Vivian’s lips curled into a cruel smile.
She leaned forward, lowering her center of gravity as she pulled her right fist back to build power.
*Hum — *
A purple aura ignited on her fist, trembling as it emitted a low drone.
“Get out of the way, Blake!”
Before her voice could even fade, Vivian’s legs exploded with power, kicking up a massive sandstorm. She vanished instantly, becoming a streak of purple lightning that cut through the hot, dry air as she lunged into the sky.
Only after the purple flash collided with Zaphira did Vivian’s warning finally reach Blake’s ears from behind him.
Vivian’s speed was already approaching the speed of light!
The high-temperature barrier made of flames was sliced open by the purple lightning like a hot knife through butter, offering no resistance at all.
At that moment, Zaphira’s golden pupils shrank to the size of needles, her face filled with horror.
“You small fry, don’t you dare look down on me!”
She puffed out her small chest, erupting with an even more violent surge of flames that circled her body.
“STOP RIGHT THERE!”
Zaphira screamed in the Demon tongue, pouring in a massive amount of mana. A malicious curse took hold of Vivian, attempting to drag her charging speed to a crawl.
But Vivian ignored it completely, instantly shattering the final barrier constructed of flames and curses. She appeared directly in front of Zaphira.
“It’s useless.”
The soft words drifted into Zaphira’s ears, making her whole body shudder. Her eyelashes trembled as she slowly turned her head. She saw Vivian standing so close they were almost touching.
“Um… I was wrong. Can we make up?”
Vivian chose to answer with her fist. She threw a heavy punch!
The fist, carrying the purple aura, smashed directly into Zaphira’s exposed, soft, and smooth abdomen.
“Gah!”
Zaphira spat out a mixture of saliva and blood. Her smooth belly was punched so deep into her abdominal cavity that it nearly touched her spine. Her entire body was carried away by a surging, titanic force.
“AAAAAAHHHHH — “
Zaphira turned into a brilliant red meteor, streaking across the night sky. Finally, she disappeared over the horizon.
“Wow… can she even come back from that?”
Blake, covered in burns from head to toe, looked curiously toward the distant horizon. Poor Zaphira; that punch looked like it had sent her straight into outer space.
***
In the Valorian Kingdom, in front of a small wooden hut by a field.
“Mother! Look, a shooting star!” A toddler held in a woman’s arms pointed in wonder at the starry sky.
“Then don’t forget to make a wish upon the star,” the woman whispered, looking tenderly at the innocent child.
***
On the Ratman Snowfield in the far north, the cold wind howled. A lone figure stood on the deserted snowy plains. It was a ratman with round ears atop her head and a long, thin tail. She wore a heavy fur coat and leaned on a wooden staff.
Suddenly, the ratman seemed to sense something strange and snapped her head up. She saw a brilliant, fiery red meteor streak across the night sky.
“Lord of Eternal Winter, is this your guidance for me?” she murmured, breathing out a cloud of frost.
Then, she took heavy steps toward the depths of the northern snowfield. Her figure gradually disappeared into the blizzard.
***
On the Dragon’s Claw Highlands in the south sat the world’s highest peak — Mount Frost.
A massive black dragon was curled up, sleeping comfortably in its nest. Suddenly, the sound of something breaking the sound barrier rang out!
The dragon snapped its head up, opening its golden slit pupils. Immediately after, a red meteor grazed past its scalp.
‘Crap! A demon!’
The dragon scrambled in a panic. Finally, it buried its head quickly in its nest, its fat tail sticking high up in the air.
‘Don’t see me, don’t see me…’
It shook all over, praying silently in its heart. It hoped the powerful demon hadn’t noticed it. After a moment, the meteor faded into the distance. Only then did the dragon dare to look up again, watching the meteor on the horizon with lingering fear.
It let out a long sigh of relief.
‘Thankfully, it wasn’t looking for me… I’m just a lazy hatchling kicked out of the pack. I don’t even have enough meat on me to be worth eating…’
***
“AAAAAAHHHHH — “
Zaphira’s scream echoed from behind Vivian. Vivian turned her head in confusion. She saw a red meteor flying low across the night sky from behind her.
*BOOM!!*
The meteor slammed straight into the wasteland. The ground shook violently, kicking up a wave of sand. Zaphira’s figure bounced twice on the ground and then rolled a few times. She stopped right at Vivian’s feet.
Her small mouth was slightly open, her tongue lolled out, and both of her eyes had turned into big X’s.
‘This demon looks a little bit dead…’
Zaphira had been sent flying by Vivian’s punch, circling the entire world. Only now did she fall back to the ground.
However, Vivian didn’t have a shred of sympathy for the demon she intended to kill. Since the opportunity to finish her off was right there, she wasn’t about to let it pass. Vivian grabbed Zaphira’s burgundy hair and lifted her up. She tossed her lightly into the air.
Then, she swung her fist.
*SPLAT!*
Zaphira’s pretty head exploded like a smashed watermelon, scattering into a mist of blood. The headless corpse slumped to the ground, and dark red demon blood gurgled from the neck, staining a large patch of the sand black.
‘Tsk, making me work so hard.’
Vivian clapped her hands with a hint of dissatisfaction. Then, she walked toward Blake, who didn’t have a single patch of healthy skin left, intending to give him some treatment. If she waited any longer, he might actually kick the bucket.
Suddenly, a brilliant red light burst out from behind Vivian.
‘What the hell?’
Vivian quickly turned around. She raised her hand to shade her eyes, peeking through a small gap. Zaphira’s headless corpse slowly floated up, emitting a red glow. The light continuously twisted and collapsed inward, changing shape as easily as a piece of modeling clay.
Finally, the red light was molded into a small statue. Vivian stepped forward and caught the statue curiously. She narrowed her eyes, observing the statue in her palm.
‘Isn’t this just like Carlyle’s idol?’
Its size and shape were identical to the one Carlyle had held before. However, the previously distorted and blurry figure was now clearly visible. It had become a chibi, big-headed stone statue of Zaphira.
On the statue, Zaphira’s left hand rested on a longsword stuck in the ground. Her right hand covered her mouth, and her eyes were curved in laughter. She looked like an arrogant little brat.
“Hmph, still so arrogant even after dying,” Vivian huffed, staring at the statue.
“Who said I’m dead!”
“As long as wrath does not disappear from this world…”
“Lady Zaphira will never die!”
The statue suddenly began to shake violently, and Zaphira’s exasperated voice rang out from within.
“Then you’d better stay in there and never come out.”
“Otherwise, I’ll beat you every time I see you!”
Vivian curled her finger and gave the Zaphira statue a hard flick.
“Ow!”
An immediate scream followed.
“You flat-chested Vampire, just you wait!”
“My sister will come to save me!”
Zaphira continued to shout and throw out threats.
“Fine, I’ll be waiting,” Vivian said flatly. “I just happen to be missing a few ornaments for the house.”