Chapter 48: A Hidden Intention

Whoosh!

Raven quickly darted toward the Flower Queen, raising his sword high.

Realizing an attack was coming, the Flower Queen turned toward him and moved her roots.

Raven didn’t dodge. Instead, he swung his sword at the incoming roots.

Slash!

The roots were sliced into several pieces.

Raven bent his knees and leaped toward her.

"Die!"

Clang!

A sharp root blocked his sword.

Raven was startled, but he didn’t have time to react. The root struck him and sent him flying backward.

"Damn..."

He landed safely and took a few steps back.

His calm expression turned serious.

"This monster is much more agile than I expected."

The Flower Queen was a monster that couldn’t move. She was completely rooted in place.

Raven had thought the monster would be easy to attack, but his calculations had turned out to be completely wrong.

"Raven, do you need my help?"

Reyna’s worried voice came from behind him.

Raven waved his hand.

"No need!"

He took a fighting stance, his expression becoming serious.

"The plan stays exactly as planned!"

Whoosh!

His figure vanished, and the battle between Raven and the Flower Queen resumed.

From a distance, Reyna could only watch as Raven fought fiercely, a worried look on her face.

She really wanted to step in and help him, but Raven had refused her help. So, she had no choice but to stay back and follow his orders.

Clang!

The sound of the sword clashing against the roots rang out clearly.

Raven leaped from side to side, dodging each of the roots’ agile attacks.

"What the heck are those roots? How can they be so tough?"

Slash!

He cut through a root that was trying to bind his leg. But the root quickly regrew and attacked him again.

Raven had no choice but to keep dodging, moving farther and farther away from the Flower Queen.

Fortunately, the roots stopped attacking him once the distance between him and the monster exceeded ten meters.

"Phew..."

Raven took a deep breath to steady himself.

"I have no other choice."

He pulled his right leg back and swung his sword forward.

"Migel!" he called out.

Whoosh!

Migel emerged from behind his shadow.

"What are your orders, Master?"

He bowed his head respectfully.

Raven stared at the Flower Queen in the distance and commanded, "Distract it for as long as possible. I’ll attack when it’s off guard. Understand?"

"As you command."

Migel drew his katana from his waist, crouched down, and darted toward the Flower Queen.

Whoosh!

Dozens of roots shot toward Migel.

Migel wasn’t afraid. He raised his katana and slashed left and right with incredible speed.

In the blink of an eye, the roots were shattered into pieces. Surprisingly, they did not immediately regrow as they had before.

"Oh? How interesting," Raven murmured in amazement. "Is Migel the Flower Queen’s natural counter?"

That was the only possibility. Before becoming his subordinate, Migel had been a monster specializing in the element of fire.

Fire against plants... even a fool would know which side would lose.

With incredible speed, Migel broke through the Flower Queen’s defenses and came to a stop right in front of her.

Just as he was about to slash at her, the flower suddenly spewed yellow powder that quickly spread throughout the hall.

Raven, who had anticipated this, immediately covered his mouth and nose.

Reyna did the same in the distance.

She took a few steps back while covering half her face with her arm.

"R-Raven, that’s her poisonous pollen! Don’t breathe it in!" she shouted.

Raven rolled his eyes. Even without being told, he already knew.

Unlike Raven and Reyna, Migel was completely unaffected by the pollen. After all, he wasn’t a living creature—he was undead.

Migel was about to slash at the monster when Raven’s voice echoed in his mind.

"Don’t kill her. Just paralyze her."

Hearing the command, Migel swiftly slashed through the roots supporting the Flower Queen’s body.

Thud!

The monster’s body fell backward. She tried to control her roots, but she couldn’t.

Raven couldn’t help but smile. If he had known Migel could handle the situation so easily, he wouldn’t have bothered to intervene directly.

"Reyna, hurry!"

Reyna rushed toward the flower monster.

She raised her spear and aimed it at the golden core inside its body. That was the source of its life.

"Die!"

Srck!

The spear pierced straight through it.

The Flower Queen, who had been writhing in pain, instantly fell still.

Then...

Boom!

Her body exploded, releasing an enormous cloud of poisonous pollen.

Reyna, who wasn’t prepared for it, was the first to be affected.

Her head began to spin, and her body started to feel hot.

"R-Raven...!"

She tried to call out to him, but then she realized Raven was showing the same symptoms.

"Damn it!"

Reyna tried to help him, but she wasn’t feeling any better herself.

Eventually, she couldn’t hold on any longer and collapsed to the ground.

The yellow smoke filled the entire hall. Raven, who had been prepared for this, was on the verge of losing consciousness.

"S-System, hurry up and buy the antidote!"

"[Ding! Purchase successful! Remaining love points: 8,500.]"

Raven didn’t care about that.

He hurriedly gulped down the antidote. A few seconds later, the effects of the pollen slowly began to subside.

Raven regained consciousness and let out a long sigh.

"Thank goodness..."

He frantically patted his chest.

If he had been even a few seconds late, his condition might have ended up no better than Reyna’s.

"Migel, come back," he ordered.

Migel’s body transformed into a shadow and immediately merged with his own.

Raven walked over to Reyna, who was already unconscious. Her beautiful face was flushed, and her breathing had become labored.

"Even though this method is a bit dirty, it’s the fastest way to subdue her," he muttered with a faint smile.

Breaking through the 100-point affection threshold required taking the target’s virginity.

The third mission would be completed in just a few more days, so Raven didn’t want to waste any more time.

After all, Leo was an anomaly. He possessed a blessing that allowed him to get close to women with S to SSS ratings.

There was no guarantee that Reyna would remain a virgin if Raven waited too long.

Without further delay, Raven picked Reyna up and carried her away through the yellow mist filling the hall.

***

"Hah... Hah... Hah..."

Reyna gasped for breath, her face growing redder by the second.

"It’s hot... so hot!" she muttered, writhing in discomfort.

Sitting beside her, Raven smiled meaningfully.

"Migel, watch the entrance. If any other players show up, let me know."

Whoosh!

A black shadow darted toward the exit.

Raven unbuttoned his shirt, licking his upper lip.

"Reyna, today, you’ll be mine... hehehe..."