru’s mouth split apart, a total of four, from top to bottom, the four heads of the Lalai Family over the past century.
The great-grandfather, who first sold his Soul to the Evil God, didn’t think he’d done anything wrong. The grandfather, as the successor, continued to provide theoretical justification. The father scoffed at others’ accusations, his tone even a little proud.
After the elders had their say, the remaining Kru himself didn’t know what to say, so he just burst into wild laughter.
Mad whispers twisted through the entire courtyard.
In the chaos, Leah finally managed to find her place.
She felt she had picked a side, and even took the time to grab Ella’s hand:
“Why did the Governor self-destruct all of a sudden? I thought at least there’d be some warning, maybe a bit more talking.”
It was too sudden, she really wasn’t prepared.
Ella rolled her eyes, thinking to herself: after yesterday’s mess at the workshop, it’s already clear that there’s a problem with Harbor City’s currency.
The collusion between officials and merchants is written all over their faces.
What else could he do? Could he have dragged it out any longer?
He couldn’t exactly claim to have a laissez-faire economic policy, say he knew nothing about the workshop owners and the Pearl Shell Currency System, and just laugh it off, right?
That’s why Celes got straight to the point today.
At the slightest sign of trouble, she drew her Sword, because there was no room left for negotiation.
“Yeah, it really was sudden.” Good girl Ella said softly, “He really was too wicked.” “Right, right, you think so too! But don’t worry, I’ll—”
“What do you mean you’ll what?”
Suddenly, a little witch darted over, slapped Leah’s hand away, and said, “This is the mages’ position, you go back to your own spot!”
Saintess was stunned for a moment.
Had she gone to the wrong place? It had felt right just now…
She really had gotten it wrong.
As the healer, she was holding hands with the little support instead of her own team.
That couldn’t be right.
“I… I understand.”
Leah’s pretty face blushed as she quietly ran to the side.
On her way, she gave Celes, who was blocking the front row, a blessing, helping her recover stamina and Magic.
She did it too early, since the real fight hadn’t started yet.
Celes’s face remained expressionless, her icy blue eyes unwavering as she watched Kru’s transformation in full.
First came the swelling.
In almost an instant, he lost all human shape, turning into two huge sea urchin-like things.
Then the spines on the sea urchins grew longer and started to curl inward, like lines drawn in a painting, outlining his true form.
A grotesque, twisted creature, stitched together from top to bottom with parts from fish, shrimp, octopus, and all sorts of soft-bodied sea creatures.
Celes finally saw what she’d been looking for—gills on his neck, one after another, like knife wounds.
So that’s why he always scratched his neck.
Ella recognized it at a glance.
The core design of this form was the same as the main Sea Demon Tribe forces from last night, only scaled up many times, and far more resilient.
“Vina, cover me!”
Celes charged forward, holding her long Sword diagonally in front of her.
After ten steps, she stopped abruptly, channeling all her momentum into the blade.
“Insignificant, ignorant bugs!”
The stitched-together monster stretched out a long arm.
Purple fish scales covered its claws, gleaming with a chilling light as it struck down at the girl.
But just then, a series of fireballs crashed down, the violent explosions and heat forcing the hand back.
“Hey hey, crowd control mage here.”
Vina raised her small hand.
“No dueling allowed without my permission~”
After several real battles, the little witch and the Sword Saint girl had developed excellent teamwork.
Thanks to this round’s delay, Celes finished charging her strength.
With a mighty swing of the perfect Knight Sword in her hand, an icy blue arc of moonlight plowed through the earth, reaching Kru in a flash.
The soft-bodied shell was no match for the Sword’s radiance.
The moonlight entered from the front and exited from the back, piercing the massive stitched monster straight through.
“gaaaahhhhh!!”
The four different voices stopped their whispers, replaced by screams of agony.
Towards the middle and rear of the team, Ella tilted her head in curiosity.
“Why doesn’t Celes shout out her moves’ names? Something like ‘Crescent Slash’ or ‘Eternal Frost Slash’ would sound so cool.”
Vina shot her a glance with her peach blossom eyes.
“If you shout the move’s name, won’t the enemy know what’s coming?”
“Hmm.”
That made sense.
But the Demon Lord had no choice.
Necromancy required chanting after all.
Anyway, better to change the subject—oh right—
“Kru split into two earlier,” Ella noticed a small detail.
“Where did the other half go?”
Celes was looking too.
She was closer, so she quickly spotted it. Kru’s left half, after being slashed, was clearly withering, while the right half suddenly dropped to the ground, spreading out like ink, and then transformed into dozens of small monsters.
They split up and charged at the girls from all directions.
The courtyard was extremely spacious, vast and empty, making it the perfect battlefield for them.
Celes casually slashed down a small monster, but she didn’t relax at all.
She took a moment to shout back, “Be careful, everyone!”
The little monsters were even faster.
Before she could finish warning them, they’d already flanked the formation, and several were dangerously close to the pink-haired thunder girl.
That wouldn’t be a problem—Ella could easily handle it—but… if Ella fought back, then that secret between the two of them would no longer be a secret.
And if it wasn’t a secret, it wouldn’t serve as a threat anymore.
Was it really okay to have such dark thoughts?
Zero thought this, self-reflecting in her mind, but her body was already moving.
In a blur, she struck out more than a dozen times, wiping out several little monsters in an instant.
“Thank you, Zero.”
Ella patted her chest, feigning a look of lingering fear.
“That was close, I was almost in danger.”
The assassin girl gave a soft “Mm,” quietly hiding her gaze in the shadows.
You’re really good at acting, Ella.
I really want to…
At that moment, the sound of armor clanking rose from the perimeter.
The commotion had attracted the Governor’s Mansion guards—over forty in total. Not a huge number, but that was already most of Harbor City’s soldiers.
As they rushed in through the gate, they saw ugly, twisted monsters everywhere, on the walls and on the ground.
The little monsters even had faintly human faces, looking eerily like their respected Governor.
What… what’s going on here?
“Governor has been possessed by a monster!”
Ella suddenly stepped forward and cried out in a delicate voice, “Quick, save him!”