A gust of night wind swept through.
It stirred up a few strands of dust along the silent street.
Puff.
The oil lamp in the inn's lobby went out, plunging the surroundings into dim darkness.
Shane pressed a hand against the hilt at his waist and slowly backed away. At the sa ti, he kept watch over every movent around him while his mind raced, searching for a way to survive.
He didn't know what his opponent was.
But he was certain—it was no good.
The three golden attributes on his forehead had no combat properties. The clothes he wore only carried a few defensive attributes that increased resistance. As for his pants… forget it, they were even more useless. [Automatic Cleaning] and [Constant Temperature]—completely unreliable in a fight.
As for his weapon, Shane glanced at the already cooled-down [Deflection Field]. This attribute could only be used once a day. He had to be careful.
"Hmm… why did it suddenly get dark…"
Frieren's slightly hoarse, drowsy voice ca from behind, startling Shane.
The elf girl stood there with bed-head, rubbing her eyes as she yawned, still half-asleep.
Grrr…
In the quiet environnt, the sound of a rumbling stomach rang out clearly.
"Do you have anything to eat?" Frieren asked.
'Finally awake,' Shane thought.
Forget about food—think about survival first.
A violent gale suddenly surged through the street, carrying a sharp and cutting force as it swept toward them.
"Watch out!" Shane drew his sword.
But before he could react further, the drowsy-looking Frieren casually extended her hand. A staff appeared instantly, and a pale blue barrier unfolded in front of them. Layer upon layer of hexagonal defensive spells interlocked like a honeycomb, forming an airtight defensive net.
It was [Defensive Magic] capable of blocking all damage.
Shane didn't have ti to marvel at Frieren's reaction speed. He quickly explained the current situation in a few brief sentences.
Frieren lowered her head slightly and thought for a mont. Her [Mana Detection] couldn't sense any presence of monsters—the opponent was likely not a demon.
The gale gathered once more along the street.
Before the attack could fully form, Frieren raised her hand and fired first. A white beam of magic shot out, instantly piercing through the night.
But strangely, after the attack dissipated, the street remained completely empty.
"Shane, are you afraid of heights?"
"What do you an—"
Before he could finish, Frieren cast [Flight Magic] and rose into the air, grabbing Shane by his clothes and dragging him up with her.
"Ah—!"
Shane let out a cry as his feet left the ground. The sudden sensation of hanging in midair made it hard for him to adjust.
"Hey, hey—That wasn't a question!"
Frieren ignored his protest and lifted them higher, until they could overlook the entire town.
Under the night sky, the once lively town filled with lights was now pitch-black and lifeless.
But in the forest leading toward the Ghost Bastion, there was a long line of dense black silhouettes, moving slowly one after another.
"Found them."
With that, Frieren grabbed Shane and flew toward the line of shadows.
As they got closer, Shane finally saw clearly—they were all townspeople.
Every one of them had their eyes tightly shut, limbs stiff as they moved forward, like puppets on strings. Black mist seeped continuously from their bodies.
"They've been controlled."
Hearing Frieren's judgnt, Shane imdiately thought of Aura the Guillotine.
His gaze swept quickly across the surrounding forest and fields, but he couldn't spot any suspicious figure.
One of the Seven Sages of Destruction under the Demon King, Aura wielded the Scales of Obedience, placing her own soul and her target's soul on opposite sides. With her five hundred years of mana, she overwheld all opponents, tipping the balance in her favor.
In the end, she would behead every defeated enemy, turning them into puppets under her command.
An utterly unreasonable and powerful demon.
But sothing felt off. To strengthen her puppet army, Aura usually "collected" strong human warriors or generals. Since when did she start collecting ordinary people?
As Shane felt puzzled, Frieren was also thinking.
She had fought Aura directly before and understood her well. The magic controlling the townspeople now was very similar to Obedience Magic—but also clearly different.
Neither of them acted rashly. They quietly descended to the ground and followed behind the group.
…
At the collapsed entrance of the Ghost Bastion, the crowd stopped.
Under the influence of an unknown force, they began digging at the collapsed dungeon entrance with their bare hands.
Frieren and Shane exchanged a glance. Shane nodded and stepped forward to stand guard, while Frieren began chanting behind him.
This was the plan they had just discussed—Frieren would attempt to use [Purification Magic] to dispel the control over the townspeople and see if it worked.
A flash of magic passed over the nearest child.
The child instantly lost support and collapsed limply to the ground.
"It works!"
Shane was delighted.
But before he could celebrate, everyone else suddenly stopped what they were doing and turned their heads in perfect unison to look at Shane and Frieren.
Without hesitation, their bodies twisted into unnatural shapes and rushed toward Shane from all directions.
"!"
Shane was stunned and instinctively drew his sword.
But just as the blade was about to leave its sheath, he forcibly stopped.
Because the one charging at him first wasn't a stranger—it was the infatuated innkeeper who had always taken good care of him.
He cursed under his breath and swung the sheathed sword instead, striking hard at the back of her neck.
The innkeeper imdiately collapsed, unconscious.
The others were the sa. Although controlled by a mysterious force and moving in twisted ways, they were still ordinary people—most of them could be knocked out with a single blow.
Behind him, Frieren's [Purification Magic] didn't stop either. One after another, people fell to the ground.
Just as Shane began to relax—
Sothing changed.
Black mist began to seep out from the fallen bodies, gathering toward the center. Threads of darkness converged into a massive phantom skull.
The skull wore a ferocious expression.
Then, a sharp, hoarse voice—like the wail of a vengeful ghost—echoed through the night:
"Damn it! Why must you interfere?!"
With that scream, a violent gale burst from the skull's mouth, carrying countless piercing shrieks as it slashed toward Shane.
Shane felt like his eardrums were about to rupture.
Luckily, Frieren reacted quickly. With a flash, a magical barrier expanded and shielded him completely.
"Magic! Always magic! Cursed magic!"
For so reason, the skull beca enraged the mont it saw Frieren's magic. In an instant, its entire form turned blood-red, screaming as it dove toward them.
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