Gwen stared intently at Safiroth in front of her, her gaze extremely heavy.
No wonder, right from the beginning, she had sensed the aura of a magical creature.
At first, she had thought that a monster had invaded the Clavenna residence.
That was right. Gwen recognized the person before her.
That monster who had clearly appeared inside a monster rift.
'Why is she here?'
Gwen solemnly raised her blade. The sword trembled slightly, light once again gradually enveloping it.
She spoke in a warning tone to Liya and Henny behind her, "Liya… get ready to escape. I'll hold her off."
"And also, find a way to notify Viktor to come back."
Seeing how tense Gwen was, Liya nodded seriously.
"Alright."
Since Gwen said so, that meant the woman in front of them was definitely no easy opponent.
At this moment, Liya lowered her head and looked at the Mage's Hand she was wearing.
She did have a way to call Viktor back directly, but…
The magic Viktor had stored for her was far too terrifying. Whether in terms of damage or range, it was the very peak among third-tier magic.
If it were released here, the entire estate would probably be destroyed.
For now, she couldn't do that.
In the blink of an eye, Safiroth had already launched her attack.
Her figure moved at high speed across the floor, and the long blade in her hand looked ready to swing at any moment.
[Slash!]
It was the same move as last time.
Gwen widened her eyes, staring fixedly at the cold blade rushing toward her.
That white figure stirred up a violent gust of wind in an instant, sweeping past Gwen's face.
In the blink of an eye, Safiroth suddenly appeared behind Gwen.
That flash of cold light ignited, and the terrifying pressure and danger felt like a violent gale, surging straight up Gwen's spine.
But… Gwen wasn't afraid at all.
Last time, she had been able to take it.
And this time, she could do the same.
Gwen tightly gripped her longsword with both hands, the aura around her body constantly rising.
Light flickered endlessly between her palms. Her silver-white hair spread out at the same time, whipping wildly in the air like countless silver serpents.
[Silver Knight's Momentum]
The light in her palms rapidly flowed into her limbs, and a warm sensation overflowed through her veins.
She swiftly twisted her body and raised her longsword in front of herself.
In an instant, the red blade collided with the long knife, erupting with a massive impact.
The surrounding glass was completely shattered, and the clash of metal sent vibrations through the air.
But Gwen could clearly feel it.
Her strength was slightly inferior.
Feeling her power being gradually suppressed, she could only retreat a little, flicking her sword upward to knock aside Safiroth's silver blade, then stepping back several paces.
Gwen regripped her sword, adjusted her footing, and fixed her gaze on Safiroth with an even more serious expression.
She was stronger now than she had been at the monster rift.
At this moment, Liya, standing nearby while protecting Henny and watching the fight, couldn't help but grit her teeth.
"What on earth is Cocotte doing? A monster walks in so openly and she doesn't even stop it?"
"Is she still sleeping?!"
———
[In the Garden of the Clavenna Residence]
Cocotte was lying atop a huge flower bud, sleeping soundly.
Suddenly, she sneezed.
"Achoo!"
She blinked, woke up, and groggily rubbed her eyes, just about to go back to sleep.
But before her blurry vision, she suddenly saw a sneaky, cloaked figure pass by in front of her.
That demon hunter froze as well, turned his head, and stared blankly at Cocotte.
Their eyes met, and silence followed.
The demon hunter spoke first.
"Uh… hello?"
Cocotte smiled and nodded in response.
"Oh, a demon hunter."
The next second, the soil beneath them began to churn rapidly, and the ground itself seemed to tremble slightly.
The demon hunter looked down, feeling the earth beneath his feet shaking continuously.
Suddenly, a vine burst out of the ground, wrapped tightly around his ankles, and hoisted him high into the air.
He flailed his body wildly, struggling nonstop.
"It's useless. Don't struggle."
Cocotte yawned and waved her hand, beckoning the clouds over.
That white cloud drifted over shakily, almost going the wrong way and crashing into the garden wall.
Cocotte leaned forward and flopped onto the cloud, floating over to the demon hunter and quietly looking at him.
"You came all this way just to help me pad my performance record?"
"Thanks."
Cocotte was in a good mood and couldn't help humming a little tune.
Thinking that she had caught a demon hunter sneaking into the Clavenna residence, Viktor and his vicious little sister would definitely praise her.
That way, next time something came up, she could confidently use this as a reason to take leave.
Cocotte lay on the cloud, burying her face in the white fluff, sinking into peaceful fantasies.
But suddenly...
BOOM!!!
A massive explosion rang out from the residence. Cocotte jolted upright, blinked in confusion, and turned her head to look at the bound demon hunter.
"Did you demon hunters change professions?"
"You don't catch demons anymore, now you just tear down people's houses?"
———
Gwen and Safiroth continued their high-speed battle, moving so fast that even the naked eye couldn't follow.
Their momentum kept rising, and nearly everything inside the house was smashed to pieces.
Curtains that had fallen to the ground were set ablaze, and roaring flames spread.
And yet, less than a minute had passed.
Gwen's red longsword swung nonstop, constantly colliding with Safiroth's blade.
Sparks flew everywhere.
Liya and Henny hid to the side, watching the two fight with their hearts in their throats.
Seeing the furniture around them shatter, their hearts were bleeding.
'This was all money!'
But the most urgent thing was to take Henny away first, and then use Mage's Hand to call Viktor back.
Thinking this, Liya turned her head toward Henny behind her.
"Henny, come with me first..."
But she froze in place.
At this moment, Henny stood there in a daze, staring at where the two were fighting, muttering nonstop, "She… actually has wings…"
Henny's mind was completely blank.
The moment Safiroth appeared, she recognized those familiar eyes.
But what shocked her even more was, Safiroth actually had wings growing from her body.
Henny was utterly stunned.
She knew that under the cloak covering Safiroth's back, there was clearly a bulge.
At first, Henny had thought Safiroth was carrying something, like a backpack.
Or maybe… had some kind of illness…
She had even imagined the worst.
But she had never thought... That Safiroth's body, like hers, carried a huge secret.
That bulge was actually two drooping wings.
No wonder she was so strong, so fast, and even her magic output was so chaotic.
Because Safiroth was not human.
Henny snapped back to her senses and looked toward the battle ahead.
Gwen and Safiroth were evenly matched, exchanging blow after blow.
They constantly clashed, the two blades striking against each other.
Gwen's sword kept gathering power, meeting Safiroth's attacks again and again.
At the instant cold light flashed, Gwen's flame-wreathed greatsword always managed to block the blade at the last second.
Then she used the flames to force a gap between herself and Safiroth.
But the tremendous impact still made her hands tremble, her body retreating several steps.
Safiroth's blade, however, didn't slow down. Instead, her attacks grew faster and faster.
Henny could clearly see it.
Under Safiroth's flood-like offensive, Gwen was being pushed back step by step.
Safiroth was truly strong.
Henny slowly raised her head, her eyes full of worry.
She gently clenched her fists.
And at that moment, Liya's voice suddenly sounded beside her, "Henny, that thing… do you know it?"
No one would mistake Safiroth for a human now.
Every time Safiroth swung her blade, the black-and-white wings behind her beat along with it.
Like a completely cold-blooded monster, the only reason she retained any rationality was to kill the prey in front of her.
Hearing this, Henny froze.
Before she could respond to Liya, a huge crash erupted from the battle not far away.
Bang!
A violent shockwave burst forth, and Gwen was blasted several meters away.
Her body twisted in midair, landing on the ground unsteadily.
The gap in strength was too great.
Before Gwen could regain her stance, Safiroth attacked again.
Her wings beat relentlessly, and the white figure, carrying a streak of cold light, tore through space and flashed in front of Gwen.
This time, Gwen didn't even have time to raise a defensive posture.
But just as Safiroth's attack was about to land...
[Second-tier magic: Blue Crystal Curtain]
In an instant, a blue curtain rose from beneath Gwen's feet, rapidly expanding and completely enclosing her.
The curtain, like rolling smoke, churned as Safiroth felt her blade strike something soft, like cotton clouds.
She slightly withdrew her strength, flipped her body, and stepped on the blue mist, using its rebound to push herself several meters back, opening distance from Gwen.
But in her eyes, an extremely complicated expression flickered.
A whitelist target was protecting a blacklist target.
[Unable to understand.]
At this moment, Henny raised one hand, bent over, and panted heavily.
Behind her, a simple blue magic circle lit up, then gradually collapsed, blocking a deadly attack for Gwen.
"Good thing… I made it in time…"
She couldn't cast magic without chanting as easily and quickly as Professor Viktor.
So this timely barrier spell put a heavy burden on her magic.
She felt as though all the strength had been drained from her body, leaving her utterly exhausted.
Safiroth held her blade, her gaze filled with confusion, as she looked at Henny.
That barrier, if she wanted to, she could have broken through it.
But she didn't.
Because at this moment, Henny had met her gaze.
With a voice, she slowly spoke, "Safiroth…"
"Stop."
[Whitelist target request detected...]
[Whitelist request priority exceeds blacklist elimination]
[Command executed]
Safiroth's eyes were complicated as she looked at Henny once more.
"I… just wanted to…"
[Protect you]
Before the words even finished, Safiroth had already sheathed her blade.
Under everyone's puzzled gazes, she spread her massive wings, stirring up a violent gust of wind on the spot.
The next second, like an arrow loosed from a bow, she shot straight into the sky.
In an instant, she vanished from sight.
The others, including Henny, all fell silent as they watched Safiroth leave.
Just then, a white cloud drifted over.
Cocotte leaned against a wall, poked her head out, and looked around at the estate, which now resembled ruins.
Seeing the complicated and serious expressions on Liya and the others, she looked completely confused.
"Huh? What happened?"
Gwen clutched her arm and looked up through the shattered glass.
She stared at the moon in the sky and collapsed onto the ground.
She reached into her armor and took out the two white feathers she had kept inside.
As if unwilling to accept it, she clenched them slightly.