Examination

After Ayla left the mountain range, she found the examiner and Kei still waiting for her near the carriage. Kei, who had been observing the battle from start to finish, couldn't help but express his surprise. His eyes, though somewhat dazed, were gazing at Ayla.

The battle had been mostly one-sided, with it quickly becoming clear from the start who would be the one coming out as the victor. It had been one-sided up until Ayla swung her killing blow, where a compressed dragon breath was released. Though she sustained a fatal wound that should've led to her death, in the end, the tides of the battle did not shift.

The wounds inflicted on her were undeniably fatal to humans, yet her wounds were healed in an instant. The darkness in her surroundings healed and protected her as it radiated an aura from her that he hadn't felt before—one of ominous darkness.

'Darkness… Was she a demon who took the form of humans, hiding her aura all this time? Or was she a traitorous human who learned the powers of demons?'

Kei couldn't be sure, but he could feel that there was some connection between Ayla's aura and the darkness covering the mountain range. Her aura that was released gave him a sense of danger.

If she was in fact a demon or a human who turned traitor, sent here to spy and report their findings to the demons, they would have to kill her before she could cause harm to others or place them at a greater disadvantage than they were already at now. The will he had to kill her wasn't hard to manifest, as he had wanted to since their first meeting. Ayla had refused to show respect to the king, and she deserved death. He just hadn't been able to go through with it yet, at the order of the king.

'I would lose.' Kei thought as he faced a grim reality. The aura Ayla had radiated from afar was stronger than his, and it wasn't by a small margin he could overcome with external help or weapons.

Kei opened his mouth unknowingly, and his eyes gradually regained their focus. The examiner, who hadn't moved nor reacted much, was still standing by his side, silently observing as his lips parted for the first time in a while.

"Bind." A cold voice filled with intense killing intent erupted as an immense and invisible force locked onto Ayla's body, freezing her in place.

When Ayla tried to break free from these restrictions, even with her draconic physique and its physical strength, she couldn't. After this realization, she didn't try anymore, her gaze remaining on the examiner.

Following the examiner's first incantation, he followed with two others immediately afterward.

"Stake, Freeze."

At the back of Ayla's neck as well as her chest, close to the position where her heart was, she could feel the sharp tips of two floating stakes frozen in space as they pressed against her skin, waiting to pierce through. Though she could feel it poking her skin, the stakes were invisible, seeming to have been manifested by his incantation.

Once her figure was locked in place and the stakes were prepared to kill her with a single command, the examiner then proceeded to walk over, grabbing her wrist.

"I will examine whether you are a demon or a human." The examiner explained without giving her the choice to refuse. "You won't feel any discomfort when I examine your energy and essence, but the moment that I find out that you're a demon, traitor, feel any hostility towards me, or try anything, your neck and heart will be destroyed. It won't matter if you are on our side or against us."

'How vicious.' Ayla thought.

The examiner continued, "I'm sure you can understand the need to do this. Once the examination is done and you pass, both incantations will be released, and we'll depart. Though this won't happen if you fail, you'll be either known as a demon who failed at their mission or a traitorous and cowardice human who joined sides with the demons."

"Whether you live or die will be decided soon." He imbued his mana into her wrist, closing his eyes as he focused on the mana entering her wrist. His senses connected to the mana pouring inside as it moved up the arm and into the rest of her body.

As he had said, there was no blood, no pain, or discomfort from the foreign mana traversing her body, examining the structure and inside of her physique to see if there was any demonic essence or demonic energy. His mana slowly circulated through Ayla's body without any resistance.

As she observed this, Ayla's expression kept calm, though she did feel discomfort from the examiner forcing this on her without asking for consent prior. As for the magic the examiner had used to restrain and threaten her, she had a guess as to what it was—a magic she had seen before in comics and novels when she was given the time to read—one used to control invisible forces: force magic.

'Interesting.'

It was the first time she'd ever seen magic such as this, one that controlled the natural forces of the world. It was a powerful magic, with its versatility in its uses. However, from the moment the examiner cast it, she noticed a flaw. For the spell to be cast, he had to first utter the incantation or command. That meant that as long as one could kill him or at the very least destroy his vocal cords before he could say an incantation, he could be killed without much difficulty.

She knew that the examiner was strong. The Adventure's guild wouldn't have sent anyone weak, especially when she was advancing to the highest rank. Had he really not considered the possibility of an assassin defeating him before he could cast? No, there was no way he hadn't. Someone at his level would surely have various countermeasures in place to be used when an enemy exploited his weaknesses.

'He will still die.'

Before, she wasn't too content with killing him, even after she revealed her aura and used the darkness. He hadn't done anything in her eyes that bothered or went against her. She would finish her quest and return to the capital, and that would be the end, with the possibility of them meeting again being low.

Such actions were supposed to happen, yet this all changed when he forced himself on her and threatened to kill her if she tried anything. To a human in this world, it was reasonable, as they hated demons to the very depths of their core and would use any means to find and kill them. Black mages, or humans that had a pact with the demons, were despised even more than demons.

However, she, who wasn't of this world, did not take kindly to these means. Unbeknownst to him, his actions alone had placed him on the list of those she needed to kill, but she knew now was not the right time. Before she could advance, she would have to return with the examiner alive, as she would need him as a witness.

If it wasn't for this reason, she would've gone ahead and killed him.

While Ayla was in deep thought, the examiner continued to pour his mana inside and examine Ayla's physique and essence, making sure not to miss anything, only stopping a few minutes later. When Ayla felt the mana being poured into him decrease, eventually coming to a halt, she came out of her thoughts.

The examiner opened his eyes and turned his gaze towards Ayla, letting out a relieved sigh. "Through my search, I found nothing that could indicate that you have demonic energy or a contract with a demon. The mana inside your essence is pure, without a trace of contamination."

Coming to this conclusion, he took a step back. Then the invisible bindings holding Ayla's body and the two stakes disappeared as well. Ayla questioned why she was being released inside her mind. She was a black dragon, one with a demonic essence that belonged to Dragons and Succubi. Though she was curious as to why this happened, she didn't show it on her face.

"Since you've passed the examination, you're free to go. Once we return to the capital, I'll submit the completion of the advancement quest, and by the next day, you'll advance to the Saint Rank." The examiner finished and stepped inside the carriage.

Kei, who had remained silent all this time, expressed his disappointment. He had hoped that she would be found out to be an enemy and kill him, but unfortunately, she passed the test. Unable to hide his hateful gaze, he stepped into the carriage after the examiner, followed by Ayla. The carriage then set off, making its way back towards the capital.