Revealing Shadows

If he really had the ability to read minds, then some of the things they are trying to hide would no longer be secrets.

Especially Rajah.

He leaned over to Meron's ear and whispered, "Is he bluffing? There is no way a person can survive after being bitten by two crystal bugs."

The black-haired girl just shrugged him off since she had almost nothing to hide from anyone. She wasn't embarrassed about her past at all.

Ignoring the weird stares coming from Encender and Rajah, Tito looked at Silver Widow, who was trying hard to break free from his grip.

"You know, darling, life is such a blessing. You have to keep on living even if it feels like your breath is slipping away."

"Aghhk!!" A shriek escaped Layla's lips.

Tito had just tightened his grip on her head and brought it closer to his own, so they could look eye to eye.

Her silver eyes said a lot of things that seemed to pierce through the man of fire, but that didn't matter to the golden eyes coldly staring back at her.

"Your eyes just told me the direction and appearance of Aslan. Thank you very much, Silver Widow. Your services are no longer needed."

Layla found her feet standing on the ground again, but she was still fixated on her previous agenda.

'Encender must never meet up with Aslan! That should never happen!!'

Her eyes glowed with the intent to kill, and she quickly pulled her hidden dagger from her overalls as she rushed at the swordswoman.

"Die!!"

Her words faded, yet she soon found her body seeing things as if it were split into equal halves.

However, before Layla could accept her fate, she soon found out that she was very much alive.

'Was that Encender's intention to kill me..?'

Yes, the swordswoman's intent to kill was more dominant than that of an assassin like Layla.

It is immeasurable, but after going through a lot of life-and-death situations, it ends up increasing before taking form.

For assassins who only kill their targets, it is hard for them to reach such a stage.

Layla understood this very well. However, she couldn't believe that a person who used to be weaker than her reached such a level in just weeks.

"Damn it!!"

Without any hesitation, she charged at Meron. In Layla's mind, she was very confident that she would take her out since Meron had lost all her muscles after the surgery.

Even so, Meron wasn't called the strongest woman in the prison for nothing.

Taking advantage of the swiftness of her new slender body, she narrowly dodged the dagger that came inches away from her face, drawing a crescent moon in the air.

Pulling herself back to her normal standing position, the black-haired woman took hold of Layla's left hand, gripping it tightly until the dagger fell to the ground like a raindrop.

Tap...

Meron made Layla's body face the direction of her cell and took hold of her free hand, making her small chest kiss the ground.

Bam—!

"Stop acting like a wild girl and know your opponents before acting. The only person you have a chance to defeat among us is Rajah."

"Hey! Come on!!" Rajah shouted, seeming offended by the woman's statement.

His hands quickly grabbed the yellow-skinned woman's shoulder, pulling her back to express his dissatisfaction.

Ignoring the stupid prince's actions to rescue her, a tear escaped from Layla's right eye.

She couldn't believe that her quest to become an assassin had failed so drastically.

Growing up in the desert Duchy of Verdienst ruled by the overly cruel and kind Duchess Bergling, who also raised her as adoptive mother, Layla saw a lot of things.

As long as she could remember, Layla was always tasked with stealing from people in the surrounding cities and counties.

Her actions might have been for a noble cause, but she never once enjoyed doing it.

Whenever people would praise her for bringing back food for them to fill their stomachs, deep down she would always curse them.

As time went on, Layla developed an intense hatred for all living beings, both aliens and humans.

'My heart is scarred. My soul is tormented in a place hotter than hell. It feels like I am already dead every time I lay my eyes upon a living entity.'

Even to this day, she still tells herself the same thing she told herself when she was only ten.

'Is this what fading into darkness feels like?' she thought, as her silver eyes weakly stared at Encender's slippers.

'Yet, I don't feel like that at all. It's more like I have been waiting for someone like them.

'I clearly see now that I am not the only person in this world who has problems. 

We all have problems.'