Chapter 8: Spike

When it came to reputation, few adventurers in Orario didn't know of Riveria. 

A quick glance at the faces in the crowd confirmed none of them belonged to anyone recognizable. That such nobodies would dare to rob her was an irritating testament to the dark faction's growing boldness.

Had these fools not even wondered why other hidden threats along the path had chosen to let her pass unbothered? Or was the dark faction now operating on some foolish "first come, first served" principle?

Suppressing her rising anger, Riveria's eyes swept over the circle of demi humans surrounding them, her cold gaze as sharp as a blade. Seeing her look at them as if they were already dead, the demi human couldn't help but shudder. A primal instinct within them, inherited from beasts, screamed that she was dangerous prey.

"Boss… I don't know about this one," one of the demi humans muttered nervously, catching the deadly aura she radiated.

"Shut up! She's just an elf!" their leader barked, his own voice rising, perhaps more to reassure himself than anyone else.

The demi human pressed in closer, their stench filling the air, oblivious to the warning signs. Riveria's lip curled in open disdain.

'Pathetic curs, all driven by baser instincts…'

She'd originally intended to capture and question one of them, thinking to dismantle their network from within once she returned. But it seemed there was no information to be gained here. 

Without further hesitation, Riveria lifted her staff, her voice ringing out clearly as she recited her incantation:

"Harbinger of the end, white snow. To the hour of twilight, I summon light within darkness; may frozen earth scatter snow upon the sky. Three harsh winters—my name is Alf."

As her chant concluded, a powerful aura gathered at the gem on her staff, casting brilliant light across the shadowed alleyway. An icy-blue halo expanded outward, freezing the walls of every nearby building in a layer of shimmering frost.

In seconds, the frost reached the feet of the demi humans, crawling rapidly upwards. In an instant, each one was encased in ice crystals, their life force vanishing with the last trace of warmth.

Riveria was renowned as the "Nine Magic Princess" because she could control her spell intensity by adjusting the length of her chant. Even with a shortened incantation, her Level 6 strength was far beyond anything these thugs could withstand.

"Wow! Riveria's magic is amazing!" Lulu's voice broke the silence, and before Riveria could respond, the girl was already skipping toward the newly formed ice sculptures.

Riveria had initially chosen a gentler spell, worried that Lulu, new to adventuring, might be unsettled by taking lives—even the lives of demi humans. At least this way, the scene wasn't especially bloody.

However, to her surprise, Lulu seemed completely unfazed, even thrilled, by the spectacle. 

Now, Riveria found herself worrying about whether Lulu would come to lack respect for life altogether. The shift was disconcerting, even for her.

"All right, Lulu, time to head back!"

With her display of magic, most onlookers had fled, and any other opportunistic enemies were likely scared off. Her objective was achieved.

Seeing Lulu still hitting the ice sculptures without any intention of stopping, Riveria sighed and had no choice but to step forward and pull her away.

Shortly after they left, hurried footsteps echoed from the depths of the alley.

"Don't be rush, you 'trash elf!'" a woman's irritated voice called out from the shadows.

Ryuu, cloaked in emerald green, appeared from the darkness of the alley. As she approached, a biting chill prickled her skin, making her shiver, despite her exceptional endurance. The ice sculptures, standing like life-sized statues, were impossible to miss.

"What in the world happened here?" she murmured.

Before Ryuu could examine the scene further, members of the Astraea Familia, led by Alise Lovell, arrived at the scene. As the familia devoted to the Goddess of Justice, they'd taken on the responsibility of upholding order in Orario amidst the recent rise in dark faction activities. Shadowed alleyways like this were priority areas for their patrols.

They had sensed the brief but intense pulse of magic that Riveria had unleashed, which led them to investigate immediately.

"These thugs are all from the dark faction. What vile expressions," muttered Gojouno Kaguya, covering her mouth and nose in revulsion. 

The Astraea Familia could clearly see the twisted, grotesque smiles frozen on the faces of the dead demi human. Despite meeting their end, there was no hint of fear or agony in their expressions—just obscene grins, forever etched into ice.

"Well... it seems these fools picked the wrong adventurer to mess with," speculated Lyra, the pink-haired pallum, eyeing the demi human' faces.

"Judging from those smug expressions, these demi humans had definitely miscalculated."

"Anyone recognize these guys?" Alise asked, scanning the group.

"No, none of them seem familiar. Doesn't look like they were anyone noteworthy."

"But considering the magic we felt earlier, there aren't many mages in Orario capable of casting spells with such power."

"And it's ice magic, which narrows it down even more."

As the members discussed, the chatter began to drift beyond the matter at hand. Alise, sensing they were getting sidetracked, stepped in decisively.

"This is getting tedious. Let's bring these bodies back to the Guild and see if we can identify the adventurer involved. They should be able to match this work to someone, don't you think?"

"Yes!"

"Good plan!"

The members quickly agreed, raising their hands to vote without any hesitation; clearly, this wasn't the first time they'd handled such a situation.