Vol 4. Chapter 179: Eldest Daughter

The reason Yumo was stunned was simple.

Although she appeared calm and indifferent on the surface, even with a faint trace of disdain hidden in her eyes, that was merely a facade Miss Yumo had put on to imitate a boss's imposing aura. After realizing that her transformation of a spirit beast into an Abyss Demon had been exposed, Miss Yumo was somewhat at a loss.

Deep down, she was even feeling a little panicked.

'What... What should I do now?'

Ever since arriving in the human world, what Miss Yumo had feared most was having her identity exposed and consequently implicating the entire Black Rose Family. If people from other factions believed that the Black Rose Family was colluding with Abyss Demons, they would undoubtedly launch a crusade against them.

The Black Rose Family was an organization established by her children. Although powerful, it ultimately couldn't possibly stand against all the human forces on the continent.

Probably?

If a conflict really broke out, the losses would undoubtedly be devastating, something Yumo desperately wanted to avoid. Besides, even if she managed to reach the southern part of the continent in time and save the Black Rose Family, Xiao and the others would no longer have a place in human society. They would be branded as 'traitors' and hunted by humanity for all eternity.

If the Black Rose Family disappeared, then who would take care of Limo, Liyu, and the other children after her death? And who would help those Abyss Demon children conceal themselves within human society?

With this in mind, when Yumo decided to attend Yexinlian Royal Academy, and even earlier, when she traveled to the Snow Night Imperial Palace, she had been reluctant to use the identity of 'Miss Yu.' Instead, she had wanted to adopt a completely unrelated disguise, one she wouldn't have to worry about even if it was exposed.

However, considering that using the identity of the Black Rose Family's young lady would make it easier to enter the Skyvault banquet and Yexinlian, Yumo had hesitated. Eventually, after repeated persuasion and assurances from Xiao, Karina, and the others, she agreed to become the eldest young lady of the Black Rose Family.

...

Now, Miss Yumo deeply regretted that decision...

If she had refused back then, she wouldn't have to agonize over this now...

'Fuck...'

After pretending to be an elegant young lady for so long, Yumo couldn't help unleashing a torrent of profanity in her mind.

However, there was no medicine for regret in this world, and what had already happened couldn't be changed.

All she could do now was find a way to resolve the problem before her.

But...

What should she do?

Faced with the sword drawing ever closer, and looking into Bo'an's eyes filled with hostility, Yumo repeatedly asked herself that question.

However,

Just as Miss Yumo was pondering what to do, an unexpected aura suddenly intruded into her range of perception. The black-haired girl could no longer maintain her false expression of indifference. Her pupils abruptly contracted, revealing an expression of utter disbelief.

?!!

Th-this aura?! How is this possible?!

"Is... Is that her?!"

Completely ignoring the blade that was already within inches of her chest, Miss Yumo immediately fixed her gaze on the space behind Bo'an...

That dark-blue energy that had suddenly appeared...

Compared to a sword technique that wouldn't cause her the slightest injury even if it struck her hundreds of times, the presence that had suddenly appeared behind Bo'an was far more concerning to Yumo.

--

Likewise,

The change in the girl's expression caught Bo'an's attention. Upon sensing the terrifying aura behind him, Bo'an's expression changed drastically, and a drop of cold sweat involuntarily trickled down his pale face.

In that instant, the Grand General felt as though he had been seized tightly in the claws of the Grim Reaper, his heart seemingly stopping.

This suffocating pressure of death far exceeded anything he had ever felt from any powerful opponent.

"What... What exactly is..."

No.

This is bad!

S-something terrible is about to happen!

There was no time to think.

The moment Bo'an sensed the hostility emanating from behind him, he drew a sharp breath. Forcefully suppressing the fear constantly welling up within him, Bo'an swiftly turned around and slashed his sword toward his back.

When faced with danger, failing to resist would only lead to death.

But sometimes, even resistance couldn't change anything.

As Bo'an turned around, before he could even swing his sword, the enormous plant resembling a man-eating flower that had appeared behind him at some unknown moment suddenly opened its gigantic, six-petaled mouth. Inside the enormous maw were countless sinister, terrifying green barbs shaped like teeth...

The next instant,

Under Bo'an's horrified gaze, the man-eating flower violently shattered his protective battle aura with its jaws and swallowed the general directly into its mouth.

In an instant, countless sharp spikes plunged deep into Bo'an's body, while his legs, which remained outside the flower's mouth, were crushed and bitten off by its tremendous force. Unbearable agony surged continuously into Bo'an's brain like uncontrollable molten lava erupting from a volcano, causing the muscular man to suddenly unleash a heart-wrenching scream...

"Ah! Aaaaaaaaah!!!"

Wave after wave of shrill, horrifying screams continued to emerge from the terrifying man-eating flower's mouth.

Facing a life-or-death crisis, Bo'an naturally did everything in his power to unleash his full strength inside the flower's maw, swinging his sword in a desperate attempt to free himself.

Unfortunately, all his efforts were ultimately futile.

As streams of corrosive white liquid began overflowing from the man-eating flower's mouth, Bo'an's consciousness, filled with intense confusion and unwillingness, was mercilessly dragged into boundless darkness.

After instinctively continuing to struggle for several more seconds, the renowned commander of the Secret Investigation Department finally stopped moving altogether...

One drop after another, thick, foul-smelling white liquid dripped from the corners of the man-eating flower's mouth, carrying an overwhelmingly disgusting stench.

Following a satisfied "burp," the man-eating flower slowly opened its enormous mouth. Clumps of clothing and armor coated in the foul-smelling white liquid, along with a longsword, were spat out one after another...

Witnessing this scene, Bo'an's adjutant and the surrounding soldiers immediately revealed expressions of utter disbelief, seemingly unable to comprehend what had just happened before their eyes.

"W-what happened?! Why did the general...?!"

Fear and confusion spread like a virus, rapidly multiplying in the hearts of everyone watching. Driven by terror and their instincts for survival, everyone immediately shifted their weapons away from the black-haired girl and pointed them toward the bizarre green plant that had suddenly grown out of the ground.

?!!

!!

Wh-what...

"What the hell is that thing?!"

The members of the Secret Investigation Department squad couldn't help shouting in confusion.

Unfortunately,

Before they could figure out what was happening, the earth suddenly began trembling. Countless cracks spread across the ground beneath everyone's feet, and streaks of dark-blue light, carrying a chilling, suffocating aura, abruptly erupted from the fissures.

Along with the spreading ghostly light, something terrifying began extending upward, bursting through the surface of the earth.

The next instant,

Before anyone could react, the ground shattered, and countless blood-red thorns suddenly erupted from beneath the earth. They instantly transformed into whips of departed souls wielded by the Goddess of the Underworld, viciously lashing toward the stunned and terrified members of the Secret Investigation Department!

Their speed was so astonishing that the members of the Secret Investigation Department had no time to react before the blood-red thorns tightly entangled them. No matter how hysterically they struggled, they couldn't loosen the thorns' restraints. With their necks tightly constricted by the thorns, even crying out for help became an impossible luxury.

All they could produce were helpless groans.

And just like that,

Amid boundless despair and terror, the blood-red thorns, seemingly originating from the underworld itself, suddenly tightened with tremendous force...

"Crack~"

In an instant,

A scarlet rain of blood fell from the sky, while shattered internal organs, severed limbs, eyeballs, and fragments of brain matter mixed with the 'raindrops' scattered across the ground.

In the blink of an eye, more than thirty members of the Secret Investigation Department squad had all perished under the ravages of the blood-red thorns. The once-picturesque surroundings of the apartment had abruptly transformed into a living hell, filled with deathly silence.

The overpowering stench of blood permeated the area, making even the air seem thick and viscous. The brutality of the scene was enough to shake anyone to their core, causing those who witnessed it to involuntarily sink to one knee and vomit again and again, producing magnificent rainbows.

Although the flesh and blood of more than thirty people had stained everything around them crimson, not a single drop had touched Yumo's body. Not even one drop of scarlet blood had fallen onto her formal dress.

...

"..."

Looking at everything before her, the black-haired girl fell into an eerie silence.

Complicated emotions continuously welled up within her, causing Yumo's azure-blue eyes to tremble involuntarily. Her delicate body also began to shake.

However, Yumo wasn't trembling because of the horrific scene before her.

Although the bloody sight of corpses and scattered remains covering the ground was enough to make many people's stomachs churn, to Yumo, it was an all-too-familiar sight.

After all, back in the Great Winter Forest, the brutal way Abyss Demons hunted and slaughtered their prey had long since made Yumo immune to such scenes.

In fact, because of the influence of the Origin Power within her body, the girl would sometimes even feel pleasure when witnessing such cruelty.

The reason Yumo stood there frozen in place...

Was because...

This 'hunting' scene was simply far too familiar...

Glancing at the gruesomely severed human head that had rolled to her feet, Miss Yumo slowly raised her head and looked ahead.

At that very moment,

Bathed in the rain of blood, a slender figure was slowly stepping into the hellish scene.

Completely unconcerned, the figure walked across the ground littered with fragments of human bone, marrow, and internal organs, approaching the black-haired girl step by step.

When the golden-haired figure was only a few meters away from Miss Yumo, she finally stopped.

"It really has been such a long time, Mother. You're still just as... beautiful as you were before."

...

...

As those indifferent, emotionless, and spine-chilling words of greeting reached her ears, the black-haired girl couldn't help pressing her lips tightly together, her fists clenching with all their strength.

"Youlan..."