Chapter 191 ….
From behind Richard and Lindsey, Lavinia, who had been struggling to make something like a magical bullet, turned her head at the commotion behind her—and saw the corpse of a royal guard spewing blood like a fountain from his neck, while a goat-headed monster gnawed on his skull.
Next to it, another freshly corrupted monster rose to its feet. More monsters poured in through the window behind them, splattering the royal guards’ blood.
The desperate screams from the people behind the barricade and the monstrous roars pierced her ears, while the stench of blood and decay assaulted her nose.
Lavinia shuddered.
It was hell. Or perhaps a nightmare.
She realized something new: the world was not a fairy tale, and courage alone could not solve everything.
Still, she couldn’t collapse here.
She had vowed just moments ago that, no matter the fear, she would summon courage.
Mimicking Lilieta’s form, she loaded the first magically crafted bullet into her revolver and aimed at the goat-headed monster gnawing at the barricade, targeting its head.
Bang. A pink streak cut through the air.
The bullet pierced the monster’s head. The one trying to tear apart the barricade collapsed.
“Got it—”
Lavinia muttered to herself, shrugging her shoulders, but her words trailed off. Her light green eyes widened in shock.
The monster next to the goat-headed one, with blade-like spikes growing from its back and extra arms protruding from its sides, turned toward the human who had fired the gun.
Clad in the crushed armor of a royal guard, it bent its waist like a horse and crawled toward her with six limbs, like an insect. No, it charged like a chariot pulled by six horses.
Lavinia tried to craft another bullet with her trembling hands—but she failed. She couldn’t concentrate.
What should she do?
Shadows loomed.
Was she going to die like this?
“Out of the way!”
Richard shouted, roughly pushing her aside. He thrust his sword into the monster’s mouth as it lunged, but the monster, spewing blood, didn’t slow down and struck him.
“―!”
Richard’s body flew backward from the impact. As he felt his insides churn, a searing pain pierced his back.
A spear from a Card Soldier hit him in the direction he was flung.
“Rich!”
Leonhart screamed his name. Lavinia, pale and frozen in terror, suddenly rose. Behind her, a monster entering through the window raised its forelimb.
Lindsey, guarding the door, turned in surprise, and the monster she had been fighting swiped its claw at her exposed side.
Just as the elongated claw was about to strike, a sudden golden streak pierced through it, continuing forward to go through the head of the Card Soldier impaling Richard, and then exploded the monster behind Lavinia.
Instead of looking at the explosion behind her, Lavinia looked toward the direction the golden streak had originated.
On the castle wall overlooking the royal guard training ground, above the grotesquely gathered monsters, moonlight fell.
Dazzling golden hair reflected the light. Torn dress hems and lace ribbons floated in the night sky like jellyfish.
Her face was hidden, but in the shadowed silhouette, only furious purple eyes and the silver muzzle of a gun gleamed.
Lavinia called out, tears in her voice.
“Teacher Rita!”
“Things could have gone terribly wrong if I had been just a little slower.”
Lilieta drew in a deep breath.
She saw Richard’s shoulder moving—he was still alive. It wasn’t too late.
Lindsey, who had nearly been fatally injured, came to her senses and ran to Richard, pushing aside the dead Card Soldier and carrying him indoors.
Leonhart came running frantically, and the Duke and Duchess behind the barricade stood up in shock.
Nearby, Lavinia looked up at her with teary eyes. The usually doll-like, perfectly groomed girl was now covered in dust, sweat, and blood.
It truly had been a near disaster.
Anger welled up over the anxiety in her heart.
Rita steadied her breath and looked down at the hundred or so monsters gathered in the training ground.
Seeing creatures that had once been human made her dizzy for a moment, but she quickly regained her composure.
These things, coated in human flesh and blood, were different from him—they hadn’t harmed anyone yet.
Gritting her teeth, she spoke softly.
“Gnewg, assist with ballistic calculations.”
[Confirmation: Ballistic calculation assist function activated.]
Small butterflies rose from Silvergrace. They quickly scattered, and golden lines formed in the air, mapping the structure and shape of the royal guard training ground.
Comparing the 3D blueprint with her heightened senses of the interior, Lilieta verified the positions of living people and monsters.
The calculation was instantaneous. She infused magic into her voice.
“Everyone, stay exactly where you are!”
At the sound of her commanding voice, the people froze. Then she fired—rapid shots. Dozens of bullets shot in different directions.
Bullets ricocheted off window frames with precision, piercing two monsters attempting to climb through. Shots passing between defenders at the door bounced off the floor and pierced three monsters approaching the oath-bound individuals. Bullets hitting iron statues forming the barricade pierced two monsters clinging to it.
Exquisitely designed ricochet shots.
The people were stunned, unable to comprehend how the bullets flew and hit only the monsters.
[Admiration: Even more impressive than before, user. Truly impossible accuracy.]
Ignoring Grace’s praise, Lilieta prepared the next bullets. Red light gathered at the gun’s muzzle.
Sensing the massive gathering of magical energy, monsters began to look toward her, not at the humans in front of them but behind.
The hundred monsters halted their attack. Their eerie gazes recognized the danger.
Beneath the night sky, a sunset-like glow emerged. From the red center, a tiny sun burned white at the muzzle.
The monsters instinctively realized they had to stop it. Failure meant death. They turned en masse toward the castle wall.
Rita shouted.
“Lindsey! Get the people inside!”
Blood-soaked Lindsey grabbed the oath-bound defenders at the door, retreating indoors.
The monsters that had entered the training ground were all dead. Those clinging to window frames ran wildly toward the castle wall.
The people saw the sunset-like light beyond broken doors, shattered glass, and atop the walls.
The intense red was so vivid it felt like the night was ending and the sun rising.
A golden sun, wrapped in the red, fell like thunder, descending toward countless monsters climbing the walls in a living stairway.
Each monstrous eye reflected the sun. The hundred suns in their eyes grew. Soon the eyes were filled with red and gold.
Light exploded.
A terrible heat came first. Then a roar, as if an earthquake struck, and smoke rose like a volcano from the monsters’ midst.
The castle walls trembled, unable to withstand the impact, and began collapsing. Gray bricks fell, burying monsters in the explosion like a tomb.
Lilieta avoided being caught in the collapse by moving as she fired.
She leaped away from the collapsing wall, avoiding the monsters’ mass, and fired two shots with swift hands—one toward the training ground entrance, one toward her landing spot.
Golden explosions flared at both points. They were defensive rounds, blocking the incoming inferno.
Landing behind the temporary barrier, she immediately aimed again, firing defensive rounds toward the front and the entrance.
After the first explosion, monsters with fire abilities or flammable internal oils caused secondary explosions.
With deafening blasts, flames shot into the sky. Falling bricks bounced like grains in boiling oil.
The scene lit up like daytime for a moment. Flames spread like ripples carried by smoke and wind.
Having anticipated secondary explosions, Lilieta fired defensive rounds again. People watched unharmed, witnessing everything beyond the golden light.
The captain of the royal guard let out an involuntary gasp of shock.
“What on earth is that…?”
