“Nonsense, they’re the real enemies!”
All the human faces on the little monsters spoke in unison, “I order you, seize them at once!”
The voice was indeed that of the Governor, and if you looked closely, the faces were also his.
But… what kind of decent person would split himself into dozens of monsters and stick his face on each of them?
The guards’ simple worldview led them to a swift conclusion—the pretty, pink-haired lightning girl was telling the truth!
It wasn’t just because she was well-endowed that everything she said was right, but because there was no way they’d serve a bunch of monsters.
“Kill!”
“Rescue the Governor!”
Shouting all sorts of slogans, the guards drew their swords and charged at the little monsters.
Though not especially strong, several of them together were more than enough to handle one monster.
As for the rest, Celes felled them with a single swing each, Vina’s icicles showed no mercy, and Leah stood where she was, her delicate form surrounded by holy light—none of the little monsters dared to provoke her.
Only Ella quietly slacked off, taking several seconds to conjure a little fireball every now and then, and then casually tossing it away with a “hiya!”
The one with the highest kill count was Zero.
Ever since she obtained the Silent Watcher, she moved through the shadows with even greater ease; every glint of cold light meant a few more heads.
Kru’s splitting into pieces had come very suddenly—dozens of avatars bursting forth in a show of force—but within just a few minutes, all of them were wiped out like fallen leaves in the autumn wind.
When the dust settled on the battlefield, only a single monster remained, deliberately spared.
The girls gathered around it.
“Do you have anything left to say,” Celes’s ice-blue eyes looked at him, “former Governor of Harbor City, Kru Lalai?”
With that one sentence, the nature of the incident was defined, and she announced the dismissal of the Governor in her capacity as a Kingdom Envoy.
The squad captains who had followed along glanced at each other, looking troubled.
Fortunately, at that moment, the pretty, pink-haired lightning girl they trusted turned around and gave them a sweet smile: “He’s not your Governor, but you are still soldiers of the Kingdom.”
That’s right! Even though their paychecks came from the Governor, they were, in name, fed by Royal Rations!
In an instant, the squad captains straightened their backs again. But they didn’t dare get further involved in this matter.
After expressing their thanks to Ella, they quickly withdrew and stood guard behind the main gate.
“Hehehe, hahaha, hahahahaha.”
Sudden laughter drew everyone’s attention back—the last remaining little monster, wearing Kru’s face, was laughing.
No more overlapping voices, no more father, grandfather, or great-grandfather—now only he remained.
“What are you laughing at?”
Leah asked, visibly displeased.
A bunch of cowards, seeing the holy light on her, not a single one dared to come close, and he still dared to laugh!
“You think you’ve won? It’s too late, everything is ready.”
Kru’s crazed laughter faded, his human face showing a trace of melancholy.
“All the conditions for His Descent have been fulfilled. In just two more days, everything will end.”
Ella’s delicate brows furrowed: “Seriously? You’re not lying to me, are you?”
Only she could say such a thing in this kind of situation.
“Decades of planning, our preparations have taken deep root. Everyone in Harbor City yearns for His Grace—this is a fundamental human desire, and you think you can stop it?”
With that, Kru started laughing wildly again, until his face gradually faded away and the little monster turned into a puddle of ink on the spot, gone.
Only the girls’ expressions grew heavy.
After days of effort, piecing together clues and getting closer to the truth, was everything already too late?
Was His Descent truly inevitable?
“That’s only Kru’s side of the story,” Celes was the first to speak.
“Let’s not lose our composure over it.”
“That’s right!”
Ella was the first to agree.
“He’s just making his own judgment—it can’t be one hundred percent accurate, or else he wouldn’t have come out to fight us today.”
Come on, the Demon Lord still needed to take Harbor City as her starting base for a comeback.
Hearing the two of them, the other girls nodded as well.
The situation might not be great, but it wasn’t that bad either.
As for everyone in the city longing for His Grace—maybe just the Sirens and a few humans.
Most people were still living their daily lives.
“The trail ends here,” Celes said.
“Let’s go check somewhere else.”
Zero then requested to move about freely, as she often did, so no one found it odd.
Before leaving, Ella found the squad captains outside the door, put her hands together, and gently pleaded, “Could you please keep what happened at the Governor’s Mansion today a secret for now? Don’t let it spread?”
The squad captains, as if energized, stood straight and promised loudly that not even a mosquito would get out, let alone any news.
They said it, and Ella just accepted it—how long it stayed secret was anyone’s guess.
After leaving the Governor’s Mansion, the four girls first returned to the inn for lunch, then headed deeper into the city.
The Governor’s Mansion was at the northernmost edge of Harbor City, on the outskirts, far from the Market and with little contact with commoners.
So even after the big fight and the Governor’s death, there was little impact outside.
Even the Market Administration Office staff were still on duty as usual.
As for the Harbor Market, Ella made a point to check it out and found the Sirens back selling fish again.
Business was booming, as if nothing had happened the day before.
So much for the Fish Strike—they only dared to stop for one day, huh.
Ella curled her lips in disdain at the Sirens’ behavior. Sure, seafood was the main food source for the humans of Harbor City, but come on, it’s just fish—who doesn’t have some dried salted fish at home?
She shook her head and caught up with the other girls.
“Let’s check out the Workshop next.”
Meanwhile, after breaking away from the group, Zero didn’t go far. She found a group of “Shadows” in a nearby alley by the Governor’s Mansion.
The Cloak Assassin Squad left behind by senior Kagasha.
“There’s no hiding it,” Lisa, the leader, said as soon as she appeared.
“A few days ago, His gaze had already locked onto your companions. Whatever happens here, He’ll know immediately and inform His minions.”
Zero nodded, not particularly concerned.
She repeated Kru’s final words and asked seriously, “Is this true?” Lisa’s face instantly turned grave.
“It sounds hard to believe, but… Governor Kelu has no reason to lie.”
Never mind the logic—just by instinct, that was the conclusion.
Someone already insane, and about to die, who came out today and laid all his cards on the table—what reason did he have to lie?
Zero was a little at a loss, but agreed with the reasoning.
She, too, had a killer’s intuition.
“We need to come up with a plan, and quickly get your companions to take this seriously.”
Lisa urged anxiously, “We only have two days left… no, just a day and a half.”
It was already afternoon.
Zero understood the urgency, but even so, how could she convince her companions?
She could only try telling the one most likely to persuade the others—the smartest one of all.
Ah!
That means tonight she’d have to climb into bed…
No, she’d have to whisper secrets to Ella!