Aten watched the freezing devil and thought,
‘Is it just me that the devils are after?’
Through the recent battle with the devil, she realized that he wasn't trying to kill her. His goal was likely to drain her strength, in other words, capture her alive.
However, Aten couldn't fathom the reason behind it.
‘……Something similar has happened before.’
Aten's ability to quickly grasp the situation despite the devil's appearance was largely due to her past experiences.
Her status as a princess had always exposed Aten to potential dangers, the most prominent threat being Renzo.
In Renzo's case, the reason for capturing Aten alive was due to Elysia's request, who aimed to ascend to the position of Empress. Elysia believed Aten had a higher chance of becoming Empress than herself.
While Elysia's case was somewhat unique, the underlying motive of exploiting Aten's rights as a princess was no different from the countless threats Aten had faced before.
Do the devils want the Empire's wealth? Do they intend to become nobles of the Empire? Nothing made sense.
Moreover, if Aten were to be kidnapped, the Imperial family would take action. Regardless of the devil's desires, the Imperial family would never grant them.
Even if it meant Aten's death, the Imperial family would pursue the kidnappers with the intent to capture and kill them all.
Aten knew this fact even when she was almost kidnapped by Renzo. That's why she told Frondier that her ransom wouldn't be high.
Aten knew that the Emperor, her father, would definitely act in this way.
Ironically, although the current Emperor Bartello had changed in many ways since his return, the awkward distance between him and Aten hadn't narrowed at all.
Bartello would probably be closer to Frondier than to her.
Even as the devil clenched his teeth, the sound of them chattering could be heard. He couldn't control his trembling body.
He was already on the verge of death. No exaggeration. If someone were to come and kick him, his entire body would shatter.
Aten maintained that precarious gap.
Of course, as she told the devil, Aten was also buying time, but in reality, she was hesitant to kill him.
Despite the opponent being a devil and attempting to kidnap her, her hesitation was typical of Aten.
Naturally, this hesitation made the devil experience a living hell, but he wasn't truly sent to hell.
‘No, this is dangerous! It's been way past the scheduled time!’
The devil thought as he froze from the cold.
Even though devils sacrificed their lives to hold back the others, they weren't infinite.
They had to quickly capture Aten alive and escape while she was alone.
But to think Aten was this strong. Moreover, she was actually buying time. This was completely unexpected for the devils.
‘I have to tell them! This fact, to the other comrades! To the superiors!’
The devil forced his barely-moving arm to rise. Every time he did, the ice attached to his arm cracked with a 'crack' sound.
While the ice appeared fragile, in reality, the devil's arm was also cracking along with it.
Aura bloomed on the devil's arm. Aten became somewhat tense at the sight, but the aura was so weak that it was almost meaningless.
Struck his own neck with his hand.
The already shattered neck was severed by that single blow, and the devil's head fell first, rolling away. His lifeless eyes stared into the void.
For a moment, Aten wondered if it was a magical trigger, but nothing happened afterwards.
In other words, he had killed himself.
Aten narrowed her eyes as she looked at the corpse of the dead devil.
‘This devil tried to escape a while ago.’
At first, she thought it was because he was afraid of dying. Anyone would think so seeing that sight.
But this devil had just killed itself. To call the next devil.
‘……The attempt to escape wasn't to survive.’
Right before he tried to escape, the devil asked Aten a question.
Whether she could distinguish between devils and humans.
If escaping wasn't for survival, then that question was the reason for the escape.
‘Distinguishing between devils and humans. Is that important to devils? So, he tried to escape to inform other devils of that fact?’
That means other devils don't know this yet.
Realizing this, Aten immediately moved. She herself didn't know the value of this information, but it must be valuable enough for the devil to disobey his original orders and act. She had to tell others. Osprey would be the best choice. Ṙ
“I thought it was taking longer than expected.”
An unpleasant voice reached Aten's ears.
Aten turned around. Her domain, still filled with chills. Someone was walking steadily within it.
Of course, that didn't mean Aten's chills were easy to handle, as the person glared at Aten with a contorted face.
It was a tall man. He had a well-groomed beard and covered his nose and mouth with a gloved hand, as if trying to inhale as little of the cold air as possible.
“A domain of this size, even mediocre devils wouldn't dare touch it.”
The devil pushed back Aten's chill with aura surrounding its entire body. However, even if the chill was pushed back, the already lowered temperature wouldn't change. Frost began to form on his body as well.
Aten asked. The first devil she encountered had obsessively introduced itself. If her judgment was correct, this devil would probably do the same.
“Huu, it's a painful rule in this situation.”
The devil sighed and said,
“My name is Marchosias, the second-ranked devil of Wrath.”
Aten's tension heightened at those words.