"—Lily, we have to run!!!"
"Huh?... Oh!, right!."
At that mont, I realized we’d been spotted—specifically by Silvia. If anyone could see us through the wall, it was her, with her eyes.
I knew it for sure when I saw her talking to Elena, and before I even realized it, Elena had simply vanished from view.
We couldn’t waste any ti; if we didn’t run, it would be the end of us. I quickly went on high alert and moved through this narrow space, but I wasn’t as fast as I wanted to be.
"Lily, it’s not fair, wait for — Ah, right..."
But I saw how Lily, with her nearly S-rank agility, moved like a cat and slipped through quickly, even though I’m less curvy than she is.
But then I rembered that the cloak of good intentions was no longer necessary, and I switched to the flexibility I’d obtained, which was high-rank, because I’d acquired it repeatedly as a combo.
I got it thanks to synchronizing with Lily, who had a higher rank, and then I reinforced it by synchronizing with the twins.
Like a feline, I was able to slip through and reach the end, where the exit was a ventilation grate I had to crouch to pass through.
But with my feline flexibility—sotis considered fluid—I slipped through easily without a second’s delay.
I caught up to Lily, and we began running through the mansion’s hallways.
"Dear, I sense sothing coming, but I don’t see anything."
"Don’t look back, Lily. You won’t see anything. Just keep going, run, and keep running."
Lily, with her razor-sharp instincts, sensed Elena. I don’t know if she was right behind us, but Elena was definitely tracking us.
She was a true predator from whom I could only run away and hope she wasn’t as close as she seed.
"Sweetheart, I’m scared."
"Don’t be afraid, Lily. We’ll get through this together."
"Y-yes, I believe in— huh? Sweetheart, why do you look like ?"
"Ahem!, because like I said, Lily, we’re in this together."
I know Elena, and she would obviously co after first, so I quickly imitated Lily’s appearance. That way, my chances of survival went up.
We kept running as fast as our stats allowed.
We saw an open window and didn’t hesitate to jump through it. We reached the garden, and I spotted the small forest on the property.
I felt we’d have a better chance of losing her if we got there, and with our speed, we covered the distance in a few seconds, but—
"Ah!"
I heard Lily sound surprised. When I looked, I saw what looked like a black rope about to tighten around her neck.
"Huh?"
In that mont, I saw everything happen in slow motion, and although Lily tried to resist, she was pulled forcefully backward.
"Swwweetheaaaaaart!!!"
Lily scread in desperation as she was violently dragged away.
Bang!
’Lily, I promised we’d get out of this together, but... I want to live.’
I clenched my teeth and refused to let her sacrifice be in vain. It was sothing I’d prepared for when I took on her appearance, so this wasn’t the ti to hesitate, and I kept running—running without looking back, without thinking about Lily’s tragic fate.
The forest was almost within my reach; I was just monts away from arriving; I was almost there. I put all my will into it—just a little more, a little further, and I... will survive.
"Ah!"
But just as I was about to step into the shadow of a tree, I felt a chill, and along with it, I felt sothing wrapping around my neck.
I felt a chill run through my body, and perhaps it was my will to survive kicking in, but I deactivated morphogenesis and, at a speed I didn’t know I was capable of, switched my ability to shadow assimilation.
Stepping into the faint shadow of the tree, I desperately dodged the rope tightening around my neck by re milliters.
My world changed, and the black with white edges beca my reality, and yet I kept moving, dodging obstacles and fleeing, hidden in the shadows.
It was only after a mont of calm that I realized... I had survived.
And I confird it when I saw Elena return to where my doppelganger had been. Lily’s fate was uncertain, and my doppelganger wouldn’t dare ask, but I know that at least her sacrifice wasn’t in vain.
..
.
"Phew~, that was close. Well, I guess I can’t use that lookout spot anymore—I need to find another one.... Huh?"
I stepped out of the shadows and imdiately shifted back to my male appearance. I didn’t sense or see anyone nearby, but as I grumbled and thought out loud, I caught a peculiar sll in the air, so out of curiosity I followed it to figure out what it was.
I walked for a while until I finally found the source. I was surprised because it actually ca from a person; that person was holding a cigarette, and I realized that was where the peculiar sll was coming from.
But what baffles is that, even with her right in front of , I don’t sense her presence.
My eyes can see her, but I don’t sense her presence at all. It’s a form of concealnt on par with Elena’s.
No, actually it’s even more powerful—it makes it seem as if the person doesn’t exist, sothing not even Elena is capable of doing yet.
In fact, my eyes are bothering a little; I feel like I have to stop looking at her, as if on a physiological level I’m also rejecting her existence.
It was an unexpected encounter, and those inexplicable sensations put on alert. I didn’t know what this unexpected being was, nor what her presence in this place ant.
I went on the defensive, but she stayed there with a vacant stare, going about her business and exhaling purple smoke.
I don’t know exactly what it is, but it definitely looks like sothing that would be addictive and cause her to lose herself in her own world.
But she finally seed to notice my presence and gaze; she looked at and spoke in a very relaxed tone.
"Oh! Why, it’s my kohai. What are you doing around here? Are classes over?"
"...?"
I didn’t understand why she was talking to as if she knew , and I certainly didn’t understand why I heard the word "kohai."
I an, it’s not impossible, but as far as I know, I have to do that consciously, and to begin with, I don’t even know her, so recognizing her as a senior was...
’Huh? Wait a minute, doesn’t she look a little like Rowyn? They’re almost identical, except for their tan and complexion. How strange.’
"What’s going on, koa—? Hahaha! I guess you too... yeah, it hasn’t happened yet, hahaha. Hey, do you want to hang out with this older stranger and forget about everything else?"
"...No, I don’t want to. I... won’t intrude, so I’m leaving."
This is really strange. I have a weird feeling; plus, she was talking and acting like a madwoman.
Well, it’s not surprising: she must not be in her right mind. Whatever she’s absorbing must be powerful.
"Hahaha, I guess you don’t want to spend ti with soone like . Hahaha... I enjoy solitude anyway."
"..."
I don’t sense any danger from her, and she’s giving a bit of a headache. I don’t know if it’s from the smoke or the strange feeling.
Maybe there’s an skill or blessing at work here, and I can’t counter it.
Whatever it is, I feel like I don’t want to stay any longer. That girl is really making feel a sense of rejection I don’t understand.
I definitely shouldn’t get any more involved.
Still, later I have to look up information on this strange person and see if she has any connection to Rowyn. I can’t just ignore such a strange being.
..
.
"Huh? Did I bump into soone?"
I finally erged from the forest, and when I did, I felt sothing odd. It felt as if I’d forgotten sothing...
’Well, if I forgot it, it can’t be important. Oh well, whatever.’
Yeah, it’s not important. I need to get ready. Tonight will be a good night with Astrid after so long; I’ve prepared lots of things she likes.
..
.
I need to assess myself rationally.
I’m a Sixth... yes, Sixth tamorphosis. A prominent rank, considered elite before the Age of the Gods in our realm.
Not only that: I’m soone who can easily fight against soone above my rank—even soone two ranks higher. If I give it my all, I can even take on soone at the Ninth.
Yes, I am soone who can even take on soone of the ninth morphogenesis as long as that person lacks the skills or talent to fight above their rank, such as faction leaders and the faction elite.
Not only that: I possess Aeloria’s greatest blessing. Any evil spirit or corrupt or dark being is weak before .
It may be a blessing that doesn’t have many practical uses for increasing combat power, but under the right circumstances, I could even defeat an evil spirit in the soul conversion rank.
Any curse or poison is ineffective against , and in fact, anything considered impure should fear , as I am their absolute nesis.
And getting back to my combat power, I’ve actually even faced creatures the size of a three-story building or even larger.
Objectively speaking, in the nearly four years since I was reincarnated, I’ve beco quite capable...
Yes, that’s an objective self-assessnt.
Then why was I conducting a self-assessnt of myself?
There was no particular reason, but it definitely had nothing to do with the fact that, at that mont, after following the instructions in Astrid’s note, I had arrived at a sowhat desolate part of the city.
With night having fallen, the atmosphere felt eerie, making feel as though sothing might erge from the dark corners, but obviously I wasn’t afraid.
I an, taking an objective look at myself made realize that even if sothing actually did co up, I could handle it.
I shouldn’t be tense or afraid of anything; whatever ca up, I could handle it. Yes, I definitely could, but...
"Ugh... Why on earth did Astrid pick this gloomy place? Am I lost?"
I really didn’t want to be here. Even thinking about all that, my tension doesn’t ease; I’m so on edge that even the slightest sound of the wind made jump.
No matter how much I tried to reason with myself, this feeling wouldn’t go away.
Fsss~
"Ugh! It’s the wind, just the wind."
I heard the sound again. I knew it was just the wind, but I couldn’t help but look around to confirm it, and when I turned, just as I thought, there was nothing there and my senses detected nothing.
’Haah... just as I thought, I’m unnecessarily tense and—’
"Hone—"
"Kyaaa! PURIFICATION!"
Frissh!!!
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