"P-Please don't kill us! I'll tell you everything!"
"We are royal knights of Prince Tylus. You'd better think carefully! He is the future king of the Starfall Kingdom!"
"Hmph! Kill us if you want, do whatever you like—but if you think you'll get any information out of us, you're dreaming!"
"..."
The royal knights displayed wildly different attitudes, but Kurose Akira didn't care in the slightest.
He knew very well that these knights were almost certainly hosts to Soul-Devouring Worms. Because of that, extracting Prince Tylus's true intentions directly from their mouths was virtually impossible.
"Lucia."
He gave Lucia a slight signal.
"Mm."
Lucia nodded and walked toward the royal knights. She raised a finger lightly, and golden magical power instantly enveloped one of them.
In the next instant, the knight's face twisted in extreme agony as he began to struggle violently in place.
The other knights stared in confusion, completely unable to understand what was happening.
Then—
A small white worm crawled out of the knight's mouth, fully exposed to everyone's view.
"What… what is that thing?"
"How can there be a white worm inside his body?"
"What the hell is going on?!"
The royal knights exchanged stunned looks, utterly unable to comprehend the scene before them.
"This is a Soul-Devouring Worm," Akira explained calmly."It feeds directly on your souls. The moment you show even the slightest intention of betraying Prince Tylus, it will immediately take your life."
The explanation caused the knights' expressions to stiffen instantly.
They looked at one another in disbelief, never in their wildest dreams imagining that the prince they had sworn absolute loyalty to would control them through such despicable means.
Suddenly, the middle-aged knight with the severed arm roared furiously:
"You idiots! Are you really thinking of betraying Prince Tylus?! Don't forget who gave you honor and wealth! If you dare betray him—even if you survive today—your families will die because of your treachery!"
"This…"
His words plunged the other knights into silence.
They all knew the consequences of betraying Prince Tylus.And more than that, a knight's honor did not allow betrayal of one's liege.
Yet at that moment, Akira spoke lightly, almost dismissively.
"I never said I wanted you to betray Prince Tylus. And as for what I want to know… I don't need you to tell me directly."
As he spoke, he used magic to pull on the Soul-Devouring Worm.
Under the magical shroud, the worm became abnormally active.
At the same time, thin strands of pitch-black magical energy visibly seeped out from its body.
The sight filled the one-armed knight with confusion.
What was Akira planning to do with the Soul-Devouring Worm?
"Alice."
Akira issued the command.
"Yes, Master."
Alice instantly summoned her massive black scissors and precisely severed the strand of black magical energy flowing out of the worm.
The moment the connection was cut, the Soul-Devouring Worm seemed to lose all vitality, freezing completely.
At the same time, the knight from whose body the worm had been extracted lost all signs of life and collapsed to the ground.
"The Soul-Devouring Worm can consume a host's soul," Akira said calmly,"but it can also preserve the memories contained within that soul."
As he spoke, he guided a thread of his own magic into the worm's body.
Normally, the memories stored by a Soul-Devouring Worm could only be accessed by its master.However, Alice's Soul Cutter was capable of severing that bond—turning those memories into ownerless data.
"Damn it!"
The one-armed knight panicked instantly.
But the moment he attempted to resist, golden magic wrapped around him tightly. In the next instant, white Soul-Devouring Worms crawled out of the other knights' bodies as well…
Akira carefully examined the memories within those souls.
He had originally thought the worms would preserve complete memories, but that wasn't the case—only fragmented, incomplete memory shards remained.
Even so, it was enough.
The information he needed was already in his hands.
"So Prince Tylus is cultivating Death Retainers, and Virola's domain is the key to creating them… I see."
Through the blurry memory fragments, Akira finally understood why Prince Tylus had captured Virola.
In addition, he learned that Prince Tylus had formed an alliance with Prince Raps, jointly plotting for the throne.
Their primary target was Princess Vivian—the Starfall Kingdom king's most beloved daughter.
After that came the second princess, Catherine, who was backed by Idis.
At this point, the power blocs of two princesses, one prince, and one grand prince were already clearly divided.
Only the youngest prince remained unaccounted for.
Strangely, there was no information about that youngest prince in any of the memories—most likely because he was not currently within the Starfall Kingdom.
"Did you figure it out?"Lucia walked up beside Akira and asked.
"Yes."
Akira nodded and explained to everyone:
"Prince Tylus is cultivating Death Retainers. He captured Virola in order to use her domain."
"My… domain?"
Virola looked confused, her seven-colored pupils shimmering faintly.
Lucia glanced at her.
The first time she had seen Virola, she had already sensed something unusual about her domain.
Domains were powers normally possessed only by demigods. Sages were born with them, and each domain was completely unique.
Yet this little deer-girl's domain had driven Prince Tylus to mobilize troops and even dispatch multiple royal knights—no matter the cost.
That alone made Lucia deeply curious.
What kind of domain could it be?
As the conversation continued, Akira's gaze settled on Virola, and he opened her status panel.
[Virola (Legendary)]Level: 10 (1314 / 2000)Race: Half-DeerkinStrength: 145Agility: 168Mana: 240Constitution: 152Life Points: 50Growth: 12 (Gain +12 to all attributes per level)Skills: (Expand)Traits: [Forbidden Fruit][Seven-Color Radiance][Daughter of the Forest]Domain: [Nature]
[Forbidden Fruit]: She can produce forbidden fruits. Units that consume them gain massive temporary boosts.[Seven-Color Radiance]: Power derived from the rainbow, capable of altering the bearer's body, mana, soul, and more.[Daughter of the Forest]: She is the forest's daughter, able to converse with all living beings and draw strength from them.
Domain — [Nature]Domain Range: 5 kmDomain Effects: Continuously heals all allied units within the domain and grants them the special status [Growth]. Can revive units that have been dead for less than five minutes (costs 10 Life Points).
[Growth]: The longer combat continues, the stronger combat power becomes! (Up to +200% combat power!)
"…Huh?"
Akira froze when he saw the effects of the Nature domain.
Revive units that have been dead for less than five minutes?
Wasn't that completely broken?
Of course, there were conditions—the revival had to occur within Virola's domain, and it required paying 10 Life Points.
And that was what made Virola different from all other adventurers.
She possessed a special attribute: Life Points.
As long as she paid Life Points, she could resurrect allies.
Virola's role was absurdly clear.
A super, top-tier, godlike healer.
"I think I already know why Prince Tylus wanted to capture Virola."
Akira smiled slightly after seeing her panel and explained it to everyone.
Virola's domain granted power boosts and continuous healing to all allies—and could even revive those dead for less than five minutes.
In large-scale warfare, this was nothing short of a divine artifact.
And even in battles between top-tier experts, she would be the first target that must be eliminated.
With her present, the tide of a war could be completely overturned.
"Reviving the dead…"
Lucia and the others were stunned when they heard the domain's effects.
Especially Lucia and Marei Rhine—both of them were domain holders themselves.
Although Lucia could only deploy her domain with her true body, and Marei Rhine was unable to use her domain due to her rebirth…
Just the single effect of reviving the dead was enough to make them understand how terrifying Virola's domain truly was.
It was unquestionably top-tier even among the domains possessed by demigods.
Everyone's gaze turned toward Virola.
Feeling those stares, Virola grew shy.
A faint blush spread across her cheeks, and she instinctively hid behind Akira.
"Then here's the real question," Lucia asked."How did Prince Tylus learn about Virola's domain effects? Did the Centaur tribe tell him?"
"Probably not."
Azcman shook his head.
"Even our own people don't know the true effects of her domain. She herself… might not even know."
"The answer probably lies with Prince Tylus alone," Akira said calmly."But no matter what, we've successfully rescued Virola."
As he spoke, he gently rubbed Virola's head.
The touch made her break into a radiant smile. She nuzzled Akira's shoulder lightly with her antlers, expressing her closeness and gratitude.
"Still, this place isn't safe. Let's return to the guild first," Akira continued.
The player assisting Prince Tylus had already disappeared—most likely to seek reinforcements.
Idis had warned him before: Prince Tylus was an existence he could not yet oppose.
For safety's sake, they needed to leave the forest immediately and return to the guild.
"Mm-hm!"Everyone nodded in agreement.
Akira immediately activated the teleportation array, preparing to take everyone back to the guild.
"I'll head back to the tribe now," Azcman said, turning to leave.
Akira stopped him.
"It's not safe for you to return yet. If Prince Tylus's forces find you, they won't let you go."
He said gravely,"Come back to the guild with me for now. I'll inform Guildmaster Xu Feiyan later and have her escort you home."
"..."
Azcman froze for a moment, looked at Akira in silence, then nodded softly.
With a flash of white light, Azcman returned to the guild together with Akira.
The moment Akira stepped inside, a system prompt appeared before his eyes.
[Character Quest — A Beautiful Figure from the Forest (Completed)!][Quest Reward — Virola Trait +1!][Please choose one of the following three traits!]
[Nurturing Life][Estrus Period][Likes to Disturb You]
...…
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