Stepping out of the mansion, the girl couldn't help feeling a bit scared.
Nothing good ever came when her father called for her.
Still, she had to admit that the outside world was beautiful.
The grass was still covered in dew, and farther away, she saw many fruit-filled trees, their branches looking perfect for climbing.
The girl was reminded of the many times she had peeked through the window at the servant's kids playing in them, and how envious she had felt at those moments.
Even as the desire to run and climb those trees awakened inside her, all it took was seeing her father standing at the center of the field for her to panic and quickly suppress it.
The throbbing pain on her head was still fresh in her mind from the time she sneaked away from the mansion to play with the servant's kids.
For a few hours, she felt truly happy; she made friends and laughed without a worry in the world.
But it soon turned into a nightmare when her father found her.
He had been furious, his face so red that she feared blood would come out of it.
In fear, she closed her eyes, getting ready for another beating, but this time he didn't hit her.
Instead, the next day he brought her close to the gates of the state.
Then, she looked in horror as a group of servants was pushed out of the state while carrying the bodies of their children.
This is all your fault, her father said back then, and she agreed. If she hadn't tried to play with them, none of this would have happened.
Her father was a monster, her personal monster, and by getting close to those kids, she had exposed them to him.
Your only goal in life is to become stronger, so burn this image in your memory and never get distracted again. Leaving these words behind, he ordered her to follow the instructor.
She had been four at the time, but even a year later the image was still raw in her memory.
With these thoughts running through her head, the girl walked in timid, fearful steps until she stood in front of her father.
"Today you'll show me the results of your training."
Her father was a thin man with a mean look. He was already approaching sixty, but his blonde hair had barely lost any of its color, and his red eyes were still as vibrant as they had been in his youth.
"Your brother completed the same test when he was your age, so don't disappoint me."
Hearing him mention her brother, the girl felt her budding pride igniting.
For as long as she could remember, she had lived in the shadow of her older brother.
Every mistake prompted a scolding, and a 'your brother would never'; every success was of little worth when compared to her brother, so hearing her father say that wasn't surprising.
She wondered if he would love her if she could surpass her brother.
"Yes, father!"
The man nodded and pulled back a flap that had been covering a large object at his side, revealing a cage holding a large wolf.
The wolf had an emaciated body covered in grey fur and vicious black eyes, full of hunger as they stared at her.
"You are to kill this creature using this dagger." After tossing her a weapon, her father opened the cage without hesitation.
GRRRrrrr!
The wolf growled as it stepped out of its cage. It looked at her father for a moment, recognized his power, and then turned its attention to her.
Her heart beat faster, and goosebumps rose on her skin.
She was afraid; no, as the girl looked into those dark eyes, she saw her own death.
The wolf crouched down, and a predatory glint passed through its eyes before it pounced at her.
With trembling hands, she held the dagger in front of her, too scared to even think of a strategy.
Before she knew it, the wolf was over her, the dagger nowhere to be seen.
Then came the pain, and she no longer could care about anything else.
It was a hot, piercing pain that exceeded anything she had felt before.
The wolf sank its fangs into her left shoulder, and she couldn't move its head.
The pain was too much for her, and tears fell freely from her eyes as she screamed with all her strength.
"Daddy, help! It hurts!"
Crunch!
Crunch!
The sound of chunk after chunk of her flesh being ripped out of her body only made her cry harder, but as she looked at her father through the tears, she only saw cold eyes looking back at her, with a hint of disappointment flickering through them as he watched the scene.
Why is he just looking?
Why is he not helping me?
Doesn't he care if I die?
Questions popped in quick succession in her childish mind, but she instinctively knew, even if it would take many years before she fully understood why, that there would be no help coming from that man.
This realization awakened something in her.
Her gaze hardened, sharpened by the pain she was feeling and the death of her affection for her father.
Disregarding everything else, she moved, and soon the wolf whimpered away from her.
She rolled on the ground, reaching for her dagger before turning to stare at the bleeding wolf.
Blood flowed from her mouth, but this time it wasn't hers.
She spat something on the ground, a piece of flesh still carrying some grey fur on it.
The taste in her mouth was horrible, but she smiled at it, a great bloodthirsty smile.
Her left arm hung uselessly at her side, and lightheadedness took over her, but she still felt great.
Her eyes met the wolf's, and she saw fear in them.
Seeing this, she reached a conclusion that would follow her into adulthood.
You are the prey.
I am the predator.
Upon understanding this, a mischievous grin formed on her lips.
***
Huh? Did I doze off?
Hearing footsteps approach the shop, Clementine woke with a start.
Months of running while dodging pursuers had honed her already sensitive hearing to perfection.
For a moment, her body tensed at the possible danger.
Wiping the tears that had formed in her eyes, she stood up.
Looking at the body she had been using as a chair, she immediately remembered where she was.
She came to kidnap the Bareare boy, but after not seeing him in the shop, she decided to wait inside, killing the old lady when she tried to stop her.
Feeling comfortable, she began stretching her limbs. Judging by the sound of footsteps, at least five people were approaching, so a fight was inevitable.
The only question was if she should play around or just kill everyone quickly.
Let's see them first before deciding.
The door cracked open, and a teenage boy appeared.
Is this the target?
I was not paying attention to his description when Zuranon spoke, but I think he said it was a teenage boy.
Thinking of the arrogant undead, Clementine scoffed.
Sure, he is stronger than me, she thought, but he was nothing in front of a God-kin.
Her time as a member of the Black Scripture had expanded her horizons for what true strength looked like, so she felt no awe for Zuranon.
Were it not for his usefulness, she wouldn't even spare him a glance, but here she was, obeying his orders.
Annoyed, she focused on the boy.
He looked soft and pampered, with no signs of training.
Then someone yelled from outside and yanked the boy back.
Oops!
Looking at the blood pooling under the old lady, she understood why someone outside had noticed a problem.
Well, it doesn't matter anyway.
With her interest piqued, Clementine walked slowly toward the door and opened it.
In front of her were 7 people with different attire.
4 of them wore silver plates on their chests, making them adventurers. They surrounded the boy, a girl who didn't seem strong, and a woman who felt somewhat familiar.
She couldn't quite put her finger on where she had seen her, so she quickly ignored it. That woman was the only one who smelled slightly strong.
Her assessment after inspecting the group?
Prey.
Hum… But who is Nfirea among them? The boy opened the door while calling for his grandma, but maybe she had more than one grandson?
To be sure, she fully opened the door and pointed at the body inside.
The group of adventurers tensed immediately, but kept their eyes on her, as did the woman, with only the girl and the boy staring at the body, tears freely falling from their eyes.
Hearing the boy scream, she felt sure that he was the target.
With a grin and her stilettos in hand, Clementine lunged at the group.
The warrior raised his shield to stop her, but her weapon pierced right through it.
She smiled smugly while effortlessly disarming the man.
"[Twin Plant]"
"[Magic Arrow]"
"[Piercing Strike]"
Roots rose from the ground, binding her feet in place, as a magic arrow hit her shoulder, and another arrow flew towards her head.
They are pretty good, all things considered.
She could appreciate and even admire this level of teamwork, something she could never do herself.
Only…
"[Fortress]"
Seeing the arrow coming, she gave up on dodging.
As the martial art took effect, she blocked it with her right palm.
"[Ability Boost]"
Power rushed through her body, and she jumped, completely ignoring the roots holding her feet.
A low-tier spell from a weak druid was never a problem to begin with.
"It's payback time~" With a mix of amusement and annoyance at being hit, Clementine threw one of her stilettos at the mage.
Swish!
With a flap of wings, an angel appeared and parried her attack with its flaming sword.
"Archangel Flame?" Flipping backward to dodge another arrow, Clementine looked toward the blond woman.
Seeing her face, the dark sclera, and the scar, an image formed in her head.
"You're that loser who was beaten by my brother, aren't you?" Clementine spoke as she blocked a sword strike from the warrior, then twisted his wrist and kicked him back.
She had an impression of the man.
It wasn't every day that someone appeared at their state demanding a duel from Quaiesse while talking about having his woman stolen from him.
She knew it was a lie, and Quaiesse should have known, but he still accepted the duel.
The man wasn't weak per se, but by trying to battle Quaiesse using summons, he was doomed to fail.
The sounds of him begging for mercy had been very entertaining, and since his appearance was unusual, she remembered him.
"You're Nigrondu, right? Wait, maybe Nigrund was closer?" Clementine put a hand on her chin, dodging an arrow coming her way, and wondered aloud.
This ranger is starting to piss me off.
With a quick glance, she saw the Druid healing the warrior while the mage cast strengthening magic.
So he is trying to distract me, huh?
"It's Nigun!" The woman finally yelled as the Archangel Flame swung its sword down.
Clementine used [Invulnerable Fortress] to block the attack, then effortlessly pierced its head.
"Right, right, no need to get so angry~"
The angel dissolved into particles of light, prompting Clementine to look at the group's fearful expressions.
They seemed to be starting to understand that they wouldn't be leaving this place alive.
She always loved this moment in a fight.
"Wait, weren't you a man? What happened to you?" Seeing Nigun's face, chest, and voice, she didn't think he was just crossdressing, and got curious.
Hearing her question, Nigun paused.
"I offended someone I shouldn't, and so will you if you don't run away right now." His tone was so serious that even Clementine paused for a moment. "[Summon Angel 4th- Principality of War]."
In front of Nigun, an angel appeared, carrying a flame sword in one hand and a shield in the other.
Whistle!
As she waltzed through the group to grab her stiletto, Clementine mockingly whistled.
Something like that could never stop her, but seeing as Nigun looked more fun to play with, her smile turned bloodthirsty.
"Give me just a minute, and I'll go play with you, don't worry~"
With that, she grabbed the druid and slit his throat.
"Dyne!" Screams erupted from everyone.
With blood in their eyes, the warrior and the ranger closed in, ready to fight.
Their expressions were hilarious, so she jumped in front of them, laughed, and pierced their hearts.
In front of her, these little silver plates might as well be toddlers swinging weapons at her. Their efforts were very cute, but ultimately useless.
Were it not for her own entertainment, she would have killed all of them a long time ago.
"Hehehe, now to complete the party, let me also send you on your way." She locked her gaze on the pretty mage.
But then a sword came down on her, forcing her to stop.
"Ugh, didn't I say that I'll play with you later? What's your problem?" A surge of annoyance took over her as she turned her attention to Nigun.
The woman was now pulling the mage, the girl, and Nfirea behind her, looking panicked.
"You're not touching any of them while I'm here." Nigun's voice sounded desperate, which confused Clementine, who had no way of knowing that, to Nigun, it was better to die than face Ainz's fury.
"Hum… So you're trying to protect them?"
"Well, that's fine for me, but we'll need to change our game. Let's see… I'll kill every one of them… wait, no, I can't kill the boy. Well, since you're protecting them, I'll try to kill the other two while you do your best to protect them, okay?"
With that, she looked at the angel, who now adopted a defensive stance and laughed.
Just killing it will be boring, so why don't I show how useless it is in front of me?
Clementine crouched down, preparing to pounce.
[Ability Boost]
[Greater Ability Boost]
[Flow Acceleration]
[Greater Evasion]
[Pace of the Wind]
She activated 5 martial arts at the same time, something that put a great strain on her body.
But it was worth it.
She pushed herself forward, like an arrow released from its bow.
She moved so fast that everyone there saw only a blur as she effortlessly dodged the angel's attack and left it behind.
This was the attack that had earned her the name Windstride.
Nigun seemed to have anticipated the move, certainly having heard of it before, and jumped in front of the others to shield them.
Thanks to [Flow Acceleration], Clementine saw his expression clearly.
The man, or rather, woman, had a terrified look on her face.
For a fraction of a moment, she contemplated what could have provoked such a reaction from someone who led one of the scriptures, but quickly ignored it.
Even if he was ready, he was still a magic caster, so she dodged him and, with a sudden thrust, drove her weapon toward the girl's heart.
Only to be stopped by a black arm coming from the girl's shadow.