"Where is he?"
The man among the stalkers was the first to speak. He moved toward the spot where Ansu had been, his sharp gaze constantly scanning every corner of the alley.
The woman with him looked slightly surprised. "Wasn't he about to go home with his sister? Why would he suddenly run here?"
"Strange..." The man's eyes darted around keenly, eventually landing on the spot where Ansu was hiding.
Ansu held his breath, doing his best to minimize his presence.
After a long while, the man's suspicious gaze finally moved elsewhere.
He looked at his companion, his tone carrying a hint of unease. "Could he have noticed us?"
"He possesses magical power. Although he isn't specialized in reconnaissance and counter-reconnaissance, we can't rule out the possibility that he's testing us on purpose..."
"That's impossible!" The woman shook her head immediately. "We've been following him for an entire week. If he could notice us, there would have been something unusual long ago. Why wait until today..."
Listening to their low-voiced conversation, Ansu began to think silently.
It seemed these two had appeared during the week Celia had been out of contact. This made sense; if Celia could visit his home, no stalker could ever hide from her eyes.
"Could it be that little girl?" The man suddenly thought of something. "While we were on the road, she seemed to have sensed something."
"That's even more impossible." The woman chuckled softly. "How old is she? There are plenty of veterans who can't even detect the two of us."
She looked toward the busy street outside the alley. "Let's go. We'll return to the vicinity of Apartment 221A and resume surveillance. He has to go home sooner or later."
The man nodded, and they both quietly slipped away.
"This anomaly today needs to be included in the report..."
"Of course."
Ansu frowned slightly. He already had a faint suspicion regarding the identity of these two stalkers.
But he still wanted to test them to confirm his theory.
Thus, Ansu quietly channeled his magical power. Beneath the shadows of the alley, a humanoid silhouette became faintly visible.
Five meters...
Ten meters.
Just as they were halfway out of the alley, Ansu's 【Shadow Bolt】 was ready to fire.
"Wait! Something's wrong!"
The man caught a faint scent of magic and suddenly stopped, reaching for a concealed weapon.
But it was too late. As he turned around, a streak of shadow magic like black lightning pierced toward his body in an instant.
Although the man's reaction was swift, this sneak attack was truly unavoidable. The 【Shadow Bolt】 punctured his left chest, and the powerful impact sent his entire body flying backward.
Ansu's 【Shadow Bolt】 wasn't as powerful as Celia's, but with the added bonuses of a sneak attack and a high critical hit rate, it still instantly took one person out of the fight.
"Ken!" The woman's expression was shocked, but she couldn't afford to worry about her injured companion. Her gaze quickly locked onto Ansu, whose figure was now exposed in the alley.
She stared coldly at the enemy in the alley, her right hand reaching for a saber hidden under her coat while her left hand drew a revolver that reflected a cold silver light.
Ansu noticed that the woman's movements were incredibly fast. She held the saber with a reverse grip, using it to steady the revolver in her left hand. On her waist, a row of alchemical bullets with various magical effects was visible.
He had to admit, it looked quite cool.
She didn't stick to any single method of attack; she was born purely to hunt.
He understood now. They were demon hunters.
The woman didn't seem to want to kill Ansu, as her first shot was aimed at his leg. She calmly pulled the trigger, and a burst of fire illuminated the dim alley for a split second.
However, Ansu was already prepared and certainly wouldn't let her hit him. The 1st Circle magic Shield spell and 【Magic Immunity】 activated simultaneously.
The alchemical bullet, imbued with 【Corrosion】 and 【Dispel】, instantly lost its magical effect. The brass bullet head was stopped dead outside the magic shield, failing to create even a single ripple.
The sight of an unharmed Ansu caused the woman to look confused for a moment.
"I'm not some kind of monster. Haven't you ever fought a mage before?" Ansu sneered, and his next spell followed immediately.
Flashbang!
Oh, wait, it was 【Illumination】.
The Lv3 【Illumination】 suddenly flared up. The piercing white light, bright as the sun, caused the woman to instinctively shield her eyes.
Even Elder Hall of the Echoes of Truth couldn't withstand this move. A mere demon hunter was naturally no match for it.
Ansu gave a mocking smile and vanished into the shadows once more.
Under the blinding white light, the woman lost her vision for over ten seconds.
She kept rubbing her eyes until they were red and streaming with tears, but by the time her blurry vision cleared, Ansu had long since disappeared.
"Damn it! This kid is more troublesome than I thought!"
Furious, the woman wanted to give chase immediately, but the pained groans of her companion made her stop.
"Kaila... don't chase him. You're no match for him."
"Quick... go notify the others!" Ken clutched his chest. "Report to Archbishop Leonard immediately. This kid really is a problem. We need to close the net now!"
...
On the other side.
After waiting for the three-hour simulation to end, Ansu returned to the desolate street where he had started.
"Brother?" Vera shook Ansu's arm. "Why did you suddenly stop walking?"
"It's nothing..."
Ansu didn't look back again. He took Vera's hand and continued walking home, acting as if nothing had happened.
【Reality】
【May 3, 10:26, Radiant Calendar 625】
【You have noticed the abnormality behind your peaceful life. A new conspiracy seems to be brewing...】
【Rating: D】
【Reward: 8 Points】
【Remaining Points: 108】
Based on the combat style of those two stalkers, Ansu quickly confirmed they were demon hunters belonging to the Holy Light Purification Department. This also meant they were Leonard's subordinates.
Ansu sneered inwardly. That scheming old fox Leonard had been all smiles with him on the surface, even constantly extending olive branches, yet his demon hunters had already cast a dragnet around him, just waiting for him to slip up.
It seemed the other party had been suspicious of him ever since they met that day...
Fortunately, he had tested them in advance. It seemed he couldn't go to Celia's mansion for a while to prevent them from tracing things back further...
After returning home.
Once they had finished eating, Vera obediently went to study, while Ansu returned to his room, preparing to continue grinding his magic proficiency as usual.
If it weren't for his persistent practice, he wouldn't have been able to defeat two demon hunters in such a short time, but he still needed to keep improving.
However, as soon as he opened the door, Celia, whom he hadn't seen for a week, was sitting on his desk, greeting him with a smile.
"Long time no see. Did you miss me?"
Ansu blinked and smiled as he closed the door. To be honest, after a week apart, he really did miss the vile witch a little.
"Of course I did."
Such a straightforward answer actually made Celia pause for a moment.
Then her smile became even softer. "And how much did you miss me?"
She playfully hopped off Ansu's desk and leaned close to his cheek. "Did you think of me every day and every night? Did you keep me in your heart and mutter about me every day?"
Wait... why was this getting a bit mushy?
Ansu glanced at those beautiful deep purple eyes. There was a hint of mischief on her face.
"My dear Miss Witch, are you doubting my loyalty again?" Ansu curled his lip. "Otherwise, let's skip the preliminaries and just use Hypnosis on me already..."
"Hmph!" Celia crossed her arms. "As a boss who is generous and trusting toward her subordinates, why would I use Hypnosis on you at every turn? Do I look that bored?"
She grumbled silently to herself. Ansu was really getting harder and harder to tease these days...
As expected, he was much cuter when he was hypnotized!
Rate on N.U.
