With the spell {Demonic Eye}, Victor discovered faint traces of magic that lingered in the air in the direction where Brown had pointed earlier. Strangely, the disturbances didn’t seem like the work of a trained Magi. Instead, it felt as if someone had been desperately shaping the world around them. The landscape bore strange creations — trees that had sprouted unnaturally, jagged rocks where there should have been none and patches of the ground that had sinkholes. It was as if the forest itself had been altered by someone.

  Victor narrowed his eyes. The only person who could be responsible for this was the young lady of the Brightmoon House. But how? A girl with no formal training in magic, let alone the raw strength to warp reality in this way... unless her curse was something beyond imagination.

  Questions kept ringing in his head as he continued on his way. Fortunately, it wasn’t long before one of the spectral puppets he had sent ahead relayed the sighting of a group of knights in pursuit of a small figure, barely visible through the dense thickets.

  Upon seeing the scene, Victor’s heart quickened.

  ***

  Lillie ran through the dense undergrowth of the forest, her small, delicate frame weaving between the trees as her breath came in ragged gasps. The thick canopy above filtered the sunlight into streaks of gold, but she had no luxury to enjoy basking in it. She was lost — utterly and terrifyingly lost. Her legs burned, and her chest ached from running. But she couldn’t afford to slow down, not with them chasing after her.

  Her family’s former knights — people who were supposed to protect her — were chasing after her. And worse, there was a powerful old mage.

  She could almost hear them in the distance. The sounds of armor clanking and boots trampling the earth. She wasn’t sure how long she had been running with the tight knot of fear in her chest… Lillie’s pale skin gleamed with sweat, strands of her silvery-white hair clinging to her forehead as she stumbled, catching herself on a low branch.

  Papa and Mama warned Lillie not to use the power of the curse… but they won’t let Lillie go, she thought in sorrow, tears welling up in her eyelids.

  Her curse.

  Her mismatched eyes — one as blue as the summer sky, the other a deep green — were her curse. She would always have dreams of being transported to a dreamland, ever since she was five years old, where she could shape anything as she wished and bring it to the real world. This was a power that could shape reality itself, bringing whatever she imagined to life. But to Lillie, it was a nightmare that made people fear her.

  Still, her mind raced with desperate thoughts. What could she conjure? What could she create that would make them stop chasing her? But every idea felt wrong — too dangerous. She didn’t want to hurt anyone, even if they were coming for her.

  Out of the blue, a shout from behind. “I see the cursed child! Over there! Catch her!” The voice was alarmingly close now, too near. Lillie’s heart lurched in fear. Worse, she could feel the creations she had sent to stall the mage being torn apart. Her defenses were crumbling, and if she didn’t act soon, they would catch her.

  “Lillie… has to…” she whispered to herself, her voice trembling as much as her body.

  She squeezed her eyes shut, forcing herself to focus. Her imagination flared to life. She envisioned a towering wall of thorned roses, dense and thick, their jagged thorns sharp enough to stop anyone in their tracks. Her heart pounded as the image consumed her mind.

  When she opened her eyes, the ground beneath her feet quivered, and with a low rumble, the thorned roses she had envisioned burst forth. The thorny vines twisted and spiraled upward, forming an impenetrable barrier between her and her pursuers. The voices of the knights became muffled as the thorns stretched higher and higher, as if the forest itself were answering her call.

  Lillie exhaled shakily. The wall of roses had only bought her time, nothing more. She knew the old Magus wouldn’t be slowed for long, and the knights would soon break through. Moreover, she couldn’t bear having her creations — her “friends” — suffer more.

  Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

  Thus, she forced herself to run deeper into the forest. The trees thickened, shadows growing darker, and the ground more uneven. Her foot caught on a root, and she crashed to the earth, knees scraping painfully. A soft gasp escaped her as she hit the ground hard. She was exhausted and was at her limit.

  Then, a terrible feeling hit her as the thorned wall had been destroyed. Panic surged through her. She had to act again. Desperation clawed at her mind as she imagined a wide, uncrossable river. Please... just one more time.

  As she blinked, the sound of rushing water filled the air, and the ground shook as a river carved itself behind her. But the effort drained her faster than before. Her head throbbed, and her eyes hurt as her power was drained faster than she could recover. She stumbled and fell to the ground again. She had reached her absolute limit, and there was nothing more she could do.

  Lillie felt tears sting her eyes. Lost, terrified, and all alone, she clutched her head. “Please… someone… help Lillie…” she whispered, her voice barely audible as the darkness of the forest seemed to close in around her.

  Then, out of the silence, a voice crept up from behind her, cold and unsettling, as “something” appeared from the darkness behind her. “Don’t you worry, little one. Just let me out, and you will be safe. Even that Magus won’t be able to touch you.”

  For a moment, the voice hypnotized her, its promises wrapping around her heart like a soothing lullaby. But then reality hit her like a splash of cold water, and she shook her head violently. “No! Lillie can’t trust you! Everyone says you’re an evil being!”

  “Just let me out. Everything you want, everything you dream of, I can give. As long as you’re under my control, I can give you anything, including a happy life with your parents.” The voice kept repeating these sentences again and again, slowly grinding on Lillie’s sanity.

  But before she could fall deeper into that dark temptation, the voice abruptly vanished. A shadow fell over her, and she gasped as a figure landed in front of her — a figure clad in black, like a knight from a forgotten tale.

  Lillie stumbled to her feet, blinking through her tears. “Who… who are you?” she asked cautiously. “Are you here to capture Lillie too?”

  “No,” the figure said, with a steady and unwavering voice. “I’m here to save you.”

  ***

  Victor felt a surge of satisfaction — his grand entrance had gone off flawlessly. Before making his appearance, he had donned the Mask of Impersonation to conceal his identity from the knights and the Magus who pursued the girl. He wanted to create a hidden persona so that the Merlin family wouldn’t suspect his true identity as the perpetrator of Graviel’s death. After all, killing the knights here wasn’t his plan, especially not in front of the fragile-looking girl before him.

  But as his eyes settled on her, Victor found himself caught in a reverie. If he were to describe her in one word, it would be “innocent.” Her long, silky snow-white hair shimmered like moonlight, and her delicate features made anyone who saw her grow a sense of protectiveness for her. However, it was her heterochromia — those mismatched eyes — that pulled Victor sharply from his trance.

  As he observed her eyes, he noticed something. This is not a curse; it’s a special constitution and a very special one at that!

  Lillie arc Brightmoon, the young lady of the Brightmoon House, was not cursed at all. In fact, she had been blessed with a very special constitution that would make any Magus envy her. If she were to present herself in front of the Arcane Radiance College’s door, Victor was more than sure that those old fossils would likely beg to take her as their apprentice.

  This also meant that Victor would do the same thing. But before he was able to express his intention, he could feel several presences and a magic fluctuation getting closer to their location. They’re here.

  “Come, I will take you to safety,” Victor said firmly. Without waiting for her reply, he scooped her into his arms and took off into the air.

  He wasn’t foolish enough to fight an equally strong Magus while protecting someone as vulnerable as Lillie. It would be digging his own grave. His priority now was to find a place where she could hide before dealing with the pursuers on his own terms.

  Fortunately, it didn’t take Victor long to find a small creek hidden by the thickets. After gently putting Lillie down, he crouched beside her and instructed in a calm manner, “Stay here and don’t come out. I’ll take care of them.”

  “But Lillie can help…” She struggled to her feet, but her legs gave out beneath her, causing her to collapse to the ground and cough weakly. She had clearly pushed herself to the limit, running for so long. Even Victor was feeling sympathetic to her.

  “I know that you’re not powerless, especially with that constitution of yours,” Victor said softly, patting her head in reassurance. “But you’ve done enough. Rest here for now.”

  Lillie blinked up at him, seeming surprised at his words. “Okay… Lillie believes in Mister Black Knight.”

  Mister Black Knight, really? If the players were to hear of this nickname— No, if Lizbeth were to hear it, she would make fun of him. However, now wasn’t the time to worry about trivial concerns like that.

  With a nod, Victor stood, his expression hardening as he turned toward the approaching threat. “Now, time to deal with these pursuers.” With that, he launched into the air, the wind at his back as he flew toward the enemies, ready to face the knights and the Magus head-on.

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