Chapter 00: Prologue

Three golden cylinders fell to the grayish floor, making the sound of metal hitting something hard.

Puff!

The man's body hit the ground after three seconds. 

The little silver-haired girl blinked several times until comprehension came to her mind. Her crimson-red eyes reluctantly turned to the corpse of her friend. 

He was dead! 

The delinquent who until a moment ago had been shouting things like 'Let's kill that bitch!' and 'Shoot her!' was definitely dead...

"I told you so! I told you so!" the masked demoness spoke in a sadistic tone.

Indeed, she warned: 'Any damage you try to inflict on me will come back to you'. The demoness warned, but the reckless companion ignored her words and attacked. 

Luminus' heart raced. The little girl's attention turned to the masked demoness. 

She gripped the black rifle tightly so as not to let her fear show. Her childish body trembled, she felt as if her heart was going to leap out of her throat.

"Are you going to shoot? Didn't you see what just happened to your friend? Do you really want to die? Is such a noble demoness saddened by the death of a mere human? What happened to you, Astarte? You're not so great, in the end."

Annoying, annoying, annoying! She wouldn't shut her filthy mouth behind her mask. 

That monster had to die right then and there. Luminus would not allow her to cause any more suffering.

Even knowing what would happen, Luminus aimed his rifle at the demoness. 

The little girl was in her 'Area of Action and Reaction', but she didn't even notice. Was she going to die? It didn't matter, her rationality was gone the moment her partner died. 

All the little girl, affectionately called 'loli' by her friend, could think about at that moment was revenge. Her trembling body was a problem. 

Finally, hatred overcame fear.

Tears made it difficult to see, but she was close enough for a point-blank shot. 

Of course, the demoness wouldn't dodge either; she was standing still, as if daring Luminus to shoot. 'Will you have the courage?' That was the impression her relaxed posture gave.

Bam!

The consequences of the shot were obvious.

Two holes opened up in the small body, but the little girl showed a satisfied smile amid the blood bubbles in the corner of her mouth. 

Only two shots hit Luminus, because the third shot from the semi-automatic rifle hit the monstrosity's mask. The lascivious creature probably made a surprised expression under her mask. 

Because of her arrogance, the demoness ended up with a bullet of almost five millimeters lodged in her forehead. Her Area of Action and Reaction, the skill it prided itself on, wasn't perfect.

The little silver-haired girl's body fell to the ground – she fell next to her friend. 

The end was near, blood was slowly spreading across the green grass. 

She had no mana left to use healing magic.

Luminus took one last look at the sky tinged with red. An adventurer from Andeavor had once told her something like 'The sunset of the Demonic Continent is the most beautiful of all!', and he was right. 

She wanted to enjoy the reddish sky in his last moments, but a shadow stopped her. 

It was the masked demoness again, but nothing mattered anymore. 

"How dare you die peacefully while I suffer? I hate, hate, hate, hate you! Do you really think that your immortality gives you the right to belittle me like this?!"

The little girl remained silent, watching the mask tarnished by the rifle bullet. The maid's outfit, revealing much of the demoness' obscene body, had also been damaged by the explosion.

"You won't die in peace!" The angry voice became sadistic again, as if trying to regain its posture of superiority, that calm expression of the girl in her last moments irritated the demoness. "Let's see if you can still smile after that…"

Clang!

Luminus' eyes widened as he realized what had happened. 

The body of the friend next to her was on fire.

"I'm going to torture this dead body to my heart's content, and you'll die in horror, it's a win-win situation, isn't it? This is your punishment for making me suffer! Haha!"

The little girl, who had given up on life, tried to stand up once more, but something pinned her body to the ground: the dagger her companion was carrying at his waist – the demoness stole the object from the lifeless body in an instant.

"Blergh!"

"That's it, be horrified! Even if I don't manage to kill you this time, I'll be satisfied with your suffering. Remember who made you suffer and despair for eternity. Remember the name Azazel van…"

Her vision blurred, she could never hear all the way through.

For the second time, Luminus streix Astaroth died next to a loved one. 

The last words the demoness spoke were almost all ignored, except for one. She would carve the name 'Azazel van' into her soul and would only rest on the day she ended that monster's life. 

Her mission as the 'Reincarnation of Astarte' no longer mattered. 

No matter how many thousands of years passed, one day she would surely avenge the death of those who had once welcomed her and become her family.