Ex-Machina on a Dimensional Journey

"Worthless individual. Eliminated."

Honestly, when he saw that scene, he felt like he had nearly wet himself.

What kind of monster was that?!

She clearly had an Angel-like halo above her head, yet she behaved like a heartless Demon from hell.

She killed people without even blinking.

As for the obviously inhuman parts of her body, this Bandit said he had no idea what they were, either.

The four remaining companions, himself included, had all poured out everything they knew after seeing what had happened to their boss.

Xiu Er swept her cold gaze over the few people kneeling on the ground, tightly bound in Chains.

After gathering the information they had given, she was very satisfied.

Finally, she asked the question that made all four of them tremble.

"Inquiry: Have you killed anyone?"

Xiu Er's calm voice rang in the bandits' ears like thunder.

In an instant, cold sweat broke out all over them.

Though there was no emotion in Xiu Er's eyes, the four bandits merely lowered their heads, not daring to meet her gaze.

Then again, they had not dared look at her since she killed the Chief.

Seeing their reactions, Xiu Er understood roughly what had happened.

I see. So that's how it is.

"I-I-I... I was forced to!"

One of them spoke up, drawing Xiu Er's gaze.

Caught under those golden eyes, the Bandit who had gathered the courage to speak immediately lost his nerve and lowered his head.

Heh.

No longer paying attention to the bandits, Xiu Er turned and left.

Just as they thought they had survived—

The Chains wrapped around their bodies suddenly burst into crimson flames. In an instant, the fire engulfed the bandits. A few seconds later, nothing remained but ashes scattered across the ground.

During the interrogation, Xiu Er had not used the Gabriel's ability.

There was no need.

With their lives on the line, the bandits would blurt out everything they knew.

And whether they lied or not was obvious to Xiu Er. By scanning their facial expressions and body movements, she could instantly deduce whether they were lying.

As for the person who had stepped forward and claimed he had been forced—

Unfortunately, according to Xiu Er's calculations, he had lied.

Besides, in times like these, what Bandit did not have blood on his hands?

Xiu Er did not kill them because she considered herself a partner of justice.

She killed them simply because they had set their sights on her.

The moment the bandits hid in the forest, her Detector and Receiver had already picked up their information.

Xiu Er had also learned everything about their later discussions and plans.

She had originally intended to ignore them, but then she heard that they planned to capture her and sell her off.

Well, once she understood what they were planning, Xiu Er changed her mind. Besides, they had already seen her true appearance. To avoid future trouble, silencing them was best.

That was all.

So the moment they turned their attention toward her, their fate of death had already been decided.

Still, the bandits' information had contained one useful piece of information.

Xiu Er learned from them that there was a small Demon outpost to the south.

Though she did not know what those Demons were planning—

Still, those bandits were truly bold to rob people in an area where Demons appeared.

Since Xiu Er wanted to collect Magic, she naturally would not let prey delivered right to her doorstep escape.

"Converting Magic within the unit into Dimensional Energy... Conversion successful."

After completely emptying the Magic within her body, Xiu Er would be almost invisible to those Magic Users' mana detection.

Thus, Xiu Er headed toward the Demons mentioned by the bandits.

However, when she arrived at the so-called outpost, it was already completely deserted.

Huh? Where are the Demons?

Xiu Er looked doubtfully at the ground, which seemed to show signs that a camp had once been there.

Come to think of it, she had seen firelight in the distance earlier.

It was already evening, and the sky had long been covered by a black curtain studded with stars.

On her way here, Xiu Er had seen the glow of flames burning in the distance.

Following the footprints revealed by her scans, she walked out of the forest and saw, on the distant plains, a town with flames soaring into the sky.

The gate stood open, and countless plumes of black smoke rose into the sky from behind the city walls.

It seemed to be a town that had been conquered by someone else.

And Xiu Er's target should be inside that town, which was about to become ruins...

Fallen Town

As Xiu Er approached the town, she had already detected a large amount of energy matching the magical nature of Demons within it.

The Bio Detector told her that at least ten living beings remained in the town.

The attacking Demons had not yet left.

The environmental information Receiver had not picked up anything resembling the voices of survivors. It seemed the Demons had already wiped everyone out here.

Crossing the lowered drawbridge, Xiu Er smoothly entered this place that had become a sea of fire.

The first thing that entered her sight was a ground covered in wreckage and corpses.

Judging from the armor on their bodies, they should have been the town's garrison. Unfortunately, from the look of things, they had all perished here.

Some had their heads cut off. Some had been cleaved down the middle into two halves. Some had become dried corpses. Some were covered in blood from exploded wounds. Some had been disemboweled, their organs spilling across the ground...

The corpses everywhere reflected the reality that this town had become a living hell.

Xiu Er walked slowly along streets shattered by Magic attacks, surrounded by collapsed ruins and buildings riddled with holes.

In this era, humans who had not learned Magic could only rely on their flesh and blood to resist the varied Magic of Demons.

Along the way, Xiu Er had already seen everything.

She coldly recorded the scenes before her eyes, preserving them.

"Hmm, is there still a straggler?"

A voice came from behind Xiu Er, and she turned around.

She saw a burly armored Demon with a pair of enormous horns atop his head, sitting on the roof of a relatively intact house.

He held a massive axe twice Xiu Er's height in his right hand, resting it on his shoulder. In his left, he held a human corpse. Judging from its condition, it looked as though some animal had already eaten half of it.

"Forget it. Let's finish this quickly."

The burly Demon spoke flatly as he casually tossed away the "snack" in his hand, picked up his massive axe, and stared coldly at Xiu Er.

"Would you kindly stand still?"

Throughout the entire encounter, the Demon had never cared about the expression on the purple-haired human girl's face.

In his eyes, this human had no Magic at all, not even the physique of a warrior.

She looked like a completely harmless human.

The Demon raised his massive axe and attacked the human girl just as he had attacked the other humans before.

The powerful Demon warrior lifted his axe and appeared before her in an instant.

Seeing Xiu Er seemingly fail to react at all, the burly Demon was certain that this strike would split the human girl in two.

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"Zera still hasn't returned?"

In the central square of the town, a handsome man dressed in a noble-style uniform of black and red stood beside the fountain. His long red hair was tied into a ponytail that fell down his back, while the sharply angled black horns atop his head revealed that beneath his handsome appearance was nothing more than a man-eating beast.

The man calmly questioned the butler-uniformed man beside him.

The man also had a pair of horns symbolizing his identity as a Demon.

"Yes, Lord Dracole. Warrior Zera has not yet returned."

Aside from them, there were several other armored Demons of different appearances and builds, resembling guards.

Obviously, they were the culprits behind this attack on the town.

Hearing the answer, the Demon named Dracole merely thought for a moment and did not pay it much attention.

"Leave him alone. His appetite must be acting up again. He's probably looking around the city for snacks that suit his 'taste.'"

Among Demons, strength was paramount.

The stronger a Demon's Magic was, the higher their status among their kind. Weaker Demons could also become servants to stronger Demons in exchange for protection.

"Have the 'humans' in this town been cleaned up?"

"My lord, they have all been cleared out."

A cloaked Demon woman answered.

Her name was Leslie, a Magic User specializing in Stealth Magic, which could completely conceal her form and hide her Magic, making her an invisible assassin.

Under Dracole, she was responsible for infiltrating and destroying defensive installations.

This siege had begun when she assassinated all the garrison on the city walls and lowered the drawbridge.

"I have confirmed it. I stabbed every human corpse on the ground through the heart."

"Wrap it up. Notify Zera and tell him to return."

"Yes."

Though Demons lacked empathy and therefore did not care whether any living thing other than themselves lived or died—

They were also selfish. To Dracole, Zera was his servant, and therefore his property. Naturally, it was only reasonable that he did not want his property to wander off.

But just as he gave the order, a disturbance in the distance drew the attention of every Demon present, including him.

BANG—!!!

Dracole looked in that direction.

"That aura... it's Zera. Is he fighting?"

"Leslie, are you sure you checked everything?"

The surrounding air suddenly grew much heavier, making all the Demons feel pressure.

At that moment, the Demon assassin was drenched in sweat.