VIP Chapter 316: “Just a Little Slip of the Hand”
“We’ve arrived, stop.” Treya gazed at the solitary house under the setting sun.
Honestly, if Will hadn’t insisted on keeping a low profile since they were hiding their identities, she would have already gotten a prettier house for “Shining Star.”
The house, bathed in the setting sun, was covered in a faint white layer, like an uncolored watercolor painting. Treya was accustomed to it. Since Will was saved by Iaar, for a long time, even as she traveled north, that splash of color had disappeared from her world.
She elegantly dismounted from the carriage, which looked ordinary despite its “low profile” appearance, fitting for a noble. The “Shadow Nightmare Sword” Will gave her was hung at her waist, an inseparable companion.
“Your Majesty, we…”
“No need. Go wherever you were going, as if nothing happened.” Treya waved her hand to dismiss the guards beside her and slowly walked towards the small house alone. Iaar had chosen to come here. Although she had no information about Will, Iaar was, as far as she knew, the last person to have seen him.
Her hand rested on the sword hilt. Although she seemed to feel… the “aura” near the small house was particularly strange, as if multiple different powers and emotions were intertwined here. The person who returned here seemed to be more than just Iaar and herself.
It was fine. Treya believed her preparations were more thorough than anyone else’s. In addition to her hand on her sword, her other hand held the ring for “proposal.” Of course, it wasn’t an ordinary ring. She had imbued it with demonic power, connecting it to Zero Demon City. Once he wore it, the unfinished contract with the demon could be instantly completed. She always remembered the interrupted wedding last time. So, this time, no matter who stood in her way…
Like Liya, she stood firm, seemingly making a few seconds of psychological preparation before reaching for the key. She bent slightly, her silver hair slipping past her ear. She would end this wedding, no matter what! She reached out and inserted the key.
*Bang—*
“Oh?” As expected, before she could even turn the key, a heavy shield burst through the door of the familiar house. She had followed Iaar’s “destination” here, so the maid’s drastic action was within her plan.
“Loitering here for so long, Iaar is very impatient, Your Majesty Empress!” The heavy, yet slightly cold, silver-white shield, wiped clean, was used by Iaar like an axe, fiercely breaking down the door. Treya, using her maxed-out agility, lightly stepped back. The shield grazed her nose. While drawing her sword from her waist, she retreated two steps.
“It’s not over yet—” Iaar, at this moment, possessed the strength and speed of a pure Shield Saint, far greater than she had imagined. She immediately turned and swung her shield again. As Treya retreated two steps, Iaar advanced, each step pressing the lawn in front of the house further into the ground. A struggle between the two was on the verge of breaking out!
“Since you’ve come here, you must have no good intentions.”
“Just hand him over.” Treya’s voice was exceptionally cold, her light blue eyes tinged with a faint purple glow.
“Or do you…” Treya stopped, paused, and stated with the calmest tone the most aggressive words: “Do you think the future you offer him will be better than mine?”
“Shut up!” Treya was stunned. She was surprised that her previous statement had struck some point of anger in Iaar. The subsequent shield thrown at her was even heavier, aimed directly at her forehead. It was completely different from the probing shield from before.
“It seems you also have some kind of situation…” Treya quickly ducked, letting the shield pass over her head. Meanwhile, she stabbed towards Iaar’s waist with her sword, using offense to defend and force Iaar to stop her frantic shield swings.
*Clang—*
Their shield and sword collided. Treya saw Iaar’s gray eyes were almost bloodshot. Her emotions were not just that inexplicable anger. There was also… a sense of “pain” and “emptiness,” even a bit of confusion. And the corners of her eyes, red as if she had been crying.
“Shut up, shut up, shut up.”
“It seems we can’t communicate.” Amidst their exchange, the shield and sword had already clashed and crossed three or four times. On the lawn in front of the house, withered to only weeds, the shield and sword kicked up the weeds, and for a time, they fought from the entrance to the street, with attacks and retreats.
Iaar was not good at dealing with agile attacks, and she hadn’t even had time to use Ice Array to restrain Treya. For Treya, the shield’s physical defense was too strong, and using her demonic spiritual power required a certain charging time. Thus, their attacks quickly devolved into a pure physical exchange. Relying on her demon-enhanced vision, Treya could almost predict Iaar’s next shield swing, dodging and circling back several times. Iaar, empowered by new weapons and with heightened hearing, smell, and perception, not only swung her shield more easily but also conjured low-level defensive spells almost instantly.
“Ice Array: Bloom.”
“Zero Demon City: Angel of Many Sins—”
Then— Just as they finally activated their respective Ice Arrays and called upon their demonic powers.
“Brilliant Light, Silent Sound: Small.”
In the middle of the two of them, the witch’s magic emitted a dazzling light. In an instant, they felt the sound of their cool attack names being swallowed by this brilliant light, accompanied by… a not-too-big, not-too-small explosion.
“Tch.”
“As expected, there’s more than one here…”
*Boom—*
On the small lawn, the explosion left a small crater in the center of the triangle formed by the three of them. Before the smoke cleared, Liya, standing in the center, dispelled her concealment magic and gradually appeared within the haze.
“Oops, I’m so sorry. Seeing you two having so much fun, I just had a little slip of the hand~ I didn’t mean to kill either of you, though.” Liya calmly stepped forward, glancing at Iaar on her left, who was holding her shield and blocking the next blow with her Ice Array, its edges now shattered. Iaar gasped for breath, leaning on her shield. And Treya, though her expression was calm, had her clothes slightly singed by the recent explosion. She maintained her elegance, patting the dust off herself.
“What happened? Can’t we just talk things through?” Liya raised her staff, confidently flicking the end of her golden twin tails, which were now slightly reddish. “I’m sure you don’t want to see… this little house he loves destroyed by our battle, right?”
“Heh, another one looking for Will,” Treya chuckled, pointing her sword at Iaar, the furthest person in a straight line. “Ask her first.”
Thus, the other two turned their gazes to Treya.
