The Hero Who Became a Monster Girl Will Never Fall to Evil

Boom—!

After a flash of lightning, thunder rolled, and rain poured down over the entire Monster Forest.

Branches cracked beneath her boots; wet leaves squelched underfoot. Silver-white lightning streaked across the clouds. Alone, Rania moved swiftly through the woods. From time to time came the hissing cries of monsters and the flapping of birds and beasts, but she ignored them.

She didn’t even let them register.

All of her focus was on Vieya, who had taken a commission and gone into Mount Aisa.

Perhaps all the old misunderstandings had already been cleared up, but there was still something important Rania wanted to ask—something she needed to hear from Vieya’s own mouth. freёweɓnovel.com

Besides, she’d also heard the rumors about the small town of Mount Aisa. She planned to settle both matters on this trip.

“I’ll find out who’s been causing trouble using my teacher’s name.”

With that thought, Rania picked up her pace, gliding through the trees like a violet shadow. According to her memory, she was already close to Mount Aisa.

The heavens seemed to split open. Torrents of rain crashed down like a falling sea.

Suddenly, she caught an odd sound beneath the roar of the downpour—something faint and out of place. It was intermittent, like voices, muffled by the rain but unmistakably human.

Other adventurers chasing the same rumors? Or the people from Fairy’s Wings who had been traveling with Vieya?

But what decent person would be wandering the depths of the Monster Forest in a storm like this?

Rania halted and melted into the trees, quietly moving toward the source of the sound.

The voices grew clearer. Two men were talking.

“Old Seven’s out of contact. Doesn’t look good.”

“Who cares? It’s got nothing to do with us. The higher-ups don’t give a damn what we do anyway. Once those adventurers come out, we’ll just write a report and turn it in.”

“You really don’t want a promotion, do you?”

“Of course I do. But if it’s a choice between dying in Mount Aisa or waiting until those adventurers get back and then killing them to steal their work... I’ll take the second option every time.”

As soon as the man finished speaking, a cold wind brushed the back of his neck. A glint of steel flashed above his head. His eyes widened in horror—but his neck suddenly snapped backward like rubber, bending at an unnatural angle and narrowly dodging the slash aimed at his throat.

“Who’s there! Come out!” he roared, enraged after his close call.

The other man stiffened too, rat-like eyes darting nervously through the rain-soaked darkness.

“Old Five, we’ve been exposed! Send word about what happened—now!”

He shouted, but before the words were out, Old Five collapsed with a thud. A thin line of red appeared across his neck. His face still carried the expression of fleeting relief and startled fury as he fell.

Old Four went cold all over.

Rania stepped from the shadows, her massive scythe in hand, her violet eyes glinting like icy fire. “Speak. What’s your connection to what’s happening here?”

“You want to know?”

Old Four sneered. His eyes hardened. He drew a short blade from his belt and lunged forward.

“Ask the one you just sent to hell!”

“......”

Rania stepped back, then raised her scythe again. These two might have been impressive among ordinary humans, but compared to someone who had already brushed against the threshold of the eighth tier, they were nothing but children.

The two figures crossed in the rain—

Thud!

Old Four dropped heavily to the drenched forest floor. Blood seeped across the ground, spreading under the torrent.

Rania sheathed her weapon without even glancing back and strode into the cave where the two men had /N_o_v_e_l_i_g_h_t/ been talking. Her eyes scanned the area.

She picked up the communication talisman they had left behind and infused it with mana.

It flickered weakly—then shattered in her hand.

“A built-in anti-theft mechanism? Seems the organization behind this is no small force...”

Rania frowned and tossed the fragments aside, her gaze falling upon a map spread across a stone surface. freewёbnoνel.com

It was one of theirs, but...

“Blueprints of Mount Aisa’s structures? What were they planning to do with this? Were they the ones who started those rumors about my teacher’s revival there?”

“What are they trying to accomplish?”

She couldn’t make sense of it.

“Forget it. No more clues here anyway. I’ll go find Vieya and the others first. Maybe they know something about who these people are... I just hope they’re safe.”

......

Mount Aisa.

Here, the sky was clear—no rain at all, only pale moonlight.

“Vieya, are you alright?” Menesis stopped abruptly before the shrine’s gate, not even lifting her head as she called toward the white-haired girl.

A moment later, Rakaide arrived behind her, speaking in the same concerned tone. “Priestess, you don’t look well. Do you need to rest here a bit?”

“I’m fine,” Vieya said softly. “Has that big fellow outside quieted down?”

“Yes, your plan worked perfectly!” Menesis hurried up to her, smiling brightly. “I shouldn’t have doubted you, respected Priestess. Huh... but you look awfully pale—are you sure you’re okay?”

“It’s just the price I paid for communicating with the ghost just now. Nothing serious,” Vieya replied, face twitching slightly before she shook her head.

“I—I see.” Menesis bowed deeply, suddenly understanding. “I shouldn’t have questioned the dedication of a priestess. You even bore the burden yourself to buy us a way out. Miss Vieya, if I ever get the chance, I’ll personally bring you a banner of gratitude.”

“No banner necessary. Just pay me more next time,” Vieya said with a blink.

Menesis nodded seriously. “Money’s not an issue.”

“Then let’s go take a look outside. If we want to regroup with Luna and the others, the Holy Sword in that Hero’s armor is the key item.” Vieya stood up.

“Holy Sword?”

Menesis’s eyes widened slightly. She suddenly realized that while she’d been away, the priestess had been working just as hard for everyone’s sake.

The thought made her cheeks flush with guilt. All the suspicion, all the cautious probing—what was the point of it? They were all trapped here together, all facing the same danger, and yet the other woman had stayed open-hearted and calm through it all.

She rubbed her face hard, frustrated. Somewhere along the way, she’d gotten used to treating everyone around her like a potential threat, like a hedgehog bristling its quills.

Before long, the three of them left the shrine.

At the same time, a purple silhouette appeared at the town’s entrance. She hesitated for only a moment before stepping in.

“Careful! Something’s not right ahead!”

From a distance, Rakaide suddenly caught a sharp scent—he wrinkled his nose. “That’s a strong smell of blood!”

“I smell it too... but I thought that was you,” Menesis muttered, her shoulders tensing.

Vieya’s expression didn’t change. “We’ll know what happened when we get there. In any case, even the old Hero’s armor’s already been subdued. There’s nothing left to fear from small fry.”

Priestess, does your God of Light know how arrogant you are?

Menesis bit back a retort and simply nodded. Vieya was right—small fry were nothing to fear. They just needed to stay alert.

“Then let’s move.”