Chapter 38: The Ruler’s Eye (2)

‘I knew it, you sly bastard.’

Watching the young man grinning while emitting that red light, Sion furrowed her brows.

From the very beginning, something felt off. There was a stench of dishonesty wafting from the man’s demeanor, the kind only found in untrustworthy humans.

Sion hadn’t trusted him from the moment she first heard his voice, or perhaps even before he had approached.

Demons have no concept of conscience. They believe that deceiving others for gain is simply the folly of the deceived.

Thus, the demon society is riddled with schemes and power plays that make the machinations of human society seem trivial in comparison.

Simply having strength is not enough, those who possess only power are eventually weeded out.

One must have both strength and wisdom to truly maintain their place as a dominant force.

And Sion had long since risen to the pinnacle of such a demonic world.

She had grown accustomed to seeing through the tricks others tried to play on her.

‘Just in case, I secretly used an Identify spell to check, and, as expected, it doesn’t just end with memory manipulation.

It’s an artifact that can even alter thoughts and personality…!’

An artifact.

A term referring to magical tools of a much higher caliber than ordinary ones, imbued with mythical origins.

Their performance is equally extraordinary, often causing city-level destruction or reversing time when activated.

The [Eye of the Overlord] that the young man was holding was one of these cases.

How this inexperienced whelp managed to get his hands on such a rare artifact is unknown, but the power to reshape a person’s personality is absurdly potent.

If Sion had been exposed without knowing anything, she might have instantly been turned into a corrupted, submissive puppet.

Of course, the reason she could stand here now was that she never fell for such petty tricks.

‘Blindness.’

Sion chanted a curse that would blind the eyes of a target. And the target was none other than herself.

As soon as she finished the spell, the red light that had been trying to invade her mind was entirely blocked from her sight.

That should do it. The artifact’s effect seemed to rely on vision, so if she couldn’t see at all, she wouldn’t be affected.

Moreover, since her eyes would lose their shine while under the spell’s influence, it would look like she was in a hypnotic trance.

And most importantly, even if her sight were lost, Sion herself wouldn’t have any trouble perceiving her surroundings because she was using the echolocation spell.

It was a perfect counter to the trap.

-“Sion! Are you okay?! Get a hold of yourself! You can’t fall for these vile tricks—”

-“Don’t make a fuss. There’s no need for you to worry. I am perfectly fine.”

-“—!?”

Exia gasped, inhaling sharply.

-“What? How are you okay?! It looked like you were completely under the mind control! Are you trying to trick us too?”

-“Trick? That’s a harsh word. I simply turned the enemy’s deceit back at them in the most gentlemanly way possible.”

Sion said this while turning to look at the young man.

The young man was still smirking and waving the artifact in Sion’s face, unaware that it wasn’t having any effect.

-“It would be easy to take advantage of this fool’s complacency and ambush him to snatch the antidote… but those six lackeys in the trees are still on my mind.

If one of their arrows were to hit Lancia or Isabella, things could become much more complicated…”

While Lancia, as a knight, might be able to resist the poison, Isabella, being a mage, absolutely could not. In that case, they would need a second dose of the antidote.

But there was no guarantee that there were multiple antidotes.

In fact, there wasn’t even any certainty that the vial the young man was holding was the real antidote. He might have just been waving around a fake to deceive them.

In truth, using a fake would be safer in case of the unlikely scenario where he accidentally lost the vial. That’s exactly what Sion would have done.

Considering all possibilities, the safest course of action would be to simultaneously subdue this man and the six archers with poisoned arrows.

And to do it without lifting a finger.

-“Is that possible?”

-“It’s not impossible.”

Sion replied, subtly glancing over at Isabella and Lancia from a distance.

As expected, even in this situation, the two were not giving up and were continuing to make efforts to find a way out.

Although they couldn’t move openly due to the arrows aimed at them, they were cautiously observing their surroundings, trying to pinpoint the positions of the archers.

With such determination, they should be able to handle any unexpected changes that come their way, even if something unforeseen were to happen.

-“…What are you planning to do?”

Exia asked in a voice filled with unease.

Sion gave a sly smile and replied,

-“Cause chaos.”

Karma, an officer of the Gluttony Legion of the New Demon King’s Army, was overwhelmed with excitement at this very moment.

The opponent was a Hero. Not just any Hero, but one of only two in history, appearing after 500 years.

A warrior strong enough to wield the world’s most sacred sword and slay monstrous creatures, feared as nightmares, in a single stroke.

The most faithful and noble individual on the continent, the last saint of this era, and the beacon of humanity.

And now, there was a chance to make this Hero his own. To corrupt the goddess’s apostle into a vanguard for the Demon King’s Army.

What could be more exhilarating than this?

‘Heh heh… Once I brainwash her, what should I do first?’

A slew of sinister fantasies began to unfold in Karma’s mind.

First, an announcement of her defeat and submission, kneeling naked before him.

Nothing would better serve as a display of the Hero’s corruption.

Or perhaps he would have her voluntarily wear a slave’s collar, walking on all fours like a beast.

Either way, capturing it on a recording crystal and distributing it would surely cause a significant uproar.

Of course, it would be a waste to use her solely as a sex slave.

Her swordsmanship, which had reached the pinnacle of mastery, would undoubtedly become a great asset to their army.

How about this, send the brainwashed Hero into Anatolia to assassinate the mana-user, then slaughter the other clergy and noble heirs as well.

If they could somehow eliminate that bothersome elf headmaster, the success of their plan would be accelerated.

He was practically the linchpin and keystone maintaining the current peace of the continent.

‘Ah, and then there were those two as well.’

At this point, Karma’s gaze shifted toward Lancia and Isabella, who were glaring at him from the corner.

It was a pity, but the [Eye of the Overlord] couldn’t be used recklessly.

It consumed an excessive amount of precious Fallen Divine Power.

Using it on those who were essentially nobodies (as Karma didn’t know their identities) would be wasteful.

But that had its own charm.

Breaking them in without mind control had a special flavor. Subduing them wouldn’t be difficult.

The Hero, once converted to a loyal servant of the Demon King’s Army, could be ordered to bring them to their knees in five seconds.

And afterward… since he was handing the Hero over to his superior, surely he could keep a few of the crumbs for himself.

With these thoughts, Karma let his eyes roam up and down their bodies.

A fifteen-year-old body, still immature. But that very aspect only served to provoke Karma’s twisted desires further.

What would it feel like to leave the first muddy footprints on that pristine, untouched snow?

The thought alone made his mouth water.

“Kheh, heh heh heh…”

Karma no longer bothered to hide his lust, laughing openly now.

Fortunately, he was still in a state of invisibility. Otherwise, not only the girls but even his own subordinates would have recoiled in horror at his grotesque appearance.

However, much to his disappointment, his audacious fantasies were never to be realized.

Just moments before the brainwashing was complete, an uninvited guest arrived.

While Karma was gleefully emitting a red light, a dark shadow suddenly loomed over his head.

He stopped laughing and looked up, trying to identify the source of the unexpected shadow.

And then—

“!?!!!?!?”

In the next moment, everyone in the vicinity, including Karma, was shocked and thrown into chaos.

“It’s a Roc!”

One of the minions screamed, pointing his bow skyward.

A Roc. A legendary giant bird that could devour a fully grown wyvern or an elephant as a mere snack.

Its skin was as tough as a dragon’s scales, and its talons were sharper than any famous sword.

A top predator with no rivals within its territory.

One of the worst disasters, even hunters held their breath and avoided, had descended upon this location—an unmistakable aura of hostility and intent to hunt.

“Damn it, run!!!”

Seeing the Roc plummeting toward the ground, the archer perched in the tree screamed.

Stealth was no longer the issue. The Roc’s sheer size was akin to a moving fortress; merely landing could crush the entire forest under its weight.

In other words, if they didn’t put enough distance between themselves and the Roc, they could be crushed to death by falling trees at any moment.

Karma’s minions, scattered throughout the area, immediately sheathed their bows and jumped to the ground, trying to disperse quickly before it was too late.

But they failed to realize what it meant to lower their guard in this critical moment.

“Dispel Magic!”

A small wave of magical energy rippled from Isabella’s staff.

The moment that wave swept over Karma and his minions, the cloak of invisibility that had been shielding them evaporated in an instant.

The last line of defense protecting the Demon King’s troops vanished in the blink of an eye.

“I don’t know exactly what’s going on, but this is our chance! Lancia, do it!”

“Yes!”

Seizing the opportunity created by the opening, the female swordswoman, who had also been holding her breath and waiting for her moment, charged in.

-Swish!

“Krack?!?”

One of the minions closest to the two was instantly struck down, the blade of Lancia’s sword piercing his throat like lightning, killing him instantly.

She had no hesitation about killing. She had been taught since childhood, to the point of her ears bleeding, never to show mercy to the enemy.

From the moment they dared to fire a poisoned arrow at Beryl, these people were already considered less than monsters in Lancia’s mind.

“D-damn it…! Why now, of all times…?!”

Karma looked up, panic in his eyes, at the Roc flying straight toward him.

Should he use magic to intercept it? But doing so might disrupt the delicate process of the Hero’s brainwashing that was already underway.

Yet if he did nothing, he would end up as a meal for the gigantic bird of prey in mere moments.

The decision didn’t take long. In fact, there was no need to think at all.

Because the very premise of his dilemma was flawed from the start.

-Thwack!!!

“Guh-?!”

While Karma was momentarily distracted, Sion swiftly closed the gap and struck him in the solar plexus with a powerful punch.

It was a blow reinforced by drawing upon all the magic within his body, a strike heavier than a mountain.

The impact felt like being hit in the chest with a war hammer, and Karma fell to the ground without even a chance to resist.

“Ugh, cough…!?”

“Phew, good. That takes care of some stress.”

Sion stretched with a satisfied expression.

Her relaxed face showed no signs of the mind control that had supposedly been affecting her moments ago.

“Impossible… H-how…!?”

Karma looked up at Sion with a gaze of disbelief.

How had she broken free of the brainwashing on her own? The [Eye of the Overlord] was still active!

Seeing Karma’s bewildered expression, Sion smiled cheerfully and replied.

“Sorry, but you’re about 500 years too early to try to deceive me.”

There was a strange pride in that single statement.

-“Good thing I brought a spare, just in case.”

After subduing the Roc charging at her with just a glance, Sion spoke casually.

-“Thanks to that, I was able to resolve the situation in the most natural ‘coincidental’ way possible. If not, it could have been a bit dangerous.

I could have achieved a similar effect using a summoning spell, but in that case, there’s a risk of leaving no bodies behind.”

Mumbling to herself, Sion held a familiar-looking vial in her hand—the same kind she had used to summon the Green Drake before, a perfume designed to attract monsters.

-“You used that to lure the Roc?”

-“Exactly.”

While Karma had been boasting with his artifact that had no effect, Sion had discreetly used telekinesis to take out a spare vial of the monster-attracting perfume she had stashed away.

She then stealthily spread it around the area.

The scent was imperceptible to humans but irresistible to monsters, drawing them in like moths to a flame.

This place was one of the most dangerous areas in the Salangs Mountains, so there was bound to be a creature nearby that would catch the scent.

-“I didn’t specifically aim for a Roc. Any dangerous monster crashing into this place would have done just fine.

After all, the best way to break a stalemate is through the intervention of an external factor.”

It didn’t have to be a Roc. A group of wyverns, drakes, or any creature capable of drawing the enemy’s attention would suffice.

As long as the archers aiming their bows became distracted, it would create an opening for Isabella to use her dispel magic.

The only variable in this plan was whether Isabella could handle the sudden change in circumstances without panicking…

But, as expected, our energetic princess exceeded Sion’s expectations with flying colors.

Lancia, too, like a well-trained knight, seized the opportunity the moment her opponent showed an opening, biting down hard without hesitation.

“They are truly children worth raising.”

Sion murmured, smiling fondly as she watched the two of them.

It was a smile akin to that of a proud parent watching their children grow.

-“……..”

Meanwhile, Exia, looking displeased about something, had been keeping her mouth shut since the middle of the confrontation.

Sion glanced at her with a puzzled expression.

-“What’s the matter? Is there something else you’d like to criticize?”

-“No, it’s not that…”

Exia didn’t really want to criticize Sion’s solution this time. In fact, she found it rather clever.

After all, as she had declared, she had resolved the crisis using only her wits, without resorting to magic or a sword.

However, something else was bothering her.

-“Sion, that perfume… it doesn’t just evaporate right after you use it, does it? It lingers around you for a while, right?”

-“Hmm? Well, yes. If it evaporated immediately, it wouldn’t be very effective.

Ideally, there should be some time for the scent to spread, in case there aren’t any monsters nearby. The fragrance is designed to linger for about two hours.”

-“And why do you ask? Is there a problem?”

-“Well… it’s just…”

Exia glanced over at Karma before hesitantly continuing.

-“Didn’t that guy earlier say, ‘This incident was an accident for us as well’? Something about how they didn’t expect the Giant Death Worms to suddenly go berserk and charge up to the surface?”

-“…Oh.”

Now that she mentioned it, that did sound familiar.

They had claimed that this encounter was an unforeseen event for them and that they wanted to resolve it as peacefully as possible.

If that statement wasn’t a deception, but actually the truth…

-“Didn’t you use that monster-attracting perfume before coming here, back when you lured those drakes?”

-“Yes, I did.”

“Is it possible that the Death Worms went berserk and surfaced because they caught a whiff of that scent? If not, they might have just stayed down there, digging around in their burrows.”

It was a reasonable conjecture. An unusually sharp insight from Exia.

If her guess was correct, in other words—

-“This whole mess… happened because of me?”

-“Pretty much.”

-“…….”

At her words, Sion turned her head to survey the entire forest again.

Trees with thick trunks snapped and broken under the Roc’s landing.

Karma, knocked out cold by a single powerful punch.

Minions bleeding and dying from Isabella’s magic and Lancia’s swordplay.

And most notably, Beryl, fighting for her life as the poison spread throughout her body.

Looking at the scene of utter chaos, Sion slowly muttered to herself.

“Well, whatever.”

As long as no one finds out.

With everything resolved, Sion decided to let it slide and move on.