The girl didn't hesitate to relinquish control of her body, sensing that this mysterious entity's request was more a formality than an actual choice. Rejecting it didn't seem like a viable option.
The moment she agreed, her body's aura transformed dramatically. Though her appearance remained unchanged, the air around her grew sharper, hotter, and filled with a sense of overwhelming power.
"Ah, I really didn't want to take over," the voice sighed.
As Muria adjusted to the girl's body, he couldn't help but complain about its fragility. A human female form, no matter how battle-hardened, wasn't ideal for combat. But her incompetence had left him no choice. Even with the non-human power he had granted her, she had failed to handle creatures that were naturally countered by her abilities.
"Here's some advice—watch closely how I fight. You'll only get this lesson once."
Stretching and testing the now mostly healed body, Muria stepped out of the rubble. His expression twitched slightly as he moved, discomforted by how tightly her chest was bound.
"Strange human! Die!"
A distorted spirit roared, reappearing after temporarily forcing the girl to retreat earlier. Its warped form radiated malice as it lunged at Muria.
A gust of gray, death-laden wind rushed forward, carrying the spirit's malevolent energy meant to drain life. But as the wind reached Muria, the deathly energy dispersed harmlessly, unable to affect the life force radiating from the girl's now-empowered body.
"An otherworldly monster, hmm?" Muria chuckled softly.
With the keen insight of an Epic, he immediately discerned the creature's nature. Though it was indeed a spiritual entity, its form bore signs of distortion and incompatibility with this world, as though suppressed by the very laws of existence here.
These traits were telltale markers of a creature that had entered a world through illegal means. Simply put, this malevolent spirit was an invader from another realm.
Muria's curiosity deepened. Though the spirit's twisted nature intrigued him, its lack of any trace of a Void God's influence made it even more compelling. This implied something beyond the usual machinations of malevolent deities—enough to pique Muria's interest and potentially draw his true body to investigate further.
Realizing its initial attack had failed, the spirit lashed out with a claw, a torrent of foul wind accompanying the strike.
Clang!
A pale gold arc of energy sliced through the air, carrying a blazing heat that severed the spirit's claw.
With inhuman agility, Muria maneuvered the girl's body through the spirit's counterattack, leaping skyward and delivering a flaming kick to the creature's head.
Boom!
A visible shockwave rippled outward as golden-red flames burst from the point of impact. The spirit's grotesque head exploded in midair, its body writhing in agony.
Before the spirit could regenerate, Muria capitalized on its vulnerability, descending with the girl's longsword wreathed in fire. He slashed downward, cleaving the spirit cleanly in two.
"It's over. Handle the rest yourself," Muria said, withdrawing his control as the spirit dissolved into embers.
He had only intervened to eliminate the greatest threat, ensuring the girl's safety while he finished analyzing the world's coordinates. Until he completed this task, no harm could come to her—she was his sole connection to this realm.
Regaining control of her body, the girl blinked, staring at the dissipating remnants of the once-terrifying spirit.
"I've never… felt this strong before," she muttered, still in disbelief at the immense power she now wielded.
"What should I do next?" she asked, turning to Muria for guidance.
"Do whatever you want, as long as you stay alive. Your life is more important than you realize," Muria replied, his tone serious.
The girl frowned, puzzled by the weight in his words, but nodded. She couldn't deny that the power she had now was far beyond anything she had ever dreamed of.
"How do I explain this power to others? Should I just… tell them the truth?"
"No," Muria said sharply. "Don't reveal my existence. How you explain it is your problem."
"But it doesn't make sense. Everyone knows how strong I was before—this is too sudden to hide."
"If you can't explain it, don't. Stay silent. Strength is strength. No matter how others question or perceive you, the power I've granted will not change. Trust me, your peers will fabricate a logical explanation for you."
"They'll… make one up?"
"Of course," Muria said, amused. "Sentient beings are great at rationalizing the inexplicable. They'll come up with something plausible."
Three days later, the girl was living in a newly built villa, now widely regarded as someone who had "awakened" an extraordinary power during a life-and-death crisis.
Sitting alone, she gazed at the sky, her thoughts turbulent.
"Your Highness, why did you respond to my plea? Why did you grant me this power?"
"Why? I was bored," Muria replied truthfully, his voice still echoing in her mind.
The girl's expression stiffened, her forced smile betraying her unease.
She couldn't believe such a powerful being would intervene so casually. Though she had only paid with control of one eye, the trade felt disproportionately favorable to her. The being's claim of boredom as a reason only deepened her doubts.
"People and their overthinking," Muria mused, perfectly aware of her internal turmoil. "If you think I'm plotting against you, ask yourself—what could I possibly want from you? Do you think you're important enough to warrant my schemes?"
"Forgive me, Your Highness. I…" The girl trailed off, embarrassed by her paranoia. She realized that, as an orphan with no significant connections or assets, there was little anyone, let alone an extraordinary being, could gain from her.
"Exactly. I have no interest in you, your people, or your world," Muria continued, his tone light. "What interests me is the malevolent spirit you despise so much."
The girl's eyes widened in surprise.
"I can tell you something you wouldn't otherwise know. That spirit you hate isn't native to your world—it's from another realm entirely."
"What?" Her fists clenched tightly before slowly relaxing.
"Surprised? If you examine the records, you'll see that the first sightings of these spirits date back only 700 years. That's a long time for humans, enough for your kind to accept their existence as normal. But if you consider the broader history, their sudden appearance is highly unnatural.
"Without significant environmental changes, the emergence of an entirely new predator species makes no sense."
"Why are they here?"
"There's no grand reason. Your world just happens to be close to theirs—close enough that they can breach it occasionally. Unfortunately, the breaches are increasing."
"Increasing…" The girl fell silent, then looked up resolutely. "Can they all be destroyed?"
"Of course," Muria said with a chuckle. "But not by you. I, however, could do it."
"That's all I need to know," the girl replied, her voice firm.
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