Chapter 133: The Seed of Fear (15)

「……」

Filia squinted at the window, watching the crimson shadow recede until it vanished beyond the horizon.

She recalled the enormous vertical pupil she had seen, and the sharp eyes of that strange nun, then nodded in understanding.

「That nun… was a great dragon…」

No wonder she could eat so much. No wonder she gave me such a terrifying feeling.

But that didn't quite make sense—why would such a powerful dragon obey Herbert so obediently?

After a moment's thought, Filia felt something slick and damp on her cheeks; she raised a hand and wiped it, seeing warm blood on her fingertips.

Though she had been forced to stand idle, the headless corpses had run wildly in their final moments, splattering blood onto her.

Filia frowned, pinched two fingers together, and the blood turned to icy shards that scattered away.

Hoo—

A biting cold wind surged, and the blood stains on Filia's body froze instantly, then shattered into crystalline mist of blood, swept away by the wind.

At that moment, the panicked palace guards finally came to their senses, gazing in awe at Filia's back.

The grand ballroom's center was strewn with blood and corpses; only she stood alone amid it all.

It was hard to tell whether she was the victim of this massacre… or one of its architects.

After hesitating, the captain of the guard finally gathered his courage, took a step forward, and tentatively called out to Filia:

「Princess! Are you… are you alright? Have you been injured!? 」

He had planned to rush forward immediately after speaking, but when Filia turned her head toward him, he froze in shock and stumbled back two steps.

!!!

So cold!

It was like facing an ice mountain frozen for ten thousand years—instantly, the chill pierced his bones, turning his whole body numb.

Filia turned her head, her expression indifferent as she swept her gaze over the palace guards who dared not approach, a flicker of mockery in her eyes.

She shook her head; the icy chill on her body faded, and she spoke, sounding weary: 「You handle the cleanup here. I'm tired. 」

After speaking, Filia turned away, walking straight through the pools of blood; with each step, ice crystals formed beneath her feet, keeping her untouched by filth.

Filia did not explain to the guards what had happened here, nor was there any need to.

By now, many things were beyond her easy control.

「Herbert, is this your revenge? To make me a 'bystander' once again? 」

「Are you trying to make me understand… that bystanders are as guilty as the perpetrators? 」

Walking through the palace corridors, she silently recalled every word Herbert had spoken today, and softly shook her head.

「…No, this is only the first step. 」

「Herbert, what will you do next? 」

「Will you continue killing, spreading fear throughout the kingdom? Or…」

When she recalled Herbert's calm, deep, pale gray eyes, an unexplained chill crept over her.

Since her bloodline had awakened involuntarily, and she had gradually become more like the Snow Witch, she had long forgotten what it felt like to be cold.

And now, for the first time in a long while, she felt again the emotion of being human.

This emotion… was called…

Fear.

「Are you here to destroy me? Or to destroy this kingdom? 」

High above, the colossal crimson shadow swept across the sky, casting a vast shadow over the earth.

Herbert felt the knife-like icy wind slicing his face; he kept his mouth tightly shut, afraid that opening it would fill his lungs with freezing air.

Thanks to Fu Leimei's "Storm Warrior" blessing, Herbert suffered no harm from the gales—the storm parted before him, leaving only a gentle breeze against his skin, not the slightest discomfort.

But he still felt miserable.

Because this place… was damn cold!

As altitude increased, the temperature naturally dropped, and with the howling wind, it was simply too cold.

Sitting cross-legged on the dragon-plane, Herbert pounded the cabin beneath him; though his mouth was sealed, he still transmitted his voice to the driver, who was thoroughly exhilarated.

（「Hey hey hey, slow down! Master, slow down! 」）

Valentina wanted to ignore it, but the voice kept drifting into her ears, persistent and haunting.

（「Slow down, slower, slow down, slower, slow down…」）

Squeak!!!

「Fine! Shut up! You're driving me crazy—」

She let out a pained roar and reluctantly slowed her flight speed.

It wasn't that Valentina obeyed.

It was because the voice was unbearably annoying.

「Heh. 」

After achieving his goal, Herbert nodded in satisfaction, offering his praise without restraint.

（「Good girl, good girl! So good, so good! So…」）

「Aaaahhh! Shut up!!! 」

Herbert's ability to transmit sound without opening his mouth came from the Devil Lady.

Through persistent harassment, Herbert had successfully obtained demonic and devilish materials half a month ago.

The process of acquiring the materials wasn't difficult.

With Flora's assistance, Krete, though verbally protesting a thousand times, was physically very honest—letting Herbert pluck a few strands of hair from her head.

And for the abilities gained from her material, Herbert had a summarizing name for them — 【Devil's Tongue】.

In short, it was giving words real power.

His beguilement ability had been enhanced, his words becoming all the more inflammatory!

Put it this way.

If Herbert, on a sudden whim, went to some little tavern to give an inflammatory speech, he could probably get a hundred people to follow him and storm the royal palace.

And if he went to some crowded square gathering, it might even directly spark a riot!

Another ability was being able to make verbal promises with others, and turn that verbal promise into a binding contract!

It had the feel of a decree or a word-spirit, very suited to signing unequal contracts with people…

And the final highlight, though also the one Herbert felt was the least useful, was — hypnosis.

Yes, hypnosis!

The ability that had appeared in countless films and TV works, one countless people had once fantasized about possessing.

But regrettably, this ability was somewhat of a white elephant in this world, a middling sort of power.

The strong were mostly strong of spirit, carrying innate hypnosis resistance, and could not be forcibly hypnotized and controlled.

And when dealing with the weak, there was no need for hypnosis at all — they could be dealt with easily.

But fortunately it was not entirely useless; forced control wouldn't work, but one could keep planting psychological suggestions in the target.

Through conversation after conversation, through physical contact after physical contact.

In Felia's mind, a seed named "Fear" had already been planted by him without her noticing.

(End of chapter)