Milin originally hadn’t wanted to call her that.
After hurting her so deeply with such a foul, shameless lie, did she really have the nerve to show her face?
But she realized immediately that Lian had rushed here to save her.
Just the thought of it made her want to rush into the other’s arms and wail.
She had never been in a fight like this before.
The member of the Demon Race lying on the ground was truly strong.
Even with a Mana Barrier blocking the blows, the cumulative damage from the impacts made her want to cry from the pain.
But Milin endured it without crying because she knew Lian was on the verge of tears too.
Lian clearly wanted to rush forward and hug her just as much as Milin did, yet she simply stood there dazed, wearing a stiff smile because of what had happened before.
‘She must be miserable. That disgusting lie of hers must have caused her a great deal of pain as well.’
When Milin had screamed for Lian to disappear from her sight, she had noticed it in those hollow eyes.
‘She knew. She knew how much those words would anger me. She also knew that after saying them, it would be impossible for me to treat her the same as before…’
‘But she cares for me so much. She looked so happy when I called her Sister… and doesn’t she think I’m the most beautiful girl in her eyes? She definitely wasn’t lying to me… because even though I heartlessly told her to get lost, she still came to save me.’
‘Then why did you go to such lengths to defend that person? That hateful man… just how important is he to you?’
Milin reached up to touch her head… naturally, there was nothing there.
Whether it was the flower crown Lian had placed on her or her own hair ornaments, all of them had been lost during the previous struggle and flight.
It really hurt… not just her body, but her heart too.
Because of this, she hesitated to speak. Instead, Lian spoke to her first. “Where is your mother?”
“Where…? She should be at home, right?”
Milin didn’t understand why she was asking that. It sounded as if Mother was inside this Mansion… but how could that be?
“…Then, did you see it? A room with a massive Composite Magic Circle.”
Lian looked at her face quietly and asked a different question.
“I saw it, but…”
“Was anyone inside?”
Lian interrupted her before she could finish. Milin saw her entire body trembling; even her forced smile was on the verge of collapsing.
“…There was no one. Why do you ask?”
Lian suddenly collapsed to her knees as if she had lost all her strength.
Milin was startled and rushed forward to support her. “Are you hurt?”
“I-I’m fine… But what about you… are you okay? Did that girl from the Demon Race hurt you?”
Milin saw the look on her face and, noting that there were no visible external injuries, she let go of her with a complicated expression. She turned her head away.
“I’m fine… We should capture this Demon first. She’s likely the culprit behind this disaster… Where is she?”
Amidst Milin’s cry of alarm, Lian finally noticed that the body of the young girl from the Demon Race she had just knocked down was gone.
She immediately became alert, standing up to scan the surroundings with Milin—and then, by a pillar about ten paces away, she spotted a young man dressed in white.
Seeing the two noticing him, the young man in white tipped his hat to them.
Even in these ruins shrouded in fire and thick smoke, the young man appeared remarkably poised.
His bureaucratic uniform and the hat he had removed were spotless, glowing white.
The body of the Demon Race girl was currently being held by a cluster of eerie shadows beside him—she had not regained consciousness.
“…A Shadow Demon.”
Lian looked at him, her brow furrowing deeply.
“The Lady Maid certainly has a sharp eye.” The young man acted very surprised while letting out a whistle.
“Did you guess it just by looking at my Spell once?”
“Put that girl down. She’s a suspect in causing this explosion.”
“Sister Lian… He… he… You should leave quickly…”
“Don’t worry.”
Lian patted Milin’s shoulder, stopping her body’s incessant trembling.
She knew what this seemingly elegant young man in white looked like in the child’s eyes right now.
Unlike his image of standing quietly and smiling, the Magic Power he radiated was like a monster—a monster as massive as a mountain, possessing the heads of countless monsters, each of them wailing.
Among those heads weeping tears of blood, there was even a Dragon, the strongest creature in the Empire.
Lian was well aware of the characteristics of a Shadow Demon.
They relied on Analysis of other races to obtain their form and power, and among all means of Analysis, the most efficient was Devour.
So this wasn’t merely an illusion brought on by pressure… this was the essence of his Magic Power—a grotesque and terrifying force built upon a mountain of corpses and a sea of blood from various creatures and monsters.
“I’ll repeat myself. Put that girl down.”
“The Lady Maid certainly has guts. Even though the Princess next to you is so scared she’s about to cry—”
What put an end to his nonsense was Lian’s racing fist. The punch reached the young man’s face in the blink of an eye.
He tilted his head to dodge, but the wind from the fist still brushed against his Mana Barrier.
Consequently, cracks appeared in the Mana Barrier, and then it shattered.
“Oh, how frightening.”
The young man quickly distanced himself from her. His face still held a smile… but in his heart, he was now 120 percent on guard.
The strength of his Mana Barrier was more than ten times stronger than that of the girl he was carrying.
Yet, from just a single graze, the barrier had shattered like low-quality porcelain hit by a stone.
“You dodged it. Are you a Shadow Demon Lord?”
Lian did not pursue him. She slowly lowered her arm and gave the young man an expressionless look.
“How could that be? You flatter me too much.” The young man’s smile turned a bit bitter.
“How could someone of my level be that Lord? No… even being compared to him feels ridiculous.”
“Was it you who rescued the Shadow Demon I encountered earlier?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Fine. Then, did you cause this explosion?”
“Hmm… perhaps?”
In the next instant, a silver light pierced through the Mana Barrier the young man had reconstructed and skewered his body. He looked down in astonishment—
“…Heavenly Silver.”
“This isn’t Heavenly Silver. It’s just an imitation created with Magic Power.”
The arm Lian used to pierce his chest was covered by an Armguard.
The Armguard had a pure and beautiful metallic texture, and the patterns carved upon it were profound and flowing, resembling both script and art.
The young man finally stopped smiling. He opened his eyes, a hint of helplessness appearing in his azure pupils.
“Do you not intend to hide your identity anymore?”
“…!”
Upon hearing his words, Lian immediately withdrew her arm from his chest.
But the young man’s chest began to emit a powerful white light… his body was breaking apart, and it was already irreversible.
“Who exactly are you!”
Lian roared, her voice hoarse. She frantically poured her own Magic Power into the young man’s body, wanting to delay his dissipation for even a moment longer.
“Please search for that answer slowly on your own… My mission is complete. O beautiful moon… please guide us.”
He closed his eyes in satisfaction, and Lian suddenly discovered that the cluster of shadows wrapping the Demon Race girl beside him had vanished at some point.
“Get back here!!!”
As the white light bloomed, the young man’s body completely vanished.
Only the bewildered Lian remained on the spot, along with the glowing Armguard on her hand.