Chapter 126: Phantom’s Island (3) (2/2)

Leo spoke with tired eyes, causing Lia to chuckle.

“It’s not convincing when you say something like that while yawning.”

“Hey~, Lia, you haven’t slept in a while. If you have a nightmare this time, I will wake you…”

While saying that, Leo nodded off.

These guys were so young, still, children who easily lost to their instincts.

But why was her mouth wide open too?

Lia tried to remain awake.

However, after nearly 72 hours without sleep, she yawned, shattering her thoughts.

Soon after, her brain went to sleep first, shutting down from exhaustion.

There was naught but the sound of snoring, a subdued and peaceful atmosphere descending upon the napping children.

And into that quiet, in that room with three children sleeping soundly, a piece of wooden steel approached.

Flying like a bird and grasping the room’s mana, it soon found the three unknown creatures. It stared piercingly at one of them.

Carlos – his blood vessels were bulging from his neck, and his blood flickered blue.

Most crucially— his breath mixed heat and dark energy.

The wooden steel, recognizing his unusual existence, trembled and delivered it to Deculein.

* * *

…I quietly opened my eyes.

The perception of the wooden steel flowed into the body, and I looked at my wrist.

Sprouting blood vessels, blood-stained blue, and a simmering heart.

It was clear evidence, enough to send my blood pumping.

I exhaled, feeling my heart beat faster as the world seemed to have slowed down.

The wooden steel confirmed it. There was someone in this castle that was a demon born with a higher level of dark energy.

This body also felt its existence very clearly, as if on fire.“If there is a demon.”

The window reflected my face.

My blue eyes flashed like crystal, and the sharp irises within were as fierce as a beast’s.

“I must kill it.”

I moved with no other thoughts than of that duty.

The bloodline of Yukline, their instinct, went beyond searching for and killing demons. It referred to a relationship that couldn’t coexist in the same world.

The magic contained in this blood always pursued the death of all demons.I killed them because they existed.Approaching it was simple; I would use the twenty wooden steel as a rope to tighten around their neck.

Of course, as the castle was large, it would take some time to reach them.

I wouldn’t fail. Find it and kill it.This demon who dared to stand in the same space as me, this cursed and worthless monster.

I would tear it apart.Going out into the hallway and up the stairs, the Yukline blood recited this hatred that had been passed down from generation to generation.

“…Fear the devil.”

* * *

Lia woke due to an electric shock coming from her wrist.

She looked around, still sleepy.

Fortunately, everything appeared the same as it had been.She had a nightmare, but this was good enough. This one wasn’t too scary.

“Leo! Wake up.”

Lia shook Leo. The boy woke up calmly, apparently unaffected by the nightmares.

“Haam… what? Did Ganesha come back?”

“That’s not it. Now we have to move carefully.”

Leo, nodding blankly, put Carlos on his back while Lia packed her various tools in her bag.

Suddenly the door opened.“Who is this?!”

The uninvited guest had a nasty bald head covered in tattoos and an ax resting atop his shoulder. He regarded them with a cruel smile.

“They’re here! The kids!”

They were the robbers from before.

Lia pulled up her robe’s hood and brandished her dagger. She could deal with at least one of them.

“Hey! These three are those who Jackal found, right?!”

As the bald man shouted, their numbers quickly increased. One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight… there were at least thirteen of them.“Right! These kids!“We found them! We can take them with us!”

“Heheh, come here! Come here!”

Those robbers occupied the only door out, so they were properly surrounded. Lia clenched her jaw. There were too many enemies for her to face while protecting Carlos.

“It will be easier to give up~. Hey, hey~.”

The gang of robbers approached, dripping with greed, but Lia glanced at Leo by her side.

“Are you ready?”

“Okay. One, two.”

When she was about to shout three, the moment Leo and Lia pushed off the ground, Lia’s Intuition was activated.

Time slowed down.

An explosive detonation immediately followed, starting from the right wall. Shockwaves rippled out, and thick smoke filled the room.The terrific roar continued unabated.

Her body trembled as the sound hit their eardrums.Even as she fell, she kept her gaze trained ahead.

In the sudden terror, the robbers raised their weapons, but dozens of steel fragments rushed in before they could defend.

Further explosions dug deep through the thick smoke, their speed easily surpassing common sense to tear through the robbers.

No, it didn’t fully pierce but rotated while stuck in their bodies, ripping them to shreds.The thirteen robbers turned into corpses in an instant.

Lia shifted her eyes from the horrific sight, staring at the newcomer walking out of the mist.The clear sound of his footsteps pierced her ears, the soft clicking of his cane against the floor.

The figure of the nobleman slowly revealed itself starting from his feet…Lia was astonished. It was someone unexpected.Deculein.

Lia looked up at him. His gaze, on the other hand, was on something other than her.At first, she thought he came as support, but there was nothing as pleasant as salvation in those blue eyes.

There was nothing to be found in those dazzling eyes except an intense desire to kill.Deculein, that perfect nobleman’s lips, was distorted.

His killing intent rose like an aura, and his gaze, sharp as a weapon, staring at only one child.

“…Yeah. I know.”

Lia easily realized the root of his hostility.

It was born from the demon extermination instinct of the Yukline itself, as the bloodline of Carlos was half-human and half-demon.