[Target identified, initiating retrieval…]


    The Dark Knight lunged toward her with a chilling aura. Despite his massive frame, his speed was on apletely different level from that of ogres or trolls.


    <em>ng!!!</em>


    Instinctively, Evangeline drew Red Ribbon to protect the nearby mercenary and attempted a counterattack. However, the Dark Knight struck her with a kick without hesitation, sending her flying.


    Despite being an ancient dragon, she was still only a three-year-old child, after all. Her opponent, on the other hand, was well-versed in how to inflict critical damage against powerful foes.


    <em>Boom!!!</em>


    She continued to roll on the ground. Aftering to a halt, the Dark Knight grabbed her by the neck and mmed her into a tree. Crimson smoke drifted ominously from his glowing red eyes.


    “<em>Ugh… Krrk…</em>”


    She gritted her teeth, desperately trying to escape his grasp.<strong>[Explosion!!]</strong>


    <em>Boom!!!</em>


    With a short incantation, rather than the standard lengthy one, a sudden explosion sted the Dark Knight backward. The power of constetions wasn’t as overpowered as the power of the Abyss in the sense that it was the same strength despite its environment—both forces operated under a system where the weaker energy would be overpowered by the stronger one when they collided.


    The knight, pushed back by the massive explosion, steadied his sword once again and resumed his stance, ready to charge at her.


    “It hurts…”


    Her species'' characteristics granted her the ability to grow stronger at an incredible rate, but she stillcked the critical knowledge necessary to resist the malice of her enemy. In essence, she wasn’t even able to utilize more than half of her potential.


    The intangible emotion of loathing for the opponent. Evangeline suppressed her trembling, swallowing down her tears.


    “<em>Ahhh!!!</em>”


    Screams echoed from all directions. Though the mercenaries were well-prepared to avoid aplete massacre, this sudden ambush of monsters—including high-ranking ones like ogres—was far from an ideal conflict.


    “This can’t be happening… Why is there an ogre here?!”


    “Retreat! Everyone, retreat!!”


    As the screams of chaos reverberated, Evangeline curled into a fetal position, hugging her shaking body tightly as she bit down hard to endure the situation.


    [The outside world is a frightening ce. No matter how strong you are, if youck the courage or wisdom to navigate the hard times, you’ll eventually get hurt. Be afraid, and think carefully. Evangeline, that’s all I can teach you as your father.]


    [If someone dares to harm you… then—]


    Even if it meant tearing the world apart, Davey would destroy them. He wouldn’t let politics or anything else hold him back. However, despite his fierce promise, he couldn’t help but tread cautiously in his instruction. While he had put in great effort when teaching her swordsmanship and magic, he hadn’t been able to aplish one crucial thing.


    Evangeline, like Darian, was his precious child. As a result, he couldn’t bring himself to be too harsh with her. It was amon mistake for first-time parents—failing to sternly discipline a child when necessary. He knew there was nothing harder for a parent than reprimanding their child.


    “No! They can''t hurt you!!”


    Clenching her teeth, Evangeline forced her trembling body under control. Yet, as the malice surrounding her grew stronger and the cries of agony intensified, she gradually lost strength.  ???????Ε??


    Evangeline showed a great capacity for empathy. The fear, pain, and despair the mercenaries disyed—the very same mercenaries who had shown her kindness just moments before—now felt like a burden for her.


    “<em>Ugh… Ahhh!!!</em>”


    Eventually, one of the lines holding back the ogres broke. An ogre snatched a mercenary who was exposed by the gap. She tried to save him, but the Dark Knight pressed her down with his de, emanating a suffocating malice.


    “<em>Huh… sniff…</em>”


    She trembled uncontrobly as tears welled up in her eyes.


    “I… I don’t want to die!!”


    “Damn it! Get as many hooked chains ready as you can!!”


    “Stop moving like slugs! We’re professionals! No matter what, we finish the job!”


    In the chaos of screams, another mercenary fell, blood spraying from his wounds.


    <em>Grit… Grit…</em>


    Evangeline lowered her head, grinding her teeth as she pushed against the Dark Knight’s de with all her might.


    [Resistance is futile. There’s no use in fighting back.]


    The knight continued to press down on her. His sword began to shimmer with sword energy—it was an Aura de, the hallmark of a Master, though his was imbued with the power of constetions.


    <em>Screeech!!!</em>


    As one of her knees was about to touch the ground, a mercenary desperately screamed.


    “I… I don’t want to die!!”


    Her eyes snapped open. At the same time, the Dark Knight chose to go for a decisive blow. But then, an immense, formless energy erupted from Evangeline’s body, forcing the knight to falter.


    The battle’s atmosphere shifted.


    The knight paused mid-swing, his glowing eyes narrowing in shock as he looked at her. Evangeline slowly lifted her head. Her normally clear eyes had darkened into a deep violet color, with her pupils now slit like those of a dragon.


    <em>Grrrr…</em>


    A low, guttural growl reverberated along with the immense energy from her body.


    <em>Boom!!!</em>


    When the Dark Knight swung his sword wielded with sword energy, Evangeline raised her left arm and blocked it with her forearm.


    It was conventional wisdom that blocking a sword infused with sword energy was impossible, but the reality stated otherwise—she had stopped it effortlessly with a hand. Or rather, it wasn’t her bare hands; her arm was now covered in ck, scale-like patterns.


    <em>- Grrr…</em>


    Although the growling sound wasn’ting from her, the very air groaned and quaked as if it were feeling fearful.


    <em>ng! tter!</em>


    Sensing that something had gone terribly wrong, the Dark Knight tried to pull back his sword.


    However—


    Red Ribbon shook violently in her hand, letting out a great flow of crimson energy. It wasn’t simple de energy—it was sword energy, the symbol of a Master.


    It was Aura de. @@novelbin@@


    <em>Slice!</em>


    Then, the authority of Red Ribbon—the authority to sever the living—ripped through him. The attack was unavoidable; the sword energy had already spread across the entire area as she swung the de.


    This was the authority of Red Ribbon after Davey’s enhancements, the sword energy release that erased the time to sever the entire space. Even from several meters away, the de immediately cleaved the Dark Knight cleanly in two.


    <em>Slice! Slice!</em>


    Evangeline did a roughbat roll, her piercing gaze locked on the knight as she charged. He tried to resist against her newly transformed strength, but with his arms, legs, and body already bisected, there was nothing he could do.


    <em>Slice!</em>


    Another wave of crimson de energy surged, cutting through everything in its path—trees, ogres, and finally, the head of the Dark Knight. His armored helm, filled with non-human muscle, flew through the air.


    Yet he wasn''t dead.


    Though critically injured, he still had an unnatural vitality sustaining him. He could still recover, if given enough time.


    Just as the Dark Knight prepared to regenerate his body—


    <em>Ssss! Crack!!</em>


    Evangeline drove Red Ribbon into the ground. A blue sword in her hand began to spread de energy in a wave around her, enveloping the area in a dome.


    <em>Ssss…</em>


    This was the authority of Blue Ribbon—the authority to sever the dead. It was a shocking disy, considering that no one but Davey had ever fully activated her ability.


    The power pierced through the Dark Knight''s very essence, reducing him to nothing more than scattered dust.


    “<em>Hah… Hah…</em>”


    Breathing heavily, Evangeline sank to her knees. The mercenaries, who had been fighting and running away desperately against the ogres and trolls, froze as they saw the monstrous creatures decapitated.


    “Is… Is it dead?”


    The mercenaries who had been staring at the beheaded monsters turned their gaze to where their most dangerous foe, the ck Knight, had been. But all they saw was Evangeline kneeling with her sword, tears streaming down her face.


    They figured she was crying out of fear. After all, an enemy like the ck Knight was far stronger and more intimidating than the ogres—an enemy like him was too much for a young girl to handle. They all had sympathetic looks towards her. They all knew that the forest could have all sorts of dangerous monsters, but a ck Knight was beyond anything they had ever expected.


    “Damn it! Of all ces, I never thought I’d see a ck Knight outside some ancient castle ruins. Just our damned luck!”


    “Wait! Vanessa! Where’s Vanessa?!”


    “Damn it! Some trolls seemed to have slipped past us! Those bastards… Were they nning to kidnap those with mana?!”


    ck Knights referred to undead knight monsters often found haunting old ruins. The mercenaries had mistaken the Dark Knight to be one of those standard enemies.


    But Evangeline knew otherwise.


    She clearly recalled what he had said when she met his gaze—


    <em>- Target identified.</em>


    While the mercenaries celebrated their survival, Evangeline wept bitterly. It wasn’t because she was scared; it was because she had figured out something about herself. The enormously barbaric nature hidden within her had briefly awakened, making her realize that she was fundamentally different from her father.


    In other words, she knew she wasn’t Davey’s biological daughter.


    “Red Ribbon…” she murmured through her sobs.


    [Eva, don’t cry… Red Ribbon is sad too…]


    “Red Ribbon… Am I not daddy’s daughter?”


    Red Ribbon went silent before responding.


    [Eva is daddy’s daughter!]


    But theforting words no longer sufficed. If she truly was his daughter, she couldn’t fathom what her true form might be. She knew humans gave birth to humans, yet Evangeline realized she was not human—she was something greater.


    Meanwhile, elsewhere in the continent.


    Davey stood amidst the scattered remains of armored knights identical to those that had attacked Evangeline. Unlike her situation, they numbered in the thousands.


    <em>Crack!</em>


    Rinne plunged a golden spear into the neck of a living armored knight before speaking calmly.


    “Master Davey, execution protocolplete.”


    “We can’t let them interfere with Evangeline’s mission. I’ll deal with them myself.”


    With that, Davey stomped on a still-twitching armored knight. The mercenary group had unknowingly survived yet another dire crisis before it could even reach them.<blockquote>


    ChubbyCheeks & FriedNook''s Thoughts


    <strong>Editorb''s Thoughts</strong>


    Fun fact! I was looking into constetions to help decide how we should trante/edit these new enemies, and found some interesting background. ording to Wikipedia: The English word <em>zodiac </em>derives from <em>zōdiacus,</em> the Latinized form of the Ancient Greek <em>zōdiakòs kyklos</em> (ζ?διακ?? κ?κλο?) meaning "cycle or circle of little animals." So I guess it makes sense that a lot of the zodiac signs are actually cute animals!


    I''m an Aquarius :3</blockquote>