“Not gonna lie, I’ve got a really bad feeling right now!” At this point, Vinny could only pray he wasn’t jinxing it. He hoped Aesphyra’s protagonist halo wasn’t that outrageous—like, seriously, the way trouble just exploded wherever she went was getting ridiculous.

Granted, the chances of that fox woman showing up over something this minor were extremely slim… but with Aesphyra, the ultimate walking catastrophe, right next to him, things that should’ve had a 0.001% chance of happening could skyrocket to 99%.

That kind of thing? Absolutely possible.

“A bad feeling? Vinny, is that just your intuition?” Aesphyra tilted her head, arching a slender brow.

“What’s wrong with my intuition? Don’t you roll your eyes at me—sometimes my gut is dead-on! Maybe this is one of those times! Look, you’ve already beaten them to a pulp, so stop showing off and just finish it already!” Vinny frowned.

“Eh? I don’t really mind either way, but wasn’t it you, Vinny, who was just playing the all-knowing master in front of these demons? Now that you’re done putting on a show, I’m not allowed to do a little acting of my own?” Aesphyra didn’t seem the least bit bothered. If anything, she found it hilarious that Vinny, who’d been swaggering around moments ago, was now suddenly chickening out. She teased him with a wicked little smirk.

“This isn’t about showing off, okay? I’m saying we should wrap it up and get the hell out of here. The sooner we file our report, the better. Don’t you know how these things always go wrong the longer they drag out?!” Vinny glanced at the succubi and incubi nearby—none of whom dared even attempt a sneak attack, despite him and Aesphyra chatting right in front of them. Clearly, they were still traumatized by the earlier beatdown. They knew—no matter how they fought back, they were not a match.

“Vinny, just look at them. Do they look like they’re waiting for reinforcements?” Aesphyra asked sweetly.

“Battle spirit’s gone. All hope’s lost. If they did have backup coming, they wouldn’t be acting like this. They’d be hanging on for dear life, stalling for that tiny sliver of hope—real or not.”

“That’s true,” Aesphyra agreed, “but… what if? What if there’s something unexpected?” Vinny pressed his lips together. “You—ugh, you’re just a walking disaster. Nothing ever happens to you, but everyone around you gets caught up in your ridiculous protagonist aura!”

“Fine, fine. If Vinny wants to hurry back to the academy so badly…” With a casual flip of her wrist, a dazzling holy sword bursting with radiant golden light materialized in Aesphyra’s hand.

She hadn’t even used her holy sword earlier. She’d been toying with them.

“Th-That’s…?!” The moment the red-haired succubus saw the golden blade, an overwhelming pressure came crashing down on her shoulders. It was only now, feeling the faint yet terrifying aura radiating from the silver-haired girl, that she realized the true difference between their levels.

She, a mid-tier demon spirit with barely traceable noble blood, was nothing in comparison.

Her subordinates were all low-tier succubi and incubi, barely at the sorcerer stage—some were even green recruits, apprentice level at best.

And yet, even with the natural resilience and raw power demons had—even with their innate talents that often let them overpower humans of the same rank—they were completely helpless before this silver-haired girl.

That alone meant the girl’s strength had to be above Master level.*

What she didn’t know was that Aesphyra wasn’t a Master at all. Just like her, she was a demon spirit in terms of realm—in fact, she was a whole stage lower: a beginner-level demon spirit.

But cultivator rankings… well, if you know, you know. Playing the weakling and demolishing enemies above your level is standard cheat-code behavior for a protagonist. The purpose of the protagonist’s “realm” was simply to show off how insanely talented she was, not to box her in with other “geniuses” of the same stage. That’d just be meaningless.

Sure, Aesphyra’s realm was low now, but remember the fanatic from before? He might’ve even been a Master, and she still beat him into the ground and sent him packing. It just took a little more time, that’s all.

Seeing that Aesphyra had finally stopped playing around and was ready to clean up the battlefield for real, Vinny exhaled in relief.

This time, surely, there wouldn’t be any more surprises.

Just clean up these damn pests, hand in the field report, win the final year-end practical battle, and the semester would be done. Vinny could finally kick back and enjoy his vacation.

Ohhh yes. A stretch of time without Aesphyra, the catastrophe herself. Bliss.

Vinny was already in a great mood.

“Um, excuse me, classmate—could you tell that silver-haired little lady something for me? This is definitely a misunderstanding! A huge misunderstanding! Everything I did earlier was because of the influence of these succubi! I wasn’t acting on my own! Treating me as one of these evil demon collaborators is totally unfair, right?”

Tied up on the ground with thorny vines biting into his limbs, Farkas grimaced in pain as he pleaded. Maybe he thought Vinny looked like the more reasonable one—or maybe he was just that desperate.

“Get lost.” Vinny kicked Farkas viciously, looking down on him with utter disgust.

“Two-faced scum. People like you are the kind I hate the most—hypocrites. Who knows how many innocent people you’ve screwed over with your so-called ‘position.’” Vinny spat on his face.

“You’re begging me of all people? Do you know who I am? I’m the number one scoundrel of Camella’s royal capital, and you want me to spare you?? Cut the crap. You’re dead meat today. Unless you want more bruises, shut up.”

After a few of Vinny’s very unrestrained kicks, Farkas finally shut his mouth. But he hadn’t given up—he was still desperately searching for a way to escape.

How could someone like him, Farkas, be executed by a bunch of brats like this?! No way. He had to survive.

Meanwhile, Aesphyra’s holy sword ignited with crimson lotus flames so intense that the surrounding light seemed to fade in comparison. The sword cleaved through the air, and with it, a phoenix wreathed in fire screeched across the battlefield.

[Flame Phoenix Scorches the Plains]

Vinny, who’d stepped back to avoid getting caught in the blast, blinked in awe.

He’d seen this move before—or rather, he’d stumbled across it once in some original game CG. It was one of those fire-element spells that didn’t have crazy high casting requirements, but was notoriously hard to control. Total showoff move.

Even a mage with a spell soul attuned to it would need ages to chant and weave the spell properly. But Aesphyra? Cast it like she was flipping her hair.

This was one of her signature spells in the early-mid game.

Clearly, she wasn’t holding back anymore. She was executing these succubi.

The fiery feathers of the phoenix illuminated the pale face of the red-haired succubus. The sheer heat radiating from it told her—there was no way she could survive this.

The phoenix had its own intelligence. It wouldn’t let her escape.

[Flame Phoenix Scorches the Plains] might be hard to master, but the effect more than justified the difficulty. That’s why it was her go-to spell for flair and destruction.

Alright, no need to watch. Those succubi were dead meat.

Vinny was a kind person—sure, succubi weren’t people, and sure, they did horrible things—but they looked so human that the next scene was bound to be… unpleasant.

So Vinny averted his gaze.

Funny, though. In his last life, he was supposed to be the prime target of Aesphyra’s [Flame Phoenix Scorches the Plains].

In this life, he was standing beside her, watching her unleash it on demons.

Cool. Cleanup complete. Time to—

Huh??

Vinny glanced at Aesphyra and noticed something… off.

Was he seeing things? Why did her expression look… grim?

No. No way, right??

Vinny stared in disbelief. What could make Aesphyra look like that?

Hadn’t those succubi all been torched into ash? What—was she suddenly growing a conscience about burning a bunch of pretty demon girls alive?

But then, Vinny’s gaze shifted forward—and his shocked eyes grew ★ 𝐍𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 ★ wider and wider, filling with disbelief.

At the same time, he noticed something happening in the sky.

It had been clear just moments ago. Now the heavens were swallowed in stormclouds, thunder rumbling ominously.

Ugh, another pain of living in another world—no weather forecasts. Freak changes like this were the worst.

BOOM! A bolt of thunder tore through the heavens, lighting the darkened sky like daytime.

The downpour began.

“Wh-What is this?!” Even Farkas, still tied up on the ground, sensed something was wrong.

Vinny stared, dumbfounded, as the blazing phoenix from earlier began to dim and fade in the rain. The flames sputtered, shrank—extinguished drop by drop.

What… what was happening??

That was the crimson lotus fire summoned by Aesphyra’s Flamebreaking Soul Armament. Even water couldn’t touch it without being instantly vaporized.

What the hell kind of rain could douse those flames?! That fire wasn’t supposed to go out. It couldn’t go out!

Vinny’s jaw dropped. Only now did he realize—there was something off about this rain.

Rain was supposed to be transparent. But these droplets… were too blue. Like the sky was weeping sapphires.

The shimmering rain gathered together and formed the shape of a massive, water-blue fox demon. The fox opened its glowing eyes, seemingly sentient, and lunged at the weakened phoenix.

With a final, piercing cry, the phoenix burst into a cloud of steam and vanished.

Ssshhhhh— went the sound of boiling water.

The fire phoenix… had been completely extinguished.

“….”

Aesphyra and Vinny fell silent. Without needing to say a word, they both slowly looked up at the sky.

The red-haired succubus was the same—but unlike Aesphyra’s solemnity or Vinny’s stunned confusion, her face was full of excitement, shouting something into the downpour. But the rain was too heavy—no one could hear a thing.

The churning black clouds overhead suddenly split, a shaft of darkness plummeting down to the earth. In an instant, deep shadow swallowed everything in sight. Visibility dropped to less than five meters.

No way. No way no way no way no way—?!

Panic set in. Vinny’s sense of doom intensified by the second.

“Aesphyra! Aesphyra?? Where are you?!” Vinny called out loudly into the blackness. Being near Aesphyra right now was definitely the safest bet.

But he didn’t need to shout for long—his vision cleared again.

Only, compared to a moment ago… the number of people had increased dramatically.

Well—not people, strictly speaking. A horde of fox demons and succubi.

They stood silently, forming two distinct flanks. On one side were the fox demons—dressed in elegant, long-sleeved robes with trailing hems, their fox ears and multiple tails on full display. Their clothing was crafted from silk and brocade, embroidered with mountains and flowing rivers, cranes and drifting clouds. Their jade-white feet, wrapped in socks, stepped softly in wooden clogs. Some held tobacco pipes, some folded fans, others ritual wands. All stood still and solemn.

Vinny suddenly remembered a setting from the original game—among fox demons, wearing clothing embroidered with mountains and rivers, or cranes and clouds, was a mark of status and rank.

Only the heads of ancient noble families with prestigious bloodlines and regional authority could wear robes depicting mountain-river motifs—symbols of governance and territory. As for the crane-and-cloud robes, only the personal confidants of the Ten-Thousand-Demon Fox King—court ministers of the highest rank—had the right to wear those.

It was said that these garments were infused with fox demon secret techniques—immune to fire and water. Under sunlight, the embroidery shimmered brilliantly, and thanks to the materials used, the flowing mountains and rivers on the robes appeared to actually move. They radiated wealth, majesty, and pure dominance.

Compared to that, the other side’s attire was… significantly more revealing.

The succubi stood in stark contrast—not stiffly formal like the fox officials, but seductive, horned, heart-tailed figures radiating devastating beauty. Their clothes, though still ornate in their own right, leaned more toward showing off individual features that marked them as elites among succubi.

Their tails were longer than those of average succubi, and their heart-shaped tails, horns, and eyes bore unique markings. Many of their tails shimmered with a faint crimson tint.

Black gothic lolita dresses trimmed in gold. Star-shaped pupils. Horns circled in golden rings—that was the mark of a high noble succubus, a grand duchess bloodline. Wine-red irises shaped like flower petals, and red tint on their heart-tails—those were traits of royal lineage succubi.

Unlike the composed fox demons, their eyes sparkled with aggressive intent, though their body language was more relaxed, even languid.

If the fox demons were elegant noble ladies of quiet refinement, then these succubi were ravishing seductresses—dangerously beautiful and born to cause trouble. A feast for the eyes on both sides, in wildly different ways.

Every fox demon and succubus present was at minimum of high noble birth. Many had direct or collateral ties to royal families.

And the only one who could command creatures this proud—was their queen.

The queen of the Ten-Thousand-Demon Foxes and of the Succubus Tribe—Jiu Lixue.

Watching that impossibly beautiful white-haired, fox-eared girl descend like the moon among stars, surrounded by the highest-ranking elites of both demon clans… Vinny’s jaw hung frozen.

He wasn’t even sure if it had dislocated.

What the heavenly-fuck-level lineup was this?! This kind of formation could wipe out an entire nation without breaking a sweat—and they were just casually bringing it here?!

No. No, seriously, what was this about?! Was Jiu Lixue declaring war on humanity or something?!

Vinny’s knees almost gave out. He nearly collapsed.

His brain buzzed like a fried CPU. He couldn’t even process who these demons were.

No way. No freaking way. She actually came?! She actually came?!

Vinny’s lips trembled. Then he remembered—how he’d been provoking the red-haired succubus earlier. Taunting her. Mocking her. Declaring that even if her queen showed up, he’d just smash her too.

Please tell him… please tell him Jiu Lixue and her inner circle hadn’t heard that.

Vinny was now overwhelmed with regret. Deep, gut-wrenching regret. He could feel his intestines turning blue from how much he regretted it.

Why did he have to show off like that? Why did he have to run his mouth and plant that death-flag?

Now look what happened. He acted cocky, and now the queen was here to personally end him. Offline. In real life.

Vinny was consumed by despair. He was done. Game over.

He dodged Aesphyra’s holy sword—only to fall into Jiu Lixue’s claws.

It’s over. He’s so dead.

…No. Maybe, there was still hope?

In that moment of crisis, Vinny suddenly remembered something.

He still had the Virtue Points Shop. He hadn’t used it in ages—maybe the free item had refreshed?

What if? What if something actually useful had popped up?

Suddenly, a surge of purpose filled his chest. There had to be a reason he was brought to this world. This moment meant something.

That sense of destiny wouldn’t just let him die a dog’s death here—there had to be a way out!

Hastily, Vinny opened the long-neglected Virtue Points Shop.

As expected, after all this time, the free item had refreshed.

Good news: it refreshed.

As for the bad news…

Vinny’s expression stiffened as he looked at the new free item.

Random Free Item: Telepathy Scroll

Effect: Allows temporary telepathic communication with a target.

Seriously??

This was what he got now? Now of all times?! A glorified walkie-talkie? Was the system mocking him??

The burst of destiny he just felt? Gone.

Fine. He shouldn’t have pinned his hopes on some luck-based, freebie item anyway.

Cheap crap was always worthless.

Still, even though the scroll looked completely useless, Vinny exchanged for it anyway. The Virtue Points Shop went back into cooldown.

With his last scrap of hope crushed, Vinny turned his gaze back to the one figure he usually found endlessly exasperating, but who now felt like a pillar of spiritual stability—Aesphyra’s silver-haired silhouette.

Even faced with this terrifying assembly—the top-tier fighters of both succubi and fox demons—Aesphyra’s expression didn’t change. Though her eyes were heavy, her demeanor remained calm and composed.

As expected of the fated female lead! Just standing there filled others with an overwhelming sense of security!

But…

What the hell was the point of that?!

Vinny’s expression now looked worse than crying.

If this were late-game Aesphyra, maybe she’d stand a chance against this lineup. But right now? This was still early-game!

As far as he remembered, Aesphyra never even encountered Jiu Lixue this early in the original storyline!

Even with all her cheats and power-ups, there was no way current-Aesphyra could beat Jiu Lixue!

Jiu Lixue was also a fated female lead. A direct descendant of not one, but two Sage families—a synthesis of their bloodlines. Sure, that gave her a fatal weakness, but that weakness was also the only way to defeat her.

She wasn’t the main protagonist, but as a chosen heroine, her destiny and luck were no less than Aesphyra’s. Her trump cards ran deep.

If it had just been a fox demon minister or a succubus grand duchess, Vinny thought Aesphyra could maybe hold her own and escape intact. But with this many showing up—and with Jiu Lixue herself present?

What was this, a cheat code boss rush?!

Even just two fox demon officials or succubus nobles would’ve been enough to make things dicey for Aesphyra. But this was way beyond that.

If Jiu Lixue hadn’t come and it was only two of them, Vinny could’ve used his own last-resort: summon Vanessa to fight in his place. It would’ve been a desperate move, but hey—life or death. At that point, keeping secrets didn’t matter anymore.

But with this kind of lineup, even turning into Vanessa wouldn’t help.

He wouldn’t just be helpless—he’d get insta-killed on reveal.

He knew how petty that white-haired fox bitch was.

Vinny seriously regretted going so overboard last time—yanking out so many of Jiu Lixue’s tail hairs that showing up as Vanessa now was a massive DEBUFF. He didn’t even dare think about doing it.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep