Siegfried's furious roar made the Herrscher pause. She was more perplexed by Siegfried's righteous intervention than by Aizahár's struggle against her judgment.
But one thing she did know.
"The verdict has been passed. The judgment process cannot be interrupted," the Herrscher slowly raised her hand, aiming at Siegfried. "You cannot stop this."
"Is that so?" Siegfried's peripheral vision caught the slight tremor of the spears he had discarded as the Herrscher raised her hand. His heart sank, and he slightly bent his knees.
The Herrscher's hand clenched tightly. Almost simultaneously—or perhaps a split second before the Herrscher acted—Siegfried moved first, following a warning instinct.
The spears grazed past his body. The Herrscher was stunned for a moment, and in the next instant, a beam of light hit her right between the eyes.
But this shot only made the Herrscher's head tilt back slightly, leaving a faint dark mark on her brow.
When the Herrscher's gaze returned to normal, Siegfried and Aizahár were gone, leaving only a pool of blood on the ground and a few spears stuck in empty space.
The Herrscher frowned slightly. She didn't have much in the way of tracking abilities. The only way she could sense someone's location was by perceiving the malice in their hearts.
In fact, this ability was usually more than enough. But for some reason, the Herrscher couldn't sense Siegfried's presence now, just as she hadn't noticed his approach before.
If she hadn't seen Siegfried appear in front of her with her own eyes, the Herrscher wouldn't have even known he was there.
The place where Siegfried had disappeared was another alley. If she were to chase after him rashly...
She looked down at the injury on her forearm. The scorched mark was still there. After a slight frown, the Herrscher still raised her foot and walked unhurriedly in the direction Siegfried had disappeared.
Although she couldn't sense where Siegfried was, Aizahár could still provide her with a location from time to time.
Of course, if Aizahár died halfway, she might not be able to find Siegfried's location anymore.
Whether it was his special ability to evade her senses or his audacity to interrupt the judgment in progress, she was very curious to see what kind of verdict this person would receive in a trial.
The Herrscher's footsteps were as light as a ghost's, mostly just the sound of her black robe dragging on the ground.
She walked slowly through the alley, heading in the direction she sensed. Her connection to Aizahár had somehow stabilized, which was a good thing. It would be a headache if the sinner died before the punishment was fully carried out.
The moment Siegfried entered the alley, he had already pulled out the medicine on him and quickly injected Aizahár with it.
Feeling Aizahár's vital signs gradually stabilizing, Siegfried finally felt a little relieved.
He could already hear the Herrscher's footsteps entering the alley. Since she dared to chase after him like this, she must have some ability to locate him or Aizahár to be so fearless.
Of course, it was also possible that his [Judgment] hadn't caused her much damage...
In any case, the Herrscher was chasing him now, and Siegfried was looking for a place to put Aizahár down.
What was he going to do, you ask? Could he just turn and run?
Of course, he was going to teach that person who was abusing private punishments a righteous lesson!
He was lucky to have made it in time this time and saved this child. If he didn't step up and let the Herrscher disappear from their sight again, there wouldn't be such good luck next time.
A Kaslana family secret—every delicious meal is rare, and to encounter it again is a luxury.
So he had to step up! At the very least, he had to get more information about the Herrscher. Even this child could leave behind two crucial pieces of information. He... had to get at least one.
He kicked open the door of a house, gently placed the girl in his arms on a bed, then got up and went out, firing a shot at the doorway.
Then he turned back, closed his eyes, and took a deep breath.
Without the distraction of color, the world was reduced to a chaotic symphony of sounds echoing in his mind.
The sound of the wind, his heartbeat, his breath... after filtering out all the familiar sounds, what was left...
...was where the Herrscher was!
Siegfried took a step forward, emerging from his hiding place. At the same time, the Herrscher, who was walking through the alley, also turned her head and looked at him.
Their gazes crossed the alley and collided in mid-air, conveying the same meaning.
"Found you."
After a moment of silence, Siegfried and the Herrscher moved at the same time, rapidly closing the distance between them in the narrow alley. Siegfried held the Star of Judgment in his hand, his mind highly focused as he searched for the whereabouts of those spears.
Where would they appear? From the front? Above? Or had the spears already circled behind him? Or would they burst through the wall from the side when he got within a certain distance?
None of that happened, because the Herrscher was already in front of him.
Without any hesitation, Siegfried threw a merciless punch at the Herrscher's face, completely disregarding her rare and beautiful face.
The Herrscher raised her hand to push away the trajectory of the punch and then grabbed for Siegfried's face.
Siegfried's punch ultimately landed on the wall beside the Herrscher. The instantly shattered concrete wall made the Herrscher's movements pause for a moment. With her attack delayed, Siegfried immediately gained the advantage in close combat.
Wait... where are the powers?
The moment they truly clashed, this doubt arose in Siegfried's mind.
If he remembered correctly, the information on Herrschers released by the Fire Moths stated that they all had many incredible abilities. And he had just seen something like telekinesis, which was why he was on guard against the appearance of those spears.
But now the Herrscher was fighting him in close combat?
And she was even being suppressed by him?!
Something's wrong... Even Siegfried could feel that something was very wrong!
Could it be that this person was stacking some kind of buff?!
Siegfried immediately withdrew from the battle. As the one on the offensive, it wasn't difficult for him to do so. His attacks didn't stop, but instead, he used the Star of Judgment to launch a continuous barrage of harassing attacks as he retreated.
"Can you sense him?"
"I can't feel him... is he hiding too well?"
"It's impossible for someone to have no evil in their heart! We need to continue to make contact with him!"
The voices in her mind flashed by. The Herrscher's body sank slightly, and she actually charged towards Siegfried, braving the harassing attacks.