Case 55: Emma the Molten.

Case 55: Emma the Molten.

''Miss G!''

Oh god, please don't call me by that...

While I'm cringing at Claire's call, the lump of lava has now turned into a proper humanoid shape: pinkish skin, black scleras, and a pair of solid horns. Together with a creepily large smile, it seems this woman is in the final stage of demonization.

[Inspect denied]

Okay, well. My [Inspect] is indeed only level 3.

So I exchange the [Acceleration] skill from Smiley to the level 8 [Inspect] from Nova, and only then, I'm able to view the demoness's status screen.

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Name: Emma

Race: Half-demon Title: The Molten

Level: 43

HP: 102/102 MP: 127/130

STR: 5.0 INT: 5.6

AGI: 5.4 STA: 5.1

Skill: [Fire Magic Lv.8], [Liquefaction Lv.7],

[Accuracy Lv.6], [Inspect Lv.5], [Water Magic Lv.5]

[Auto Regeneration Lv.5], [Inspect Evasion Lv.5]

[Fire Resistance Lv.5], [Pain Tolerance Lv.4],

[Language Lv.4].

State: Excited.

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A fire-water combo? That's pretty odd. And I've never seen [Liquefaction] before. [Accuracy] is the same one Skely bought a while ago, which increases the, well, accuracy of projectiles.

Nevertheless, I have memorized her skillset. Switch back to [Acceleration].

''What's this? Rats turned out to be delicious steaks?''

The woman speaks up; her voice has a distinct screechy effect to it, making it uncomfortable to hear, especially for me. Follow the latest novels at novelhall.com

Holding the Blackstar, which has now turned golden-white, I shot myself at the demoness. From the bottom right, I drag the blade to the top left, attempting a wide diagonal slash.

''!!''

To my surprise, the demoness's body voluntarily splits into two halves, and my blade cuts air instead.

I see, so this is how [Liquefaction] works.

''Hahah! To think that I can catch two light rats at the same time!''

A scorching hot aura bursts out of Emma's body. In the blink of an eye, it has enveloped the whole building. From the floor, thick vapors begin to fill the room rapidly, obstructing our sight.

WHOOSH—!

Immediately after that, lightning-fast spikes of molten lava stabs toward us. Fortunately, if I focus enough, I can hear when and where they're coming from, so blocking is not impossible. The problem is the others. It seems they're creating a joint barrier, but that is hardly a stable solution to this.

''Hah...''

So I quickly swap out Ariel's [Language] for her [Wind Magic]. This one is quite low-level, but it will do for now.

''At this moment, I call you—the primordial ice,''

''Harness the power of dead stars, aided by a frozen heart,''''At this moment, I call you—the bane of all evils,''

''Blazing lights illuminate my ways, flaming justice fills my heart,''''Let it explode,''

''Lustrous Glacial—Burst. ''

''That woman was supposed to appear later, but... Well, I guess it's good that we took care of her.''

''Exactly.''

Claire has gained two levels as well, which is a big win for us. Though...

''Ugh...''

On the front page of today's newspaper, I am there. ['Miss G' has once again appeared, this time in the capital aiding the Luminous Duchy in eliminating cultists!]—it says.

Aside from the cringey nickname, they actually praise me quite a lot.

''You know, Claire and that Maria Oriana spoke to the press about you, and I thought they were talking about the savior of the universe, not Miss G.'' Chloe chimes in. ''You got some serious fangirls, Aurora.''

''Mhm, well...''

''Claire got some fame out of this as well. Too bad I took her from the sponsors already.''

''...That smug expression doesn't fit Amelia's face at all.''

''Oh, okay.''

In any case, this episode does make us really pay attention to the deviation from the original plot. We have to be more careful in the future.

''Now that I think about it, did Luxia do anything during all of this?'' I ask.

''Huh? Um... I didn't pay attention?''

''...''

''...''

I properly wore the ring that day, so it'll be fine, maybe...

Moving into December, the blistering cold continues.

The academy is covered by a layer of snow, giving it a bit of a dreamy look, especially under the nightlights from the city.

Here I am, sitting on a bench alone, contemplating. The timer for my [Horror Lord] skill is almost up, and I still have not decided on what to summon.

''...''

So I spend a while more sitting in the snow. Nothing particularly comes to my mind yet... There are simply too many to consider, even with the 'brokenness' constraint.

Now that I think about it, do we have a SCP yet? Both Smiley and Mister Slen are from creepypastas, and the Backrooms is not a SCP either.

''...Good.''

Let's summon it. A proper SCP.

''Aurora.''

Suddenly, someone calls me from the side. It's Nydia with a worried face.

''What are you doing here...?! Go inside, it's so cold...'' Nydia nags as she wipes away the layer of snow on my head and shoulders.

''...Okay.''

Holding Nydia's warm hand, we head back to the dorm.