Chapter 26: You Actually Cheated

Glancing back, she saw the execution grounds shrink into the distance as she ran, the roadside growing thick with vegetation.

“Demon King… how much longer do I run?!”

“Keep going—think of it as building stamina.
The Calamity will be your running partner soon.”

“What? Demon King, don’t mess with me!
Didn’t you say to lure it somewhere and you’d have a way to beat it?
How’s this about stamina training?”

“Haha, just keeping you relaxed so you don’t tire out… Watch out behind you! Jump!”

Talos’s warning was like an auto-attack alert.
Charis tensed her legs, her tail bracing the ground, and leapt forward, dodging a bone claw swipe with a roll and sprinting onward.

“Hiss…? Roar!”

The monster, missing its attack, saw Charis dodge without looking back, her crisis evasion uncanny.
It slowed, considering abandoning the chase.

“No good! Charis, taunt it quick—it’s giving up!”
Talos urged.

‘What? My chance to get stronger is slipping away?’

Charis whipped around, yelling at the monster.

“Hey~ You’re weak! That’s all you’ve got?
Panting like you’ll catch me? Trash, loser, useless grunt…!”

The Calamity avatar, with some intelligence, heard Charis’s brazen taunts.
Its eyes flared redder, thick blood mist erupting from its back, as if entering its second-stage form!

“Yo, learned to huff before catching me?
Hunching your back—what’s that do?
Come on, if you’re so tough…”

“Charis! Enough! Run!”

“What?”

Charis blinked as red bone spikes sprouted from the monster’s spine.
It roared, the deafening sound blasting like a gale, freezing her in place.

One thought hit her:

‘Now I really have to run for my life!’

“ROAR!”
The monster’s speed surged, closing within two meters of Charis in a breath, its blood-mist claw slashing!

BOOM!

The strike grazed her saintess dress, skimming her tail and cracking the ground, the shockwave launching Charis.

She rolled, stood, and unleashed every muscle, her escape instincts in overdrive!

‘The forest’s ahead—my turf!’

Charis ran for her life, the monster hot on her heels.
Each time it closed in, its bone claws swiped or it lunged, but Charis’s danger sense, boosted by Talos’s warnings, kept a delicate distance—close enough to seem catchable, yet just out of reach.

Taptaptap!

Charis cleared a patch of shrubs, the monster crashing through without hesitation, its scarlet eyes locked on her, as if swearing to catch her.

The forest suited Charis’s agility.
She slowed deliberately, offering a tempting gap, then vanished again.

Seeing Charis handle it with ease, Talos relaxed, her tone lightening.

“Charis, you’ve got skills.
In just days, you’ve got both sisters chasing you—first the elder, now the younger. Impressive!”

“Demon King, stop teasing! Can’t you see I’m running for my life?
What’s this trump card you mentioned?”

“Just find a tall tree and climb it.
I’ll guide you to extract your innate dragon scale.”

“My innate dragon scale? That’s the key to beating the Calamity and getting stronger?”

Charis finally grasped the plan’s core, flicking her tail to search for the scale.

“Don’t fumble around.
As a young dragon, it’s hard to find on your own.
I’ll guide your instincts.”

“Oh, got it! Demon King, please take over the search!”

Charis focused on finding a big tree to climb, while Talos went silent, searching.

The forest grew denser, slowing the frenzied monster, forcing it to hunt for Charis’s shadow.

Rustle, rustle.

In a flash, Charis vanished.
The monster paused, confused, sniffing the air before charging a towering tree!

BOOM!

“Eek!”

Charis, barely perched on a branch, sat to steady herself as the monster’s jaws snapped, its forelimbs clawing the trunk to shake her down.

‘This thing’s strength is insane! Shaking a tree four people couldn’t wrap their arms around!’

The Calamity avatar’s power was formidable, thrilling Charis while underscoring the stakes.

“Charis! Feel your abdomen, then pull out that dragon scale!”

“Got it!”

Charis gripped the branch with her left hand against the shaking, her right lifting

ed her “homeless” story, and Ophelia’s pitying look.

‘That was empathy.
Going from a respected young lady with a full family to this broken state—that kind of loss isn’t something most can bear.’

“Ophelia’s story—you know a bit now.
Maybe tonight, try talking to her, heart-to-heart.”
Luline whispered, her emerald eyes conveying a plea.

‘Perfect, that’s exactly my plan.’

“I’ll try.”

Charis nodded, resuming her nibbling on the fish tail, occasionally glancing at Ophelia.

Beneath the lively mask arguing with Aisha, what kind of wounded soul lay hidden?