Diana was frustrated.
After the brief battle with Garudeer and the other archmages, she was slightly injured, losing 10% of her mana, but she could regain it within a year. However, there was an external issue.
When Diana returned home, she discovered a strange structure in the middle of the forest, where the entrance to the Black Forest was located. The mysterious machines worked nonstop and caused loud noise. Even though Diana attempted to remove them, none of them flinched. Moreover, whenever one of her elite bodyguards tried to destroy them, they were struck by mysterious lightning and died.
This caused alarm. Diana discovered that they might be related to a certain man, whom Zhu Xin Ci had reported a month ago. Thus, she began searching for the culprit and discovered Felix's building by chance.
Unfortunately, before she could ascertain the situation, one of her minions attacked the building and was struck by the same lightning bolt. This confirmed that the master of this building and the mysterious machines was the same person.
Looking at the suspect and the mysterious building with a deadly reactive barrier, Diana believed it belonged to the culprit. She tried to solve this matter amicably first.
"Human within the barrier! I am Diana, the Queen of Lamia! This place now belongs to my kin!"
Diana waited for an answer. However, no one in the house uttered a word, even though Diana could see a vague silhouette of a man on the rooftop. She tried again, "Human, this place is now a territory of our clan! We do not wish to harm you, but this place no longer belongs to humans!"
Suddenly, a man's voice shouted from inside, "How about I go Korean-Rooftop on your bitch-ass rapists! This is MY house, not YOURS! You can't tell me where I live!"
Diana narrowed her eyes and noticed that the man in the barrier brought out a weapon. She sighed deeply, not wanting to provoke another system user. She tried to trick him.
"Are you, by chance, Felix Ariel of Earth?"
Using the information in her system window to her advantage, Diana called Felix by his true name and mentioned his origins, which stunned him.
Diana continued, "The humans have abandoned you and sold you out. I even learned your name from them. How about this? Join us! I will offer you a position in our ranks. In case you're worried about the Lamia poison, I have a cure.
You can become one of many alphas in our human village in the Black Forest!"
…
What Earth and modern society taught Felix was that people always lied. Social media was full of trolls and misinformation most of the time. Even politicians and friends could backstab each other for personal benefits.
In this situation, Felix had a lie detector, aka the system map. He could differentiate people's intentions using the color of their identity. In Felix's map, Diana's color switched back and forth between yellow and purple. On the other hand, the other followers in the sky remained red. In short, they were not his allies.
Felix shouted back while raising the M1 Garand he had freshly created, aiming at Diana, "Why should I believe you?"
Diana shifted her attention to her followers. With a gesture, everyone but Diana flew away, returning to the Black Forest. Felix watched the red dots leave the premises until they were out of radar detection range.
When Diana's yellow color stabilized, he looked up, wondering what this flying demi-human wanted to do.
Diana descended and touched the barrier. Unfortunately for her, Felix's system denied her entrance, but it didn't kill her. Trying again, Diana negotiated with a soft and calm voice.
"Mr. Felix Ariel, I have no intention of harming you. Can we talk?"
Felix was still wary of the change in attitude. As long as Diana's color on his radar wasn't green, he didn't trust her. "Go down and stand on the ground. I hate looking up."
"Fine."
Diana obliged and landed on the ground, standing in front of Felix's house. Felix also came down and exited the house but stood within the barrier.
Standing face to face, they stood five meters apart, using the barrier outline as a separator. As Felix was closer to the barrier, Diana could finally see his face. She frowned when the portrait of Felix in her system screen didn't match his current appearance.
In Diana's system window, Felix looked rough, sloppy, and unkempt like an average local man. But in reality, his flawless smooth skin, adolescent face, clean hair, and defined muscles made him more attractive than the "Toys" she kept in her lair.
Diana salivated, coveting him for her collection. However, her logic prevailed over lust. As this was not her first time dealing with fellow system users, Diana took the initiative.
"I'll reintroduce myself. My name is Diana, the Queen of Black Forest. Like you, I am a reincarnator from Earth. I was once a human, but I was born in this body after I died."
Felix gave Diana a meaningful look while glancing at the radar map. Her color flashed red for a split second before turning yellow. A second later, it switched back and forth between yellow and green.
Something was not right about this woman's mind. Even though she was from the same home planet, he did not buy her story.
"So?"
"You don't look surprised." Diana raised an eyebrow.
"Even if you're from my hometown, I'll still keep you at arm's length."
"May I ask why?"
"First, you're a monster. Secondly, your clan tried to kill me. Thirdly, you people are freaks that can't coexist with humans. Why should I trust a word from a monster who sees humans as livestock and playthings?"
Diana faintly smiled and nodded. "You're right. By logic, our kind is a threat to humanity. However, there's something you don't know. I wonder if I can earn your trust with this."
"Hmm?" Felix crossed his arms, hugging the M1 Garand.
"The greatest threats to humanity is not me or my kind. Do you know that there are other dangerous individuals lurking in human society?"
Diana moved her fingers and pressed a few buttons on her system windows, which Felix couldn't see. A few seconds later, a new window appeared in front of Felix.
*DING*
<System User 'Diana' wishes to share a quest.> S~eaʀᴄh the NôvelFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.
<The quest content is as follows:>
…
Main Quest #1456: Hunt Down Serial Murderer Wannabe
Description:
A few months ago, King Casper of the Solaris Commonwealth Empire performed a summoning ritual and brought five transmigrators from Earth to this world. However, a tragic incident occurred as one of the transmigrators murdered the King on the spot.
All four innocent transmigrators were arrested, tried as traitors, and sentenced to death, yet they managed to escape the empire and flee to other countries.
One of the escapees, Sean Smith, slipped into the Dragoon Empire and was picked up by the Alchemist Saint Xavior Faunir. He joined the saint and pursued the path of an alchemist. Unfortunately, he chose the black mage route, following in Joxonu's footsteps.
As black mages typically engage in dark arts, they often require living sacrifices to increase their power. Sean Smith finds pleasure in murder as well. Emulating a famous serial killer's activities, Sean abducts young women and turns them into living sacrifices to grow stronger.
In addition, Sean Smith possesses an earth fate crystal and has a cheat ability—Life Drain, which instantly absorbs a victim's lifespan and converts it into his own. If left unchecked, he will soon turn human cities into ghost towns.
Your job as a protagonist hunter is to kill him before he becomes too powerful or destroy the Dragoon Empire from within.
Mission Objective: Kill Sean Smith
Last Known Location: Big Zoot City
Mission Rewards: Earth Fate Crystal