chapter 37: The Ruler’s Eye (1)

Crimson blood spurted high into the sky.

Beryl’s eyes widened in disbelief, as if unable to comprehend what had just happened to her.

An arrowhead protruded proudly from her chest, asserting its presence. Isabella and Lancia jumped up in shock.

For a moment, time seemed to freeze, as if it had stopped altogether, within a second that felt like an eternity.

The first to move, as expected, was Sion.

“Cure Critical Wounds!”

She swiftly pulled out the arrow and chanted the healing spell.

Of course, it was called a healing spell, but in reality, it was a spell of creation.

It simply restored the damaged parts by creating and filling in new cell tissue.

However, Sion’s spell precision, honed to its absolute peak, was more than sufficient to perform the healing.

-Ssshh…

The severed blood vessels were restored, and the punctured flesh regenerated.

The left lung and heart, pierced by the arrow, returned to their original forms.

It was an emergency treatment executed with unparalleled speed and precision, a feat only Sion could perform across the entire continent.

But…

“Guh, ugh…!”

“?!”

For some reason, even after Beryl’s wounds had fully healed, she remained curled up, groaning in pain.

Sion frowned at the sight.

If the body did not return to its normal state even after the wounds were healed, there could be only one answer.

‘Poison.’

Sion glanced at the arrowhead lying on the ground.

The green, viscous liquid smeared at the tip confirmed his suspicion.

‘Damn it, I can’t cure poison.’

Sion clicked her tongue quietly.

The principle behind her “healing” was to regenerate the damaged area completely.

If the affected part was contaminated, she would secretly cut it out and reattach it.

But poison was different.

Once poison penetrates the skin, it spreads rapidly throughout the body, paralyzing the sensory organs and contaminating the internal organs.

Even Sion could not replace all of that with “newly created organs.”

In other words, to heal Beryl, she would need to bring in a real priest.

Or extract the antidote from the one who shot the arrow.

“Sion, what’s happening!?”

“Don’t move!”

Sion shouted sharply at Isabella and Lancia, who were about to rush toward her.

Despite everything, she was still the former Demon King. Even if she had been distracted by her conversation with Beryl, she wouldn’t have failed to notice if an enemy had approached within arrow range.

If there was a way to make that possible, there was only one thing Sion knew.

‘It must be an Invisibility spell.’

A magic that literally made the target invisible and unrecognizable. Even Sion found it hard to detect enemies while they were under this spell’s effect.

There was no way to deal with something that was physically invisible to the naked eye.

Of course, once she became aware of it, there were plenty of solutions.

“Enhance auditory range. Ten times the usual range.”

Sion infused more magical power to extend the range of his echolocation as far as possible.

Earlier, it had been about 20 to 30 meters, but now it stretched much farther.

After a moment, her senses caught the presence of others besides themselves.

Two on the far left in a tree, one behind a bush, three in a tree on the right.

A total of six.

All of them were aiming large crossbows in this direction.

And lastly, there was a young man holding a staff in the center.

“There you are.”

Sion slowly drew her sword and pointed it toward the young man. She aimed at a spot where nothing seemed to be visible.

A moment later, a hearty laugh erupted from the direction she pointed.

“Oh dear. I put my heart and soul into this illusion spell, but I didn’t expect it to be discovered so quickly! As expected, the fame of the next Hero is not just empty words.”

A low, sticky voice, as unsettling as a snake flicking its tongue.

Lancia swiftly drew her sword from her waist.

“Who’s there~!”

“Oh, hold up, stop right there.”

But just before Lancia could charge, the young man warned in a cold voice.

“This forest is currently surrounded by my comrades. They might not be visible to anyone but the Hero, but if you don’t want to end up like that girl lying over there, riddled with arrows like a porcupine, I suggest you stay still.”

Lancia bit her lip slightly. She glanced around briefly, then slowly lowered her sword to the ground.

The young man burst out laughing at the sight.

“Good! Very good. I like obedient children.”

“Don’t worry; we won’t kill you. In fact, if you cooperate, we might just let you go without laying a hand on you.”

“What? Let us go…?”

“Yes, of course.”

The young man shrugged his shoulders.

“This whole situation is an accident… a mishap, really. Who would have guessed that the Death Worms, usually so docile, would suddenly go berserk and charge over here all at once? We’ve lost not just one, but five precious Giant Death Worms because of this, so we’re at a considerable loss too.”

At those words, Sion glanced back at the bodies of the worms. So, they were indeed beasts being controlled by someone for a purpose. It made sense, otherwise, they wouldn’t have survived for 500 years.

The remaining question was, what was that purpose?

“Who are you? What are you plotting in a place like this?”

Isabella growled, her tone demanding.

But the young man only laughed louder.

“Hahaha! Oh, naive girl. Do you really think we’d answer that honestly? You don’t need to know who we are. You’ll forget all about us soon enough.”

“Forget…? What do you mean by that—”

“Why don’t we skip the tedious guessing game and get straight to the point?” the young man cut in, his tone suddenly serious.

“Let me be clear, I have no intention of harming you. Doing so would only cause more trouble. They’d have to investigate the reason behind the death of the next Hero and all that… Oh, we certainly don’t want to get caught up in that kind of commotion.

We just want to live quietly, hidden away in this place. And to be honest, I’m not even sure we could win if a real fight broke out.”

While speaking, he glanced briefly in Sion’s direction.

A girl who had fought off five Giant Death Worms simultaneously without a scratch.

Even without the title of Hero, a full-scale confrontation would never be a wise choice. The young man instinctively sensed this.

“So, if you don’t mind, let’s resolve this quietly and peacefully.

We won’t hold you accountable for trespassing here. We’ll also overlook the damage you’ve done to our magical beasts.

All I want is for you to calmly accept a memory alteration and leave, forgetting everything you’ve seen here.”

Sion stared silently in the direction of the young man before asking, “What if we refuse?”

“Well, I suppose you’ll just have to imagine the consequences.”

The young man replied, drawing out his words with a mocking tone.

“But I strongly suggest you accept my offer.

The substance coated on that arrowhead was ‘Tears of the Nether.’ It’s a deadly poison that will kill you within 30 minutes if you don’t receive the antidote.

And I’m the only one here with the antidote.”

As he said this, the young man pulled out a small vial from his coat and shook it mockingly.

A glass bottle filled with a pink liquid.

“You might find it easy to take me down. But are you certain you can prevent me from throwing this vial to the ground and smashing it?”

The young man smirked.

“Why gamble with a life when you could simply accept my win-win proposal?”

Truthfully, if asked whether it was possible or not, Sion could certainly do it.

She could use telekinesis to snatch the vial right now. If Isabella or Lancia were not watching, she would have done it immediately.

“So, what are you going to do, Sion…? Are you going to follow his suggestion?”

“Don’t talk to me. I’m thinking.”

Sion stared at the antidote the young man had taken out, deep in thought.

First of all, as a basic premise, Sion couldn’t cure Beryl’s poisoning.

Even though she was a Demon King who had reached the pinnacle of magic, some things were just beyond her capabilities.

To save Beryl, they needed the antidote held by this mysterious young man.

That was the first conclusion.

If they accepted the deal, would the man keep his promise?

There was no way to be certain. The enemy was extremely wary of them, and therefore, Sion couldn’t even use a mind-reading spell.

However, considering the circumstances, the chances of it being a lie seemed low.

If they had intended to annihilate them, they would have launched multiple arrows in the initial ambush, not just one.

The fact that they hadn’t done so and were now trying to negotiate suggested that they genuinely had no intention to kill.

Given this situation, there was only one ‘correct’ answer.

“Alright. I’ll do as you say.”

Feigning defeat, Sion dropped Exia and raised both hands as she stepped forward.

After all, she only needed to pretend to have her memory manipulated.

Even if it really happened, it wouldn’t matter much.

She could set a conditional casting spell to restore her original memories after 30 minutes.

The enemy didn’t know that she could use magic. So, she could make effective use of that advantage.

“Heh heh…”

“Sion…”

“Very well. As expected, you are wise, Hero.”

The other two looked at Sion with uneasy expressions.

Was she really planning to fall for the tricks of this suspicious magician (though invisible to their eyes)? What if they were betrayed?

There must be some plan in mind, right?

“So, what do I need to do? Should I come over there?”

“Wait. Don’t be in such a hurry. We also need some preparations to properly accommodate the Hero.”

“Sorry, but it was you who said I’d die in 30 minutes.”

Sion glanced over at Beryl.

She was unconscious, sweating profusely all over her body as if rain was pouring from her. She looked like she might stop breathing any moment now.

“Remember, if she dies, none of you will be safe either. The only reason you’re still alive right now is because of Miss Beryl.”

“Heh heh, duly noted.”

The young man nodded.

Indeed, if a fight broke out, they would be annihilated in less than a minute.

The prowess of the Hero he had seen from afar was simply overwhelming.

But that was only if they fought.

“Kahahahaha! Foolish girl, walking right into the trap with her own feet!”

As Sion calmly approached him, the young man laughed uproariously to himself.

He wasn’t lying.

It was true that he had no intention of killing the three of them, and it was also true that he would hand over the antidote if they underwent the memory manipulation.

But there was one thing he hadn’t mentioned—the ‘scale’ of the memory manipulation he intended to perform…

‘Corrupted Artifact, [Eye of the Overlord].’

The object currently attached to the end of his staff, shaped like a color-inverted eyeball.

Its power was on a completely different level from ordinary psychic magic tools. This artifact could manipulate a person’s very soul.

Memories, personality, common sense, self-identity, desires—every mental aspect of a person could be altered at will.

And because it used divine power instead of magical power, it could penetrate the magic resistance of the Hero’s body.

While there was a potential drawback in that a strong-willed person could resist, Sion was kindly ‘volunteering’ to go along with it.

What better prey could there be?

‘Life is truly full of surprises. I was appalled when I lost the Giant Death Worms, but then this magnificent catch falls right into my lap.

Indeed, as they say, do not despair… Kukuku… Now, how should I change you? Hmm?’

The young man licked his lips as he watched Sion approach.

He could turn her into a soldier who would obey him unconditionally, or into a lewd sex slave who craved a man’s touch. Or perhaps, he could combine both.

He could change her in any way he liked, however his whims led him.

A chance to corrupt the noble and beautiful Hero to his own twisted tastes.

He was almost delirious with excitement.

“Is it ready yet?”

“Oh, my apologies. I got a little distracted for a moment… Hehe…”

The young man struggled to stifle the laughter threatening to burst out.

Not yet. He couldn’t let himself seem overly delighted and raise any suspicion in his target.

Only a fool would ruin a well-prepared meal with an ill-timed reaction.

Clearing his throat, he suppressed his grin and raised his staff.

“Now, I’ll begin the memory manipulation. Please don’t resist and stay still. Once it’s done, I’ll give you the antidote as promised.”

Of course, whether they would even want the antidote afterward was uncertain.

They might just end up begging him to hold them, forgetting about trivial things like that—like a bitch in heat.

‘I’ve decided. You will be an offering for the ‘Demon King.’’

Though he wanted to keep her for himself, that wasn’t an option.

The demon army he belonged to was a strictly hierarchical organization.

Acting on one’s desires without permission, no matter how great the achievement, could result in a beheading.

He would process her into the best condition and present her to his superior. That was the wisest and safest choice.

Having made up his mind, he aimed the crystal orb directly at Sion.

-Shwooooooo…

A red light began to emanate from the pupil in the center of the orb, blinking as it spread outward.

The light vanished from Sion’s eyes, and then…