Godmother.

Amanda had meant to say godmother, but she had been so excited to having found Fran that her words got screwed up, and she had acted like an idiot.

She just couldn't help herself. Fran was so cute, and looked just like her mother had when she was her age. Years of pent up emotions over what had occurred between her and Framia and Kinan had spilt over at the sight of the lost daughter, the one that Amanda herself has assumed to have died with her parents. If she had known that Fran had been alive, nothing, not even the [Oath Magic] she had bond herself with would have stop her from finding the girl.

Now the two children were running away from her, running at full speed through an incredibly dangerous area. She had to stop them. She had to protect them. To take them out of this place, to where it was safe.

They had a head start, but there were few even among A-rank Adventurers who could match Amanda's level of speed.

But that was only if she could maintain her full speed, something she was forced to abandon as her [Danger Perception] skill kicked in, screaming at her to dodge. She only managed to narrowly avoid being hit by a long black bolt that slammed into the ground, right in the path she had been running in.

It was the first of many, as arrow after arrow came from the trees, flying for Amanda, perfectly predicting her movements, forcing her to break her chase and use her whip to defend herself. "[Wind Wall]!" Amanda shouted, calling up a curtain of wind to deflect the oncoming projectiles. "Why is someone shooting at me?"

Before she could even begin to ponder this question, her [Danger Perception] kicked in again and she leaped aside as an arrow managed to read the wind and use it to redirect itself at her. It was an insane trick shot, which could only mean that the one firing at her had reached the Divine level of Bow Arts. Had a Demonic Beast so skilled with a bow managed to appear?

This was dangerous. If the sniper changed their target to this children…

Amanda changed direction and started to make for the place where the arrows were coming from, all the while trying to deflect more of incredibly high speed projectiles.

She was closing the distance, and could just start to sense the individual who was firing at her when a dark, formless mass of magical energy came pouring out from the trees in all directions.

It was such a rare spell, that it took Amanda a moment to recognize it; [Darkest Veil]. The [Darkness Magic] version of the [Dark Magic] spell [Black Veil]. While [Black Veil] covers the eyes of the enemy in shadows, robbing them of sight, [Darkest Veil] spread shadows over everything, robbing the sight of every creature that came into range.

The reason the spell was so rarely used was because it affected everything, including the caster. So to use it was to rob yourself of you most basic of senses. On top of that, the spell had a high maintenance cost, not just in MP, but also in concentration. And if your opponent had high perception skills, it would all be for not anyways.

With Lv8 [Presence Perception], Lv9 [Danger Perception] and Lv5 [Magic Perception], Amanda found the spell to be little more than annoyance, as she quickly identified the source of the attacks. The figure didn't bother to hide, perhaps believing that the darkness protected it, but Amanda couldn't help but to freeze up as her perception skills started to feed back information.

The attacker was small, and had a humanoid shape to it, almost like a child, though Amanda's [Guardian of Children] title informed her that what was standing there was definitely NOT a child. As for what it was, Amanda wasn't sure at first.

Before, she had believed it to be a humanoid Demonic Beast, one capable of using a bow with an extremely high level of skill, such as a Valkyrie. But even as Amanda had gotten close to them, her [Annihilator of Demonic Beasts] title didn't trigger, meaning that they were not a Demonic Beast. But they weren't human either.

Their body glowed in Amanda's [Magic Perception] as their entire being was made from pure magical energy, as was the bow that they had in their hand. They were definitely not a human, and they were not a Demonic Beast. This only left one option; a spirit. And not just any spirit. Only a supreme level spirit could take on a human form, and with the spell it had just used, there was only one it could be.

"You're Umbra, the Supreme Spirit of Darkness, aren't you?" Amanda said, more surprised than afraid. Supreme Spirits might be considered beings on the level of some A-rank Demonic Beasts, but Amanda felt as though this one wasn't at it's full strength.

The spirit did not reply. It only stood there, watching Amanda in the darkness.

"May I ask why is it that you were trying to kill me?" Amanda asked, hiding her annoyance. She would admit she was used to the way people normally treated A-rank Adventurers and she wasn't often ignored, or attacked. Though she supposed since most spirits couldn't use human speech, she was probably just wasting her...

[Don't be so dramatic. Even if those shots had hit you, you wouldn't have died. Your [Grace of the Spirits] skill wouldn't have failed against such a weak attack.] The spirit replied with telepathy, his voice sounding like that of a full grown man, despite the small stature of his body. [As for why I was attacking you, you were chasing after a pair of children after attempting to molest one of them. What kind of responsible adult would I be if I simply watched and did nothing as you captured them?]

Amanda blinked in surprise. The only spirit she had ever heard speak so fluently was Tarua, Frion's Guardian Spirit. She was so surprised that it took a moment for his words to sink in. "I...I wasn't molesting her!" Amanda shouted indignantly. "How could you even suggest such a thing! If you know about my [Grace of the Spirits] skill, then you must know that I have the [Guardian of Children] title as well!"

Yes Nell said she could be a little… embracive at times with the people she was fond of, but she would never lay hands on a child!

[The system that the gods set up to distribute their titles is flawed, easy to trick and abuse. I will judge what I saw with my own eyes over your title.] The spirit said, completely dismissive of Amanda's defense. Amanda winced as the spirit casually confirmed her own secret suspicious. [Regardless of your lack of ill intentions, you have clearly lost your self-control. By the way, you have a bit of drool on your chin.]

"Huh?" Amanda said, her free hand coming up to her face. Sure enough, there was drool there. When had that happened?

[Leave the children be, and regain your self-control.] The spirit ordered her.

"You want me to just leave those two alone out here!? This place is dangerous!"

[They will be fine. You need to go.]

"I am not leaving them alone out here!"

[And I will not let you pursue them. Leave.]

Amanda didn't have time for this. With every moment that passed Framia and Kinan's daughter got further and further away from her protective care. She had to hurry. She couldn't let anything happen to that sweet little girl. She couldn't live with herself if something happened to Fran as well.

The woman's frustration boiled over. She didn't care if he was a Supreme spirit, nothing would stop her from protecting Fran!

The moment Amanda started to move her feet, Umbra reacted. The bow dissolved back into magic to be replaced with a pair of blades as the dark spirit moved in to confront the whip master.

Amanda swung her whip, putting enough force behind her swing to tear through the trees that were hidden in the shadows, she channeled her mana into the cable to make it grow in length and reach. At first, she thought that the spirit must not be familiar with human weapon combat, as he blocked the body of her whip, causing the weighted head to come around with enough force to smash a boulder in two. But before the tip could hit its mark, Umbra's second blade flew up, catching the deadly tip mid flight and knocking it up and over his head, letting the momentum move the whips body out of the way so that he could charge forward.

He crossed his arms before throwing the conjured weapons at Amanda, who countered with [Storm Surge], blowing the attack off course.

Using her [Divine Whip Technique] Amanda took complete control over the whip's body and started to have it twist back around like a snake, rearing up, ready to strike at Umbra's back before casting a second [Storm Surge], this one aimed offensively at the spirit, in order to knock him off balance as she struck.

But the spirit wasn't caught off guard, summoning up another pair of magic constructed swords, holding them out to act like wings, using Amanda's own wind to help blow him out of the way of her attack, before spinning around and slamming the long body of her whip with the pair of blades.

The whip shook from the force, causing Amanda to lose control over it for a moment, giving Umbra enough time to close the rest of the distance between them.

If he was expecting an easily close-quarters fight, he was mistaken, as Amanda activated her [Herculean Strength], [Physical Amplification] skills to enhance her physical strength before using [Elemental Weapon] to shape storm attributed mana around her arm, in the shape of a blade.

She parried one of his slashes with the handle of her whip, while using her own free hand to strike out, forcing him to guard. The hit was strong enough to blast the spirit backwards.

Umbra spun around in the air, using his weapons to control his movements mid flight before stabbing one of them into the ground, using it to burn off his momentum. He didn't even bother to retrieve the buried weapon from the ground, merely making another to replace it.

Was this one of Umbra's abilities? Even though she was of the Elvish heritage, Amanda hadn't inherited the [Blessing of the Spirits] trait and had no talent for [Spirit Magic], so she had never felt the need to research the Supreme Spirits. She knew them by name, same as almost everyone else in the world, but she hadn't memorized their abilities. However, the spirits use of weapons was closer to what she had seen with Forrund and his 'Blessings of the Sword God'.

While his magic energy was only around as power as a C-rank Demonic Beast, his weapon skills were far too high. This couldn't possibly be normal for a spirit.

Well, it didn't matter. Amanda just had to destabilize the body, returning the spirit to its astral form. After that, she would be free to continue without having to worry about him interfering with her any more.

For that reason, Amanda started to channel her storm attribute mana into her whip, increasing its speed and cutting power considerably.

[I won't do that if I were you. You're only going to end up damaging your own weapon.] Umbra said, but Amanda ignored him, this was the only way she could claim an advantage fast enough. She started to use her [Divine Whip Techniques] to straight out at the Spirit of Darkness, her flurry of attacks so fast that even other A-rank Adventurers would be unable to follow them, or dodge.

However, Umbra showed no signs of struggle, as he imbued his weapons with his darkness mana and used them to deflect the whip's straights one after another, never letting a single attack through. This was insane. Spirits weren't supposed to be this skilled in weapon's combat. He was the slipperiest thing that Amanda had ever encountered, but even so, her superior speed meant that even if he found an opening, he wouldn't be able to land a blow.

In terms of magic, his [Darkness Magic] was simple enough for her to dodge, but while her wind spells hit, Umbra would use their force for his own benefit and the damage they dealt was negligible.

Amanda pushed herself as hard as she could, trying to get a solid hit in. But in the end, all it did was drain her faster. Her mana ran dry after five minutes. She would usually have lasted longer, but Umbra's darkness mana [Elemental Weapon] had a mana burn effect with was slowly burning her out.

[You're supposed to be an A-rank Adventurer, but this is the extent of your whip skills? Just [Divine Whip Arts] Lv4.] Umbra said, as if the Divine level of weapon arts weren't insanely difficult to obtain, with only high B and A-rank individuals having them.

Though… it had been over four years since any of Amanda's skills had increased. Not since the news about what had happened to Fran's parents had reached her. That thought stung her heart and pushed her into bringing out a mana potion. Umbra saw this, but didn't seem inclined to stop her.

[Your [Storm Magic] is strong, and you've got a good understanding of how to use it, but if your opponent knows how to take advantage of the shape of the wind, it does you know good. You need to adapt your style around your opponent. Throwing winds at me only gives me the chance to use them to my advantage. You're using your [Chant Shortening] skill to let you cast your spells quickly, but because of that, they lose their complexity.]

Amanda paused at his lecturing. Part of her felt indignant by it, considering how even they were. However, he did have a point. Rather than blasting him head on, she needed to approach this from a different angle. Beginning her chant, she cast a different spell; [Control Wind].

Using her concentration, she shaped the flow of air in order to create a low pressure zone around Umbra. The effect was much weaker than just throwing a large amount of air at him, but the effect of it was to create a suction effect, dragging him up, instead of pushing him.

The moment he started to become airborne, she struck, swinging her whip around to attack him from below, where it would be the hardest to block… Only for a sword to appear under his feet, giving him a platform to kick off of and dodge her attack.

[That was better. Now you just need to think another five moves ahead and you'll get me.] Amanda's cheeks burned as he chuckled at her. [Your control over the wind is too uniform. Think of the wind like ripples in the water. Two different waves can occupy the same space at once. Add several separate waves in order to make your attack more chaotic and more difficult to read.]

"I don't have the [Split Thought] skill." Amanda reminded him, since he had had a high level [Appraisal] skill anyways.

[Then be creative. Don't just use spells with immediate effects but also delayed and longer lasting effects.] Umbra chastised her.

"...Got it." Amanda said as she came up with the right spells. She began to strafe around him and started to cast her spells. She fired off [Gust of Wind], a level 4 [Wind Magic Spill], again and again as she went, using different levels of strength and focus. By doing so, she created magic circles that would release a strong wind in the direction of her choosing for up to one minute, causing a massive number of different wind streams.

While the spell itself was too weak to be effective in a battle like this one, but it could be just what she needed to get around Umbra's unnaturally accurate predictions. This time, when she stopped to place her [Control Wind] over the entire system, it created a maze of wind currents around her target.

At first, it seemed like it was working, the maze of air currents keeping Umbra off balance as Amanda attacked him rapidly with her whip. However, just as she was about to score her hit, he pulled it out from under her. [[Control Wind].]

His spell was far weaker than hers, but it was enough to disrupt her own spell around him, letting him reclaim his balance in order to block the oncoming attack, using its momentum to throw him clear through the walls of wind around him.

[Not bad. You nearly got me with that one.] The spirit teased.

"You can use [Wind Magic]!?" Amanda shouted in shock.

[Whoever said I couldn't?]

"But you're the Spirit of Darkness. Why can the Spirit of Darkness call upon the wind?"

[I never said I was the Spirit of Darkness. You just made assumptions.]

"That's… But, you are a Spirit, you have a humanoid form, and you can use [Darkness Magic]."

[...That is all correct, in a sense.] The Spirit who was not Umbra confirmed. [However, I am only 50 years old, making me little more than an infant by the standards of my kind. So I am not a famous name. In fact, I don't have a name at all. I am a Nameless Spirit.]

A new Supreme Class spirit? Was that even possible? Wait as second... 50!? He was even younger than she was!

[Looks like this temporary body is about to have ran its course, and Fran and Art are already far outside of your reach. How about we call it quits for today.] Nameless said as his magic body started to destabilize.

"Huh!?" Amanda exclaimed, realizing that he was right, and that there was no way she would be able to track them now. "Oh no! What if they got lost! Or a Demonic Beast attacks them! Or..."

[Calm down. They're fine. They've already left the boundaries of the Haunt. Besides, they aren't so weak as to be beaten easily.] The Nameless Spirit said with a low chuckle. [It was fun, Miss A-rank Adventurer. Keep training, and maybe you will even be able to beat me next time around.]

And with that, the spirit vanished, and soon the [Darkest Veil] began to clear, revealing Amanda, the completely decimated landscape around her.

"Miss Amanda!" Cruz, the leader of one of the C-rank teams that came to the Haunt with them in order to gain experience, said as he and his party approached. "We saw the dark cloud and heard signs of battle from far off, but we didn't dare entire. Are you alright? What happened?"

"Fran..." Amanda mumbled, ignoring the young man, her shoulders falling. She couldn't believe it. Their daughter was alive and well. She had been there, right in front of Amanda, but now she was gone again. She had already left the Haunt and was probably on her way to the nearest… "I'm going back to Aressa!" Amanda declared, straightening up.

"What!? But Miss, we can't leave. Not until we've taken care of the unusual emergence...s..." Cruz's voice dead as he had to stop himself from shitting his pants, his [Malice Detection] skill going crazy as the woman practically glowed with killing intent.

"Those worthless Demonic Beasts, getting in my way." Amanda said, her grin downright terrifying. "No matter, I'll just have to kill them all quickly."

"...Ah… yeah."

Archer had been glad for the cover given by the darkness. It had only been meant to prevent the woman from seeing his borrowed form, but it had also hid from her how much damage she was actually doing.

She was no push over, and Archer had been forced to heal himself multiple times to mend broken bones and dislocated arms, from the force of her attacks. If she had been fighting against the Demon from the Dungeon, she would have completely dismantled him in seconds. As it was, Archer's superior skill when it came to weapon's combat kept him afloat.

She had been physically stronger than her stats had suggested, however, her level of artistry with her weapon of choice wasn't too much greater than Fran's. It appeared that she was more of an assassin, depending on stealth and high speed strikes to finish off enemies, or using her wind magic to keep them off guard. Against larger targets, her massive wind spells could be used to great effect, holding them completely in place as she ripped them apart. Fighting Archer head on, she was out of her element and against a much different type of opponent than she was used to.

She was completely self-taught, and while her level of skill and strength for being as such was impressive, it did leave her with flaws that a learned master would have been able to point out or take advantage of.

All in all, she stronger enough than Fran and Art to make a good sparring partner for them, and she might learn a bit out of it as well... As soon as she could gain some self-control, and stopped seeing them as being just little girls.

Just so you know, Lady Killer is a real title in that world. I didn't just make it up.