Chapter 7: The Peculiar Woman

“Are you sure it’s nearby?”

“It has to be. It’s right here.”

The next day, Lucas and Evina headed into the forest where the giant beast was said to reside.

But no matter how they looked, this forest was nothing more than an ordinary stretch of woods, with no visible signs of any beast having attacked.

Lucas was confident his memory wasn’t mistaken—the giant beast was definitely somewhere within this forest.

Leading the way, Lucas ventured deeper into the trees.

The further they went, the dimmer the light filtering through the canopy became.

The dense foliage above blocked out most of the sunlight, casting the forest into near darkness.

Silence reigned throughout the forest, with only the sound of their footsteps breaking the stillness.

A strange feeling stirred in Lucas’s chest—this forest was unnervingly quiet.

Along the way, they hadn’t seen even a trace of any living creature.

Suddenly, a roar echoed from afar.

The owner of the sound was clearly some massive beast.

At the same time, the ripping sound of tearing flesh came from the same direction.

“Did you hear that?”

Lucas glanced back at Evina.

“I heard it loud and clear.”

“There’s a tearing sound mixed in with the roar. It must be biting into something.”

“You can hear that too?”

Evina’s words reminded Lucas—yes, the roar was loud enough that even the deaf could hear it clearly.

But the tearing sound was far subtler, and yet Lucas could distinctly make it out.

It seemed that under the divine authority granted to him, even his senses had been sharpened.

“Alright then, let’s get ready to fight.”

Evina drew the sword at her waist.

“I’ll handle the giant beast. You go find the real mastermind behind this. Sound good?”

“Are you sure you’re okay going alone?”

“Don’t underestimate me.”

Evina twirled her sword with a confident flourish.

“This guy will be easy for me to take down.”

Lucas believed her without hesitation.

In that memory, Evina had indeed held the upper hand against the beast initially.

If she hadn’t been ambushed and poisoned, the beast would have been no match for her.

“Alright then, be careful. I’ll go look for that person.”

They parted ways—Evina heading toward the direction of the roar, while Lucas climbed up into the treetops, scanning the distance.

There was nothing particularly noticeable nearby.

The woman from his memory wore white clothes, which should stand out in the forest.

Lucas leapt lightly to a nearby branch.

His body felt incredibly light, like he’d never moved so effortlessly before.

How many unknown abilities had the divine authority granted him?

Landing quietly on a branch, Lucas watched the battlefield between Evina and the beast below.

Near the center of the clearing, numerous trees were uprooted, and piles of monster corpses formed heaps.

The tearing sounds must have been the beast feeding.

Evina was already locked in combat with the giant beast.

Her figure moved agilely, dodging the lion-like head’s bites, her sword flashing with precise strikes to the beast’s eye.

The pained beast roared and whipped its long tail toward Evina, but she effortlessly leapt back to avoid the sting.

The moment the scorpion-like tail pierced the ground, Evina was already on the beast’s back, her sword aiming for the junction between its neck and body.

The entire fight flowed like water.

The beast’s attacks never even grazed Evina.

Her strength was undeniable, and her dazzling swordplay left Lucas momentarily stunned.

But soon, Lucas realized he couldn’t waste any more time.

The woman who ambushed Evina was probably hiding nearby, waiting for the perfect moment to strike.

Squatting on the branch, Lucas scanned for any sign of her.

She was likely waiting for Evina to be fully engaged with the beast before making her move.

A white shadow flashed between the trees, moving swiftly.

But with his enhanced senses, Lucas easily tracked her movements.

There—his target appeared.

Lucas jumped from branch to branch, quickly closing in on the last place the white figure was seen.

Looking around between two trees, he spotted the woman.

White robe, short white hair, her appearance exactly as he remembered. No doubt—it was her.

Lucas drew the sword at his waist and leapt down from the treetop, landing squarely on the woman’s shoulders, pinning her to the ground with force.

Before she could react, Lucas thrust his sword toward her chest.

Evina had warned him not to hold back against this woman—to strike with lethal force.

The blade pierced the woman’s heart smoothly, but the moment the sword sank in, Lucas felt something was wrong.

Why wasn’t there any blood?

The sword had clearly entered her body, yet not a single drop escaped.

Impossible.

“Nice skills, kid.”

A cold wind swept from behind.

Lucas immediately swung his sword around, slicing through a small dagger thrown at him—it split cleanly in two.

“Good thing I came prepared—with a decoy.”

Lucas looked down at the “woman” he had just “stabbed.”

Now, she had completely transformed into a thin, translucent layer resembling human skin.

This was no human at all.

“Ah, making a decoy is pretty material-intensive.”

The woman stepped out from the shadows, pacing slowly.

This time, Lucas got a clear look at her face.

Her sharp eagle-like blue eyes were the only distinct feature Lucas could see.

The rest of her face was covered by a mask.

“Who are you?”

Lucas pointed his sword at the suddenly appearing woman.

“Who I am doesn’t matter.”

She slipped her hands beneath her robe and pulled out a handful of small knives between her fingers.

“You only need to know this—you’re about to become my test subject. I’ll expose your body in full and harvest whatever I want.”

Was this woman insane?

Listening to her ramblings, Lucas felt a deep, visceral disgust.

“Never expected Evina to bring backup. But your fight ends here. I’m going to use your body to create a new decoy.”

She clearly had no intention of revealing her true identity to Lucas.

With words failing, they clashed instantly.

The woman looked fragile, but she was skilled.

Lucas’s two probing strikes were deflected by the knives in her hands.

She wasn’t ordinary—he had to stay sharp.

“You’re stronger than I thought.”

The woman stepped back a few paces, putting some distance between them.

As she retreated, Lucas heard a clear, ringing clatter—something inside her robe was striking together.

“But this game ends now. I don’t have time to waste on you.”

With that, she threw all the small knives at Lucas in one volley.