The beast tamer exiled from the hero’s party and the cat eared girl from the strongest race meet

Chapter 374: Growing Malice

(TL:By Rafael,valhallatls.blogspot.com)

"I'm home!"

Opening the door to the mansion, Lin cheerfully called out.

Waiting to greet her was Reez.

"Welcome back, Lin. And... Monica, good job as well."

"Thank you for your kind words."

Following Lin into the mansion, Monica bowed her head respectfully toward her master.

The two exchanged glances and shared a small smile. It wasn’t just the typical master-servant relationship; there was something deeper between them. It wasn’t friendship, love, respect, or admiration.

If anything, it resembled a parental bond. That kind of emotion flowed between them.

"Ah, I’m so tired! I used up a ton of magic power!"

Lin complained as she plopped onto the sofa near the entrance, slumping against the backrest.

"Good job, Lin. So... how did it go?"

"Huh? Monica hasn’t reported anything yet?"

"Not yet. You both seemed quite busy, so I didn’t think there was any need to rush the report."

"Oh, right. Let me tell you, it was crazy! We were just supposed to watch that Celestial, but then some strange incident happened."

"A strange incident?"

"Yeah, well..."

Lin began to explain the incident that had occurred in Kagune.

A thick fog had enveloped the area, trapping people in what seemed to be illusions. It turned out that one of the most powerful beings was responsible. Thanks to Rain and the others, the incident was resolved.

"...and that’s how it went."

"Illusions, huh... That sounds intriguing. It seems somewhat similar to Monica’s abilities."

"Yes, as you said, Reez. It was quite similar to mine. Thanks to that, I was able to move more freely."

"Well, I’ll get the details from Monica later. So... Iris isn’t here, which means?"

"Ah, yeah. She was totally planning to betray us."

"As I thought..."

Reez wasn’t particularly surprised, but looked disappointed.

"I had hoped Iris might join our side... but it seems things don’t always go as planned."

"Well, it can’t be helped. She’s the kind of person who’d break promises without a second thought."

Lin was still holding a grudge from having been betrayed before.

"So... what did you do about Iris?"

"I did as you told me. Here."

Lin took out a rainbow crystal and lightly waved her staff. A glowing sphere appeared, floating gently into Reez’s hands.

"That’s her soul. I ripped it out with this rainbow crystal."

"This is..."

Reez stroked the glowing sphere as if to examine it, and then smiled deeply.

"Incredible. The soul of one of the strongest beings... and of a Celestial race that was supposed to be extinct. There’s unimaginable power contained within. With this..."

Reez silently completed the thought in his mind: the Demon Lord’s awakening was now one step closer.

"Huh?"

After stroking the sphere a few more times, Reez’s expression grew puzzled.

"This isn’t... the entire soul, is it?"

"Huh? What do you mean?"

"It’s missing a part. There must have been some mistake during the extraction."

"No way, seriously? I thought I did it right..."

Lin began reviewing her actions.

She had separated from Monica to ensure her presence was thoroughly hidden. Then, she had attacked when the target was off guard. The rainbow crystal’s space-crossing attack had definitely struck Iris, but...

"Now that you mention it, the impact felt a bit weak. Did I mess it up...?"

Lin wiped a nervous bead of sweat from her brow.

She started coming up with excuses—maybe it was because Iris had resisted so desperately, or perhaps the rainbow crystal’s ability was weaker than expected. Or maybe it was because Monica hadn’t been there to support her.

No good explanation came to mind.

"Well, it can't be helped."

"Huh?"

"Lin, you've only had the rainbow crystal for a short time. Even for someone as skilled as you, it's hard to master it perfectly right away."

"Uh... y-yeah, exactly! Even a genius sorceress like me finds it tricky to handle legendary equipment!"

Realizing she wasn’t going to be scolded, Lin immediately began to act more confident.

Seeing Lin like this, Reez sighed inwardly, a bit exasperated.

Should I have gone myself instead of leaving it to someone like her?

However, the distinct aura of a demon would be hard to conceal from Iris, one of the most powerful Celestials, even if it worked on regular humans.

"...Well, it’s fine."

They had managed to obtain Iris’s soul.

Even though it was incomplete, it still held tremendous power.

This outcome was within expectations, and it wasn’t a problem at this level.

In fact, it could be said that things had gone rather smoothly.

"Lin, you must be tired. I've prepared a bath for you, how about taking one?"

"Really!? Oh wow, that’s perfect! I was just thinking I needed a bath!"

"Monica, show Lin the way."

"Understood."

"Oh, wait! Since we're at it, why don’t you join me, Monica?"

"Uh...?"

"I don’t mind. Monica, you’re tired too, so you should rest with Lin."

"Thank you very much."

With a spring in her step, Lin followed Monica, who bowed and then guided her towards the back of the mansion.

"...Hehe."

Now alone, Reez gazed at the glowing orb—the soul of Iris—while a look of ecstasy spread across her face.

"Ah, Lord Demon King... Soon, I will awaken you. And when that time comes..."

Destroy everything in this world.

Reez’s cold, chilling voice echoed faintly through the mansion.

No one else was there to hear those words.

Malice... began to swell.

TL Note: Chapter got delayed due to some personal reasons.......

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