A mercenary asked somewhat blankly.
The mercenary commander pulled out the pistol holstered at his waist and roared at the mercenary.
"Didn't you hear what's happening on the comms channel? Move it!"
The Mercenaries' Doom and Meeting Elysia Again
"Elysia, look at those mercenaries. It seems like they've run into trouble?"
Eden tightly held Elysia's hand, her tone carrying a trace of uncertainty.
Not long ago, those mercenaries had been strutting through the shopping plaza, meticulously checking every visitor's identity.
Yet before they had managed to verify many people, a small squad of mercenaries was suddenly urgently pulled away from the plaza.
As time passed, dense gunfire, explosions, and screams began to ring out around the shopping plaza.
The once-arrogant mercenaries had now fallen into unprecedented panic. Clear fear and confusion showed on their faces; they obviously had no idea what to do.
Looks like I won't need to step in personally after all.
Elysia secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
She tightly held Eden's hand, as though trying to convey the resolve and conviction in her heart through her palm.
She gazed deeply at Eden, her blue eyes, as clear as the sky, filled with comfort and encouragement.
"My dear Eden, don't worry. Everything will be all right. We just need to stay calm and wait for the rescue team to arrive."
Under Elysia's gentle yet steadfast gaze, Eden clearly felt the fear and unease in her heart gradually fade away.
"Elysia..."
Before Eden could finish speaking, two piercing screams suddenly tore through the air, cutting her off.
Following the sound, she and Elysia saw two mercenaries guarding the entrance to the passage leading to the upper deck of the shopping plaza having their hearts brutally ripped out by two translucent monsters.
"Ah—"
That bloody, cruel sight made many visitors who had never seen anything like it scream in terror.
"Eden, get behind me."
Without hesitation, Elysia stepped forward and firmly shielded Eden behind her.
An unprecedented seriousness and vigilance shone in her eyes. Clearly, the appearance of those wraiths had completely exceeded her expectations.
Originally, she had thought the mercenaries' chaos was simply due to the arrival of a rescue team, but the current situation was clearly vastly different from what she had imagined.
Even the well-traveled Pink Fairy Lady had never seen such strange monsters.
Those translucent creatures exceeded the limits of her understanding, both in appearance and ability.
More importantly, as Origin's Herrscher, Elysia could not sense any Collapse Energy from those monsters.
Although Elysia believed she could fight these monsters, she knew every unknown creature might possess unique methods and abilities.
She did not want to put her dear friend Eden in such danger.
Eden was only an ordinary person. She had received no combat training and could not handle such a crisis.
Elysia did not want her dear friend to take such a risk. She had to ensure Eden's safety.
"Elysia, look at those monsters. They don't seem to be coming after us."
Eden's voice held a trace of confusion and relief.
Sure enough, as more translucent monsters emerged from every corner of the shopping plaza, they seemed focused only on attacking the mercenaries and showed no intention of attacking visitors like them.
As long as they did not block the monsters' path toward the mercenaries, those translucent creatures seemed to completely ignore their existence.
This discovery made both Elysia and Eden relax slightly, but they remained vigilant and did not dare let down their guard in the slightest.
Unlike Elysia and Eden, the mercenaries were not having such an easy time.
Under Moros's command, the wraiths treated the mercenaries as their primary targets and slaughtered them without mercy.
Naturally, the mercenaries could not simply sit around and wait to die in the face of the wraiths' attacks.
"Don't panic! Fire! I refuse to believe there's anything in this world that isn't afraid of bullets!"
The mercenary commander roared as he aimed at a wraith and repeatedly pulled the trigger until his ammunition ran out.
Encouraged by him, the other mercenaries snapped out of it as well.
They all aimed their guns at the nearest wraiths and poured bullets into them without restraint, as though expending ammunition could buy them even the slightest chance of survival.
However, something that drove the mercenaries to despair happened.
Facing the bullet storm like a volcanic eruption, the wraiths seemed completely unaffected and continued pouncing viciously at the mercenaries.
With the wraiths' combat strength, not a single mercenary who was pounced upon could escape death.
In merely a dozen seconds, among the dozens of well-trained mercenaries in the shopping plaza, only the mercenary commander remained alive.
That was only because Moros had ordered the wraiths beforehand to leave the enemy commander alive.
Without the undead wizard's order, how could a mercenary commander who was nothing more than an ordinary man possibly survive the wraiths' slaughter?
After completing the undead wizard's task—killing the mercenaries and capturing the enemy commander—the wraiths turned their ill-intentioned gazes toward the panicked visitors.
There was nothing strange about that.
Even if they were military units, the wraiths were still undead.
And undead naturally harbored deep malice toward the living.
That hostility came from the undead's longing for life and envy of the living. They could hardly resist the urge to attack living beings.
Sensing the malice in the wraiths' eyes, Elysia and Eden, whose nerves had only just relaxed a little, tensed up once more.
Yet what confused them was that, aside from giving the unarmed visitors malicious looks, the wraiths took no action against them.
Just as Elysia and Eden were feeling puzzled, clear footsteps sounded from a passage leading to the upper deck.
They followed the sound and saw a group of pale-faced men with Bat Wings, dressed in medieval male aristocratic attire and carrying dark green greatswords, escorting a boy of twelve or thirteen out of the passage.
When Elysia saw the boy's face, she blurted out in surprise.
"Moros?"
Hearing his name, Moros turned and met the Pink Fairy Lady's gaze.
He gave a slight nod, confirming her guess.
Moros then walked over to Elysia and Eden and greeted them warmly.
"Elysia, Eden, long time no see."
"Moros, these are...?"
Elysia curiously examined the Vampire Lords and wraiths, then turned her gaze to her new friend for an answer.
"They are my loyal servants. They obey any command I give."
Moros straightened his back and calmly introduced them to Elysia.
"Vampire Lords, the lower-ranking commanders of my legion."
He pointed at the winged Vampire Lords and further explained.
"They're not just good at command. Their combat strength is pretty decent too."
"Mhm, mhm!"
Seeing Elysia repeatedly nod in such an adorable manner, Moros's mood immediately brightened.
The Shadow of Moth to Fire
"As for these, they're wraiths."
Ordering a wraith to float over and stand properly, Moros introduced it to Elysia.
"They're incredibly useful when facing the Mu Continent's army..."
Halfway through speaking, Moros realized the problem with what he had just said.
If he had never truly fought the Mu Continent's army, how could he know how wraiths performed against them?
Sure enough, after hearing that, Elysia and Eden both showed a trace of contemplation in their eyes.
"Ahem."
Moros coughed twice, interrupting their thoughts, and quickly changed the subject.
"Elysia, Eden, do you want to come with me and ask the mercenaries' commander about the real reason behind this attack?"
Elysia shot Moros a look. Having already guessed some of the boy's secrets, she ultimately did not press him about what he had just said.
After spending this time together, Elysia had already regarded Moros as a friend. The socially perceptive Pink Fairy Lady knew very well how not to make her friends uncomfortable.
Eden's concern and affection for Elysia were beyond doubt.
To comfort the Pink Fairy Lady, Eden had even been willing to undergo Man-made Collapse.
Since Elysia did not want to further question the meaning behind Moros's earlier words, Eden would not say anything either.
They silently chose trust and understanding over pointless questioning and speculation.
Seeing their reactions, Moros's fondness for Elysia and Eden kept rising.
If this were a galgame, the affection value above Moros's head would surely keep jumping, increasing with +1, +1.
"Talk. What was your purpose in boarding this ship?"
Ordering two Vampire Lords to bring the mercenary commander before him, Moros asked directly.
Considering Elysia and Eden were present, Moros did not use excessively harsh methods.
As an undead wizard, Moros was actually more accustomed to directly interrogating a person's soul rather than communicating as inefficiently as this.
"If I tell you, can I live?"
The mercenary commander asked in return, a trace of hope in his eyes.
Mercenaries had no real loyalty to speak of. If it could buy him a way out, the mercenary commander would not mind revealing everything he knew.
"Elysia, Eden, what do you think?"
Moros himself did not care much about the condition proposed by the mercenary commander.
To him, letting an ordinary mercenary commander go would make little difference.
After all, he had not suffered any great losses in the battle against the mercenaries.
However, considering that Elysia and Eden were innocent victims caught up in this attack, Moros decided to leave the decision to them.
Elysia and Eden exchanged a glance, then Elysia spoke.
"Moros, I think we should give him a chance."
Before confirming the value of every target, mercenaries generally would not casually harm captives.
As mercenaries, they fought for money. Faced with a large ransom, they naturally did not want those captives harmed.
Even if a few mercenaries were overcome by lust, the other mercenaries would stop them.
Thanks to Moros acting so quickly, the mercenaries had been wiped out before they could even thoroughly assess the value of the captives in the mall.
Therefore, they had not had the chance to do anything excessive to the captives in the shopping plaza.
Under those circumstances, Elysia, who loved humanity, was still willing to show mercy where she could.
Hearing Elysia's words, a trace of gratitude flashed through the mercenary commander's eyes.
However, he understood his situation very clearly. Aside from looking gratefully at Elysia, he did not dare say a single word.
"For Elysia's sake, I can let you go, but you must tell us the truth behind the attack."
Since Elysia and Eden had already made their decision, Moros naturally would not oppose them.
"Thank you, thank you. I'm willing to tell you everything."
The mercenary commander repeatedly thanked them, then began recounting the truth behind the attack.
Before you continue