Leo wasted no time, signaling Malphas to ready himself for an imminent strike. He wasn't guessing; having lived through the cinematic horror of Selene's memories, he understood her psyche. To Selene, anyone who wasn't her mother was merely an obstacle to be dismantled. But more than the witch herself, Leo feared the creature tethered to her soul.
He had seen the Matron of the Endless Pyre in action. He knew that no one within his walls—not even Malphas—could withstand that abyssal heat. Within seconds, the hall was a fortress. Malphas stood as a silent wall of iron before the throne, while Grakul, Vespar, and the Captain formed a secondary perimeter. Outside, Luna had the entire undead legion poised to flood the room.
Leo sat with forced grace, his fingers digging into the stone armrests. 'I have invited a literal devil into my Home,' he thought, the weight of the gamble pressing against his chest.
The summoning circle didn't just glow; it erupted. A pillar of violet radiance pierced the vaulted ceiling, bridging the gap between the Stronghold and the Void. From the shimmering heat, Selene Marronate stepped forth.
She was a vision of lethal elegance. Standing at six feet, she looked down on the room with the unbending posture of a spear wrapped in silk. Her deep violet hair fell to her waist like a bruised twilight. Her skin was the color of winter marble—pale, cold, and flawless.
Her chest is full and pronounced. Balanced by a narrow waist. Her silhouette curves with deliberate elegance. Her vacant eyes were bound with a silk cloth, and she was draped in a sapphire gown that seemed to drink the light.
The System manifested a window of shimmering scarlet text.
Hero Manifestation: The Cursed Witch
Name: Selene Marronate
Grade: Hero (Epic Potential) | Rank: D
Talent: Lost Soul (S)
Bloodline: Abyssal Phoenix (Mid-grade - Diluted)
Bonded Entity: Zyraethra (The Matron)
Abilities: Abyssal Flames, Ritual Arts, Sacrificial Arts, Space Distortion.
Loyalty: 40 (Neutral / Loyalty below 50 allows the Hero to refuse specific orders. They are prohibited from harming the Lord, but your subordinates are fair game.)
Warning: If loyalty falls below 10, the hero can harm the lord at a cost, sacrificing their own life.
Selene's gaze swept over Malphas and settled on Leo. On her shoulder, Z stretched, its three tails lashing with malevolent intent. ''How long were we rotting in that silence, Master?'' the devil hissed, its purple eyes darting across the room. It settled on Malphas for a heartbeat before looking at Leo. ''A crowded welcome for such a small room.''
Leo crossed his legs, leaning back into the shadows of his throne. ''Welcome, I am Leo Mordark, the Sovereign of this territory,'' he said, his voice steady despite the adrenaline.
''Huh.'' Z tilted its head, finally focusing on the man on the throne. Its eyes narrowed, trying to peel back Leo's layers. ''A human?'' it whispered, confused by the aura it felt. ''How interesting. Master, shall I devour this hatchling? He smells of a new lord who stumbled into a lucky summon.''
Selene remained silent. Her mind was a graveyard of memories, still reeling from the image of her mother's sacrifice. She realized quickly that she had been traded—the Origin had snatched her soul from Zyraethra's jaws as payment for her lordly candidate status.
Leo didn't flinch. ''How about you try?'' he challenged, his eyes flaring with a sudden, predatory crimson.
Z hissed, its fur bristling. ''For a puny human to display such audacity...'' It waited for the word, but Selene didn't give it.
'You cannot touch him, Z. At least not yet,' Selene communicated internally. She looked at Leo with an icy stare. ''What is it you seek?''
Leo stood, walking past the protective reach of Malphas. ''I require your strength.''
''And why should I offer it to a stranger?''
''Because I will give you the one thing you crave. Vengeance for your mother.''
The air in the hall turned into a furnace. A sudden eruption of purple flames swallowed Leo whole, the heat melting the stone floor beneath his boots. Malphas drew his blade in a blur, but the fire was already dissipating.
Z chuckled darkly. ''You mentioned the Matriarch. How incredibly foolish of you.''
Leo stood in the center of the scorched circle, untouched. 'If not for the Pact's protection, I would be ash right now,' he thought, staring into Selene's cold face.
Selene was visibly shaken. She had lost her composure, a rare crack in her stoic mask. The mention of her mother had triggered a tidal wave of grief she wasn't prepared for. ''Making promises you cannot fulfill is the mark of a dying man,'' she hissed.
Leo kept his expression neutral. ''I am not strong enough to raze your world today, Selene. But how about you give me a chance? As you know, I am the only chance you have.''
Selene scanned the hall again. She was, despite herself, impressed. A novice lord with this much infrastructure and high-tier subordinates was a statistical impossibility. She turned her back on him, walking toward the exit with Z perched on her shoulder.
''Where are you going?'' Leo asked.
''To observe,'' Selene replied without turning. ''If you truly are the bridge I need, I will serve. If you are a liar, I will watch your world burn with me.''
As she passed Luna, the heat coming off the witch was enough to make the girl's skin peel. Selene stepped out into the sunlight, looking at the stone walls.
''How long passed since then?'' she asked Z.
''122 years,'' the devil replied. ''But Master, that boy is no human. He speaks as if he has walked through your memories. And no mortal stands within my presence without losing themselves. Let alone a newbie like him.''
"And I suspect his talent is an anomaly, much like yours, Master. To command an epic-grade existence so early is a feat that defies the logic of this world,'' Z added, its tail twitching with a dark curiosity.
Inside the hall, Leo finally collapsed back onto his throne, his lungs burning. Luna rushed to his side. ''Leo! Who was that? She is... terrifyingly beautiful, but I think my eyebrows almost melted off!''
Leo rubbed his temples, the fragments of Selene's past still burning in his mind. ''That, Luna, is Selene Marronate. She is our new Hero. And a word of warning: while the system forbids her from harming me, she has no such restrictions regarding you. Try not to give her a reason to test that.''
Luna's eyes went wide. ''Shit. I'm going to be very, very polite.''
Leo provided a grim summary of the vision he had witnessed—the cold palace, the ritual of the eyes, and the final, bloody betrayal by her own blood. Luna listened in stunned silence. ''So she truly feels nothing? No emotion?''
Leo's fingers drummed a slow, rhythmic beat on the armrest. "Physically, she suffers from CIP. She is immune to pain. But the world treated that lack of feeling as a lack of a soul. They called her a curse until she believed it herself. Yet, in that vision... and just now, when I mentioned her mother... that wasn't a hollow shell reacting. That was fury. Her mother is the only tether she has left to her humanity.''
Malphas stood behind the throne, his shadow long and menacing. "We should be careful, my Lord. Devils are unpredictable. They care for nothing; to them, everything is merely entertainment.''
Leo nodded solemnly. He had seen the way Z looked at the world—as a plaything. The Origin's intervention had snatched Selene's soul away from the devil's mouth, but that only made the creature more volatile.
They turned back to their immediate needs. Luna attempted to use her talent to refine the Cross of the Silent Throne earrings, hoping to tip the scales for the coming dungeon. The air between her hands shimmered with potential, but the energy suddenly collapsed into a dull gray smoke.
[Enhancement Failed: Dice F3, L5] [Item Grade: Epic — Success Probability: 0.04%]
"I told you it was a long shot,'' Luna muttered, looking defeated.
''No harm in trying,'' Leo replied, though he felt the sting of the wasted energy. ''It seems even the gods of luck have a limit when it comes to artifacts of that caliber.''
As the clock struck high noon, the world of Origin seemed to hold its breath. A sudden, violent vibration rattled the heavy stone walls of the Stronghold, and a massive, semi-transparent window manifested in the sky above the territory.