"Honestly, I can't stand this anymore."
"As expected, I can never fully grasp the strategies you humans use."
"But that's fine. This return to violence is sothing I quite enjoy. After all... we are beasts in the end."
"Count Granat, if we truly wish to bring peace to this city, I actually have another proposal."
As he spoke, Lugner stood up and elegantly straightened the hem of his clothes like a refined gentleman before raising the right hand that had just regenerated.
At the sa ti, he finished his sentence.
"Kill all of you."
Swish.
Lugner casually flicked his bloodstained hand through the air. The blood lingering on it traced a crimson arc.
"Look out!"
The countess shouted a warning and instantly deployed [Defensive Magic], but it was already too late.
Her barrier only managed to cover the two nearest soldiers. She had no way of protecting Count Granat himself.
An overwhelming surge of mana, thick with killing intent, swept through the entire room in an instant.
Boom!
The crimson bloodline sliced through everything in its path.
Tables, chairs, cabinets, all split cleanly in two. Even the surrounding walls were carved open with deep gashes.
Dust exploded outward as the entire room collapsed into ruins.
The countess felt her heart turn cold.
Lugner curled his lips into a false smile and slowly walked toward her step by step.
Hatred blazed in the countess's eyes, but she did not lose her composure. The defensive magic in her hands never wavered for even a mont.
anwhile, Lugner maliciously continued manipulating his blood, transforming it into a crimson whip that repeatedly lashed against the countess's [Magic Shield], forcing her backward again and again.
"You didn't abandon the soldiers beside you even to protect your husband. How rare. Is this what you humans call [Nobility]?"
Just as Lugner was about to exhaust her mana and shatter her defenses—
A red figure suddenly burst through the dust behind him.
It was Stark.
Carrying a sharp silver flash with him, the boy charged straight toward the smug Lugner.
Beside Lugner, the pink-haired demon girl in gothic lolita clothing moved.
A spear materialized in her hand, forcibly intercepting the surprise attack.
Yet while she blocked the first strike, she could not stop the second one that followed imdiately after.
Behind Stark, Count Granat—who should have been dead—charged forward with a greatsword in hand.
At the critical mont, Lugner's blood condensed into a shield, blocking the fatal ambush for the pink-haired girl.
He glanced at the still-living count in surprise.
Boom!
"How are you still—"
Before he could finish speaking, an enormous beam of magic shot straight at him from behind.
The freshly regenerated right hand, along with the right side of his ear and hair, were blasted away together.
Outside the window, Fern stood against the wind with her staff tightly gripped, controlling the battlefield from afar.
That heroic figure left Lugner stunned.
After suffering consecutive attacks, he could no longer maintain his fake gentlemanly composure. His expression twisted violently, and with half his face mangled, he looked like a demon crawling out of hell itself.
"You despicable humans."
"Again and again, you test my patience."
"..."
"Linie! Kill those two pests!"
The pink-haired girl he called "Linie" remained silent.
The spear in her hand vanished and transford into a throwing knife aid at Count Granat. Then, taking advantage of her opponent's evasive movent, a battle axe appeared in her hands as she leaped toward Stark with a heavy downward slash.
Though the girl looked small and delicate, her movents were as refined and overwhelming as a veteran warrior's.
Even fighting two opponents alone, her thoughts remained clear and her attacks effortless.
Stark and the count retreated while fighting, gradually forced out of the room without even noticing.
Now free from the pressure of ambushes, Lugner took a brief mont to recover while repairing his injuries, staring down Fern through the open window.
anwhile, the countess used the opportunity to escort the two soldiers away.
For a mont, the battlefield fell into a stalemate.
Fern did not act rashly.
She recalled Frieren's teachings.
The countess's first attack combined with her own second strike had both been powerful, so why wasn't he dead? If he were human, that level of damage would've killed him already.
'Do I need to aim for the head? Or the heart?'
Thinking that, Fern pointed her staff toward Lugner's head.
The heart was easier to miss. The head was safer.
Observing her movent, Lugner imdiately understood her intention.
"Little girl, as a mage, relying on hidden mana to ambush your opponent in battle... isn't that rather rude?"
"You sure talk a lot. Are we fighting or not?"
"Heh. Such an ill-mannered child."
Fern didn't respond.
She knew he was trying to provoke her.
Mr. Shane had once said:
[Villains die from talking too much. If you want to win a fight, keep your mouth shut.]
She didn't want to lose, so she obediently followed that advice.
"You want to blow apart my head? Then go ahead and try."
As he spoke, Lugner released his blood again, shaping it into whips that pierced toward the window.
Fern reacted instantly.
[Defensive Magic] appeared in an instant, blocking every crimson whip. At the sa ti, during the gaps between defenses, she seamlessly switched to offensive magic and fired back at Lugner.
That precise level of magical control made Lugner widen his eyes slightly.
He no longer dared to underestimate her and began manipulating the blood around him with full force.
"I devoted half my life to this magic."
"Little girl, do you really think a bit of talent is enough to kill ? How naive."
This was his greatest pride: [Blood Manipulation Magic].
It allowed him to transform his own blood into freely controlled weapons that could shift into countless forms during battle, functioning as both offense and defense.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The collisions of magic erupted in dazzling flashes that illuminated nearly half the city.
After escorting the soldiers away from the count's estate, the countess began directing nearby civilians to evacuate and seek shelter.
As she looked back toward the battle raging across the upper and lower floors of the castle, worry filled her heart.
Within the garden of Count Granat's estate—
Stark and Count Granat had been forced into a corner by Linie.
The two n breathed heavily as they exchanged glances, both knowing the situation was far from good.
This demon girl's fighting style was simply too varied.
Blades, spears, swords, halberds—she wielded everything flawlessly, and every strike was frighteningly sharp. It was almost unbelievable.
Shing.
Linie once again drew out a greatsword.
With a graceful flourish, she stepped her right foot back, leaned her body forward, and pointed the gleaming blade toward the two of them.
The mont Count Granat saw her stance, he froze.
Veins bulged across his forehead, and his eyes instantly turned bloodshot.
"Whose movents are you imitating?!"
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