Cecil fought her way through the guards.

Now that she had fully thrown herself into the fray, Cecil could confirm some of her doubts. Just like AI500 had stated, her body had grown stronger after K'xug cured her from dark magic. She had no idea what happened to her body during the time it was unconscious, but her physique had improved immensely.

She was faster and lighter.

Her reaction speed, her agility and her reflexes.

Even her stamina had improved.

Once she was in a fight, everything seemed to move slower.

Her mind was processing everything faster now.

Though, her strength was still no different from that of a mortal.

Nevertheless, she managed to take down the guards swiftly without as much as a scratch on her. They were clearly not elemental users.

Strange.

If this place is under Ephert's control...

Shouldn't the guards here be of a better calibre?

Cecil furrowed her eyebrows.

No, maybe it's not that, but someone in here is more than capable enough to put Ephert at ease.

"Agh!"

"Ge-get her! There are so many of us, why are we struggling against a single woman--kkgh!"

Cecil surged forward, kicking the guard right in the face. He collapsed onto the ground, completely knocked out.

She was thankful that her outfit to disguise as a slave was loose enough, allowing her to fight more freely.

"...?"

Cecil's vision started to change. All of a sudden, she could see them all once again.

The trail of dark magic.

The masks of the guards had an eerie, dark aura surrounding it.

Cecil lit up in anticipation.

It's back.

Now, maybe I can find where the owner of the auction house is with this.

She could see a line of dark magic disappearing down the corridor, and she tilted her head.

That way.

One of the guards charged at her cautiously, and Cecil moved aside swiftly. She leaped into the air, kicking him into the ground by stepping on his head. She made her way past the guards just like that, though, there weren't many remaining.

Halfway through the fight, some of them had rushed off somewhere.

She could hear a distant uproar and she knew that her comrades had started to move as well. It was a good opportunity for her to chase after the owner of the auction house.

There was no way she was allowing him to slip away, after what he had done.

She followed the trail diligently, keeping her eyes on them as she fought off the guards. There was one remaining guard and upon seeing Cecil's capabilities for himself, he dropped his weapon and surrendered.

"I am only here because they threatened me with my family," he removed his mask and raised his arms in the air. "If you are here to stop them, please go ahead."

Cecil eyed him with a haughty look.

"I'll do just that," she managed a small smile at him. "Such a horrid place like this will exist no more, after today."

There was a dubious look in the guard's eyes. However, Cecil did not bother to explain any further and disappeared further down the corridor.

***

Cecil turned the knob, only to find the door locked.

"Why is it locked?"

She frowned, she took out her dagger and wielded it with her right hand. The blade of the dagger started to turn into vines, and vines started to coil around her arm as well, all of it clamping down on the door knob.

She yanked on it, and the door knob flew off without any resistance. It was as if she had plucked a petal off from a flower.

The door knob landed on the ground with a loud thud.

"..."

Cecil looked on in disbelief.

...

...

...what the fu...?

Cecil knew her vines grew stronger as she advanced in her gates. However, just how much did she advance for her vines to become this strong?

Moreover, she realised despite not being near any fauna, her vines did not decrease in strength. Though, the amount she could produce was still limited.

"AI500."

"Please be honest."

"What did you do to me when I was fully unconscious? Did you give me some strength-enhancing drug from your "shop" and feed it to me without knowing?"

[ I did not do anything~ ]

[ What is happening here is all rightfully your strength and powers. ]

At that moment, Cecil recalled AI500 speaking cryptically at one point. It welcomed her back and spoke an unknown name that she couldn't comprehend.

"You said welcome back to me at that time."

"Does that have anything to do with what is happening right now? To my body?"

[ ... ]

[ I am unable to answer that question due the restrictions placed upon me by the Transmigration World System. ]

Cecil wore an impassive look.

"At this point, you are becoming more useless."

"Just tell me you can't answer."

[ ... ]

From the silent response, Cecil could tell that her words were rather damaging.

However, she felt pleased.

This was revenge for the trouble that AI500 had put her through.

Nevertheless, it wasn't time for Cecil to be distracted. She focused on her task at hand, the pathway to the source of dark magic had grown thicker beyond this door.

She had pulled the door knob off with a loud noise, yet, there had been no response from the other party.

Moreover, the door was locked.

Cecil frowned, taking a step into the room.

At that moment, her body tingled and she recoiled back instinctively. A ball of black flames shot past her, almost brushing against the tip of her nose. If Cecil hadn't recoiled back, those flames would have engulfed her entire face.

"So it's you, our special item of the day," a low voice said. "Looks like Ephert won't be too happy about this."

Cecil rushed into the room.

It was a place clearly meant to receive guests, with a desk and two couches. The furnishings were ostentatious, to show off the wealth and status of the owner of the auction house. Cecil furrowed her eyebrows in distaste, dodging another attack from him.

He was still wearing his mask but his outfit was completely different.

He was dressed in a midnight black robe with intricate cursive patterns sewn into it. Moreover, there was something strange about the robe that made Cecil feel like it didn't belong in the second continent.

In fact, it felt like it didn't belong in the mortal realm.

"I assumed I was found out," his low voice was calm. "It turns out, the people are just having grudges against the auction house."

"You are the one responsible for it." Cecil replied back just as calm.

"It's not me, you know," he tilted his head, a hint of annoyance in his voice. "It's who you and your people call a lord, Ephert. I'm just...hired help."

Cecil clenched her fists.

There is no doubt he is a demon.

She could see the dark magic drifting out from him endlessly.

He was the one who got involved, yet he is acting as if all of this is nothing to do with him.

What a bastard.

Cecil took out her daggers and twirled them around her hands, they turned into vines and she commanded them to aim for the demon in front of her.

"That's not going to work."

The demon stood there, accepting the vines that zoomed towards him. They wrapped around his wrists and ankles, restricting his movement.

He sighed.

"You mortals are always so reckless and don't know your places--"

He tugged at the vines.

It didn't break.

"...?"

Cecil narrowed her eyes, using her vines to pull her closer to him in an instant. The vines transmogrified back into the blade of her dagger, and she attempted to stab into his shoulder.

I have to keep him here, until the others arrive.

He is hired help for Ephert.

If I let him go, I have no idea what Ephert would have him do.

He doesn't seem concerned that he is putting mortals in danger and suffering either.

The demon dodged her attack, despite being surprised at the unexpected strength of her vines. However, as he did so, Cecil managed to nick the corner of his mask.

The demon sneered in his heart.

Did she think she could injure me?

The mask wouldn't break either.

The demon knew that Cecil was a mortal, other than the strength of her elemental energy, there was nothing else special to her.

No, maybe there is something else to her.

Behind the mask, his black irises became slitted, and his eyes turned crimson red with his sclera becoming black.

He observed Cecil closely, noticing the shape of life force within her.

I have seen this shape of life force somewhere before.

Where did I...

Just then, that part of the mask chipped away, making the demon pause in shock.

The mask was enchanted with dark magic, and it wasn't easy to break it unless you were another demon or an angel.

"What kind of a mortal are you?" He questioned incredulously, exerting strength and tearing apart the vines around him.

"A normal one." Cecil replied, not appearing the least bit flustered at her vines breaking, her tone cold.

He scoffed in disbelief, letting out a wry laugh. "Normal mortals don't possess this kind of strength. You are something else, along with the shape of that life force..."

Something clicked within his mind.

"Ah, I see now."

He brought his hand up, removing his mask and crushing it into pieces with a squeeze of his hand.

He was rather good-looking.

His eyes were still demonic and his black hair started to grow longer, past his shoulders and down his back.

"You are what those higher-ups call a vessel."

He raised his eyebrows, spiky wings sprouting out of his back without warning. The dangerous glint in his demonic eyes made Cecil step back, getting into a defensive stance.

It wasn't only that.

The moment he was rid of his disguise and decided to appear in his true form, Cecil could see the presence of dark magic exploding from him.

He wasn't an ordinary demon.

"I never thought I would have to be on guard against a mortal," he smirked. "Since the auction house has been brought down, I see no point in staying here a second longer."

"I won't let you escape."

"Well then, I'll just have to kill you."

The demon rushed towards Cecil.

Cecil widened her eyes.

She couldn't keep track of his movements, unable to tell where he had disappeared to.

Glancing around, she kept herself on alert and she heard some movement to her left.

There.

She leapt away, raising her daggers to block the incoming attack. She heard a loud clanging sound as she did so, her wrist starting to tremble.

He's strong.

My wrists won't be able to defend the entire time.

The next few attacks from the demon were swift and powerful, Cecil had no other choice than to dodge and duck from them.

"What's wrong? Is that all you have? Just dodging and not hitting back?"

"I expected more from you."

"I heard vessels aren't allowed to choose who to become. Whether they become an angel or demon, they have to accept Heaven's Judgement without any grudges. Angels are weak, maybe you are destined to be one of them."

Cecil was suddenly reminded of the time in the academy, when her opponent had underestimated and talked down to her in the same manner. She smiled wryly, transforming her dagger into a vine and shooting the rest of it coiling around her arm.

"Again with the same attack?"

The demon dodged.

"Not quite." she answered haughtily, her vines still shooting forward.

The vines wrapped around the couch behind the demon. Cecil clenched her jaw, gathering all the strength she had and pulling the couch forward.

The couch slid across the floor, and Cecil was thankful for her powerful vines. If she was powerful herself, she would have probably flung the couch into the air.

The demon glanced behind, leaping into the air to avoid the couch hitting against his legs. He started to gather dark magic into his hands, his eyes following Cecil around the room. She had dashed behind him in the distraction, recalling her vines back.

However, as his eyes were following her, he did not keep track of the small object that flew out from behind her. The small object, which was a rock, managed to close in on his head.

Alas, the demon still managed to block it with his dark magic. He landed on the ground and appeared irked, swatting the rock away from his face but Cecil recalled it back in time as well.

"...?!"

Just then, the demon realised he couldn't move his lower body. He glanced down, seeing that the vines had twined around his body, crawling its way up. There was a deep crease on his forehead as he struggled against the vines, however, more vines continued crawling up his body.

"You see, I'm not looking to win you in the fight," Cecil added on, her smile appearing haughty. "I'm just buying time, and restraining you."

Eventually, his entire body was restrained with vines. The only place left uncovered was his face.

"You arrogant mortal! How dare someone like you..."

The demon rambled on in frustration, feeling as if he had been thoroughly humiliated at being outplayed by a mortal woman.

Cecil disregarded him.

"At times like this, a drug that induces sleep would be helpful, I could put it into my storage ring," she mumbled to herself, frowning in concentration. "Hm, now that I think about it, it's possible for me to concoct something like that. I just need that flower, that herb and another one of those herbs."

"Don't you dare ignore me!" he barked out, a shadow covering his eyes. "Fine, I won't play around with you anymore, I'll kill you for real this time."

Cecil shot her head up.

The vines around him were engulfed in black flames.

She could feel them burning away, her face twisting in pain. Before the vines were completely burned, the demon tore away at them and surged towards her. He summoned out his sword that had an ominous dark aura around it, aiming for her chest.

Cecil avoided it.

The demon smirked. "So, it was a dodge again."

His hand lined with dark magic reached for her neck.

Cecil widened her eyes.

She wouldn't be able to dodge it in time, but at least, her vines were already reaching for the demon again.

I promised Xue I wouldn't get hurt though.

Will he get angry once again?

Cecil sighed inwardly.

I don't want to fight with him again.

All of a sudden, a flash of something bright and the silhouette of something long passed by, it grazed the hand reaching out for her neck.

"Agh! Wh-who the hell is it?!"

The demon cried out in pain, kneeling down on the ground as he clutched at his hand that was enveloped in greenish-white flames.

He stared at those flames, a shiver crawling down his spine.

He would recognise it anywhere.

"No, no...these flames...they are..."

Cecil gasped, looking at the object that flew by her onyx-coloured eyes.

It was a familiar spear that glowed with a blue hue.

"Don't you dare touch her," a familiar voice growled out. "Get your filthy hands away."

"Xue..."

The handsome ash blonde-haired man stood at the doorway, his grey eyes glinting murderously. He glanced at Cecil, his expression softening.

"Taking on a demon of his calibre on your own," he marched towards Cecil. "What were you thinking?"

"Now now," someone else spoke, placing their hand on Xue's shoulder. "No one expected our enemy to be someone like that, though...it explains why Ephert never personally keeps his eye on the auction house that much."

A man with sea-green hair that bore a resemblance to Xue revealed himself.

"Rugi?"

"Cecil Lan," Rugi glanced at her, his expression equally gentle like Xue. "You are alright, I am glad we made it here in time."

"Su-supreme..." the demon stuttered out, still kneeling on the ground. "Th-the Supreme God? But how...?"

Xue slapped the hand on his shoulder away, glaring at the demon on the ground. "Shut your damn mouth, never call me by that name again."

"Yo-you disappeared from existence...aren't you supposed to be dead?" the demon started growing pale. "How can you still be here?"

Xue disregarded the demon, walking towards Cecil. "I'll handle him, you should--"

"...!"

The two men widened their eyes in realisation at that moment, rushing towards Cecil at the same time.

Meanwhile, the demon flinched, his face drained completely of colour.

Cecil paused, only looking at them in surprise. Without warning, she felt a chill down her back and she swivelled her head to the side.

"Dead or not, should that be your concern right now?"

Xue appeared in front of her, pushing her behind his back.

Rugi arrived a second later, pushing her even further behind.

Cecil peeked her head out, her expression twisting almost immediately.

There was a new presence inside the room, and it was someone they were all familiar with. A cobalt blue-haired devil with a languid smile.

"De-demon lord!"

"So this where you were hiding, like a worm," Veau smiled lazily, his demonic eyes glinting. "One of the great generals of our demon army, you pathetic runaway."

***

《 start 》

I am glad.

This time, I made it in time.

This time, she did not get hurt.

No one can touch her.

Not even a single strand of hair on her.

《 stop 》