“Young lady, you’re still far too inexperienced—completely lacking the kind of worldly understanding needed to deal with someone like me,” Farkas said in a twisted tone.

“Oh?” Aesphyra tilted her head.

“If I were you, I wouldn’t have come back here alone, standing in front of such a foul-minded adult and his accomplice. But I suppose you had no one to ask for help either. I know all too well what kind of faces those arrogant city guards wear,” Farkas said, and his expression suddenly changed. He twisted his lips into a vicious grin.

“Little girl, your desire to show off has become the fuse of your own misfortune.”

“Heh! You smug little brat—why’d you come back at all? You’ll pay the price for meddling in things that don’t concern you!”

As he spoke, Farkas stealthily formed a cluster of demonic mana behind his back. In the blink of an eye, a bolt of lightning shot from his palm toward Aesphyra.

Naturally, Aesphyra had expected this. A solid earthen shield rose in front of her without a single chant or casting motion, easily absorbing the lightning bolt.

“Uncle,” Aesphyra said, tilting her head, “from the way you’re using Mage-class magic, even if your Soul Armament isn’t that of a Holy Envoy, it’s clear your aptitude for magic isn’t bad. So why throw away your identity as a human?”

“Hah! What the hell would a little girl like you understand?” Farkas snapped, as if she had touched a raw nerve. “I used to have a much brighter future ahead of me!”

“Oh, I see now.” Aesphyra covered her mouth with a teasing smile. “So you acted on the filth you were hiding in your heart, committed a terrible mistake, and got punished for it?”

“Girl, if I were you, I wouldn’t be provoking my opponent at a time like this.” Farkas bared his teeth in a grin. “With my talent, I never should’ve been limited to some backwater priest! It’s all those bastards’ fault. If they were going to be unjust, they shouldn't expect justice from me.”

“They ruined my gift—everything I had! Forced me to rot in that suffocating, wretched church, obeying the orders of those pompous, talentless fools!”

“They made me suffer so much—so why the hell should I still worship their stupid Goddess?” Farkas spat coldly.

“Ah, my mistake,” Aesphyra said, shaking her head. “Trying to reason with someone like you was foolish of me. I should’ve realized sooner—people like you, disgusting parasites, always blame the heavens and others, never yourselves. You’re never wrong—it’s always someone else’s fault.”

“Still clinging to concepts like right and wrong at a moment like this? That proves just how immature you really are,” Farkas sneered, slowly shifting to block the door and cut off her escape route.

“The adult world only deals in gains and losses. You, for example, should be worrying about the hopeless, desperate situation you’re in.”

“You could’ve left here without a scratch. But you turned back, trying to show off, trying to ace your field exam by uncovering some connection to the demons. You wanted to impress your instructors and classmates back at Carillian Academy? How stupid. That academy—and your family—clearly sheltered you too well. You’ve got no idea how cruel the real world is.”

“Let me give you a proper lesson today—so you know that once you golden children leave the academy, you’re nothing!”

“Tch, what’s with all the talking? Just kill her already and shut her up.” The red-haired woman glanced at Farkas with disdain.

“No—my esteemed lady, please don’t,” Farkas pleaded. “This silver-haired girl is valuable. Leave her to me—I have uses for her.”

He had completely torn off his mask. His gaze devoured Aesphyra’s figure with shameless greed. His expression was vile, and his entire demeanor repulsive.

Tch. Disgusting human.

The red-haired woman looked at him with open disgust. She was a succubus, after all. If she couldn’t tell what kind of thoughts Farkas was having about Aesphyra, then her years as a succubus would’ve been wasted. Might as well have been born a dog.

Worse, the stench and aura coming off of him were becoming more revolting by the second.

If not for her plan, she’d never cooperate with this kind of filthy trash.

“Excuse me, disgusting old creep—could you not look at me like that?”

Aesphyra’s smile was gone. Farkas’s expression and gaze were so revolting she couldn’t even pretend to be cordial anymore.

“You still don’t understand your situation, do you, little girl?” Farkas laughed nastily. “Take a good look. Does this still feel like the campus you know?”

As he spoke, he fired two bolts of lightning from his hands toward her.

[Forked Lightning]

Even if she was Carillian Academy’s little prodigy, Farkas wasn’t afraid. With all his accumulated experience and cultivation, he was confident he could snuff out this first-year student in the cradle.

To triumph over talent with age and treachery—that was the way of a dirty old man like him.

“Still relying on your little earth spells for defense? Miss Highborn, I’ll show you just how wide the gap is between life-or-death combat and those dry lectures in your fancy academy!”

But this time, Aesphyra didn’t defend.

A crimson lotus flame bloomed in her palm, instantly raising the room’s temperature to a terrifying degree.

With just a snap of her fingers, she summoned the fireball into her hand—and then, with no effort at all, tossed it lazily toward Farkas.

[Lesser Fireball]

Lightning clashed with crimson flame in midair, bursting into a cascade of sparks.

But Farkas’s lightning couldn’t even slow the fireball—it was blasted aside without resistance.

As the scorching heat reached his forehead, Farkas broke out in a cold sweat. Panicked, he stopped channeling magic and unrolled a scroll.

It was an expensive high-grade water spell he’d bought on the black market for emergencies.

The moment he unfurled it, a thick wall of water surged up to block the fireball.

“Boom! Boom! Boom!” The crimson lotus fire hit the wall, steam exploding into the air as the fireball bored a gaping hole into it.

Just as the blast’s aftershock was about to engulf Farkas, the red-haired succubus intervened.

Even though she wanted nothing more than to rip him to pieces, now was not the time for him to die.

He still had his use—for now.

The succubus conjured a water barrier to shield him from the residual flames.

“Ah... my esteemed lady,” Farkas wheezed, clutching his chest, the lingering heat still terrifying him. “If you’d kept watching like before, our little agreement might’ve gone up in smoke...”

One tiny fireball—just one—had shattered both his Forked Lightning spells like paper. The fire affinity of this silver-haired girl was beyond terrifying.

Farkas didn’t dare underestimate her anymore. This wasn’t just a duel—this was his life on the line. Even his emergency water scroll had barely held up.

If this fight continued, he had no chance of winning.

So it was time to do what he did best—cheat.

If he couldn’t win with skill, he’d win with numbers.

He’d never been one for principles.

“You idiot,” the red-haired woman spat, “can’t you tell this silver-haired brat is way stronger than you? You can’t even beat a little girl. What a waste of years.”

“My lady, this isn’t the time to break our allies’ morale. Shouldn’t we be uniting against a common enemy?” Farkas said, looking sour.

“Allies?” the succubus sneered. “You mean when you just tried to sacrifice your own ally to stay in the human world?”

“I was probing her... to lower her guard!” Farkas insisted through gritted teeth.

No one believed that, of course. It was laughable.

“Hmph. Foolish human,” the red-haired woman snorted. “We don’t even need you to deal with this brat. But if I step in, I can’t promise she’ll survive.”

Farkas bit his lip. He didn’t want to admit it, but she was right. Honestly, it was the first time he’d seen such a beautiful girl... it felt like a waste to kill her.

“My esteemed lady, I ask only that you consider my opinion. She is a student of Carillian Academy, after all.”

“Oh? And you still think this will end peacefully? You idiot. If we don’t tie up every loose end now, do you think that academy will ever let us go?” the succubus mocked.

Farkas said nothing. Silence was agreement.

“Hmph. Know your place, human. You’re just dust clinging to us demons to crawl forward,” she said coldly, then clapped her hands.

A black wind howled through the room. The doors slammed violently, and shadows slipped inside the chapel.

Aesphyra looked up—and saw that the figures were the strange, vacant-eyed villagers.

“Well, our guest here has apparently uncovered all our little secrets,” the succubus said sweetly. “No need for you lot to keep pretending. Wipe off the alchemical disguises.”

The villagers raised their hands to their faces—and peeled off their skin like a curtain.

Beneath it were tall, muscular men—each one bearing black horns and wings.

“Whew. Finally free of that ugly human alchemy skin. What a beauty... It’s been so long since I’ve seen such prime flesh,” one of them said, staring at Aesphyra with open lust.

“Little miss, why don’t you stop struggling and join us? Let’s have some fun together. Don’t worry, you’ll like it.”

“Hahahaha!”

“Incubi,” Aesphyra muttered, frowning.

Succubi were female—incubi were the male counterpart. Unlike most demon species, where the females were stunning and the males monstrous, incubi were some of the only male demons that looked... relatively normal.

At least, not grotesque like the others.

“So, most of Lake Village’s residents have already been swapped out for your kin?” Aesphyra asked, staring at the succubus.

“More or less. A few still remain, but they won’t stir up much trouble. If not for your meddling, this village would already be our new nest,” the red-haired woman said with a cold {N•o•v•e•l•i•g•h•t} smile.

“And the original villagers? Where did they go?” Aesphyra asked, though she already knew the answer.

“Pfft. Silver-haired brat, your question is laughable. Do you think there’d be any survivors, once we demons get our hands on them?” the succubus jeered.

“To us, humans are just slightly higher-grade livestock. Those with Soul Armaments or mana affinity—we might preserve those. The rest? One-time meals.

Tell me—have you ever tried reusing a loaf of bread you already ate?”

“This village is already in chaos. My subordinates will sweep up every last straggler. That includes you.” She sneered at Aesphyra.

At that moment, Lake Village was in total disarray.

“Brother, what are you doing—aaagh!”

“Dad?! What are you doing?! Don’t you recognize me?!”

To the remaining villagers, the strangeness that had long festered beneath the surface had finally erupted.

Their loved ones—rescued from the Serpent Den—had gone mad, attacking them like beasts, aiming to kill.

No one understood what was happening.

Amid the panic, the old village chief let out a long sigh, as if he had known this day would come.

“Child... run. Get away from this village. As far as you can.”

“But...”

“Don’t stay here. If you stay, no one will escape. This village... is already finished.”