Ash finally understood the source of the unease that had been gnawing at him since the mont he entered the Land of Forge. The mind demon was sohow attempting to control him, but failing. That lingering attempt, that constant invisible pressure, was the reason the discomfort never went away.
He was certain that both he and Snow were unaffected by whatever thod the demon was using to control the crowd. The various effects of his runes must have been shielding them.
That explained why his instincts had been blaring warning sirens in his head from the start, why there had been a constant weight on his chest, and why he felt far more at ease within his own soul space.
Does that an he is watching right now? Didn’t the old man say ’He’s everywhere’ before dying? Was this what he ant?
Ash didn’t know what to do. His knowledge of the world—and of the novel’s events—was failing him. Never had he read about any Demonic Heart appearing in the Elven Continent, nor had there been any ntion of a mind-controlling demon in dwarven territory.
Yes, there was a mind-controlling demon he knew of—one of the Seven Overlord Demons, Lilith, who always stayed close to the Demon Prince. She was terrifying indeed, but she was not as omnipresent as whatever he was feeling now.
But what are the chances...? Maybe it is that enchantress. She could just be trying to play mind gas with , to make feel despair and force to give up...
Isn’t she quite skilled at that?
There was also a chance that this was not Lilith at all, but soone else entirely. If that was the case, then he had no idea how to deal with them. Still, after his earlier interaction with the dwarf soldier, he was at least sixty percent certain that...
Not all of them are under control...
Because if Ash were the demon, and a person immune to his mind control walked into his territory, the very first thing he would do is eliminate that person. Even in the novel, Lilith had gone after Ray the mont she realized he was free from her charm.
There was another reason for his conclusion. If everyone was under control, then there was no reason to throw him into a prison cell. The demon could have simply commanded the entire city to attack him at once, and Ash would have been killed—at least, according to the demon’s logic.
But nothing like that had happened. Which ant not everyone was under control. Still... he was missing sothing.
He was lacking information.
And there was only one way to obtain it.
More experints...
There was no other choice. If Ash wanted answers, he would have to find a way to save soone from the demon’s control without them dying in the process—sothing that could only be achieved through repeated trial and error.
That was exactly what he set out to do. Removing his cuffs, he moved to another cell. This ti, he used Snow’s X-ray vision to examine the dwarf inside. Yet even through that, nothing unusual was visible. Having no other option, Ash decided to infuse life mana directly into the dwarf’s skull, as it was always the head that exploded.
He also activated a noise-cancelling artifact, just in case.
The mont the mana flowed into the brain, the reaction was the sa. Terror filled the dwarf’s eyes, his pale face trembling as he stared at Ash. His voice shook with pure fear.
"He’s everywhere...Die, everyone will die, there is no escaping it... he knows about you, you will die, everyone will die... run, run, run.....Central City...run.."
This ti, however, the dwarf survived a little longer before his heart suddenly burst apart instead.
Even so, Ash had gained sothing valuable from the attempt.
So... he knows about . And Central City? Is the demon really that far away? How can such long-distance control even exist...?
Wait...?
Ash’s eyes widened as a chilling possibility ford in his mind.
Don’t tell ... it’s a mind-controlling monster or sothing? Sothing that links and controls all the hosts at once...
The thought was disturbing to say the least, but for now, it was nothing more than a possibility. That only made him more serious. He had studied about creatures known as Mind Flayers before—dangerous beings capable of controlling multiple individuals without much effort. The only way to kill one was to destroy its main consciousness.
...But still at the end it was only a possibility.
I will try asking the people this ti...
Ash decided to change his approach. This ti, instead of only observing, he would infuse life mana into criminals and imdiately question them before they could say anything else.
And that was what he did. Unfortunately, his luck was poor. So of the prisoners died before even uttering a single word, while those who tried to answer were already too late—their bodies failed before the words could leave their mouths. All in all, he gained no new information.
But it was not as if there was no progress at all. After thirty people had died in the prison area where he was being held, Ash reached a conclusion.
It’s not mind control...
Yes, he was now certain of it. Mind control involved things like mory wiping, hypnosis, and manipulation. But even when Ash directed life mana toward their hearts, he could feel that demonic—or perhaps even more sinister—presence inside them just monts before either the heart or brain exploded.
This ant there was sothing physically inside the bodies of these people, like a parasite or insect, responsible for their deaths. Yet even with that conclusion, Ash had still not been able to locate this parasite, much less find a cure for it.
Still, it pointed him toward a possible thod by which the dreadful demon was controlling its victims.
Either the food source or the water...
Mainly water, I think... after all, the water source in a city is never just one. There are at least two, three or more, and it seems that at least one of them is tainted with whatever is controlling the dwarves... it would also explain why that old dwarf was under control as well...
The prisoners’ water supply—Ash had no doubt this was where the parasites were coming from, clinging inside the bodies of the dwarves.
But still, it doesn’t make sense. I haven’t drunk any water from this city, so why was I feeling the unease from the start? Was it not because the demon was trying to control ? Or was it simply my senses warning of the danger...?
Ash no longer knew what to believe and what to discard. Being a paranoid overthinker often led to tangled thoughts and contradictions, and this was one of those monts where every path of reasoning seed to split in two. Choosing which one to trust felt impossible.
Before his thoughts could spiral further into that maze, the sound of footsteps returned, heavier and more nurous than before. This ti, it was not just one person approaching, but several.
Ash was sowhat relieved that the prison cells were designed like solid doors with only a small barred opening to see through, of course at the height of dwarfs, which ant that the view inside was limited.
Even so, to be safe and avoid the risk of anyone noticing the tallic scent of blood in the air, he swiftly gathered all traces—the blood splatters and even the corpse—into a spare space ring, and stored it in his soul space.
Once the evidence was gone, he calmly made his way back to his own cell as if nothing had happened. Snow had already retreated into his soul space, hidden from view. Within minutes, the footsteps halted right in front of his cell.
Seeing the familiar face, Ash felt little better.
"Long ti no see, Dwarf Captain," Ash said in a steady voice. "Can you help get out of here? You know, right? I was only here to deliver the item, not to kill anyone. I’m certain soone is framing ."
The Dwarf Captain gave a firm nod. "I know you weren’t here to kill anyone. That’s why I hurried over as soon as I heard the accusation. But I cannot simply take you out of the prison, Ash. You might not know, or perhaps you do, but we dwarves do not take the death of even one of our own lightly. The sa way we do not forget such losses, we also do not forget favors."
He paused briefly before continuing, his tone firm but without hostility. "What I can do is get you out of the continent. I’ve already seen the cara footage. It was clear that you were trying to help the old man, but then he suddenly died. However, I cannot take you to the Central city with . You will have to give the item to instead, and that is the only way I can guarantee your safety."
As soon as his words were finished, the cell door clicked open. The Dwarf Captain stepped back, his movents calm, while the soldiers who had accompanied him stayed alert but still stepped back, as if asking Ash to co outside.
From what Ash could sense, the Captain’s strength was at the Grandmaster level, while the others were either Masters or Experts.
Ash knew that in a direct confrontation, he stood no chance against a Grandmaster—at least, not yet. Still, he was not naive enough to think that the Dwarf Captain was acting purely out of kindness.
There was always the possibility that these pleasant words were ant to lower his guard, to coax him into handing over the item. After that, his fate could easily take a turn he could not predict.
I won’t fall for it... but maybe I can use this to get information...
That thought settled firmly in his mind. If there was an opportunity hidden in this situation, he would have to twist it to his advantage.
"Can you remove these cuffs?" Ash asked as he stepped forward, out of the shadows of the cell.
"Sure." The Dwarf Captain gave a small smile and easily unlocked the cuffs with a flick of his key. The ease with which he agreed made Ash wonder for a brief mont,
Was he actually being sincere about what he told ?
Even so, Ash kept his thoughts to himself and remained silent.
"Do you have any idea who the killer might be?" the Dwarf Captain asked, his expression turning serious, his eyes scanning Ash’s face as though searching for a hint of deceit.
"Uh—ah... I have my suspicions," Ash replied, rubbing his wrists where the tal had pressed into his skin. "I believe it’s so sort of demon. Though for now, it’s still only a suspicion."
"I see." The Captain’s response was brief, unreadable.
"Alright, give the item, and I will allow you to leave imdiately," the Dwarf Captain said, his voice carrying an edge of authority that left little room for argunt.
Ash shook his head. "I can’t. You might kill after getting the item, and I’d rather not die ....this young, at least. First let leave, then I’ll give you the item."
The words had barely left his mouth before the atmosphere shifted. The soldiers surrounding them tightened their grips, weapons rising in unison to aim directly at him. A heavy, unusual tension settled in the air, pressing down on the space between them.
I knew it, damn bastards....
***
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