The Tiger Hero, driven by fury and the white aura of his ultimate skill, contorted his face into a macabre grimace. He raised his axe, and the ground beneath his feet began to crack from the excess of power.
"We'll see in a moment if you can keep talking your bullshit!" he screamed, his voice carrying the echo of powerful magic. "You're going to die along with that ice…"
He didn't get to finish.
A sudden, unnatural whistle tore through the air behind his back. A red blur, moving at the speed of a projectile, materialized right at his neck.
Kala, in her full demonic form, delivered a massive swinging blow. The sheer momentum and blast of the impact were so destructive that when her fist met the Hero's skull, it simply exploded like an overripe balloon filled with paint.
A gigantic spray of blood followed, splashing the surrounding tree trunks and the frozen earth. The Tiger's headless body, still fueled by the remnants of his powerful skill, lurched several times before falling dead into the mud with a dull thud.
Lilith and Lysandra froze in their combat stances. Both stared at the corpse with completely stunned, almost stupid expressions on their faces.
All that epic speech, all that murderous "final showdown" atmosphere, and the Hero's ace in the hole... all of it was extinguished by a single strike from a succubus who had clearly had enough of waiting.
Around Kala, the air still rippled from the heat and the destructive aura. A trickle of blood ran from the corner of her lips, and her eyes slowly lost their crimson glow as she deactivated her battle form. She returned to her human appearance, taking deep, trembling breaths.
"Lilith..." Kala rasped, wiping her mouth with the back of her hand. "Do you have any more of those potions? Toss me about three Health Potions. I feel like I've been run over by a battering ram."
Lilith blinked several times, still shocked by how anticlimactically the Tiger had ended.
"He... he was just about to use his ultimate technique..." she muttered to herself, looking at the headless torso. "I wanted to say something really clever at the end..."
Lysandra also furrowed her brow, stepping away from the remnants of the ice. Her eyes opened wider as she looked at the rest of the battlefield.
The sight was macabre - massacred bodies of warriors lay everywhere with huge chunks missing, as if a tornado of teeth and claws had passed through them. Kala clearly took no prisoners.
Finally Lilith, with a strange expression on her face, let out a heavy sigh and reached into her inventory. She pulled out three potion flasks and tossed them toward the succubus.
"Here. Good job, though you could have let him finish at least the name of that attack."
Kala caught the bottles in flight and drank them one by one, feeling her wounds knit together and her HP return to normal. She stretched lazily, hearing a crunch in her own joints, then looked at Lilith and Lysandra with a broad smile.
"Thanks! I see you finished the job with those leftovers too," she remarked cheerfully, pointing at the dead commanders lying around them. "Quite the trio we make, right?"
Lilith nodded, though she still felt a sense of dissatisfaction after the interrupted scene with the Tiger.
"Yes, he was the last one. He held his own quite well, wanted to treat us to 'Ultimate Destruction,' but someone brutally interrupted him in his big moment."
Kala shrugged, kicking the Hero's corpse with her foot. "I couldn't help it, Lilith. My HP was on the edge, and he was yelling so loud my ears hurt. Why complicate things?"
At that same moment, Lilith looked around the smoking camp. "And where is Mina?" she asked.
As if on cue, Mina emerged from the thick undergrowth. Her face was clearly pouting, her lips twisted in a huff. The girls looked at her with curiosity.
Mina, ignoring their gazes, walked up to the nearest boulder and furiously kicked it with her small foot.
"This is hopeless!" she muttered under her breath. "I searched this whole camp and not even one! Not a single pretty girl with big tits that we could hire as a maid! Just dirty werewolves and sweaty bears!"
She snorted angrily and, without warning, walked up to Kala, burying her face in her lush breasts as if seeking comfort there.
Kala snorted loudly, grabbing Mina by her green hair and tilting her head up. "Hey! Are mine not enough for you, you little grumbler?" she asked with a predatory smirk.
Mina looked at her with a spark in her eye and was about to reply with something equally sharp, but she didn't get the chance. Kala, with an ironic laugh, pressed her head back into her cleavage so hard that the girl almost lost her breath.
Lilith, seeing this scene, only shook her head. She gestured to the skeletons, who still stood motionless, waiting for orders after completing their task.
The battle was over. She walked slowly toward a certain werewolf lying motionless under a tree.
"Hey, are you still alive over there?" she asked loudly.
Elina, who had already managed to return to her original rabbit form, rose from the ground with a groan, dusting off her dirty clothes. Her ears drooped, but admiration flickered in her eyes after what she had witnessed.
"Don't worry, Boss!" she called out, straightening up with all her might. "I'm perfectly healthy! Just a bit dazed... Your succubi are terrifying, you know that?"
Lilith looked at Elina's beaming face and smiled slightly. She reached into her inventory, and a small crystal pulsing with a faint light materialized in her hand. With a careless flick of her wrist, she tossed it toward the bunny girl.
"Here. This is your reward for today's work," Lilith said.
[Skill Stone: Eye of Insight]
Rank: E
Effect: Allows for reading the basic parameters of an opponent or items.
For Lilith, who already possessed the ability to see hidden information and deep analysis, this stone was practically useless. However, for someone like Elina, it was a treasure opening up completely new possibilities.
"A skill stone?! This is amazing!" Elina practically jumped, catching the crystal and pressing it to her chest. "Thanks, Boss! Seriously, you're the best!"
Lilith crossed her arms over her chest, her eyes resting on the horizon where the forest slowly thinned. "What are your plans for the future, Elina?" she asked unexpectedly.
The bunny girl immediately grew serious. For a moment, she stared at Lilith, trying to read something from her inscrutable face. She felt this conversation wasn't accidental.
"What do you propose, Boss?" she asked quietly, guessing that the Monarch already had a role ready for her.
"Go to the City of Aethelgard," Lilith replied, her voice becoming low and businesslike.
Elina froze for a moment. "Aethelgard?" she repeated under her breath. "That's the heart of the guilds in this region..."
Lilith nodded. "I need information. I want to know who is really pulling the strings there, how the defense is organized, and what the cities in this world look like. Since the Red Blood Hero Association is so interested in my valley, I will start taking an interest in their home. You will prepare the ground there for my future actions."
Elina understood in a flash. She was to be a spy, a mole in the very heart of hero civilization. It was dangerous, but it gave her incredible influence.
The Heroes Lilith had just massacred had powerful ties to Aethelgard - their sudden disappearance would cause a stir, and Elina would be there to observe the guild's reaction.
"Yes, Boss!" Elina straightened up, determination burning in her eyes. "I'm setting out for Aethelgard right away. You can wait here calmly for my good news! I won't fail you."
The city lay several hundred kilometers away, separated by stretches of wild zones, hostile tribes, and dangerous paths. However, for Elina, who had already reached Level 2, these obstacles were merely minor inconveniences.
As a "Fallen Heroine," she still possessed the potential for growth unavailable to ordinary mortals.
"You won't lack for rewards in the future if the results are satisfactory," Lilith added, looking at the bunny.
Elina knew perfectly well what was at stake. As long as she had the power of the Valley of Darkness at her back and Lilith's favor, she could become something more than just a fugitive. Being a "bad heroine" under the wings of the Succubus Queen was worlds better than being another nameless victim in some two-bit gang.
With those words, Elina turned and ran toward the thicket, disappearing into the darkness of the night, as the small bat-toad on her shoulder squeaked softly, looking at Lilith.
The Monarch watched her go, then turned to her succubi.
"Now that our spy is on her way, it's time to clean up this battlefield and loot the bodies of their weapons and items."