"What about you then? Can't you heal your eyes?" Scarlett asked in a casual tone, though her voice carried a trace of curiosity.
Raphael shook her head gently. "My eyes are the source of my power. That's why they attacked me there. It's not a normal wound—it will take months to recover. But as long as no more battles break out, it won't be a problem." Her calm voice made it sound like she had already accepted her condition.
Scarlett gave a small nod, understanding. "I see… The situation seems serious. Do you want to talk with Avion or Lilith about it? In a way, you're all on the same side now."
The moment she said that, Raphael's face stiffened. She shook her head so quickly it was almost comical, her cheeks burning with embarrassment. "No! I… I can't face them right now. Please don't tell them I'm here."
Scarlett blinked at her reaction. It wasn't hard to guess why Raphael was acting like this. Back then, Raphael had fought the hardest against Avion, and she was one of the main reasons he couldn't easily escape with the Chaos Egg and almost died. Now that the truth was out and Avion turned out to be right, Raphael's pride twisted into second-hand embarrassment that made it impossible for her to face him.
Scarlett let out a long sigh. "Fine. Rest here, and tell us if you need anything." She turned away, her cloak swaying slightly as she left the room. The others followed her out quietly.
Once they were outside, they quickly formed a circle, Scarlett standing in the center with everyone's eyes on her.
"What do we do now? Should we trust her?" Lunatic asked with a frown, her sharp eyes full of suspicion.
Xao tapped her chin, deep in thought. "She did seem honest. And even if she wasn't, it's better to know in advance and be prepared."
Everyone nodded. Caution was the safest path, and no one wanted to be caught off guard.
Scarlett rubbed her forehead. So many problems stacked up one after another. She reached into her pocket and pulled out a folded letter. The golden seal still glimmered faintly under the light. It was an invitation from the Queen of the Kingdom of Victoria, inviting her to a royal party. The date written on it was tomorrow.
"So many things at once… and now I have to attend this party too," Scarlett muttered under her breath.
Her words were quiet, but Lunatic and Reiza's ears caught them clearly. They raised their hands at the same time, their voices overlapping in perfect unison.
"I'll go!"
Before Lunatic and Reiza could start bickering, Scarlett quickly cut in.
"Everyone can come, as long as you're sure you won't do anything foolish," she said firmly, her voice holding a tone that left no room for arguments.
"I'm confident enough!" Lunatic declared with a smirk, her hand on her hip.
Scarlett glanced at her and sighed inwardly. "She does fool around a lot… but she's still the wicked succubus queen. Her experience in life far surpasses mine." Scarlett acknowledged her confidence and chose not to say anything more.
"I'll go too," Reiza added with a playful smile. "I promise I won't fight, as long as she doesn't start anything first."
Baron Nova and Semiath exchanged a look before speaking at the same time. "We should stay behind. There's still too much work left to do. Maybe next time."
"That's right," Cryptus chimed in. "I also need to train the others and check the patrol teams."
Li Feng coughed a few times, looking a little awkward. "I would have come too, but—"
Before he could even finish his excuse, Scarlett placed a hand on his shoulder and smiled softly. "No need for a reason. The fact you even said it is more than enough."
Li Feng's lips twitched slightly, but he held back his words and only gave a small nod.
"I'll come," Xao said calmly. "I'm free anyway, and I don't really have anything else to do."
"Me too!" Seiira chimed in cheerfully, bouncing on her feet with sparkling eyes, her excitement impossible to hide.
Scarlett looked around at them all and gave a small nod. "Alright then. Looks like it's all girls this time. I'll ask Prez as well, to see if she wants to join us."
"Yes! And I'll start planning which erotic outfit you should wear!" Lunatic squealed, her eyes practically glowing as she drooled a little. Her imagination was already running wild, picturing Scarlett in something scandalous.
SMACK!
Scarlett smacked the top of her head lightly. "Don't even think about it! I've worn enough of those already." Her cheeks warmed slightly as she remembered how Avion had once tricked her into wearing revealing outfits—and worse, how she had ended up wearing stockings.
She quickly turned her eyes to Xao instead. "You're more reliable in this matter. Pick something that actually suits me—something fitting for the Queen of Dreadhaven."
Xao bowed respectfully, her expression serious. "Yes, my lady."
---------
The next day, Lilith came again to continue Scarlett's training. Both of them sat on a wide flat boulder in the middle of the quiet forest.
"Why are we here anyway? The others are at the mana cave," Scarlett asked, tilting her head in confusion.
"Because they're still in the early stages," Lilith replied in her usual calm, emotionless tone. "You're already strong enough. Just remember to keep turning your mana into physical form whenever you have time."
Scarlett frowned, not fully convinced. Lilith then pointed at the purple blindfold covering Scarlett's eyes.
"My main priority is to help you gain control over your powers—so that you won't need this blindfold anymore."
Scarlett blinked under the blindfold. "And… how exactly do we do that?"
Lilith went quiet, thinking for a few seconds before answering flatly, "I don't know."
Scarlett almost fell from the rock. "You don't know? Am I being scammed again?" she thought nervously.
Lilith continued as if she hadn't just said that. "The assumption is that once you broke the Creator's Will, your strength should be enough to restrain your own eyes. But relying on that cursed item forever will only hold you back."
She cleared her throat lightly and then said, "Take off your blindfold. We'll try to control them directly. With me here, you don't have to worry about killing someone."
"I'm more worried about killing you,"Scarlett grumbled inside her mind, but in the end, she trusted Lilith enough to go along with it.
She slowly untied her blindfold and lifted her gaze. Her mesmerizing eyes were revealed—one a deep crimson red, the other a vibrant, glowing blue. Both had slit-like dragon pupils that made them look inhuman and terrifyingly beautiful at the same time.
Lilith stared straight at her without flinching. Scarlett tilted her head. "Are you alright?"
"Yes. No problem," Lilith answered firmly.
For a few minutes, nothing happened. Scarlett even felt a little hopeful. But then, her vibrant blue eye suddenly began to glow, as if releasing smoke made of blue light.
Woossshhhh!
An invisible wave of power erupted outward. The trees snapped like twigs, boulders shattered to dust, and the ground itself trembled. The air grew heavy with unbearable pressure, spreading further and further.
Lilith instantly raised her hand. A transparent barrier formed, locking Scarlett's power within a hundred-meter radius. Even so, the strain showed—her legs sank into the ground from the sheer force.
"Remember, it's your power. Dominate it!" Lilith shouted, her calm voice now weighed with effort.
"If it was that easy, I'd have done it already!" Scarlett let out a nervous laugh. But the laugh itself became a shockwave, and the sound made the air crackle. Even her casual voice was enough to make anyone's ears bleed.
Still, Lilith stood unmoving, her expression cold and unwavering.
Scarlett clenched her fists, closed her eyes tightly, and fought hard to suppress the flood of energy. The pressure lowered a little, but not nearly enough. Frustrated, she opened her eyes again, checking if Lilith was holding up.
"Focus on yourself, not me," Lilith said through clenched teeth. "Unless you break time and space itself, you can't harm m—"
But before she could finish, Scarlett's glowing blue eye dimmed down. At the same moment, her crimson eye flared to life, burning with a menacing glow.
Lilith's gaze accidentally met it.
Her body froze. Her chest tightened as if an invisible hand had crushed her heart. Pain shot through her chest so suddenly it felt like her heart had exploded.
"Kh—!"
Her knees gave out, and she collapsed onto the ground, gasping for air like a drowning person.
"Miss Lilith!" Scarlett panicked. She quickly tied her blindfold back on and rushed to her side, kneeling down beside her. "What happened? Are you okay?!"
Lilith coughed a few more times before pushing herself up slowly. Her legs trembled, but she forced herself to stand and gave a small nod. "Yes," she said, trying to sound calm.
But her thoughts were anything but calm. Inside, confusion and shock spun in her mind like a storm. What she had just felt made no sense. It was as if her heart was going to burst from her chest, like she had been struck by the strongest heart attack possible. But… how?
Her heart wasn't supposed to matter. She didn't even need one to live. Just like her brain, it was more of a formality—something she had, but never relied on. It was not her weakness, not something that defined her existence.
And most importantly… her heart had been dead for a long time. It never beat. She never needed to breathe either. She was beyond such things.
Yet the moment her eyes met Scarlett's glowing crimson one, everything changed. Her chest thudded wildly, her lungs fought for air, and she gasped like a fragile human.
A faint, almost amused smile tugged at her lips as she looked at Scarlett. "It seems we've uncovered another ability of yours," she said softly. "Your red eye… it grants mortality."
Scarlett blinked, her expression sharpening. "Grants mortality?" she repeated.
Lilith nodded, her voice serious now. "Yes. Perhaps anyone who looks into your red eye, will suddenly be bound to mortality. Even beings who were supposed to live forever and immortal… can turn into mortals.",
Scarlett kept a serious expression on her face, nodding as though she understood every word. But inside, her heart was leaping like a child discovering treasure.
"What an overpowered ability! I'm definitely the protagonist!"