The Fake Saintess and the Elf Warrior

Before Naka could finish speaking, the wolf demons that had been sleeping in the incubation tank all opened their eyes and leaped out, breaking through the glass. Not only that, wolf demons also began to emerge from the cracks in the wall that the green wolf had broken through. Tatia and Naka were instantly surrounded by monsters attacking from all directions. Since the green wolf was the leader, it could naturally give orders to the lower-level wolf demons. That roar just now was the signal to command the other wolf demons to attack together.

"Oh no, there are too many! Tatia! Forget about the leader, break through one side of the encirclement first!"

Excluding the lead green wolf, there were roughly ten other wolf demons surrounding her. If she were surrounded in the center, she would surely die. Naka turned around and charged towards the wolf demons behind her to avoid being attacked from both sides.

But right now, Tatia only had the green wolf as her target. She ignored Naka's words and began to clash with the green wolf's claws, brandishing her longsword.

"Takia! What are you doing? Come here right now..."

When Naka rushed towards the wolf demons, she realized that the accompanying hero hadn't followed at all. A single saintess couldn't possibly fight off multiple wolf demons. Turning back, she saw that Tatsia hadn't moved an inch. Moreover, she was clearly at a disadvantage in terms of strength, pinned to the ground by the green wolf's claws, unable to move.

"Takiya!...Tch!"

Being pinned down by the green wolf offered Tatia temporary safety. Behind her was the floor, and above her were the green wolves. The other wolf demons had no opening to attack. Naka, however, wasn't so lucky. Seeing that Tatia had its leader to deal with, the other wolf demons launched a coordinated attack on Naka. This useless teammate made Naka click her tongue in frustration. She couldn't help, only managing to dodge the wolf demons' repeated attacks. A wolf demon swung at her head, and Naka ducked to avoid it. Then another wolf demon's claws came towards her right abdomen, and Naka twisted her body to the right, narrowly avoiding the blow. Without any means of attack, unable to kill the wolf demons, Naka could only try to buy time, searching for an opportunity to break through the encirclement.

If it were just one or two wolf demons, Naka's reaction speed would be more than enough to dodge all their attacks. But now, there are ten wolf demons surrounding Naka. If she were to remove her "disguise" now and revert to her Demon Queen form, she could stand there and let these wolf demons attack her for a lifetime without being harmed in the slightest. If she wanted, she could turn these wolf demons and the entire mansion to dust in the blink of an eye. But Tatia is not yet unconscious. Naka cannot use the Demon Queen's power in front of her and can only barely cope with the situation using the Saintess's abilities.

Gradually, Naka began to struggle against the relentless onslaught. Her shoulders, waist, and thighs were slashed by claws and teeth. Blood trickled from the numerous wounds. The excruciating pain, unlike anything she had experienced in twenty years, caused Naka to break out in a cold sweat. However, having endured countless even more difficult battles, Naka managed to maintain her rhythm. Even surrounded by ten wolf demons, she wasn't truly hit once. Gradually, the attacking wolf demons realized this saintess was no ordinary woman and began to slow their attacks, circling her slowly. This gave Naka a rare moment to catch her breath.

"Huff, huff, huff..."

Although Naka tried to dodge the attacks with minimal movement to conserve her energy, fighting ten against one was simply too difficult. Faced with a tenfold difference in stamina, no matter how much she reduced her movements, Naka would inevitably be the first to feel exhausted. She gasped for breath, trying to readjust her erratic breathing.

"ha!"

At that moment, Tatia suddenly exerted force with both hands, pushing away the giant claws of the green wolf that were pressing down on her, and at the same time, she kicked at the magic circle on the green wolf's chest. Although it didn't cause any damage to the green wolf, the magic circle was, after all, a weak point, and this kick forced it back a little distance. Tatia immediately rolled over and got up from the ground.

"So strong..."

Tatsia's strength was already over 40, and with Naka's magical enhancement, it reached 70. For example, Tatsia could now lift a fully grown warhorse with one hand effortlessly. But after only one exchange with this green wolf, she was instantly pinned down, utterly powerless. Just breaking free left Tatsia's arms aching. A direct confrontation was not the best strategy, so Tatsia had no choice but to create distance and look for another opportunity to attack.

All her attention was focused on the green wolf. Therefore, Tatsia didn't notice a wolf demon quietly creeping up behind her. This wolf demon appeared out of nowhere; it wasn't among the ten surrounding Naka. By the time Naka noticed, it was already close to Tatsia, raising its claws.

"Takia! Watch out behind you!"

"Huh?"

But it was too late. The moment Tatia heard Naka's voice, the wolf demon's claws pierced her right abdomen from behind.

"Takia!!!"

Naka roared her name angrily and immediately stepped forward to rescue Tatsia. However, tragedy wasn't just befalling Tatsia. In that instant, Naka let her guard down.

Wolf demons are extremely sensitive monsters. When Naka's vigilance is at its peak, even if several wolf demons circle behind her, they won't dare to make a move because they can't find an opportunity. But at this moment, Naka's attention is drawn to the injured Tatya. The wolf demons will definitely not miss this opportunity.

Just as Naka took her first step, a wolf demon leaped from behind, pinning her to the ground. It opened its gaping maw and bit down on Naka's left shoulder. Its sharp teeth easily pierced Naka's skin, shattering her shoulder blade and collarbone. A massive amount of blood gushed out.

Previously, Naka was always alone. In battle, her only concern was preserving her own life before killing her opponent. The idea of ​​protecting her teammates had never crossed her mind. But when she saw Tatya injured, for the first time in battle, she shifted her attention away from the enemy. In that instant of vulnerability, she suffered an attack she could have easily dodged.

In her saintly form, Naka's strength was only slightly greater than that of an ordinary young girl. With the heavy wolf demon pressing down on her back and her body being forcefully torn apart, she was completely unable to offer any resistance.

"Your Majesty the Demon King! Quickly remove your disguise! Hurry!"

Farn, on the other side of the cross, witnessed this scene. Naka said she had planned everything, so Farn had barely contacted her for the past month. But seeing the Demon King and his adopted daughter in danger, he could no longer remain silent. He roared at Naka to use the Demon King's power. But Naka remained motionless on the ground, not even uttering a groan.

"You...you damned thing!"

Although her abdomen was pierced, Tatsia wasn't completely incapacitated. With a final burst of strength, she swung her sword behind her, severing the wolf demon's arm. The wolf demon, writhing in pain, fled. Tatsia gritted her teeth, enduring the excruciating pain, and pulled the severed arm from her abdomen, throwing it to the ground. While not a fatal wound, her internal organs had been severely damaged. Tatsia's body gave way, and she collapsed to her knees.

"Damn it, they actually ambushed me... Thank you, Naka-nee..."

Tatsia wanted to thank Naka for reminding her and allowing her to avoid the worst possible outcome at the last second. But when she looked up, she froze.

Having turned around, Tatsia was now facing the direction she had been facing away from. She saw it. She saw Naka lying on the ground, being relentlessly torn apart; she saw the wolf demon riding on Naka's back, baring its fangs and claws. She saw the blood blossoms painted in the air by Naka's own blood. This scene made Tatsia grit her teeth, her eyes bloodshot.

"You...you bunch of beasts! Get away! Don't touch Sister Naka!"

The excruciating pain in her abdomen seemed to vanish in an instant. Taqia abruptly stood up, wildly waving her longsword, and charged straight at the wolf demons at a speed she had never achieved even in her healthy state.

Although her swordplay was haphazard, she seemed to unleash incredible power in her extreme rage, and the wolf demons dared not approach her. The wolf demon that had bitten Naka's shoulder tried to back away, but before it could move, Tatia rushed in front of it.

With a "thud," Taqia's longsword pierced through the wolf demon's skull, brain, and back of the head. She kicked the wolf demon, now a corpse, aside and quickly helped Naka up.

Naka's body now could only be described as horrific. From the massive gash in her shoulder, one could clearly see bone shattered into pieces, mingled with flesh. Her ribs, abdomen, back, and legs bore wounds no less severe than the one in her shoulder, and multiple severed arteries continued to gush blood. At Tatsia's feet lay a ditch almost entirely composed of Naka's blood.

"Sister Naka! Sister Naka! Wake up! Don't die! You mustn't die!"

Tatsia screamed hoarsely into Naka's ear. She idolized her. She wanted to repay a debt of gratitude she knew she could never fully repay. But now she lay in a pool of blood. Looking at Naka's unrecognizable state, Tatsia's eyes blurred with tears. Her tears dripped onto Naka's face.

"Ta...Qi...?"

Naka, whose eyes were tightly closed, finally opened them slowly. In a very weak voice, she uttered Tatsia's name.

"Naka-nee! Oh...that's great, that's great..."

Upon seeing that Naka had regained consciousness, Tatia was so overjoyed that she cried even harder.

In her ears, Farn was still yelling, telling her to quickly remove her disguise. Otherwise, Naka would really die.

But Naka didn't listen to Fane. She turned her eyes to look at Tatia, whose face was streaked with tears, and said softly...

"Don't... cry..."

Naka no longer had the strength to utter a third word. She managed to utter the first two words with her throat choked with blood, nearly causing her to faint again. Even so, she mustered all her strength to comfort Tatya.

Taqia nodded vigorously. She wiped away the tears Naka didn't want to see with her sleeve.

"Sister Naka, hang in there a little longer! I'll take you to the hospital after I defeat these guys! You have to hold on!"

After gently placing Naka on the ground, Tatia stood up. Gripping her longsword with a force that almost cracked the hilt, she pointed it at the green wolf and the nine wolf demons that had gathered together.

"I will not forgive you... I will never forgive you... I will cut off your heads, skin you alive, and tear out your tendons!!!"

As the saying goes, anger rises from the heart, and evil is born from the gall. The gentle, timid, and introverted Tatsia was now filled with a fury that nearly drove her to rage. She only wanted to kill the monsters that had almost killed Naka in the most brutal way possible, but even that might not quell her hatred.

Of the nine wolf demons, one seemed rather reckless, deeming the little girl no threat after dealing with Naka. Before the green wolf could give the order, it pounced on Tatia.

"Swish"

In the instant the two figures crossed paths, the wolf demon's head spun three times in the air, blood splattering in beautiful arcs. Its body collapsed to the ground like a puppet with its strings cut.

Although Tatya was furious, she hadn't lost her mind. Following Naka's instructions, she accurately predicted her opponent's attack before striking, using minimal movement, maximum speed, and the shortest distance to kill her opponent in one blow.

"One's already been beheaded. Come on, how does the next one plan to die?"

The girl coldly raised her arm, defiantly challenging the remaining wolf demons.

Although they couldn't understand Tatia's words, the meaning of her action still conveyed itself to the wolf demons. The wolf demons howled in unison, and all eight of them surrounded Tatia.

Four clearly visible holes were still visible in her right abdomen. But Tatia's movements didn't slow down; instead, they became faster and faster. What used to take a lot of effort to deal with just one wolf demon, Tatia could now handle four at the same time with ease.

Even though Tatiana's fists could fight off eight hands, her opponent still had sixteen. Gradually, the wolf demons became somewhat familiar with Tatiana's movements. Crimson scratches began to appear all over her body.

"This...this little injury is nothing compared to the pain Naka endured!"

If she had cared about her injuries, Tatia would have collapsed long ago. Right now, she's fighting purely out of sheer willpower. The more injured she is, the more determined she becomes.

A wolf demon lunged at Tatsia's left arm, and Tatsia simply stretched out her hand to let it grab her. In the instant it struck, Tatsia slashed back, seizing the wolf demon's wrist and pulling it towards herself. Her right hand, meanwhile, thrust her sword into the wolf demon's heart.

Seeing its companion killed, another wolf demon immediately roared and charged. Taqia simply used the wolf demon's corpse as a human shield, blocking the attack while leaping up, sword tip pointing downwards, using her weight and arm strength to drive the sword into the wolf demon's skull.

After a brief exchange, two more wolf demons fell to Tatsia's sword. The successive defeats of their companions, coupled with Tatsia's performance exceeding her physical capabilities, made the remaining wolf demons sense something was amiss, and they ceased their attacks.

Not yet satisfied with the fight, Tatia brandished her longsword and continued shouting insults.

"Come on! You beasts, are you afraid of anything?!"

No matter how much she cursed, the wolf demons remained unmoved, only letting out low growls as they looked at her. Just as she was wondering what was going on, Taqia suddenly felt herself lose her balance and almost fell to the ground.

"W-what happened?"

Her lips were now deathly pale, and she was drenched in cold sweat. Her body's instinctive reaction seemed to be giving her a glimpse of danger.

"Could it be that these monsters' intention is..."

Although it's unclear why Tatia doesn't seem to fear the pain, a wound is a wound. Blood continues to flow. No matter how much she tries to ignore the pain, she ultimately can't overcome the weakness caused by blood loss. The wolf demons have stopped attacking, intending to wear Tatia down.

Tatia realized that the situation was dire. If the fighting continued, even if she wasn't killed by them, she would eventually bleed to death.

"No, we can't afford to get entangled with these small fry any longer... Sister Naka said that as long as we take down the leader..."

The real targets weren't these nameless minions. Tatsia shifted her focus from the wolf pack to the enormous green wolf. From the beginning, it was its wolf minions that had been attacking. The green wolf had simply stood there, watching without moving. Was it because there was no need for it to intervene personally? Tatsia didn't know. But its nonchalant demeanor displeased her. She remembered that the green wolf was a monster her mother had sacrificed herself for. From the very beginning, Tatsia had no intention of letting it go.

Both Tatia and Naka, severely wounded, were drawing closer to death with every passing second. Tatia knew she couldn't afford to fight a war of attrition. She had to end this quickly.

"ha!!"

She raised her sword and charged towards the wolf demons. This time, however, she completely ignored the monsters in front of her, enduring their attacks head-on, and went straight for the green wolf behind them.

"Go to hell!"

She leaped forward, raising her longsword to strike the magic circle on the green wolf's chest.

But at that moment, the green wolf opened its mouth.

Instead of biting, it gathered a dark green magical energy in its mouth, instantly forming a huge sphere of light. Unlike ordinary wolf demons, the green wolf, as the leader, possessed ranged attack magic.

"No, that's not good!"

By the time Tatia realized something was wrong, it was too late. Unable to dodge while suspended in mid-air, she had no choice but to temporarily retract her slashing motion and switch to a full-force defensive stance. At the same time, the light bullet from the green wolf's mouth fired.

The moment the light beam struck Tatia, it triggered a massive explosion. The blast overturned all the equipment in the laboratory; the ceiling, floor, and walls were already mangled beyond recognition, with shards of brick flying everywhere.

Even the wolf demons lost their footing. Taqia, directly struck by the attack, flew far away like a leaf swaying in the wind, then crashed heavily to the ground. After rolling a few times, she lay still.

While she could barely endure the previous battle with sheer willpower, that was no longer an option. No matter how much she tried to ignore it, the excruciating pain coursing through her body, enough to drive anyone mad, rendered Tatsia completely immobile. Her longsword and her armor had been blasted to smithereens by the energy blast. The power of that energy blast far exceeded Tatsia's expectations. She was simply fortunate not to have died instantly. Even if she could stand, she could no longer fight.

Tatsia didn't understand why her mother would abandon the family, but after this blow, she felt a sense of relief. Such a powerful attack—even her father in his prime might not have survived unscathed. Tatsia conceded defeat. If this experiment's results truly came from Vilia, then Vilia was still the mother Tatsia held dear, a mother she could be proud of even in hell.

The remaining wolf demons, along with those that had rushed from elsewhere after sensing the commotion, quickly gathered in the now-ruined laboratory. Originally there were only six, but shortly after Tatsia collapsed, the number swelled to over twenty. Seeing that the once vibrant Tatsia was now incapacitated, the wolf demons drooled and gradually approached her.

"Hahaha, it seems fate has decreed that I'm destined to die here..."

As the wolf demons slowly approached her from all sides, Tatia finally despaired. With her last remaining strength, she inch by inch moved closer to where Naka had fallen. As she approached, tears streamed down her face, and she repeatedly apologized to Naka.

"I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry, Sister Naka... Because I acted rashly and didn't follow your instructions, I've dragged you into this..."

One of the conditions Naka had set when they teamed up was that she would obey Naka's commands in everything. Looking back now, she realized that when Naka initially asked her to help break through the enemy lines, she hadn't listened at all. This had led to their current crushing defeat. Tatya felt nothing but endless self-blame and regret.

She fell not far from Naka and quickly reached her side. She took Naka's hand and closed her eyes peacefully. Being able to die alongside Naka in the end was enough for her.

In the darkness, scenes from Tatsia's birth to the present day replayed before her eyes. She never imagined her life would end here. She still wanted to complete her mission, return home, and see her father. Now, she could only silently repeat one sentence in her heart.

"Dad, please forgive your useless daughter who left before you..."

"..."

Naka beside her seemed to whisper something. Tatsia didn't hear it at first. But soon, her body underwent a strange change.

The intense pain was rapidly subsiding. Her blurred consciousness was slowly returning. Tatsia opened her eyes and saw that Naka's palm was radiating a white light, and a warm current was spreading throughout Tatsia's body through her palm.

"Sister Naka! You..."

Tatya knew perfectly well what Naka was doing: she was dragging her life hanging by a thread, casting a final healing spell on herself.

Basic healing magic can only treat superficial wounds. However, Tatsia's injuries, with almost all her bones broken and her internal organs severely damaged, were healing rapidly. This was because Naka was no longer using basic healing magic, but rather intermediate healing magic that could quickly heal any injury except for severed limbs and decapitations. The bloody hole in Tatsia's abdomen, the scratches on her body, and the damage from being hit by the light blast were all healing quickly.

However, the magic consumption of intermediate-level magic is naturally much higher than that of beginner-level magic. Naka, on the verge of death, disregarded her own life and, in the final moments, saved her last strength for Tatya.

Tatya's tear ducts burst open again, and she cried as she tried to stop Naka.

"Sister Naka! No need... Don't help me anymore... You should heal yourself and then abandon me to run for your life! You don't need to save someone like me who's good for nothing and only makes things worse..."

No matter what Tatia said, Naka's magic showed no signs of weakening. She tried to pull her hand back, but Naka, with an unknown strength, gripped Tatia's wrist tightly, preventing her from breaking free. Seeing that Tatia had inexplicably regained her strength, the wolf demons immediately stopped to observe the situation. Thus, having gained ample time, Tatia finally stood up again.

Naka only released her hand when she regained full strength. At this moment, Naka closed her eyes again, seemingly losing consciousness once more.

Looking at Naka, who had risked her life to save her, Tatsia muttered to herself.

"Why...why did you save me? Why did you trust me so much...How can I ever repay you, Sister Naka...No matter how I think about it, I can never repay your expectations and kindness...But now, I know that Sister Naka definitely didn't save me because she wanted to see me give up on myself and accept my fate..."

A fighting spirit rekindled in Tatsia's eyes. Even though the longsword Naka had bought for her was destroyed, she remembered that she still had her last weapon.

She suddenly pulled out from behind her the broken sword her mother had left her—the one that couldn't even wound a wild boar, the one Naka had called trash that should be thrown away, yet which had always been inseparable from Tatya. Though it wasn't a weapon to rely on, as long as it was in her hand, Tatya wouldn't easily give it up again.

"Come on, monsters!"

Tatia's courage enabled her to perform a miracle when she faced an invincible foe once again.

The old, worn-out iron sword suddenly emitted a dazzling light, like the sun right before their eyes. Tatsia and the wolf demons instinctively shielded their eyes. When the light faded, the sword in Tatsia's hand was no longer the rusty, dilapidated weapon it once was.

"This, this is..."

The sight before her was truly unbelievable. Tatsia rubbed her eyes. No matter how she looked, the sword in her hand was no longer the familiar, worn-out weapon, but a two-meter-long greatsword, its blade gleaming with a chilling light, adorned with red, blue, and yellow gems and jade. This sight could no longer be described as worn-out. If she had to choose, one word would come to Tatsia's mind at that moment.

"The Holy Sword..."

The light emitted by the greatsword seemed to enrage the wolf demons. The twenty-odd wolf demons that had been observing her suddenly swarmed forward and attacked Tatia.