“What is that? What race is she?”
“Who’s this? Look at the horns growing from her head, and those wings!”
“…”
Xuefei, who had just traversed through the space gate, still felt dizzy.
This made her secretly resolve to master space magic no matter what. But in truth, it was already a miracle that Laer had managed to send her back to the Camiran Continent with magic. One had to admit, the Great Sage’s grasp of magic was utterly unprecedented, with no one before or since to match it. Without Laer, she might still be adrift in the cosmos right now—or worse, locked in combat with that bastard Orman…
She could summon Leia at any moment via the Dragon Egg Necklace, but calling her in that situation might drag them both into a deeper trap. That could very well have been the enemy’s aim. Leia’s concerns were never without reason. The gods were a pack of insatiably greedy bastards, ready to slither through the slightest crack in your defenses.
But there was some good news, at least.
“Orman, huh? Heh…”
Far too strong, this hero.
No wonder old man Klaus had warned her not to face him head-on, and Mitrice had cautioned her about the kind of man he was. Battle prowess that outstripped most gods couldn’t belong to some greenhorn freshly summoned into the world. No, he was a purger, sent to eradicate the Dark Filth or any traitors—the most powerful and terrifying foe she had ever faced.
Xuefei leaned against the wall as dim sunlight dappled her face. She tilted her head up, and the towering skyscrapers arrayed in neat rows gave her the uncanny sensation of having returned to some futuristic world. What was more, this place hadn’t yet been scarred by war.
That didn’t stop the marching elves, though. They swarmed the once-wide street like a school of fish, forming an impenetrable blockade. They had cast aside their elegance, bewitched into pouring their energy selflessly into someone else’s cause. To an outsider, the spectacle was laughably absurd.
Xuefei crossed her arms, a deep sense of helplessness settling in her chest.
The teleportation point had been the mouth of an unremarkable alley. So why had she stumbled into this mob? Clearly, the elves had fallen under the sway of some bizarre ideology, judging by the signs they hoisted high: “Get the Demon Race and Northern Border Elves out of the Elf Kingdom!” They’d utterly forgotten that the Beastman Legion would soon raze everything here to the ground. Not that it had anything to do with her anymore.
An Elf Kingdom guarded by the Winter Queen could never fall to Beastmen. But now…
“She’s definitely one of the Demon Race. We’ll never coexist with the Demon Race!”
“I heard they’re the ones who killed the Elf Queen…”
“Kill her!”
Xuefei had no idea how to respond to the elves hemming her in on both sides.
If this were Leia, she’d have their heads on pikes for lèse-majesté in a heartbeat. But that sort of thing would only make Xuefei’s dizziness worse, so she ignored them for the moment. She leaned against the wall, resting carefully.
“Oh god, look at that dangerous body of hers. She’ll slaughter us just like she did the Elf Queen! The Winter Queen’s a fool for allying with a monster like that!”
“Isn’t it all just for more resources? Utterly outrageous. But don’t worry—the elders will save us.”
Xuefei shot the elves a sidelong glance.
Fortunately, they hadn’t launched any mindless attacks on her yet.
Their shouts only grew louder, though. A stranger might have thought she was the true villain here. For now, the priority was reaching the Northern Border to regroup with the others… The worst part was that magical communication had failed entirely—Orman must have jammed it deliberately.
In other words, beyond the Evil Dragon Domain, every convenient tool lost its power.
A demon mark, linking through the soul, would have bypassed the issue…
“Soldiers! Kill her! Drive this shameless wretch straight to hell!”
It wasn’t long before the elves’ deranged antics shattered Xuefei’s thoughts once more.
The crowd parted to reveal a path, and several robed elves clutching magic orbs advanced in precise formation. Trailing the mages came a squad of fully armed warriors—like frontline troops bizarrely transplanted into the heart of the city.
“Kill her!”
“That’s right, elders! Purge the enemy—these Demons!”
“She’s all alone? She looks so pitiful.”
“Pitiful? What about the Elf Queen’s death? Isn’t that pitiful?”
Their synchronized footfalls mingled with arrogant, foolish banter and the sickening glint of greedy stares. Xuefei paid it no mind—such trivialities wouldn’t have fazed her even back in her human days.
She was just resting, waiting for the enemy to make the first move.
Most soldiers in this army were around Mortal Tier, Layer Six—a level that, back in the Human World, only elite troops could hope to achieve. Elves had no trouble cultivating all the way to Soul Tier, and their ranks teemed with countless soldiers at the peak of Mortal Tier. Even those fellows cradling Magic Orbs included experts at Soul Tier, Layer Three.
At last, the army’s march came to an abrupt halt.
Xuefei extended her sharp claws, poised to shred every attacker into fragments.
But before she could strike, something felt off…
Shock and disbelief filled the faces of the noisy crowd.
“Where’s the Demon?”
“Where did that Demon go? Why can’t I see her?”
“Did she fly away? What insane speed—we should get out of here!”
“No, she might just be invisible…”
What was going on?
Even Xuefei was stunned.
She hadn’t done a thing to sway their hearts since the beginning, yet these people acted as if she were invisible, milling about in confusion. Some even turned tail and fled like nothing had happened.
The crowd surged forward like a tide, then ebbed away just as swiftly. In the end, the street lay deserted, silent as the grave. All that remained was Xuefei, leaning against the mouth of an unremarkable alley, amid the deathly quiet.
Then came a girl’s voice, clear and silvery as a bell.
“There you are, big sis. I looked everywhere for you.”
“Who are you?”
A petite blonde elf girl rounded the corner from the next street over. She moved with steady, measured steps that seemed at odds with her delicate frame, silent as a shadow—so much so that Xuefei nearly overlooked her entirely.
“Haven’t we met before, big sis? Don’t you remember me?”
“You…”
Xuefei stepped out of the alley, eyes wide with disbelief as she stared at the apparition before her.
But just as she assumed this was some soul-phantom of the little girl from the pastry shop, she sensed the truth: the girl actually existed in reality…
“Isabella? You…”
Hands clasped behind her back, the girl stopped right in front of Xuefei.
“Hehe, Sister Xuefei—if you don’t mind, could you sign your name for me again?”
