Mo Yu wasn't very confident in his immature plan. He wanted to intercept whoever was going to attack Elise, pull off another hero-saves-the-beauty act, and if he could earn Mary's trust, he could establish contact with the Demon Hunter.
Doing this meant directly confronting the Knight-level Vampire. Although it was currently daytime, when vampires were at their weakest, a Knight-level Vampire that had evolved twice wasn't something he could contend with.
Suddenly, he thought of that cross.
When he'd ambushed Mary, the golden glow that erupted had been immensely powerful, knocking him back and sending him crashing through the metal shell of the cable car.
He could make use of that.
Mo Yu chose to rewind, sending out a Mirror Image to deliver Mary to Volcano Castle, while he himself took the cross and found somewhere deserted to study it.
The result was less than satisfactory.
In his hands, the little thing was like a mere decoration—it simply couldn't be activated.
He'd go ask Elise about it.
Rewind.
10:30.
Inside a staff changing room at the Amusement Park.
The Mirror Image changed into a flowery shirt before leaving. He would take action against Mary, lure away her Bodyguard, deposit the cross in storage, and then deliver Mary to the base of Volcano Castle.
Mo Yu set off to find Elise.
He'd deliberately chosen this time slot, mainly because he wanted to see what Elise had been doing all morning.
……
"Lift the parasol a little higher, look at the camera~"
Alice held up her DSLR camera, aiming it at Elise, directing her while frantically pressing the shutter, capturing beautiful shots from every angle.
Elise switched through different poses, finally turning her back to the camera.
"Yes, back up, back up, lift your skirt hem, and keep backing up."
Alice stared at Elise's High Heels, watching her jade feet step backward again and again until she'd retreated to the edge of the platform. Yet Alice showed no sign of stopping her, still shouting for her to keep backing up.
Elise's foot missed its footing, and she toppled backward.
Alice, who had been planning this all along, rushed forward with her arms spread wide, ready for a Princess Carry, when a Black Shadow flashed past. She felt herself slam into a wall, and clutching her nose in pain, she crouched down.
Mo Yu held Elise in his arms.
He'd been following at a short distance, still trying to figure out how to speak up, when he saw Elise's foot slip and her fall backward.
Wasn't this the perfect chance?
He darted forward in a flash, cutting in front of Alice, catching Elise just in time.
This was the first time he'd been in close contact with this vampire. With his upgraded senses, he could catch her breathing, her heartbeat, her body temperature.
No different from a real person.
A perfect disguise.
Elise curled up in his arms, her two small hands gripping the parasol tightly, her eyes wide as she stared at his face, completely motionless, as if bound by some kind of paralysis spell.
"Are you hurt?"
"No……"
Mo Yu set Elise down, gently took her small hand, and made as if to kiss it, saying at the same time:
"My beautiful lady, please don't do anything so dangerous—it worries people."
He waited for Elise's reflexive reaction.
But there was none.
Elise didn't move at all.
The standoff dragged on for dozens of seconds.
Mo Yu couldn't take it anymore and looked up at Elise.
You're supposed to pull your hand away!
Elise blinked her big eyes, staring straight at him, her gaze seeming to say: "You're supposed to kiss it."
Mo Yu was stunned.
This wasn't right.
Shouldn't there be some kind of reflexive response?
Was it because there was someone else present?
Alice stood up, fiercely slapping Mo Yu's hand away, planting herself between the two of them, glaring at him viciously as she said, "What do you think you're doing? Get away, don't you dare get near my treasure!"
Mo Yu raised both hands, grinning as he said, "Sorry, it happened so suddenly, I was too abrupt. The two of you are so beautiful—it's quite dangerous without a boy to protect you."
"We have a Companion, and if you keep harassing me I'll call the police!" Alice threatened.
Elise tugged at the hem of Alice's clothes, her gaze fixed to the side, only her profile visible, and said in a low voice, "Let him tag along. He can block the ones who try to hit on us."
Alice's mouth fell open, and she went blank.
Mo Yu smiled but said nothing.
He was one of their own, after all.
Of course Elise would allow him to tag along.
A string of blood-red text appeared, surfacing above Alice.
【You've earned this Spirit Rabbit's Hatred. She's developed Killing Intent toward you, and danger may arrive unexpectedly. Seize the initiative and kill her for a reward: 1 Ability Point.】
【Detected as a Special Unit. Capturing her alive unlocks a Legendary Page in the Monster Compendium.】
Mo Yu froze.
A quest detection could be triggered?
And she was a Special Unit?
Was this Spirit Rabbit also some era-defining powerhouse?
He'd assumed she was an NPC, never expecting she'd also be a hidden boss.
Mo Yu sized Alice up anew.
This Hatred had come on so suddenly, clearly tied to Elise somehow—he'd only gotten a bit closer, that shouldn't warrant this, should it?
He recalled the details of Alice's behavior.
Mo Yu suddenly understood.
This was a yuri thing, the slightly yandere kind—she was in love with Elise. That would explain everything.
He'd been treated as a rival in love.
No wonder.
After Elise spoke up, Alice's mood soured, but she didn't argue, silently accepting that Mo Yu could tag along—she just kept her arm looped through Elise's, positioning herself between the two of them in a posture of tight, unyielding defense.
A world of two had become a party of three.
The atmosphere turned strange.
Elise maintained her ladylike manners, speaking little.
Alice talked quite a lot, dominating the conversation the whole time.
Mo Yu stayed silent for most of it, simply counting down the time and steering the two of them toward the Item Storage. Once the time came, he'd make an excuse about using the toilet and go retrieve the cross from the Item Storage.
After waiting a moment, once "No. 12" sent Elise a message, he'd be free to act.
"Let's go sit over there for a bit."
Mo Yu pointed toward a resting place.
Both girls agreed, and the three of them sat down, ordering some desserts and drinks.
Sincerity was the ultimate move.
Mo Yu got straight to the point: "Alice, you're in love with Elise, aren't you? Not the friend kind of love, the lover kind—and a very intense one at that."
A bombshell had been dropped.
Alice's reaction was intense—she spat out the drink in her mouth and broke into violent coughing.
Elise blanked for a moment, unable to process it, and explained very innocently, "We're just close friends, not that kind of relationship."
"Young Miss, you should know—the one caught up in it is always the last to see clearly. I've already identified the target. No. 12 sent you a message, didn't they? To be honest, I'm not a Strategist, but my ability lets me obtain information about targets." Mo Yu's eyes were full of sincerity.
Elise froze in place, then abruptly stood up, pointing at Mo Yu, her voice trembling as she said:
"You… it's you!"
"Mm……"
Mo Yu made a sound of acknowledgment, then noticed something was off about Elise's reaction, and hissed through his teeth, "Wait… don't tell me you didn't recognize who I was?"
The silence was deafening.
Elise turned her head to the side.
Alice's eyes went wide too, and after studying Mo Yu, she said, "What nonsense are you spouting? I can't understand a word. Treasure, let's go, ignore him."
"Wait."
Mo Yu immediately stopped her, taking out the box holding the cross and opening it as he said:
"Take a look at this for me, what is it?"
When the box opened, Elise and Alice reacted identically: eyes widening, expressions of shock, both stepping back.
As if they'd seen something dangerous.
✦✦✦