"... Hikari."

"?!"

Lestia was shocked that White had actually found out about her True Name.

But how, she thought. She had never revealed anything about him. Except her alias Lezzie when she had met him with the body of a guard elf.

"...It's... you again... Khh... I thought... you... ...Aghhh.... aaAaaAHhHHhHH what is this... what is this feeling...?!"

"..."

She held her chest painfully, as if she recalled something unpleasant. A mix of complicated feelings swirled inside of her like a violent typhoon.

Lestia had never experienced such an irrational feeling for a long time since she'd discarded her mantle of a human. She had never realized that the curse of flesh would return her feelings of humanity temporarily... and it would continue to haunt her everytime she assimilated into a new living person.

The time she had met White, had already started to turn the gears of fate.

...She would never expect to hold such baseless interest in such a precarious person like White at that time, who she saw as nothing more than a coward. There was nothing special about him.

But somehow, that cowardly nature felt close to how she behaved in her previous life after the rape incident. It had connected with her on a spiritual level.

...She felt... that perhaps... she would be able to re-cultivate her humanity through this person.

At that time, she still had not seen White as a man yet. Only someone, whom she can keep around to emulate in behavior. ...But things began to slowly change with the introduction of a new personality.

Tricia walked in front of Lestia, who was continuing to struggle with the buzzing in her head.

A large number of voices were talking to her at once, as if there were a multitude of people reliving their entire lives in her mind. Tricia was never the patient type, so when she saw Lestia remaining immobilized like that, she quickly went forward to inspect the situation.

...Never would she have expected White to appear in this place.

"...?! ...You... ... defective... good...?! How are you... here...?!

...No matter... you lot. Forward.

...Eliminate the intruder."

Behind her were six emotionless elves, clearly homonculi; clones made from Lestia's alchemy. They were equipped with the same kind of armor like Syriel and Syviel. The same flamboyant one that was drastically more durable than the ones without the use of the rainbow mineral Inpathium. They were also all wielding spears of varying lengths each, made of the same mineral.

The appearance of one of their Martriaches sprung the elves on the watchtowers to action. They began to immediately pinpoint the existence of White.

Tricia, having the numerical advantage began to gloat with glee again.

...After all, this defective pest would perish in existence soon after.

She didn't have time to worry about such small fry, as she was only here because she'd heard about the Abomination acting up strangely. Hearing this piece of news from the messenger elves who moved around the Stalite Caves quickly to gather information, Tricia was dispatched to take a look by the other Diet Members, since it was her problem.

Everything linked to Lestia was her problem.

This troublesome duty made her incredibly pissed off, so much so that it showed on her face when she received the order to settle the issue with the Abomination acting up. But she could only withstand it for now.

She had only taken up her position not for very long so she could not talk back to the other older Martriaches. Shortly after leaving the shelter area of the Stalite Caves, Tricia immediately went to the usual places to find and pick Lestia up. Although she was using her as protection initially, she couldn't resist venting her frustrations on her physically when she knew she wouldn't fight back because she still held the imaginary hostage card.

...Lestia did not know this, but everyone she knew... had already died. She was in denial about the existence and dark origins of the Abomination, but that just worked out in Tricia's favor. She could still rely on Lestia, especially after hearing about the intruder who was wreaking havoc in their village on the surface.

...Of course, it was not just White there. Kuro was just inside in his mental landscape... observing silently.

Tricia and the other elves around her just couldn't see it.

"..."

White took a quick glance at Tricia, and grimaced immediately. He immediately avoided that dark murky feeling in his chest and ignored it for the time being. Their plans were more pressing at the moment. He knew he had to get out of this pinch now that they had been discovered.

They were in enemy territory.

"...Kuro. You said, you have a plan?"

Yeah, I'm ready. Your failed attempts earlier won't be in vain. Let's begin.

"Why are you talking to yourself? ...As expected... a miss... ...that evaluation was truly right on the mark... you're not even worth using for my eating pleasures... ...What are you waiting for, people? Get this thing out o-"

White could not endure that condescending tone anymore and clicked his tongue. An expletive that he would never say before, easily left his mouth like that.

"-Tch. Annoying bitch."

"... ...What... did you just... call me-"

"-He said. You're a filthy little bitch, woman."

A wave of intimidation immediately crept into Tricia's body upon hearing those words, and onto the surrounding elves who were readying their bows.

"-!?"

In an instant, everyone in the large space of the Stalite Cave stopped moving, as if time had stopped.

It was so unnaturally silent, that the nightmarish groans and voices coming out of the abomination reminded everyone that it was still struggling violently. The high-pitched screeching would occasionally dip in frequently inconsistently and sound closer to a nightmarish ghoul than the usual bat-like noises.

With the static conditions of everyone affected by Kuro's ability, the male elves who were the only ones trying to withstand and contain the rampage of the Abomination became dulled in their strength and movement.

Surprisingly, they were the only ones who still managed to move, albeit crippled to do anything significant by Kuro's ability.

-That's right. Kuro's ability.

The engraved sigil in his left eye began to burn faintly, signifying the activation of his Origin.

It was originally not possible to spread this ability normally without his eyes, which had been conveniently dubbed by himself as the Eyes of Fear.

Kuro had consciously realized that this mysterious ability of his had started to show some changes as time passed.

For example, back when the two elves Arglav and Karna were around, Kuro had still managed to take control of White's body and immobilize everyone there. Everyone included, without even maintaining his line of sight like previous instances of its use.

It was as if, the aftereffects of inducing fear were originally contained within his eyes to bring out the small concentrate of this immature ability. ...And now through the exposure from the Origin Appraisal, this weird power had finally revealed its true form, transforming into an even more condensed aura that encapsulated a wider radius.

"Status. Check."

Both White and Kuro called out the skill together at this moment, creating a powerful pitch from their individual vocal contrasts with each other.

Name W̷̩̕h̷̼̾͜ị̸͝t̵̺̃e̷͉̋̔ ̵̖̐̕Ṣ̵̽́h̸̬͘i̷̼̮͛̃g̴͓͇̋a̶̝͗̉r̴̺̙̉a̵̠͗͝ḱ̸̲͝i̷͎̓̌ͅ ̸̡̮̀ Level 1 Unused SP 3,000 Rank 8 Race Ų̴̦̃̄n̵̼͂k̵̡͙̄n̴͈̤̅o̶̘̐ẅ̴̠͒ͅn̵̹̦̐̎ Gender M̸̥̑å̸̼ͅl̷̲̀̌e̴̹͙͆ Occupation Undetermined Alignment C̸̡̔h̸̫̓̀á̷̩̗̏ơ̷̟͛s̴̼̎͌ Class Undetermined Health 5,000 Mana 5,000 Strength 1 Dexterity 1 Luck 2̵̩͙͖̫́̌̀͝3̵̮͈̙̜̈̈͘I̵̧̩̤͙̋I̴̻͌̂̉̓͐Ť̸̛͍͚g̸̥̀̃̌͂̚ẍ̶̢̛͇̻́̆̚͜-̴̲͂̈́̂̑͠7̵̝̹̗̽͛̽̄͂ Intelligence 426 Defense 5,000 Magic Defense 5,000 Equipment Tailored black clothes (Set), Pouch (i̴̡̡̢͔̿d̴̢̧̦̝͎̉̕G̵̪̻̪̿͛̀E̷̙̲̞̖̊̈N̸͎̜̔̋E̷̩͎̦̎Ȓ̷̞͓̿͆A̶͉̜͑̀͆̕͜Ţ̴̠̙̺̗̓͂́̓͝E̷̖̰̯͇͌̐̀̚-̸͎̫̃̂̎̉̾2̸̨̬̪͂2̵̫̑͛2̶̛̬̞͋3̶͉̄̿͛1̴̱̩̻̓̄̋3̸̳̽̀͛͛1̸̛̟̭̭͔͍̀͠-̷̹̆͌Ǫ̷̾̌͝b̵̟̖̗̩̍j̴̤̮̥̜̱̑e̶͍͔̟̠̪͛̚c̷̳̍̂͘t̸̬̼̺̺͙̾̂͋͘B̵̻̳̦̜͌͐̃́l̷̜̭̑o̵͕̤̲̙̱͑́̅̔̏c̴̣͈̲͖̱̔͌̓͠k̷̼̩͙̝̋̓͋̍͘ Traits ĭ̶͉͝d̵̛̠̗́̎̾G̵͎̮̓Ě̸̛̹̅N̸̟̪̈́̄̀́͗Ȩ̷͎͎̳͍͛R̸̨̝̰̅́͐̋̏Ä̴͍́̈̂͛̈́T̶̺̫̼̣̊́E̵͚̟̦̹͇̓͗́-̵̧̤̬͚̌̑̿͜2̷̰̞́͜4̴̭͎̽̚O̵̘̿̈̔̇b̸̧̛̰̹̤̓͊̓ͅj̶̠̎̓̉e̵̡̳̘̩̐̅́̇c̶̝̣̔t̴̘͖̊̔͆̕ͅB̷͕̘͈̜͇̈́̓l̵̲̑o̴̡̱̫͌̎̔̕c̵̰̾͊̿k̵̬͓̣̞̊̃̕ Titles Reincarnated One, Miracle of a Goddess, Murderer, Thief, Contradictory Existence, Acolyte of Suffering, Dominator, Demon King Candidate Passive Skills

Presence Awareness LV2, Spatial Awareness LV3, Aspect of a Ruler, Mental Resistance LV10, Displacement Resistance LV10

Active Skills

Status Check, Origin, Field of Memories, Spectral Cowling

Foreign Elements

G̷̨̢̣̪̹͋̐̋̽̂͌͑́́͋̈̾͆͛̓̇͛͌̒̔͘ē̷̡̛͎̳̖̘̩̭͖̟̻͍̻̈́̀̄̓̓͌͒́̿͘͝ͅņ̸̢̨̻̳̗͕͖̺̮̰̲͇̝̋͆̔̽̅̽̔̈́̈́̕͝ͅͅę̷̟̖͙̗͖̞̣̝̩̗̯͔̺̪̮̘́̋͋̾̾̅̃̃͘ͅr̸̥͔̳̱̘̓̇͐͂͂̉̚͜a̸̢̩͇̜͍̟̫̰͙̮̯̠̖̦̘̤̺͚̦͓͒̊̀̋̈̈ͅt̵̡̖͇̅̋ě̵̛̛͉̞́̐̔͛̈̿͒̍͐̉͗̏͂̃̿͘͠͝ ̷̨̢̰͍̜̩̭̙̯̯̖̞͈͖̟̖̳̗̈́̈̈́͋̇́̉̓̑͆͛̊̂̿͊͑̌̿̂͝ͅͅͅI̶̤̰̲͕̜̙͉̻̝̫̥̱̰̟͋̋̅̀̋͋̈́̍̿̈́̈́͆̓͝͠ͅḐ̶͖̖͖̬͈̭̬͉̠̖̘͇̜̱̜̬͖͙̭̌͒͆͌͌̀̇̅̐̚̕͜͝͝ͅ

Some parts in the Status Window became dimmed, while others were highlighted in red as if being activated.

It's just about right. Just like what she said, the true nature of my Origin, is to increase the potency of my emotions; Spectral Cowling.

...I've always been inducing fear..., because that was the strongest negative emotion White has ever experienced. ...Those men are less affected, since they already have lingering traces of fear probably from that ghoul over there huh...

...It had been this simple in the end. My power is accentuated through White's emotions, because I can hardly feed enough for my Origin with my numbed feelings.

...And to increase the effectiveness of this power, I have to continue keeping him in the dark about this. Every time White's mental state deteriorates, this ability gets stronger. It synergizes extremely well with his Origin: Field of Memories; A self-destructive ability that has the prerequisite of taking in large amounts of the target's memories. Even painful ones. That way, it would continue to feed Spectral Cowling naturally.

Which means, his progress to get better will be stalled each time I use this power... Have I just been hurting his chances to recover all this time, slowly eating him from the inside...?

...How ironic. Not that I dislike that notion. Kukukuku~

In other words, White has to suffer, before Spectral Cowling shows any sort of effectiveness on someone.

This ability has a very demanding requirement for its fuel. ...But it's perfect for me.

This ability has been described by Ruler as 'unfair' for an Origin, since Spectral Cowling feeds off almost every other negative emotion, and thus could potentially embody all of the Seven Sins at once. I could technically invoke every single one of them, so long as White experiences them strongly as well.

Recalling everything he needed to know within those few seconds of unnatural silence, Kuro then conveyed his intentions mentally.

-The preparations are ready.

...I'm listening. What do I do now?

"Use your Origin on that bitch."

Her...? ...But my ability isn't going to he...

"I got this, we're just going to use them... a little... differently."

...I got it.

Tricia immediately noticed Kuro walking towards her in White's body, but she was powerless to stop him. Neither could she speak out beyond her stammering. Her eyes widened in horror, as the aura around Kuro started to become visible to her eyes.

As miasma wrapped around White's body like a cloak, it did not intrude forcefully that way. Instead, it stayed in place, as if shrouded with the properties of an armorplate.

When it had finally settled down, Kuro proclaimed with a powerful tone.

"We are finally at the last stages of the end game now. And you, bitch, shall be the link to connect everything together.

...Spectral Cowling."

"-!!!"

As the suffocating feeling of fear started to encase Tricia relentlessly, her surroundings began to darken and change.

The miasma coming from the effects of Spectral Cowling: Fear stretched out like a web, slowly enveloping everything into darkness.

Quickly looking around, she realized that everyone else was fading away, with the exception of White and Lestia. During this situation, Lestia had also suddenly snapped out of her mental distress the moment she was relocated to this place.

Tricia's company of guard elves and homunculi were no longer around to protect her, but she still felt relatively safe when she saw her most powerful bodyguard regaining her senses. Her sense of security rose greatly with Lestia's presence as her fail-safe.

She also realized that the dreadful aura that was constricting her actions had lifted as well, as she began feeling better again and she could move and speak once more.

Her immediate response to this turn of events, was of course through bragging. She wanted to come back from her shameful feeling of even considering the notion of losing to someone as mentally handicapped as White, so she stuck to verbal abuse which she was good at doing. It fed her superiority complex well.

"-Huhuhuhuhu! I was caught off guard from that weird trick you played on me, but it's no use now. No use~ It didn't even faze me at all~ Looks like it's lost its effectiveness through time huh~ What a useless thing to have, huhuhuhuhu...! Then, it's decided for you to disappear for good this time~!

Monster, kill them now. This is an order you cannot disobey...!"

It seemed that Tricia had even implanted a Mind Collar on Lestia, and had just activated a Master Command just to ensure that her order went through. Feeling the success from doing so already, Tricia continued to gloat in delight.

"Huhuhuhuhuhu, how do you feel, knowing that you're about to die even after such a pitiful struggle...? How do you feel? How do you feel? Huhuhuhuhuhu~"

...

"..."

But there was no response.

...Nor action.

"... ...Huh...? You... Didn't you hear my orders? I told you to kill that thing...!"

...Again, there was no response.

As Tricia turned to look at Lestia impatiently, she quickly realized that her lifeless eyes were beginning to show signs of shock as they were directed towards something... or someone...

Of course, Tricia followed her line of sight.

...And quickly found the source of distraction.

"... That... is...?"

A little girl with light blue hair, sitting on an altar in the middle of this large and empty space. As a gentle gust of wind blew down from the hole on the ceiling, the blue flowers around her suspended legs began to sway back and forth rhythmically as well.

White was the first to break the silence, as he slowly walked towards the little girl.

"...?! Wha-what are you doing...?! Don't... don't come near her...! She's... she's...!!!"

This time, Lestia responded hastily, as if trying to prevent White from interacting with the little girl.

But White replied calmly, with a sad expression hung on his face.

"... I know. And because I know, ...I will free you from this memory."