Stella keenly observed the silhouette of Aria disappearing into the forest.
Before long, Aria had put on a disguise choker and changed the color of her black hair, which fluttered irregularly in the wind. However, in contrast to her wild hair, her steps remained unwavering and steady.
‘This isn’t a good sign…’
Stella felt a strange unease. It was unlike her to interfere just moments ago.
‘Honestly, I couldn’t care less about what happens to that knight,…’
But it wouldn’t be the same for Aria.
The conversation she had knelt beside the dying knight was clear as day in Stella’s ears, like a sinner confessing to a nun.
There was something off.
Aria’s mental state was far from normal.
Stella no longer doubted Aria’s capabilities in the slightest.
The immense growth she had achieved in just a few months, paired with the absurdly early manifestation of blood magic, left no doubt about her talent.
But Aria was still an imperfect vessel.
In fact, the rapid development might have made her still-childlike mind even more fragile.
‘That knight… undoubtedly, it’s not a shallow connection.’
Was her name Plona Moonlight?
If Aria’s mental state had been normal, she should have shown more emotion.
It wasn’t simply a matter of whether her counterpart was human or not. If there was a solid bond strong enough to lead a knight of the same church to betray and throw herself into danger, she should have expressed some form of emotion—be it sorrow or joy.
Yet Aria’s emotions did not turn towards the girl who was devoted to her.
She confessed that seeing the dying girl did not evoke any sadness.
The shock she felt stemmed from her inability to feel anything at all about herself, not from the girl’s devotion.
It seemed odd even to Stella. After all, Aria was speaking nothing but the truth.
It didn’t matter whether someone was human or a vampire. Even a dumb beast would sometimes recognize and show affection for the one who saved its life.
So the fact that she felt nothing in that situation was clearly not normal.
Somewhere, she was numb. At the very least, if she had scorned herself as a foolish human, that would have been acceptable, but for Aria, it didn’t even go that far.
‘…This is troubling.’
This was beyond Stella’s abilities.
The current mission had no time limit, and a way to disguise the progenitor’s death had presented itself, meaning she would likely be traveling with Aria for a while.
If Aria’s life were to be in danger during that time, Stella could save her. And if needed, she could teach her.
But if a mental issue arose, that was something Stella couldn’t handle.
Even she, who could manipulate illusion magic affecting the mind, didn’t know how to heal a fractured psyche. Perhaps it was the opposite that she could manage.
‘In the end, it seems I’ll have to entrust it to time.’
Stella’s gaze shifted to Plona, who was lying there with a more serene expression than before.
The only comfort she took was that the knight had managed to save her life by becoming part of Aria’s entourage.
With the subject at hand nearby, the outcome of this situation wasn’t decided yet. Since they would be moving together, even if things were tough for now, she would eventually have time to address Aria’s issues.
‘For now, I must focus on the cleanup.’
She needed to finish her tasks before Aria returned.
If she handled this well, there was a chance she could buy herself a year-long reprieve.
It was unexpected to have to fight the church’s minions in the elves’ forest, but such an excellent opportunity couldn’t be wasted.
Stella grabbed the hair of the commander of the execution squad, whom she had only knocked out without taking his life, and lifted him up.
Though he was still unconscious, as long as he was alive, there was no issue.
Interrogation or questioning was unnecessary. After all, the one giving the report would be this human.
Stella’s red eyes sparkled. The shadowy edges of her silhouette, which had been faintly wavering under the moonlight, sliced through and moved across the floor, crawling into the unconscious body of the church’s tracker through its eyes and ears.
As the tracker’s body twitched involuntarily, Stella released the grip she had on his hair and stepped back.
With unfocused eyes, he shakily got to his feet, rummaging through his belongings, and pulled out a communication crystal.
Suddenly, intelligence flickered in the tracker’s eyes.
No, it would be more accurate to say it appeared to seem that way.
He tidied up his disheveled hair and clothing. Though there were traces of the awful battle left behind, the loyal servant of Luminous stood there with a hard-fought victory.
The tracker operated the communication crystal. How to contact and whom to contact wasn’t an issue for Stella.
Based on the knowledge in his head, the man attempted to reach out to his commanding officer as per the usual method.
“Yeah, what has happened?”
The voice of a man flowed through the communication crystal. Stella, hidden in the shadows, listened intently.
“I have executed the progenitor of vampires and completed the mission. During the process, former knight Plona Moonlight betrayed humanity and defected to the vampire side, after which she was also dealt with in accordance with orders, but aside from me, the entire execution squad was annihilated. That is all.”
“Oh, oh! You succeeded in the execution! What about the corpse? The heart?”
Even through the communication crystal, the excitement in his voice was palpable.
Despite the report that all but one of his subordinates were dead, he seemed to have no care for that at all.
However, the tracker didn’t seem to mind, treating it as perfectly normal. Instead, as if to emphasize that point, he slowly moved the communication crystal to shine the light on the floor.
There lay the sprawled bodies of Aria and Plona.
The two corpses, stark evidence of a fierce struggle, were in dire condition.
Especially with Aria’s body having a gaping hole in her chest, the blood had spread out in all directions, and a bit away, the mangled remnants of her heart lay crushed.
“Here they are.”
“Oh, ohhh!! You really took care of it! Good job!!”
The man’s voice on the other end of the communication crystal grew even more agitated.
Stella, cloaked in shadows, was confident of her success. The two corpses and the butchered heart she had just shown were all manifestations of her illusion magic.
‘What a foolish man.’
After all, the fact that they had to use a communication crystal capable of recording images worked out quite well in her favor.
While he might have prepared expensive equipment to ensure a solid report, it ultimately enhanced the credibility of her false report through magic.
Were it not for the fact that she was creating fake imagery not targeting a specific person, perhaps someone may have sensed something odd had they seen it with their own eyes, but on the other side of the communication crystal, there wouldn’t have been any opportunity to feel unease.
Stella quietly listened to the voice praising the efforts of the execution squad, which had fulfilled humanity’s grand undertaking.
Between several exchanges, Stella finally figured out who was on the other end.
‘Cardinal Benelian Lior.’
The number two of the Luminous Church. The most powerful figure after the Pope and a powerful cardinal in the church.
Before meeting Aria, Stella had been stopping the church’s trackers who had been trailing her.
It had taken some time to notice that a knight with unexpected leave was moving as an ordinary person, and it was likely these orders had come from that cardinal.
Stella repeated the name of the person she would eventually have to take vengeance on as she waited for the communication to conclude.
Now, this scenario would come to an end where the cardinal’s eyes could not reach.
The last survivor of the execution squad, having completed the grand enterprise, would soon meet their end by the hands of the vampires from the Sahelrn Duchy, who had sharpened their blades while honorably returning to the Luminous Kingdom.
Eventually, the communication ended. The tracker, who had completed his role, collapsed like a puppet with its strings cut.
This time, Stella firmly severed the man’s lifeline.
*
“Eleonora, get up.”
“Ah, Master.”
Late at night, upon returning to the tent, I immediately woke the sleeping Eleonora.
Eleonora rubbed her sleepy eyes and, after swaying her tail a few times in her drowsiness, turned to look at me, only to be startled awake, her eyes wide.
“Master, are you hurt?!”
To be fair, I must have looked quite a sight.
I had been in a precarious situation right after fighting Hexion, but my clothes were now tattered from battling the church minions and had lost any semblance of their original function.
With my body drenched in blood, it was lucky that I wasn’t exposing too much skin, but it would have been a different story otherwise.
My cloak was already beyond use and long discarded.
The garments I had worn underneath were frayed and torn, with parts of my limbs having long been sliced away. The bits that remained barely covered the necessary areas, resembling nothing more than rags.
Looking back, the night had felt incredibly long.
It felt like ages ago I had fought Hexion, yet it had only been a few hours.
But no matter how weary my body and mind were, there was no time to dawdle. I immediately ordered Eleonora to gather our things.
“Are we leaving?”
“Yeah. The humans and elves have sensed my presence. One supporting knight has come, but we need to leave here tonight.”
The realization of how serious the situation was fully dawned on Eleonora, and her sleepiness disappeared.
While I tossed aside my ragged clothes, cleaned myself, and changed into fresh attire, Eleonora began to pack items into her bag.
Originally, we didn’t have much in terms of possessions, aside from a few spare clothes, so packing didn’t take long at all.
Once we were ready, Eleonora and I stealthily embarked into the forest, just as we had on the first day we set foot in the Mist Labyrinth.
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