The Gamer's POV

At first glance, one could easily mistake one of the creatures in the sunken courtyard for a human. But under the bright light of the pale moon, it became apparent that this being, beautiful and majestic as it was, was anything but human.

It was tall with the perfect lean body of an average man. However, his skin was molten gray, and two red horns that curved like crescent moons protruded from his head. He had long hair which hung in straight, pale strands all the way past his waist, and he was dressed in a dark, form-fitting tunic layered with fur-trimmed armor. That and the long, patterned fabric tassel earring dangling from his ear gave him the look of a Viking.

There were red tattoos drawn on his forehead and shoulders, and his eyes were nothing but red, shining pools. He hugged a spear which had a really long blade at the tip, and his right hand held what seemed to be a small green globe.

Not too far from him was one of the Chilliarch Fiends. It was the same massive monstrosity that Aika had seen in the memory she had received of her past.

For a few seconds, he kept speaking irritatedly to himself as they made their way past the broken area that probably used to be a fountain.

But then, all of a sudden, he stopped and turned around, sniffing the air a few times before fully turning to the balustrade.

And at that moment, an angry female voice rang out:

"You!"

In the next instant, the woman, who had black eyes and was dressed in a kimono, suddenly descended toward the demon.

***

Boom!

A loud explosion sounded, sending dust and debris into the air from the collision. However, before the dust could even begin to settle, Aika had leapt back gracefully to put distance between herself and the demon.

The demon, on the other hand, had not moved an inch.

He had only raised his spear and effortlessly blocked her strike.

He then hugged his spear again, tilted his head, and studied the woman in front of him with a condescending smirk.

"Oh? A human?" He arched a brow, looking bewildered at the audacity of this woman.

At the moment, the Fiend, who towered over both of them, was growling angrily and looking ready to lunge at her, but the demon turned slightly to it. That gesture alone stopped it from moving.

Looking back to the woman, he sneered, "You see me, yet instead of fleeing, you approach me with your sword drawn. Do I look like an easy prey, or do you just not have any sense of self-preservation, human?"

He waited for a reply, but Aika didn’t respond and just kept looking at him as if weighing him....

That caused his smile to widen.

"Or maybe, you are just foolish."

...Meanwhile, Aika could feel her arms shaking.

During that brief exchange, it felt as if she had struck solid iron rather than a living being. The sheer force of his block had traveled straight up her blade, rattling her bones and leaving her hands numb.

Sweat was beading down her pale face, and for a moment, fear had gripped her heart.

But there was something else that happened.

In that brief exchange, Aika was absolutely sure that she had been beheaded.

She could see her head flying. She had been killed. Wait, had she?

She couldn’t tell.

’What was that?’ she thought.

She raised a hand and touched her neck, but there was nothing wrong.

Her head was still attached, so what had she seen?

’Was that a result of his aura?’

At the same time, many messages from Gamer Privileges were popping up in front of her vision in red.

[Warning: Gamer Privileges has detected an immense threat to the life of the Gamer’s Bond.]

[Gamer Privileges advises retreat for the Gamer’s Bond.]

While she was still reading the notifications, the demon exhaled wearily and turned around. Then, as he began walking away, he waved his hand dismissively. "Go away, foolish human. I am not in the mood to deal with any of you from this realm."

Hearing that, Aika gritted her teeth and tightened her hand on the katana. Just seeing this being was infuriating enough, but Gamer Privileges advising retreat was provoking her even more.

How dare...

She didn’t even let the man finish talking before she lunged in a blur to close the distance between them.

However, just before she reached him, the fiend raised its massive hand and slammed down on the ground where she had been.

But then, Aika had already swapped places with a raven, reappearing several meters in front of them both.

Barely a second after she reappeared, Redd, who was leaping to reach her in the chaos, arrived, landing beside her. He then reached behind him and unsheathed his massive greatsword.

"My lady—" he began, but then Aika cut him off, pointing at the creature behind the demon.

"That fiend is getting in my way."

Redd turned to her with an arrogant expression, but when he gazed into her now black eyes, he shuddered and nodded with a hesitant frown.

"I will get rid of it."

At that moment, Aika looked away and muttered under her breath, "Blue mask of Rage and ill Will."

All of a sudden, Redd roared in agony as the red mask of greed and desire which was on his face changed to blue.

His form then shifted from his normal humanoid appearance to a monstrous, hulking beast. Another pair of hands erupted from his back, and wisps of blue smoke suddenly shrouded his figure.

He then crouched, cracking the ground beneath him, before lunging forward in a blur.

The creature stepped forward, only for Redd to crash into it with a heavy boom. Its massive fifteen-meter form was sent skidding back several meters, and its heavy legs tore deep grooves into the ground.

It had managed to block with its hand, which was covered in a thick exoskeleton of bone. But Redd, who had not slowed down at all, immediately followed up with another, more devastating blow that sent the monster crashing into the estate behind them.

Meanwhile, the demon tilted his head curiously at Aika who was also preparing to lunge at it.

"I give you a chance to live, and you still act foolishly?" He really couldn’t understand. So he asked, "Why?"

Aika gritted her teeth.

"Death."

The ground cracked beneath her...

"I want your death!"

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