“Ha ha, this time, you can't escape.”
“Hahaha, brothers, who would have thought we'd catch them? Our rise to power and fortune is here!”
The red demons, yelling loudly, babbled on while the little white fox backed up step by step until its back was pressed against the large boulder, with nowhere else to retreat.
Winnie’s mind was in a bit of a mess.
What’s going on here? This wasn’t part of the original story, was it? Could it be because he arrived several days earlier, encountering some events that hadn’t been recorded in the original?
Just from listening to the chatter of these red demon grunts, Winnie couldn’t gather much. He was hesitating—whether or not he should step in.
The situation had already completely exceeded the scope of what he knew from the original storyline, and he had no idea what would happen if he intervened.
But, honestly, did it even matter to him? Aside from the list of female protagonists in the original story and a few plot points he had seen in CG discussions, he didn’t know much else. Considering the butterfly effect caused by his awakened memories, the plot must have already veered off course.
Additionally, he noticed that one of the little white fox’s front paws seemed to be bleeding.
It seemed like it had sustained a severe injury, leaving it unable to fight back.
As he watched, Winnie couldn’t shake the feeling that the fox seemed familiar, but he couldn’t place where he had seen it before.
The red demons surrounding the fox all had crooked grins on their faces as they took out ropes, preparing to capture the fox.
No more hesitation—time to act.
Winnie’s gaze turned cold. He crouched on the boulder, closed his eyes, and focused his will. His hands clasped together in a prayer-like position.
Six radiant, shining white wings appeared behind him, merging with him as if part of his being.
As the glow faded, a graceful, peach-haired girl opened her eyes, shimmering like rippling waves of light. She activated [Armor Wall], and her attire changed into a luxurious, intricate dress with tassels, resembling a snow lotus.
Her pale pink hair was styled into two small tufts held by white wing-shaped accessories, with the rest cascading down into twin tails. Her upper body was adorned with a white soft armor that accentuated her figure, giving her a silhouette like a wave of snow, and her lower body was dressed in a skirt with tassels and a white swan-like feather cape.
Her white, gold-edged high boots hugged her long, slender legs.
Though white could be the most unflattering color for many, on her, it highlighted her curves and long, beautiful legs.
At the moment she opened her eyes, the cloth bundle she had been carrying was set down, the fabric untied, and a gleaming mithril war hammer appeared in her pale, delicate hands.
She calmly observed the red demons below, her gentle gaze suddenly turning sharp as she leapt into the air, like a pink shooting star, falling towards them.
“....” The little white fox, who had been cornered, let out a hoarse growl.
She had never cared for red demon chieftains before, but she never imagined she would be trapped by a few lowly red demon grunts.
Though she had grown accustomed to these dead-end situations and even found some enjoyment in them, she was still unprepared for this.
She thought that coming to human lands would make them hold back a little, but these demons had gone desperate, taking advantage of her weakened state during her ‘illness,’ completely losing their inhibitions and launching an indiscriminate attack on her. Even the unrelated red demons had joined in.
This time, it seemed like it was really troublesome.
The little white fox knew that these grunts weren’t the only ones after her—behind them, the red demon chieftain was likely following.
The feeling of struggling at the edge of life and death was something she couldn't resist, no matter how many times it happened. But, even so, she still couldn’t accept being caught by these foolish idiots.
Suddenly, the wind stopped, and the white fox, feeling something, looked up with her seductive eyes.
The red demons seemed to sense something too, but before they could raise their heads, a silver war hammer descended with immense force, like a meteor.
“Crash!” A crisp sound rang out, and by the time the other demons reacted, one of their comrades’ head had already vanished without a trace.
It was like a watermelon exploding, with blood and flesh flying everywhere. The headless red demon wobbled for a moment before crashing to the ground.
“.........” The remaining red demons fell silent, seemingly still processing what had just happened. How did one of their own disappear so quickly?
They looked up, and saw a peach-haired girl kneeling in front of them, elegantly finishing a few hammer flourishes before gracefully stowing the weapon.
For a long while, the red demons gawked with their tiny eyes, now wide open.
Even human skulls were tough to break with just a hit—how could a tough-skinned red demon, known for its "steel muscles," have been shattered with a single blow?
But before them was this ridiculously beautiful human woman, who had shattered the red demon’s skull as effortlessly as smashing a watermelon.
Not only that, it seemed like she had anticipated the bloodbath that would follow, and as she struck, she summoned a strange, multicolored cherry blossom flame from her fingertips.
Though it was just a tiny flame, the moment it flickered to life, the surroundings seemed to blur. The blood and bone fragments flying through the air were vaporized before they even got close, turning to nothing.
Thus, the girl at the center of the explosion didn’t get a speck of blood on her, except for a little stain on her hammer. She remained pristine, untouched by the carnage.
Was that fire...?
Behind her, the little white fox, witnessing the flame, felt the overwhelming destructive power emanating from it. Her pupils shrank in shock.
Then, she noticed the girl’s hair color and face, recognizing her with a look of surprise and growing interest.
If she remembered correctly, that family had already...
Staring at the girl’s back, the white fox's seductive eyes narrowed further.
“Whoo~” The girl blew out the tiny flame on her fingertip, swung her hammer through the air, and turned her gaze to the red demons, still stunned from the shock.
“Sorry, please forgive me for greeting you in such an impolite way. For the remaining few, in order to give you a painless and pleasant experience, I’d appreciate it if you could cooperate a little~” Vanessa smiled politely, her voice warm as a soft breeze, full of apologies.
Well, politeness aside, the apology didn’t stop the hammer in her other hand from swinging with a whoosh.
“I’ll try to go easy~” Her tone was gentle to the core. If she hadn’t been holding the bloodstained war hammer, she might have sounded very convincing.
Honestly, Vanessa hadn’t expected to be so decisive and skilled during her first demon hunt. Seeing such violence didn’t disturb her psychologically at all. On the contrary, she felt a hint of excitement...
No, no, it must be a mistake.
After all, demons were humanity's sworn enemies, and slaughtering them wasn’t a psychological burden for her.
But having no psychological burden was one thing. Even in battle, one should maintain grace and elegance as a sign of respect for the enemy, right?
After killing the red demon grunt, the numbers that popped up in her view also made her smile.
Virtue +10
Current Virtue: 14
Well, that single blow was worth a whole bunch of goblins in terms of value.
She definitely hadn’t come to the wrong place.