“PA……”
Rita let out a startled cry and snapped her eyes open.
That sensation just now was incredibly strange, as if she had been falling from a high place, then suddenly woke from a Dreamscape. It left Rita with a deeply unsettling sense of unreality about everything she had just experienced.
But the pain radiating from every part of her body was anything but strange.
That’s right—before experiencing any of that, she had first felt the agony of being pierced through by the Thorn of Blood.
“Haahhhh!”
Rita braced herself on one hand and tore desperately at the thorns embedded in her body.
Even though the golden light from her crest could quickly disperse the bloody thorns, the pain of being impaled was utterly real.
“What did you see?” Dorothy demanded coldly.
“Huh? What are you talking about?” Rita staggered to her feet. Her injuries weren’t too serious, but the pain from her wounds everywhere would definitely hinder her movements somewhat.
“You saw it too, didn’t you? You must have met that Supreme Being none of us could ever hope to meet in our lifetimes, right? Tell me—what did you witness? I might consider sparing your life.”
Dorothy’s face was grim, the red Light Orb gathering in her palm as if ready to hurl it at Rita at any moment. This was both a negotiation and a warning.
Cecilia was the only one who had no idea what had just transpired. She had only seen Dorothy do something, then suddenly tremble all over, her face paling instantly.
Hearing Dorothy’s question, she could more or less guess what had happened. Now, her only worry was that Rita might reveal something Dorothy wanted to hear.
Fireworks.
At the very least, don’t tell Dorothy the truth.
But Rita had absolutely no intention of hiding what she’d heard.
“That being told me to give the idiot woman outside a good beating.” Rita repeated Valfis’s words with utter seriousness.
She’d told the truth—whether Dorothy believed it or not was her business.
Judging by Dorothy’s now flushed and angry face, she probably didn’t believe it at all.
“You—?!”
Dorothy was momentarily speechless, then, without thinking, hurled the Light Orb at Rita.
The Light Orb shot forth, and Rita split it in two with her sword. The two streams of released energy flew past Rita on either side, exploding in twin bursts of bloody light.
As the explosions rang out, Dorothy lunged at Rita, and Rita sprang up to meet her.
A Dream Demon wielding human strength—a human wielding demonic power—clashed once more!
“What… was that just now?” Maggie rubbed her eyes, scarcely able to believe what she’d seen.
Power.
Just moments ago, the massive stone gate had shone with intense light. Though weaker than its initial surge, it still harbored a terrifying energy.
Then, a girl’s face appeared on the red barrier, as clearly defined as if conjured by a magic projection.
It was the radiant, beaming face of a green-haired girl making a scissors-sign pose.
Then, the barrier rapidly dimmed, leaving behind only the chaotic mess of people who had been braced for a fight to the death with whatever might emerge.
“What was that? Some kind of prank?”
“No idea, but… the crisis… is it over?”
“I can’t take it anymore. We barely stopped the swarm’s assault, and now this—my heart can’t handle it!”
The soldiers all breathed a sigh of relief after the false alarm.
But the two standing beneath the stone gate looked far more grave than they had even after slaying the Lord of Night.
“Brownie, did you feel that?” The girl with the giant hammer glanced at the now-silent gate and asked the tall, gray-haired girl beside her.
“Yeah. I don’t know exactly where that connected to, but if that thing had come out, I’m not sure I’d have made it back to see Her Highness Rosalia,” Brownie said heavily, pressing a hand to her now-sheathed, twisted longsword.
“High praise, coming from the famous Silver Ash Fang. Didn’t expect you to say something so pessimistic,” the girl shrugged.
Brownie lowered her eyes and glanced at the girl, whose relaxed expression had already returned, but she ignored the teasing remark.
Seeing Brownie ignore her, the girl wasn’t offended at all. She simply dusted off her hands, hefted her hammer onto her shoulder, and looked up at the towering stone gate. “Forget it. To prevent this from happening again, let’s just smash the gate.”
Brownie slowly drew her sword, its metallic gleam reflecting the giant door.
“Couldn’t agree more.”
“Wahhh! My door! My door! You have to pay for my door!”
Rita wailed in mock distress, letting out one exaggerated sob after another.
Dorothy’s forehead veins bulged as she wordlessly clashed with Rita, their figures streaking through the underground space like shooting stars.
Watching her painstakingly constructed magic circle get destroyed, Dorothy felt her heart bleed. Hearing Rita’s exaggerated voice acting only left her seething.
“Hey, can’t you at least try crying for real? If I saw my stuff destroyed like this, I’d be heartbroken.”
Rita spoke with a straight face, leaving Dorothy unsure if she was being serious or just trying to rile her up.
So infuriating! Whether she means it or not, why does this idiot love getting on my nerves so much?
If not for most of her magic power being poured into the magic circle for support and maintenance, how could she be toyed with like this by a demon?
How could she be struggling so much, getting hit so many times?
“Rita! Above you!”
“Understood, Lady Cecilia!”
Rita responded, driving Dorothy back and then thrust her sword at the ceiling, aiming right at the Magic Seal there!
“Stop!” Dorothy hadn’t even stabilized her body in midair before darting upward again, trying to prevent Rita from causing further damage.
“Alrighty!” Rita agreed, but instead of attacking the Magic Seal above, she spun around to counter Dorothy’s new assault.
Bang.
Dorothy, unable to react in time, was sent flying and crashed hard into the floor, rolling several times before coming to a stop.
“Hey!” Rita made no move to pursue. Instead, she raised her sword and slashed another section of the Magic Seal she’d targeted before.
It had been like this from the start! This woman might be a bit of a fool, but she followed Cecilia’s orders to the letter. Whatever Cecilia said, Rita would reflexively obey.
But Rita wasn’t just blindly obedient; as shown just now, she could also adapt to the situation and block attacks on the fly.
So, if she targeted the Fourth Princess instead…
Swoosh.
Rita suddenly appeared before Dorothy, blocking her instinctive glance toward Cecilia.
“No sneaky thoughts about Lady Cecilia!”
Damn!
Dorothy hurried to defend herself but was still knocked back several steps.
Both had things they needed to protect, but while Cecilia was only one person, Magic Seals covered the entire room. Rita didn’t just want to defeat Dorothy—her true aim was always to destroy this core.
The one at a disadvantage—undoubtedly, was Dorothy.
“Dorothy, your core Magic Seal is full of holes, and your arrangements outside have been blocked by the two Holy Knights. Do you still want to fight on?”
Cecilia’s voice rang out in Dorothy’s mind at her most shaken moment, like the blade of a guillotine rising higher and higher. If Dorothy kept fighting, the blade would surely fall.
Either abandon all she’d set up, or take it all with her to the grave.
Dorothy let her arms fall, trudging in despair to the center of the Magic Seal and slumping to the ground.
That defeated posture—she must have given up resistance, right?
Rita glanced at Cecilia, then kept watching Dorothy in case she tried any tricks.
“Fine.” Dorothy murmured, not even sure what she was agreeing to. “Seems like I really have no choice left.”
But it didn’t matter—there was a third option!
She could cut down these two meddling fools who had ruined her plans, then regroup and try again!
With this—she would use this Demonic Ritual!
All remaining Magic Seals blazed crimson, and Dorothy’s body was suddenly wreathed in blood-red light.
“It’s not only the living who can serve as sacrifices! I’ll send you both off with this!”
Dorothy abruptly pulled something from her clothes, and Cecilia’s pupils shrank in shock.
Yes, Dorothy had said at the very start that her own life didn’t matter. Even if she died in that assassination attempt, she would still use herself as a sacrifice to complete the Demonic Ritual.
And now, what Dorothy produced was instantly recognized by everyone.
From the heart-shaped object, it was clear—this was the Dream Demon’s tail Rita had once been told to deliver to Dorothy.
A Dream Demon was a high-ranked demon, and its tail was its absolute core.
Whatever Dorothy intended, her desperate gamble would bring destruction beyond measure.
“Rita! Stop her!”
“No, there’s no need.” Rita shook her head.
Cecilia could only watch as Dorothy crushed the box containing the Dream Demon’s tail and pressed the coiled black tail into the center of the Magic Seal, which blazed with blinding light as it devoured the tail completely.
“Rita, what do you mean…?”
“Because that tail…”
A few weeks earlier.
“You—you’re serious? If I tell you where the black market stash is, I won’t have to go Potato Farming in the North?”
The filthy, handcuffed peddler stared wide-eyed at Rita, who stood at the jail cell door.
“Of course, of course. You don’t know me yet? I always keep my word.” Rita patted her chest, flashing the harmless smile she reserved for those thugs who’d tried to cause her trouble at the black market.
“You… you really mean it?” the peddler said, half-suspicious.
“I’m one of Lady Cecilia’s people—how could I possibly go back on my word? If you don’t trust me, you can trust the Order of Law, can’t you? Or Lady Cecilia herself?” Rita gave him a big thumbs-up.
“Alright! I’ll tell you! No problem at all!” the peddler said joyfully, then whispered an address to Rita.
A few minutes later, Rita stretched and strolled out of the cell.
The soldiers outside rushed up to her in admiration. “Lady Rita, you’re incredible! How did you trick him into revealing the stash? He confessed every detail!”
“I told him if he gave it up, he wouldn’t have to go Potato Farming in the North,” Rita replied.
“But… wasn’t he never going to be sent Potato Farming? Those slots were full—he was supposed to go Coal Mining,” the soldier said, scratching his head.
“Exactly. I didn’t trick him,” Rita replied righteously.
“Lady Rita, you’re really… despicable…”
“Hmm?”
“Smart! I meant smart!” the soldier quickly corrected himself. “But, Lady Rita, why are you so invested in this? The second round of the assessment is about to begin, isn’t it?”
“Because I’m just that righteous, I guess?” Rita laughed.
Of course, that wasn’t the real reason!
That night, Rita flapped her little wings and was the first to arrive at the stash. She grabbed the little battered box containing the Dream Demon’s tail and ran off.
Yes, that same fake tail the peddler had failed to sell for days at the black market—he’d tried to have her beaten up for calling it a fake.
Lady Cecilia probably couldn’t tell if it was real or not anyway, so if worse came to worst, she’d just use this thing to report back!
As for the real one in her possession, who knew what use it might have?
Of course, Cecilia later chewed her out for it.
“No, enough with your little tricks! This isn’t the same tail you handed in before! Hand over the real one—now!”
Tsk, troublesome.
Later, the real tail from Sumili was to be handed over to Dorothy.
No way! There’s no way I’d give such a valuable thing to that nasty Dorothy! Valfis gave this to me!
The day she was meant to deliver it to Dorothy’s cottage, Rita quietly swapped in the fake tail.
If asked, she’d just say she made a mistake! Yes, that would do!
But Dorothy never asked. She let Rita leave it and immediately started questioning her about how she’d gotten the tail.
Now, the next time Rita saw it was—right here, right now.
At this point, seeing Rita’s reaction, Cecilia could more or less guess what low-level trick Rita had pulled.
“Rita, you didn’t give her…”
“Yup, that’s right.” Rita nodded, unable to hold back a smile.
“Rita.” Cecilia held her forehead, speechless. “Next time, forget these low-level tricks, okay? It’s too embarrassing.”
“It’s fine! Someone already fell for it, didn’t they?”