Freya spent a while longer playing with her supernatural strength at home.
She tried one-handed handstands, standing flips, and bending a kitchen knife with her bare hands before straightening it again.
These were feats she would never have dared attempt before.
Now, they felt effortless.
With War Path abilities at her disposal, Freya no longer feared the fatal crisis.
When the time came, she could summon War Freya and have her deal with Rex with ease.
The only thing Freya needed to figure out was how to kill him without disrupting her normal life afterward.
For now, she only needed to simulate a clean way to eliminate him.
Still, during her second simulation, Freya had spent an entire month with the Special Affairs Division.
Everyone there had treated her well.
Now that she possessed useful information about the Obsidian Incident, she felt she ought to do something with it.
For example, she could send the police an anonymous tip.
Freya had never met Nolan or the others in reality.
If she walked into the station and claimed to know the location of an Obsidian base, Nolan would probably be more inclined to arrest her than believe her.
An anonymous letter was different.
As long as she included enough detail, the team investigating the case would have to examine the location, whether they believed the message or not.
The greatest obstacle in the Obsidian Incident was that whoever stood behind it had hidden too well.
If Special Affairs found even one of the organization’s bases and caught a single weakness, the rest of the investigation should become much easier.
Freya immediately found paper and a pen.
She wrote down everything she currently knew.
[The mastermind behind the Obsidian Incident may be connected to the neighboring Pentagram Alliance.]
[They possess not only Demon Path potions, but War Path potions as well.]
[An old blue warehouse on Trinity Row in the southern district may be one of their bases.]
The mastermind would probably curse himself hoarse if he ever learned who had leaked that information.
Freya wrapped the note around a stone and went outside.
When she passed the police station, she took aim and threw it with all her strength.
Crash!
The stone shattered one of the station’s windows.
A startled officer shouted from inside.
“What the hell?”
Freya was already running.
Time passed, and evening soon arrived.
During the previous simulation, she had needed to patrol the neighborhood and wait for Rex to appear.
Now she knew exactly when and where he would show up.
There was no reason to waste time waiting.
She only needed to arrive at the right moment.
At the same time and in the same place as before, Freya spotted Rex wandering in a daze.
This time, she had no intention of attacking him in the middle of the street.
The moment she saw him, she raised a hand and called out.
“Rex! Over here!”
Freya had learned his name from the owner of the Broken Axe Tavern.
At the sound of it, Rex immediately turned toward her.
He stared blankly for several seconds.
Then he began walking toward Freya without any control over himself, like a starving man who had just been offered a sweet pastry.
Rex had no idea how she knew his name.
At that point, he no longer cared.
He had been circling her apartment for hours.
Now that his food had come to him, he could not resist.
Freya turned and walked toward a more secluded part of the neighborhood.
Rex followed closely behind.
Since Freya had called him by name, the people nearby assumed the two knew each other.
They only seemed mildly confused by how quickly both of them were walking.
Before long, Freya led Rex into an empty alley.
A wall blocked the far end.
Once she reached the dead end, Freya slowly turned around.
Rex stood behind her, breathing heavily.
Her expression remained calm.
The first time Freya had faced him, she had been shocked and afraid.
The second time, she had been serious and desperate.
Now, during their third confrontation, she felt almost nothing.
She even tilted her head with mild curiosity.
“I’ve been wondering about something.”
“Why did you choose me? Why not eat someone else?”
Rex did not answer.
Freya watched his pupils tremble and shift.
Within seconds, they had transformed into red vertical slits.
It was a clear sign that his remaining reason had snapped.
“So sweet…”
“So sweet…”
Asking him had clearly been a mistake.
Freya sighed.
Perhaps Rex was simply a predator with a preference for cute young girls.
At that moment, his restraint finally collapsed.
He lunged at Freya.
His speed was explosive, like a leopard springing from concealment.
The old Freya would never have been able to react.
Now, she could follow every movement clearly.
In fact, she was faster.
When Rex came within three feet of her, Freya raised her arm and threw a punch.
Thud!
Her fist struck him squarely in the face.
Rex flew backward almost as quickly as he had charged forward.
Freya looked at him rolling across the ground.
Then she glanced at her right hand.
If she had to describe the feeling in a single word, it would be satisfying.
Was there anything more gratifying than effortlessly beating someone who had once overwhelmed her?
The corner of Freya’s mouth rose.
A cold, almost cruel expression crossed her delicate face.
Combined with her innocent appearance, it gave her the unsettling beauty of someone just a little unhinged.
That punch would probably have shattered an ordinary person’s skull.
Rex, however, was also a supernatural practitioner.
He slowly climbed back to his feet.
His nose had been crushed inward, and blood covered his face.
Rex showed no sign of pain.
He continued muttering the same words.
“So sweet… So hungry…”
Freya studied him.
Would she have become like this if she had drunk the Demon Path potion?
Rex staggered toward her again.
Freya walked forward to meet him.
The distance between them closed quickly.
Fabric tore as his pale skeletal tail shot toward Freya’s face.
She twisted aside and tilted her head.
The bone spike still grazed her cheek, leaving behind a thin cut.
Freya frowned at the sting.
At the same time, she lowered her body and swept one leg across the ground.
Rex already had poor balance.
The kick lifted his feet from beneath him and sent him crashing down once more.
Freya drew a dagger.
She aimed at his eye socket, bent down, and drove the blade in without hesitation.
The blade struck with a wet sound.
A small spray of blood splashed across Freya’s wrist and clothes.
Rex’s struggling body immediately went still.
His hands and skeletal tail dropped lifelessly to the ground.
Freya let out a slow breath and rose.
She touched the cut on her cheek with her left hand, then examined the blood on her fingertip.
This speedrun had succeeded.
Next time, when she killed him for real, she intended to add one more condition.
No damage.
Freya left the alley and began jogging toward southern Auxerre.
She planned to visit Trinity Row again and see whether Nolan’s team had finished dealing with the Obsidian base.
Freya had entered this fourth simulation with only three objectives.
She wanted to familiarize herself with her abilities, beat Rex once, and provide the Special Affairs Division with information.
The first two were complete.
If Nolan’s visit to the warehouse proved useful to the Obsidian investigation, Freya would submit the same anonymous tip after returning to reality.
Trinity Row was a considerable distance away.
Even with Freya’s enhanced speed, the journey took more than an hour.
She had only just arrived and begun searching for the old blue warehouse when an enormous explosion shook the street.
Boom!
The ground beneath her feet trembled.
Nearby pedestrians looked around in confusion, unable to understand what had happened.
Freya immediately ran toward the sound.
An old blue warehouse came into view.