Chapter 41

Upon seeing the silver-haired girl wearing a white mask,

Yumo shivered all over.

An indescribable feeling of unease emerged in her heart, causing her to press a hand against her chest and bite her lip hard.

Ever since merging with the Demon Temple,

This was the first time Yumo felt such an inexplicable soul-shivering sensation. Despite the girl's mere fifth-rank strength, she exuded a baffling pressure that unsettled Yumo.

This stirred a strange sensation within her.

Did the girl harbor something threatening to her? That might explain her peculiar feeling.

According to the trial mission, the ultimate destruction of the Demon Temple relied on the 'holy power' within the female protagonist.

This power was the natural enemy of the abyss demons and the nemesis of the dark power. It could pose a great threat to the abyss demons and her own true form!

A fifth-rank who could make her feel a sense of crisis?

What else could it be, other than this holy spiritual power?

At the same time, this girl had an unprecedented affinity for holy magic! Higher than any follower of the Asumos Church she had ever seen!

'the Heroine...'

Yumo quickly reached this conclusion in her heart.

She didn't even need to remove the girl's clothes to check for golden runes on her back. Of course, it was nearly impossible to undress her at the moment, considering her current state as a 'defenseless' slave girl.

How could she possibly defeat a fifth-rank female protagonist?

The Heroine,

'Heroine! Hehehe~'

'I finally encountered her, hehehe~'

The moment she realized the girl's identity, Yumo couldn't help but let out a few 'exciting' chuckle deep inside.

Suppressing the discomfort within her heart, the corner of her mouth subtly lifted in a smirk.

Upon meeting the long-awaited female protagonist, Yumo was overjoyed!

Moreover, after witnessing her incredible strength, Yumo was even more ecstatic!

Despite only possessing mid-fifth-rank strength, she could instantly kill five abyss demons of the same rank! Such an achievement was almost inconceivable! It was rare for someone to defeat an abyss demon of equal rank one-on-one!

Yet, the Heroine managed to defeat five at once?!

How amazing was that?

It seemed she could even defeat a sixth-rank abyss demon!

Truly worthy of being the Chosen One! Her strength did not disappoint me.

In that case,

'If she continued to progress at this rate, she might actually be able to kill me~'

By the way,

'Her name is Mengxi, right? What a lovely name~'

Also,

She's very gentle~

Watching the silver-haired girl caressing Galena's head and softly comforting her teammate, Yumo felt increasingly reassured.

After all, beauty, strength, and gentleness were the three traits Yumo had always expected from the female protagonist over the centuries.

Strong and gentle? Check!

As for beauty...

Her figure was incomparable.

Unlike Yumo's flat chest, the female protagonist seemed to be quite well-endowed.

Not too big, not too small—just perfect, hehe~

However,

As for her face,

Sneaking a few glances at the silver-haired girl's pure white mask, Yumo puckered her lips in slight disappointment.

'Really, why wear a mask?!'

Yumo was not very happy, unable to appreciate the Heroine's face, which left her feeling disappointed.

However,

When she saw those clear, bright, and dazzling light purple eyes that resembled a galaxy of stars, Yumo's little heart began to race. Those eyes were the most beautiful she had ever seen, more brilliant and captivating than diamonds.

Unlike her own slightly sinister blood-red eyes,

The Heroine's eyes were not only beautiful but also filled with an indescribable sense of sacredness, causing Yumo to become entranced.

It wasn't until a moment later that she snapped out of it,

'I actually got to see the Heroine! This mission! Such a bargain!!'

Well, then,

Since I had seen her, why not try to get closer and build a relationship?

Of course, she wasn't interested in the protagonist's body. She just wanted to understand every aspect of the protagonist, including her personality, hobbies, habits, and fighting style. After all, this information would be useful when preparing trials for her in the future.

With that in mind, Yumo, disguised as a pink-haired girl, slowly stood up, wanting to take the opportunity to express her gratitude and get closer to the stunning silver-haired girl.

The protagonist seemed so gentle, right?

She should treat her like a poor, pitiful little 'slave,' right?

However,

Reality seemed a bit different from what Yumo had imagined.

As Yumo stood up, Mengxi noticed the pink-haired girl behind Galena.

But instead of treating the pink-haired girl gently as Yumo had expected, a sudden murderous intent burst from her eyes.

In the next instant,

Astonished Yumo found herself choked by Mengxi, who pushed her down into the snow without a word.

"You, what are you?"

There was no trace of gentleness in her voice, only unmatched coldness and strong suspicion.

"??!!"

'What? How... How could this happen??'

Obviously, Yumo hadn't expected this.

Looking at the delicate hand around her neck and the cold light purple eyes staring at her, Yumo was dumbfounded. She couldn't quite figure out what had just happened.

Why did the protagonist suddenly attack her?

She clearly hadn't done anything!

Could it be that her identity had been exposed?

No, that couldn't be right!

There was no reason for it!

Although the protagonist was strong, at this stage, she shouldn't be able to see through Yumo's disguise.

She had made sure it was perfect!

Yumo was utterly confused.

At this moment, under the influence of sympathy, Galena behind Mengxi couldn't bear to stand up any longer.

She hurried over and tried to pull Mengxi's hand away.

"Ca-Captain! What are you doing?! Why are you suddenly treating a child like this?!"

Galena's words were also filled with confusion.

She couldn't understand why the usually gentle girl would suddenly attack a slave girl.

To her companions' confusion,

Mengxi glanced back and spoke indifferently,

"A slave girl, facing an abyssal demon so calmly? There's not even a hint of fear. Something's off. And the aftershocks of the previous battle seem to have had no effect on her. That's not the reaction of a delicate girl. Is she some creature disguised as a human?"

"Could it be? The captured mercenary said she was the runaway slave. Her aura is indeed human, right? Maybe she's just... too terrified?"

Galena couldn't help but feel puzzled too.

Hearing this, Mengxi's eyebrows knitted together.

"Even so. The abyssal demon was chasing after her before, right? It was clearly trying to kill her. How could a weak slave girl outrun an abyssal demon? And after encountering you guys, the demon stopped attacking her and started attacking you."

"This... Mengxi, what do you mean?"

"Even if she isn't disguised as a human, she could very well be infected with the power of the Shadow. If that's the case..."

As she spoke,

Mengxi couldn't help but tighten her grip on the silver sword in her hand. The cold murderous intent suddenly emanated from her eyes.

Seeing this,

Yumo felt a chill running down her spine.

Although the female lead was quite clever, and not the kind of foolishly sweet girl that Yumo was relieved about, but if she really attacked her with a sword... wouldn't she be exposed?! There would be no more observation after that!

'I had finally met the female lead.'

'I couldn't just go back empty-handed like this!'

Yumo shouted in her heart,

And so, the acting Yumo slowly showed a puzzled expression on her face as if she just realized what was happening. After 'seeing' the silver-haired girl in front of her, the emotions in Yumo's azure eyes gradually changed from confusion to shock.

Then from shock to fear.

At this moment, Yumo perfectly portrayed herself as a timid slave girl.

"No... no... don't kill me, I... I'm not infected, sob sob sob..."

Of course, all Yumo could do now was to act well and try to shed a few tears, hoping to convince the other party that she was just an innocent, pitiful girl. Escaping from the demon's clutches was purely a coincidence!

Coincidence, do you understand?!

Yumo's pitiful appearance made Galena beside her show a distressed look.

"Mengxi, don't do this. You'll scare her. She... doesn't look like she's infected."

However,

Yumo's watery eyes and crystal tears rolling down her cheeks did not evoke Mengxi's compassion.

The silver-haired girl's eyes were still filled with caution and suspicion.

In Mengxi's eyes, the pink-haired girl in front of her might have already been infected by the power of the Shadow.

This risk must be eliminated! Otherwise, it would endanger the entire team!

"We'll know if she's infected or not after checking her body thoroughly."

"Check her body?" Galena was taken aback.

"If infected by the power of the Shadow, there will be wounds on her body."

Mengxi's beautiful pale-purple eyes narrowed slightly at this moment.

Yumo, on the other hand, felt an ominous premonition, as the corner of her eye twitched uncontrollably.

'? ?'

'What the hell?!'

'Check my body?!'

'Hey! What are you trying to do?!!'

'I'm the final boss! Hey! I'm warning you not to mess around!'

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