When Henny saw Owiser slowly walking toward her, she instinctively moved to bow.
Of course she knew who Owiser was.
The empire's second prince.
Back at Viktor's lecture, countless nobles had been present.
And the two princes had been seated right in the center of the hall, drawing a great deal of attention.
"Your… Your Highness."
The second prince smiled at Henny. Before she could bend down, he spoke first.
"Stop."
Henny froze for two seconds when she heard this, her body half-bent, awkwardly suspended in midair.
"No need to bow. No one knows I came here."
The second prince said this while smiling.
"I just wanted to come take a look at this place of remembrance."
Henny slowly straightened up, her hands tightly clenched together, forcing out a stiff smile.
A prince was someone of such exalted status, having one take the initiative to speak with commoners like them was something she would never have dared to imagine.
But right now, all Henny wanted to do was leave.
Aside from Professor Viktor, she instinctively didn't want to have contact with any men.
However, since the second prince hadn't told her to leave, Henny naturally didn't dare to walk away on her own.
She might as well stand quietly to the side.
Suddenly, the second prince asked her a question, "I heard you mention demons just now."
"How much do you know about demons?"
Hearing the prince's words, Henny lowered her head and replied in a somewhat weak voice.
"I don't really know that much…"
"Is that so."
The second prince stared at Henny, his eyes narrowing slightly.
He could feel it.
Yes, he could feel it very clearly.
Hidden within this girl was a demon.
That extremely violent aura was clearly coming from the girl standing before him.
The second prince knew that the moment he saw Henny, he had already confirmed his suspicion.
He naturally knew who Henny was.
Viktor's former teaching assistant, someone deeply entangled with Viktor in countless ways.
And that Wrath demon that should have appeared on Jace, that had originally been a grand gift he prepared for his imperial elder brother.
So why had it inexplicably appeared on her instead?
'Greed, do you have any idea what's going on?'
That sticky, hoarse voice gradually echoed within his heart.
'Never seen this little girl before. Don't know her.'
Lying through one's teeth was effortless for a demon.
The second prince didn't take it too seriously.
After all, the first time he met Greed, Greed had been possessing that poor pig-headed fellow, Devon Lesser.
At this moment, the second prince let out a soft chuckle.
He was very interested in the Henny before him.
Viktor definitely knew something, so he had used this girl to forcibly take away the Wrath demon.
If he could find out the secret of how she attracted demons…
As he watched her, he took the initiative to extend a hand toward Henny and continued, "Perhaps we could find a place to have a proper talk. What do you think?"
An invitation from a prince.
Ordinary people would not refuse it.
The second prince also believed that Henny would make the right choice.
However, what he didn't expect was, the girl before him bowed deeply to him and then spoke words that shocked him greatly, "I'm very sorry! Your Highness!"
"I can't leave with you."
As the words fell, the second prince froze.
Even the hand he had extended stiffened in midair, forgotten, not withdrawn.
He… had been rejected?
As an imperial prince, this was the first time he had ever been rejected by a woman.
The second prince found it a bit hard to understand. Looking at Henny, he spoke with a smile that didn't reach his eyes, "I say…"
"May I ask for the reason?"
Henny took a few steps back, because she felt an inexplicable malice coming from the second prince.
It was as if a sharp emotion was gradually brewing deep in his heart.
Henny was extremely sensitive to emotions. She hurriedly bowed again and spoke apologetically, "I'm sorry, Your Highness. It's because I truly have something very important to do."
Hearing this, the second prince frowned slightly.
"What kind of matter would make you reject even a prince?"
'Could it be… because of Viktor?'
The second prince looked at Henny and took a few steps forward, pressing closer step by step.
Inside Henny's body, a red crocodile slowly raised its head and frowned.
"A strong smell of jealousy."
"Tsk, this tastes fucking awful."
Henny kept retreating, while the second prince kept advancing.
The second prince began to grow impatient.
He had to find out.
Why was there a demon hidden within this woman before him?
But suddenly, he noticed that there was another person standing beside Henny.
[Detected protected target under threat]
[Activating protection measures...]
In the blink of an eye, the second prince only felt a flash before his eyes.
BOOM!
A massive impact slammed into his chest, the powerful pressure even snapping several of his ribs.
The next second, his entire body flew out like a meteor, limbs spread wide.
Completely unprepared, he plunged straight into the deep lake.
Splashing up a beautiful spray of water.
Henny widened her eyes as she looked at Saphiloth, one leg bent into a bow stance, the other stretched straight, her arm suspended in midair.
Her entire body froze on the spot.
"Threat eliminated."
A voice sounded from beneath the cloak.
Henny looked completely dumbfounded, one hand covering her face, as if she had seen something utterly unbelievable.
The prince… got beaten up.
"It's over."
"This time, we've really caused trouble…"
———
Huge mountain ranges jutted out with strangely shaped rocks, with patches of green draping a thin layer of clothing over the mountains.
This was the back mountain outside the royal capital. The area was vast, and it took a long time to reach the summit.
Kefra joked to Viktor from the side, "Hey, hey, doesn't this feel exciting?"
"What?" Viktor asked casually.
Kefra said with a smile, "Of course it's the date with big sister. Don't you think it's exciting?"
"Gwen knows about this, you know."
She stretched out a finger, pressed it against Viktor's chest, and hooked the pendant hanging there.
"You~"
"Have to spend the whole day with big sister."
Viktor kept his hands in his pockets, lowered his head, and looked into Kefra's seductive eyes. His gaze moved downward, and he let out a disdainful snort.
"I'm not so desperate that I'll eat anything."
"Old hag."
"???"
Kefra's defenses shattered.
Although she didn't quite understand what was going on with Viktor's somewhat strange gaze, that last "old hag" was enough to completely break her.
The bloodline of a demon hunter had extended her lifespan, and even her appearance barely changed.
But her age was a secret that must never be mentioned.
Kefra's face twitched slightly, and she forced a stiff smile.
"Viktor, you really haven't changed since childhood. Even now, you're still just as unpleasant."
Viktor shot her a glance, then returned his gaze to the path ahead.
"But I have a fiancée."
"..."
Kefra silently withdrew her hand and walked forward without another word.
The world finally grew quiet, and Viktor continued following behind Kefra.
Soon, the two of them stood before a cave.
Deep within the cave was an enormous stone door.
It seemed the height of the mountain itself had been naturally formed just to accommodate this massive door.
Kefra stopped, entered the cave, and looked up at the stone door.
"We're here."
She placed her hand on the stone door and pressed down heavily.
The massive stone door began to tremble with a roar, clumps of dust falling from the cracks.
The two great doors slowly opened, and a violent gust of wind suddenly blew out from the dark passage beyond.
Bang!
The doors gradually came to a stop, standing on either side of the cave.
Kefra stepped forward and walked inside.
Viktor followed slowly behind her.
The pitch-black tunnel was filled with a damp, moldy smell.
Enduring the stench, Viktor continued walking forward.
But soon, the tunnel suddenly widened.
The lights around them instantly lit up, and the surrounding rock walls had been polished to an extreme smoothness. The entire space was so vast it felt as if it extended beyond the mountain itself.
The rock walls were covered with various ordinary figures, each one accompanied by dense annotations beneath it.
The surrounding rocks had been polished flat, looking suitable for sitting and resting.
The entire enormous space felt like the base of some cult, used for preaching and taking in followers.
Kefra slowly turned around and said to Viktor, "This is the demon hunter branch near the royal capital. Since it was only established not long ago, it's a bit crude."
"At present, I'm serving here as the branch head."
The instant her words fell, Kefra's aura surged explosively.
A long bar rose up, and Viktor, extremely sensitive, immediately noticed that Kefra's health bar had appeared.
Along with her level.
[Lv40]
Kefra had leveled up.
Before this, she had been level 39.
In the game, there were only two situations where health bars and levels would appear.
One was physical contact, and the other was entering a combat state.
He hadn't touched Kefra.
Which meant, the Kefra before him had already entered a state of combat readiness.
At this moment, several figures slowly emerged from the darkness along the rock walls.
They wore symbols of demon hunting on their bodies and various animal masks on their faces.
Beneath the masks, only a pair of eyes stared fixedly at the man before them.
Viktor kept his hands in his pockets, his expression barely changing, as if everything was within his expectations.
"So you brought me here to test me."
"To test whether I'm colluding with demons. Is that right?"
Kefra frowned tightly, her gaze conflicted as she looked at Viktor.
"I really want to believe you, Viktor."
That was why she had given Viktor that pendant, that token as precious as her own life.
"I know I can't defeat you."
"If I die, that pendant will expel the demon within you."
"The power of the demon hunters will protect you, so you'll never be corrupted by demons again."
Demon hunter blood and demonic power were fundamentally incompatible. As such, the power of demon hunters would forcibly purge demonic energy.
"I won't allow a demon to come into contact with Gwen."
"Even if it's just for Gwen's sake, Viktor."
Kefra slowly drew a silver-white dagger from her waist. The demon hunters around her all drew identical silver blades in unison.
"Fine."
"Since it's a test, I don't have a problem with it."
Viktor suddenly laughed, narrowing his eyes.
"However, to make this test a little less boring."
"From now on, I won't use any magic."
Viktor pulled his left hand out of his coat pocket. A strand of white wind condensed into a blade, attaching itself to his forearm.
Violent gusts of wind surged through the space, tearing papers off the walls and sending them dancing through the air.
Viktor's coat flapped loudly as well.
Holding the blade in one hand, he said calmly, "Consider this a response to your trust in me."
"Try your best to defeat me."