To hunt down those who sought to hurt and ruin her family before they could even get close enough to try.

It was that very desire that blessed Kaori with the Huntress class, a class that excelled at enhancing physical abilities—especially their senses—to track down and hunt prey.

She had expected spies and assassins like Sera to make a move against her stepsisters during the Goddess’s Trial.

That was why Kaori had even chosen to leave Lu-el unattended, just so she could protect Mio, Kanae, and Hanae.

All she had to do was wait for the right opportunity—when her prey made a mistake.

Yet despite becoming a full-fledged Huntress and possessing the divine blessing of Night Veil, which countered all kinds of detection skills and spells, Kaori failed to land the killing blow with her first attack.

***

"You will die for hurting her, bastard," Kaori said coldly as she thrust her Moonlight Beast Fang toward her prey’s heart.

Quinn, however, reacted quickly. He stepped away before the blade could pierce his heart, then leapt backward to widen the distance between himself, Kaori, and the maid.

Kaori immediately moved to pursue her prey, but the maid collapsed in front of her before she could continue.

The fading heartbeat Kaori sensed told her the maid was slowly dying.

She crouched beside the maid and pulled out the poison and antidote she knew every maid of their noble house carried in a hidden pocket beneath their dress, all while keeping her eyes—and her Moonlight Beast Claw—locked on her prey.

As Kaori hurriedly treated the maid, forcing the small glass vials of potion and antidote down her throat, Quinn used the opportunity to treat his own wounds.

With his bleeding right hand, he pulled a small syringe from his pocket and injected its contents directly into his neck.

The blackened liquid spread across his skin like spiderwebs, crawling toward his throat and instantly sealing the gaping wound, stopping the blood from pouring out and finally allowing him to speak in a strained voice that imitated a woman’s tone.

"What a shame," he mocked after recognizing Kaori as one of Sera’s targets. "If it wasn’t for your beastly bloodlust, I wouldn’t have sensed your attack."

Kaori continued glaring silently.

She couldn’t deny it—she had lost control of herself the moment she saw the maid she clearly recognized, injured and on the verge of death.

For a Huntress who was supposed to excel at tracking and hunting prey, she had nearly arrived too late to protect someone who had remained loyal to her family until death. And that failure included being unable to stop the attacks on the townsfolk.

Those thoughts only fueled the burning rage within Kaori, setting her hatred ablaze.

"That’s it!" Quinn exclaimed excitedly, delighted by the anger painted across Kaori’s beautiful face. "That’s the kind of reaction I wanted to see!"

Kaori didn’t bother responding. 𝓯𝙧𝓮𝓮𝒘𝓮𝙗𝙣𝒐𝒗𝒆𝓵.𝓬𝓸𝒎

Pushing her physical abilities to their utmost limit with mana enhancement, she vanished from where she crouched and charged at her prey.

She maneuvered through the alley by leaping between the walls, making her movements and attacks increasingly unpredictable.

Then she launched herself high into the air, kicked off the wall with all her strength, and descended at blinding speed with the intent to tear her prey apart.

"I can do that move too," Quinn said before disappearing from where he stood.

Kaori landed in a crouch on the empty ground, the impact creating a crater beneath her feet. Her dagger and knife cut through nothing but air.

She tracked her prey’s rapid movements through the alley—the same movements she herself had used—all while carefully observing him.

There was no trace of mana emanating from her prey, which wasn’t surprising.

From his scent alone, Kaori already knew her prey was a man, despite him having the appearance of a woman around the same age as her and the maid.

Yet he moved like a full-fledged Huntress enhanced by mana—or like a man empowered by the blessing of intimacy.

Both possibilities should have been impossible.

After all, men couldn’t create mana and couldn’t use magic. And Kaori doubted that a man who could torture a woman could ever have a lover capable of genuine affection to grant the blessing of intimacy.

That left only one explanation her senses could identify.

"You’re a disgusting bastard!" Kaori shouted, taunting her prey after realizing he was using Curse to strengthen himself.

"You holy fuckers are no different!" Quinn snarled back, his composure finally breaking as he charged straight at her.

He hurled multiple poisoned needle darts, intending to use them as a distraction before delivering his true finishing strike with the two poisoned metal skewers in his hands.

Kaori easily dodged the needle darts and met him head-on.

Her dagger and knife shattered Quinn’s metal skewers before tearing through his body as they passed each other.

"ARGH—!"

Quinn collapsed to his knees, coughing up blood as it poured from the deep wounds ripped across his chest and abdomen.

"Let’s see if you can heal from that," Kaori said coldly as she slowly approached him, showing no intention of capturing her prey alive.

She wasn’t being overconfident, nor was she assuming the fight was already over.

Still, Kaori overlooked one crucial detail Quinn had been waiting for.

"Roar—!"

The maid Kaori had treated with potion and antidote suddenly rose back up. She wasn’t undead—not yet—but she had fallen into a state similar to the rampaging cursed townsfolk.

The maid lunged at Kaori from behind, knocking her to the ground and pinning her down.

Kaori hesitated.

She still didn’t know whether the maid could be saved—or whether she could bring herself to kill her.

That single moment of hesitation was all Quinn needed.

Rushing forward with his broken metal skewer gripped in his bloodstained hands, he aimed directly for Kaori’s face.

"Die, you holy fucker!"

Kaori looked up at the intoxicated grin on her prey’s face, fully convinced he had already won.

But before Kaori could feel fear or despair, before she could decide whether to abandon the maid and save herself, and before Quinn could drive down his broken weapon, a familiar voice echoed through the alley.

"Get away from my sister!"

A powerful kick slammed into Quinn’s back, sending him crashing across the alley before he smashed into the wall at the far end, over a dozen meters away.

"Hanae..." Kaori mumbled softly, surprised that it was her younger stepsister who had come to rescue her—all while she continued defending herself from the maid still trying to bite her like an undead.

"Welcome back, Kaori," Hanae replied cheerfully, flashing her usual bright smile.

"Kaori—!"

"Help Lady Kaori and restrain Himari!"

Turning toward the commotion, Kaori saw Mio calling out to her in panic, followed closely by Kanae, who looked utterly terrified. Behind them were the head maid, Melrose, and half a dozen other maids.

Kaori felt relieved knowing her stepsisters, and the maids she also considered family, were safe.

However, for certain reasons, she still couldn’t return home yet.

"Take her, Hanae," Kaori said as she tossed the young blonde maid, Himari, toward her stepsister.

Kaori then immediately rushed after her prey, as Quinn fled the moment reinforcements arrived.

"Wait! Where are you going?!" Hanae shouted in confusion while restraining Himari.

"Mom and Dad are worried about you!" Mio added once she and Kanae reached Hanae’s side.

"Kaori... Nari..." Kanae murmured softly.

Though she spoke only a few words, Kaori immediately understood what Kanae meant—and it only deepened her worry.

"Just go home and stay safe!" Kaori replied before leaping over the wall and running away from home once again.