While the monster stared at her, Elena was also sizing it up.
Its pitch-black body was covered in streamlined muscles, and its face vaguely resembled a young man’s, with a tail tip as fierce as an axe blade constantly flicking through the air.
The most striking feature was the pair of goat horns on its head.
“A demonic species? No wonder it brutally killed the students.”
Elena pointed her sword and launched a fierce attack.
Yige’er’s pupils contracted.
In less than half a breath, a brilliant blade slashed through the air, leaving afterimages as it thrust straight toward his face.
In haste, he crossed his claws to block.
With a clang, the terrifying force sent him staggering back.
In an instant, Yige’er was at a disadvantage.
Elena swung her sword horizontally and vertically with ease, while Yige’er could only parry passively, continuously retreating.
But soon, Elena realized something was wrong.
The monster was trying to escape.
From the very beginning, it had no intention of confronting her head-on.
‘So, underneath this ugly skin, a human who can still think?’
Unfortunately, by the time she realized this, it was too late.
Taking advantage of his familiarity with the terrain around Flower God Village, Yige’er ducked into a nearby patch of grass.
He was only one step away from escape.
Regrettably, the deity that enveloped the sky above Flower God Village seemed unwilling to protect him.
“Big brother, big brother, have you come to help me find my mommy?”
A fool without pants suddenly hugged the monsterfied Yige’er’s right leg, apparently already attracted by the commotion.
Hai En?
Yige’er never expected that this former playmate of his sister would appear here and still remember him.
And most critically, that princess was already approaching with her golden holy sword.
Yige’er gritted his teeth and, with a midair kick, flung Hai En away.
“Go quickly, go back to your father.”
Then, using the momentum, he disappeared into a lush Flower Leaf Forest.
Elena, who arrived right after, heard this clearly.
Her eyes flickered.
In the next instant, the golden holy sword cut through the air with ripples, swinging down toward the fool’s neck.
A beast’s furious roar erupted in the forest.
A pair of sharp claws gleaming with cold light, at a speed like a ghost, was about to tear open Elena’s chest.
‘Is this your true strength, monster?’
‘Too bad, you’re still too slow.’
A look of contempt, unique to a powerful swordsman, flashed in Elena’s eyes.
She flipped her wrist deftly, striking after his move but arriving first.
From bottom to top, one sword stroke slashed open the monster’s belly.
It turned out she had never intended to kill the simpleton from the start.
She gambled to lure the monster out.
In an instant, black blood frantically gushed out of the monster’s body, splattering onto the mud-covered ground planted with flowers.
The monster roared, and the axelike tail behind him lashed out, striking Elena.
This time, his strength was noticeably weaker.
Elena merely raised her sword lightly and casually blocked the attack.
Yige’er dared not linger.
After this strike, he turned and fled into the forest.
Elena, who should have been able to finish off the monster, stopped and did not pursue.
Her light blue eyes showed a hint of contemplation, and her sharp brows furrowed slightly.
“President Elena, why aren’t you chasing?”
Several students who had been disguised as males to act in the earlier performance hurried over.
Elena shook her head without answering.
What about the three male Student Council members who had harmed a rural woman and driven her husband to death?
So what if they were killed in revenge?
Elena couldn’t even be bothered to investigate.
Such troublemakers who didn’t follow orders would eventually drag her down if kept around.
But the female student who was killed was different—she was innocent.
That’s why the Student Council staged tonight’s self-directed act to lure out the monster.
But that monster had just faced her sword again, getting severely injured just to save that fool.
‘Would he really harm an innocent person?’
Elena rubbed her temples in frustration and stopped thinking about it.
Anyway, by searching tomorrow morning for who was severely injured and who was hiding, she’d be able to catch the true identity of that monster.
The most important thing now was to keep her date with Shiya.
“Everyone, you’re dismissed for now.”
Watching the princess, who seemed inexplicably in a good mood and humming a little tune, leave alone, the Student Council members looked at each other, all somewhat confused.
Then someone pointed at the fool who was still giggling foolishly nearby.
“What do we do with him?”
“Ah, ah, ah, my lords, that’s my worthless fool of a son. He just likes to play and often stays in this Flower Leaf Forest.”
A greasy, fat, middle-aged man trotted over, bowing and scraping to the Student Council members.
If Shiya were there, she would definitely recognize him as Bulu, who had been fighting with Yige’er earlier.
After dismissing those Student Council members, Elena walked lightly toward the arranged meeting place.
Recalling Shiya’s breathtakingly beautiful dance this morning, Elena’s breathing quickened and her cheeks flushed slightly.
But even though she had anticipated it, when Elena spent nearly an hour arriving at the meeting place and saw the clusters of torches and the angry villagers, Elena’s light blue eyes still darkened a little, and a slight smirk curved at the corner of her mouth.
‘So Shiya lied to me after all. This is probably the first time my little adopted sister has been so disobedient, isn’t it?’
‘How should I discipline her when we return to the Imperial Capital?’
Elena suddenly recalled how, when they were children, whenever Shiya’s parents were furious with little Shiya, they would have Elena spank Shiya’s bottom as punishment.
Even if little Shiya was unwilling, as long as it was Elena, she would resignedly lie over Elena’s lap and take it obediently.
Unfortunately, some tactless people always interrupted the princess’s reminiscence of her rather interesting childhood memories at times like this.
“Princess Elena, shouldn’t you give me an explanation?”
The village elder stepped forward first, the firelight illuminating his dark face.
“How dare you secretly meet with the god’s bride? Where have you hidden her?”
“What do you mean by that?”
Elena’s gaze was lazy, her tone unhurried.
“My subordinates and I have been busy all day, trying every possible way to catch the murderer of the Student Council members.”
“It is all because of you incompetent people of Flower God Village that we are running around exhausted.”
At this, Elena couldn’t help but sneer a few times, then her expression suddenly turned fierce.
“Now you shameless trash come running, saying you lost my adopted sister, and then turn around and pin some baseless crime on me, the Imperial Princess.”
“The Student Council has been patient enough to negotiate cooperation with Flower God Village, and you think I am weak and can be bullied?”
“Do you really think the Imperial cavalry can’t trample your broken, weak little village?”
Even the most fanatical Flower God Village villagers began to look at each other, their faces visibly paling.
In the end, the village elder stepped forward and explained to Elena with some difficulty.
“Princess Elena, we had no choice. All the people guarding the Flower God Bride were knocked unconscious, and even little Ilya has disappeared.”
Elena waved her hand and retorted sharply.
“What does that have to do with me? I gave them to you. Release the remaining imprisoned students, and the Imperial Flower God Festival must proceed as planned!”
The princess’s overbearing diplomatic negotiation was also buying time for Shiya and the others to escape.
The two girls, who had already moved to a secret basement built by Yige’er underground on the island shore, were both feeling uneasy.
Shiya sat on a bench, staring blankly at the ceiling, her gaze empty, lost in thought.
Ilya clutched her aching chest.
The bond of blood between siblings made her vaguely feel that something terrible was about to happen.
Time quietly slipped by, bit by bit.
Until the basement door was suddenly pushed open—
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