Dominated

A gust of night wind blew past.

It stirred up wisps of dust on the silent street.

Puff.

The oil lamp in the inn lobby flickered out, plunging the surroundings into dimness.

Shane pressed his hand against the hilt of his sword and retreated slowly, his eyes scanning the surroundings for movement while his mind raced to calculate his options for survival.

He did not know what the opponent was, but he was certain it was nothing benevolent.

The three golden traits on his forehead lacked combat utility, and his clothes only possessed a few defensive traits for resistance. As for his trousers... well, they were even more useless; [Auto-Clean] and [Constant Temperature] were not going to save his life.

Regarding his weapon, Shane glanced at the [Deflection Field], which had finished its cooldown. This trait could only be used once a day, so he had to be cautious.

"Hmm... why did it get dark..."

Frieren's slightly raspy, muddled voice sounded from behind, giving Shane a start.

The elven girl had a head of messy hair, rubbing her eyes and yawning, still half-asleep.

Gurgle.

A distinct stomach growl echoed in the quiet environment, and Frieren asked, "Is there anything to eat?"

Shane thought to himself that she had finally woken up.

Forget about eating for a moment; he needed to worry about staying alive.

A gale of wind suddenly condensed on the street, sweeping toward the two of them with a biting momentum.

"Watch out!" Shane drew his sword to respond.

To his surprise, the sleepy Frieren reached out, instantly summoned her staff, and a pale blue barrier unfolded before them. Layers of hexagonal defensive formations interlocked like a honeycomb, creating an airtight net of protection.

It was [Defense Magic], capable of blocking all damage.

Shane had no time to marvel at Frieren's reaction speed; he quickly explained the current situation in a few short sentences.

Frieren lowered her head slightly, lost in thought for a moment. Her [Mana Detection] could not sense the aura of a demon, so the opponent should not be a member of the Demon Race.

The gale that had attacked them began to gather on the street once more.

Before the opponent could launch another offensive, Frieren raised her hand and fired an attack. A beam of white magical light shot out, instantly piercing through the night.

But strangely, after the magical attack dissipated, the street remained empty.

"Shane, are you afraid of heights?"

"What do you mean..."

Before he could finish, Frieren cast [Flight Magic] and soared into the air, simultaneously grabbing Shane's clothes and hauling him up into the sky.

"Ah—"

Shane couldn't help but let out a shout; the sensation of his feet dangling in mid-air made it difficult for him to adapt.

"Hey, hey, that wasn't a question at all!"

Frieren paid no mind to Shane's protest, carrying him up to a height sufficient to overlook the entire town.

Under the night sky, the town that had been bustling with lights was now pitch black and devoid of life.

However, in the mountain forest to the side of the town, leading toward the [Ghost Bunker], there was a dense line of black shadows, one after another, moving slowly.

"Found them." After saying this, Frieren grabbed Shane and flew toward the location of that long string of shadows.

As they drew closer, Shane finally saw clearly that they were all residents of the town.

Everyone had their eyes tightly shut, their limbs moving stiffly forward like marionettes, with black mist leaking from their bodies.

"They are being controlled."

Hearing Frieren's judgment, Shane immediately thought of [Guillotine] Aura.

His gaze swept rapidly across the surrounding mountains and fields, but he did not see any suspicious figures.

Aura, one of the [Seven Sages of Destruction] under the Demon King, held the [Scales of Obedience]. She could place her own soul and her target's soul on either side of the scales, using her 500 years of mana to overwhelm any opponent and tip the balance.

In the end, she would behead all those she defeated, turning them into a puppet army under her command.

She was an incredibly unreasonable and powerful demon.

But that wasn't right; to increase the combat effectiveness of her puppet army, Aura preferred to "collect" puppets who were skilled human warriors or generals. When did she start collecting ordinary people?

While Shane felt puzzled, Frieren was also thinking.

She had confronted Aura head-on and understood her well. The magic currently controlling the townspeople, while very similar to the [Obedience Magic] she mastered, was clearly different.

The two did not rush to attack, but quietly descended to the ground and followed behind the procession.

In front of the collapsed entrance of the [Ghost Bunker], the group stopped.

Driven by an unknown force, they began to dig at the collapsed mine entrance with their bare hands.

Frieren and Shane exchanged a glance. Shane nodded and stepped forward to take the lead, standing guard, while Frieren began to chant her spell behind him.

This was the strategy they had just discussed: Frieren would attempt to use Purification Magic to dispel the control over the townspeople and see if it was effective.

A flash of magical light swept over the child closest to them.

The child instantly lost their support and collapsed limply to the ground.

"It works!"

Shane exclaimed in surprise.

But before he could celebrate for long, the rest of the crowd stopped what they were doing in unison and turned their heads to stare directly at Shane and Frieren.

Without a moment's hesitation, their bodies suddenly twisted into unnatural shapes, lunging at Shane from every angle.

"!"

Stunned, Shane drew his sword, ready to strike.

Yet, just as the blade was about to leave its sheath, he forced himself to stop, seeing that the person in the lead was none other than the infatuated landlady who had always taken such good care of him.

He cursed under his breath, opting instead to swing the scabbard, using the sheathed blade to deliver a heavy blow to the back of the landlady's neck.

The clawing, snarling landlady immediately slumped to the ground, knocked unconscious.

The others were the same; although controlled by a mysterious power and moving in bizarre, twisted ways, they were ultimately just ordinary people, and most could be taken down with a single blunt strike.

Behind him, Frieren's Purification Magic never ceased, and the people fell to the ground one after another.

Just as Shane began to feel a sense of relief, a sudden anomaly occurred.

Black mist began to pull away from the bodies of those lying on the ground, swirling into thin wisps that rushed toward the center of the clearing, converging into the phantom image of a giant skull.

The phantom wore a ferocious expression.

Immediately after, a sharp, raspy voice, sounding like the wail of a vengeful spirit, echoed through the night sky:

"Damn you, why must you interfere with me!"

Following this howl, the skull spat out a biting gale of wind from its mouth, carrying countless piercing screams as it slashed toward Shane.

Shane felt as though his eardrums were about to shatter.

Fortunately, Frieren reacted quickly; with a whoosh, a magical barrier expanded, firmly shielding Shane.

"Magic! Magic again! Cursed magic!"

Upon seeing Frieren's magic, the skull erupted into a sudden, inexplicable rage. In the blink of an eye, the entire skull turned blood-red and dove toward the pair, shrieking.