While Beta was locked in combat with the squad captain, a kidnapper tried to sneak up behind Shino.
He swung his sword silently, aiming for the boy’s head.
However, the moment the blade was about to connect, the kidnapper found himself unable to move.
An invisible, overwhelming force had completely paralyzed his entire body.
Meanwhile, the squad captain grew increasingly desperate as he traded blows with Beta.
Her combat techniques were flawless, and her mana control was superb; her only weakness was a slight lack of raw experience.
To an observer, they looked evenly matched, but in reality, he had become Beta’s whetstone.
She was absorbing combat experience from him with every passing second.
“You bastards, stop staring!
Go grab the boy!” the captain roared.
The soldiers who had been watching the duel immediately charged at Shino.
“Let me guess—he’s a noble, and you’re just his bodyguard!” the captain shouted, trying to provoke Beta into making a mistake.
Beta didn’t even blink.
Instead, her strikes grew more ferocious.
The captain felt the crushing weight of her pressure; he was reaching his limit.
He wasn’t just a simple soldier; he was a confidant of the Viscount, tasked with managing this illegal human trafficking ring in secret.
Selling people brought in massive profits, and as the strongest magic swordsman under the Viscount, he was responsible for “eliminating” any obstacles.
He never imagined he would fall at the hands of a young girl.
The captain made a fatal error.
Beta seized the opening and severed his arm in one clean stroke.
He collapsed to the ground, staring up at her in despair.
His eyes drifted toward Shino.
His soldiers and the kidnapper were still frozen around the boy, standing like eerie statues.
Seeing their leader defeated, the villagers began to scatter.
They had no intention of dying here.
“I didn’t say you were allowed to leave,” Shino said calmly.
As his words fell, a brilliant purple light erupted.
Shino’s clothes transformed into a black military uniform and a flowing cape that billowed in the wind.
A massive magic barrier expanded, orbing the entire village in a violet glow.
“Have you ever experienced a nuclear blast?” “What is this…
this mana is astronomical!
Who…
who are you?!” the captain stammered in horror.
“Please, spare us!” the smarter villagers immediately fell to their knees, begging for mercy.
“Beta, leave the area now.
I don’t want you caught in the blast.” “Lord Phantom…
what about that girl?” Beta pointed at Narine Cabus.
“No need.
She just demanded the soldiers kill us.
If we save her, she won’t feel gratitude; she’ll only seek revenge.” “Understood.” Beta turned and vanished into the distance.
The others tried to flee the mana-saturated zone, but the barrier held them firm.
Only then did Narine realize the gravity of the situation.
“I am Narine Cabus, daughter of Earl Cabus!
You can’t kill me!
I am a noble!” she screamed.
“I command you to stop!” She reached out to grab Shino’s clothes, but her hand hit an invisible wall of mana.
The soldiers and their captain stared in silent despair.
They didn’t know exactly what was coming, but they knew they wouldn’t survive it.
Scanning the village with his mana, Shino noticed that every single house had a cellar with signs of recent human captivity.
This wasn’t just a village; it was a sanctuary for a trafficking syndicate.
Shino raised his magic sword high.
“Listen to the sound of your own demise.” “I am…
Atomic.” A blinding white light consumed everything.
Every person in the village began to disintegrate, turning into nothingness.
When the light faded, the entire village had been wiped off the face of the earth, leaving only a scorched, flat plain.
“Is that…
Lord Phantom’s true power?
Incredible…” Beta watched the distant glow with pure adoration.
“It’s time to go,” Shino said, reappearing at her side.
He didn’t care much for “justice,” but if someone provoked him, he showed no mercy.
As the sun began to dip below the horizon, Shino took Beta to the highest point in a nearby town to watch the sunset in silence.
Once the sky turned dark, Shino stood up.
“Let’s finish the job.
We need to help those three children get home.
None of them found their way; they’re all lost.” “Lord Phantom, how do you know?” “I marked them with mana.
They’ve been running in circles for hours.” They tracked down the three children and escorted them safely to their respective homes.
The children asked for their names to thank them, but Shino and Beta vanished before they could get an answer.
When they finally returned to the villa, Alpha was waiting.
She had brought back another girl—this one with blue hair and a severe case of Possession.
More than half of her body had turned into rotting flesh.
Shino spent the entire night treating her.
Noticing the mole near her lip, he recognized her immediately: Gamma.
He used the same “lore” and explanation he had given the others.
Grateful for her new life, Gamma chose to join Shadow Garden.
Alpha vanished again shortly after, leaving Shino, Beta, and Gamma at the villa.
Gamma’s mental state was much more stable than Beta’s; she slept soundly on her own.
Beta, however, still needed Shino’s stories to fall asleep.
It was her first time killing, and every time she closed her eyes, she saw the faces of the men she had slain.
As Shino told her a story, she drifted off.
In her dreams, the vengeful spirits of the soldiers surrounded her, demanding to know why she killed them.
But then, Shino appeared in her dream, striking the spirits down until they dissolved into mist.
“I will always be by your side to protect you, Beta,” the Shino in her dream whispered.
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