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That was the end of it. Vulcan, who was crushed beneath Anne, hung his four arms limp, not even a flicker of movement from his fingers. Well, considering his face was shattered, it’d be abnormal if he were fine.

Vulcan, who was tough for both Selian and me to handle, was suddenly smashed to pieces by Anne, who had gone on a rampage all by herself. Even though I witnessed Anne overwhelmingly defeat Vulcan and saw his corpse before my eyes, it was simply unbelievable.

I wasn’t the only one taken aback, as Selian, who was watching beside me, also wore a face full of confusion. Even during the times when humanity was facing annihilation, Anne had never displayed such monstrous strength.

If only Anne hadn’t assassinated me during my time as an Assassin, wouldn’t there have been at least one chance for humanity to turn the tables? Even without a Hero or a Saint, purely with the power of humankind.

Of course, it was meaningless to think about such hypotheticals now.

Just moments ago, there had been a deafening uproar, yet now a deep silence enveloped the area as if it were all a lie. The only sound to be heard was the harsh, ragged breathing of Anne, who still hadn’t calmed down.

“Grrr…”

Huh…?

The sound escaping Anne’s lips resembled the growl of a beast. It was a wave of a roar that made one want to shrink back just from hearing it.

No matter how much Anne had a beast-like dislike for thinking, to think she would truly give up being human…! Get a grip, Anne! You are human!

Could she have heard the desperate plea of my heart? Anne’s head whipped around, and she stared directly at us. Our eyes met.

Of course, no matter how special the bloodline of House Klain might be, she was still a pure human, so her eyes were ordinary human eyes, not those of a beast. Yet beyond Anne’s red irises, a madness imbued with overwhelming violence burned brightly. It seemed she was still not satisfied even after turning Vulcan into mush.

Could it be that she was angry because she heard the small voice in my heart joking about her being a beast…?

I knew it was nonsensical, but considering Anne’s current beast-like instincts, it didn’t seem impossible at all.

As Anne slowly rose from her place atop Vulcan, Selian and I instinctively took a step back.

I could hear a gulp. Was that sound from my throat or Selian’s? Maybe from both of us.

At that moment, Selian was probably thinking about the possibility of Anne attacking us. If she were to lose all sense and turn on us, it would create an incredibly awkward situation.

After all, the powers of the Klain bloodline react only to the Demonic Race, so she wouldn’t be able to exert the same strength against us as she did against Vulcan. Even now, with the Demonic energy leaving him, it wouldn’t be long before she calmed down.

But that alone was already sufficiently threatening. While the energy she exerted on Vulcan to press him down wouldn’t suppress ours, her own physical enhancements were still intact. Just the thought of those adorable fists that had smashed Vulcan’s face now directed at me sent chills down my spine.

As Anne took a step toward us, we too stepped back, matching her pace. Step by step, we continued to maintain our distance as she advanced. Of course, I’d never make the mistake of turning my back to a predator.

Anne appeared increasingly annoyed that the distance never seemed to shorten, and soon she crouched down, placing her hands on the ground. Now she resembled a four-legged beast.

I’ll take back that joke about her being a beast if only she’d snap back to her senses and return to being human!

Though I couldn’t bring myself to voice my thoughts, I desperately hoped that my inner cries would reach her. But it seemed my desperation did not reach Anne.

Anne’s fingers dug fiercely into the ground before she lunged toward us at a terrifying speed.

Selian and I, on guard, quickly scattered to the sides to evade Anne’s attack. Had we not been alert, her onslaught could’ve swept us away in an instant.

However, merely dodging wasn’t enough. As Anne passed by us, she quickly adjusted her direction.

“Ugh…!”

Given that Anne’s body was singular, she could only target one of us at a time, and apparently, it was me who ended up unlucky among Selian and me.

Why…! Did you really hate me that much, Anne?!

Hot on my heels, Anne extended her hand towards me. No matter how lost in rage she was, I couldn’t swing my weapon, and all I could do was raise my Holy Sword in defense. I even had to twist the blade just in case she accidentally cut herself on its edge.

Of course, one might argue that I could’ve just landed a punch to knock Anne out, but no matter how I thought about it, I had absolutely no confidence in winning a fistfight against Anne in her current state.

After all, even those adorable little fists had smashed in the head of one of the Four Heavenly Kings. Thanks to that, my Holy Sword, which would never break, was working hard to defend me.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

While I was blocking her blows, I could definitely feel that Anne’s punches had slowed compared to when she was exchanging strikes with Vulcan, yet her physical abilities were still superior to mine. Each time Anne’s hands hit my Holy Sword, a metallic sound echoed. I was simply blocking, yet my grip around the hilt was becoming numb.

“Snap out of it, Anne! Vulcan is already dead! The person in front of you is Elysia! Your friend, Elysia!”

I intervened to try and reason with her, but Selian, who was hurled aside by Anne, was flying through the air, shouting. Yet even with Selian’s desperate voice, Anne showed no signs of regaining her senses.

With a snatch.

As the attacks kept getting blocked, perhaps out of anger, Anne spread her fingers wide and reached for my Holy Sword, grabbing it firmly. The hilt was in my grasp, so naturally, she could only grab the blade.

No matter how hardened and strengthened Anne’s body was, it couldn’t match the sharpness of the Holy Sword, and blood began to ooze from her palm gripping the blade.

Like her fiery red hair, bright crimson blood trickled down from her hand, dripping to the ground. With neither Selian nor I wanting Anne to get hurt, we couldn’t help but panic.

However, seemingly unconcerned about her injuries, Anne clutched the blade tightly and wrested the Holy Sword from my grip. Her monstrous strength was simply overpowering.

Clanging!

Like how she tossed Selian, Anne threw the Holy Sword with a swift motion.

The unfortunate Holy Sword tumbled across the ground, echoing its metallic clang.

Even as Selian hesitated to react upon seeing the blood seeping from Anne’s hand, Anne quickly seized the opportunity and lunged at my armor, grabbing hold.

“Ugh…”

Determined not to lose her grip, Anne instantly sat on top of me. The image of her smashing Vulcan’s head moments prior flashed through my mind.

Even though I couldn’t attack Anne, just staying still would leave my head vulnerable to being smashed like Vulcan’s. I struggled desperately to escape from her.

But even while I was desperately writhing, Anne’s hand grasping my chest did not relent, causing my leather armor, built for mobility, to tear as easily as regular clothing. This wasn’t just any ordinary leather; it was made from the byproducts of monsters, yet her grip was outrageous.

Now, with neither the Holy Sword nor my armor to protect me, I locked eyes with Anne, who was sitting atop me. The frenzied wildness in her eyes resembled the greedy gaze of a carnivorous beast staring at its prey.

Even the neat smile exposing her teeth felt as sharp as a carnivore’s fangs. Even drool was pooling at the corner of her mouth, dribbling down my cheek.

“Eek!”

Before the truly beastly Anne, the only thing I could do was tremble in terror.

“I’m really sorry, I didn’t actually think of you as a beast, please come back to the way you were! Don’t eat me, I’m sorry, please spare me!”

Words begging for forgiveness rushed out of my mouth, but it seemed Anne’s frenzied mind couldn’t hear them at all. The moment she pinned me down, I thought it was truly over.

“I’ll let Anne have my turn next!”

What does she mean by “let her have my turn”? Selian’s sudden shout was perplexing. But just as Selian shouted, Anne, who had been advancing, abruptly froze in place. I could see the madness slowly dissipating from her eyes as she looked at Selian standing a few steps away.

“…twice.”

From the lips of Anne, who had been growling like a beast just moments ago, human words emerged. Finally, she came back to herself, Anne!

Whatever it was, upon hearing “twice,” Selian briefly fell silent before nodding. Gradually, strength leaked from Anne’s grip on my shoulder. Then, she swayed and collapsed limply onto my body.

Perhaps the return of her sanity had come with the backlash from exerting herself too hard.

“Hehe… I promised…”

With those words, Anne fell asleep, breathing heavily.

…So what on earth did she mean by “turn”?

 

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