Chapter 57: Assassination Plan, the True Face of the Enemy

“Eh?”

Avia snapped out of her pleasant daydream, her face full of disbelief as she asked, “What’s going on?”

After a brief hesitation, Hilxi maintained her smile and said, “I’m going to kill Sirdoruk.”

“Eh, eh, eh!? Why?”

Monica looked at her with equal confusion.

“Sirdoruk has done countless evil deeds. Doesn’t he deserve to die?” Hilxi tilted her head slightly.

“That may be true, but still… why?” Avia couldn’t understand.

“This is something the Association can handle.” Monica raised her hand and placed it on Hilxi’s shoulder, giving it a reassuring squeeze. “Let’s go.”

“Don’t try to trick me, Monica-san.”

The chances that the Association would get involved in something like this were slim. They weren’t righteous cops or a charity group.

Hilxi wasn’t an idiot—she knew Monica was worried about her and didn’t want her to take such a risk.

With a silent sigh, Hilxi gently pushed Monica’s hand away, her eyes suddenly filled with determination:

“If I don’t do this, I won’t be able to sleep.”

“…”

Monica was caught off guard by that reasoning and didn’t argue further. She understood that continuing to persuade her would be pointless.

“Ah, Hilxi-san! Don’t be reckless, let’s go! Isn’t the mission already completed?”

“Avia-san, you fly with Songgu Sasa in this direction. Once you leave the forest, you’ll see a village in ruins. Naersha and Jiai are there, and Monica knows about it too.”

“…Ah, why don’t we go together? Why go take on that Sirdoruk? You could die!”

Avia’s mindset started to crack:

“Wouldn’t it be better if we just left now? Like Monica-san said, we can leave the rest to the Association. The Mogu Village and Sirdoruk—they can handle it…”

“You’re so annoying!!”

Hilxi suddenly shouted, cutting her off and glaring at Avia.

I finally made up my mind, and you’re about to shake it!

Avia froze from the shout, her mood turning complicated as a few tears welled up in her eyes.

“…Got yelled at pretty hard.”

“Serves you right, doesn’t it?” Songgu Sasa whispered quietly from the broom she was sitting on behind her.

“Sorry, I got a little emotional.” Hilxi took a deep breath, then added, “But you really are a bit annoying.”

“No need to add that…”

Avia felt even more down.

“Alright, alright, you two go ahead. We’ll meet up later.”

“Hi…”

Avia’s voice dropped low, her whole being filled with gloom. She turned to Monica and said, “Monica-san, let’s go.”

“No.”

Monica shook her head and looked straight into Hilxi’s eyes:

“I’m coming with you.”

She wouldn’t let her friend take such a risk alone, and she wouldn’t allow Hilxi to die in some unseen place, isolated and lonely.

Hearing Monica also chose to tag along made Avia even more depressed. She opened her mouth to say something but wisely closed it again.

Surprisingly, Hilxi didn’t agree right away.

“No need. I have other help.”

The help she mentioned was the Mushroom Chief. They had nearly reached a consensus before, and if cooperation was proposed, there was a good chance the chief would agree.

Of course, not wanting Monica to risk herself was also part of her refusal.

“I’m not comfortable with that,” Monica said softly.

“…I see.”

That was a little touching…

After hesitating for a few seconds, Hilxi finally nodded.

“Then we’ll act together.”

To be honest, she didn’t have much confidence taking on Sirdoruk alone. Having Monica’s help made her feel a little more at ease.

So Hilxi chose to eat her words and agreed.

Hearing this, Monica quietly sighed in relief, the earlier disappointment washed away.

“Avia-san…”

Hilxi looked toward Avia’s direction, who hurriedly waved her hands:

“I’m not going! I’m not going!”

I never said you had to… Hilxi thought, a bit speechless.

“Fine, then you take Songgu Sasa and go. Be careful not to get lost or run into the Mogu People—if you get caught, I won’t save you.”

“Absolutely not.”

Avia led Songgu Sasa away in the direction Hilxi had given. Hilxi was confident they would fly out of the forest soon enough.

Inside the forest, Hilxi stared for several seconds at the direction Avia had gone, her emotions gradually stabilizing.

Since she had made this choice, she would move forward with unwavering resolve.

“Monica-san, thank you.”

Hilxi gave her a gentle smile.

Monica turned her head away and averted her gaze. Her tone remained calm as she asked,

“What’s the next step? Who is this helper you mentioned?”

“Follow me and you’ll see.”

Several dozen minutes later.

Inside a house in the Mushroom Village, candlelight flickered.

The Mushroom Chief sat cross-legged on the floor, looking down at the two human women before him.

Even sitting down, he was taller than both of them—an inherent advantage of being a monster.

“You didn’t attack right away. That was wise. What I said before still stands.” Hilxi spoke quietly, raising her hand to signal Monica to stay calm.

“…”

The Mushroom Chief remained silent, his eyes flickering in the dim light.

After a few breaths, he slowly spoke:

“Do you… really have a way?”

“Of course not. I don’t even know what Sirdoruk really is yet.”

The chief realized he’d asked a foolish question and began sharing what he knew.

Sirdoruk was a demon, a vampire demon currently residing deep in the forest inside a castle. His gender was male, and his age unknown.

This vampire had human facial features, blackish-red hair, and crimson eyes.

He possessed the ability to release Poison Mist—an extremely powerful, almost instantly lethal poison fog impossible to fight head-on.

Because of this ability, no one dared to oppose him.

The Mushroom Chief’s gaze grew sorrowful and fearful, and he trailed off without saying more.

He didn’t know much about Sirdoruk, having only seen him once, and aside from the Poison Mist, knew nothing about his other abilities.

“I see. The enemy is a vampire.”

Hilxi finally understood what kind of creature Sirdoruk was.

Vampires were part of the demon clan—one of the more active and powerful races among demons. They weren’t common, but not rare either… She hadn’t expected one to be hiding deep in this forest.

The Mushroom Chief looked at Hilxi, his tone serious:

“Is there a way to deal with him?”

“There is. You guide me there, then I sneak into his castle and stab him to death while he’s asleep.”

A shadow covered Hilxi’s cheek.

If there were no other demons around Sirdoruk, this plan had a decent chance of success.

To her, vampires were just monsters—evil monsters who deserved to die. There was no hesitation in her mind.

“This plan…”

The Mushroom Chief shifted slightly, sensing it was both risky and somewhat feasible.

“I understand.”

He nodded his oval-shaped head, then stood up. “I’ll go prepare some things.”

“Good.”

Hilxi didn’t ask what he was preparing. She watched him leave through the wooden door, his footsteps fading away.

Monica, standing beside her, whispered:

“Why do you always have to do such dangerous things?”

“Aren’t you afraid of death?”

“I just want to do this.”

Hilxi’s answer was simple, but no one was fooled by her stubbornness.

“You don’t want to.”

Monica’s purple eyes flickered with emotion. “Hilxi, your kindness will be the death of you one day.”

“…”

Is that so…

Her hand instinctively clenched her clothes, then relaxed. Hilxi said nothing.

She wanted to say something cool like, “Before then, I’ll keep moving forward!” — some fiery line like in a story.

But she didn’t know if she would always follow her conscience.

Maybe one day, she’d have to do things against her own heart.

In the end, Hilxi remained silent, her eyes unusually calm.