“ You must die here.”

With the sound of footsteps approaching, Zeno appeared, holding a dagger in his right hand.

Jeremy also drew his sword.

Another mountain over the mountain. I didn’t expect the butler to fall under an illusion.”

“Right?”

Viola swallowed hard.

She knew Zeno was strong, but she didn’t realize he emitted this level of presence.

It felt like Zeno filled the entire space.

‘It’s like this place has turned into a field of sharp blades.’

No matter where she turned—front, back, left, or right—

she couldn’t move in any direction.

She had the sensation that if she did, her flesh would be sliced by the sharp blades.

“My butler is quite capable, you know.”

“I don’t need you to tell me that.”

Jeremy lunged forward like a spring.

He swung his sword.

There was no mercy in that movement.

It felt as if he was truly determined to kill Zeno.

“Not yet ripe, I see.”

Swish.

Zeno casually deflected Jeremy’s sword with a flick of his wrist.

He redirected the blade with minimal effort.

His movements were smooth and tranquil like water, but Jeremy nearly lost his balance and fell.

‘He’s several steps ahead of me.’

In just one exchange, Jeremy realized the vast gap in skill between himself and Zeno.

At that moment, Viola’s voice sounded.

“Why did such a capable butler fall under an illusion?”

A martial artist that strong should have a steadfast mind and not be easily swayed by external forces.

Unless, of course, in special cases like a weakened mind or alcohol addiction.

Viola continued speaking.

“There’s really no way to describe it other than to say it was on purpose.”

Though Viola felt anxious inside, she didn’t show it on her face.

Despite this situation, the Jeremy she saw remained quite composed.

“Were you pretending to be under an illusion to test me?”

Zeno wasn’t looking at Viola.

He was looking beyond her, at something else.

It appeared he was indeed seeing an illusion.

Zeno smiled with an expression entirely different from his usual warm demeanor.

“I did say I would kill you.”

“It seems you can’t hear anything from the outside at all.”

Viola bit her lip.

“A dog that bites its owner must be disciplined with a whip.”

Of course, Viola didn’t truly believe that.

She liked puppies.

How could she ever hit a puppy?

However, this was a fantasy world, and she was Bellatu.

Her tone and attitude had to be fitting.

“Pongpong.”

Viola’s body turned a shade of blue.

Her body became a spirit gate, summoning the spirits from the Spirit Realm.

Whoosh~!

A spray of water erupted.

As the water dispersed, a boy with blue hair, Pongpong, appeared.

“What’s that monster?”

“Water slap.”

“Huh?”

“Wake him up.”

In an instant, Zeno’s form vanished.

He crouched low and charged at Viola.

Viola’s eyes caught this action, but she couldn’t react in time.

‘You’re too fast.’

She couldn’t respond to Zeno’s movements.

But not Viola, her spirit guardian Pongpong did.

Pongpong’s hand morphed into water, wrapping around Zeno’s hand like a glove.

Zeno was startled and tried to retrieve his dagger, but his body wouldn’t move.

“You’re resorting to tricks, huh?”

Zeno summoned mana and broke the water enveloping his hand.

The mana swirled around.

It looked like a blender. The water that had enveloped his hand shattered and scattered about.

Meanwhile, Jeremy wielded the Storm Blade.

“Wake up!”

Before he knew it, Jeremy had also summoned the Storm.

With the wind spirit Storm by his side, he felt lighter than ever.

‘Much lighter.’

He felt quick and nimble.

‘I shouldn’t rely too much on the spirits.’

It didn’t feel like his own strength.

The sword felt lighter than usual, and his movements were much more fluid.

The Storm Blade aimed for slashing instead of thrusting and boasted immense power. However, it was heavy and clunky, falling into the slow swordsmanship category. Plus, it consumed a fair amount of stamina.

“Haah!”

But the wind spirit offset all the downsides of the Storm Blade.

Whoosh!

Jeremy’s sword pierced Zeno’s nape.

Zeno quickly reacted to minimize the injury, but it was still far from trivial.

“How interesting. I will remember you. You are quite an exceptional martial artist.”

Zeno’s eyes turned a shade of red.

Viola gasped.

‘What’s that…?’

She knew well.

‘Killing Star?’

She had heard that Zeno was born with the Killing Star.

But it seemed Zeno had also been born with that ability.

‘Such content has never been described in the work.’

The killing intent intensified.

Zeno’s demeanor shifted completely.

“I will treat you as true martial artists and engage.”

*

Viola bore light wounds all over her body.

Zeno’s dagger was sharp and precise.

Viola hadn’t been able to read his movements even once.

“I can’t do anything.”

Viola simply stood still and watched.

That was the best she could do.

She didn’t even know which way to move or how.

‘This is… Zeno’s true power.’

She felt once again the reality that this world was a fantasy.

What she saw was no longer a human movement.

It was ghostly.

‘If Jeremy and Pongpong weren’t here…

I really would have died.’

Jeremy also looked exhausted.

He had sustained quite a serious wound in his abdomen.

Despite the help from the Spirit, he still wasn’t a match for Zeno.

“Hah… Hah…!”

Jeremy held his sword upside down and forced himself to stand.

He was the heir of the Storm Blade.

Even if he fell, he couldn’t give up.

‘I won’t give up.’

The word ‘give up’ didn’t suit the heir of the Storm Blade.

He felt like he could topple over at any moment, and the world seemed to turn yellow.

Yet despite everything, the reason he could hold onto hope was Viola’s composed demeanor.

‘Viola is the White Bellatu.’

Viola always embodied Bellatu elegance at any moment.

She was surely playing the role of the White Bellatu now.

‘She hasn’t taken a step back even once.’

The Viola Jeremy saw was steadfast.

Though she had incurred light injuries, she still stood calmly.

It seemed the White Bellatu Viola had another way.

That was why she could stand so elegantly and nobly, observing the situation.

‘If Viola shows her capabilities as the White Bellatu, then I can show my abilities as the heir of the Storm Blade.’

That would ensure they were in sync.

With Viola’s presence, Jeremy felt he couldn’t give up.

At least he could see a glimmer of hope and light.

And the sight moved the Storm.

[Impressive.]

Storm was also a spirit that inherited the “Kel” family.

In truth, Storm didn’t particularly like Jeremy.

His spirit affinity wasn’t that high, and in the end, Storm concluded there were definitely limits to using his own powers.

[You are a human with unyielding will.]

However, he thought that with this level of mental strength, he could easily overcome the penalty of low spirit affinity.

He never expected human mental strength to be so steadfast and formidable.

[Sorry. I’ll open the door to my heart a bit more.]

In fact, Storm had also harbored a desire for Jeremy to die here.

Then he could form a contract with a new contractor.

Now, though, he had changed his mind.

With a human possessing such determination and strong will, he thought it might be good to be together.

Whoosh~!

The aura enveloping Jeremy intensified.

Meanwhile, Viola was breaking out in a cold sweat behind her.

‘What to do?’

She had to pull Zeno out of the illusion.

She couldn’t come up with a single way.

What was needed now wasn’t intelligence and wisdom as the White Bellatu, but the fighting power of the Black Bellatu.

‘That’s impossible.’

Fighting through sheer force was not an option.

Viola’s head began to spin.

‘This test is too excessive.’

In the novel, Zeno never revealed his Killing Star even once.

That must have been his secret.

There was absolutely no reason to unveil that secret in the early stages of the novel.

‘It wasn’t on purpose…

She felt a chill run down her spine.

Zeno might have half-intentionally fallen under the illusion, but perhaps it was not the case at all.

‘Could it be that a truly powerful spirit consumed Zeno’s consciousness?’

When she thought like that, the situation started making sense.

She felt goosebumps on her arms.

‘Right.’

This space was a special one created to allow even Jeremy, with low spirit affinity, to contract with a spirit.

In such a space, Viola, who had an absurdly high spirit affinity, was present.

It couldn’t just be Storm passing through the spirit gate.

‘For instance….’

A thought flashed through her mind.

‘The mad Spirit King Blood, perhaps….’

The blood-mad Spirit King.

There existed a Spirit King whose attributes were unknown and contractor unrecognized.

He was a cruel Spirit King solely obsessed with slaughtering humans and driving them mad.

To put it simply, Blood was the first generation Blood Spirit King, while Hela’s contracted spirit (Pongpong) was the second generation Blood Spirit King.

‘No way!’

That was an absurd assumption.

But despite that, it felt increasingly plausible.

‘Zeno must have originally been opening the door to his heart.’

Very lightly.

He must have been careless.

What if a powerful Spirit King, like Blood, appeared at that moment and devoured Zeno’s consciousness?

‘Otherwise, there’s no way Zeno would be able to be controlled to this extent.’

Only then did the situation begin to look objective.

Zeno had not relinquished his consciousness to an ordinary spirit.

He was heavily influenced by an incredibly powerful spirit.

‘Yes. It’s the spirit power.’

Somewhere, it was said that the ‘Killing Star’ felt different from Viola’s own ‘Killing Star.’

Finally, it became clear.

‘A spirit born with the Killing Star.’

It seemed Blood was the answer.

It had been expressed as such even in the novel.

Blood was a spirit born with the Killing Star.

That was why he was shunned by spirits and had grown up alone in solitude.

‘They said Blood’s purpose was to consume human souls and destroy the Spirit Realm.’

Such matters were the least of her concerns.

If Blood really had appeared, then at this point, neither Jeremy nor she would be able to contend with him.

‘There’s no way… a solution is visible.’

For the first time, Viola felt a sense of powerlessness.

No matter how difficult the situation and the obstacles she faced, there had always seemed to be a way through.

But not now.

This was, simply put, a natural disaster.

“Simply put, this is a natural disaster.”

A voice resounded.

It was a familiar voice.

“Bellatu does not allow defeat. However, it doesn’t demand victory against natural disasters either.”

Someone started to walk.

The overwhelming presence of Zeno that had filled this space began to wane.

She saw the silhouette of a gigantic sword.

The only woman in this world who could effortlessly wield such a massive sword was one.

‘Sister Medea?’

The first princess of Bellatu.

Medea stepped into view.

“My little sister. You’ve been hurt.”

Medea’s presence completely pushed away Zeno’s presence.

She walked closer to Viola and examined her face.

Then she frowned slightly.

Viola had light wounds scattered across her skin, seemingly worrying her.

With a warm expression, she spoke.

“Just say you need help.”

Her eyes, devoid of emotion, glanced back.

“I’ll stop your natural disaster.”