WHY CAN'T I find that damned assassin?

Jeno, who was sitting on the cube made of cloud, had been flying all over the area while covered with his mist to look for Xion. That bastard was too prideful to call for help. The fact that he sent them a distress signal was worrying.

Did he encounter the crow that Princess Neoma warned us about?

His thoughts were interrupted when a vast shadow cast over him, and it was followed by the loud caw-ing sound from above. When he looked up, he was surprised to see a group of crows quickly descending on him as if they were ready to attack him.

They can see me?!

He quickly pulled out his rifle and began to shoot the crows. To be honest, a decent marksman should have the sense to leave his spot once he released his first shot. It was to ensure that his location wouldn't be exposed to the enemies.

But he didn't have the luxury to leave his spot. All he could do at the moment was to move backward while still shooting the damned crows.

There's no way these are ordinary crows!

He was about to pull out a Mana-infused grenade when, all of a sudden, one of the crows grew bigger and bigger until it turned into a silhouette of a human. And that very person jumped at him while extending their hand as if they intended to choke him.

But he noticed the hand covered with a black aura looked like an artificial hand. The color of the hand didn't match the skin tone of the child. Moreover, he noticed the stitches around the child's wrist like a bracelet, as if the hand was attached to the arm surgically–

Wait, a child?!

He hesitated to shoot when the unusually large crow suddenly turned into a little girl who looked like she was just a little older than Princess Neoma. The little girl had long black hair and glowing green eyes. She also looked familiar, but he couldn't really think straight given his dangerous situation at the moment.

"Jeno Dankworth, shoot!

"

It was Lewis's commanding voice.

Thanks to that, he was able to snap out of his trance. Even though he was in an awkward position since he was barely standing on the cloud cube, but he still managed to aim the mouth of his rifle at the child's hand.

As soon as he pulled the trigger, the child moved her hand swiftly to catch the Mana-infused bullet.

Much to his shock, the bullet turned into a speck of dust.

He tried to shoot again, but the child grabbed the mouth of his rifle and it quickly turned into dust. Knowing the whole rifle would decay eventually, he dropped the gun before the child's mysterious power touch him.

This child is dangerous!

And more so since he wasn't a close-combat fighter.

He clicked his tongue, then stomped on the cube cloud to dissolve it. As a result, he descended from the sky via freefall. That was his goal, since that was the fastest way to create a huge distance between her and the child.

For a long-range fighter like me, distance is very important.

But he couldn't widen the distance between them since the little girl kept descending on him.

She has… wings?

The remaining crows he failed to shoot earlier gathered on the child's back. Then the crows exploded into hundreds of black feathers. After that, those feathers turned into a pair of wings for the child.

Snap out of it, Jeno Dankworth, he scolded himself, then he raised both hands and summoned his two silver handguns. That child is an enemy.

Now that he had gotten rid of his hesitations, he grabbed his silver handguns and pulled the trigger– aiming at the child's vital organs. He shot at her consecutively, but none of the Mana-infused bullets hit her. The child caught every single bullet by her hands and turned them into dust effortlessly.

This child is faster than me!

He was about to hit the ground, so he created a pile of clouds to cushion his fall. It was only a brief moment, but his distraction almost cost him his life.

Dammit!

The child grabbed his collar using her artificial hand and was about to get a hold of his head with her hand.

Fortunately, he was saved.

Lewis came out of nowhere and kicked the little girl to the side– sending her flying away from them in the process.

He let out a sigh of relief when his back hit the soft pile of clouds.

"Thanks, Lewis.

"

"Don't let your guard down yet,

" Lewis said seriously, his glowing gold eyes focused on the little girl who just stood up as if nothing happened. It was a feat, since everyone who already sparred with Lewis knew that the fox boy's kicks could literally kill a person.

"That's Regina Crowell.

"

Jeno's eyes widened in shock.

Princess Neoma shared her life story with them, and he made sure to remember the names of her master's enemies. And the name 'Regina Crowell' was on the top of the list. Moreover, now he understood why the child looked familiar to him– he had seen her before in a banquet with Rubin Drayton.

Regina Crowell is the lady who stole Princess Neoma's fiancé in her first life, and she's apparently a crow.

Of course, in this timeline, that Regina Crowell was also a child like Princess Neoma.

I heard Regina Crowell is also the one responsible for the bombing attack that almost killed Lady Hanna Quinzel in the past.

God, how could a child be so rotten at such a young age?

"Lewis Crevan, you rude bastard,

" Regina Crowell said while combing her hair with her artificial hand.

"Who said you could call my name casually?

"

Lewis, as expected, just looked at the girl with a poker face.

And it's obvious Lewis doesn't have any intention of speaking to Regina Crowell.

The young lady crow got it right– Lewis could really be a 'rude bastard' when he wanted to.

"Lewis Crevan, it seems like my appearance here didn't faze you. It's as if you already know who I am,

" Regina Crowell, with a cruel smile on her face, said while approaching Lewis carefully.

"How did you find out I'm a crow?

"

Lewis just came at Regina Crowell without a word.

As expected of Lewis, he won't talk if he doesn't feel like it.

Jeno stood up immediately, ready to assist Lewis in the fight against the young crow.

But when he felt a cold presence behind him, he turned around while pointing his handguns at the enemy he was prepared to face. But much to his shock, he didn't see anyone.

Instead, he was attacked by Darkness in its liquid form.

It entered his nose, mouth, and ears until he couldn't breathe anymore– rendering him unconscious on the spot.

Lewis, be careful…

***

NEOMA was prepared to be attacked by William when she got distracted after realizing Jeno Dankworth might be in danger when the mist disappeared.

But much to her shock, something else beat her to attacking William.

Delwyn, too.

Just what is happening?

William and Delwyn were both on their knees while being attacked by Darkness in its liquid form.

They were surrounded by Darkness that looked like murky water moving like water snakes in the air. It happened so quickly, but she was pretty sure the Darkness (that looked like water snakes!) entered Delwyn and William's mouth earlier.

And now, the two old Spirits were rendered unable to fight.

The Darkness in water snakes form also entered their nose and ears…

She turned to her physical body to check on her condition. Thankfully, her Coat was still working. She saw the

"water snakes

" trying to approach her physical body. But her invisible barrier blocked the water snakes.

But she wasn't completely safe as she, in her Spirit form, was now surrounded by bigger and jet-black

"water snakes.

" Fortunately, she could tell the

"water snakes

" were being wary of her. When she stopped moving away from them, those things also didn't budge.

Why do they look like they're hesitating to attack me when they ambushed William and Delwyn right away?

"The hell are those?

" Neoma complained, gripping Skewer's handle tight.

"Did Bram de Luca already follow me here?

"

She could tell the

"water snakes

" made of Darkness were something the crows could release.

And she saw how Bram de Luca release Darkness back in the temple. She didn't know how the crows got a hold of Darkness this way, but it was definitely bad news. After all, she was told humans were wired to fear Darkness.

Thankfully, that didn't seem to apply to her.

Instead of fear, she felt something else while looking at the

"water snakes

" made from Darkness.

"I'm suddenly hungry,

" Neoma said, her stomach growling. She didn't mean to, but she could tell her eyes had suddenly turned glowing red. Plus, she suddenly felt famished. She also found herself licking her lips while looking at the

"water snakes

" that looked delicious for some reason.

"Why are you begging me to eat you, Darkness?

"

***

BRAM threw away the unconscious body of the assassin who dared to attack him earlier.

After feeding the damned assassin with his blood made of Darkness, he immediately lost consciousness. It wasn't a surprise since Darkness was something akin to poison for humans. So even if an assassin like him had built immunity against poisons, they would still be affected by the Darkness's toxins.

"I've already wasted enough time here,

" Bram said while brushing his hair with his hand, then he looked up at the snowy mountain that he could clearly see now. The mist had disappeared, so his foolish sister might have already found and dealt with whoever it was that concealed the snowy mountain earlier.

"Now let's find our dear

"Crown Prince.

"

"

"Mister, I wouldn't go there if I were you.

"

His eyes widened in shock when he heard an unfamiliar voice behind him.

I didn't feel anything!

When he turned around, he was even more shocked to find a child smiling at him sweetly. For the first time in a long while, his body trembled in fear involuntarily. And only one race could make a crow like him feel that way.

He hated that he felt weak, especially against a damned child, but he was truly shaken to the core.

"It can't be,

" Bram said, then he gulped hard while looking at the young lady with long red hair and big, rounded lavender eyes, dressed in all-black.

"What's a Black Witch doing here?

"

Their bloodline ended a long time ago!

***

NOTE: Hi! As you already know, Volume 3 is about to end. Volume 4 will come up soon, and the volume title will be called 'FALL FROM GRACE.'

I hope you subscribe to my privilege to access the advanced chapters if you can (*cries in tiny* please, onegai, juseyo *sobs* let's subscribe). I'm just excited for you to read the second to the last volume, and I wish I could read your thoughts

/comments in

"real time

" (as soon as I post the chapters).

Volume 4: FALL FROM GRACE is my most favorite major arc, so I wish you could join me in this journey. The next volume has all my favorite reveals.

(And HER MAJESTY'S epic comeback).

I'm not sure if I was supposed to say that. But anyway, y'all are smart. I knew you've already seen Her Majesty's return coming a mile away. LOLOLOL.

Since this is the second to the last volume, and I really want to finish the MAIN story as soon as I could, you can expect more chapter releases this March. See you! Thank you for the support! Let's wrap up Volume 3 now to welcome Volume 4 the soonest~

***

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***

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