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To avoid causing more commotion, Ness tried to stay close to the bottom of the lake and followed its undercurrents as he carefully swam southward.

He recalled that the southern shore of the lake was where the Ballmer were gathering their forces. If he could reach there, they might stand a chance against whatever demon the blonde girl was.

After passing through a dense thicket of unnamed plants at the lake bottom, Ness’ vision opened up, and he could see a glimmer of light reflecting on the surface.

Almost there!

Ness couldn’t help but feel relieved, subconsciously accelerating his speed.

At that moment, he spotted two other figures swimming together. The two figures noticed him simultaneously and swam toward him with relieved expressions.

Ness hesitated briefly, then took out his fountain pen and released its ink into the water. He controlled the ink with his magic, quickly forming words.

“Have you two encountered the blonde monster?”

The innovative method lit up the eyes of the other two. Communication at the lake bottom was extremely limited, confined to simple gestures and sign language. More complex communication requiring words was beyond their capabilities.

“No. We haven’t encountered anything unusual on our way here. The blonde monster shouldn’t have detected us,” one of them responded, trying to manipulate the ink with his magic.

Ness nodded, accepting their report without suspecting anything. Given the size of this lake, it would indeed be unlikely for the blonde monster to locate everyone easily.

“What about you, Ness?” the other person asked.
“I was found by her, but managed to escape.”
“You managed to escape from such a monster? That’s really impressive,” the other remarked.

Although they had never actually fought the blonde monster, the image of her effortlessly snapping the necks of their two companions with a swift motion still haunted them.

“Well, thanks to a little trick I used.” The words formed a little slower this time. Ness felt a twinge of guilt for using his companion as a decoy and was unable to bring himself to confess it.

“We’ll discuss the details about her once we’re ashore,” Ness urged, aware that the blonde monster was still prowling the lake. The longer they lingered, the greater the danger they faced.

“Agreed,” the man replied.

As Ness prepared to leave, the ink began to change again, forming a new message.

“Hani, you didn’t run into her too?”

Ness was rather annoyed at this point.

Didn’t I tell you all to leave now? Can’t you die without dragging me along? I haven’t lived long enough… Wait a minute…

Ness stared at the message in disbelief.

Who was he talking to? Hani?

Didn’t he abandon Hani to fend for himself earlier? Considering his speed, Ness was extremely sure that Hani would be caught by that blonde monster. From the moment he betrayed Hani, he knew Hani was already done for.

“Oh, we met. I had quite the delightful encounter with her.” A melodious, girlish voice unexpectedly echoed underwater.

Ness felt a chill, not from the frigid lake water, but from the overwhelming threat of death that engulfed him.

He turned his head around stiffly, only to see Hani’s pale face, contorted in pain. His eyes were shut tight but bubbles occasionally escaped from his mouth and nostrils, indicating he’d only fainted.

Because of this, the Immaculate Tree Domain’s protection mechanism wasn’t triggered to teleport him out of the tournament. Since the lake bottom was dimly lit, the other two hadn’t immediately noticed Hani’s condition and assumed he had followed Ness here.

“Hehe.” A small head peeked out from behind Hani’s back.

Lilith smiled at Ness and said, “I knew that quietly following you would lead me straight to everyone.”

Damn it, when had she hidden herself behind me? Why hadn’t I noticed?

“You managed to sacrifice three companions in such a short time. How touching. Shall I reward you?” Lilith chuckled.

Ness’ eyes flashed with anger.

B̲a̲s̲t̲a̲r̲d̲! You dare mock me like a rat?!

Enraged, Ness drew his weapon and lunged at Lilith.

“Looks like you don’t want the reward,” Lilith remarked calmly, spreading her hands and chuckling lightly.

A few minutes later, Lilith effortlessly dispersed the floating blood with a wave of her hand. She checked her pocket watch, then gazed into the depths of the lake with a look of pity.

“It seems like there’s no time left for further exploration after dealing with those pests,” Lilith muttered as she turned around gracefully and swiftly swam toward the surface.

Silence returned once more to the bottom of the lake.

After some time, a massive black shadow silently emerged from its depths. Raising its enormous head, its pale golden eyes gazed in the direction Lilith had departed, revealing a wistful expression that seemed almost human.

◆◇◆◇◆

Mr. Card glanced at the sky, his brow furrowed. “Why hasn’t Ness returned yet? It’s almost time.”
“I don’t know, perhaps he ran into trouble?” Ballmer also looked perplexed.
“Hmph, what trouble could he possibly run into while exploring the lake?” Mr. Card sneered. “That’s enough waiting, we have a serious matter to attend to.”

“Understood,” Ballmer replied, giving the order to prepare for the attack.

They waited in tense silence.

“Commencing the bounty of day two. Target: Erica. Holy Dragon’s Heart acquired: twenty-three.”

A golden pillar of light appeared on the island at the heart of Square Lake, casting its brilliance across half the sky and commencing the unfair siege.

◆◇◆◇◆

“What should I do… What should I do… What should I do…?!”

Erica panicked. The bounty had commenced, yet Lilith, who had promised to return in time, was still nowhere in sight. Erica trembled like a vulnerable white rabbit amidst dozens of hungry predators eyeing her like a piece of tasty meat.

While Erica was contemplating an escape, a menacing man suddenly emerged, brandishing a nine-ringed machete. From a distance, he pointed at Erica and bellowed, “Hmph, so you’re that Lady Erica? You seem nothing special. How about a little spar with me?”

Spar? No, thank you.

Under her mask, Erica’s face went pale with fear as she looked at the man’s arm—it was thicker than her waist. She realized that one punch from him could very well send her soul to the heavens.

Lilith had instructed her to act like an expert.

But what does an expert do in a situation like this?

Lilith hadn’t provided any tutorials on handling such encounters.