Chapter 25

The bright lake seemed to be normal. I morphed right next to the riverbank. Medi was crouching down. I tapped on her shoulder lightly to ease her down. A few tears were flowing down her cheeks. The snakes on her hair were badly affected.

They all looked at me with their emerald eyes in a sobbing manner. I swiped my black stripes and calmed them down by touching their gems. I realized that every animal in this world has a gem on their forehead, which is most likely hidden away.

I can control or communicate well with them because of the dark attribute. But, it also limits me to talk only with omnivores and monsters. I assumed that it's impossible for me to talk to holy creatures. Come to think of it, the book mentioned that Lily could converse with holy creatures. Am I her polar opposite then?

"I will never forgive them. These rat bastards think they own the world. The hypocrites are the real evil, not the descendants. I swear..." Medi said with a vexed face.

I sat down next to her. She was mumbling some very adult-like words. Then again, she has lived aeons and aeons. I wondered how old the real medusa would be if Medi was this old.

Her green emerald eyes along with the snakes looked disrupted. Medi pointed her index finger towards the lake. I craned my neck to see the show.

The lake had a type of powder on its surface. I assumed that it was moss but apparently, it had spread everywhere and was now blocking the sunlight from entering it.

"It's poisoned! My home is poisoned!!!" Medi cried out.

My ears picked up some rough sounds. It was as if a herd of horses were galloping towards the lake. A sudden bang startled me. An arrow swooped near my ear and flew right towards a tree.

A group of men wearing black outfits covered fully up to their eyes came into my vision. They had bows and arrows in their hands. Moreover, Erebus informed that the bows and arrows were drenched with poison.

They accelerated towards us at an alarming speed. One of them took out an arrow and aimed it at me. In hindsight, I realized that it was an assassin group. We were under attack.

I drew out my sword at a flashing speed and held it vertically for the arrow to dodge and bounce off. Medi, got up, alarmed. The black-coated group all aimed their arrows at me. They held it for a mere seconds before releasing all of them. I dodged all their meek attacks with ease.

I looked around me to see if Medi was injured by the shower of arrows but she had created an ellipse-like bubble. She quickly motioned me to enter it. I refused and tried to analyse the situation.

Apparently, the assassins couldn't see Medi. They were all aiming at me. Someone ordered them to kill off the Duke's adopted daughter. This was not a spontaneous attack.

'Erebus, how many are here?'

'Excluding us, the group has a total of twenty five men. To you, this is a piece of cake.'

'Is there anyone watching?'

'Not that I can detect. No one from the duchy for sure. Are you suspecting someone?'

'Not at the moment. What is the quickest way to finish them off?'

'Uh—Kill them?' He deadpanned. I scratched my chin with a smirk.

My mind was running through all the nobles who could plan such an attack. I got to give them credit. They really thought this through. Dragging the vile daughter out of the estate to make it seem like an accident near the river. I'm sure they were planning to dump my body in the lake.

I wondered if this happened before the novel's plot. None of this was mentioned even in a side story of the novel. Is this because of Lily? That question popped into my mind. Were they trying to kill me off so that Lily could end up happily?

Or maybe it was my influence on society. Drat, I know what this is. Some noble hired assassins because of my act in the hunting competition. Nidas, you hear me? Your plan brought heavy side effects!

An ache in my head jostled up a forgotten memory. The Count who brought Lily to the 16th birthday of the Crown Prince had a contemptuous impression on Rose. Bingo! That Count must have planned this.

Another arrow raced an inch above my head. Alright, dude! Let the games begin! I'm going to crush their skulls to pieces. I put my sword back in place. Let's finish this off and keep my own Guinness world record.

'Erebus, keep the time. Let's go with your plan.'

'I've already done it.'

I took a breath and brought my hand forward. I felt my pupils turning pitch-black. I concentrated on the water I felt in their blood and manipulated it. The group of men clad in black felt the threat and their bones responded. Crack! Crack! Crack!

I seized the blood flowing in their blood vessels. They clutched their hearts in pain. A gust of wind with strength similar to a gale flew at the lake. The atmosphere darkened with my main attribute. The water in the lake started to bubble with my usage of double attributes.

I moved by focussing on the Aorta and ran along the vessel to the coronary arteries of the heart. Squish! A gasp escaped from the men. I was immobilizing them. The horses neighed and looked at me in horror. This was enough to scare them off.

'Thirty seconds. You've improved!' Erebus mentioned. I glared at the petrified attackers.

"Who sent you here?" I asked in a threatening tone. None of them spoke. Their items and belongings were devastated. The environment had a haunting aura similar to that of a cemetery in the middle of the night.

And all of that was my doing. Wow, I could become a biological weapon. I should keep my guard up and take this more seriously!

"C-count V-v-vien. H-he sent us h-here and asked to kill you." A shorter man said, trembling.

"The reason?" I asked with my head held a little high.

"W-we don't know...Please have mercy on us!" Another man taller than the first cried out loud, desperately.

They dare to ask mercy from the person they were supposed to kill! What a load of hogwash!

"What is 'mercy' ?" I asked them with my daunting face. I made an ignorant joker-smile. They knelt down and begged me. An idea struck me.

"I'll give you four choices. Choose wisely." I mocked them. I really wanted to try an MCQ on a person in this world. A shrill of hope came over their bruised faces.

"One, you can kill yourselves for attempting to murder the daughter of the Eskater duchy. Two, I'll banish you to my favorite oblivion which is hell. Three, I'll send your heads back to your hirer. Four, you can work under me and that is not going to be easy. Personally, I recommend you to choose the first one so I won't get blood on my hands but since I'm kind, it's up to you." I gave them my detailed statement.

'What a sadist!' I heard Erebus laughing.

'They deserve it! If someone comes to kill you, would you have let them off, nicely? Only a stupid person would. And look here, I get free workers!' I complained to him in my mind.

'I know! And I approve!' I smiled brightly after hearing Erebus's comment.

"We like to work under you! Please, spare our lives!" The men bowed down. Okay, free labour, it is!

I lifted my pinkie finger and created a dark stripe. It divided itself into twenty five pieces and flew towards the men. It enveloped the wrist of each assassin and engraved a small black sword-like seal on them. I dismissed them and they thanked me.

'So, are they bound to me or something?' I asked Erebus.

'Yes, when you call them, your seal will teleport them to you and I'm sure your little act scared them good to not betray you. I'm impressed!' I nodded at Erebus after he explained me the details.

I looked at Medi to see her condition and she gave me a small smile. She thanked me with tears for coming to help. I shrugged her off. Erebus formed on the water surface which was now pink in color.

"Rose, there's another problem." Erebus told us.

"Yeah?" I asked, skeptically.

"There is something fishy. I can't contact the southern reins. It's blocked."

"I presume it's related to this shenanigan."

"Sadly, yes. I called out to a few to help with the restoration of the lake but I can't get in touch with them. I think someone physically blocked them."

"Blocked?"

"Just like you can use them, there are others who can take down a monster by force and intoxicate it so that only the specific person may condition it. It's pretty rough on the creature."

"It's a winding course, right?" Medi voiced and Erebus nodded.

[Note:- A winding course is something that can make a creature's conscience ripped out. It's painful, takes a toll on it and makes the creature loyal to their master until the hypnotizing is broken.]

"I thought as much. Are there people who can track you?" I raised my thoughts.

"Actually yes. Some who tamed head monsters of each border with force can gain information. I'm sorry, Rose."

"Apologies won't solve the problem. What should we do?" I asked him.

"Well, I should go and check up on the situation, myself. That also means that you should come with me. For several reasons." He hesitated but continued.

"And they are?" I asked, suspiciously.

"It could be a good experience...and...you can learn something." Erebus stammered.

"Or more like, Erebus here wants you to go with him." Medi interrupted. We chuckled while Erebus looked away.

"I was planning to leave anyway. It won't hinder anything much." I swallowed.

"Thank you!" He chirped.

"All in a day's work." I quoted and high fived Medi.

After I returned back to the duchy, my heart was filled with a warm feeling. Most of all, I was happy that I didn't have to kill the men. But an unsettling doubt pounced along with Erebus's newfound problem. I have a feeling that I am going to get very busy.

Welcome back,

What did you think about Rose's decision? And do you think that Count Vien will become a potential enemy? Comment your thoughts and feel free to leave a vote! See you in the next chapter!