Tsundere, Usually Ticklish

"Come!"

Vivian's right arm snapped forward like a vine, and wizardry lightning surged toward Ahab Gul with unstoppable force.

"Ice Spike Spell, go!"

Ahab thrust both hands forward, and three glittering ice spikes condensed into being, blocking the lightning's advance.

Lightning released directly was incredibly fast; it simply wasn't something you could dodge on reaction alone.

But if you first used another spell to intercept and clash with it, you could buy enough time.

In the night battle that evening, Ahab had relied on this very move to exhaust Vivian's magic, then captured her alive.

Seeing Ahab Gul repeat his old trick, Vivian smiled mockingly.

This time was different!

"See Through!"

Vivian gave a wink. The pupil of her left eye turned silvery white, and she muttered a line of Ancient God Language.

The ice spikes Ahab had fired were instantly penetrated by a mighty force descending from the heavens, entering an incorporeal state.

Boom!

Ahab was struck by the thunderbolt, every hair on his head standing on end.

His hands, legs, and whole body twitched three times, then he toppled over stiffly.

"That's it? And you wanted to seize my Authority?"

Vivian rolled her neck and shook out her dark-red hair.

However, the soot-covered Ahab Gul twitched a few more times on the ground, then actually forced himself to stand.

"Huh. One shock didn't kill you?"

"Some people are born strong. One bolt of lightning really might not be enough to kill them."

Vivian turned her palm upward toward the air, and lightning gathered once more.

Ahab fired ice spikes a second time, and Vivian continued to See Through them.

Another boom rang out.

This time, Ahab didn't even have time to twitch. He fell straight down like a stick.

"What a reckless bastard. No wonder he could last three days and four nights without sleeping."

Vivian struck a victory pose, bold and blazing, just like her nature.

Then she saw Ahab, barely clinging to life, take a wooden bottle from his sleeve and drink a mouthful.

Inside was what Ahab had prepared long ago, specifically for putting on a life-prolonging performance—

Plain boiled water.

"I got careless. I didn't finish him off!"

Vivian slapped her forehead, filled with regret.

Right. Since they wanted Ahab Gul to become a Demon Hunter Wizard, then the Academy's higher-ups would naturally have given him something to rely on.

On the other side, Ahab Gul struggled to his feet. Without even looking at Vivian, he plunged straight into the woods.

Earlier, in order to make Vivian expose her tracks, Gray had cleared out the woods for several hundred meters around.

"Ahab Gul, so this day finally came for you too!"

"How could a person's two legs possibly outrun lightning?"

Ahab had only just run beneath an ancient tree when lightning struck him, dropping him to the ground for the third time.

Under Vivian's tense gaze, the rise and fall of Ahab's chest gradually stopped, and his body no longer moved.

She'd done it. She'd finally done it!

Vivian happily patted her chest, which was nothing to be proud of.

At the same time, Vivian keenly noticed a round object roll out from Ahab's body with a little rumble.

It was the Three-Headed Hound's fang.

This was one of the main materials for making Corpse Dissolving Powder!

After Vivian had killed that Second-Rank Apprentice, she had found the Vampire King's Nail on his body.

But she still hadn't had any leads on the Three-Headed Hound's fang.

Even if she stopped hiding inside the Academy in the future, she would still inevitably need to destroy bodies and erase traces.

If she could make Corpse Dissolving Powder, things would be much more convenient...

There was no loss in looting a corpse!

Vivian lifted her size-thirty-four foot halfway, paused in midair for two seconds, then suddenly pulled it back.

Ahab Gul was sinister and cunning. What if he was playing dead to trick her into coming closer, then fought her at close range—

Now this was bad!

She was a soft, sweet little princess; of course she could not beat this grown man in close combat.

Besides, after several encounters, Vivian had seen exactly how sinister Ahab was.

"Let me try again and see if you're really dead or just holding your breath!"

Vivian unleashed a fourth bolt of lightning.

This was also the final bolt Vivian, with 8 points of spiritual power and 80 points of mana, could cast.

After the roar faded, smoke and dust filled the dense forest.

Ahab Gul's "corpse" still stood there ramrod straight.

It seemed he really was dead.

If a living person were struck by lightning, even if they had already lost consciousness, they would definitely convulse. That was controlled by the muscles.

And no matter how much willpower someone had, there was no way they could keep holding their breath after being struck by lightning!

Vivian waited another four or five minutes, but Ahab's chest still showed no rise or fall.

A Third-Rank Apprentice's body was not that much stronger than an ordinary person's, and the limit for holding their breath was only four or five minutes.

Humming a little victory tune, Vivian skipped forward.

In a moment, she would first kick him hard a few times.

"Shrrp, whoosh whoosh!"

Vivian had walked beside an ancient tree, still four or five meters away from Ahab.

But the tough withered vines suddenly came alive, baring their claws and dancing as they began coiling toward Vivian.

Eight withered vines tied dead knots around Vivian's wrists and ankles, then hoisted her into the air.

Just like that, Vivian was suspended spread-eagled in the Ancient God language.

"The only lesson people learn from history is that people cannot learn any lessons from history."

Ahab rose without the slightest hesitation.

His skin was charred black, and huge patches of his hair had fallen out. His hairline had retreated by thirty or forty years in an instant.

But his life was not in any danger.

This was all thanks to the enhancement from transplanting the Withered Wood Guardian bloodline, including the ability to hold his breath and play dead.

"How is that possible? Even a Second-Rank Wizard Apprentice whose level of life has been strengthened through advancement couldn't withstand four bolts of my lightning!"

Vivian gnashed her teeth in embarrassment and anger, then suddenly realized something.

"You can control withered vines? You underwent Bloodline Transplantation!"

"Don't you know Bloodline Transplantation locks off your upper limit? Aren't you afraid of mutating into a monster?"

Once again, Vivian was shocked by Ahab's ruthlessness.

Damn it, damn him!

Just to seize the Authority in my hands, he's willing to throw away his future too?!

"You should worry about yourself right now first."

Ahab cupped Vivian's jaw with his hand and threatened, "You know I'm a man with plenty of methods."

"You had better hand over the Authority yourself."

The number of believers who could grasp Authority was limited, but that did not mean The Void had few believers.

If Vivian died, the Authority she controlled would be redistributed and held by other believers one rank below her in faith.

Ahab had only learned about "The Void" three days ago.

If he killed Vivian normally, the Authority would definitely not fall to him.

So he had to find a way to make Vivian give it up willingly.

"Impossible! No matter how you torture me, I'll never hand the Authority over to you!"

Vivian turned her head to the side and closed her eyes.

This time was different from before. Ahab did not have the time to keep her awake for days and nights again.

As for other conventional tortures, she was not afraid of them!

No matter how ruthless Ahab was, what could he do?

At worst, he would just break one of her legs.

Earlier, in order to escape, she had even broken her own arm on purpose.

Vivian had always been very good at enduring pain.

Then Vivian, her eyes closed, suddenly felt a chill on her feet. It seemed her shoes and socks had been taken off.

Right after that, Vivian felt it—a quick scrape of a fingernail across about a third of the sole of her foot, where the skin was thinnest and most tender.

"Eek!"

Vivian shuddered and opened her eyes, glaring furiously at Ahab Gul.

"I told you, I'm a man with plenty of tricks."

"As far as I know, girls with tsundere-ish personalities are usually ticklish."