".!"
When that sudden laughter reached their ears, both Shien and Lide reacted.
No, rather, both of them had sensed something even before the laughter rang out and had turned toward its source.
"This magic power..."
Shien frowned.
He sensed a somewhat familiar, yet somehow deeply unpleasant, magical power.
"Who is it?"
Lide spoke coldly, her beastly eyes fixed on the shadows to the left.
There was a passage there.
The sudden laughter had come from the other end of that passage.
Then—
"So that's how it is. I never expected the renowned Beast Demon herself to have come. No wonder three Legendary-tier Demon Refining creatures vanished so cleanly."
With those words, a figure slowly emerged from the shadows of the passage.
It was a tall figure.
The figure wore a black robe, with her face completely hidden beneath its hood. Her bare feet stood on the ground without picking up even a trace of dirt. Fair, translucent, delicate, and smooth, they were clearly a woman's feet.
Her voice was tender and seductive as well. Rather than being pleasing like silver bells, it sounded mature, like that of a powerful businesswoman, giving off an imposing and difficult-to-handle air.
Still, her figure was exceptionally good. Even with her entire body hidden beneath the black robe, what should protrude protruded, and what should curve rose gracefully. For some reason, the robe clung damply to her body, revealing every curve of her figure.
Without a doubt, she was a woman capable of captivating men.
Even without seeing her face, her figure and voice alone were enough to make one's eyes light up.
Yet Shien could not muster the slightest lewd thought.
There were two reasons for that.
One was her strange magical power.
The other was that Shien could sense an extremely pure,