Chapter 166: Her Fear
[Serena’s Mental World]
"Huh, where is this...?" Serena whispered, her voice barely audible as she slowly opened her eyes and looked around in confusion, her breath catching in her throat.
She found herself standing in the center of a large square, surrounded by towering buildings that cast long, ominous shadows under the night sky. Her arms and legs were spread apart and tightly bound with thick iron cuffs, chained to a tall iron pole behind her.
The position left her completely exposed, unable to move, her limbs straining with the weight of her own body.
Her clothes were unfamiliar. Rough, torn, stained with grime and blood, they clung to her like a shroud. Prison garments, tattered and humiliating.
The once-respected figure of the Elf Queen now looked no different than a condemned criminal.
Surrounding her on all sides was a sea of people.
The same elves she had grown up among, the same ones she was meant to rule and protect.
And every single one of them stared at her with expressions twisted by anger, hatred, and disdain.
They were shouting at her.
"Kill her!"
"She brought this curse on us!"
"It’s all her fault!"
"She was never fit to be Queen!"
"The moment she was chosen, everything began to fall apart!"
"She is cursed! A walking disaster!"
"And even the Great Mother is silent now... because of her!"
"Everything went wrong because of her!"
Each word pierced her heart, sharper than any blade. She blinked rapidly, as if trying to wake from a nightmare, but the vision did not vanish. Her knees trembled, but the chains forced her to stay upright.
Her lips quivered as she tried to speak, to explain, to ask for mercy or understanding.
"I-I..." she stammered, her voice barely escaping her throat.
–Splash!
A ripe, red tomato smashed into her face, its juice dripping down her cheek. The force made her head jerk backward.
And that was just the beginning.
Another hit followed. Then another. Shoes, moldy vegetables, clumps of dirt, even something that reeked like spoiled meat and animal waste.
They hurled everything they could find at her, as if venting every ounce of anger and hatred in their hearts. Her body shook from each hit, her thin clothes absorbing blood, bruises, and filth. She cried out, but her voice was drowned in the chaos.
No one listened.
She saw faces in the crowd. Faces she recognized. Elders. Children. Fellow warriors. Friends.
They were all shouting. Laughing. Spitting.
She could not understand it.
It’s not my fault...
I don’t even know why this is happening...
I did everything I could. I stayed in the library day and night, trying to decipher Life Magic. I never gave up...
It’s not my fault the Great Mother won’t respond...
Why won’t anyone believe me?
I didn’t bring misfortune. I never wanted this...
Why is everyone turning against me...?
Why am I being punished...?
Her vision blurred, tears pouring down like broken glass falling from her heart. Her legs gave out, but the cuffs kept her standing, stretched like a sinner beneath the sun.
And her cries turned into sobs.
Her mind began to collapse under the weight of despair.
At this time, her mind was completely closed off. She was trapped, facing the one fear she had never wanted to become true.
That was when a voice echoed in her head.
[It is all your fault, kekeke... why do you think this is happening? It’s quite simple.]
The voice was filled with nothing but pure malice. It wanted nothing more than to make Serena crumble. To break her spirit. To make her blame herself.
[Because you are cursed.]
The words struck her like cold iron against bare skin.
[Your mother died right after giving birth to you. Your father followed just two years later, killed inside a dungeon.]
[Your elder brother, the one who used to carry you on his shoulders, he died too, didn’t he? A sudden heart attack. So young. So full of life.]
[Kekeke.]
Serena felt like her heart was being strangled by invisible chains. Every word from that voice squeezed tighter around her chest, choking her hope.
[Then, when you were chosen as the next Queen, the reigning King met his death. And not long after, the World Tree fell into a deep slumber.]
[You still think this isn’t your fault?]
[Everything began to rot the moment you were born.]
[And you still dare to say you are innocent.]
"No, no, it’s not..." Serena whispered, her voice cracking with pain. "What did I do wrong? I only wanted to live a better life... I only wanted to make my people happy..."
"How could that be my fault?"
[Still denying it? Then maybe you’ll only understand when your precious aunt dies too.]
That single line struck straight through her heart, deeper than anything else. Her aunt, the one who had raised her with gentle hands and endless love. Her mother, her father, her teacher, her family. Her everything.
Her body froze.
Her eyes lost all focus.
And slowly, piece by piece, her sanity began to crumble. Her mind drifted further into the dark.
She was being pulled into a place from which no light returned.
Just when she was on the edge, just about to cross the point of no return.
Everything around her shattered.
Loud and sharp, like glass exploding. The people vanished. The sky broke apart. The ground fell into fragments.
Even the heavy chains that had held her disappeared like mist.
And there, standing in front of her, was a figure.
He had his back turned to her, but his entire body was wrapped in golden light. That light crackled like wild thunder, untamed and loud, shaking the darkness apart.
In that moment, her breath caught in her throat.
She remembered.
It was all an illusion.
A rush of air escaped her lungs as her shoulders trembled. She inhaled deeply, her vision swimming with the memory of what she had just endured. Her hands clenched at her sides, trying to stay strong.
Her eyes, now glistening with unshed tears, softened.
Thank you...
She didn’t speak it out loud. But she whispered it in her heart. A silent, grateful thought that she knew would somehow reach him.
But this was not the time to stop. She still had her role to play.
She wiped her eyes and raised her staff once more.
"I won’t be shaken again."
Without hesitation, she launched another barrage of spells, drawing the attention of the spirits toward herself once more, doing everything she could to open a path for Ash to reach the heart.
All of this—her breakdown, her battle within, and her return—had taken place in only a few seconds.
Meanwhile, Ash was now only eight meters away from the demonic heart. He had not stopped running, his body moving with precise control as he pressed forward.
At one point, he unleashed the aura of the Primordial Core, hoping it would suppress the suffocating pressure that was radiating from the heart.
It did help to some extent, nullifying the fear-inducing presence for a moment. But even then, Ash could tell something was off.
His aura, which once towered like a mountain, now felt smaller, more fragile compared to before, while the demonic heart’s presence remained just as oppressive, if not more.
This was the first time Ash had ever witnessed the aura of the Primordial Core getting suppressed like this.
His expression grew grim. If even the Primordial Core’s aura was being shrunk, then it meant only one thing — the enemy was either unbelievably powerful or its presence alone defied reason.
Seven meters remained.
He glanced ahead. Teleportation was out of the question. The number of spirits surrounding the heart made it impossible to find a single open space. His skill wouldn’t work unless there was at least a place to stand.
He continued running straight through the dense wall of spirits. His movements were precise, and his blade, Eclipse, danced wildly in his hand as he swung it left and right like a madman, cutting down anything that dared to block his path.
Then it happened.
A sudden flash of darkness.
Around the heart, large black and red magic circles began to appear. They were massive in size and far more intricate than any human magic circles he had ever seen. The lines glowed with twisted symbols, and the energy pouring out from them distorted the air.
Within a single moment, from twenty of those massive circles, a wave of reddish-black fire was unleashed. It wasn’t just fire. It was something more dangerous, more vile.
A deep, cracked voice followed, each word feeling like a curse.
"You... are... the... same... rat... that... appeared... before. Die."
There was malice in every syllable. The voice was broken and unnatural, as though multiple corrupted beings were speaking as one.
Ash’s head remained clear even when he heard those words, but same was not true for Serena, blood gushed out from her ears and nose.
"Hellfire."
The flames surged forward like a crashing tsunami.
Ash’s legs were already pulsing with lightning. Eclipse in his hand was coated with life mana, and his head was still under the effect of Lightning Reflex. Inside, he had reinforced his body with Lightning mana, focusing on his legs and arms for speed and strength.
Six meters remained.
He narrowed his eyes as the massive wave of hellfire rushed toward him.
Is this that Hellfire?
He let out a breath, steadying his mind.
"I guess I’ll have to take some damage this time... but before that, let’s try cutting it down."
He kicked away the nearest spirit and slammed his foot onto the ground with full force.
Just like how he had earlier fused warrior skills and spells to enhance Lightning Step, he had done something similar with Step of Verdiction.
He believed in combining abilities to bring out even more powerful effects, rather than relying on them separately.
{Step of Verdiction}
{Lightning Bloom}
He activated both at the same time. The strain on his mana was enormous. One of his mana cores dropped to barely one-fourth of its full capacity. But that didn’t matter right now.
A massive collision erupted in front of him.
The surge of life mana and lightning clashed violently against the tide of demonic fire, resulting in a huge explosion. The sound cracked through the air like a divine hammer.
Flames, debris, and energy waves filled the space around him, but Ash did not stop. He pushed forward.
Omni Thought..
After activating his skill, he thought inwardly.
I’m relying on this skill more than I should. But what choice do I have? It gives me just enough time to think clearly in situations like this.
Through the flying debris and the burning winds, Ash continued moving forward. His body was taking damage — the hellfire had burned parts of his skin, and his clothes were torn in places. Even though the two spells he used helped counter the fire, the strength of the demonic flames was still terrifying.
He clenched his teeth.
"Whoever this heart belongs to... their power is not simple."
Back when the heart had first revealed its presence, he had felt it trying to invade his mind. Fortunately, the Rune of Knowledge had blocked the intrusion.
It was only then that Ash had released his Primordial Core aura, remembering Serena was still nearby and could also be affected.
His instincts had been correct.
Five meters remained.
His last attack had cleared out most of the surrounding spirits, giving him just enough room to breathe. But it had also consumed a large chunk of his mana, so repeating such a move was not an option.
If his mana dropped to zero, he would lose all his options if something unexpected happened.
Four meters remained.
The dust slowly cleared from his path.
And then, he saw it.
Two eyes appeared in the darkness. Massive, glowing red eyes, larger than anything he had ever encountered. They were fixed directly on him, unmoving and aware.
What... is this?
For the first time in a while, Ash felt real shock.
But instead of fear, a smile appeared on his lips.
"This is getting interesting. Is it an illusion? Or maybe some kind of projection?"
***