In a certain place fifteen years ago, there was a fierce monster... What? What monster? Oh, don't interrupt me. Just know that it was very powerful, and a snap of its fingers could take care of a hundred of you.

Because it had been dormant for a long time, when the monster woke up, it naturally wanted to make its presence known. So, it expanded its territory by a third and casually destroyed its neighbor's house. Accidentally, it also killed quite a few people, maybe eight or nine hundred or even more.

But because this kind of behavior was considered illegal construction and expansion, it should have been forcibly demolished. Therefore, the Temple Church urban management and demolition team you have been eagerly waiting for appeared.

So, the urban management team's knights started reasoning with the monster, but unfortunately, their arguments were no match for the monster's strength. They were defeated and humiliated, and ended up fleeing back, with even their captain, or should I say the captain of the urban management team, staying there with the monster out of shame... It's probably turned into good fertilizer by now, right?

But you know, when the urban management team can't reason with you, they resort to force. So it was the demolition team's turn to act. However, those guys are usually busy with infighting, and there aren't many of them who actually focus on practicing magic. After working for half a day, their progress was still slower than the monster's construction.

Finally, the demolition team leader and the urban management team discussed and decided to use a forbidden curse-level necromantic dark magic array that they found during the demolition of a dead necromancer's home. They planned to combat the monster with poison and violence.

The problem was that building a forbidden curse-level magic array required a pure luminary essence as a central sacrifice. Coincidentally, there was a priestess in the demolition team at that time.

Don't misunderstand, she was just an ordinary person, her magic abilities were mediocre at best. However, she happened to be pregnant, and it was confirmed that the child in her belly had a pure luminary essence.

Speaking of which, although the elders of the immortality council were terrible at magic, two of them were exceptional at dark magic, and somehow they managed to pull through.

By the way, that child is fifteen years old this year. So, what do you think happened to the priestess in the end?

...

"I... Damn, you..."

In the swamp cabin, Aya's eye twitched uncontrollably after listening to Angelica's story, her emotions complicated.

Just as expected, if it were the church's style, even defeating a dark magic user would be enthusiastically talked about for half a day, with various records and promotions, seizing the opportunity to recruit more believers. So how could they not boast about successfully sealing the dragon soul, such an incredible existence?

But if the one who finally sealed the dragon wasn't their divine magic but an inheritance from a black magic user they had pursued, and innocent lives were sacrificed as part of the ritual, if this news got out, the church would immediately become a target, attacked by all sides, and drowned in a deluge of criticism from various fronts.

"Well... I never... expected this." Etras also had a complex expression on his face.

How should he put it? Although the means used were truly despicable, they did manage to prevent the dragon's resurrection. Moreover, given the circumstances, it seemed the church didn't have many other options. After all, if the dragon were to awaken, it would evolve into a global crisis. They really had no right to criticize them.

"Hmph, cloaked in light but harboring darkness? The church truly is a group of corrupt individuals. One day, I will expose them." - Some pretentious person.

"Why did you suddenly reconnect? And why did your chuunibyou [middle school syndrome] return with you... Please maintain your profound state a bit longer for the sake of my sanity!"

Aya's face was full of frustration. Just when she finally had some peace, this annoyance came back again. "Laughable. How could a little setback possibly make me stop moving forward? To become stronger, one must face challenges. As the saying goes, 'Thirty years on the east bank of the river, thirty years on the west bank. Do not underestimate the poor youth!' Give me three years and watch me smash your dog head! I will conquer the heavens sooner or later!"

Eno rested one hand on her cheek and pointed coldly at Aya with her index finger. "Well, hello Xiao and goodbye Yan. Even in thirty years, you can't beat me... And who was it that said they would smash whose dog head? Come over here, I'll turn you into a pig head right now!"

As Aya jumped up and rolled up her sleeves, Etras stood up silently. She hit both of them with a punch on their heads, forcefully silencing the two. Then she turned to Anjelica and asked, "Alright, we understand the situation. Are you suggesting that we find a way to defeat the half-dead dragon beneath our feet?"

Alright, let's organize our thoughts. According to Anjelica, witches don't exist at all. The only purpose of going to the Task Tower to accept missions is to attract powerful adventurers to deal with the suppressed dragon's soul in the marsh.

In other words, we end up having to slay a dragon... Wait, slay a dragon?

Aya: "Oh my god!"

...

Beacon City, Mothra's home.

"I finished the story. Wasn't it an interesting story?" The girl picked up the tea cup brought by Mothra and drank it all in one gulp, sitting back on the bed with satisfaction.

"...," Anvi remained silent, bowing her head.

Although she wasn't a devout religious follower, she easily identified with the teachings of the Temple Church and its stance of righteousness and justice.

It's hard to immediately comprehend it when something you've always believed in is shattered so easily.

"Alright, the story is over. Let's get back to the main topic. Besides this, does the garrison have any other information about the castle? Not enough to satisfy my curiosity," the girl shook the documents in her hand and shook her head dissatisfied.

The documents contained records of people entering and leaving Beacon City related to the castle. Most of them were about the daily transportation of supplies, with no important information regarding defense or key personnel.

"...The garrison doesn't have those things. If you want them, only Governor Alex in Beacon City would know," Anvi said expressionlessly.

"And Governor Alex is highly loyal to the royal family. He would never reveal any information to you," she added.

"Don't worry, Governor Alex has a great knight by his side. It won't be easy to deal with him... If things get too noisy, it won't be good," the girl waved her hand and laughed lightly.

"Indeed, I should have started directly from the castle. Let me think about how to infiltrate... Mothra, suddenly," the girl released her control over Mothra's shadow vines, "Is your father... at home?"

"He... he's not here... He went out this morning for a business meeting..." Mothra's voice trembled uncontrollably, and Anvi even doubted if he could stand without the support of the vines.

"Oh, I see. Is there a way to call him back? I... want to talk to him," the girl's eyes narrowed into slits.

Mothra was filled with terror, hastily replying, "There... there's a family seal in the house. I can write a letter to make him come back immediately...".

"Fool!" Anvi couldn't help but curse as she watched him hurriedly run away, feeling a sense of foreboding when she looked at the girl.

"Nene, Knight Sister, what do you think... about the noble merchant families in Beacon City being massacred by unknown assassins, with no one in the family surviving? The illegitimate daughter of the family has no one to rely on and is taken in by the kind princess to work and support herself. How's the plot? Isn't it inspiring and full of positive energy?"

"Well, even though the Archbishop told me not to kill easily, this is for the completion of the mission he assigned to me. He shouldn't have anything to say, right?"

The girl licked her thin lips, her smile carrying a hint of killing intent.

...

"So, what do you think? About the dragon slaying."

By the flower bed outside the cottage, Etras leaned on the wooden fence and lightly stepped on the only patch of pure land in the marsh known as the "sacred spot," glancing at Aya and Ino.

According to Angelica, the seal on the Undead Black Magic Array is already on the verge of collapse. If this continues, it won't be long before the events of fifteen years ago repeat themselves, and this time, the dragon soul that has been gathering dark elements through the magic array for fifteen years will definitely be even more powerful.

Even in the most optimistic scenario, the power of the Magic Dragon would surpass that of an ordinary Dragon – after all, it was a being that could crush Holy Rank while still alive.

In other words, even with a Holy Rank intervention at this moment, there is no guarantee of success.

"This mission has already surpassed the limits..." Aya murmured quietly. How did we end up with another troublesome matter? I'm just here to make money!

And dragon slaying? Slaying the damn dragon? It's obviously dragon slaying the dragonling over there!

Although Aya didn't know if there was any kinship between herself and the dragons in the Devildom, she knew that an adult magic dragon was at least on the same level as a golden dragon. It would be a rhythm of being pressed down and rubbed into the ground if she, a minor, were to fight with it.

Even if it only has one percent of its original power from ten thousand years ago... it wouldn't be a problem to deal with a minor who isn't even Holy Rank, right?

As for teammates... what? Does that really exist?

It's not that Aya is belittling them, but based on the two people beside her... Etras is passable, with his full-power attack, could probably tickle the magic dragon, and Ino is basically just cannon fodder, at best a no-lagging weakling.

With such a lineup... it's like throwing a fresh-faced newbie into the Demon King's lair. Well, I'm probably around level thirty as a solo player, Etras... a level twenty gunner? As for Ino... even without any bias, a level five spearman... it really can't get any higher than that.

Okay, looking at it this way, I'm still quite strong, but what's the difference between level thirty and level five against a max-level boss! Even if it's bigger or smaller, squashing ants is a piece of cake!

"Fight! We must definitely fight! This battle will be the glory of the future dragon slaying hero!" The chuunibyou teenager clenched his fist and said loudly.

"Go home and go to bed..." Aya slapped him on the forehead.