Volume 3 Chapter 204

Volume 3 + Chapter 204: Provocation

Xia Yi was in the cave, but no matter how hard she searched, she couldn’t find the Knight Princess.

However, from the cave entrance suddenly came an eerie sound, as if someone had stepped on pebbles, producing a faint noise.

Because it was abnormally quiet at this moment, that subtle sound echoed inside the cave, amplifying over and over.

The black-haired loli turned her head toward the cave entrance and saw a figure standing there, motionless, staring at her.

“Wh-who’s there!?”

Xia Yi was so startled that she almost screamed, goosebumps rising all over her body.

“Lady Knight Princess, is that you?”

“……”

“Don’t scare me like that! Say something! Even if you tell me it’s just a prank, that’s fine…!”

Xia Yi’s voice had started to tremble.

To be honest, she really disliked this kind of frightening stuff.

Just like facing a cockroach—whether or not you can kill it has nothing to do with how disgusting it feels.

“Lady Knight Princess?” Xia Yi asked tentatively.

“……”

The mysterious figure remained silent, ignoring Xia Yi’s words completely.

In other words, this was someone else, not the Knight Princess.

If it were the Knight Princess, she would have replied long ago!

“You bastard, how dare you scare me—I’ll make sure you regret it!!”

Xia Yi raised her hand, channeling the magic power within her body. Without chanting, she directly released an attack spell.

“Flame Arrow!”

Fire elements quickly gathered in front of her, forming into a flaming arrow that tore through the air, shooting toward the cave entrance.

The fire’s glow illuminated the entire cave. At that moment, she saw the person standing at the cave entrance—and her expression changed dramatically.

“No way! How is this possible!!”

The person who appeared in Xia Yi’s sight was Hill.

She never imagined that her student would also appear in this subspace—and even find this place in the middle of the night.

“Not good!”

She immediately cast another chantless spell, unleashing ice-elemental magic. An ice wall appeared in front of Hill, forming a shield to protect her.

The flaming arrow collided with the ice wall, and the two forces canceled each other out.

In an instant, the cave was filled with mist, disrupting visibility.

“Hill, were you dragged into this subspace from Laurel Tree Academy too? Why did you come here to find me without saying a word?”

Xia Yi swung her arm, parting the mist in front of her as she approached Hill.

“……”

Hill gave no explanation or response, but instead suddenly turned and ran in the opposite direction.

“Hill, why are you running!? It’s me!! Your— junior sister!!”

Xia Yi almost blurted out “your teacher,” but thankfully held back at the last moment and changed her words.

But what was baffling was that Hill completely ignored Xia Yi’s words and was focused solely on escaping.

If she just stood by and did nothing, Hill would disappear from her line of sight.

If that happened, finding Hill again in this subspace would be like looking for a needle in a haystack.

“This won’t do. I have to catch up to her now!”

In this emergency, Xia Yi made a decision—she absolutely could not let Hill run around this subspace unchecked. That would lead to a disaster.

If she was unlucky enough to run straight into the actual body of a mythical beast, it would be certain death.

She had to bring Hill back.

So Xia Yi chose to leave the cave and give chase.

“Hill, come back here!!”

This subspace was like a small world. Xia Yi didn’t know its exact size or where its boundaries lay.

The area where she and the Knight Princess had been seemed normal, not much different from a forest in the outside world—except the sky looked strange, as if it had been scorched by fire.

But in the distance, things were very different.

Although it should have been night, Xia Yi could see flames that never went out far away, like the eternal inferno in a myth, a place where ordinary life could never survive.

Hill was running straight toward that direction—and that direction was far too dangerous.

Xia Yi simply couldn’t understand Hill’s purpose. Why would she do this?

“Stop running! Stop!! Can’t you hear my voice? Senior Sister Hill!!”

But no matter how Xia Yi called from behind, all she saw was Hill’s back as she ran.

This made Xia Yi a little angry. How could she be so reckless at a time like this?

So she exploded with speed in a short burst.

Even though Xia Yi’s Silver Dragon royal bloodline was being suppressed, leaving her in human form, there was still a trace of draconic power remaining. Just that alone made her physical abilities far beyond those of a normal human.

With just a little effort, Xia Yi crossed in front of Hill, blocking her path and stopping her student.

“That’s enough!”

Xia Yi spread her arms, speaking with a trace of anger.

“The Knight Princess is with me right now. We have to go back. You can’t act alone anymore.”

“……”

Hill remained silent, refusing to speak or give any indication.

“Don’t worry, Senior Sister Hill. It’ll be much safer if we stick together. And with the Knight Princess there—she’s very reliable. We can look out for each oth—”

Xia Yi’s words cut off abruptly.

At that moment, something completely unexpected happened.

Hill’s body was suddenly pierced by a blade-like mass of murky gas. Scarlet blood flowed uncontrollably, dripping onto the ground. Her heart stopped beating in an instant, and the light vanished from her eyes.

As the gas withdrew from her body, she collapsed like a puppet with its strings cut.

Xia Yi’s pupils shrank.

Just a second ago, everything had been fine. The next, Hill had suffered a fatal attack.

This ambush came without any warning—there wasn’t even the slightest fluctuation of killing intent, leaving Xia Yi unable to sense it.

Its arrival was so sudden.

Then, a black vortex appeared on the ground, swallowing Hill whole.

“Hahahaha, hahahaha!!”

A harsh laugh echoed from within the vortex. Then the black aura gathered into a mass, writhing, and transformed into a humanoid figure.

It was none other than the Apostle of Calamity, Witch Saphia.

“Xia Yi, how does it feel to watch your companion die right before your eyes~?”

The Witch Saphia revealed a cruel smile, her words continuously provoking Xia Yi’s rage.

“Do you think her death is the end of it? Oh no, it’s far from over. I’ll keep tormenting her soul until it completely dissipates—until she dies without peace!”