Vile Evil Hides Under The Veil

As Altashia approached from his front, Eren turned his gaze behind her. He could see his comrades approaching him. Some had serious wounds and some were only slightly bruised. However, everyone was practically uninjured, considering the level of the battle.

Eren spoke up after pondering something.

"Altashia, how long has it been since you had Roo?"

Altashia was initially confused by Eren's question that was not related to their mission. He rarely discussed topics that were not mission-related. However, she was glad Eren had used her demon beast's name rather than simply calling it a beast or a crow, as had been done by others.

"Umm. Not that long. This was barely more than a year ago when I bound Roo Roo with me using the blood ritual. Just as this boy was breaking into the Ace Rank."

'Amazing. Unlike me, who relies on my past life's experiences and advantages, she is indeed a naturally gifted ranker. Ken is like her if I ignore the guy's dense brain.

I had thought that powerful rankers come from powerful backgrounds. But rankers like her make me wonder if it's their presence that makes their backgrounds seem so impressive.

Because somehow I feel that with or without her family's help, this girl would have more or less stood in the same position she is standing in today.'

Eren thought to himself and kicked the butt of his nearly finished smoke in the air after taking the last drag out of it. He didn't realize that he was staring at Altashia the whole time while he was having a monologue in his head.

That made Altashia feel a bit awkward. However, as she observed Eren's gaze, she discovered that it was devoid of lust. He was looking at her like some kind of puzzle that needed solving.

"Hahaha. Eren, do you want to battle with our captain now? I'd pay to see someone else apart from me getting their ass handed to them, you know."

Arjun spoke up as he approached the pair. He was leading all the other members of the team. The guy didn't have a scratch on his body. He didn't participate in the battle after all.

Eren smiled after hearing Arjun's jab. He also wanted to duel with Altashia. But he also knew that he was not ready to fight with her using his normal strength. He needed to cast the Domain of Wrath if he wanted to stand a chance in tilting the favours to his side. The butcher hadn't become senile to seek a pyrrhic victory only to invite troubles his way.

"Unlike you, I am not a fan of getting my ass handed to me. When I challenge our captain…"

Eren smiled at Altashia before continuing.

"... It'll be after knowing that I'd win."

Altashia wasn't surprised by Eren's confidence. She had come to realize that he should have his trump cards in his sleeves. She was surprised by the fact that he intimidated her. As if duelling with him was not going to be as easy as she had initially thought it would be.

Roo croaked and flapped its wings as if he was angry after hearing Eren's time-bomb-like challenge. The beast's master chuckled and patted its head before translating his words to Eren.

"He is kind of saying… "Come at me. I alone am enough to take care of you."

Hehe! Ignore him. He is just a child in human years after all.

And Eren…"

Altashia met Eren's eyes with a shine in her eyes that she hadn't shown anyone before. A shine that indicated the level of excitement she had long forgotten when fighting with someone from her generation.

"I'll be waiting for the day when you challenge me."

Eren nodded at Altashia when she finished her sentence. Arjun wanted to add more fuel to the fire but someone spoke up first before he could do so.

"Captain Altashia, I want this man removed from our team. He has knowingly harmed me during the mission. Everybody saw that. Arjun, you saw that, didn't you? Dianna?"

An agitated and angry voice was heard from the back of the team. Sid was slowly making his way to the front while dragging his injured feet and tending to a large wound on his shoulder.

"Look what he has done to my shoulder. As per the army guidelines…"

Sid was about to continue spewing some more hate towards Eren who again acted like he didn't care about the guy anymore. Because he knew he didn't need to put his side forward. Altashia would do that for him. Not because she liked him or anything. But because he intercepted the battle in such a way that no disciplinary action could be taken.

"Hate to interrupt you, Sidro, but I think I know army rules better than you. Eren has taken the right action at the right time. You should be grateful for being alive because of him."

Sid felt like the beating he had received from the Orcs was nothing in comparison to the blow he received from his crush's words. The fact that they came from her for the guy he hated the most made it even more frustrating for him.

"Captain Altashia, you saw him injure me by enlarging the wound on my shoulder, right? This assho.. err… I mean this freak even put his heels in my mouth…"

Altashia shook her head before replying.

"That could be interpreted as Eren securing the enemy weapon by pinning it in its place. That thing about your mouth could just be something unavoidable since Eren had to protect you by placing himself between you and the monster.

Most of all, Eren was sent to battle with the monster you were engaged with under my orders. You should have been more competent in dealing with the enemy you were assigned. The fact that you did not and are still accusing someone who did the work for you falls in line with something that violates army guidelines. Should I proceed and charge you instead?"

He chuckled at Altashia's subtle provocation, which she had delivered to Sidro without being loud or out of her natural aloofness. He looked at Sid next, who was looking at the butcher with daggers in his eyes.

"Um… what should we do now, captain?"

Arjun tried to lessen the heaviness of the atmosphere by asking the right question at the right time. Altashia shook her head as if disappointed in someone before answering the ranger's query.

"*Sigh. Just the usual. Secure the area. Destroy the corpses. Look for anything valuable in the camp. And try to find the leads that might lead to where most of the orcs have escaped.

We'll rest here at the orc camp after taking care of the corpses. The rest of the procedures will be followed in the morning."

Altashia ordered her team and everybody nodded. Each of them got to their assigned positions except for the ones who were severely injured. Eren was charged with body disposal. He walked into the distance before disappearing from his peers' line of sight. Unbeknownst to his team members, his right hand had suddenly gotten paler before his fingernails turned into talons.

'Life Drain!'