Chapter 189: Sistem’s Pursuit

“Ha… ss…”

Darkness crawled out of the lake, drenched from head to toe like a drowned dog, utterly wretched.

She hadn’t thought she would be defeated, but to be safe, she’d set her Shadow Substitute anchor in the hidden lake.

Looking back now, it was the right decision. Liakade’s strength had inexplicably soared, and she’d gained a bizarre new ability.

Darkness had believed that even if she couldn’t beat Liakade in this state, she could at least use her unpredictable Shadow Magic to kill Alice and complete her mission.

However, Liakade had pulled her directly out of the shadows.

That was something Darkness had never experienced.

Aside from Light Magic, she never imagined anyone could use another magic to drag her out of a shadow.

Now, Darkness deeply regretted it. If she had known, she should have eliminated Alice the moment she restrained her, before Liakade could use that power.

She shouldn’t have underestimated her opponent, nor tried to humiliate Liakade first.

Darkness leaned against a rock by the lake.

The pain from the huge wound on her chest made her moan weakly, her chest rising and falling with each breath.

Although Darkness was a high-ranking demon with some regenerative abilities, as a user of Shadow Magic, her recovery was not as good as a Succubus with Blood Magic.

She didn’t possess any super-speed regeneration either, so she could only recover slowly.

What was strange, though, was that the wound Liakade had cut open was healing especially slowly.

It seemed that Liakade’s blood had contaminated it, making regeneration even harder. It had taken a long time just to stop the bleeding.

Once again, Darkness was grateful she’d set up the Shadow Substitute, which saved her life.

This place was far from the cave they had just been in.

Darkness didn’t believe Liakade and the others could chase her all the way here.

Even if Liakade could track her through her blood, Darkness had already cleaned it away with Shadow Silk Thread.

The only gains from this operation might be the magic power and blood of Eric and Irina Zi.

Though they had been devoured by the Swarm, Darkness had collected their magic, blood, and even their souls.

Both were high-level, which would greatly aid in accelerating the Revival of Minotauros.

Although Liakade and her group had discovered her hiding in the upper floors, Darkness was still unwilling to let it go.

They only knew she was hiding above them, but didn’t know her identity or have a way to track her.

If they could, they would have hunted her down already, instead of setting traps to lure her out.

So, Darkness decided to stay at the Academy, waiting for a chance to get her revenge.

She would assassinate Alice, no matter the place, time, or method, regardless of exposure.

Darkness only wanted to eliminate Alice and prevent her from hindering the Great Rejuvenation of the Demons.

“Yo, it was hard finding you, Miss Darkness.”

“Wh—”

A massive blue sword fell from the sky, cleaving both Darkness and the stone she leaned on in half.

By the time she sensed the danger, it was too late.

She dove into the shadow, but the blue sword still sliced her.

“Ah… you… Why are you here!?”

Darkness emerged from a nearby shadow, half-kneeling on the ground, gasping for air.

A new streak of blood appeared on her shoulder.

She gritted her teeth, forcing herself to look up at the attacker descending from above.

A four-winged blue giant stood with sword and shield, guarding the person at its side—

It was Sistem, who had been stopped outside earlier.

“Heh, didn’t you already know? Liakade guessed you’d be hiding here to ambush them.”

“Then think, why did Liakade bring me here but didn’t let me enter with her?”

As she heard this, Darkness suddenly realized.

If Liakade had anticipated everything, she wouldn’t have left Sistem waiting obediently at the camp.

Even if she was stopped, Liakade would have had Sistem sneak in quietly.

And so it was.

While Darkness used Shadow Magic to hide, Sistem used Wind Magic, floating high above Liakade and the others, observing everything below with the Eagle Eye Scroll.

Even the events in the cave were sensed through the Wind Elemental Perception triggered by Liakade’s magic.

Therefore, even without Korim’s help, Liakade’s group could likely defeat Darkness.

When Darkness bound Alice and attacked Liakade, Liakade wouldn’t have held back, and Sistem would have descended at once, freeing Alice and the others from their restraints to fight together.

However, this also meant Darkness might make a desperate move to kill Alice, so Korim’s protection was necessary.

After Darkness escaped, Sistem immediately searched the area.

The Eagle Eye Scroll had a wide range, and since Darkness set her anchor in the lake, Sistem didn’t notice her at first.

But once Darkness emerged, Sistem locked onto her immediately.

“With your current magic and body, I wonder how much power you can still use.”

With that, Sistem stopped talking.

She activated the scroll in her hand, spreading a faint white light over the ground.

This was a Light Scroll made by the Church, which transformed other elements into light elements through prayer or devices and stored them in scrolls.

Though this light was full of impurities and couldn’t directly harm Darkness, it could shorten the time she could remain in shadows and slow her movements within them.

Then, Sistem controlled the Wind Giant and charged at Darkness.

“Yaa!!!”

The massive sword, carrying fierce wind pressure, crashed down toward Darkness.

Her face twisted in agony as she screamed.

Black chains and silk threads rose from beneath her feet, lashing toward the Wind Giant’s limbs.

At the same time, she sank rapidly, dodging the sword’s strike.

Although the blow was powerful, as long as Darkness hid within shadows, ordinary attacks of the four elements couldn’t harm her.

She refused to believe Sistem could pull her from shadows like Liakade.

But, soaking in the faint light, Darkness soon felt a burning sensation.

If she didn’t get out, she would be scorched.

Meanwhile, a Storm Spear had already formed above Sistem’s head, aimed right at her.

No—this is bad!

Darkness panicked.

With the Light Scroll slowing her down, and Sistem’s Eagle Eye Scroll tracking her every move, she couldn’t keep hiding in the shadows.

Sistem had already aimed at her shadow, waiting for her to show herself!

Darkness quickly maneuvered her shadow behind a tree, then leaped out from behind it.

But the Storm Spear was still thrown.

“Boom—”

The Storm Spear blasted through the tree, piercing Darkness’s shoulder as well.

“Ahhhhh!!!”