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“Yaaah!”

At the sudden loud noise, Yuli covered her head and screamed. Her hair was wildly fluttering from the explosion’s shockwave.

– Yuli!

Just in time, Linne blocked Yuli from the front, allowing her to escape the shockwave’s influence. However, when she finally opened her eyes, what she saw was completely unexpected.

Following Elysia’s gaze, as she looked up at the blue sky, a gigantic meteor that was falling down was luckily diverted from striking the city thanks to a defensive spell cast by a quick-witted wizard.

However, it wasn’t without damage.

As the meteor exploded, shards scattered, hitting nearby buildings that were out of the spell’s reach, causing some structures to collapse. Flames were rising throughout the city from the scattered embers.

“Yuli! Selian! Linne!”

The first to pull herself together, Anne, called out her friends’ names as she approached through the clouds of dust. Fortunately, upon confirming that Linne had safely protected Yuli, Anne began to look around for her other friend, Selian.

And then she spotted Selian.

Despite the massive shockwave caused by the meteor’s impact, Selian stood in place completely unmoved, as if nothing could disturb her.

“Sel…?”

“Why…? This shouldn’t be happening…?”

However, despite her normal appearance, Selian didn’t hear Anne’s calls. Her eyes were shaking wildly, unable to focus on Anne, and her lips were mumbling words that Anne couldn’t comprehend.

“Must protect… El!…”

And soon, it appeared as if she could see nothing of the chaotic situation around her, as she began to head somewhere in the middle of the battle-scarred city.

“Selian!”

Anne called out to Selian again, but by then, her figure had already disappeared into the distance.

Left behind were Anne, Yuli, and Linne. The three understood that they couldn’t just run off like Selian, but they also realized that staying still wasn’t an option. Looking around, they saw demonic monsters, demonic beings, and the demonic race wreaking havoc throughout the city.

“Oh my, look at these cute little kids.”

Amidst it all, a sudden, unpleasant voice with a seductive tone came from behind, making the three turn around in alarm.

The owner of that voice was a woman. Yet, despite being in the middle of the street, her outfit seemed half-undone, and with small horns sprouting from her head and a swaying tail behind her, it was clear she was of the demonic race.

“Demonic Race…!”

“Fufu, don’t be too wary now. This lady is more delicate than she looks and gets easily hurt over little things.”

She spoke sweetly, as if truly pained, but there was no sign of genuine hurt in her eyes.

“I could just kill you if I wanted to.”

Those eyes were more akin to a snake eyeing its prey.

– Haah!

As Linne stood protectively in front of Yuli, she swung her hand sharply as if to throw something, and an ice spear formed in the air, shooting straight toward the demonic woman.

“Looks like you’re students from the Knight Academy, but does it really work out when a knight hopeful tries to intimidate a lady?”

However, the sharp ice spear was soon blocked by the magic of another demon that had appeared, scattering into icy dust.

Considering that the powers of the ghosts, including Linne, were essentially Yuli’s as well, it was a 2 against 2 standoff. However, the situation wasn’t looking good.

Anne’s main weapon, which was too large to carry around and she’d carelessly left in a corner, flashed in her mind. She had never missed her cumbersome main weapon as much as she did at that moment. Of course, the strength of the heir to House Klain and her abilities would normally easily handle an average demon, but unfortunately, the demons in front of them were anything but average.

Who would have thought that the impregnable city of Pelches, protected by barrier magic for hundreds of years, would be invaded? The fact that demons openly stepped inside Pelches, breaking through the barrier magic, was absurd.

But whether it made sense or not, it had already happened.

Clenching her lips tightly, Anne drew out her light great sword, typically only used for training. It was nearly the same size as her body, but still, it didn’t compare to the weapon she was used to.

“Oh my, what’s a girl doing with such a rough weapon? How very unsophisticated…”

The comment was so natural that it didn’t even seem meant as a provocation. Knowing that, Anne tried her best to ignore her words as she looked for an opening to attack. Meanwhile, the demonic woman licked her lips with a slow, exaggerated motion and added another comment.

“Well, I guess being a little kid means you can’t help it.”

With a jolt, Anne’s face contorted as if one could genuinely hear the sound, yet she didn’t rush out. No matter how impulsively Anne might act normally, she wasn’t stupid enough to do that in a battle situation.

However, her aggressive nature couldn’t be completely suppressed, and instead, she opened her mouth just like the woman had.

“What are you talking about, you old hag?”

It was a short retort, but it seemed to have a good effect, just like when Anne had said something similar, making the vein in the demonic woman’s temple pop out.

“Cadan. This girl is my prey, so touch her and I’ll kill you.”

The voice that had just been dripping with seductive charm transformed into a growl reminiscent of a beast.

“Ooops, looks like Liliana’s switch has been flipped.”

However, the demon named Cadan responded calmly, throwing out more words to aggravate her further.

“Shut up!”

Indeed, Liliana immediately shouted at Cadan, who theatrically shrugged his shoulders in response.

Splat!

Liliana suddenly had a whip in her hand, which she had drawn out from who knows where, and with one swift swing into the air, the sound of air being cut echoed.

At that ominous sound, Anne longed even more for her weapon back in the room.

*

“Well, looks like they’re already having their fun over there, so why don’t we have our own little fun?”

As the sounds of the great sword slicing through the air and the whip cracking echoed around, Yuli and Linne braced themselves, keeping a watchful eye on Cadan.

“Linne.”

– Yes.

In response to Yuli’s call, Linne’s form disappeared with a swish. But Linne wasn’t retreating into invisibility. Instead, it was a prelude to diverting all her strength for battle.

It was a bit different from how Linne typically would sneak into Yuli, but similar.

The resonance of the two, Yuli and Linne.

Originally, such acts would never have been possible, given they were different lives, with different personalities, and different existences. But Yuli’s abilities as a necromancer, their short but tight bond, and the binding of their contract made the impossible possible.

Yuli’s body became Linne’s body, and Linne’s magic became Yuli’s magic.

Yuli undeniably possessed extraordinary talent as a necromancer, but still, it just wasn’t enough time to fully harness Linne’s powers. If they had even a year, much less several years, with Linne and the aid of other ghosts, she could have exhibited a much stronger force.

Thus, for now, this was the only method to draw out Linne’s power to the fullest.

Of course, there were no arguments or mismatches that would result in a ludicrous spectacle. Since the link connecting them ensured constant communication, at this moment, the two were as one.

“Hooh… what an interesting lady you are. Though I’ve lived for over two centuries, I’ve never seen such a technique before. This is quite intriguing.”

Could she truly be of the demonic race? The slightly gentlemanly speech and demeanor had become utterly sticky, and his eyes gradually filled with greed.

“I’ll make sure not to kill you but to capture you alive. I think you would be worth about ten years of research.”

Essentially, he was saying that he wouldn’t tolerate even death and would treat her as a test subject. The polite tone that didn’t match the content only added to the chill that crept through Yuli and Linne. Despite the flames blazing throughout the city, it sent goosebumps crawling up Yuli’s arms.

= I’ll pass on your interest, you pervert. I’ve got only one person I want attention from.

The voices of Yuli and Linne intertwined, emerging as one from her mouth. It didn’t matter whether it sounded like Yuli’s voice or Linne’s voice. What mattered was just one thing.

They had to quickly take down the demon in front of them and rush to help their friends.

 

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