If someone were to ask Kierra about her most brutal fights in general, one of them would undoubtedly be the Ovi subjugation.

The thing before becoming her summon was truly a menace. Not only did it not have a core—the thing that stores a lich's soul—like others of its kind, but it also had a terrifying ability to absorb virtually every malicious thing in the world.

Facing against Ovi, the world had a realistic chance of being destroyed by it.

Worse, at that point, Kierra, one of the two pillars leading the world, hadn't met Cosmos just yet. The fight was brutally difficult, yet the ones emerging victory were still Kierra and her allies. Though, they did not go unscathed either.

Nevertheless, after making Ovi her summon, Kierra's fame rose to another height, and she became even stronger, effectively eliminating all competition if they had not disappeared yet.

As it stood, Ovi had become a crucial part of Kierra's strength. Kierra herself was confident that it would be easy to handle this 'internal demon' thing. Moreover, if one thought about it, weren't internal demons just insecurities?

'What a joke.'

Kierra let out a sigh, and in front of all the curious people, she quietly called her subordinate.

''Ovi.''

'''' !!! ''''

In an instant, an ominous black aura spreads across the room. It sent chills down the people present, and this effect was only further enhanced when they saw two raging red 'pupils' appear in the eye sockets of the deer skull.

The maids were immediately knocked out, leaving only the abbot, the sect leader of Mount Hua, and a barely conscious Feng Ling. As Ovi manifested fully, the abbot nervously spoke up.

''Miss Kierra... please explain yourself.'' He said, hand on his staff.

''I don't see the need to,'' Kierra replied coldly.

''...''

Cold sweat ran down the abbot's face. On the other hand, unlike the abbot, the sect leader of Mount Hua was quick to judge.

''So you were with the evils all along!''

He said as he drew his sword, pointing at Kierra. At this point, the archwizard, who was genuinely worried about the state of the abbess, decided that it was not worth wasting time with this guy. But it would be hard to knock him out without affecting the abbess right now.

Soon, the course of action was decided.

''Ovi, examine her.''

[Yes, master]

Heeding the call from its master, Ovi quickly deployed a dome-like shield to isolate the abbess together with it completely. Kierra, meanwhile, turned to the duo.

'''' ... ''''

The tension in the room was high. When the two were on the verge of attacking Kierra, they heard a sigh from the archwizard.

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''Do you feel fear?''

Suddenly, Kierra asked in a mellow voice. The two didn't answer.

''I shall take that as a yes.'' Kierra continued. ''Use your brain for half a second. If I wanted to harm you lot, you would be buried deep underground by now.''

''...''

After a considerable amount of time had passed, the abbot finally lowered his guard, followed by the other man. Just like so, the four spent a little more in this awkward atmosphere, but Kierra didn't care much.

[Master, report]

''Hm.''

[A parasite-type demon was detected in this woman's body]

''Danger level?''

[B+]

''Quite weak, hm.''

For reference, a demon graded B+ was in the realm of Master back in Kierra's world, and to her, it was basically a toddler.

[Would you like me to absorb it?]

As Kierra was about to say yes and be done with it, the abbot hurriedly interjected.

''Wait! She needs to overcome her demon to obtain enlightenment!''

''And where is the proof that she can do it?'' Kierra shot back.

The archwizard was confused. If one actually used their brain, they would immediately notice that the option of leaving the abbess be was stupidly risky. These people could live for thousands of years anyway, so why rush for a power-up?

''But if you don't resolve her mental crisis, the demon will definitely appear again.''

''...''

(ꐦ𝅒_𝅒)

'These absolute babies, I swear...'

''Fine. Fine.'' Kierra waved her hand annoyedly. ''I shall resolve her mental crisis, yes.''

Understanding its master's intent, Ovi opened a gate leading to the abbess's inner realm, and Kierra headed right in. Before entering, she didn't forget to leave a comment.

''Don't bother doing anything to Ovi. You guys wouldn't be able to scratch it in a million years.''

With that, she gave herself to the gate.

Upon her vision's resurgent, a bustling scene of a town greeted her. She was now standing in the middle of a busy road—people chatting, walking around, living their lives—and it seemed somewhat similar.

'This...'

She could recognize it. The shape of the mountains in the distance and the fact that this was Mie Xieren's world made it quite obvious that this place was Emei.

Now, Kierra had visited people's minds before, and the most important thing to do was always to find the owner of the world. They were the key to resolving everything, most of the time.

So naturally, Kierra spread her mana around and soon found Mie Xieren, although she seemed quite different.

Sitting in the corner of an alleyway was a gloomy-looking kid who looked to be around nine or ten in age. When Kierra approached her, she widened her eyes.

''H-How did you find me...?'' She exclaimed.

''Of course I did,'' Kierra replied.

''...''

''...''

Now that Kierra thought about it, she was terrible at dealing with children. Nevertheless, she pulled out a matcha-flavored candy from her space storage and put it in the kid's hand.

''You look sad. Have it.'' She said.

''Is this poison?'' The child tilted her head.

''Maybe.''

''At least deny it...''

The child tossed it into her mouth anyway. As she enjoyed the strange yet delicious candy, Kierra sat down beside her.

''What's your name?'' Kierra asked.

''...Mie Xieren. You?''

''Kierra Scarlett Aspenova.''

''What a difficult name.''

''That's your issue, not mine.''

''You're so mean, too.''

''...''

''But every adult acts like that anyway.'' Mie Xieren laughed bitterly. ''Always pushing responsibilities, always disingenuous...''

''Mind telling me what is going on?'' Kierra interjected. ''I am new here.''

''What...? You came here without any information... well, whatever.'' Mie Xieren cracked the candy in her mouth and chewed it intently before swallowing. ''...This sect... is nearing its doom.''

Hearing a kid this young talking about big problems like this was a huge red flag. It usually meant that the child was raised incorrectly, leading to it being forced to adapt to the world at an early age.

''Due to internal corruption, Emei is deteriorating.'' Mie Xieren continued. ''People hoarding cultivation resources, abandoning education, infighting...''

She then looked at Kierra in the eyes, her mouth smiling lightly.

''If you want to find a place to live, I suggest a place like Wudang or the capital, anywhere but here.''

''Have you lost hope in Emei?''

''...Maybe.''

Yet, this woman would become the abbess of the sect and raise it to the top. At this point, Kierra had a good idea of Mie Xieren's problem, but she still needed to observe more.

''Mie Xieren, was it?''

''Huh?''

''Take me around the sect.''