Chapter 473 Mind Magic

Whoosh——!

A white blur flashed by.

Hena fled straight out of the barrier’s range, putting distance between herself and the three, then fixed them with a gaze of hostility and vigilance.

“Enemies. You are Hena’s enemies——!”

……

The atmosphere at the scene grew unbearably tense.

Though the sounds of slaughter roared deafeningly all around, this small pocket of space was silence itself.

“Hena……?”

Irus reached a hand toward her.

“Grrr——!”

Hena stepped back warily, summoning her Divine Bow in an instant.

“Stay away——!”

Irus froze mid-movement.

Just as the two sides stood deadlocked,

Hena seemed to sense something.

She sniffed the air softly, then turned her gaze toward the spot where Inasil had been moments before.

A flicker of confusion and bewilderment crossed her eyes.

“Master…… is gone?”

The three of them watched her every move.

After a brief silence,

“It seems…… we have made a critical mistake.”

Laki sighed suddenly.

“Mm…… indeed.” Irus nodded slowly. “The Hero Hena was not imprisoned in body, but in——”

“Her mind.”

“This is troublesome. The human heart is not something that can be changed so easily. Irus, do you have any artifacts that might be of use?”

“Regrettably, I wish I possessed such a thing……”

At this, Laki clicked her tongue in frustration.

“Tch. This situation is beyond awful.”

While the two spoke, Hena began to edge backward, her movements quiet and unhurried.

Then——

Thud!

Taking advantage of their inattention, she spun on her heel and bolted for escape.

Yet she had not taken two steps

before a dull, heavy sound rang out.

Hulim Heyerar had slammed her head viciously into the ground.

“This time, I must ask you to sleep for a while.” Hulim spoke in a calm, even tone.

“Wait, what are you doing to Hena—”

Thud!

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Another dull impact followed.

Hena, a large lump rising on her head, rolled her eyes and fell unconscious.

Laki stared at the scene in complete stunned silence.

After a long moment, she turned her neck stiffly toward Irus beside her and asked:

“Just what is with this new girl?”

Irus spread her hands helplessly.

“An excellent question. But the truth of what Hulim is capable of? I’ve been trying to figure that out myself.”

……

Swish!

As the two conversed,

Hulim had already grabbed Hena’s bushy tail and dragged her back over.

“Irus, what do we do now?”

“……” Irus glanced down at Hena, hauled across the ground like a piece of luggage, and said with resignation:

“For now, we’ll take her back with us. As for how to mend her, we’ll have to find a way later.”

……

The battle in the mountain forest reached its swift conclusion.

The monsters of the Gulos faction charged about like madmen, but with their high-ranking commanders gone, they were ultimately wiped out to the last.

After securing victory,

the Dwarven Legion set up camp on the spot to rest and regroup.

Inside the camp,

Aralond arrived with several captured remnants of Gulos……

“You’re saying the two leaders escaped?”

“My apologies. This was my failure.”

“No……” Irus said. “In a large-scale battle of this magnitude, some enemies escaping is only natural. Besides, the three of us were occupied at the time—their escape was to be expected.”

“Even so, those two remain a grave threat. Please allow me to lead a unit to pursue them.”

Irus thought for a moment,

then spoke again:

“That may well be true…… but there is another matter of greater urgency right now.”

The worried expressions of Irus and the others puzzled Aralond,

and he asked:

“Has some unexpected trouble arisen?”

“Yes, a little. It concerns the Hero……”

Irus gave a general explanation of Hena’s condition to the group.

Upon learning the truth,

everyone fell into deep consternation.

An enforced artifact like the Enslavement Collar could be removed easily enough, but psychological damage could not be mended in a day or two.

“I’m sorry, but I have no solution to offer.”

Aralond said with resignation.

“She has clearly suffered severe psychological trauma to end up like this. Unless we possess magic or artifacts capable of healing such wounds, there is little we can do in the short term.”

“We have reached the same conclusion. It seems all we can do is wait for her to heal with time.”

“Um……”

“Wait a minute, are you serious? Waiting for the Hero to recover slowly from her trauma?” Charkin interjected loudly.

“Does the eastern battlefield have that kind of time to spare?”

“……”

“Charkin, we are well aware of that. But the problem is, we cannot send Hena to the front lines in this state.”

“Then we cannot simply wait! We must find some way, no matter what——”

“Actually……”

“Tch! You fool, it’s easy for you to say. If even Lady Irus has no solution, then such a method likely does not exist in this world.”

“Huh?? Did you just call me an idiot, Aznov?!”

“Um, I was trying to say……”

“Say, little elf, can you stop interrupting? Wait until I’m done lecturing this fool.”

“……”

Prarlulu puffed out her cheeks in anger, shooting Charkin a furious glare.

She was the one who had been interrupted this entire time!

“I said, I HAVE A WAY——!!!”

she shouted at the top of her lungs.

The instant her voice fell, the entire camp fell silent.

Every eye turned to fix on Prarlulu at once.

“Prarlulu…… what did you just say?”

Prarlulu took a deep breath to calm her racing heart,

then spoke:

“Auntie Irus, I said I have a way to fix Hena’s problem.”

……

“Prarlulu, you have a solution? What is this about?”

Faced with the group’s puzzled stares,

Prarlulu held up her own Hero’s Divine Staff.

“Because of this.”

Hum!

As she spoke, a soft, gentle radiance emanated from the staff in her hands,

instilling a quiet sense of peace in anyone who felt it, without them even realizing.

“This is a magic called Mind Magic that I suddenly learned after obtaining the Divine Staff.”

“Mind Magic?”

The group stared in astonishment.

“I’ve never heard of such a thing. Does this magic even exist in this world?”

“The Fairy Tribe possesses similar abilities, though those are racial talents…… Prarlulu, what exactly does this Mind Magic do?”

“Um…… let me count.”

Prarlulu counted on her fingers as she spoke:

“This magic can dispel unease in one’s heart and keep the mind calm at all times.

It can defend against brainwashing and attacks targeted at the will.

It can also form a Mind Link, connecting the hearts of different people so that they understand each other completely. Oh, and…… ah, right! There is one most special application——”

“It is called the Mind Key. It can force open a person’s sealed heart and reveal their deepest, innermost secrets.

If we then activate the Mind Link, we can allow others to enter that person’s heart directly. By destroying the Shadows lurking within their soul, we can completely resolve their psychological trauma.”

“That is the solution I was trying to speak of!”

The group was left utterly stunned after hearing Prarlulu’s explanation.

“I understand the concept…… but wait, how in the world do you know this?!” Charkin asked, unable to comprehend.

“I have no idea myself. I just…… sort of learned it, without even trying.”

“Uh……?”

“I believe I know the reason.”

Irus spoke up suddenly from beside them.