Free Web NovelThe sky was heavy with thick, roiling clouds.
The mirage demon glanced at the red-eyed man who had fallen into her illusion, gritted her teeth, and kept running—toward the strongest concentration of human energy she could sense.
She knew it—nothing good ever happened when that slime called for her help!
If she hadn’t had the quick wit to sever her arm and leave it behind as a decoy, she would’ve died just now.
Even for a mirage demon, if her core body was destroyed, she would die just like a human.
“Damn you, slime! What did I ever do to deserve ✧ NоvеIight ✧ (Original source) this?!”
“Getting stuck with enemies like this, and I’m the one cleaning up your mess—ah, no, wait! The humans three hundred meters ahead are too weak to hold him off... the ones southeast, about a thousand meters, also won’t do... damn it! He destroyed the decoy!”
Panic built inside her. None of the human groups in this battlefield were strong enough!
She needed to find someone powerful—fast!
That was her only chance at survival now.
“Damn you, you rotten slime!” she cursed as she ran.
If this had been the sea, she might’ve had a chance—she could’ve called on other sea monsters to block pursuit. But this was land!
She was completely out of her element, and there wasn’t a single creature around she could lure as a distraction!
“Vi...eya?”
Suddenly, she heard someone calling—a voice shouting that name.
No, they were calling that slime’s name! fгeewebnovёl.com
Death pressed at her back like a knife point. ƒгeeweɓn૦vel.com
No time to think about whether the voice belonged to an enemy or ally of the slime.
Mimicking Vieya’s tone, she screamed as she ran, “Help! There’s a monster chasing me!”
“?”
In the distance, Lilian froze for a moment, feeling something off.
That person—she looked exactly like Vieya, her traits were identical, yet something about her was wrong.
The real Vieya carried a unique, chaotic aura—a blend of holiness and corruption intertwined. This one had none of that.
“Father Marlé, where’s the group of Church knights we sent to secretly protect Miss Vieya?”
“I’m sorry, Your Holiness,” said Father Marlé, the oldest priest in the convent and an acquaintance of Miss Vieya. “When the vampire outbreak began, we lost contact with that squad. Their last message came from the residential food street—they said Miss Vieya had gone out alone... to eat ramen.”
“Ramen?”
Lilian’s lips twitched. There was no way that woman had gone out just to eat noodles.
And she certainly didn’t believe that the same Vieya who had defeated Rania so easily could be chased down by a vampire without even fighting back.
Even if this vampire was strong enough to touch the threshold of the seventh rank—vampires had that ridiculous regenerative power.
“Your Holiness,” Father Marlé asked anxiously, “shall we intervene? This vampire’s power rivals that blood demon we faced earlier.”
“She’s not the Vieya you knew,” Lilian said quietly. Her star-like eyes glimmered with curiosity. “But she’s probably connected to her. Help her anyway. The vampires are to be purged regardless.”
Then, coolly, she added, “And make sure to keep her alive—just barely breathing is fine.”
“Understood.”
Why aren’t they moving yet?!
The mirage demon was close to tears. She wanted to keep shouting for help, but another attack came slicing from behind, giving her no time.
Barely dodging the red-eyed man’s blade, she took another wound.
The cut glowed faintly red, sealing itself against her natural regeneration.
Now she didn’t even have the strength left to curse that damned slime. She collapsed into the muddy water, her false body trembling on the brink of collapse.
Fear made her curl up like a child. She suddenly felt so small, so pitiful she almost wanted to cry.
If only she hadn’t gone off playing around that day, she wouldn’t have been captured by humans.
If she hadn’t been fished up from the sea, she wouldn’t have become a disposable tool monster.
She’d angered that evil slime, been forced into servitude as a walking mana battery...
And now this miserable end.
A flash of killing intent—the red-eyed man’s blade gleamed toward her throat.
The mirage demon stopped struggling and closed her eyes, ready to accept fate.
Maybe when I die, my soul will return to the ocean back home, she thought dreamily.
Rumble!
The fatal strike never landed. Golden spears of light pierced the ground where the red-eyed man had stood a moment ago.
“Hm?”
When Lilian finally saw the man’s face clearly, she froze—then spoke coldly,
“Beck Veneto. I never imagined one of the three great nobles of Fengxiang Town would stoop to serving vampires. Betraying humanity, turning traitor to your own kind!”
“Ah...”
Veneto raised his head to look at her—standing there, framed by priests and knights of the Church. He thought for a moment, then sighed.
“...So it’s you, Your Holiness,” he said. “I’m still grateful for the time you healed my daughter. But fate leaves me no choice. I would seize any chance—no matter how dark—if it meant she could live.”
“So you’ve chosen to keep living like this—neither human nor vampire?” Lilian’s voice was calm. “Tell me, who else among the nobles has turned to their side?”
“...I’m sorry,” Veneto murmured, eyes drooping. “That, I cannot say.”
“I see.” Lilian raised a hand. “Then—attack.”
Boom!
A blast of smoke erupted—Veneto vanished!
The golden binding array flared beneath where he had stood, but by the time it took hold, he had already reappeared outside its range. His lips twisted into a cruel smile as he dove forward, twin blood blades slashing like a tiger in free fall!
“Sanctum of Saint Gregory!”
Lilian whispered softly, summoning a towering wall of gold light. Her tone remained serene as she gave her order,
“All holy servants—slay every vampire. I’ll bear all consequences.”
The blood blades struck the radiant wall—
A shockwave tore through the plaza, shattering the stone pavement into dust.
“Sacred Pact—Wedge of Penance!”
The priests chanted in unison, and in an instant, countless golden nails appeared high above, falling like rain upon Veneto’s position.
“In the name of the Sevenfold Inferno, bind thee to the Pillar of Light!”
Led by Father Marlé, their voices were solemn, stripped of joy or sorrow—like a hymn sung by a divine choir, pure devotion resonating in every word.
Each golden nail struck into Veneto’s flesh with the sound of an invisible hammer. His entire body trembled with every impact. The holy radiance of the Church was the natural bane of vampires.
Under the relentless rain of light, Veneto’s body convulsed like a man riddled with gunfire. His life drained away rapidly until he could no longer even lift his arms.
The glow faded from his eyes. He stood motionless, a broken statue in the wreckage.
Only then did the mirage demon see clearly the man’s muscular frame, the strength beneath the noble façade. Hard to believe a man of his lineage could have trained a body like that.
“It’s over,” Lilian sighed softly, then turned to the mirage demon.
“I know you’re not Vieya. So—why are you impersonating her? If your reason satisfies me, I might let you die painlessly.”
The mirage demon blinked. “......”
Great... out of the tiger’s mouth, into the wolf’s den.
“I—uh—I was acting on orders,” she stammered, racking her brain for words. “Didn’t have a choice.”
“Whose orders?” Lilian asked.
“Vieya’s?” the demon ventured weakly.
“Father Marlé, truth spell.” Lilian’s face didn’t change.
One of the priests stepped forward, bowed politely toward the trembling demon, and said,
“Forgive me...”
Shhk!
“Huh?”
Warm liquid splattered across the mirage demon’s cheek—salty and metallic. Her eyes widened in disbelief.
The corpse of Beck Veneto had suddenly moved—raising one arm, blood blade swelling.
The crimson weapon pierced through the mirage demon’s back and impaled Father Marlé’s heart straight through.
The world went still for a heartbeat.
Father Marlé—
was dead.
