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"Yes! Lord Riku is here!"
"With Lord Riku around, Her Highness is safe!"
The moment Riku appeared, the fleeing beastmen all lit up with joy, stopping in their tracks and staring up at him like he was a god.
"Riku? That human?! He's insanely strong!" Shinku gasped as she looked up at Riku. Her scout magic confirmed it—his energy level was already on par with Jibril. Not to mention, that strange entrance earlier? Clearly a spatial ability.
To her, that was unthinkable. Everyone knew how weak humans were, how little spirit energy they had.
No wonder the beastman princess had actually married a damn monke—uh, human.
Shinku stayed quiet. The humans she once looked down on… now had the power to crush her. The shame stung like a slap in the face.
Meanwhile, Fia's crimson eyes were locked on Jibril—specifically, on her holding hands with Riku. Her expression turned from angry to pouty. But she knew this wasn't the time to throw a tantrum, so she pushed her feelings down.
Still, her drooping tail gave her away—she wasn't happy.
Jibril noticed Fia's reaction too, her brow twitching almost imperceptibly.
Riku, of course, noticed all of this. But now wasn't the time to explain. He just gently patted Fia on the head, quietly trying to comfort her.
His eyes, though, stayed locked on Jibril.
"Heh… interesting. Didn't expect you to still be alive. Last time you lured me into a direct fight, then used the blast from the explosion and your spatial powers to escape… even I didn't notice at the time," Jibril said, her expression shifting from shock to delight, then to annoyance, and finally cold indifference.
Clearly, she'd realized she had been played.
"Ding ding, right answer. Too bad there's no prize," Riku clapped lightly, clearly impressed with her deduction.
"Heh… but I'm honestly glad you're still alive. That means I get to add another rare specimen to my collection. And it looks like you've gotten stronger too—enough that I'd rank you at LV.6, leader-class."
As she spoke, Jibril's eyes sparkled with excitement, the look of a collector gone mad.
"And with that machine-type girl over there sticking by your side, plus that little beastman chick? Jackpot. What a haul! Ehehehe~" Jibril laughed excitedly.
"Hmph! Jibril the Variant, do you really think you can take on both my husband and me at once?!" Fia snapped, stepping forward angrily.
"Husband? You, a human? Don't tell me you're into lolis or something?" Jibril stared at Riku with a strange look.
Even Jibril's body seemed to flinch a bit at that.
"That's none of your business. Flügel, Jibril—I'm seriously not in the mood right now. I really wanna beat the crap outta you, so you'd better be ready." Riku raised an eyebrow, stepped forward, and stood protectively in front of Fia and Jibril.
"Fia, fall back. Go protect our people. Also, make sure the forest spirits don't slip away. Jibril's mine."
"…Understood." Fia hesitated for a second, glanced at Jibril, then nodded. She stomped on the air and launched toward her people. She wasn't the indecisive type.
She didn't know how Riku got so strong, but he clearly had leveled up massively. Taking on Jibril solo shouldn't be an issue.
Jibril also nodded at Riku and followed Fia.
"I let you escape last time, but not this time. But before we fight, mind telling me your name?" Jibril didn't stop them. She just smiled softly and asked.
"Riku Dola," he replied calmly.
"Riku, huh… got it. Then—let's begin!" Jibril nodded. Her expression turned deadly serious, and a terrifying killing intent rippled out from her body, sending chills down everyone's spines.
As soon as she finished speaking, she vanished.
She reappeared behind Riku instantly, a jet-black energy blade in hand, slicing through the air straight for his neck.
Fast. Precise. Brutal.
Clearly, last time's escape had taught Jibril not to give Riku any chance to play tricks—go for the kill from the start.
But Riku tilted his body to the side at the last second. A Zanpakutō appeared in his hand, and with just a slight movement, he blocked Jibril's energy blade with ease.
Jibril frowned slightly, but before she could launch another attack, Riku suddenly swept his leg straight toward her stomach.
The powerful wind force made Jibril's expression change a little. She quickly gathered energy to block the blow.
"Boom——!"
A huge blast of force erupted out of nowhere. Even though it didn't break through Jibril's energy shield, it still sent her flying backward.
As she tumbled through the air, Jibril quickly stabilized herself. She looked at Riku in surprise, like she'd just witnessed something unbelievable.
"Your energy's already on par with mine, and your physical strength… it's even stronger than a beastman going all out in blood-rage mode. What the hell have you been doing these past few days?" she asked, genuinely curious.
At the same time, her eyes were burning even hotter, like she was staring at some ultra-rare treasure.
"You really think I'd tell you?" Riku replied flatly.
"Knew it—you're definitely a freak. Your whole body just radiates mystery." Jibril grinned suddenly. "How about it? Wanna make a deal with me?"
"A deal?" Riku raised an eyebrow, amused.
"Yup! A deal." Jibril said quickly, her tone light and playful. "I mean, I may be a Flügel, but to you humans, I must look like a total knockout, right? So... you can do whatever you want with my body."
She gave him this crazy seductive look and added, "Rough me up however you want, I don't mind."
"Oh? Now that's interesting. So what's your price?" Riku asked, half-smirking.
"I only have one condition: after you're done having your way with me, I get your body to study. Honestly, just keeping your head as a trophy would be way too wasteful." Jibril gave a creepy chuckle, drooling a little at the corners of her mouth. Her eyes looked like she wanted to strip Riku bare and dissect him on the spot.
"…Do I look like the kind of idiot who'd throw away his life just 'cause someone's hot?" Riku gave her a look like she was completely brain-dead. "There's a whole forest out there waiting for me—why would I want to die on top of you?"
"....."