Miss Nanali

The canyon pass was shrouded in a dense fog, and jagged, bizarre rocks loomed indistinctly in the grayish-white mist. Visibility was less than twenty meters.

It was a perfect place for an ambush.

Vivian tightened the inconspicuous dark gray traveling cloak she wore. However, just as she was about to pass through this naturally formed ambush point—

“Halt! Who goes there!?”

An angry shout suddenly rang out from ahead, and immediately, a group of people burst out from a corner.

The succubus Luna, however, had sensed their presence before they appeared and vanished on the spot with a pop, leaving no trace.

A squad of fully armed figures rushed out from between several large boulders like phantoms, instantly surrounding Vivian.

‘A standard battle formation.’

Vivian scanned them and evaluated them in her mind.

Two burly heavy warriors in thick leather armor, holding massive tower shields, blocked Vivian’s front and flank like mobile fortresses.

Behind them, an archer had already nocked an arrow, his sharp gaze piercing the fog to lock onto her.

A mage in a deep blue robe, holding an oaken staff, had a faint glow of mana swirling at his fingertips.

And standing at the very back of the team was a priest wearing the standard robes of the Rhine Holy Church, with a simple chainmail shirt over it, holding a crudely shaped warhammer engraved with a holy symbol.

Although Vivian had hidden her presence as much as possible, conversely, there were also ambush squads on the human front lines.

These teams were concealed by clergy and mages, making them exceptionally hidden, but with Vivian’s perception, it wasn’t impossible to bypass them.

It was just troublesome.

Therefore, Vivian felt it was better to make contact directly, saving herself the trouble of hiding and sneaking around.

“Don’t be nervous. My name is Nanali Prow. I’m a shadowmancer, and my team was attacked. We were separated in the fog.”

Vivian immediately raised her hands, indicating she posed no threat.

She lowered her head slightly, the shadow of her cloak’s hood perfectly concealing her overly exquisite features, revealing only a soft jawline and slightly pale lips.

“Nanali Prow? Never heard that name… Where’s your adventurer’s badge? Take it out!”

The lead shieldguard warrior frowned and demanded.

“It’s here.”

“…Check it. See if the information matches.”

Vivian smiled faintly, her left hand slowly and clearly reaching into the inner pocket of her cloak.

Her movements were steady, avoiding any rapid actions that might cause a misunderstanding.

She then took out the adventurer’s badge she had prepared back in Faro Fortress.

The lead warrior glanced to his side, and his companion, also holding a tower shield, immediately stepped forward, tilting his massive shield slightly to form a reliable protective barrier.

Only then did the lead warrior extend his hand, extremely cautiously, and pinch the edge of the badge with two fingers as if it were some dangerous poison.

He quickly took it and passed it to the mage behind him without turning his head.

To be precise, she had obtained this badge from another adventurer, and the information recorded on it had long since been successfully altered by her to match her cover.

Normally, an adventurer’s badge would record their information for identity verification and passage, and the authentication magic on these badges was extremely complex, making it incredibly difficult to crack under normal circumstances.

But for a Demon Lord like Vivian, this was not a major problem.

“Nanali” was the pseudonym she had given herself, her false identity for operating in the human world.

Time ticked by in tense silence.

Beads of sweat formed on the mage’s temples, clearly indicating he was using all his effort to verify the information in the badge.

The archer’s arrowhead remained steadily aimed at Vivian’s heart.

The two shieldguard warriors’ muscles were tense, ready to charge and block at a moment’s notice.

As for the priest at the back, his eyes were half-closed, his gaze sweeping over Vivian like a physical object, filled with scrutiny and assessment.

“Verification complete.”

The mage finally let out a long sigh and looked up, his voice tinged with relief.

“Appearance, residual mana traces, all match the information recorded in the badge—identity confirmed. Nanali Prow, independent shadowmancer, Gold-rank adventurer, registered at the Faro Fortress Adventurer’s Guild.”

“Good. My apologies for the offense, Miss Nanali.”

“It’s no problem.”

After the mage confirmed the information, the others also breathed a sigh of relief.

He returned the adventurer’s badge to Vivian, who accepted it with a smile.

That’s right, disguising herself as a human was Vivian’s chosen method for crossing the war zone.

The area where demons and humans clashed was quite vast.

No one knew where the heroes were, and if she tried to cross rashly, she might be intercepted by one of them.

So, to be on the safe side, it was better to disguise herself as one of them and pass through the heavily fortified lines and deployments smoothly.

She wasn’t in a hurry anyway, and probably no one would ever imagine that she, a Demon Lord, would disguise herself as a human adventurer, right?

Of course, as for why she chose to disguise herself as Miss Nanali…

Vivian couldn’t help but glance at the clergyman in the back row, who was also watching her warily at that moment.

“Wait. Please allow this old one to conduct an inspection.”

Just as the others were about to relax their guard, the middle-aged-looking clergyman spoke up and walked toward Vivian, holding a warhammer.

This priest was exceptionally well-built, with knotted muscles that strained against the sacred robe he wore.

He looked less like a member of the clergy and more like a humanoid beast draped in a holy robe; he wouldn’t look out of place as a berserker if he changed his gear.

“Oh, right!”

The shieldguard captain slapped his forehead as if he had just remembered.

“Almost forgot the rule! Miss Nanali, you see…”

He looked at Vivian, his eyes questioning but also holding a hint of an undeniable demand.

“This is for safety, and it’s a rule of the Church—any lone adventurer encountered, especially near the front lines, must be screened by a priest using holy arts.”

“You… shouldn’t have a problem with that, right?”

His final sentence was thick with probing.

“Of course not.”

Vivian nodded lightly and took a step forward.

The tall priest came to stand before Vivian, his massive body casting a shadow that almost completely enveloped her.

A wave of scents—sweat, leather, and a strong aura of holy light energy—washed over her, carrying an intense sense of pressure.

Then, the priest raised his warhammer, stopping it gently just above her head.

If the detection results were problematic, this warhammer would fall without mercy.

“In the name of the Holy Light, in the name of the Lord of Rhine! Purge all falsehood!”

“【Holy Detection】!”

“【Malice Detection】!”

“【Alignment Detection】!”

As the priest began to chant his prayers, the head of his hammer instantly erupted in a dazzling, pure white light, like a miniature sun, dispelling some of the surrounding fog.