Quite the Talent for Learning

Chapter 46: Quite Talented at Learning, Aren't You?

"A high-level demon, how is that possible? It was just a slime!"

Linus stared blankly at the slime Sally was holding. The seemingly harmless slime had become terrifying. While Linus's Squad appeared strong, they were actually only somewhat known in the surrounding towns.

For a squad like theirs, a C-rank demon was already considered a high-level demon, and they could only escape with heavy casualties. Yet, the Magic Element Lu Minghao was emitting was far more terrifying than any C-rank demon they had encountered before.

"Captain! The shadow, the shadow!"

At this moment, Gene trembled and pointed at Linus's shadow. The shadow, which had been human-shaped, had twisted into a mass and was slowly detaching from the ground. The next second, Gene's eyes widened in fear as he realized that not only his captain's shadow but all the shadows in the room were beginning to twist.

Swish swish swish!

"Shadow Prison!"

In an instant, countless shadows transformed into chains. Thin chains, like venomous snakes, snaked up from the feet of Linus's Squad. Chains also hung down from above, settling around their necks.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

In less than a second, everyone in Linus's Squad was suspended in mid-air, their limbs and heads tightly bound by the pitch-black chains. They were hung in a spread-eagle position, their weapons dropping from their grasp under the intense suffocation.

"Alright, Sally, the rest is up to you."

With that, Lu Minghao's elastic body leaped towards the door.

Bang!

As the wooden door closed, the shadow beneath Lu Minghao transformed into a curtain, sealing the entire wooden house tightly. From this moment on, no matter what commotion occurred inside the wooden house, not a single sound would escape.

"There, it's over."

Lu Minghao gently stroked Sally's dark red hair. Under Lu Minghao's comfort, Sally slowly stopped crying and looked up at him. Bathed in the golden sunlight, Sally, dressed in a vibrant crimson dress, smiled. Her smile was pure.

It was like sunshine, unconsciously infectious, bringing warmth from the heart.

"Minghao, thank you."

Sally lifted Lu Minghao, whom she was holding, and turned to place him in the sun. At this moment, for Sally, Lu Minghao was her only sun, illuminating the despair she had once been trapped in.

"Minghao, do you know? Dad and Mom didn't actually die from injuries sustained on a mission."

In the sunlight, Sally turned her head to look at the dim wooden house. Sally's father and mother, who had hidden her Ghost Tribe identity, were once well-known adventurers. However, during a subjugation mission, Sally's parents had to temporarily team up with Linus's Squad. The demon, which was supposed to be C-rank for the mission, had unexpectedly become a B-rank demon.

To protect Sally's father, Sally's mother had no choice but to reveal her Ghost Tribe identity. After Sally's mother desperately killed the demon, Linus's Squad, out of greed, chose to kill Sally's severely injured parents.

After all, a high-level demon like a Ghost Tribe member was a huge treasure for ordinary adventurer squads. The stronger the demon, the more valuable it was. Moreover, in the eyes of Linus and the others at the time, since Sally's mother had revealed her Ghost Tribe identity, she would surely kill them afterward to conceal it.

Coupled with the value of the B-rank demon Sally's mother had killed, driven by greed and fear, the members of Linus's Squad chose to attack Sally's mother and father. They also decided to hide the demon that was the mission target, shifting the blame for the mission's failure onto Sally's parents and forcefully taking everything they had left behind.

Because of this, Sally, who was only five years old, had to survive by scavenging through garbage heaps and fighting wild dogs for food. Then, by chance, Sally, who was hiding and sleeping in a garbage heap, overheard the truth from Gene, who was drunk and passing by. From that moment, the seed of hatred was sown.

"Sally, are you happy now?"

Lu Minghao asked Sally softly. Although Sally's face held a smile, it was tinged with deep sadness. After all, Sally's parents were dead, and the desperate life Sally had once endured had already happened.

Even though Linus's Squad, the perpetrators, had been captured and Sally could exact her revenge as she pleased, what had happened could not be undone. Just as Sally's deceased parents could not be resurrected.

"It's okay, Sally is very happy now because Sally has a family and won't be alone anymore."

Sally gently shook her head and hugged Lu Minghao tightly. A happy smile bloomed on her blood-stained face. Her crimson dress fluttered gently in the breeze, and blood dripped from the dress.

For Sally, her entire world since birth had been constructed from various forms of 'evil' – despair, disgust, scorn, and curses. Endless malice had built Sally's world, and within this world, there had been a few brief glimmers of light.

But they had quickly disappeared. Now, Sally had found a new light, illuminating her figure in the dark world. That was enough. No matter how desperate the world was, Sally now had enough motivation to live.

This was her happiness.

"Let's go, Sally. I still have a few things to ask them, and I'll let them experience true fear."