Chapter 50: Pursuit Through the Alleyways

“Just now, Kun’er publicly declared us to be dark elves corrupted by light. If that’s the case, what’s wrong with transforming into light elves? And are you truly certain you haven’t mistaken me for an angel?”

‘I was still hoping to use sophistry to evade this sudden calamity, to somehow trick them.’

“Hmph, I… I might be too drunk to say for sure, but… Camila would never be wrong. That scent emanating from you is def… definitely an angel’s, no mistake.” The demon Buck finally spoke, yet he still seemed far from sober.

Upon hearing such words, I knew verbal persuasion was futile; our situation truly seemed grim.

“Then why didn’t you act back then? Why wait until we’d left before following us?”

Despite all my calculations, I had inadvertently overlooked the succubus waitress. My tension at the time was to blame for not noticing her discovery; we should have immediately flown away the moment we exited the tavern.

Angels and demons were indeed destined rivals; the inherent sense of predatory threat between them was utterly indelible.

“Fighting inside the tavern would damage the tables and facilities, and that idiot Kun’er is too thick-headed to adapt, which could easily ruin things.”

As expected, Camila had planned everything meticulously; she made no attempt to conceal her thoughts, laying them bare before turning to Sally and speaking.

“A dark elf corrupted by light doesn’t necessarily transform into a light elf; it depends on the degree of corruption. Regardless of what came before, since you’ve become a light elf, it means you have an inseparable connection to this angel.”

“Now you are an enemy, and light and darkness cannot coexist. Capturing you and delivering you to Lord Migadi would be a great service, so don’t blame me for being impolite.”

They had even prepared a complete set of justifications; was this what it meant for villains to be verbose?

Yet, no matter how much they spoke, there was nothing we could leverage. Their sole purpose in pursuing us was to capture us, so how could a few words from me possibly sway them into abandoning Sally?

It seemed a battle was inevitable. Frankly, I didn’t believe we could defeat two dark creatures, even with Sally’s aid, and certainly not with just the Purification spell.

The demon Buck was at least Tier 5, and Camila was at least Tier 4 or higher; the disparity in our strength was immense. Thus, my plan was to unleash a Purification spell and then flee.

I exchanged a glance with Sally, who, having likely reached the same conclusion, immediately understood my intention.

The battle commenced.

Without hesitation, I deactivated my wings’ concealment and instantly launched two orbs of Purification magic towards them. As expected, they weren’t caught off guard: Camila soared skyward, while Buck darted to the side.

Now was the moment! Seizing the opportunity created by their evasion, Sally rushed to my side. I scooped her up with one arm and spun around, flying towards the city wall behind us.

However, a figure had already blocked our path ahead.

“Trying to flee? I’d already discerned your intentions. So, you’re merely a four-winged angel after all.”

Camila, flapping her demonic wings, hovered directly in front of me, a triumphant smile gracing her lips.

She was alone, and I believed I could still slip through the gaps beside her. Yet, a fiery red figure suddenly surged up from below—it was Buck, who instantly leaped to my height, raising a fist to strike me.

I couldn’t afford to be hit by him; I knew the force of that blow was beyond my ability to withstand. In a desperate move, I quickly hurled another Purification spell forward, simultaneously delivering a kick to his body.

“That idiot…” Camila’s furious curse echoed.

The instant Buck lunged forward, realizing the situation, it was already too late for him to stop.

Lacking wings and any leverage in mid-air, he had nowhere to hide. Once the Purification spell struck him, his defenses completely collapsed, and the subsequent kick sent him flying directly downwards.

“This damned Purification spell again, ugh—”

A look of agony contorted the demon’s face as the two orbs of light I had initially thrown caught up to him in mid-air. Having been hit by three Purification spells in quick succession, his dark elemental aura was significantly weakened, sending him crashing directly into a house on the ground below.

“That easily?” I was stunned; I hadn’t expected such a swift victory. ‘What just happened? Wasn’t he a Tier 5 powerhouse?’

“I’m still here!”

Regrettably, this was no time for me to be dazed. A whooshing sound erupted from behind, and a whip-like shadow suddenly lashed out at me. Caught off guard, I spun around, yet failed to evade it entirely, my shoulder struck in an instant.

An immense pressure immediately surged through me; I felt my entire right side go numb, and my body, losing its balance, plummeted from the sky.

“Buck was drunk and disoriented; he only got hit because he foolishly leaped into the air. I won’t be taken advantage of like him.”

Having successfully launched her surprise attack, Camila didn’t pause, immediately giving chase towards my position.

Just before I hit the ground, I finally regained my senses, instantly stabilizing myself by furiously flapping all four wings, hovering precariously less than half a meter above the earth.

Truth be told, I had experienced falling from great heights numerous times, and by now, I was quite adept at it.

Nevertheless, her whip strike had been truly vicious; my entire right side, where I was hit, remained completely devoid of sensation.

Gritting my teeth, I endured the searing pain that finally registered in my right shoulder, feeling tears well up from the agony. I glanced down at Sally, whom I held in my arms; thankfully, she was on my left side, unharmed, and her grip on me was tight enough that she hadn’t been flung off during the descent.

Sally, not one to remain idle, seeing my injured, bloodied right shoulder, quickly extended her hand and began chanting a recovery spell to heal me.

‘Run!’

This was my sole thought now. The demon Buck had yet to emerge from the wreckage of the house, whether gravely injured or held back by some other cause, presenting a heaven-sent opportunity for escape.

Hurtling a Purification spell at the diving Camila, I seized her moment of evasion to make my getaway.

With our aerial escape route blocked, we had no choice but to take to the ground. The alleyways were now completely clear, so I turned and plunged into them.

“Don’t you dare run!”

Camila’s furious voice echoed behind me. Seeing her about to catch up, I didn’t hesitate, unleashing several more orbs of Purification magic in quick succession behind us.

I had realized that this Purification spell was incredibly effective; even high-tier demonic creatures dared not face it head-on, and its auto-tracking ability made it exceedingly difficult to evade.

‘As if!’

Reality promptly slapped me in the face. Camila, seeing the barrage of Purification spells I had launched, ceased her evasion. A black orb of magic suddenly materialized in her palm, which she thrust forward. The Purification spells were instantly drawn towards it, all merging into the black orb without a single ripple.

“Did you truly think I lacked such long-range attacks?” she scoffed, then casually tossed the black orb in her hand towards us. Fortunately, it wasn’t particularly fast, nor did it possess the auto-tracking property of my Purification spell, allowing me to easily dodge it.

“What in the world is that?” I was utterly dumbfounded; she actually had a way to counter and even nullify them! I knew those last few Purification spells had drained a significant amount of my light elemental energy.

Even during the day, the sky was heavily overcast, severely obscuring the light, causing me to instantly feel a lack of light elemental replenishment and a profound weariness in my body.

‘We’re doomed, we’re doomed!’ I was now in a complete panic. Although my right side was gradually recovering under Sally’s healing, if I couldn’t shake off Camila behind us, being caught was only a matter of time.

“Fly faster!” Sally urged me, her voice laced with anxiety.

And so, Camila, the succubus, and I, the angel, continued our winding chase through the city’s alleyways, occasionally exchanging a few hurled orbs as a greeting. The frustrating truth was that she was indeed faster than me. This made me grateful I hadn’t attempted to fly outside the city at first; in the open sky, without terrain to obscure or slow her down, I would undoubtedly have been caught in short order.

Even so, we frequently encountered the problem of unfamiliar roads. Whenever we hit a dead end, I would have no choice but to fly upwards, only to perform a sharp 150-degree turn, almost vertically dropping into another alleyway just as she was about to catch up.

Due to the influence of the angel’s light elemental energy, many houses we passed emitted the roars of magical beasts, which only heightened Sally’s and my apprehension.

“We’re done for, we’re done for!” I yelled to Sally as I flew, simultaneously launching a Purification spell behind us.

“Sally, I’m doing my best! Don’t blame me if you kick the bucket!”

“You can’t be so irresponsible! You promised to get me back safely! And there goes your gold again!” Yet, she was completely unfazed by my antics, even managing to bicker with me amidst the chase; I truly had to hand it to her.

Although she also hurled several holy light bullets to help impede our pursuer, their actual effect was far from ideal. The holy light bullets lacked tracking capabilities, and even if they struck, they inflicted little damage upon the enemy.

Camila initially dodged a few times, but eventually grew too lazy to even bother, simply taking the hits head-on without any noticeable decrease in her speed.

‘She’s actually scorning me!’

Seeing her attacks so utterly ignored, Sally’s pride seemed to take a severe blow. She pulled out her staff, no longer healing my injuries, and immediately began to concentrate on chanting an extremely lengthy spell.

‘Couldn’t she just stay put in my arms…? If not for my strong grip, she would have fallen long ago.’

I seemed to recall her using this particular move before, against Minos, though its effectiveness had been quite poor.

“Light Bomb!”

Indeed, once the enormous orb of light from the tip of her staff was unleashed, Camila dared not take it head-on this time, instantly flashing aside to avoid it. However, the row of houses behind her suffered the consequences, with several colossal circular holes blasted through them in quick succession.

“Isn’t that just wasteful!” I forced a wry smile. Although this had successfully delayed our pursuer, it was only for a fleeting moment. She would soon resume her chase. Meanwhile, I could feel Sally’s light elemental magic almost completely depleted, making the effort utterly counterproductive.

“You’re actually a human mage!”

As Sally chanted, her hood was blown back, revealing her ears. Camila, realizing she wasn’t the light elf she had previously assumed, was instantly enraged.

“I was tricked by you two!”

Well, that was just perfect. The enraged pursuer seemed to have picked up even more speed, and ahead lay a perfectly straight alley, with the next turn still far in the distance.

‘Damn it, I feel like we’re about to be caught. I’m completely out of options and tricks. All I can do is close my eyes and await judgment.’

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