Horror

The little girl outside the door looked to be less than ten years old, but since Annie looked even younger, it wasn't strange for her to be called 'little sister.'

Hearing the girl's words, Annie felt a chill rise from the depths of her spine, her entire body turning cold.

Although she hadn't used her full strength, merely striking out with a palm infused with magic, it was definitely not something an ordinary little girl could withstand.

After all, she had struck with the intent to kill.

But why was the other party unharmed?

Annie pulled back her hand and moved to retreat, sensing that there was something deeply wrong with the girl in front of her.

However, as soon as Annie moved, the little girl reached out and grabbed her hand.

Annie tried to wrench her hand away to retreat, but she found that no matter how much force she applied, her hand wouldn't budge, as if it were clamped in a vice.

The girl across from her didn't seem to be using much strength, yet Annie couldn't change a thing no matter how hard she struggled.

This situation caused Annie's expression to shift repeatedly.

"How could you bully me? I'm really so pitiful. I only came here because I wanted something to eat. You don't have to give me food, but why did you hit me?" The girl's voice was crisp and youthful, but her tone was exceptionally low.

Words spoken in such a low tone, combined with her expression that remained largely unchanged, gave off a chilling sensation.

Annie couldn't help but ask, "Who are you? What do you want?"

As she asked, countless guesses surfaced in her mind. She wondered if this person was from the church, but when would the church have realized she was here?

"Who am I? My name is... my name is Rose," the little girl said slowly.

Rose? Never heard of her.

Annie asked again, demanding to know what Rose really wanted, while simultaneously pondering a way to escape.

Rose said slowly, "I just want a little bit to eat. I've been hungry for a long, long time."

"You want food?" Annie looked at Rose with suspicion and uncertainty.

What did she mean by wanting food?

Annie found herself unable to understand the thoughts of the girl before her. If she were from the church, she shouldn't be saying such nonsensical things, right?

After thinking for a moment, Annie had no choice but to say, "Then I'll take you to get some food. First... first let go of me."

Annie looked at Rose's hand gripping her own.

Rose shook her head. "No. You just hit me. If I let you go, you'll hit me again. I can't let you go."

"I won't hit you."

"I don't believe you."

"Really!"

"Don't believe you."

Rose's words sounded devoid of emotion, yet such simple words were filled with absolute determination.

Annie looked into Rose's dark brown eyes and eventually realized there was nothing more she could say. She had to lead Rose into the house and began looking for food for her.

Before long, she found a piece of strawberry cake. It was originally her own snack, but she gave it to Rose.

When the cake was placed in front of Rose, Annie said, "Once you've finished eating, you'll let me go, right?"

Rose glanced at her but said nothing, silently picking up the strawberry cake and beginning to eat.

So hungry, so hungry!

So delicious, so delicious!

Watching Rose's profile, Annie's other hand quietly gripped the King's Domain and gave it a shake. Her gaze shifted slightly downward as she located the area of Annus Street and defined a range around her current location.

'Tell me, who are the strongest people in this area?'

Annie asked in an extremely low, somewhat muffled voice.

After asking, she moved the hand holding the King's Domain behind her back. Golden spots of light floated out from the King's Domain to form text, which was hidden by her body.

Annie couldn't see the text behind her with her own eyes, so she turned the brown bear plushie she always held around, tucking it under her arm so its head faced behind her, letting the bear's head observe the answer provided by the King's Domain on her behalf.

【First place: Rose, class rank cannot be determined.】

【Second place: Annie Spoorberg, Evolver.】

When she saw this result, Annie's face changed once more, and her gaze toward Rose was now tinged with fear.

She knew this little girl was eerie and strange, but what the artifact revealed still made her entire body tremble.

Cannot be determined... such a thing had never happened since the birth of the King's Domain.

So what kind of monster had she encountered?

Moreover, when she had first defined the area, this eerie little girl hadn't existed on this street; otherwise, she would never have chosen it.

So, the other party had ignored the King's Domain's regional division and only arrived recently?

...

Huys Street.

Olivia Melianne moved quickly, shifting between various positions on the altar to destroy the Sylvan Runes one by one.

Although the material of the altar was hard, the sharpness of the Cross Grace did not disappoint. In a short time, a large number of Sylvan Runes on the altar had been slashed beyond recognition.

'Magic mirror, magic mirror, can this altar still perform its original function?'

【No, the altar has been scrapped.】

Hearing the answer, Olivia finally stopped her movements and let out a long sigh of relief.

While destroying the altar just now, she had asked the magic mirror many questions to understand the situation of the other altars on the other streets. She knew that for the evil god's will to descend, every single altar needed to function.

In other words, as long as one altar was destroyed, the descent of the evil god's will would no longer happen.

To put it another way, she had saved the South District... no, perhaps it could be said she had saved Kaliron.

Even if it were just a wisp of an evil god's will, it would be enough to cause immense damage to the world, and all of it had been prevented by her.

'Magic mirror, magic mirror, will the Twilight Council notice that I destroyed the altar?'

【They can. Annie Spoorberg, who is responsible for this matter, has already noticed you through the King's Domain.】

The magic mirror's answer caused Olivia's heart to tighten instantly.

She had never heard the name Annie Spoorberg before, but she didn't need to guess to know that this must be an important figure within the Twilight Council, far beyond someone like Dalia Sullivan. Even if she could use the magic mirror to cheat, she likely wouldn't be a match for the other party.

She quickly asked again in her heart.

'Mirror, will Annie come looking for me?'

【She was preparing to teleport over using the King's Domain, but she was stopped and is currently unable to come.】

Olivia was stunned.

Teleport?

The King's Domain even had a teleportation effect?

This was something not mentioned in the information she had obtained previously, which meant even the church didn't know about this?

But... who had stopped her?

Olivia asked the magic mirror this question once more.

【She was stopped by Rose.】

The magic mirror provided the answer.