To The Mobius Mountains

8:37 p.m.

Vivian's welcoming party had already ended about half an hour ago. She was currently walking within the compound of the Third Inner Stanza Border Checkpoint and on her way to the North Gate.

She was wearing her Inquisitor Half-Mask, an Earring of Spirit on her right ear, a gold necklace around her neck and a White Cloak. Underneath her cloak, she wore a black short and fitting long-sleeved backless turtleneck dress, a pair of black leather gloves, and another pair of long-legged black leather boots that reached up to her thighs. And although she didn't carry any weapons this time around, she had her belt pouch around her waist.

She finally arrived at the North Gate.

Since it was already nighttime, both the North and South Gates were closed. However, the secondary gates on the side which could only fit a single person to pass were still open. There were also Guards patrolling around, most of which were on top of the walls.

A Guard was guarding near the secondary gate when he noticed Vivian. Upon realizing who it was, he quickly offered a salute.

"Good evening, Honored Priestess Inquisitor Monad!"

"Good evening too. I'm going out for a walk. I'll be back in a few hours."

Hearing what Vivian said, the Guard's eyes blinked a few times.

It hadn't even been 24 hours since this new Inquisitor arrived here and now she was saying that she was going out for a walk and would be back in a few hours.

"P-Please wait for a moment, I will inform the Sir Knight on duty right away to accompany you!"

"There's no need for that."

"Huh...?" 

In the Guard's head, although Vivian was technically the third person with the highest authority here in the border checkpoint after Brother High Lieutenant Lennon and Knight Captain Edgar and Priests, he had two concerns.

The first one, even though Priests are considered powerful because of their healing magic, that also makes them irreplaceable and must be protected. Moreover, there were only 5 Priests here in the Third Inner Stanza Border Checkpoint which was located in the middle of nowhere.

The second one, Inquisitors weren't exactly known for their fighting prowess. They were viewed more as investigators and academics.

So if something were to happen to Vivian, the Knight and Guards on duty tonight would be the ones in trouble. In fact, for the Guards, the best-case scenario would be them only losing their career and being ostracized by society.

"B-But Honored Priestess Inquisitor, at least please allow one of us to accompany you if you are to leave this location and be away for hours!"

Tch…!

Vivian clicked her tongue mentally.

Should I have just sneaked out secretly…?

She shook her head mentally.

That would be an even dumber idea…

There are only 25 of us here…

And if one of us, especially a high-ranking personnel is gone without a trace, then it will put everyone on high alert…

Maybe I could've sneaked out around 11:00 p.m. where everyone except for the ones on duty is supposed to be in their quarters asleep…?

But I wouldn't want to be constantly wondering at the back of my head if they found out or not that I sneaked out…

"Call the Knight in charge tonight. I wish to speak to them."

"Y-Yes, Honored Inquisitor!" the Guard said and then quickly left.

When the Guard finally came back, he was accompanied by the Garcon.

"Honored Inquisitor Monad, you wish to go out and will be back in a few hours?" 

"Are you the Knight on duty tonight?"

"I am. Please excuse me, but it's already late and you just arrived here today. Why not just rest for tonight and do this tomorrow during the day? However, if you really insist, please allow me to accompany you or I can ask someone else to accompany you."

I...

I didn't expect that I would have to face such an issue…

Earlier this afternoon I was just so focused on the other things that I forgot to consider this…

And it's not like I can bring anyone along with me…

There's no other choice…

"There's no need. Let me show you why," Vivian said and then activated a spell.

[Poison Strike].

A green water-like aura appeared on her hand.

Garcon and the Guard had a confused expression on their faces as they stared at the spell on Vivian's hand.

"I'm going to move and touch you, Knight Garcon. So be prepared to stop me."

"Huh?"

Vooom!

Psssh!

Vivian stood about 5ft away from them, but she moved so fast that she appeared blurry and the next thing they knew, a green mist already exploded.

Thud.

Vivian caught Garcon with one hand as he lost complete control of his body.

[Cleanse].

She activated another spell.

A green light enveloped Garcon's body and the weakening effect of the [Poison Strike] vanished.

Both Garcon and the Guard were speechless, especially the former.

"Now you both know why I don't need any escort. And if you're still in doubt, you can ask Sister High Sergeant Juana about what I did to her pet called Peepee or whatever the name of that lizard was."

Vivian pulled her hand away from Garcon.

"I'm going out for a way and will be back in a few hours. Keep this little incident between us unless necessary. Do you understand me, Knight Garcon?"

Garcon had a blank expression on his face and was still processing what just happened.

Vivian suppressed the urge to roll her eyes.

Is this boy an idiot…?

"Knight Garcon, are you listening to me?"

Garcon finally snapped from his semi-trance-like state.

"Y-Yes, Honored Inquisitor…"

"Good. Now show me the exit."

Garcon escorted Vivian to the secondary gate on the North Gate which was a small gate enough for only a single person to pass one at a time.

Once she stepped outside of the gate, she began to shed off her long-legged black leather boots along with her stockings, revealing her white and flawless legs.

The stockings were something she ordered during her stay at the suite before coming to this checkpoint. It was as long as her boots so that it wouldn't irritate her skin or make any funny smell.

Seeing Vivian's white and flawless legs, Garcon wanted to turn his gaze away but he was also curious as to why Vivian did such a thing.

Vivian inserted her stockings inside her boots and then held her boots on her side before turning to him.

"Remember what I said, Knight Garcon."

"Y-Yes, Honored Inquisitor Monad…"

Vivian turned away.

"Protect your eyes."

Vooom!

She exploded into a run using her full speed.

Garcon let out a cough and rubbed his eyes before turning to where Vivian was.

Although she was running in a straight line, she still appeared blurry in his eyes. And combined with the night sky, she was no longer visible in after less than a second. The only proof or trace that Vivian was standing in front of him not long ago was the cloud of dust she left behind.

"Who is she…?" he muttered under his breath.

***

A couple of minutes later…

Vivian was running across a field with her demonic eyes and she held her long-legged black leather boots tightly in her hands

Her brows knitted together behind her half-mask.

Most of the nervous systems I've encountered are red…

The blues ones are only a handful and they're far away…

She raised her head and looked up in the sky.

Even the flying monsters are red…

Useless…

During her run, thanks to her [Nemesis of Beasts] Lore Magic, she caught the attention of many monsters. However, she was moving too fast that the monsters just gave up, including the ones who could fly.

And as for why Vivian was running barefoot instead of wearing her boots, the answer was simple -- they couldn't handle her full speed, regardless of whether they were made with low or high materials.

***

A couple more minutes later…

Vivian stopped.

Sweat poured down her body and her breathing was a bit heavy.

I think this is it…

In front of her was the forest surrounding the Mobius Mountains.

She cast her gaze down and wiggled her toes.

My feet are so dusty it feels super uncomfortable…

"Tch."

She clicked her tongue.

Maybe I should've brought water as well…

But I didn't want to carry that many items anymore…

She raised her head and returned her gaze to the forest in front of her before turning around behind her to see if anyone chased her all the way here.

There were some animal or monster-like nervous systems from a distance, but she couldn't see any humanoid ones.

***

10 minutes later…

Hmm…

I guess no one has followed me…

Vivian pulled out her pocket watch from her belt pouch.

10:42 p.m…

It took me 2 hours to get here….

She entered the forest and noticed a large tree.

That looks like a good spot…

She headed over to it, put down the boots she was holding to the ground and removed the glove on her right hand.

[Greater Origin Transformation].

Blaaak.

Her right hand transformed into a demon form. The skin had an ethereal pale grayish tone, the hand was larger and thin without a single strand of hair, and her nails were long and sharp with a black color on them.

Scratch…

Scratch…

She began digging a hole.

Once she was done digging, she shed all of her clothes and took out a large black cloth from her belt pouch. She wrapped all of her belongings with the black cloth and placed them inside the hole before covering it up.

Vivian walked around stark naked and stopped in front of a tree where the height was almost two stories tall and its trunk was as thick as an adult's thigh.

She pressed her finger on the tree's trunk and activated a skill.

[Explosive Fist].

Booom!

Thud!

An invisible explosion with a diameter of 1 meter obliterated everything that was within its sphere save for Vivian, leaving the remaining top of the tree to fall to the ground.

Pat.

Pat.

"Well, that was messy… And itchy…" Vivian said as she patted away the wood debris that fell on her from the explosion. 

She continued patting her face, breasts and legs until everything was gone or at least she didn't feel itchy or ticklish anymore.

[Greater Origin Transformation].

Blaaak!

Vivian transformed into a 5-meter-tall Demon, not a Greater Demon so she only had 6 arms.

As far as this world is concerned, Greater Demons cannot exist in this world because reality can't handle their existence due to how powerful they are…

She made a fist with one of her hands.

Powerful, huh…

It's only been more than 2 months since I arrived in this world…

I'm curious what would happen after a year…

"Now time to get what I came here for!" she said in her demonic voice and the tentacles on her mouth curled with excitement before walking.

Thud.

Thud.

Due to her 5-meter height, each footstep she made loud a thumping sound.

If the average height of a room was 3 meters or 10 feet, then she was around 1.7 floors tall.

Well…

Thud.

Can't do anything about the noise…

Thud.

I'll just kill anyone that comes my way and tries to run…

Thud.

"You complete my fate~~"

"The world unwinds inside of me~~"

Beak!

A Bukaroo charged towards Vivian. 

Woo-riiip!

She slapped the bird away into a blood of mist with her tail without even stopping.

She didn't even use a skill. Her Physical Force alone was too great.

She also had no interest in using one of her hands to catch it and eat it. With her current height, it would be eating a piece of candy.

"You complete my fate~~"

"The halo crawls away~~"

Puuur!

Another animal charged at her. 

Hmm…?

This is…?

It was Vivian's first time seeing the type of monster but she remembered it from one of the topics she studied at the Training Course.

A Moon Tail…?

If she were to describe its appearance, it was basically a black panther but its fangs were longer, its body was also longer, and it had a thin tail that was almost as twice as long as its body with a crescent blade on its tip.

Chud.

She easily caught the monster with one of her hands without stopping.

Too bad it only has a red nervous system…

The Moon Tail struggled on Vivian's giant hand by biting and slashing her with the blade on its tail. However, the results proved nothing. It was like a human biting a cement wall and slicing a cement wall using a plastic butter knife.

[Poison Strike].

Psssh!

A green mist exploded and the Moon Tail immediately went limp.

Vivian pressed the Moon Tail close to her mouth and her tentacles quickly slithered around the monster's body before pulling and then pushing it down her monster-like mouth.

Crunch.

Crunch.

Gulp.

She resumed singing as she walked through the forest.

"You repeat my fate~~"

"Rewinding all we can~~"

"You refill my place~~"

"You refill my place~~"

Beeeh!

Another monster appeared. 

"Oh, lucky!"

The monster had a blue-colored system and it immediately cast a spell as it charged towards Vivian.

[Ice Arrow].

Woooh!

An arrow made out of ice flew through the air.

Pooof.

The Ice Arrow disintegrated as it struck Vivian as if it struck on an impenetrable wall, leaving nothing only a soft and slightly cool poke on her skin. But despite that, the monster still kept charging to ram on Vivian with its antlers.

Chud.

Vivian caught it with one of her hands and raised it.

Beeeh!

Hmm…

Beeeh!

I remember studying about this animal…

Beeeh!

I think this one is called a Bambee…?

If Vivian were to describe the animal, it looked similar to a deer. It was only "similar" because unlike the normal deer from her original world, the muscles on its body were thicker that it looked like a slim but roided-up deer and the antlers on its head had glow-in-the-dark flowers.

Beeeh!

[Poison Strike].

Psssh!

A green mist exploded and the Bambee went limp.

"So noisy."

But despite the weakening effect, it still tried to cast another [Ice Arrow].

Crack.

Vivian crushed its body on her giant hand, killing the animal instantly before shoving it inside her mouth.

Crunch.

Crunch.

Gulp.

"Come and save me~~"

"Come and save me~~"

********************

********************

Thank you for reading and I hope you enjoyed this chapter!

By the way, I posted some Chapter Drafts at P-a-t-r-e-o-n. And to view them, you can read them at…

https://www.patreon.com/Immortal_Shades

There, you will have access to the Chapter Drafts for $5 a month.

Please note that the chapters posted there are only drafts. So when those said Chapter Drafts will be published here, there will be some edits. They also involve a few secret outline notes/details that I won't publish here because they contain spoilers or dispel some of the mysteries. And at the moment, Chapter Drafts 273-277 are posted there.

I would like to give my special thanks for this month's Patrons:

• 

Thank you once again and I will see you in the next chapter.