The battle was one-sided.
The erratic attacks were a little annoying, but they weren’t enough to stop Lowell, who had more than her fair share of real combat experience.
More importantly—
‘If I lose here, Delin could be in danger.’
Lowell was more focused than ever. That’s what let her push her opponent back with ease.
“P-Please… stop…”
The knight—name unknown—was now begging for his life.
Some knight. No pride to speak of.
Then again, if he had any pride, he wouldn’t have been involved in something like this to begin with.
JJAANG!
A clean spinning back kick.
Confirming that Redington had slammed into the wall and passed out, Lowell turned her gaze elsewhere.
‘That’s one down. Next…’
One knight lying on the ground. A girl jabbing at him with a stick.
And three unidentified individuals in animal masks.
The girl appeared to be Dolores, the missing child.
The knight, likely her kidnapper, had suffered a serious abdominal injury. From the look of it, he’d already been neutralized.
‘The real problem is those weirdos…’
But they didn’t look like they wanted to fight.
And since even Delin had let out a sigh of relief, they probably weren’t dangerous.
Some homeless wanderers nearby? Cult members?
Whichever it was, it was clear they needed to be separated from Delin immediately.
“Big sis…”
“You left the village alone in the middle of the night. Have you lost your mind?”
“Ugh!”
Delin flinched and clutched her shoulder with a small groan.
Such a big reaction from just a light push? She was standing like she was fine, but the injury had to be serious.
‘If it hurts, just say it hurts. You’re not made of stone…’
She was probably thinking something like, “This kind of injury is nothing for a soldier”.
The same girl who used to burst into tears from just tripping over while running—when had she grown so much?
Holding back her tears, Lowell tossed her a potion.
“…You didn’t even bring your gear? I knew you weren’t the brightest, but this is a new low.”
Some unnecessary commentary added.
Delin bowed her head and took the potion. She used it herself and poured about half of it over the knight lying on the ground.
Using a potion on an enemy? Seriously—what a kind soul.
Well, that was part of Delin’s charm, after all.
With the immediate danger dealt with, next was…
“What are you guys?”
“Just passing crusaders of justice. Saved that girl and the student.”
That distorted, grating voice modulation scraped at her ears.
Lowell frowned slightly. Sure, the voice was one thing, but—
A snake, a cat, and a rabbit.
Wearing different animal masks and dark robes marked with a blood-red cloud.
No matter how you looked at them, they were suspicious.
“Well, seems like everything’s sorted here, so we’ll just be on our way…”
The snake mask took a step back, saying he was glad to help.
They had helped Delin take down the knight. That did fit the whole crusader of justice bit.
Still—
“Hold it.”
She couldn’t just let them walk.
The one who’d made a pact with a demon in Trash Village.
Now that Dolores had been found, there was a 99% chance the culprit was Baron Kelven and his subordinates.
But there was still that 1%.
And that 1%—
“Let’s be honest. You all seem suspicious to me. So just cooperate quietly.”
—might very well be standing right in front of her.
A brief silence settled over the chamber.
Then, the one who seemed to be the leader—the snake mask—spoke.
“What if… we refuse?”
Refuse? In that case—
“Then you’ll have to beat me.”
As she drew mana into her blade, a blue aura wrapped around her longsword.
Let them see the gap in power. That was the easiest way to avoid a useless fight.
Lowell drew out her aura to its limit.
“Knew it…!”
She could feel Delin admiring her from behind.
Lowell’s shoulders lifted slightly without her even realizing it. All the pain and trouble she’d gone through suddenly didn’t feel so bad anymore.
At this level, they’d probably surrender peacefully—she thought.
And that’s when the snake mask drew his sword.
“Hmph~ So we’re doing this? Alright. Gotta give you credit for the guts. Come on, I’ll even let you go first.”
Even threw in a childish taunt. He probably wanted to look cool in front of Delin.
But Lowell would soon regret letting it reach that point.
“Guess I’ve got no choice. I’ll play along for a bit.”
FWOOOSH!
Dark mana exploded outward in a blast.
At first, Lowell thought he’d accidentally unleashed too much.
But the energy quickly drew inward, wrapping itself neatly around the blade.
VMMMM—!
Aura. And not just any aura—highly refined.
“No way…”
Just pulling mana out of your body is difficult enough, but overlaying it onto a weapon and keeping the shape stable? That’s at least a hundred times harder.
Her own aura wavered like candlelight in the wind.
But the snake mask’s aura—there was no such flicker.
It meant perfect control.
This wasn’t the first time she’d seen aura like that. But—
‘Only from people like Father… or Lucia.’
In other words, the guy in front of her was easily at the level of an 8-Star Knight.
“A monster’s appeared…”
Lowell stared at the snake mask for a moment.
Then let out a hollow laugh.
‘You damn gut instinct… Are you seriously telling me to fight that thing?’
Lowell had always relied on her infamous sixth sense.
And right now, it wasn’t giving her even a twitch of warning.
Which meant—it was saying this fight was fine.
‘So… I’m not gonna die?’
After getting fired as an instructor, she’d been in situations like this more than a few times.
But she always survived—thanks to that instinct.
Whenever things got dangerous, it would scream at her to run. That was how she knew it worked.
‘Sure, I’ve gotten hurt bad before… but I never died. So I guess it’s reliable enough.’
In that case, this was actually a rare opportunity.
How often do you get to fight someone that strong?
“The world’s bigger than I thought.”
If she could somehow recruit that snake mask guy to her side? Get him to fight the Second Legion Commander with them?
That would be incredible.
‘The cat and rabbit masks behind him probably aren’t far behind either.’
Recruiting three 8-Star level allies?
Definitely worth risking her life for.
“Come at me. Or no—guess I’m the challenger here, so I’ll go first.”
“Best of luck.”
With Delin cheering her on from behind…
Lowell’s fighting spirit pierced the heavens as she charged straight at the snake mask.
“Unfortunate, but this match will have to wait for another time.”
…In the end, she never managed to land a proper hit—couldn’t overcome her fear.
Still, it was a good experience.
She wanted to chase after them and talk things out, but—
“Ugh!”
She couldn’t leave Delin’s side. Not while she was injured.
More importantly—
“…I have a feeling we’ll meet again.”
That gut feeling returned. She didn’t know when.
But it would be soon.
“We’re heading back.”
They were returning with Dolores, who had been kidnapped, along with two criminals—Bickerd and Redington.
Tak. Tadak.
From behind came the uneven sound of footsteps—Rodelin was limping slightly.
“Does it hurt?”
“I-It’s nothing! I can walk on my own!”
“…Good.”
In truth, Lowell wanted to carry her a hundred, a thousand times if needed.
But she didn’t. Rodelin had grown much taller than her by now.
‘You always make me weak.’
If she carried her, those old memories would come rushing back and break her.
She feared she wouldn’t be able to stop Delin—the girl who wanted to become a soldier to protect her family.
“Now that I think about it, those suspicious guys might’ve been faking their retreat to set up an ambush. We need to stay alert while we move. Rodelin! Stay focused. Don’t think you can slack off just because you’re hurt!”
The only thing she could do… was make up a flimsy excuse to slow down the pace of their march.
“Ah… Don’t worry! I’ll keep the rear secure!”
Rodelin, acting like a meerkat on high alert. She looked so adorable that Lowell couldn’t help but smile.
Delin, if you want something, I have no choice but to give it to you.
I have no choice but to support you.
Because you’re the one I treasure and love the most in this world.
My one and only little sister.
“…I have to get stronger.”
As soon as she returned to Trash Village, she resumed the training she had halted.
She had thrown everything away for strength.
Her life. Her family. Her love.
Even today, she rejected the lunch Rodelin had made for her with care.
She threw away everything that might get in the way. And yet.
“Why… am I still so weak?”
What more did she have to cast aside to become stronger?
How could she protect her beloved sister?
As she sat there blaming herself, Lowell suddenly recalled the snake mask.
“…He was strong.”
Strong and ominous. She’d tried to look into him afterward, but even Caron had never heard of him.
That pitch-black aura had never been reported anywhere on the continent.
Lowell arrived at one hypothesis.
“Could he have made a contract with a demon?”
A knight of 8-Star level suddenly appearing—hiding his face and identity—something felt off.
Those who use a demon’s power for too long inevitably begin to have their body consumed.
His face and cloak might be meant to hide that.
If that was the case—if he really had made a pact…
“If I made a contract with a demon too…”
Could she become stronger? Not with the Second Legion Commander’s level of demon—but a higher-tier one. A first-class, top-level demon…
Would she gain the power to defeat the Second Legion Commander?
It was something she absolutely should never do. It could endanger her, her family, and her entire household.
But Lowell was backed into a corner.
“Who’s there?”
A forest filled with tall, densely packed trees.
As someone stepped through them, a crooked grin spread across Lowell’s face.
“I knew we’d meet again.”
Whether you’re a demon or someone who made a deal with one—
As long as you can make me stronger, that’s all I need.
The revenge match began when the snake mask appeared.
The situation wasn’t favorable. Not only did he know secrets about her family—
KUKWAKWAKWANG!
‘He keeps using massive skills like that without even blinking!’
He must’ve used over a hundred of them by now, and he still showed no signs of fatigue.
Even wielding nothing but a stick, the power was the same.
Not even the late, great Douglas could pull something like this off.
‘Now!’
A desperate gamble to find a way out.
She thought her blade had made contact—just barely touched the snake mask’s body—but he slipped away with a narrow dodge, then reached out.
His palm tapped her stomach, and in the next moment, a flash of light exploded in front of her eyes, electricity surged through her entire body.
When she came to, she was on her knees, gasping for air.
‘A counterattack…?’
She didn’t know what exactly had happened, but it was clear—she’d lost.
“Grrr…”
Clutching her stomach, groaning—she saw the snake mask bend down to pick something up.
Lowell’s eyes widened.
It was the stuffed toy Rodelin had given her as a gift.
It must’ve fallen out when her clothes were torn.
“You bastard… That’s… Give it… back…”
The snake mask casually tossed it aside like he didn’t care. Even coughing up blood, Lowell crawled over and grabbed it.
To others, it was a meaningless trinket. But to Lowell—
It was her most precious treasure.
She looked up. The snake mask was staring down at her.
‘I can’t die here.’
It wasn’t that she feared death.
‘If I die to this guy… then my life will have meant nothing.’
She’d already made up her mind long ago.
There was one thing she could do—for her family, for the sister she loved.
‘To die at the hands of the demon affiliated with the Second Legion.’
That would be the most valuable way to use this worthless life.
So she couldn’t die here.
Lowell lifted her gaze and stared at the snake mask.
This man knew everything. The secrets of the Lucid family. Her thoughts. Even her relationship with Rodelin.
If that’s the case…
“…Then I guess you know what I want too, don’t you?”
“You want me to spare you. So you can break the contract with your life.”
The answer came instantly. And right now, Lowell had the very thing the snake mask needed.
“I’ll give you the proof token. I won’t report anything to the family. Sounds like a win-win deal, doesn’t it?”
She pulled out the proof token etched with her name and held it out.
The snake mask’s response was—
“I refuse.”
–TL Notes–
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What a delicious chapter!
The end flashback and continuation with the story
With her worry for Rodelin pushing herself too hard from last chapter perhaps sister reconciliation are not too far off
And I could see it there,If Snake mask didn’t show up there would be Lowell demon contract bad end hidden piece
Also since Lowel want to recruit the Darkbeast squad as allies from the get go thing should be going smoothly
I wonder what Zero will ask her since he refuse the offer? Reconciliation with Rodelin? Give up on dying to Second legion demon? Envoy to the Lucid family? Join the Darkbeast squad? Joining force against the Second Legion commander?