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That was impossible.
Aurora held her breath, weighing the stranger’s identity while thinking about how to leave herself a way out.
If what the other said was true—that she knew her sister, and even knew her well—then once Aurora gambled on that absurd chance, her actions would shift from an unconscious offense to deliberate, malicious harm.
But if the other was lying, if she and her sister weren’t close at all, and she had only picked up information somewhere... no.
She must know my sister!
Aurora’s heart pounded. Suddenly, she realized she had overlooked something critical—how had the stranger recognized her?
She checked herself again. Everything was ⊛ Nоvеlιght ⊛ (Read the full story) sealed tight, the mask intact, no features visible except the pale green hair falling across her chest. The white-haired girl had only called her name after she had spoken aloud.
Eliminate the impossible. Whatever remains, no matter how absurd, is the truth—
This one not only knew her sister, but knew her well.
Well enough to recognize her only by voice, hair color, and rough build.
But—
Aurora truly had never met this so-called Vieya, this white-haired girl.
Her memory held no such person. With a face and aura that striking, and that kind of stubborn killing intent, she should have remembered.
No—she would have remembered vividly.
Aurora paced in the shadows of the ice cavern, circling around the white-haired girl standing unconcerned at its center.
Her steps were soundless, her black cloak swept open by the wind, her figure like a fragile willow girl—if one ignored the lethal rapier in her hand.
As a high-ranked shadow assassin, her killing craft was long perfected.
She had slain high demons surrounded by their armies, and human generals guarded by countless knights.
And yet—Vieya, standing alone, riddled with seeming openings, pressed her with the same suffocating pressure Aurora had felt when infiltrating the Royal Capital, surrounded by hundreds of palace guards, blade poised for the strike.
This was a true enemy. freewebnσvel.cøm
Only the dead can keep secrets.
Aurora repeated to herself the old words from her squad leader, back when she had been the irreplaceable assassin of the Hero Squad.
If the stranger truly knew her sister, then she could not press this fight to the end. Retreat was the best of stratagems.
And besides, the girl had no proof of her identity. Slip away now, and she could deny everything later.
Aurora’s eyes lit. She turned decisively, ready to slip off.
This hunt could go to the others outside.
Life and death, fortune and ruin—let them gamble their fates.
Before leaving, she couldn’t resist lifting a middle finger toward the white-haired girl who still stood there as though waiting for her surrender, sneering inwardly.
“Tch. For your sister’s sake, I’ll spare your little life this time. Be grateful for my great mercy, humph haha!”
Sweep!
She spun, cloak snapping, striding with full confidence—
Smack!
She slammed face-first into solid ice. Pain burst, tears sprang unbidden.
What ice wall?!
As her head reeled, a shadow fell over her.
Vieya stood in her escape path, high above, green eyes glinting with cold light. Her words plunged Aurora straight into the abyss:
“When exactly did you start believing I hadn’t already prepared an illusion to stop you escaping?”
Shit!
Of course this calculating, silver-tongued, deceitful white-haired slaughter queen wouldn’t be easy!
Aurora clenched her teeth, drew her rapier from under her coat, and lunged at Vieya. But she had no intent for mutual destruction—she thrust toward the girl’s chest, then used the push to launch herself into flight.
Assassin’s rule number one: when in doubt, strike boldly.
If it fails, be ready to run. Always keep an exit.
“Run all you like.”
Vieya smirked faintly, plucking the rapier from her chest and flicking it like a sparkler through the air.
“Nice technique here and there, but the thought of me being the winner in the end makes me laugh.”
Run!
Run harder!
Aurora’s heart pounded in panic. This Vieya was a monster. Not a normal human at all.
“Damn it, I was only supposed to keep watch, to make sure the hunt went smoothly. How did I run into someone like this?!”
And she had never even heard that the Southern lands hid such a figure.
Impossible.
A proper assassin must know her targets. She had memorized the list of every passenger aboard the Starbell Lily.
Including Vieya. Though the “Vieya” on the list had been a different build.
But Aurora’s seasoned eye had picked it out—the same person, without question.
What she hadn’t expected was that the cute little thing, looking hardly weaned, would be the greatest complication of the hunt.
Aurora regretted not bringing more down here. But with the illusion suddenly broken, she had come to check, and now she was cut off, unable to return to the surface.
If she could only stall long enough, the others above would realize the hunt had gone awry.
“Hope they hurry and take that ship already.”
She planned escape routes even as she thought.
Suddenly—
The familiar chill of a rapier’s tip pressed against her neck. Her body froze rigid.
“The cat-and-mouse game is over.” Vieya’s voice came as the blade pushed in slightly. “If you don’t want your sister receiving a gift box of her dear sister’s body parts every day, drop every weapon. Don’t try tricks—I know you’re carrying thirteen blades in total.”
Aurora’s face drained pale, lips pressed tight. Under that terrible threat, she could not even speak.
“Seems you still have some conscience left, worrying for your sister.” Vieya drew a milky pearl from her chest, her tone cool. “Shenmo. End the Mirror-Water illusion.”
The moment she spoke, the rapier at Aurora’s throat vanished. Vieya’s form dissolved like shattered foam.
The world spun, remade before her eyes.
What?!
Aurora’s eyes widened in disbelief. Trembling, she touched her unharmed neck—and understood.
Impossible.
Vieya had never left the bright, open ground in the cavern’s center. She had stood there the whole time, green eyes fixed on Aurora, not moving a step.
