Sevitis casually swung the massive blood scythe in her hand, letting it dissolve back into a cloud of dark red mist that dissipated into the air.
Well, that should be the end of it.
Since detecting another female demon spider hidden deep in the cave, she had been considering her options.
In her current state, nearly exhausted, it was unrealistic to fight head-on.
Although directly transforming into a vampire could restore her condition, that aura was too conspicuous and would likely be noticed by the examiner outside.
If her true identity was exposed, it wouldn’t just be a matter of losing some points.
Fortunately, she managed to force the truth out of that guy, confirming that this crappy barrier could completely block outside perception.
So she decisively removed her disguise, switched back to vampire form, and hid in the shadows waiting for an opportunity.
Although that slash didn’t kill instantly, no matter what, in the end she still won.
As for the Sixth Prince in front of her, whose eyes were rolled back and had fallen asleep… Sevitis scratched her cheek speechlessly.
‘No way? I haven’t even done anything yet, and this guy just passed out on his own? She had only threatened him a bit based on the weakness info on the status panel. Was this prince’s heart really that fragile?’
‘Whatever, this works out anyway. Saves me from dirtying my hands.’
Besides… Sevitis glanced at the suspicious yellow puddle beneath him and curled her lip in disgust.
‘This guy is too disgusting! A prince actually peeing on the ground like this. As a fellow noble, I’m ashamed to be associated with such an unsanitary person.’
She had originally hesitated to give him a couple of fireballs to try out, since she hadn’t had enough fun yet and still had many scrolls.
But now, she felt that getting any closer would dirty her shoes.
‘Let him stay here and be buried with the demon spider couple. It won’t be long before this cave turns into a sea of flames anyway.’
‘She was no saint. This guy never intended to let her live from the start, so naturally she couldn’t afford to show mercy. Mercy to an enemy is cruelty to oneself.’
‘Moreover, this Sixth Prince had seen her true vampire form. From that moment on, no matter what happened, he had to die here today.’
Sevitis shot one last glance at the self-important Sixth Prince, a complex look flashing in her eyes.
‘In truth, she was well aware that her state just now had been very abnormal.’
‘She could have killed him cleanly with one slash, but she had deliberately chosen the most tormenting method—using words to peel away his darkest secrets one by one, like watching a show, leisurely enjoying the despair and fear on his face.’
‘Just like… that female vampire who had turned her into this state.’
‘Watching her prey gradually mentally break down, her body and mind were filled with a strange sense of pleasure. The feeling of teasing her prey at will was something she couldn’t control getting addicted to.’
‘As a well-educated pure human, she had never killed anyone before. But when she did that just now, her twenty years of human conscience didn’t feel a single pang of guilt, as if she had been born used to it.’
‘When she fought them as a human earlier, she hadn’t felt this way. But as soon as she transformed back into a vampire, these cruel thoughts uncontrollably surfaced.’
‘At the root, the problem lay with this body. The bloodthirsty instinct ingrained in the vampire’s bones was subtly distorting her mind.’
‘The real reason she chose to stop and let that guy fend for himself was that she was afraid.’
‘It wasn’t the act of killing she feared. Ever since she narrowly escaped death in that forest, she understood that to survive in this cruel world, getting her hands bloody was inevitable.’
‘What she truly feared was gradually falling in love with the thrill of toying with prey.’
‘If she could calmly treat taking life as entertainment after driving prey into a corner, feeling excitement and pleasure from slaughter…’
‘Once her heart became like that, she would forever lose the last bit of self-awareness as a “human” and degenerate into a complete demon.’
‘If she couldn’t find a way to turn back into a human, that day would likely come sooner or later.’
‘But at least, she couldn’t let that day come so soon, and especially not now.’
Sevitis shook her little head forcefully, casting aside these heavy thoughts.
Then she pulled out a short sword and extracted the magic cores from the two demon spiders.
As for the nobles’ magic cores, obviously they were all on that foolish prince, but Sevitis really didn’t want to touch him, so she just pretended those guys hadn’t hunted anything.
After storing the magic cores in her storage space, Sevitis raised her hand and aimed her pale palm at the two massive demon spider corpses, then tentatively chanted in a low voice:
“[Fireball Art].”
A fiery hot fireball, noticeably larger than the ones released from the scroll earlier, roared out from her palm and accurately hit the target, adding fuel to this funeral pyre.
Only, it seemed she had added a bit too much fuel.
Boom—!
The fireball exploded, sending a wave of scorching heat that instantly engulfed all the remains on the ground, even nearly sending Sevitis flying from her own creation.
“Whoa!”
Sevitis staggered to steady herself, dumbfounded.
‘Was this most basic tier-one Fireball Art really this powerful? It felt like a completely different level of magic compared to the ones thrown from the scroll!’
‘Actually, scrolls only need mana to activate, but success still depends on the user’s own elemental affinity.’
‘Earlier, when chased into the depths of the cave by the female demon spider, she had a sudden inspiration and pulled out a fireball scroll from the bottom of her space pouch, wanting to test if this vampire body had any elemental affinity.’
‘Unexpectedly, not only could it be used, but the effect was outstanding.’
‘Having been a “magic insulator” for a full twenty years, she had long craved the feeling of personally casting magic. That’s why she couldn’t contain her excitement and tried chanting one herself just now.’
Looking at the blazing flames filling the cave, the corners of Sevitis’s mouth curled up wildly.
She excitedly raised both hands, and a series of meteor-like fireballs flew out again.
‘I never thought I’d see the day. It wasn’t in vain that I memorized the magic spell formula for Fireball Art so fluently. Now I finally have a use for it. Looks like I have the makings of a great mage.’
‘Anyway, with that guy’s barrier outside, no one can detect what’s happening here. I might as well let loose all at once and make up for the twenty years of frustration and regret as a magic deadbeat!’
“Fireball Art! Fireball Art! Hahahaha— Super Unstoppable Continuous Huge Mega Fireball Art!”
Only when the two massive demon spider corpses were blasted into nothing but ashes, having thoroughly enjoyed her mage stint, did Sevitis reluctantly stop and wipe the fine sweat from her forehead with the back of her hand.
“Phew— That felt good.”
‘This feeling of releasing all the mana inside her at once was simply exhilarating! She could now understand why mages liked to shout and spam magic while fighting.’
She turned around contentedly, humming a tune as she walked toward the cave entrance, leaving the towering flames behind.
‘I need to slip out and change back into human form before the sun sets. Otherwise, when the exam ends and I have to submit the magic cores, if I can’t show up, I’ll be stuck in a corner holding a pile of high-score cores with no one to cry to.’
‘But… why did she feel like she had forgotten something?’
“Mmm~”
A weak groan suddenly came from deep within the sea of fire.
‘Sevitis’s eyes narrowed instantly. Could it be that the Sixth Prince didn’t die completely and woke up again? What a tough life. It seems I’ll have to finish him off myself after all.’
She reversed her hand and summoned the blood scythe again, turning around murderously and heading toward the fire.
But when she got closer to look, the blonde noble originally lying in the corner had been roasted into a well-done charcoal by the fireball’s blast, completely dead.
‘Sevitis stopped in confusion. Strange, she had definitely heard someone groaning just now. If it wasn’t this guy coming back to life, then in this sealed cave, who else could it be…’
“It smells so good~ Mama, are you making barbecue? Hehe… I love eating barbecue…”
‘Crap!’
Sevitis felt as if struck by lightning, finally recalling the missing piece of the puzzle. She had been too carried away with her explosions and forgotten that her ox demon companion was still inside the cave!
‘No time to think about how that girl could still sleep so soundly in this environment. The top priority was to quickly get her out.’
“Su Ling!”
Sevitis quickly spread her bat wings and charged straight into the depths of the fire through the thick smoke.
Through the dazzling flames, she could vaguely see the ox demon girl lying on her back in a pile of rubble, sleeping spread-eagled.
“Stupid cow, wake up! If you keep sleeping, you won’t wake up!” Sevitis shouted anxiously.
As if hearing her call, the ox demon girl furrowed her brows. Under Sevitis’s relieved gaze, she slowly raised her hand and rubbed her sleepy eyes.
“Mmm~ So warm… Mama, the light is too bright, turn off the lamp… Let me sleep for five more minutes…”
With that, she lazily rolled over, turning her back to the blazing fire wall.
In a daze, she reached out and pinched out a small spark that had accidentally caught on her cow tail, then snored and continued sleeping without a care.
“…”
‘This girl is hopeless. Get the tableware ready for roast beef.’
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