The chilling, suffocating presence that felt like it was clutching my heart suddenly dissipated into the air.

Did he really escape?

Or was he just hiding, waiting for the perfect moment to strike?

The tense atmosphere in the area refused to settle, as people warily scanned their surroundings.

But that was only because they didn’t know about the broken-level artifact called the Profane Tiara.

As soon as the undead collapsed into dust, unable to maintain their forms, the tension finally snapped—

And the realization sank in.

He had really run away.

Crashing through the ceiling and then warping away in an instant—

Even his entrance and exit were absurdly ridiculous.

“….”

That was when I felt it—

A sharp sting on my lip, along with the unmistakable taste of iron.

Instinctively, I raised my hand and touched my lips—

And sure enough, my fingertips came away with a faint smear of red.

It seemed that the sheer pressure and killing intent radiating from Morte had been so overwhelming that…

I had unknowingly bitten down on my lip from tension.

Honestly, considering that I would have died instantly if Raven hadn’t saved me, this wasn’t surprising.

‘Ugh… But at least this snapped me out of it. I need to get out of here—fast. If they catch me, I’m screwed.’

Of all the things I could have done, why did I have to reveal divine magic?!

Now that I had time to think about it, no matter how desperate the situation was, this was way beyond my limits.

There were still entire legions of clerics struggling to revive divine magic, to no avail.

If word got out…?

I could very well end up tortured for answers.

Even Morte had randomly dubbed me "Earth’s Saint", which would definitely cause an endless flood of trouble.

And if I stayed here any longer…

The transformation would wear off.

That would be another massive headache.

Since I had changed my form through Tesseract, I only had a few minutes left.

If I suddenly reverted to Yuria in front of Raven and Alice…

There was no way I’d be able to explain my way out of it.

So I quickly scanned the room with my eyes, making sure no one was paying too much attention to me.

Then, as quietly as possible, I began to back away.

Or at least—

That’s what I tried to do.

Until Raven suddenly spun around, raising his gun toward me.

“Oi. Where do you think you’re going?”

His voice was calm, but firm.

“Divine power, huh…? There’s a lot I’d like to ask you. So if you’re thinking of running—don’t. There are Fixers everywhere here. No matter what you do, you’ll get caught.”

“….”

…Does this guy have eyes on the back of his head or something?!

Cold sweat soaked my palms, and I had no choice but to freeze in place.

Even if I ran at full speed, he’d catch me within seconds.

It was pointless to even try resisting.

Perhaps realizing that I had given up on escaping,

Raven slowly lowered his gun and relaxed his stance.

His eyes showed no hostility, nor did he seem like he intended to harm me.

But—

Unlike the way he usually looked at me…

This time, his gaze was completely emotionless—like he was looking at an object, not a person.

I guess that made sense.

Even though my hair color was the same, I was taller, and I had beastfolk ears and a tail.

To anyone else, there was no way I could be Yuria.

‘Wait, why am I relieved?! I’m still in deep trouble if I can’t escape!’

Raven looked like a crocodile with its jaws locked around its prey.

He had no intention of letting me go.

At this rate, I’d be interrogated for everything I knew—

And if I turned back into Yuria, he’d start questioning how I did it.

Then, he might find out about Tesseract…

And maybe even my powers.

This is bad—

Just as I was mentally panicking, Raven turned toward Alice, who had been standing there awkwardly.

“…I wasn’t trying to scare you.”

He sighed, rubbing his forehead with the back of his hand.

“But it looks like Morte’s got his eyes on you now.

I’m just saying—we should watch each other’s backs.

Tch. …Did I sound too aggressive?”

“Yes. If anyone saw you just now, they’d think you were a mean adult bullying a child.”

Alice’s blunt response made Raven cough awkwardly.

I guess he hadn’t actually meant to intimidate me—

He just had zero people skills.

Scratching his head in embarrassment, he quickly turned away from me, avoiding eye contact.

“Anyway… that’s all.”

“Just don’t run away, alright? I’ll make sure you’re safe.”

Then, looking at Alice, he continued:

“Alice, keep an eye on her while you rest. I’m gonna track down Morte’s trail—he might not be far.”

“Got it.”

“If things get really bad… call Victor.

That guy’s upstairs—completely wiped out after tearing through dozens of high-level undead with his bare hands.”

“What?! Is he a gorilla or something?!”

“…Worse.”

With a small chuckle, Raven strode off toward the staircase.

Now that the undead had disappeared, this area didn’t need his attention anymore—

So he was scouting the surroundings, in case Morte was lurking nearby.

For me—

This was a stroke of luck.

As long as Raven was nearby, there was zero chance of escaping his radar.

But with Alice, I had a small window of opportunity.

“Jin’s gone… Hah, seriously, that guy is amazing.”

Alice muttered to herself as she watched him disappear, before collapsing onto the ground.

The fight with the Vita Sisters must have completely drained her.

And at that moment—

Tamamo, who had been frozen stiff ever since Morte appeared, finally mustered up the courage to ask her something.

“Um, hey… Alice-chan?”

She hesitated for a second, then finally said:

“I wanted to ask before, but… what’s your relationship with that guy?

He seems… pretty incredible.”

Alice blinked at her for a moment.

Then, after a short pause—

She forced an awkward laugh.

“Oh, him? He’s just… my boss.”

Tamamo sighed in relief, her voice soft and weary as she sat neatly beside Alice.

She had taken some serious injuries earlier, to the point where she couldn’t even stand properly.

Now, her eyes were half-lidded, looking as though she might drift off at any moment.

Seeing Tamamo so relaxed, Alice’s expression softened.

As if some hidden weight in her heart had finally lifted, she smiled brightly and spoke genuinely.

"Honestly, I was really surprised when I heard you became the student council president.

And the fact that you fought those monsters all by yourself…

As expected, you’re incredible, Tamamo."

“Nya-haha! No need to flatter me that much. I only managed to hold out because of this.”

“Huh? Wait… isn’t that the artifact from the auction earlier?”

“Yup. The Grand Mage’s Orb.

Though… I kinda broke it in half during the fight.

So it’s pretty much useless now.”

With a disappointed pout, Tamamo pulled out the shattered remains of the orb from her arms.

The Grand Mage’s Orb was designed to help control mana with greater precision.

Judging by how Tamamo was able to hold her ground against the Vita Sisters, it must have been a huge help.

It was a versatile artifact, so having it break completely was a huge loss—

But at the same time, it had served its purpose well in battle.

A worthy sacrifice.

…Wait a second.

Doesn’t this mean I have a chance to figure out what’s inside the orb?

I slowly approached Tamamo, then lightly tapped her shoulder with my finger.

“….”

"Hmm? You wanna take a look at it?"

“…!"

“Well, it’s broken anyway, so I don’t really mind…”

Since the orb was completely destroyed, it was nothing more than junk now.

Tamamo casually handed it over, showing no concern at all.

Nodding in gratitude, I carefully took the orb with both hands and examined its interior.

And the moment I did—

My eyes widened behind my mask in shock.

‘This… isn’t just a simple fragment. It’s something way more complex—maybe even similar to Tesseract or Echo.’

No wonder I could sense its presence so clearly from a distance.

But strangely, even when I touched it, I couldn’t hear any voices.

Maybe it was because I was still in beastfolk form?

Still, I was certain this was related to the Invaders.

And that meant…

This thing was valuable.

I had to get my hands on it.

But right now wasn’t the time.

Even if the orb was junk, suddenly removing something embedded inside it would definitely stand out.

No—if I waited, there would definitely be a better opportunity.

I could afford to be patient.

So, with a casual nod, I handed the broken orb back to Tamamo.

Then, as naturally as possible, I shifted my gaze toward Alice—giving her a pleading look.

“Hmm? Do you need something…?”

“…!”

Normally, with my mask on, she shouldn’t have been able to tell I was looking at her.

But since we had spent so much time together, Alice immediately understood what I meant.

I nodded, then subtly gestured toward the hallway—implying that I needed to use the bathroom.

“Oh, the restroom? Hmm… Alright, go ahead.

I’ll wait here.”

“….”

Wait. That worked?!

I had been fully prepared for her to follow me like a guard—

In which case, I would have led her in circles before sneaking off.

But she just let me go so easily?!

This was perfect.

There was no way anyone would ever suspect that a human girl could transform into a beastfolk and back.

Even Raven, with all his insight, wouldn’t connect a cat-eared divine magic user to plain old Yuria.

I did it!

I felt like I had just climbed over an impossible mountain.

Suppressing the urge to grin, I cheerfully skipped off toward the restroom.

And the moment I turned the corner, disappearing from view—

I let my body naturally revert to Yuria’s form and sprinted toward Sabrina.

“Y-Yuria…! Over here!”

“…!”

Sabrina had been waiting outside the hotel, in the designated evacuation zone.

As soon as she spotted me, she immediately handed me my fox mask—the one I had left with her earlier.

Once I put it on, fully returning to my usual appearance—

I finally felt safe again.

Hah! Let them spend all day searching for that "mysterious cat beastfolk" inside the hotel!

By the time they realized she was gone—

I would already be long gone.

With confidence swelling in my chest, I couldn’t help but feel a little proud of myself.