/
“
!”
I turned around quickly, but it was not easy to find the opponent precisely in a square as complex as the market.
“Ria! That’s him!”
As if Nathan felt it too, he was flying towards me at high speed.
‘Yeah, I can feel it.’
A ferocious energy similar to Dillian, but completely different. A deep and creepy feeling that climbs on your toes.
It’s the Darkness.
When I was about to run towards Nathan, the man asked me quietly.
“Are you leaving?”
“Ah, thanks for showing me the way!”
“Okay, see you again.”
Again? Stopped by the meaningless words, I turned my body as I was running. The man who was still standing there squirmed his lips.
It looked like he was calling my name.
‘No way.’
Feeling strange, I chased after the man with my eyes, but he had already disappeared into the crowd.
“Ria?”
“Nothing, which way should we go?”
“This way.”
I followed the ferocious energy and made my way through the crowd.
Then the faintly distant sensation revived.
And finally, I found it.
I instinctively pulled down the front of my hood.
“I don’t think that’s the main body. That’s the contractor, right?”
“Yeah.”
Will it be Lexter the one who made a contract with the Darkness as Dillian expected?
I have been following him all the way here, but I don’t know what to do next.
‘Do I have to catch him now? Or should I turn around?’
While hesitating, he was getting further and further away.
‘It’s impossible to catch him right now. But, but
!’
If the Darkness wasn’t aiming for me, if it wasn’t Lexter who was targeting Nathan, I would have ignored it and turned around.
‘But he’s after me!’
I can’t be fooled again.
My feet were already following the man’s footsteps.
“Ria, what are you going to do?”
“Let’s follow him a little more.”
If I can’t do it, I can turn around then.
I touched my bracelet and carefully followed him.
The noisy surrounding became quiet, and the people disappeared one by one.
Through the alley, I saw myself heading to an empty open space, I clinged to the wall, his blind spot.
‘
 It’s dangerous to follow further.’
It’s a pity, but it was time to go back.
As soon as I lifted my heels and turned quickly, a low voice echoed in the empty space.
“Why don’t you just come out?”
Crap, I got caught.
I froze on the spot and swallowed dry saliva. Cold sweat ran down my back.
“You have a big liver, how dare you chase after me.”
*Big liver means bold or brave.
The voice that approached me grew louder and louder.
Having missed the timing to run away, I looked around the alley and reached for my bracelet.
‘It’s late. Even if I run away, I will be caught.’
There is no safe way out of here.
‘It’s probably no use to pretend not to know.’
I have no choice but to fight head-to-head.
It was better for me to hit the player first than to live in fear, as I live when I don’t know when the Darkness will come to catch me.
If Lexter’s power is a curse, I can nullify it with the divine power I have.
Let’s subdue him first. After that, I can entrust it to Dillian or the High Priest.
It was when I firmly pressed the bracelet as I had learned from Schumann.
Someone appeared on the other side of the alleyway.
“How can you lure me to such a remote place? You know that I’m chasing you, huh?”
“Oh, was it that way?”
Silver hair that flutters under the chin. Fresh green eyes. And, the white light flickering around her.
“Saintess.”
She was definitely Aina.
***
How can Aina be here
?
Confused at the unexpected appearance, I covered my mouth. I did it because I thought I was going to scream without realizing it.
“Ria?”
Nathan tilted his head as he glued to the wall and watched the situation.
“Shh, wait a minute.”
In the meantime, Aina strode toward Lexter without fear.
“I smelled such a foul stench somewhere, and here it is.”
With lips raised on one side and cold eyes staring at Lexter, It was an unfamiliar side of her.
‘Is that person really Aina?’
That’s a lie. The Aina I know is a lovely, sweet, and warm-hearted innocent person.
But what are those eyes that look like they’re going to tear a person to death?
“Where would the so-called nobleman be going?”
“Wherever I was, whatever I did, does it matter with the Saintess?”
“I’m a Saintess, so I shouldn’t pretend not to know when I see the filth that dirtied the world, right?”
“How dare you say dirty filth to me.”
The raised hand swung like a whip towards Aina.
“Urgh.”
What should I do? If she got hit with one hand as big as the lid of the pot, Aina would be hurt though
 Huh?
“You
!”
I couldn’t keep my mouth shut at the sight unfolding before my eyes.
Lexter’s hand, held by a small and fragile hand, trembled in the air. Aina, who lightly blocked the hand slap, smiled.
“Lexter Blent.”
For a moment, I was surprised by the power that was not inferior to that of an adult man, but I was awakened by a familiar name.
‘After all, I was right, it’s Lexter.’
As Dillian expected, it was Lexter Blent who made a contract with the Darkness.
“I don’t know where you got the curse from, but I need to get rid of it. I’ll be in trouble if our Angel-nim suffers because of you.”
“What kind of bullshit do you say?”
Right. And what else is Angel-nim
?
Aina’s actions, her way of speaking, and even the authenticity of her words. It was all full of unknown things.
“Don’t worry. I will bud and purify it.”
In Aina’s hand that was in contact with Lexter, divine power fluttered along with the light.
“For me this is not
!”
However, Aina couldn’t finish her sentence.
As if there was static electricity, Aina’s hand bounced off.
‘Didn’t Aina’s divine power be deflected?’
Aina, as bewildered as I was, quickly distanced herself from Lexter.
“How
?”
Didn’t understand this situation, she looked at her hands and chewed her lips.
“Lexter Blent. Where did you get this curse from?”
“I don’t know what you’re saying.”
When Lexter pretended not to know, Aina’s face twisted..
“Don’t pretend not to know! You just deflected my divine power!”
“Did you admit it with your own mouth now? That a noble Saintess misunderstood a good citizen and used her powers at will?”
Wow, look at what he’s saying. He’s really annoying. I frowned unconsciously at the sight of wanting to hit him.
“Ria, look over there.”
Then, Nathan spread out his wings and pointed to a place.
Some suspicious men were approaching Aina.
“It’s really cowardly.”
Up until now, I knew he was a piece of rubbish, but how cheap of him to attack behind her back.
Aina rushed to Lexter and attacked him, unaware that someone was approaching behind.
“Ria, what are you going to do?”
If everything went according to plan, I had to pretend not to know and go home.
There’s nothing good about revealing my identity to Lexter.
It was right to hide my identity and pursue the future.
But it was laughable to just leave when I knew I was able to stop all of this.
“I wish I were a little more selfish.”
“That’s why you’re a lovely person.”
Thank you for the compliment, but Nathan saying it like a habit, so it doesn’t really impress me.
I smiled and lowered Nathan in my arms to the ground.
“Dillian will be angry if he finds out later. Right?”
“Humph, he can’t be mad at you.”
“Really? That’s a relief.”
I pressed the bracelet firmly. Then, with flash and light, the bracelet turned into a bow.
“Oh oh, that’s amazing.”
“You know, Schumann’s skill is the best.”
I put my fingers on the bow and bowstring.
‘If you press this button, it will transform into a bow shape. No need for arrows. You can embody it with your divine power.’
The raised arms stretched down and pulled the bowstring as hard as I could. The moment I held my breath and pulled the string tight to the limit,
Shoot!
Leaving my hand, the flying arrow hit the enemy’s thigh exactly.
‘If I hurt his leg, he won’t be able to move around.’
“Argh!”
After seeing the enemy crouching forward with a scream, I drew the bow once again.
***
Aina’s senses rose sharply at the sound of cutting through the wind.
‘Attack from behind
!’
Aina quickly stood up and looked up at the man falling in front of her and raised her eyes.
‘That’s, divine power?’
That light that slowly faded from the tail of the arrow was clearly divine power.
‘Who is it? It is not the divine power of the High Priest.’
It’s the first time I’ve seen it, but it’s not unfamiliar, it’s warm and cozy
.
“
 Perhaps?”
Aina turned her back on Lexter and looked around. She seemed to be looking for something in a hurry.
Lexter also took his eyes off Aina and looked around.
The curse engraved on the back of his hand rang out.
‘This numbness. It’s divine power.’
There are only two people who can affect him to the point where his body gets numb.
The High Priest and the Saintess in front of him.
However, the Saintess was also surprised by the unexpected situation.
‘Did the High Priest come?’
It was then.
Someone forcibly forced his head through with tinnitus.
[Lexter, don’t touch Ria.]
“Fuxx you, don’t talk to me this way!”
[Don’t touch her.]
Wait, why are you suddenly talking about that woman
.
‘No way.’
Is it the woman named Ria who is now hiding and shooting divine power arrows?
“Shut up, I’m going to die by the shooting arrows!”
[Oh, right. I don’t know about the Saintess, but avoid Ria’s divine power. If you get hit, you won’t be able to move for a while.]
As soon as the Darkness warned, Lexter’s men groaned and collapsed. Lexter wrapped his throbbing head and gritted his teeth.
‘Damn it, is this really what Dillian’s fiancĂ©e did? The woman who called Ria or something?’
I tried to lure the Saintess, but I didn’t expect something out of the ordinary would get in the way.
Lexter looked around and reached out toward Aina.
Since this happened, the Saintess’s breath had to be taken away.
“Ria, three o’clock. The Saintess is in danger.”
Ria quickly turned to Nathan’s words.
Succeeding in hitting every target, with sharpshooter and a forward-looking eye worked together, there was nothing to be afraid
After aiming precisely at Lexter’s thigh, Ria released the tight bowstring.
It flew faster and stronger than ever before.
But the arrow did not reach Lexter.
Flash-!
Something rose from within Lexter’s shadow. It was a monster she met in Wilhelm.
The Darkness’s alter ego, monsters called the Shadow, wriggled their bodies and made walls.
Clank-!
The opposite force struck and the hair fluttered wildly in the wind.
Ria’s face hardened coldly by the familiar yet unfamiliar energy.