Chapter 252: Wagatomoyo-

The imperial soldier captain leading the team was no ordinary man.

The moment that arrogant monster suddenly knelt to the ground and let out a bloodcurdling howl, this experienced veteran immediately seized that fleeting opportunity.

Although he didn’t understand why the fierce monster had suddenly become so weak, he knew this was their only chance to counterattack.

“Now!”

The captain’s rough voice exploded over the chaotic market, like thunder awakening the soldiers who were still barely holding on.

“Everyone! Together! Attack his head and joints!”

“Kill!”

The soldiers, who had only been able to defend, erupted with astonishing morale upon receiving this order.

No longer fearing the monster with its terrifying brute strength, they raised their halberds and surged toward the kneeling figure like a tide.

A dozen sharp halberds reflected cold light in the sun, carrying the soldiers’ fury and will to survive, stabbing viciously into the monster’s vital points.

“ROAR—!”

The completely mutated middle-aged man, or rather this chaos monster, though his brain was suffering from indescribable pain, his chaos-derived killing instinct hadn’t fully vanished.

The moment he sensed death approaching, a mad, ferocious gleam burst from his blood-red eyes again.

He didn’t just sit there waiting to die.

Even though his brain felt like it was being stirred by a blender, he still forced his partially out-of-control body to attempt a final counterattack.

“Stupid humans—die!!!”

With a beast-like roar, the monster’s hands, which had been clutching his head, suddenly flung open.

On his thick, twisted arms, dark red muscles bulged wildly like they were being inflated, veins popping.

He completely ignored the halberds stabbing toward his chest, instead relying on his terrifying arm span and strength to try to sweep the frontmost soldiers in half at the waist!

If that blow connected, those soldiers would certainly be crushed into meat paste.

The captain’s pupils contracted sharply. He dashed forward a few steps to rescue them, but it was too late.

At that critical moment, Helos, standing in the shadows, narrowed her icy lavender eyes slightly once more.

She looked at the monster struggling in vain like a cornered beast, and a mocking sneer curled at the corner of her mouth.

‘Still trying to resist? In the face of my “will,” your brute-force shell is nothing but a slightly bigger target.’

[Kneel.]

The girl silently repeated that word in her mind.

She made no sound.

But in the spiritual world, this intention struck like a falling hammer from the sky, carrying an absolute, irresistible rule, slamming into the monster’s already battered mental defenses once again.

[Mental Shockwave] activated.

This impact was even more violent and focused than the last!

The monster’s arms, which had just begun to rise, hadn’t even swung halfway when they were instantly frozen mid-air by some invisible force.

“Gurgle, gurgle, gurgle…”

A strange, gear-jamming sound came from his throat.

Then, his blood-red eyes instantly lost all focus, becoming vacant and unfocused.

His brain had completely shut down, and even the chaos will that had been driving his actions was shattered into pieces by this blow.

All his mobility was lost.

“Thud! Thud! Thud!”

The next second.

A dozen sharp halberds pierced into his body without resistance.

Chest, abdomen, thighs, even the neck.

Dark red blood gushed out like a fountain.

The once brutal monster, who had treated human lives like grass, now lay like a ragged doll, pinned to the ground by over a dozen weapons.

He didn’t even let out a final scream before his massive body convulsed a few times and then stopped moving entirely.

He was dead.

It was over.

A brief silence fell over the market, followed by cheers of survival.

In a nearby corner, Julius didn’t breathe a sigh of relief like the soldiers, nor did he rush in to help as originally planned.

His gaze didn’t even linger on the corpse for more than a second.

The moment he saw the monster fall, he turned without hesitation, grabbed Helos’s hand, and pulled her.

“Let’s go.”

His voice was low and urgent, leaving no room for argument.

“Huh? Wait…”

Before Helos could fully process the impressive “remote control” she’d just performed, Julius yanked her forward, making her stumble.

“Aren’t we supposed to look for clues from that monster…”

“No time!”

Julius didn’t give her a chance to argue.

“The Church’s reinforcements will be here soon. They know something this big happened. The Imperial Guard and the Church will both come.”

If anyone discovered Helos’s abnormality, if anyone sensed that strange spiritual shock that wasn’t mana but still felt eerie, the consequences would be unthinkable.

He had to get her out of here immediately.

Julius quickly pulled Helos into a winding alley nearby.

He avoided all routes where they might encounter people, moving like a black shadow, weaving quickly through the labyrinth of the Old City.

Only when they were far from that blood-soaked market, in a dead end between two abandoned houses where no one would ever pass, did Julius finally stop.

He let go of Helos’s hand, but he still didn’t let his guard down.

Julius spun around and grabbed Helos’s shoulders.

His pitch-black eyes locked onto hers.

His breathing was rapid from the sprint, but even more so from the lingering fear and worry in his heart.

“Helos.”

His voice trembled, his tone urgent and even stern.

“Look at me.”

“How do you feel right now? Any discomfort? Headache? Hearing strange sounds? Seeing any weird hallucinations?”

He fired off a series of questions, each directly targeting Helos’s mental state.

He was too afraid.

Afraid that what had just happened was a sign of the chaos power reviving inside Helos.

Afraid that the girl he had worked so hard to awaken might fall back into that icy abyss.

That dazed look in her eyes, the blue light she had flashed…

That was exactly the precursor to her losing control back in the forest!

Helos looked at the young man before her, sweating profusely, his eyes full of fear and anxiety.

The little irritation she had felt at being interrupted in her observations vanished in an instant.

She could feel Julius’s hands trembling slightly on her shoulders.

‘Is this guy scared?’

‘Well… I can’t really blame him.’

Even though she knew that this ability wouldn’t cause side effects under the influence of the [Silent Oath] , he didn’t know that.

‘So he’s just worried about me, huh?’

A warm current surged through Helos’s heart.

She didn’t say anything, just gently shook her head.

Then, the girl reached out and covered Julius’s large hands with her own.

“I’m fine.”

Her voice was soft and calm, carrying a power that soothed the heart.

She patted the back of his hand lightly, as if comforting a frightened loyal dog.

“Really?”

“I really am fine. No discomfort, no hallucinations, and no one controlling me.”

Helos looked up, her lavender eyes clear and limpid, with not a trace of chaos or madness, only her own cleverness and liveliness.

“I know what I’m doing, Julius.”

She said seriously.

“Everything that just happened was my own will. I wanted to do it.”

“You…”

Julius was stunned.

He looked into the girl’s clear eyes, confirmed that she really hadn’t lost control, and finally the heavy stone in his heart fell.

But the confusion in his eyes didn’t diminish; instead, it grew deeper.

“But… that monster just now…”

He frowned, trying to organize his words.

“I didn’t sense any mana fluctuations, and I didn’t see you use any alchemy items. But that monster… it was like something struck its brain hard.”

Julius’s expression turned extremely serious.

“The feeling of that power, though different from the aura you emitted when you lost control in the forest that day, was very similar.”

“Helos, you have to tell me the truth.”

He stared at her intently.

“Are you still using that forbidden power? What’s going on?”

Seeing Julius’s determined attitude—that he wouldn’t let it go until he got an answer—Helos sighed helplessly.

She knew some things couldn’t be hidden.

And she didn’t want to hide them from this man.

“Alright, since you want to know so badly.”

Helos glanced around, confirming that the dead end was truly empty—not even a stray cat—before looking back at Julius with a mysterious smile.

“Then lean in.”

She crooked her finger at Julius.

“This is a secret. I’m only telling you.”

Though confused, Julius obediently lowered his head and brought his ear to the girl’s lips.

Helos stood on her tiptoes.

Warm breath sprayed onto Julius’s earlobe, making it tingle.

“Listen carefully, you idiot knight.”

Her voice was very soft, but carried an unmistakable hint of smugness.

“Actually… it’s a blessing in disguise for me.”

“Even though all that chaos knowledge almost drove me crazy…”

“But that night, after you saved me, I realized that my mind had gained some… very interesting things.”

Helos lowered her voice, as if sharing a huge secret.

“For example…”

“I can condense my ‘will’ into an invisible shockwave. No mana, no incantation—as long as I ‘think’ it, I can directly attack an enemy’s mind.”

“Just like I did back there.”

“I call this ability—[Mental Shockwave].”

Julius’s pupils contracted slightly.

Mental attack?

Something that directly affects the will?

That indeed explained the monster’s strange behavior and why he hadn’t sensed any mana fluctuations.

“And under the effect of the anti-magic, it doesn’t affect me at all.”

“But this ability…”

Julius straightened up, his brow still furrowed.

“Sounds dangerous. Does it put a burden on your mind? Are there any side effects? Could it… tempt you to lose control again?”

He knew too well that so-called “gifts” often came with expensive price tags.

“For now, as long as I don’t overuse it, it should be fine.”

Helos didn’t tell him about [Biological Modification] or [Soul Distortion] , abilities that sounded even more villainous.

She didn’t want to worry him.

She didn’t want him to think she was a monster.

She just vaguely said, “Anyway, I feel great now. My mind is sharper than before, and… doesn’t this make up for my lack of combat ability?”

She waved her small fist, striking a confident pose.

“From now on, even if you’re not around, I can protect myself against small fry like that.”

But even after hearing this explanation, Julius’s expression remained tense.

He looked at Helos, the worry in his eyes not diminishing but deepening.

“Helos.”

He said in a low voice.

“Power itself is neither right nor wrong. But…”

He hesitated.

He wanted to say he was terrified.

Afraid she would become that stranger again, afraid she would sink deeper in pursuit of greater strength.

Seeing this man who was usually decisive in killing and sparing, now fretting over her like a fussy old woman, Helos felt both amused and touched.

‘What an incurable idiot.’

“Alright, alright.”

Helos suddenly reached out, and with light precision, jabbed her elbow into Julius’s side.

“Oof!”

Caught off guard, Julius grunted.

The heavy, serious atmosphere instantly shattered.

He looked at Helos in astonishment.

“You…”

The girl looked up at him.

The winter sunlight streamed through the narrow alley entrance, spilling across her face.

Her lavender eyes curved into beautiful crescents, and her lips were curved in a bright, radiant smile.

There was no shadow or madness in that smile, only complete trust.

Helos said with a smile, “It’s okay.”

She reached out and gently grasped Julius’s sleeve, as if holding onto the most solid anchor in the world.

“Even if I do get lost, even if I really can’t control myself, I’m not scared at all.”

She looked into his eyes, speaking each word clearly and seriously.

“Because—”

“I have you by my side, don’t I~”