[Vol. 9] Chapter 8: Feeding the Tiger
The voice wasn’t very loud, but it seemed to carry some kind of invisible power. The once lively and harmonious atmosphere instantly felt as if cold water had been poured over it, and the place went silent.
Bowen froze for a moment and looked toward the source of the voice. He saw a black-haired girl leaning lazily against the wall of the street, holding a slender white staff in her arms, giving him a strange look.
“You are… Miss Violet, right? May I ask what you meant by what you just said?”
Recognizing who she was, the Hero felt puzzled, but still politely bowed to her. After all, even though he didn’t personally know this famous and mysterious figure, her past deeds and reputation were enough to earn his respect.
Also, for some reason, ever since he first saw her, this black-haired girl in white, with her holy and pure presence, gave him a strong sense of familiarity and closeness, as if they had met somewhere before. But no matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t recall when or where.
While politely asking, Bowen also quietly glanced at Princess Menna, his actual mentor. To his surprise, even she, the [Revelator], who always seemed to know everything and never looked shocked, was staring at Violet in confusion. But she showed neither displeasure at the sudden interruption, nor any intention of stopping her.
It seemed the Princess’s earlier respectful attitude toward Violet wasn’t just an act for the others after all…
As Bowen was quietly thinking this through and the mood grew a little strange, the priestess spoke again, as if completely unaffected.
“Look at how you put it… Of course, I meant it literally. Even though I don’t know much about the things happening inside the kingdom, just from what you all said, it’s easy to figure it out. This so-called [Lost Domain] should be a temporary space built around one of the [Lord of Restraint]’s followers, right?”
“Even if you can freely enter and leave such places thanks to your artifact, the [Saint’s Cross] can’t create a domain on its own. So why is there a [Lost Domain] here at all?”
Bowen frowned. He hadn’t expected her to catch such a fine detail so quickly, and for a moment, he didn’t know how to answer.
Normally, people would assume that anything given by the Goddess must be all-powerful, and no matter how impossible its powers seemed, it was only natural. So even if others noticed something odd, they would subconsciously attribute it to the greatness of the artifact. Only Bowen and a handful of insiders knew what was really going on.
Just then, Menna suddenly spoke.
“It’s fine, Sir Bowen. Since Miss Violet wants to know, explain it clearly here. It’s not some shameful secret anyway. Once the organization grows and runs properly, this will be made public sooner or later. Revealing it a bit earlier won’t hurt.”
“…Alright then.”
Bowen sighed helplessly, then reached into the inner layer of his armor and took out an item, showing it to everyone.
It was a palm-sized crystal, shining with many colors. Its surface was smooth and hard to identify, somewhat like a special kind of magic crystal. At first glance, it looked strange and meaningless, but on closer inspection, one could see that inside the crystal… there was a sealed living being!
Yes, that’s right. A living being, or rather… something very close to life.
It was only about an inch in size, its whole body looking like a faint, smoky shape, a bit like the mist drifting everywhere inside the [Lost Domain], but clearly more solid, like a tiny, shrunken ghost.
Even though it was sealed inside a crystal, the thing didn’t seem to have fully lost its vitality. It had no eyes, nose, or any other facial features, but the moment it appeared, everyone present felt a strange, chilling gaze fall upon them, like being silently watched by a cunning predator waiting for the right chance to strike. The feeling made their skin crawl.
“What is this...?”
“This is one of the followers of the [Lord of Restraint], a creature that lives inside the [Lost Domain]. We call it a [Chaos Being].”
The Princess’s voice was calm and without emotion as she spoke.
“Miss Violet is right. According to our scholars, the [Lost Domain] always and only appears together with the followers of the [Lord of Restraint]. In order to learn more and find ways to fight these outside enemies, we captured this [Chaos Being] alive during battle and studied it. The [Lost Domain] you are now standing in is one of the results of this research.”
The suspicion in her heart was confirmed. The priestess frowned and finally let out a quiet sigh.
“You're always doing things behind your sister Lilya's back. The World Sustainers come from a very mysterious origin, and their power is not something you can easily control.”
It wasn’t that Violet looked down on the Human United Kingdom’s scholars. But when the World Sustainers invaded before, the four nations of the Ancient Spirit Realm had also tried to use the monsters there for their own purposes. They even developed a rather systematic form of power out of it. And the result?
They thought they were in control. But in truth, it was only a trap set by the enemy, using small, harmless rewards to numb their vigilance. When the final outbreak came, the price they paid was ten or even a hundred times worse.
Past lessons should serve as warnings. And now Menna was trying the same thing, how could Violet not worry? Even though she, as a [Revelator], could glimpse into the future, her power also had limits. If she wasn’t careful, she could easily fall into disaster.
Facing the priestess’s blunt rejection in front of everyone, the blue-haired girl who had made this decision stayed silent for a moment, her expression heavy.
“Miss Violet... too many people have already died.”
The priestess shook her head slightly.
“Even so, this risk is far too great. I’ll say it directly, you cannot control this kind of thing. If you keep going, you’ll only end up destroyed by your own fire sooner or later.”
“...”
Menna hadn’t expected Violet to be so firm on this matter. She pressed her lips together, her face a little ugly. If it had been anyone else, whether her sister Lilya or even Hero of Mankind Bowen, it would not have shaken her determination to walk down this path. But... Violet was different.
She knew well the vision and strength this priestess possessed, and if Violet spoke with such certainty, then she must have absolute proof to back her words.
The tense silence from their clashing views didn’t last long. Soon, under the surprised gazes of the others, Menna chose to yield.
“Since you put it that way... fine. I will order all related research to be stopped as soon as possible, and the captured [Chaos Being] will be destroyed. Is that acceptable?”
“Ha... forget it then. As long as you understand how dangerous these things are, that’s enough. I was just giving a small reminder. No need for everyone to stare at me like that, go ahead and continue whatever you were doing.”