Looking at the stern expressions on the muscular men surrounding her, Moen briefly stayed silent before she pulled a fruit knife from behind her back and shouted viciously:
"Don't come closer, I'm very strong..."
Before she could finish her sentence.
*Crunch.*
The muscular men silently drew their two-meter-long broadswords.
The blades gleamed coldly.
They pointed them directly at Moen.
"..."
Moen glanced at their massive broadswords, then at her tiny 20-centimeter knife. She forced a smile.
"Don't come closer, I'm very weak... Believe it or not, I can perform a seppuku right here for you in seconds!"
"..."
The muscular men remained silent. They seemed unforthcoming, but only Moen’s discerning eyes could catch the blush of shyness in their gaze. She realized that these rough men were merely inexperienced when it came to speaking to a girl.
However pure-hearted they might be, there was no way they’d simply let her go.
The muscular men pressed forward step by step, forcing Moen to retreat step by step.
It's not Moen don't want to use Shadow Step to escape, but Shadow Step wasn’t true teleportation, and it couldn’t completely ignore physical barriers. Faced with this kind of encirclement, evading was incredibly difficult.
Moreover, Moen had used Shadow Step in a previous combat class. If she used it now and Ariel recognized "her", piecing together her identity from the clues...
Remembering the audacious words Ariel had said to her earlier, Moen didn’t dare to imagine the wrathful vengeance Ariel might exact upon her afterward.
It certainly wouldn’t be light punishment.
"What do I do… What do I do… If they drag me back, all my efforts will be for nothing." Sweat began to bead on Moen's forehead. Without realizing it, she had backed herself up against the icy cold wall, leaving her no room to retreat further.
With so many muscular men running upstairs, the defenses below would naturally be weaker, meaning the heroes would break through more quickly.
And when they did...
The idea of suffering such public humiliation in front of the entire school—it was unacceptable!
"Moen, junior~"
At that moment, a familiar voice rang out.
Moen froze for a moment, then widened her eyes in astonishment. Overwhelming relief surged through her chest, like the joy of being saved from certain doom.
"Senior?"
Moen glanced left and right and called out, "Where are you?"
"Don’t move."
A soft, delicate voice echoed in her ear.
Just as the muscular men began to question Moen’s seemingly nonsensical self-talk, a shadow emerged from the junction of the wall and the floor—a serpent-like tendril.
A whip.
The whip was flexible and expressive, as is it had a mind of its own. It violently attacked the nearest muscular man in the group encircling Moen.
The muscular man reacted swiftly, raising his broadsword to block. But when the seemingly supple whip touched the blade, it suddenly erupted with overwhelming force, visibly bending the muscular man's broadsword.
Under the impact of this immense power, the muscular man let out a scream and was launched backward without any resistance.
A gap appeared in the encirclement, and the whip quickly drew back, wrapping itself around Moen's waist and rapidly pulling her through the opening.
Feeling her body being dragged off balance by the whip, Moen instinctively panicked. Before she could struggle, however, she felt herself enveloped in a warm embrace.
A familiar, faint fragrance filled her nostrils. The soft sensation against her back sent her heart fluttering.
In the dim corner, Moen could feel a pair of delicate hands encircling her waist, a slightly pointed chin lightly leaning against her shoulder. Warm breath brushed against her ear, tickling her slightly.
"Junior, you’re so beautiful."
Moen heard the devilish voice of his senior whispered in his ear, and even his heart began to drift.
"It’s all because of you, Senior," Moen replied with a bitter smile. "I didn’t want to end up like this."
"Is that so? But you seem quite pleased. Standing so conspicuously in everyone’s view—are you trying to collect popularity first and then debut as the academy’s idol?"
Anna chuckled softly, "I think you’ve got potential. Look at your popularity right now—those underclassmen practically get fired up just seeing you. If you debuted now, it wouldn’t be long until your popularity even surpassed that of the student council president."
"I never want to become an idol!"
Moen covered his face and shouted:
"I’m 100% a tough guy, okay?!"
"But if you wore a little dress right now, I bet you’d look even better than me."
"..." Moen was speechless, unwilling to reply.
"Haha, alright, I’ll cut it off." Anna chuckled, patting Moen's head.
"Come on, while that brute’s distracted, let’s get out of here."
"Alright, alright, let’s go quickly." Moen nodded repeatedly, his eyes nearly tearing up with relief.
After being tormented for so long, he was finally free…
*Boom!*
Not even the first tear had a chance to fall before a familiar figure was hurled through the air, smashing into the wall beside Moen.
*Cough cough…*
Amid the rising dust, Ariel struggled to sit up amid the rubble, and with a loud wretch, spat out a mouthful of blood.
"Damn it. Even with forbidden techniques temporarily boosting my power, fighting an opponent two levels above me is still too much, huh?"
As Moen stared at her blankly, Ariel turned her head and initially looked delighted to see him. Then, her eyes darted to the senior embracing Moen, and her expression froze before shifting into fierce anger:
"Who are you? How were you faster than me?!"
"..." Moen twitched at the corner of his mouth, unsure of how to respond. Before he could say a word, the senior behind him suddenly released her hold, transforming into an elusive shadow and rushing forward.
The high priest had arrived.
"Oh, another woman?"
The high priest, gripping his bloodstained broadsword, looked at Anna as she approached, his expression morphing into a twisted grin.
Upon his chest was a massive burn-like wound, resembling the mark of intense flames, yet he seemed completely unbothered, as though to him it was as trivial as shedding a strand of hair.
Though, of course, he didn’t have any hair.
"As I expected, women are inherently vile creatures!"
With a growl, the high priest raised his broadsword again and slashed downward!
The blade glittered coldly, whipping up a fierce wind. The high priest didn’t have the slightest intention of sparing Anna, treating her as though she were just a fish that needed to be swiftly carved into two.
Under this terrifying blade arc, Anna appeared as fragile as paper.
But then, Anna’s waist twisted, her lithe body bending fluidly in an impossible feat of flexibility. Her movements eclipsed even those of professional dancers, and she nimbly evaded the high priest’s blade.
In the next instant, before the high priest had time to swing a second strike, Anna lightly stepped onto his temporarily paused broadsword. She leapt gracefully, her figure drawing an elegant curve in the air as she inverted herself and extended a finger toward the high priest’s head.
For once, her charming face carried a hint of cold resolve.
"Detonate."
Her crimson lips parted slightly.
A spell, cast without incantation, immediately coalesced at her fingertips.
In an instant, a blazing light flared, accompanied by scorching temperatures of destruction that surged toward the high priest, who had no time to defend himself.
Even with the spell’s power greatly reduced due to the omitted chant, at such close range, a detonation spell—known for its devastating force—was something no mortal flesh could hope to withstand.
And so...
Flesh splattered.
Although the high priest managed to twist his head at the last moment to dodge the fatal blow, the intense heat and flames nonetheless devoured a massive portion of his flesh. His shoulder was blown wide open, and his right hand, which had been gripping the broadsword, hung limply like a snapped branch, attached only by a shred of flesh.
