Kill

As soon as he finished speaking, the jet-black armor seemed to come alive, instantly covering Lowell's entire body. A faint metallic scraping sound came from the joints.

There were no warning signs whatsoever.

Lowell disappeared from the spot.

It left only a distorted trail in the air, dragging a dark red afterimage, so fast that it was completely out of sight.

The target... Frieren is standing a little distance away.

The sword light was pitch black, carrying a resolute determination to tear everything apart, as it slashed towards that silver-white figure.

Frieren's emerald green eyes suddenly narrowed.

She realized what was happening.

But the body had absolutely no time to make any movement.

That's too fast.

"Clang--!"

A deafening clang of metal clashing suddenly exploded at extremely close range! The sharp sound waves almost pierced eardrums.

The two weapons crossed, and at the critical moment, they blocked the falling black sword.

To her left was Lupa's silver-white spear, taller than her. The spear vibrated violently, emitting a buzzing sound. Lupa gripped the spear shaft tightly with both hands, her hands numb, and her ponytail was violently pulled back by the wind from the sword. A clear bead of cold sweat seeped from her forehead and slid down her cheek.

To the right was Himmel's replica of the Hero's Sword. Himmel's face still showed signs of inferiority and despair, but her hand holding the sword was as steady as a rock, barely managing to withstand the fatal blow.

"Hey..." Lupa's voice was strained, and she squeezed out the words through clenched teeth, "Master... this isn't funny."

She stared intently at the deep darkness behind the visor.

"This is Lady Frieren."

Himmel also raised his head, and he tugged at the corners of his mouth, trying to force a smile, but the smile was so weak that it was almost invisible. His voice carried the lingering effects of the drug and a heavy sense of self-loathing, yet strangely mixed with a trace of unyielding persistence.

"Hmm... though I'm probably just a lowly, unfit insect..."

"But... Lowell, something seems off about you right now."

Behind the mask, Lowell's face revealed undisguised disgust. The expression twisted his usual gentleness, even diminishing his sneer, leaving only a look of loathing as if he were seeing filth.

"Frieren..."

His voice came through the mask, deep, cold, and clear.

"Of course I know she's Frieren."

The power on the black sword suddenly intensified! Dark red patterns flashed violently on the blade.

"The one I want to kill," he said, emphasizing each word, "Is Frieren."

"Go to hell!"

He abruptly sheathed his sword.

Lupa and Himmel felt the force holding them back suddenly disappear, and their bodies involuntarily staggered forward half a step.

It's this half-step gap.

The black sword rose again, and with a force heavier, fiercer, and faster than before, it slashed down fiercely!

This time, there was no parry.

Lupa only had time to hold her spear horizontally in front of her, and Himmel could only barely raise her sword.

Clang! Clang!

Two explosions, almost simultaneously!

Lupa grunted as he and his gun were slammed away by the immense force, crashing into a small tree about the size of a bowl and breaking its trunk before landing awkwardly. His spear slipped from his hand and became stuck in the ground some distance away.

Himmel's already weak defense was completely shattered; his longsword flew out of his hand, spinning and disappearing into the forest. He was struck head-on by a battering ram, flying more than ten meters before crashing heavily into a pile of fallen leaves. He struggled for a moment but couldn't get up immediately.

Obstruction, removal.

Without pausing, the black sword slashed down mercilessly at Frieren, who seemed still reeling from the sudden upheaval and was staring at him with wide, emerald eyes.

Frieren's body split in two, from her right shoulder to her left waist.

"Ha..."

From behind the mask came a breath that seemed to have been suppressed to the extreme and finally released.

Then, the breath turned into a low chuckle.

The low chuckle quickly amplified, distorted, and swelled into an unrestrained, exhilarating maniacal laugh!

"Ha ha ha ha--!"

Lowell stood with his sword drawn, head thrown back, laughing wildly. The armor clanged softly with each tremor of his body. His laughter echoed through the suddenly deathly silent forest, carrying with it a chilling murderous intent and a terrifying sense of pleasure.

"He's dead! He's dead!"

He laughed so hard he could barely breathe, pointing the tip of his sword at Frieren's corpse, his tone filled with pure pleasure and cruelty.

"Look! Just like that! Haha! Dead! Life is so fragile!"

The laughter stopped abruptly.

His head snapped in the direction Lupa had fallen.

"Next up is Lupa!"

The sound and the sword's edge arrived simultaneously!

The jet-black longsword tore through the air, carrying the residual power from slaying Frieren and even greater ferocity, slashing horizontally at her waist!

Lupa seemed still reeling from the shock and bewilderment of her master's slaying of Frieren, showing no reaction to the fatal blow. She simply instinctively held her spear horizontally in front of her.

"Bang--!"

A heavy thud.

Lupa, gun and all, was sent flying backward like a stone hurled from a catapult! He crashed through two small trees, each about the size of a bowl, before landing heavily in the bushes dozens of meters away, kicking up a cloud of dust and fallen leaves. His spear slipped from his grasp and landed far to the side.

She lay there, motionless. Only a deep gash on her breastplate and blood trickling from the corner of her mouth proved she was still alive.

Lowell stood where she had been, slowly retracting the sword he had drawn. He tilted his head, his gaze beneath his visor seemingly filled with doubt, glancing at Lupa, whose fate was unknown in the distance, before looking down at the sword in his hand.

"Hmm? That's strange..."

He muttered to himself, the mania in his voice subsiding somewhat, replaced by a cold, inquisitive bewilderment.

"That's so strange..."

"That shouldn't be the case..."

"Lupa can't be that weak..."

He remained tilted to the side, silent for a few seconds. The dark red light in the eye sockets of his visor flickered rapidly, as if he were thinking at lightning speed.

Then, he suddenly stood up straight.

"Yes."

He raised his left hand, his fingers, covered in black armor, and gently tapped his temple.

"Yes, yes..."

His voice carried a certain knowingness, mixed with annoyance at being fooled and... an even more excited interest.

"Snort..."

He lowered his hand.

The jet-black armor covering his entire body, along with the black sword, rapidly faded and became transparent, like the receding tide, eventually turning into countless tiny black and red specks of light that dissipated into the air.

Lowell reverted to his original attire and stood still. The ferocious smile on his face vanished, but a cold, cruelly amused expression remained at the corner of his mouth. His eyes, sharp as knives, slowly swept across the entire area.

"It's Mental Magic..."

He whispered, then suddenly opened his arms wide!

"Boom--!"

Centered on him, an immense, suffocatingly concentrated, pitch-black magical power erupted like a volcano suppressed for millions of years! It was not an attack, but a declaration of "existence" that was pure to the extreme and carried a terrifying suppressive force!

Wherever the magic passed, the surrounding scenery—the dead Frieren, the uncertain Lupa in the distance, Himmel struggling to get up, the terrified Fern, the calmly observing Linié, and Ruby in the distance who seemed to be thinking of Ruby —all of these, like reflections on water struck by a stone, distorted and rippled violently!

Immediately afterwards, fine, spiderweb-like cracks appeared out of thin air, on the trees, on the ground, and on everyone's body!

"Click... click click..."

A chilling series of cracking sounds filled the air.

The next moment--

"Bang!"

It was as if the glass dome had been shattered by a heavy hammer.

The entire forest clearing resembled a shattered kaleidoscope, collapsing completely into countless chaotic fragments that fell in a flurry and then vanished into nothingness.

The real scene reappeared.

It was still that same clearing in the woods. Sunlight, trees, fallen leaves, wooden table, bench.

Frieren stood unharmed a few steps away from Lowell, her emerald eyes holding a hint of wariness, but more so a calm acceptance. She was unharmed, except that her long, silvery-white hair seemed slightly disheveled, which she gently tucked behind her ears.

Lupa stood beside Himmel, her hands gripping her spear tightly, the tip pointing slightly downwards at the ground. Her eyes held lingering fear and disbelief, but she too bore no wounds.

Himmel held his sword in one hand, standing ramrod straight, his sapphire-like eyes fixed on Lowell, revealing both his inferiority complex and his focused seriousness.

Linié had somehow appeared half a step in front of Lupa, her hands gathering magic to summon a longsword. She was still wearing that pink gothic dress, her small face expressionless, but her icy blue eyes were fixed on Lowell.

Fern stood a little further away, closer to Ruby. Her expression was relatively calm, her pale purple eyes quickly scanning the crowd before finally settling on Lowell in the center, her lips slightly pursed.

Ruby stood next to Fern, still clutching the medicine bottle in her hand. A bead of cold sweat slowly slid down her delicate chin.

Lowell lowered his outstretched arms, looked around, his gaze sweeping over everyone before finally settling on Ruby's face.

The cold curve of his lips suddenly widened into an undisguised, battle-ready maniacal laugh.

"Haha! Haha! Well done! Well done, Ruby!"

He laughed loudly, pointing Ruby with his finger in the air, but his eyes were as cold as iron.

"It's your Mental Magic, isn't it!? Quick reaction. Fantastic... absolutely perfect! Even though I used [Perfect Warrior]... Mental Magic actually works on Demons like me!? This is truly the first time I've encountered this! Normal Mental Magic used by humans... it should only work on humans, right!"

He clapped his hands twice, the applause sounding particularly crisp in the quiet forest.

"It's so real! So incredibly real! It's amazing how real it is! I almost believed it! I almost thought I had really succeeded! Haha! So it seems... the moment Lupa and Himmel blocked my first attack, you pulled me in, didn't you? Your reaction was really quick! No wonder you're the magician who defeated that idiot Demon King Discal!"

He laughed so hard his shoulders were shaking, as if he had encountered the funniest thing in the world.

The next instant, his maniacal laughter vanished, leaving only a cold, aggressive curve at the corner of his mouth. The fighting spirit in his eyes Burning like a tangible flame.

"Interesting!"

He licked his lips, his voice rising slightly with excitement.

"This is so much fun!"

He raised his right hand, his five fingers slowly clenching together, the knuckles making a crisp "crack" sound. His gaze, like a tangible blade, swept over the crowd who were on high alert, and finally locked firmly on Frieren.

"Come..."

He took a step forward.

The fallen leaves beneath my feet were silently crushed.

Come on!

He opened his arms to everyone and extended an invitation in an almost song-like tone, filled with frenzied joy.

"You!"

"Fight me head-on!"

"Come..."

He took a deep breath and then roared, his voice exploding through the forest like thunder, shaking the branches and leaves and startling countless birds into flight.

"Let's have the greatest battle in the world!!"

A manic, belligerent, and destructive magic swept over him like a tangible black storm, so heavy that the branches of the surrounding trees fell to the sides, and the air became so stagnant that it was difficult to breathe.

Ruby swallowed hard, her grip on the bottle tightening until her knuckles turned white. She glanced at Himmel beside her, whose expression was grave, and forced a smile.

"Haha... It's been broken through already?"

"This is ridiculously powerful... I was hoping to use it to buy time for the medicine to take effect..."

She turned to look at Himmel.

"Himmel?"

Himmel gripped his sword tightly, slowly exhaling a breath of stale air, a lingering sadness still present in the depths of his eyes. Yet, his posture and the hand holding the sword remained completely still.

"Although I am merely a lowly, insignificant insect..."

He spoke softly, his voice not loud, but it reached everyone's ears clearly.

"But... since we're already standing here..."

He raised his head and looked at Lowell. In his blue eyes, something was re-forming—a steadfast light that belonged to a hero, a light that even self-doubt could not extinguish.

We have to... do something.

Lupa gritted her teeth, gripped the spear tightly, raised the tip, and aimed it at Lowell.

"It's really not funny at all, Master..." she muttered to herself, leaning forward slightly and assuming a starting stance for a surprise attack.

Linié didn't speak, but quietly took half a step forward, shielding Lupa behind her even more completely. Her icy blue eyes calmly gazed at Lowell, and a faint magical glow, Imitation a certain battle stance, began to emanate from her body.

Fern's breathing calmed down slightly. She glanced at Frieren, who was firmly locked onto by Lowell's palpable killing intent, and then at Lowell aura had completely changed, radiating a chilling aura like a drawn sword.

"A potion to reverse personality..."

"His love for Lady Frieren turned into extreme loathing and murderous intent."

"The yearning for peace and the avoidance of trouble have been transformed into a fervent thirst for war and battle."

She looked at Frieren, her voice steady yet carrying a sense of confirmation.

"Lord Frieren."

"You can handle it, right?"

Frieren stood there quietly, listening to Lowell's maniacal laughter and battle cries, feeling the almost tangible rage and killing intent. When she heard Fern's question, she tilted her head slightly.

The emerald eyes glanced at Lowell's face, which was cold yet fanatical and filled with the word "come to fight." The gaze calmly swept over every inch of his distorted expression, as if scrutinizing a strange yet incredibly familiar monster.

Then, she raised her face, looked at Fern, and answered calmly and directly:

"Perhaps..."

She blinked, her tone revealing no emotion.

"You can't handle it."