After Morty, the Venom King, disappeared along with the Veta sisters using the Queen’s Unholy Tiara…
The chilling murderous intent that had gripped at my heart vanished into thin air like mist.
“Did they really run away? Or are they just hiding to ambush us?”
The tension in the air didn’t dissipate easily, thanks to these very reasonable doubts.
But those suspicions could only arise because they didn’t know about the sheer cheat-tier artifact that was the Unholy Tiara.
As the undead who had been rampaging during the auction began collapsing one after another, the lingering tension finally snapped like a rubber band.
Crashing through the ceiling when they appeared and then disappearing by leaping through space—what an absurdly ridiculous duo.
“….”
Suddenly, I felt a sharp pain on my lips accompanied by the distinct taste of blood.
When I absentmindedly touched it, a faint trace of red smeared onto my fingertips.
I guess the overwhelming presence and murderous intent from someone as powerful as Seven Spears got to me.
Unconsciously, I must’ve bitten down hard on my lip out of sheer tension.
Honestly, if Raven hadn’t helped me, I might’ve died. It’s not surprising I’d react this way.
‘Ugh… Still, it woke me up. I need to get out of here quick. If I get caught now, things will get messy.’
Why did I have to pull out Sacred Magic?!
Looking back, no matter how desperate things were, that power was way beyond what I could handle.
There are still tons of clerics trying to revive Sacred Magic out there.
If word got out about this… I could be tortured into spilling secrets.
Not to mention, Morty, the necromancer, ended up being called something like “Earth’s Holy Maiden,” whatever that means.
And now, it was practically inevitable that some crazy requests would come flooding in.
‘And… If I delay any longer, the forced transformation will wear off. That’ll be another headache.’
Plus, I’m currently in Tesseract form, so I only have a few minutes left before it wears off.
If I suddenly revert to Yuria in front of Raven or Alice…
I couldn’t even imagine how I’d explain that.
So, I quietly moved my eyes around, checking that no one was paying attention to me,
and slowly backed away from the scene without making a sound.
Well, I tried to sneak away.
That is, until Raven suddenly spun around and pointed his gun straight at me.
“Hey, where do you think you’re going? You used Sacred Power… I’ve got plenty of questions for you. So don’t even think about running. There are Pixies everywhere around here. You’ll definitely get caught.”
“….”
Does this guy have eyes on the back of his head?
Cold sweat drenched my palms as I realized resistance was futile. Even if I ran at full speed, he’d catch me in seconds.
Maybe he sensed my resignation.
Raven slowly lowered his gun and relaxed his tense shoulders.
His gaze held no hostility—it wasn’t malicious at all. But unlike his usual look toward me, it was eerily emotionless, like he was staring at an inanimate object.
Hmm, my hair color hasn’t changed, but I’ve grown taller, and I’ve got beastman ears and a tail now.
At a glance, it seemed like I hadn’t been discovered yet. Lucky, I guess?
‘No, lucky or not, if I can’t escape, it’s already a disaster! What do I do…?!’
Raven looked like a crocodile that had already sunk its teeth into its prey—he clearly had no intention of letting me go.
If I stayed, I’d end up spilling everything I knew.
And if I reverted to human Yuria right here, they’d start questioning how I did it.
Then both the Tesseract and maybe even my powers would be exposed—a truly dizzying crisis!
Raven, who had been creating an oppressive atmosphere, turned to Alice standing awkwardly nearby.
“…Look, I’m not trying to scare you. Seems like you’re also on Morty’s bad side. Let’s help each other out, alright? Tch… Did I sound too scary?”
“Yes. To anyone watching, you’d look like a creepy adult bullying a kid.”
At Alice’s words, Raven gave a small cough and wiped his forehead with the back of his hand.
Maybe he hadn’t intended to pressure me, considering we fought together against Morty.
He scratched his head sheepishly, then turned his body away, avoiding eye contact as he spoke.
“Anyway… That’s the gist of it. I’ll protect you somehow, so stay put and behave. Alice, keep an eye on this person while resting. Morty might not have gone far. I’ll track their trail.”
“Got it.”
“If things get urgent… Call Victor. He’s completely exhausted after tearing apart dozens of high-level undead, so he’s resting upstairs.”
“Wait, is Victor some kind of gorilla?”
“He’s more than that.”
Raven smirked and quickly walked off toward the stairs, disappearing in moments.
Thankfully, the undead were gone, so things were calming down here even without him.
Still, he probably went to check the surroundings in case Morty was nearby.
For me, this was a stroke of luck. With Raven nearby, there’s no escaping his radar no matter how much I struggle.
But with Alice here, I might find a chance to slip away!
“Mr. Jin, he’s gone… Haa, what an incredible person.”
Alice muttered to herself as she watched Raven leave, then plopped down near me, exhausted from her battle with the Veta sisters.
Meanwhile, Tamamo, who had been standing stiff as a rock since Morty appeared, cautiously approached Alice and asked:
“Um… Alice-chan? I’ve been meaning to ask—what’s your relationship with that guy? He seems amazing…”
“Huh? Oh… Just my boss at work? Ahaha…”
“Hoo… I see. You’ve got good connections. I was worried, but now I feel relieved.”
Tamamo said this and sat down demurely next to Alice, looking visibly tired.
She had taken serious injuries earlier and seemed on the verge of passing out, her eyes half-closed.
Seeing Tamamo like this, Alice seemed to feel lighter somehow.
With her usual bright smile, she opened up honestly.
“I was surprised too when I heard Tamamo became the student council president. And fighting those monsters alone earlier… You’re really amazing, Tamamo.”
“Nyahahaha, no need to praise me that much. I could only buy time because of this.”
“Huh, that’s… Wasn’t that orb from the auction earlier?”
“Yeah. The Archmage’s Orb. Well, it broke in half during the fight… Can’t use it anymore.”
I wonder if I can get a refund for this~
Tamamo pulled out the broken orb with a regretful expression.
The Archmage’s Orb helped control magic power efficiently.
It seemed to have played a big role in letting her face the Veta sisters alone.
Considering how useful it was, it was a shame it was completely broken.
Still, it fulfilled its purpose against a tough opponent—a truly moving sacrifice.
Wait a second… Is this my chance to figure out what’s embedded in the orb?
I cautiously approached Tamamo sitting on the floor and tapped her shoulder lightly.
“…?”
“What? Want to take a look?”
“…!”
“Well, it’s broken anyway, so no harm in letting you see it…”
Since the orb was completely shattered, it was now useless junk.
Tamamo handed it over casually, not minding at all.
I bowed slightly to thank her, then carefully examined the orb with both hands.
SDVIMVFoanVzY1YwSVhjamMzUkt1WEh4NUtxZVprY3FtUytmcDR5Q0s0ZVYyRmRkR3JZVEwwbCs4M3RDZ0F1SQ
To my surprise, my eyes widened behind my mask.
‘This… isn’t just a simple fragment. It’s something more complex—maybe closer to a Tesseract or Echo.’
No wonder I could sense its presence from afar. So that’s why.
Though touching it didn’t make any voices audible. Maybe it’s because I’m in beastman form.
Still, it’s definitely related to the Invader.
I’m almost certain it has incredible abilities. Hard to give up on something like this.
But grabbing it now would be tricky.
Even though it’s junk, if whatever was embedded inside suddenly disappears, it’ll raise suspicion.
Someday, I’ll definitely claim it—but not today.
Now that its value has plummeted, I’m sure I’ll find a better opportunity later.
Having made my decision, I returned the broken orb to Tamamo with a casual smile.
Then, with a perfectly natural demeanor, I glanced at Alice as if signaling I had business to attend to.
“Huh? Do you have something to do…?”
“…!”
Normally, my mask would hide the fact that I was staring, but…
Maybe because we often meet, Alice quickly caught the meaning behind my gaze.
I nodded to her question and pointed down the hallway, pretending I needed to use the restroom.
“Oh, the restroom? Hmm… Go ahead. I’ll wait here.”
“….”
Huh? She’s letting me go just like that?
I was planning to lose her if she followed, then revert to my original form.
But this works out even better for me.
There’s no way anyone would imagine I can transform between human and beastman forms.
Not even Raven could connect a Sacred Magic-using cat beastman with plain old Yuria.
Yes! I felt like I’d conquered a treacherously steep mountain peak.
With a spring in my step, I cheerfully headed to the restroom alone.
Once I turned the corner and was out of sight, I naturally reverted to Yuria and dashed off to find Sabrina, who had evacuated below.
“Yu, Yuria…! Over here!”
“…!”
Sabrina was waiting outside the hotel evacuation area and handed me the fox mask she’d been holding.
Once I swapped it back to my usual one, I finally felt a wave of relief wash over me.
Hehe, let them search the hotel forever for that missing cat beastman. I’ve already escaped!
I felt a surge of confidence bubbling deep within my chest.
