Chapter 28: The Mysterious Woman With Crimson Scythe

Sera would not force Edmund because she knew what he was capable of, especially with Sebastian accompanying him.

She also found it strange and confusing that fire lion monsters had appeared in the northern forest outside the city, a place known to be safe for beginner adventurers.

The slime hunting mission for The Diva Party was already complete.

Whether she liked it or not, Sera had to escort them back to the city and submit their objective rewards so they could receive money and EXP.

Still inside the forest, Edmund stared sharply at the fire lion corpses lying on the ground.

Blood continued dripping from the stab wounds in their stomachs, though not too heavily.

"Could there be a hidden portal?" Sebastian asked while staring at the corpses as well.

"I don’t know. But this place is clearly far from suitable for fire lions to live in. The humidity here could make them suffocate to death," Edmund explained.

"What’s your plan?"

Edmund fell silent for a moment, his left hand still resting on the sword sheathed at his waist. His mind raced wildly in search of a solution to the problem.

Because if Edmund failed to find an answer quickly, there was a chance more fire lions would return and attack other adventurers.

That could lead to panic in the city and complete chaos. Obviously, that would not be good.

"We’ll search the area. Use stealth to avoid unnecessary fights."

"I’m sure that if there’s no portal, then we need to look for spatial distortion," Edmund explained.

"Spatial distortion? This is my first time hearing about it."

[Stealth Activated]

In an instant, Edmund’s body vanished from Sebastian’s sight. Sebastian activated his own stealth ability and followed after Edmund.

Even though he could not see Edmund despite both of them using stealth, Sebastian was far more experienced.

Edmund’s footsteps in the silent forest became the sign of his location.

They ran through every route in the forest, checking several caves, following rivers, until they arrived at a wide field where villagers near the city usually grazed their livestock.

The day slowly faded, the sun disappeared, and the moon revealed itself.

Once night arrived, the forest would become far more terrifying than they could imagine.

Edmund deactivated his stealth skill and stepped onto the wide field, where the shepherds had already brought their livestock back to the barns.

He and Sebastian stood in the middle of the field, their attention focused on the surroundings.

Yet there were no more fire lion monsters.

That was strange enough already. If there truly was a hidden portal or distortion, there should have been other monsters equal in level to the fire lions they encountered earlier.

However, after five hours of searching back and forth through the forest, they found nothing except low-grade monsters.

"Did you find the distortion, Lord Edmund?" Sebastian asked.

"There’s nothing."

"What exactly is happening here?" Sebastian asked again, confusion clear on his face.

"Hey. Do you need help?"

Sebastian and Edmund narrowed their eyes sharply, immediately turning around and attacking the woman who had spoken behind them.

A dagger thrust and a sword slash shot toward the woman. She wore a red dress with torn-like fringes hanging from it.

She gathered two crimson-red energies in her hands before bringing her palms together.

When she opened them again, a crimson scythe appeared in her grip, radiating terrifying dark magic.

Edmund froze in shock. The woman’s dark crimson power was clearly similar to Lilith’s.

However, her face was not the same as Lilith’s, and her body was taller and more mature, like an adult woman.

"You have power similar to Leonor’s," Edmund said.

"Leonor? You mean Lilith? The red-haired girl from earlier?" the woman asked.

Edmund did not respond much. He simply stayed silent, his sharp eyes locked on her movements.

She knows about Lilith. I’m sure she has ties to the Demon Kingdom of Mughort.

"Let me tell you one thing..."

The woman lifted her foot and took a single step forward.

In a flash of crimson light, she was already standing between Edmund and Sebastian.

The two men froze in shock, their feet rooted to the ground, unable to move.

Her movements... are insanely fast.

"I came... to take her back," the woman answered.

Edmund narrowed his eyes and swung his sword sideways and backward, launching a blue slash attack.

The woman smiled faintly and blocked Edmund’s attack effortlessly, without suffering even the slightest injury.

Tch! How strong is she? Who is she? What role does she play in this novel? What kind of villainess is she?

"Looks like you don’t want me taking her," the woman said as she leaped back to create distance.

"Fine," she sighed, "Then I’ll kill you both first so I can take her easily!"

"I won’t allow that!" Edmund shouted.

He rushed forward at full speed and swung his sword several times.

Sebastian joined in with agile movements, avoiding the woman’s attacks while supporting Edmund.

A two-against-one battle. Edmund and Sebastian worked together desperately to corner the woman.

If luck was on their side, they needed to kill her.

[Sword Skill: Mana Sword Manifestation!]

Edmund raised his sword and stabbed it into the ground. Blue runes appeared behind his back, preparing to launch an attack forward.

He pulled the sword back out and pointed it ahead, signaling the swords to attack the woman.

"Sebastian!" Edmund shouted.

"I understand!"

[Shadow Skill: Soul-Grasping Shadow Hands!]

Sebastian placed his hand on the ground, extending shadows that successfully captured the woman.

Her face tensed in shock as her body struggled against Sebastian’s shadow grip.

Her eyes widened when she saw dozens of white swords targeting her.

An explosion erupted along with clouds of smoke from the shattered ground.

A fierce gust of wind swept over Edmund and Sebastian.

Still, they managed to stand firm without being blown away.

"Did it work?" Sebastian asked.

Edmund did not answer. It was too early to conclude whether they had killed the woman or not.

But one thing was certain. That attack had definitely injured her.

"HAHAHA!" she screamed.

"Good! You’ve got decent skills," the woman praised them.

Just as I thought... it was too naive to assume she’d die from that attack.

Edmund raised his sword into a full combat stance, while Sebastian tightened his grip on his assassin dagger.

The woman swung her scythe sideways, blowing away the smoke and revealing her condition.

Her red dress was damaged, and her body was wounded and bleeding.

But then something happened that shocked Edmund and Sebastian, making the situation even worse for them.

Her wounds regenerated, her damaged clothes restored themselves, and streams of dark energy gathered from the low-grade monsters inside the forest, causing every monster to die as their monster cores lost all energy.

An incredible regeneration ability... how are we supposed to kill her?

Sebastian narrowed his eyes while continuing to stare ahead, "Looks like tonight’s going to be a long night for us, Lord Edmund."

"No," Edmund replied, "For me."

"For you?" Sebastian asked in shock.

Edmund turned and stared sharply at Sebastian, "Go and tell Sera. I need her help."

"I’m not leaving you behind, especially not against that crazy woman!" Sebastian complained.

"SEBASTIAN!" Edmund shouted firmly, "Go."

Edmund raised his sword and locked his eyes onto the woman in the red dress standing before him.

"I can handle this."