When the plot-skips players into the game world

The Wild Hunt disappeared in an instant from among the village— they hadn't returned, but instead continued to follow Wolfram as he fled.

That pursuing attitude was completely different from the warning-style attack they had when they encountered the Penalty Demon!

Indeed, they were all lured away by Wolfram!

Although it was a giant itself before, now it had abandoned its own name and become a Penalty Demon. It could only feel schadenfreude—thank goodness it had discarded the giant's shell in time, or it would have been the one to die.

"Next, I just need to find that butterfly-shaped demon..."

The Penalty Demon pinched the shackles on its left hand and gave a cold snort.

Since that demon blew up so resolutely last time, it must certainly have the ability to resurrect or be reborn. After all, the Butterfly Celestial Marshal possessed a similar ability.

This ability was really troublesome.

Last time, it was caught off guard and nearly had an accident. Luckily, the demon's vitality was strong enough; it wasn't directly blown to death.

— This time, it was prepared in advance. It would not so easily fall victim to her attacks again.

The last time it shackled its opponent with its chains, the Penalty Demon had felt it—the butterfly-shaped, fire-manipulating demon bore the Mark of Sin. Although it didn't know what breed of demon she was, since she carried the Mark of Sin, she must have been granted power by a Fallen Celestial Marshal. That meant she couldn't resist the punitive spells of the "Penalty Demon," the demon judge.

Moreover, the body of that butterfly was much more fragile than it had imagined. The last time the Penalty Demon used the "Cruel Restraint" for control and torture, it almost killed her outright.

This time it knew how to deal with her.

As long as the spell hit successfully this time, it would immediately pull the chains and tear the butterfly-shaped Phantom Demon into shreds!

It would no longer give her the chance to break free from the shackles!

And without the Superior Phantom capable of contending with itself, what could such third-level scrubs do to it?

"...Hm?"

The Penalty Demon suddenly sensed something.

It transformed into a bolt of lightning, crackling as it fell backward. The lightning tore through the curtain of rain, emitting a strange, scorched odor.

But just then, a beam of light descended from the sky—

— It was a radiant slash!

It fiercely lifted its halberd to meet the attack, but a tremendous force struck and a crisp clashing sound ensued.

It wasn't that its demonic strength was lacking, but rather a divine aura descended and abruptly suppressed its power from all directions.

At that moment, a figure lightly leapt from the sky. Her movements were so graceful that it was more like gliding through the air than jumping.

— It was a human the Penalty Demon had never seen before.

A young woman.

The Penalty Demon was much shorter than its former self. And for that reason, humans seemed enlarged in its eyes, a proportion that made it feel somewhat unaccustomed.

...Or perhaps it was the Holy Sword of Void in the opponent's hands that made it feel oppressed.

"Who are you?"

The Penalty Demon let out a deep roar, "Mortal, answer me!"

"I'm the hunter sent to kill your fucking mother!"

Hayna didn't hesitate to spit out the curse.

Divine light seeped from her pupils—and the Holy Sword she held was the Red-Handled Sword lent to her by Aiwass!

By paying mana with the attributes of fire, light, and wind, the flames of the blade, holy power of the blade, and the invisible blade could be activated!

And now, by pouring her own light and wind attributed mana into it, she turned the Holy Sword in her hand into a pure, invisible sword of light!

On top of this, she used Holy Sword Skill to transform the key in her hand into a golden-class "Sacred Weapon."

— Expelling evil, sharpness, toughness, lightness.

Hayna pressed down with the blade in her hand, launching three consecutive, sharp aerial slash attacks.

Avalon swordsmanship, triple slash!

Three dazzling white arcs flew out in succession—the sense of threat let the Penalty Demon know that it must block this strike, or there could be trouble.

It threw out its chains, hoping to bind Hayna. Then, it immediately switched to holding the halberd with both hands, concentrating on blocking the three slashes.

At the same time, it keenly felt its spell hit Hayna.

—It hit!

That feeling of an unresisted hit gave it a moment of relief.

She could at most be Fourth Power Level!

The Penalty Demon immediately grew bold and a fierce glint appeared in its eye, "You..."

But it had only spoken a single word when a splendid radiance surged over.

The supposedly bound Hayna had somehow broken free from the control. Not only that, she was now enshrouded in a thin layer of silvery-white flame, and it seemed as though she was ablaze.

That was the golden attribute Hayna had acquired from this promotion ceremony.

— Guardian Will!

[Guardian Will (Gold): When you fight alongside teammates, you cannot be controlled by the enemy. Each time this effect is triggered, your next attack will be twice as powerful, and "Guardian Will" will temporarily go out; during "Guardian Will: Extinguished," you receive a 7% damage reduction. After taking seven instances of damage from evil enemies, "Guardian Will" will reignite.]

The Penalty Demon, in a sorry state, attempted to lift its halberd to block but was ultimately a step too late.

——Charge Slash!

The holy and sharp blade touched the body of the Penalty Demon, slicing into it without any delay, burning a mark as red-hot as an iron brand. A tangible, frenzied hurricane burst directly into the wound——

Countless tiny wounds burst open all over the Penalty Demon's body, spurting little sprays of black blood.

Meanwhile, Hayna switched to holding the sword with both hands, beginning to gather power.

Despite being heavily damaged, the Penalty Demon still sought to seize the moment to strike back.

But just then, it felt a sudden sharp pain in its back.

It was as if some nail had penetrated its body, followed by waves of scorching heat from within.

This was... some kind of curse poison?!

Ordinary toxins had no effect on the demons; only curse poison crafted by the power of the Path of Adaptation could possibly harm it.

Given that the poison hadn't fully taken effect, its creator must not have reached the Fifth Power Level. However, it still felt distinct pain and weakness.

The Penalty Demon tensed its muscles, an electric light flaring up over its body, attacking indiscriminately at everyone around. But it didn't manage to hit any invisible person, only succeeding in ejecting two Hawk Feather-shaped throwing knives that had been nailed into its back.

As the electric light had just faded, it immediately sensed imminent danger again.

But this time, due to the pain and the previous injury, it was too late to escape. Also, having just exploded with power, it was at the very moment of catching its breath.

A long spear suddenly thrust out from its own shadow, piercing through the Penalty Demon's body from behind!

"——Shadow Demon!!!"@@novelbin@@

The Penalty Demon immediately recognized the attacker!

It was that demon, Aleister, who had made a pact with a Shadow Demon!

It roared furiously, pounding its own body with fists wrapped in thunder, demanding that the concept of sin and penalty in the thunder shatter the shadow on its body and surge into the earth from its source.

But the Shadow Demon assassin had already retreated after striking. It was well aware of the Penalty Demon's ability to restrain it and had fled right after launching a single attack.

In this stormy night, darkness and shadows were everywhere—the Shadow Demon could leap freely among them, making it impossible for the Penalty Demon to locate it.

While it was briefly delayed in searching for the Shadow Demon, that delay had already provided Hayna with enough time.

——Mighty Power Strike!

A slash wielded with all of one's strength, an unrestrained and fierce attack.

It was less like she was swinging a sword and more like she had thrown her whole body into the blow with all her might.

The holy radiance whipped up a storm, with just the air pressure splitting the ground apart.

The Penalty Demon was not a traditional warrior. It didn't grasp how to use weapons, nor was it skilled at close combat. It could only rely on its reaction speed, transforming into a bolt of lightning in an attempt to escape through a gap in the slashes.

However, just then, several beams of red lasers struck from the horizon——

The Butterfly Celestial Marshal's phantom form attacked in a pincer move, directly severing the lightning!

Having just returned to its flesh, the Penalty Demon barely managed to lift its halberd before being struck down directly by Hayna's slash!

The halberd capable of wielding thunder was split in two by the Holy Sword. Under Hayna's control, the residual power transformed into a storm, sending the Penalty Demon crashing backwards—hitting a tree and then being bounced right back by the indestructible trunk.

If Hayna had not held back, the Penalty Demon would have been slain outright.

Even so, the Penalty Demon had lost its ability to fight. Its body, like a high-pressure cooker jetting steam, was nearly torn apart by the invisible blade.

It hadn't yet grasped what had happened when it suddenly felt like it had been rushed and beaten by a group of people—despite its Energy Level being much higher than the opposition's, they worked together with uncanny synergy, trained and efficient like a pack of hounds hunting prey larger than themselves.

Just as the Penalty Demon thought to flee, it felt something invisible binding it.

Enjoy more content from My Virtual Library Empire

"Stay put. Remain here."

A cold voice spoke from behind it: "Don't think of escaping—I've memorized your scent."

Turning its head, the Penalty Demon saw it was a grey wolf that spoke human language, with blood-red pupils.

——It was a Werewolf!

The Penalty Demon nearly despaired.

It knew the Werewolf could indeed lock onto its location.

"Who are you all?!"

It blurted out.

A knight wielding a Holy Sword, a demon pact-bonded with the Shadow Demon, a Werewolf that had completed the Werewolf Transformation Ritual, and a Superior Phantom capable of using the power of fire...

It hadn't even seen Aiwass and it had been inexplicably knocked down by a group of unrecognizable people who suddenly appeared, whom it had never seen before.

Where did this group come from all of a sudden when it hadn't seen them during its last visit?!

And to defeat it without then killing it... this unknown was even more frightening to it.

Back when it was still a Giant, it sometimes caught live humans for ritual materials.

——Back then, it approached its tasks with such an attitude.