Meanwhile, somewhere along the river—
The shadow slowly peeled itself off the stone while trembling with rage.
It looked up, only to jump away in haste.
BOOM!
The massive centipede violently smashed down!
Its colossal body crashed into the river hard enough to send towering walls of water exploding outward in every direction. The surrounding farmland shook, the riverbanks split apart, and countless waves surged wildly through the enclosed waterway, shaking the barriers.
Swoosh!
The shadow suddenly jumped and shot upward out of the water. It twisted and turned, then began to expand before reforming into the silhouette of a human.
Only then did Petra realize that the shadow was not a shadow at all, instead—
It was an incredibly dark pool of water!
The dark pool morphed before her eyes, slowly turning into the form of a large and burly man!
This was—
The second disciple of Elder Waveraband!
Of course, Petra had no idea who that was…
The man had short dark-blue hair that was tied into a low ponytail, sharp blue eyes, and a scruffy but powerful build that seemed more suited to a frontline fighter than a scholar. Despite his rough appearance, his gaze was calm and calculating, filled with the discipline of someone who was accustomed to surviving dangerous waters.
The man breathed heavily, glaring up at the gigantic creature before him.
The battle had truly begun!
Skreeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeek!
The Sea Spearing Centipede lunged forward!
Booom!
The river exploded apart beneath its massive body as countless legs violently clawed through the water.
The man immediately moved to dodge.
Splash!
His figure skipped across the surface of the water at a terrifying speed.
He moved like a shadow dancing atop the river, weaving between collapsing waves while avoiding the huge creature that was repeatedly slamming down around him. Every strike from the centipede sent enormous shockwaves across the river, while walls of water rose high enough to blot out the moon.
Boom!
Another huge impact shattered the wave of water behind him, and the man twisted sideways.
Crash!!
A wave taller than a building surged past his body, and at the same time, another attack came.
Boom!
And another! Boom!
And another!
Boom!
The entire battlefield became a chaotic dance of destruction as the man skipped and flashed across the surface of the river, while barely avoiding death over and over again.
Petra's eyes narrowed slightly.
"…He's pretty good…"
Even the girls watching from the lounge subconsciously leaned closer, because despite the overwhelming difference in size, the man was holding his own.
After dodging several more attacks, the battle entered its second phase, and the man suddenly reached beneath his coat and swiftly pulled something out.
Click!
A flintlock pistol, or something close, appeared in his hand.
"…Ah?"
Petra's eyes widened in shock.
"…There are guns in Pillomal?"
Bang!!
The pistol erupted with a violent burst of spiritual energy! A compressed mana bullet tore through the air and slammed directly into one of the centipede's glowing eyes, before exploding.
Skreeeeeeeeeeek!
The giant creature violently recoiled!
Bang! Bang! Bang!
The man continuously fired furiously while rapidly moving across the water, carefully aiming for weak points between its armored plates.
The bullets exploded against the creature's body while waves erupted around as collateral damage.
The man moved fast, extremely fast.
Like a sea beast atop a wave, his speed only seemed to increase as time went on.
Every movement carried terrifying power, and every step shredded the line.
The man narrowly dodged another descending claw before firing directly into the centipede's open mouth.
Boom!
But as it hit—
The giant creature suddenly stopped moving, and a faint blue glow rapidly condensed deep within the depths of its throat.
Petra's expression instantly changed!
She couldn't believe that it actually felt that much pressure! How strong must that gun be to make her beast react that way!
Omm-ommmm-ommmmmm-otk! Voooooooooooooooooooooooom!
A hyper-compressed jet of water erupted forward!
The attack tore through the air like a beam of purified destruction, splitting the river apart and carving directly through a large portion of the riverbank behind!
The man barely twisted aside in time.
Shhk!!
One of his hands vanished completely beneath the light!
Blood exploded outward as the man staggered violently across the water, clutching the ruined stump.
The entire exchange only lasted for a moment, but it was unbelievably dangerous nonetheless.
The man's expression had completely changed.
He finally understood that this creature could not simply be shot to death. Its innate defenses were too terrifying, and it would take far too long!
The man became much more serious…
No, much more aggressive!
Slowly—
He reached into his clothes again and pulled out a black case covered in deeply engraved runes.
An explosive!
The surrounding air was slightly distorted as his bloodshot eyes locked onto the huge centipede.
He seemed to have made up his mind.
BOOM!!
He shot forward!
This time, instead of avoiding the creature, he directly charged toward it. Massive waves erupted around him as a wave of powerful water magic burst from his body.
The river responded violently to his charge.
Wave after wave rose into the air with increasing density, before crashing against the centipede hard enough to shake its balance.
Bang!!
Bang!!
Bang!!
The gigantic creature staggered ever so slightly beneath the repeated impacts!
After a small window finally opened—
The man seized the opening.
Closer—closer! Go!
Boom!
He intended to ram the explosive directly into the creature's mouth!
The centipede opened its jaws, equally ready to bite!
The man roared and lunged forward—
But just then—
Swoosh! A black light flashed!
Petra, intending to intervene, suddenly appeared atop the centipede's head.
Her cold eyes looked down with a deepening indifference.
The man's eyes widened in shock, but a moment later, he understood who this little girl was! The man reacted almost instantly! Furious, he redirected the explosive in his hand and hurled it directly toward Petra instead!
"You little—!! Die!"
Petra, seeing this, simply flicked her sleeve—
Swoosh!
The explosive disappeared…
At the same time—
The man's body disintegrated…
It happened instantly, and before he could even blink, his flesh dissolved until only bones remained, scattering into the river below.
Silence…
It ended just like that…
"Hmph!" Petra snorted angrily.
She patted the giant centipede's head, and the huge beast obediently lowered itself.
She jumped the rest of the way down and landed on the riverbank, then slowly looked around at the damaged farmland and shattered river. Mist drifted through the night, and as soon as the fighting stopped, the river quietly began to flow again, but Petra still felt annoyed!
Her mind turned, and the green walls that were supposed to restrict the damage and contain the fight appeared with a flicker of green light.
She scanned them with her eyes, but her frown deepened.
After a moment to look, she just shook her head and let the invisible walls return to their unseen state.
It seems as if she needed to upgrade them in the future…
Suddenly—
Swoosh!
Something flashed out from the dissolving corpse and shot directly toward Petra like a streak of blue light! Its speed was extremely fast, almost reaching her face in an instant, but—
Smack!
—Petra casually slapped the sharp light out of the air and caught it with her little hand.
"…Hm?"
She frowned slightly.
The glowing object struggled briefly between her fingers like a living thing before eventually calming down. Upon closer inspection, it resembled a tiny floating rune formed from compressed soul force, with layer upon layer of faint blue symbols continuously rotating around a swirling central core.
Petra narrowed her eyes.
After only a brief moment of thought, a look of understanding flashed across her face.
This was some kind of tracking technique.
More specifically, it should be a special mark designed to identify the person who killed a disciple or an important member of a faction. It wasn't especially advanced, but it was extremely well hidden and difficult to get rid of, likely designed to quietly attach itself to the killer without them noticing, before eventually transmitting their location.
Petra slowly turned her head and looked back towards the bones scattered throughout the river.
"…So you had some kind of special identity, huh?"
The little girl quietly muttered to herself.
Honestly, she wasn't very surprised…
People capable of reaching his level while carrying strange weapons and high-level visualization techniques like the one he used to manipulate the waves usually possessed some kind of background. It would be stranger if he didn't have one.
Petra thought for several seconds, then she shrugged.
"Mm, whatever!"
Reaching into her pocket, Petra pulled out an ordinary spirit stone roughly the size of her palm. Without hesitation, she forcefully stuffed the glowing mark into the stone using her overwhelming mental energy.
Bzzzt!
The mark immediately began to resist violently.
Unfortunately, it was easily suppressed by Petra, and within moments, the glowing rune was completely sealed inside the spirit stone. Afterwards, Petra casually poked a hole through it with her little claw, threaded a small string through the opening, then tied the stone around her waist like some kind of cheap accessory.
"Hmph!" Petra puffed out her cheeks.
"I'd like to see just who comes looking for revenge!"
The tied-up stone lightly bounced against her hip.
Satisfied with her handiwork, Petra finally turned back toward the Sea Spearing Centipede.
The massive creature had already calmed down and was now quietly lowering its enormous head toward her like an oversized pet waiting for praise. Petra could also feel a certain level of regret in its eyes. It seemed as if it had realized that it was in danger, which was why Petra had to appear!
She didn't know the origin of that explosive, but she had no doubt that it was capable of killing her contracted beast if allowed to enter its stomach.
Petra snorted.
"Hmph! You big dummy!"
She climbed up onto the lowered head and aggressively patted the centipede several times.
Smack-smack-smack-smack-!
"That was a good fight! Mm, very good! Just, next time, pay more attention! You're fast, not strong! Don't forget that!" In truth, if the Sea Spearing Centipede were to use the optimal approach, it could have ended the battle in an instant, even before the man could move.
The huge creature let out a low rumbling noise while its countless legs shifted beneath the river.
Petra proudly crossed her arms.
The centipede blinked several times, then lowered its head awkwardly.
Then—Swoosh! A flash of black light erupted around her body, and the surrounding space twisted.
Petra vanished from the riverbank…
* * *
Sixth Floor, Lounge—
Swoosh! Petra reappeared in the middle of the lounge with a burst of black light.
The instant she returned—
"Petra!"
Lilly immediately launched herself forward, and at the same time, Luna also rushed over, clearly startled by Petra's earlier sudden disappearance.
Before Petra could even react, the twins had already grabbed onto her from both sides and begun to pull her back and forth in a chaotic little dance.
"Mmgh?!"
Petra blinked repeatedly while being tugged around.
What's wrong with these two!?
Lilly tightly hugged one arm while Luna held the other, both girls visibly relieved that Petra had returned safely despite the fact that Petra herself looked completely unharmed.
It seemed as if they had some PTSD from the Azurefell incident…
Petra stared blankly for several seconds, then a soft smile slowly spread across her face.
"…Mm~"
Unfortunately for her—
That smile only lasted for a second before she was completely smothered by the two girls and dragged upstairs toward the seventh floor.
The other girls watched them disappear up the staircase, completely confused.
"…Spoiled Master!" Rose snorted.
Lira nodded seriously.
Neither sister sounded convinced.
Not long later, after Petra vanished toward her bedroom, Luna suddenly reappeared.
The mute girl quickly tapped back down the stairs with surprisingly energetic steps before stopping in front of everyone.
All eyes turned toward her…
Luna straightened herself up, gave a small, polite little bow, then immediately spun around and skipped back upstairs with a suspiciously excited expression on her usually taciturn face.
The entire lounge went quiet…
Rose slowly narrowed her eyes.
"…Why do I suddenly feel a bit jealous?"
Nobody answered her…
-
As the night gradually deepened—
The girls gathering slowly began to disperse…
Rose and Lira were the first to leave, loudly arguing while walking downstairs. Meanwhile, Noah awkwardly remained behind for several extra minutes, even after everyone else started leaving. He looked around the now quieter lounge, rubbed the back of his—her head, then quietly muttered—
"…That was kinda..."
After saying this, he awkwardly walked away as well.
Nearby, Albery slowly stood up and stretched.
"…I should probably return too," she said softly.
Dorthy nodded.
"Mm, then I'll walk you out."
The two girls quietly left, disappearing through one of the hidden exits leading out of the Verdelith Castle and back to the capital city of Llynun.
Soon, only Bell remained…
The blond girl sat quietly with several books stacked beside her, staring blankly at the now-empty room.
Bell scratched her cheek.
For some reason, it felt like they were forgetting something, something very important.
Bell frowned in thought.
"…Mah! Must be my imagination!"
Satisfied with this conclusion, Bell happily gathered up her books and left to return for the night.
-
Meanwhile—
Far away within the depths of Petra's poison garden…
"…Boss! I think my bones are growing!"
"…Why are the trees not burning?!"
"…Stop screaming! I'm thinking! I'm thinking!"
The three losers had been completely forgotten…
* * *