You've found the Gusha-hime Knight, so put your hair up in a bun!

Despite undergoing countless stealth training sessions, his heartbeat remained at a consistently stable frequency regardless of location or time.

But why, why did it happen after hearing just a few words—

Ruby gritted her teeth, her violet eyes filled with shame and anger. She braced her limp arms against Shiloh's chest and then forcefully pushed him away.

"Hiss—why are you using so much force?"

Although Ruby didn't use much force, Shiloh's shoulder was injured, and the pain from touching the wound made him gasp.

Ruby opened her mouth, looking at the slightly pained expression on Shiloh's face, and her feelings were complicated.

A moment later, Ruby turned her head slightly, her snow-white hair covering the blush on her face, and whispered, "I'm just... not used to being so close to people."

"Sister Ruby..."

Xiaohua gently blew on the wound on Xiluo's shoulder, pouting and looking at Ruby with a somewhat aggrieved expression.

Ruby felt even more flustered under that gaze.

"Um, I'm really sorry."

After waving her hands haphazardly in the air, Ruby sincerely bowed her head and apologized.

"It's alright, it was my oversight."

Despite saying this, Shiloh still mischievously raised his hand and ruffled Ruby's little head.

Ruby's eyes widened. Such an intimate gesture gave her goosebumps. She instinctively wanted to push away Shiloh's arm, but her willpower stopped her.

Shiloh stroked Ruby's arm, the very arm that was injured.

Ruby felt that the other person's behavior was full of wicked humor, but when she squinted at Shiloh's expression, she didn't notice anything unusual.

After struggling with her inner turmoil, Ruby could only blame it on Shiloh's habitual way of treating the girls around him.

Well, it's just his habit, nothing to worry about...

After mentally preparing herself, Ruby casually distanced herself from Shiloh and asked, "Are you really sure you can handle this on your own? The opponent is a dark mage of the [Star Rank], and you're injured."

"It shouldn't be a problem to stall for a while. Once you're out, fire this signal flare, and someone will come to help me."

Shiloh handed a flare gun to Ruby and said solemnly, "The most important thing now is to protect Little Flower."

Ruby trembled upon hearing this, looked at the little flower in Xi Luo's arms who was trembling but was so sensible that she didn't make the slightest sound of fear, and nodded heavily.

Ruby took the small flower from Shiloh and hugged her tightly, asking, "My stealth ability can conceal my presence, but when I break the barrier, it will cause quite a commotion. At that time, things might change."

Xi Luo raised an eyebrow, nodded thoughtfully, and said, "Don't worry, I will take action when the time comes."

After the two finished their brief discussion, Xi Luo's ears twitched. He heard a chilling rustling sound coming from the floor inside the room, as if something was crawling.

"Let's act now, without delay."

Knowing that the other party had already begun to send spies into the house, Shiloh stood up, rubbed his shoulder which had almost recovered, silently counted to three, and then suddenly activated Ruby's concealment spell.

The moment Shiloh's figure was revealed, on the dark floor of the room, some kind of "creature" that blended perfectly into the shadows instantly turned its spearhead and shot out as sharp arrows!

Bang! !

Xiluo's figure flashed by, but the arrow that missed its target pierced another wall of the house, leaving it riddled with holes and letting in the cold night wind, adding a chilling killing intent to the silence.

Shiloh rushed out of the door, calmly dodging the attacks coming from behind, moving nimbly through the air like a swallow.

Dodging an arrow, Shiloh swiftly reached out and caught it, wanting to examine it closely.

But the next moment, the "arrow" softened instantly, transforming into a bloodthirsty worm that tried to burrow into Shilo's flesh.

Shiloh's hands were wrapped in cleansing magic, which was equivalent to wearing gloves.

Seeing the disgusting appearance of the "arrow", Xi Luo frowned, and then ignited a raging fire, wanting to burn it to ashes.

But something unexpected happened: under the scorching heat of the flames, the worm seemed completely unaffected, and even became more frenzied.

Shiloh threw the worm to the ground and then stomped on it until it burst.

The dark sorcerer, who was hiding in the shadows, seemed to think that victory was already in his grasp, so he did not rush to launch an attack.

"Heir of the Wells family, you were so arrogant this afternoon. It's a pity that you will soon become nourishment for this [field]."

"Hmm~ I wonder what kind of wonderful taste it will have. I'm really curious."

The chilling sounds came from all directions, their mockery and ridicule laid bare.

For the dark magic school, which has been suppressed for many years, killing the heir of the Wells family is a tremendous achievement that even death cannot buy!

Even if one dies on the spot, it is still a great honor that will be recorded in the history of black magicians.

Shiloh ignored him and instead pondered how to attract the omnipresent worms to draw Ruby's fire.

If she can't run directly to the barrier's edge and break it in one blow, then the rest of the plan won't be able to be implemented effectively.

Oh, right...

Recalling the worm in his hand earlier, which looked so eager for flesh and blood, Xi Luo had an idea. He raised his finger and pointed to the open space around him.

Boom—!

The next moment, a huge tree rose from the ground. Although it looked like a tree, it was entirely scarlet and exuded a strong smell of blood.

Undoubtedly, the strong smell instantly ignited the worms' thirst for blood, and a deafening shriek erupted. Then, under the cover of night, swarms of dark shadows, like locusts, surrounded the tree in layers, frantically devouring the delicious meal before them.

"It seems you don't have a good grasp of this prop."

Xi Luo said sarcastically, "If you can't even fully control this kind of unorthodox method, you're really utterly useless."

Sensing the disdain emanating from Shiloh, the dark mage's tone turned sinister as he sneered, "Heh, how long can you maintain this spell? After it ends, it will be your turn."

Shiloh remained silent, simply waiting for time to pass.

Suddenly, the swarm of worms that were gnawing on the tree stopped moving and then fell from the tree, hitting the ground below with a series of muffled thuds.

"Oh? Insect-killing magic?"

The dark mage exclaimed in surprise, "Siro's ability to combine blood magic, wood magic, and insecticidal magic into a single spell is truly enviable."

"Fate is so unfair... No, should I say that fate is fair?"

After the black magician finished his lament, his tone turned sarcastic again.

The distorted glow on the surrounding barrier meandered and flowed, and then the fallen worms, like drunkards waking up from a staggering stupor, crawled up from the floor.

"Hehehe... No matter how amazing your talent is, a [Field] is still just a [Field], a power that mortals cannot comprehend! Feel the true fear, Shiro!!"

With an excited shout from the dark mage, an endless tidal wave of worms swarmed towards Shiloh!

"Take this opportunity and get out of here!!"

Shiloh raised his hand upwards, and a thick wall of metal and stone intercepted all the swarming worms. Meanwhile, Ruby, who had been hiding for a long time, revealed herself, her dark purple ritual dagger wreathed in a dazzling light!

Sizzle—!

"Dark Blade - Break the Barrier!"

As a ghostly light flashed at the tip of the blade, the barrier, which was flowing with eerie colored light, was instantly torn open with a huge crack, revealing the normal scene outside.

Seeing that Shilo had successfully blocked the attack, Ruby picked up Little Flower with one hand and excitedly shouted to him, "They've been stopped! Come with us!"

"No, it's too late—"

Before he could finish speaking, Xi Luo's dark pupils contracted.

Unbeknownst to Ruby, several worms that had silently circled the stone wall had transformed into arrows, unleashing a death proclamation upon them.

puff

Warm blood spurted from the wound and splashed onto Ruby's face.

"...Huh?"

Her violet eyes widened slightly, as if she was unable to react effectively to what was happening.

To protect Xiaohua's mental state, Ruby used sleep magic to put her into a deep sleep before taking action.

The little one sleeping in my arms had a serene expression, but his pink face, stained with a few drops of bright red blood, was instinctively tense, as if he had seen something terrible in his sleep.

This time, it's not just on the shoulders.

His chest, abdomen, thighs, and arms were all pierced by arrows.

Those disgusting, twisted worms were frantically gnawing at the flesh and blood of Shilo.

Despite enduring the excruciating pain of being devoured, Xi Luo showed no sign of suffering on his face.

He simply and calmly extended his hand.

A feeling of weightlessness washed over me, and the howling night wind seemed somewhat mournful.

As his body was thrown away, the blood-soaked Shiro, riddled with countless holes, slowly receded into the distance.

The dark eyes that were gazing at him revealed a sense of relief, as if to say, "I've finally saved you."

hum-

Moments after Ruby, clutching the little flower, flew out of the barrier, the gap in the barrier, gleaming with an eerie light, suddenly closed, causing the girl to lose sight of Shiloh.

The instant the barrier closed, Ruby saw thousands of worms rushing towards Shiloh.

"don't want--!!"

At that moment, grief and despair surged into Ruby's heart, driving her to transform into a sharp shadow and pierce the barrier.

However, the barrier only trembled slightly, creating a few ripples, and then there was no further reaction.

Ruby was breathing rapidly, her purple eyes filled with bright red blood vessels.

Oh, right, the flare gun!

Ruby remembered Shiloh's instructions to her, so she immediately took out the signal gun from her pocket and pulled the trigger into the dark night sky.

A blinding flare exploded in the night sky, but there was no response after that.

"how so?"

Ruby stood there, dejected, gazing up at the empty night sky, her heart sinking into despair.

She knew Shiloh's identity; he was the heir to the extremely prestigious Wells family, and his guards should have been incredibly strong. Why—

Ruby's thoughts froze as she suddenly recalled how Shiloh had disguised himself when they first met.

Ah, he came here hiding his identity...

Ruby's breathing became heavy and rapid, and her hands, which had never trembled even when piercing the throats of countless enemies, could barely grip the signal gun.

Now, she has two choices.

The first option is to break the barrier and rescue Shiloh. However, the feasibility of this method is extremely low. Even if they manage to rescue him, it will be very difficult for the three of them to escape from the dark sorcerer.

The second option is to take Xiaohua back to the city to get reinforcements. However, this will take a long time, and by then, Xiluo will probably already be...

Ruby looked at her hands, wanting to cry but unable to.

Why……

why?

Why is fate so cruel, taking everything away from me?

Ruby clenched her fists, her nails digging into her flesh, and blood dripped from the wounds into the soil, seeping beneath.

Holding Little Flower, Ruby arrived at an empty, uninhabited room, removed the high-level items she was wearing that could conceal her presence and provide defense, then stuffed the adventurer's name card into her pocket and pressed the distress signal button.

Once the item's duration expires, the distress signal will be received by the Adventurers' Guild, which will then send someone to rescue Xiaohua.

"You must, you absolutely must live well, Little Flower... little sister."

As Ruby stroked Little Flower's face, a look of longing appeared in her eyes, and a relieved smile appeared on her lips.

"Since fate wants to take everything away from me, then... let it take it away."

Ruby's purple eyes were filled with determination. After withdrawing her last glimpse of her gaze, she suddenly stood up, revealed a dark purple ritual dagger, and transformed into a swift shadow as she rushed towards the [Field].

The girl made her decision.

Finding the killer of her sister is important, but even more important is that she absolutely cannot stand by and watch the person who wants to protect her perish in the present moment!

Even if it means death, I will die to protect them!!

"Breaking the rules!!!"