C813
"Mmm..."
Merlin looked at Lust as she tightly gripped the acorn in her hand.
'What is this now?'
She had been enjoying a little happiness by observing Raon through the eyes of the squirrel family, but in the brief moment she had stepped away to take care of some matters with her main group, an unknown incident had occurred. The now blind leader of the Holy Sword Alliance was rolling on the ground after being struck, and Raon had come down from the mountain after a brief conversation with that unidentified woman.
She couldn't hear clearly what was being said, but judging by their expressions, it seemed like some extraordinary words were exchanged, making her blood boil.
"Who are you?!"
Merlin pointed at Lust with an accusing finger. Of course, in her squirrel form, it only looked cute.
"A squirrel?"
Lust looked at Merlin, tilting her head.
It looks like a normal squirrel but it speaks?
She too didn't recognize Merlin within the squirrel and took a deep breath.
"What are you going to...?"
"I asked you first!"
Merlin couldn't hold back and threw the acorn to the ground.
"Ah!"
She realized it wasn't hers right after throwing it and quickly grabbed the rolling acorn again.
"This is your fault!"
"I see..."
Lust looked at Merlin and nodded slowly.
"Have you dissolved your soul into the squirrel's body to avoid forcing it? It would be hard to recognize if you hadn't spoken before."
She marveled at the impressive magic.
"I know I'm cool! Now tell me who you are!"
Merlin bared her teeth and growled. Still in squirrel form, she looked cute even when angry.
"I am..."
Lust began to answer, but stopped and looked away towards the mountain. She caught Raon, who had just arrived in the village, in her eyes and formed a soft smile.
"Hey!"
Merlin couldn't hold back and stomped her foot. Being a squirrel paw, it was smaller than a flower petal and didn't leave any marks on the ground.
"Why did you stop mid-sentence?"
She burst out in frustration and kicked Lust's foot. With a dull thud, dust fell from Lust's shoe.
"..."
Lust seemed to have lost interest in Merlin and just stared at Raon, her cheeks flushed. Her expression turned dreamy, as if she was imagining the future.
"Answer me!"
Merlin gathered mana from the air with her teeth and bit Lust's leg. But she didn't seem to feel any pain, nor did she even look away from the mountain.
'This woman...'
Merlin narrowed her eyes as she looked at Lust.
"She is not human."
This woman's face was certainly beautiful, but strangely, it displayed the most ideal face for her. An innate power, neither magic nor sorcery. A quality that could be called divine power without exaggeration. But that wasn't the only reason she thought this woman wasn't human.
'The size of her soul.'
Within that body, a soul even larger than Glenn's or Darkan's was writhing. No human could possess such a soul.
"What the hell are you looking at?!"
Merlin bit her lip and lifted the squirrel's body into the air. This put great pressure on her main body, but she couldn't stay still.
'Rank?'
As she floated upwards and followed the pink woman's gaze, she saw Raon. As expected, the conversation between the two didn't seem normal, which made her blood boil.
"You! Why are you looking at what's mine?"
Merlin shook her head vigorously, blocking Lust's line of sight with her squirrel body.
"Yours?"
Lust's gaze, which had been ignoring Merlin's attacks and bites, lowered with a chilling coldness.
"Squirrel, choose your words carefully. They might be your last."
"Finally showing your true colors!"
Merlin did a somersault and landed softly on the ground. She knelt on one knee and pounded the ground in a heroic pose.
"Bring it on!"
She extended her tiny fists and told her to come at her anytime.
"How pathetic... Hm?"
As Lust looked at Merlin's punches, she felt a gaze rising from the mountain. Wrath had perceived her previous aura and was looking up.
'Oh no!'
She quickly suppressed her energy and ducked to escape Wrath's gaze.
'That was dangerous...'
She had promised to wait silently, but she almost got caught breaking that promise immediately. She would rather die than disappoint Wrath. With a low hum, Lust concealed her true form, the power of the Demon King of Lust bloomed within the shell she had created to resemble Wrath, then she looked at the squirrel.
"Don't be ridiculous."
Lust shook her head with calm eyes.
"He is not yours, but mine. I have been chasing him my whole life."
She tapped Merlin's nose, telling her how dare she covet him.
"Your whole life?"
Merlin snorted at Lust.
"Your lips are bright red from all the lies! I have been following him day and night and never seen anyone like you!"
She shook her head, telling Lust not to lie.
"I don't care what you think. I have been following him my whole life. And soon, that effort will bear fruit."
Lust clenched her fist, her blue eyes similar to Wrath's were filled with certainty.
"Him? Did you just say 'him'?"
This time, Merlin was enraged by Lust's use of the word "him", a term wives used to refer to their husbands, which made her blood boil.
"Liar..."
Merlin bit her lip as she looked at Lust's serene eyes.
"I want to call it a lie, but it's true."
The natural sense she had acquired from being with so many animals told her that this woman was only telling the truth now. She had genuinely been following Raon constantly and believed he would be with her.
"That can't be."
Raon is not someone who gets swayed by a woman's beauty. That idiot would surely have his reasons and, if asked, would answer, but she couldn't let this pass like this.
"Is that so?"
Merlin crossed her arms and stomped her foot.
"The same goes for me then."
"What do you mean?"
Lust, who was stroking a flower with a color similar to Raon's eyes, turned her gaze.
"I'm going to be with him too."
Merlin curved the corners of her lips and pointed at Raon.
"I even heard him say we should live together."
It wasn't actually "we're going to live together" but "come to Zieghart", but that wasn't important at the moment. She had to win this battle of wills.
"Besides, I've already spent nights with 'him' before."
She emphasized the word "him" and smiled. Of course, it was about searching for snakes to feed the moles all over North Grave Mountain in the middle of a winter night, but she still straightened her back with pride because they had spent time together.
"Mmm..."
Lust looked at Merlin, her fingertips trembling slightly.
'Is that true...?'
It was difficult to discern her true intentions in squirrel form, but seeing that this woman's soul didn't waver, it seemed to be the truth.
"How dare you..."
Lust extended her hand filled with murderous intent towards Merlin, but stopped abruptly when she saw a red flower.
'Wrath...'
The flower was looking at her with a red glow, just like the gaze of Wrath she had seen before. She couldn't do anything embarrassing in front of this.
"I see. You must be the thorn in my heart."
Lust shook her head towards Merlin.
"What nonsense are you talking about?!"
Merlin tilted her head as if asking what she meant.
"He planted this flower for me. I won't fall for your provocations."
Lust carefully stroked the red flower, suppressing the irritation growing inside her.
"F-flower?"
Merlin's lips trembled as she looked at the flower in front of Lust.
'I thought something was wrong...'
A faint scent of Raon emanated from that red flower. It wasn't just a scent, but his energy was also present.
"Eek..."
Merlin grabbed her head with trembling hands.
'Raon has never planted flowers for me... Wait!'
I have one too!
"A flower? Is that all? I even made a whole garden to welcome him!"
Merlin snorted and shook her head.
"Of course, it wasn't Raon but Mother."
During her stay in the annex, she had ordered the garden and planted flowers with Sylvia, so it wasn't a complete lie.
"And he risked his life fighting to save me!"
Merlin raised her hand, mentioning that he had saved her life, without saying that she had saved Raon more times.
"Mmm..."
Lust looked at Merlin, frowning deeply.
'Killing would be simple, but...'
Even if a soul was mixed with that squirrel, she could kill it with a flick of her finger. But using force felt like losing, so she couldn't use her power.
"Eek!!"
Merlin also stared at Lust, her shoulders shaking.
'What did he say to Raon?'
She was very curious about what Raon and this woman had said in front of the flower, but asking Raon about it felt like losing, so she couldn't do it.
"Then let's do it."
Merlin exhaled briefly and tilted her chin.
"You said you've been following him until now, right?"
"Yes. For thousands of years."
"Stop bragging!"
She pointed her finger at her own mouth and then at Lust's.
"You've been following him and I'm confident in following him secretly too. Let's decide the winner based on who can follow him more silently without being discovered!"
Merlin stomped her foot, saying the loser should grant the winner's wish.
"Alright. I won't lose to anyone in that case."
Lust knew it was a futile effort, but she accepted the proposal solely because she didn't want to lose to this squirrel.
"Here's to that!"
Merlin raised her hand confidently and turned her head sharply. With a clap, the stalking competition between the Demon King of Lust and the almost transcendent magician began.
* * *
"Eh!"
Raon shuddered as if startled.
'W-what was that...?'
He felt a chill run down his spine as if someone had just stroked it. This had never happened to him before, leaving him stunned.
"Did you feel that too?"
Wrath swallowed hard and looked towards the mountain they had just descended.
'Did you feel it too?'
"Indeed. I didn't sense energy, but it was chilling."
He said he felt as if someone had stroked his soul and his chin was trembling.
'What could it be?'
He tried to expand his aura perception, but he couldn't sense anything.
'I sensed Lust's energy before, has she not left yet?'
"This king is currently in spiritual form, so if Lust decides to hide, it would be difficult to find her."
Wrath shook his head, saying he had briefly sensed her, but now she was completely gone.
'I see.'
He nodded briefly. In reality, even if he found her, there was nothing he could do, so it seemed better to leave it at that.
"Um, but..."
Raon gave an awkward smile to Runaan, who was staring intently at her wrist.
"What are you doing?"
"..."
Runaan didn't answer, she just stared at the bracelet he was wearing on his wrist with rabbit eyes before lowering her hand. With a hiss, her water sword struck the flower bracelet of Lust, but true to its demonic power, it didn't break.
"Tach!"
Runaan clicked her tongue briefly, disappointed, and stepped back.
"Oh..."
"It seems you have returned safe and sound."
As Raon laughed awkwardly while looking at his wrist, Darkan slowly stood up. As a transcendent being, he seemed to have regained some strength.
"You're not going to break your promise now, are you?"
Raon looked at Darkan with narrowed eyes. He didn't expect him to thank him for forgiving him, but it would be very disappointing if he didn't keep his promise.
"Of course not."
Darkan nodded calmly.
"I usually keep the promises I make with my sword."
He smiled and said it wasn't absolute.
"As I promised initially, I will leave without touching a hair on anyone here."
Darkan lowered his hand and said he would leave as soon as his soul wounds healed.
"But remember, what I promised was only for those who were here."
His eyes sank into a cold color.
"Glenn Zieghart is not included in that."
"Do whatever you want."
Raon shrugged, looking at Darkan.
"You won't win anyway."
He believed in Glenn and knew he wouldn't lose, so it didn't matter if Darkan challenged him or not.
"It pains me a little not to be able to refute that."
Darkan chuckled and stood up.
"But there's still a score to settle."
He tilted his chin and said he wasn't done yet.
"Score? What score are you talking about?"
Raon twisted his lips and looked at Darkan.
"Don't tell me you're going to charge us for saving us from that swordswoman?"
In the current situation, that was the only thing Darkan could explain. Even if he had acted on instinct, that fact was partly true.
"Even if it's true, I can't let it pass."
If someone like Darkan took the lead, things could get tricky. He had to cut that off somehow.
"I know what you're thinking, but..."
"I survived thanks to you."
However, Darkan's account was the opposite of what he thought.
"What?"
"I thanked you for surviving. You sent out a strange aura right before I died and called that swordswoman, didn't you?"
Darkan smiled widely, as if he knew the whole situation.
"So, when you said you had a score to settle..."
"Yes, it's a score I have to pay."
He shook his head slightly.
"Dying by that woman's sword would have been fine, but if possible, I would rather die by Glenn's sword or yours."
Darkan thanked him again and reached into his chest.
"I'm not the leader of the alliance anymore and I don't have any money, so I'll give you this."
He pulled out an old booklet from his chest and threw it.
"Be careful!"
"A sword could come out of the book!"
The Demon Sword Lord and the String Sword Lord shook their heads, saying he was crazy.
"Mmm..."
Raon opened the booklet, maintaining tension. His eyes trembled like a ship battered by waves.
"Could this be it..."
-
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