Chapter 600: Noble Killer

The moment Joy uttered the words ’Noble Killer’ Carmela’s entire body went rigid.

Her fingers twitched ever so slightly against the ground, her breathing faltered for a heartbeat, and her eyes trembled—just faintly, but enough to betray that she recognized the name.

For a brief moment, her gaze darted toward the dagger lying beside her hip, her instincts screaming at her to grab it, to fight, to silence, to run.

But she stopped herself.

She forced her hand still and her shoulders relaxed, as if she’d mastered the art of hiding her own panic.

When she finally spoke, her tone was casual, too casual.

"The Noble Killer?" She repeated, feigning confusion. "Who exactly is that supposed to be?"

Joy didn’t buy the act, though she smiled faintly, almost politely, as if indulging her.

"You really don’t know?"

Carmela tilted her head, forcing a clueless smirk.

"Should I?"

Joy leaned back slightly, resting her arms over her knees.

"The Noble Killer...." She began slowly. "...the Bane of Aristocrats, the Sword of the Poor, the Shadow of Retribution."

"That person has...many names."

"Each region calls her something different. But the one that truly stuck, the one whispered in every noble household is exactly that: the Noble Killer."

"Because the name itself says everything about what she does."

Carmela said nothing, while Joy’s gaze sharpened.

"She kills nobles. Aristocrats. Officials. Anyone high up in society. But not all of them—not the decent or the fair ones."

"She hunts the corrupt."

"The greedy."

"The ones who rot the system from the inside."

Her voice hardened as she continued,

"She targets those who traffic demi-humans, the ones who exploit children, who smuggle, bribe, and torture the weak while pretending to be civilized."

"The kinds of nobles who see their citizens as insects beneath their feet."

"She hunts them down like animals and doesn’t just kill them—she eradicates them."

Her eyes darkened slightly as she continued,

"Wherever she goes, she leaves carnage in her wake. Nobles found torn apart, mutilated beyond recognition, bodies left hanging from their own mansion gates, their blood staining the marble floors they once strutted on."

"Some say she carves a message into their walls, a warning to every other tyrant watching from their thrones."

Carmela’s face remained still, but her hands clenched slightly at her sides.

Joy went on.

"She’s not some mindless assassin. No. She seems to have a twisted moral code, an obsessive hatred for those in power who prey on the powerless."

"It’s almost like she’s not driven by justice, but pure disgust. And she’s efficient. If an entire noble house is corrupt, she wipes them all out—servants, guards, heirs, everyone. Leaves no witnesses."

Joy sighed quietly.

"She’s been active for over six decades now. And not once, not once has anyone managed to catch her. There have been countless attempts, close calls even, but every time the authorities think they have her, she slips away like smoke. And then, a few months later, another noble turns up dead."

"She’s like a ghost." Joy said icily. "A ghost that only nobles can see. And if she marks you...you’re already dead."

Carmela stayed quiet, staring at the horizon.

"Of course." Joy added with a faint smirk. "Her existence is barely known to the public. The higher-ups have worked hard to suppress her name, afraid that the people would start seeing her as some kind of hero."

"But among the aristocracy, she’s infamous."

"They whisper about her in their banquets and meetings, afraid they’ll be next. There are bounties worth entire kingdoms on her head."

"And if she were ever caught, every noble in the continent would gather for a feast just to take turns stabbing her corpse."

She let the silence hang for a moment before tilting her head slightly and adding with a gentle smile,

"Now, even after hearing all that, you can’t possibly tell me you don’t know who I’m talking about. Can you, Carmela?"

For a moment, silence filled the air.

Carmela’s eyes, which had been resting on the horizon, slowly turned back toward Joy.

Her gaze was cold, calculating like she was weighing options in her mind.

Then she let out a long sigh, her body visibly relaxing as she gave a quiet, humorless chuckle.

"Haha. I didn’t expect this. But at the same time it makes sense. If anyone was going to find me out, it was going to be the Church’s Blood Hound who can always sniff the malice in people."

She then looked at Joy steadily and asked,

"So...how did you find out?"

Joy didn’t gloat. She didn’t smile triumphantly like someone who had solved a mystery.

Instead, her own expression softened, almost weary, as she spoke,

"It wasn’t hard to piece together once I paid attention."

Carmela gave a half-hearted smirk.

"So, I slipped, huh?"

"There were little signs." Joy nodded faintly. "Like from the very first moment we met, you made your disdain for nobles painfully clear. You never even tried to hide it. Every word you spoke dripped with resentment toward the upper class."

"That kind of hatred doesn’t come so casually—it comes from personal experience."

Carmela chuckled weakly.

"Heh. I guess I should’ve toned that down a little."

Joy’s lips twitched upward slightly but she didn’t stop there.

"And then there was your fighting style. Even though I’ve never witnessed the Noble Killer directly, I’ve read the reports of those who survived her attacks...or rather, barely survived them."

"Two twin daggers. Crimson magic. The ability to bind a target’s movement by locking eyes. Ruthless precision. All of it matched what I saw today."

Carmela exhaled through her nose, shaking her head with a small, rueful smile.

"I usually hide that part. Mask my movements, dull my presence. But I guess I got careless. I haven’t fought like that in years, so I let too much slip."

Joy gave her a steady, knowing look.

"That wasn’t all."

Carmela raised a brow. "Oh?"

"There was one more thing." Joy said quietly. "Something that made it certain for me."

Carmela frowned slightly, her curiosity mixed with a hint of apprehension.

"...And what would that be?"

"It was your victims." Joy said. "Or more specifically, the state you left them in. That’s what made it obvious."

Carmela’s eyes flickered slightly. "My...victims?"

Joy nodded slowly.

"Every noble you’ve ever killed or at least the main targets were found butchered in a different way. Sometimes dismembered, sometimes crushed, sometimes burned."

"But one detail...one detail has always stayed the same."

She leaned forward slightly, her pink eyes locking with Carmela’s crimson ones.

"Every single one of them had their eyes gouged out."

Carmela froze, while Joy continued, her voice even but cutting through the silence like a blade.

"No matter how different the killing methods were, the eyes were always gone. Ripped clean out of their skulls."

"At first, it was assumed to be sadism, a message of fear. But it never fit in my opinion . The repetition, the consistency...it wasn’t random."

"It was personal. A grudge."

Her gaze softened, though her words didn’t lose their edge.

"And then I looked at you, a vampire whose entire kin had their eyes torn from their sockets by nobles centuries ago, who were hunted and mutilated because their gaze was said to ’bewitch’ mortals."

"And then it clicked?"

"The Noble Killer takes eyes because her own people were robbed of theirs. You’re taking back, over and over again, what they once took from you and your kin. It’s not cruelty, it’s vengeance..."

"...and that revenge of yours is what gave you away."

Carmela went silent. She didn’t even bother to deny it.

Instead, she looked down before a small, bitter smile appeared on her face.

"You’re right." She admitted quietly. "I had to make them pay. Every single one of them."

"You wouldn’t understand what it’s like to live in a world where your people were hunted, skinned, and sold like animals. To have their eyes ripped out, their children burned, and then watch those same nobles build their estates atop your ashes."

She exhaled, her tone growing heavier.

"I couldn’t let it go. After all, my people, my bloodline are watching me from beyond, and if I did nothing, it would mean abandoning them all."

"So I carved justice out of their corpses."

"I took what was taken from us."

Her crimson eyes flickered with an old pain, then hardened.

"So yes. I tore out their eyes and felt so much Joy while doing do."

Then, after a moment, her demeanor shifted. She straightened, her tone sharpening as she stared at Joy.

"So...Now that you know, what are you going to do?"

Joy raised an eyebrow, as Carmela’s voice grew tense, her hands subtly reached toward her daggers.

"Are you going to take me in? Arrest me? Drag me back to your Church to stand trial for murder?"

She smirked, though her eyes burned with stress.

"Or will you skip all that and execute me here? I wouldn’t blame you. After all, the infamous Noble Killer is sitting right in front of you. That’s a bounty worth more than any medal."

"If that’s what you’re thinking..."

Her tone darkened, a dangerous grin spreading across her lips.

"...I hope you’re ready. Because I’m not going to let myself be taken easily."

"I respect you, Joy, you’re not a bad person. But if you try to kill me..."

She raised her hand, and the crimson runes on her daggers shimmered faintly.

"I will fight back—with everything I have."

The wind blew past them, ruffling Joy’s hair who didn’t react.

Meanwhile, Carmela’s gaze was locked on her, ready to spring the moment Joy made a move.

Every instinct in her body screamed for her to prepare for battle.

Because she knew how this would go.

A good person or not, Joy was still a servant of the Church, a woman of faith sworn to eliminate sin.

And Carmela was sin incarnate, a mass murderer who had terrorized nobility for decades.

There was no universe where the Church would let her walk free.

And yet...somewhere deep inside, Carmela felt something crack.

She didn’t want to fight this time.

Not this person.

Over the past few days, she had grown close to these people.

Cassius, that infuriating but kind noble; his nosey but kindhearted wives; the laughing maids; the curious Holy Guard members; Aqua and Maria could be added as well even though they just met.

Even Joy herself—stern, stubborn Joy had become someone she respected, maybe even liked.

For the first time in a very long while, she didn’t feel like a monster among them.

She felt...accepted.

And now, because of who she was, she was about to lose it all.

Her heart sank as she braced herself, fingers tightening on the daggers.

’If I must run again...then I’ll just disappear like before.’

’That’s what monsters like me do after all.’