The greatest fortune in a person’s life is nothing more than discovering their true calling midway through life, while still in their prime.
Yet, it’s a pity—most people spend their entire lives busy and worn out, going through countless setbacks and hardships, without ever knowing what they’re truly suited for.
Beneath the collapsed glacial abyss, Vyea suddenly asked, “How long have you been doing this?”
“Ever since I left the Hero Squad.”
Aoluola closed her eyes, seemingly lost in memory. “It was a seven-person squad—both the captain and vice-captain disappeared, leaving just me and four other useless freeloaders. If I didn’t find my own way, we’d all just have to wait for death.”
“…And what about them?” Vyea paused. Back in the Hero Squad, Aoluola always seemed the most rambunctious, fond of pulling pranks.
Whenever Lilian and the others were pushed to the edge, they’d join forces and stuff Aoluola in a sack for a beating.
Though there was always squabbling, the team’s atmosphere was lively.
“I don’t know. We all went our separate ways. They went down their own Sunshine Road, while I took my Single-log Bridge.” Aoluola’s tone grew a little gloomy. “After the squad disbanded, we barely kept in touch… Wait!” She suddenly became alert, turning to look at Vyea. “The sky’s about to fall, and you’re asking me this?”
Seriously, what the heck!
Your teammates are outside facing a life-and-death ordeal, and you have the nerve to idly poke at irrelevant gossip in here!
In Aoluola’s imagination, the white-haired girl—her righteous friend—after learning their group had prepared thoroughly for this operation and was determined to annihilate Ark, would surely panic, desperate to return to the surface and help her comrades escape this mortal crisis!
It’s just like they say: haste makes waste.
The white-haired girl, flustered, would expose a weakness, and Aoluola could take advantage, looking for a chance to turn the tables. Hehe.
But…
“Aren’t they your friends? Aren’t you at least a little worried?”
“Stop fussing, I’m thinking. How should I eliminate you as an unstable element—imprisonment, sedation, or a compliance drug… Pick one.” Vyea said coolly.
“No, no, please, I’m actually very obedient already!” Aoluola raised her hands in surrender.
“You can’t just get rid of me when you’re done! I’ve told you everything you wanted to know!”
She drooped her head pitifully, like a captured, defeated rooster, but inwardly she was silently counting down to when the ice would completely collapse.
“If I really have to pick, can I at least go find a place to sleep myself? I promise I won’t cause any trouble. You know where I live—I’m scared.”
“Really? I don’t believe you.”
“I’d have to be crazy to mess with someone who knows my real home address!”
Aoluola’s tone was so sincere it was like she was taking some solemn oath.
Suddenly!
A chunk of ice, dozens of meters across, collapsed from above, smashing down right between them and splitting them apart.
At the same moment!
The ice beneath their feet suddenly cracked open, and the falling ice blocks and huge stones pelted into the pool below like rain.
“Bleh, bleh, bleh! Actually, I was lying to you just now~”
Aoluola switched faces in an instant. After all this talking, she knew as long as she didn’t get caught, her sister would be fine.
That annoying white-hair might be bad, but she wasn’t a complete villain.
Seizing the opportunity, Aoluola leaped into the pool below, like a fish returning to the sea, and in a blink, vanished without a trace.
After a long while.
The collapse at the top of the ice cave only grew worse, but things below fell quiet. Aside from the rumbling roar, there were no other sounds.
Everything was so pure.
Vyea gazed at the pool where ice and stone crashed down noisily, and asked softly:
“Mirage Demon, was that enough time? Is the Heart Suggestion on Aoluola set?”
“It’s enough… That Heart Suggestion has been reinforced several times; it should last about an hour. Once she escapes along the Dark River, it’ll lift automatically. Even if she decides to return, she won’t make it back in time.”
“Good.”
Vyea let out a soft breath. Her body began to liquefy. Though she retained her human form, her whole self transformed into a sky-blue liquid, like a wild Slime.
A Slime-girl could inflate her body; with enough mana, she could turn into a giant, towering over the land.
This was Vyea’s first time trying it—using both her Monstergirl traits and her Divine Authority as a Hero.
A Slime-girl, empowered by the Hero’s strength, was invincible.
“You… you’re not human? You’re a Monstergirl?”
The Mirage Demon, as small as a pearl, was stunned. It had never expected that such a powerful “human” was actually a Monstergirl in disguise.
Monstergirls—whether among demons or humans—were at the very bottom of the social ladder.
On this land, where strength reigns supreme, weakness is original sin.
And Monstergirls were a messy, mixed group—cat-girls, dog-girls, lizard-girls, and so on—rarely able to unite.
Weak and disunited, even the gods can’t save them.
Most crucially, while Monstergirls had intelligence, it was limited. They were dim-witted—most adult Monstergirls weren’t as clever as a ten-year-old human child.
Too sweet—far too sweet.
Such intelligence would make even a young Mirage Demon laugh aloud.
“Hahaha… hic.”
“What are you laughing at?”
“I’m laughing at my own stupidity, how blind I was! Only because you revealed yourself did I glimpse your elegant, mysterious, and powerful true form!”
Under Vyea’s blade-sharp gaze, the Mirage Demon was quick to recognize the situation and submit.
“If you want to live, do exactly as I say.”
Vyea extended a finger and dropped a bit of Slime mucus onto the Mirage Demon. Instantly, the sky-blue ooze wrapped the pearl-white Mirage Demon up completely.
“As long as my slime is on you, no matter how far you run, I can take your life in a single thought.” Vyea exaggerated, speaking half-truths—the Mirage Demon couldn’t tell either way.
She couldn’t shake a sense of unease—something on the ice above just felt wrong. The feeling made her scalp crawl.
Logically, nothing on this land should be able to threaten her… so where did this groundless dread come from?
This world was like a cursed stage—everyone was a puppet on strings, helplessly moving toward a set conclusion.
Vyea felt a headache coming on, like her brain was rebelling after too much drink.
Heh, looks like I’ll have to quit drinking from now on… After all, with a daughter, I can’t keep being a bad example.
Some responsibilities, in the end, must be borne alone.
Shaking her head, Vyea refocused on the problem at hand. All sorts of thought fragments exploded through her mind at a blistering pace.
She began using her Divine Authority to stabilize the riot of thoughts. Strange. So strange…
“Are… are you alright?” the Mirage Demon asked timidly.
Vyea ignored it. In a daze, she remembered the “Script”—as if every living being’s fate on this land was written in that Script.
And she…
Hadn’t she seen that Script somewhere before? Hm?
Why can’t I remember?
Vyea pondered for a long time. She couldn’t summon Flawiel to talk things over, either.
Deep breath, calm down.
Your daughter is still waiting for you.
Vyea closed her eyes to rest for a moment. When she opened them again, her composure had returned.
“In a moment, we’ll go out together. You need to disguise yourself as another me, and obey all my commands.”
“Me?” The Mirage Demon froze.
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