Mira appeared very frustrated.

She sat in a chair, sighing repeatedly, feeling like a failure who had to hurriedly flee—this was not how she imagined things would go.

But evidently, the kingdom was no longer as she had imagined.

The blue dragon had opened the tower's access, creating a quiet room for the king to rest in.

He had lost the fiery anger he once had and had become silent.

At a glance, he seemed even older now.

It seemed he had expected this day long ago.

Maria whispered something to her father.

Sam walked out of the tower, holding his sword.

Mira raised her head to look at Lance. He furrowed his brows and looked serious.

The black dragon, Nathaniel, held the title of Duke in the human world, and he was soon to become the Regent Lord. This was definitely not what anyone had hoped to see.

Mira didn’t know what to do next. She and Maria had underestimated the kingdom’s situation.

The black dragon, Nathaniel, wanted to attack the tower.

Maria had clearly told the ministers in the royal court that the demon dragon was not in the tower, but they still insisted on attacking it.

Had Nathaniel deceived them?

It was possible. If he had tricked the human kingdom's ministers into attacking the tower to reclaim it, that made sense.

But humans were no match for dragons; no matter how many people came, they couldn’t stand against a dragon...

The demon dragon's defeat was just a pretext—what was Bonar's real goal?

"He wants to provoke a war and take the opportunity to bring demons into this world," Maria stood up and looked at Lance, then turned to Mira. "There are mages involved in this."

"The Magic Hub?" Mira’s eyes widened in surprise. If the Magic Hub was involved, she might understand why they had to attack the tower.

The tower was the dragon’s treasure vault, and it held many items that could be used as magical mediums. After the artificial crystals lost their effectiveness, the Magic Hub had to quickly find a new medium.

Maria's expression stiffened for a moment.

In another world, there had been no incident where Mira replaced Maria in entering the tower. So, in that world, the Magic Hub had more than ten powerful tower mages.

At the beginning of the demon invasion, these tower mages had provided a level of combat strength that the human kingdom’s combined army could not match, but they were also the reason for the eventual defeat in the war.

That world didn’t lack magical mediums, so the Magic Hub hadn’t been involved in the human kingdom’s attack on the tower.

At that time, the master of the tower was also a giant dragon. At first, people thought it was the demon dragon.

But in reality, the infighting within the dragon clan caused the demon dragon to lose control of the tower.

Inside the tower was a blue dragon with a peaceful nature.

At first, the giant dragon didn’t want to involve itself in a senseless war. It used magic to shield itself from the trouble humans brought.

It was at this time that humans, using the treasure within the tower as leverage, summoned mages from the Magic Hub.

The Magic Hub had been searching for a more powerful medium than the artificial crystals, and the demon dragon's treasure was the solution. Additionally, having a standing tower as a reference would be convenient for other high-level mages.

More than ten mages who had reached the tower level but had yet to create their own mage towers joined forces to break through the “demon dragon’s” barrier, forcing it to join the war.

However, by that time, the tower’s master was badly injured and unable to handle the simultaneous pressure from over a dozen mages. He quickly lost.

The tower became a spoil of war for the human coalition, and the mages took everything from the tower that could be used as a magical medium.

But the tower was not used for further study.

This war had been premeditated. They fought for the tower, for the last path left by the tower's former mages to the demons' mark on the other side.

"Lightning Pool," Lance understood the purpose now.

Nathaniel wanted to use the war to take control of the tower in the name of humanity and then use the Lightning Pool to bring demons from that world.

His expression darkened as he recalled the events when he fell to the base of the tower after being injured.

The blue dragon was the master of magic. No matter how intense or violent the magic, it was hard for it to harm Lance. But the Lightning Pool was different. The power from the other side of the Lightning Pool came from demons—it was a power as strong as nature but more treacherous.

It was an agitated heart of shadow, the greatest enemy of all living things.

That day, he was studying the magical patterns of the Lightning Pool, as he did regularly. For the blue dragon, this giant pool, capable of shredding mortals, posed no danger.

Lance had observed the Lightning Pool for ten years without incident.

But on that day, the pool exhibited unusual behavior. He had been searching for materials on a ladder when the sudden force from the pool caught him off guard, causing him to fall straight into the Lightning Pool.

Due to the pool’s "seal" property, even if Lance accidentally fell in, it wouldn't have caused much harm. But this time was different. While immersed in the thunder and lightning, he vaguely saw the image of a giant dragon soaring.

After meeting Nathaniel at the palace, he suddenly realized that the unusual behavior of the Lightning Pool was likely a signal that Nathaniel had forcibly breached the demon’s mark and come from another world.

Such a signal had likely occurred when Lance entered the demon’s mark, but at that time, he had been healing and hadn’t noticed the anomaly.

"Lightning Pool?" This was a term Lance had never mentioned before.

Mira knew that the tower contained many pools like this. These "pools" formed an extensive network within the tower, serving as pathways for free movement between worlds.

The library world, the ranch world, and the dream tree world all had such pools. They were entrances and exits to different worlds within the tower.

"The Lightning Pool is the only door that can neither be entered nor exited," Lance's expression darkened. If Nathaniel's target was indeed the Lightning Pool, he must have already been completely consumed by madness.

Maria spoke before Lance could continue. "But it can connect to the demon world."

Lance’s answer reminded her of events in another world.

After the tower’s master died, they occupied the tower, and the mages discovered a pool filled with powerful lightning magic at the top of the tower. The energy fluctuations emanating from it were dangerous yet alluring.

They thought they were the most powerful mages in the world and would not fear this lightning magic. But when the mages approached the Lightning Pool, the force flowing out was far more than just the visible lightning and audible thunder.

What was truly deadly was the demon’s power hidden beneath the storm.

Ordinary people couldn’t get close to the Lightning Pool, but mages, who weren’t afraid of lightning, became the best vessels for demons.

This was because their magic didn’t come from understanding nature's power but through vile rituals using mental energy. This dark source of power became the perfect means for demons to possess mages.

Demons drew power from the darkest aspects of human nature.

Now everything made sense. The butterfly effect triggered by Mira replacing Maria and entering the tower was becoming their chance to prevent disaster from striking again.

"Yes," Lance’s gaze fell on Maria. "Is the world in the mirror the same?"

Maria nodded.

"Yes," she looked at Lance, then at Mira. After hesitating for a moment, Maria’s voice grew firm again.

"Mr. Lance, do you know how to stop the demons from entering the human world?"

In that instant, all eyes in the room were on Lance.

Mira was also eager to know if the learned Lance knew the key to solving the crisis.

"The demon's heart, nature’s power, the hero’s soul, and mental energy," he spoke the four terms. "Only another world’s heart can influence the heart of a world. The current source of the demons is sealed by Cecilia, the last blue dragon queen’s heart scales. The heart scales of the blue dragon are essentially the heart of the world."

At this point, he shook his head.

"I can't stop it."

Compared to Cecilia, Lance was just a newly matured blue dragon. While he was fond of magic and had significant skill in it, he was far from capable of fully understanding the mysteries of nature or turning his heart scales into something that could rival the heart of the world.

What remained were the hero’s soul and mental energy.

Maria looked at Mira, and Mira returned her gaze.

The princess knew where Mira’s strength came from, and Mira understood that as a hero, Maria already possessed her own hero’s soul.

Relying solely on the hero’s soul was not enough. Maria had already tried and knew that courage alone could not change tragedy. She had already resigned herself to sacrifice, but Mira...

A moment of struggle flashed across her face. Her experiences in another world had revealed the reason for Mira’s existence. It was a cruel truth, and she had no right to demand that Mira also prepare for sacrifice.

Maria took a step back.

"Is there only this idea?"

Lance nodded.

The power of demons was strange. They never sought to destroy for a purpose; they destroyed for destruction's sake. It was because of this characteristic that their actions couldn’t be explained with any logic and could only be restricted by the lowest rules of this world.

The power of demons came from an evil thought that flickered in the mind.

Whether human, elf, dwarf, goblin, dragon, or other creatures, as long as there was thought, the birth of evil thoughts could not be suppressed.

Perhaps learning kindness and morality later wouldn’t turn these bad thoughts into actions, but as long as such thoughts existed, demons would draw power from them.

There was no way to stop or root this out.

The only way to deal with demons was to seal them. But Cecilia’s sacrifice had a big impact on Lance, and he instinctively resisted sacrificing part of himself to aid others.

The power of demons originated from thoughts. In theory, the best way to counteract them was with mental energy, which was also born from within.

This made Lance even more reluctant to help humans.

Mira was a vessel created by the Magic Hub using the mental energy discovered by goblins through some forbidden rituals.

Through her body, mages could use some mental energy to substitute for magical mediums. This was a complex and evil method. Using such power required the most primitive approach.

Lance didn’t want Mira to face such a future.

"The hero’s soul—you heroes should be familiar with it, right?" Lance looked at Maria, making a selfish choice.

Maria’s gaze moved between the blue dragon and Mira. She knew the implication of Lance’s words. If only they could use the hero’s soul.

She closed her eyes.

"How should we proceed?"

Lance steeled himself.

"Come with me."

Under the bluish-purple curtains, traces of magical energy swirling and emanating could be seen everywhere. The figures hurriedly passing by on the street could be distinguished by their different colors, signifying their identities.

Magical apprentices, teaching assistants, professors, archmages—different ranks corresponded to different colors.

Yet, the colors here were always shrouded in a layer of gray, an unbreakable seriousness and gloom.

The white-robed mage hurriedly walked along the stone-paved path, the sound of his boots tapping against the ground echoing.

Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator.

It was only when the white figure stopped in front of a building that the tapping sound ceased.

He stood there, adjusting his attire before gently knocking on the large door in front of him.

The third knock resounded.

The stone door slowly opened inward, heavy and sluggish.

The white-robed mage entered the building, his posture becoming more humble, more respectful.

This was the residence of the eight-ring mage Karl. After failing in his attempt to ascend the mage tower, he had been injured and had since stayed here to recover, avoiding visitors and refusing to teach.

Only this specially authorized white-robed caster was entrusted with delivering messages from outside the magic hub to the youngest eight-ring mage in its history.

Perhaps he would soon become a tower mage.

"Archmage," the white-robed mage respectfully handed over the message he had brought this time.

As he made the forward gesture, the scroll in his hand was gently lifted by a spell, floating upwards to the highest position.

Archmage Karl sat high above, glancing at him from the corner of his eye. The white robe, representing the eight-ring mage rank, had been replaced with a light gold one.

The white-robed mage suddenly trembled, which indicated he had successfully broken through his limits, becoming one capable of owning his own mage tower...

"The outside world is quite lively lately," Karl opened his eyes. The energy surge from his meditation dissipated into the surrounding air as his eyes shifted.

"Yes," the white-robed mage replied, "The union of the six great races has ended. There is new trouble from the human kingdom."

Karl nodded.

He wasn’t particularly concerned with such matters. His gaze focused on the white-robed mage.

"Still no news of her?" Karl inquired.

The white-robed mage knew who he was referring to.

He shook his head.

"Since Miss Mira entered the eastern kingdom's territory, we have had no news of her. However..." He paused for a moment. "Archmage, the Duke of Bona from the eastern kingdom recently expressed an intention to cooperate with the magic hub. Perhaps we can use him to find Miss Mira’s whereabouts."

Karl looked at him.

"The Duke of the eastern kingdom?" He appeared thoughtful. "Cooperate in what way?"

"Yes," the white-robed mage answered. "The royal council of the eastern kingdom recently dismissed the king's actual power, based on the founding emperor's laws, and appointed the Duke of Bona as the regent who controls the kingdom's power. But the Duke of Bona stated that any formal ceremonies or coronation will only be considered after he leads an expedition to capture the Dragon Tower."

"Capture the Dragon Tower?" Karl didn’t think highly of this plan. Humans had almost no chance against dragons. Even if they led tens of thousands of soldiers, it would only result in tens of thousands of bodies added to the dragon’s fire.

The fact that he dared to make such a plan clearly meant he had some support.

"Other archmages have already decided to join this human campaign against the dragons."

"Representing the magic hub?"

"Yes, they will fight under the name of the magic hub."

This was exactly what Karl had expected.

Ever since he lost track of "her," the other archmages in the magic hub had grown increasingly dissatisfied with him. While Karl appeared to be recovering in this building, he was actually avoiding the collective censure.

He was under house arrest here.

Karl chuckled softly. "For the medium in the Dragon Tower?"

"Most of the artificial mediums in the magic hub have already lost their effectiveness."

"I know." Karl had seen those ineffective medium crystals; the magic-nullifying stones inscribed with magical arrays had turned into complete waste, unable to filter the energy as before.

"The Logistics Department’s Willowp—they’ve found his whereabouts."

"Not yet, they’re still searching," the white-robed mage replied. "Most of the internal mages believe that Willowp tampered with this batch of materials, causing the artificial crystals to stop working." This was undoubtedly a self-deceptive claim. Not just this batch, but even the earlier manufactured and later delivered magic-nullifying stones had lost their effectiveness.

Too many mages were unwilling to admit that they couldn’t cast spells without their mediums.

Karl wasn’t surprised at all. The magic hub relied too heavily on magical mediums. He himself had been like that a long time ago. But after failing his attempt to become a tower mage, Karl realized the problem wasn’t with the mediums' strength, but with how casters had gradually forgotten the essence of magic during the casting process.

Once he attempted to reconnect with the essence of magic, it responded positively, and Karl became the new tower mage.

"Finding him won’t help," Karl said. "It’s better to stop and think about how to cast spells on your own next."

Karl understood the other archmages’ pursuit of mediums, but he wasn’t kind enough to share the method that had made him a tower mage. After all, those selfish individuals only cared about themselves.

"Continue searching for Mira’s whereabouts," Karl instructed the white-robed mage, then thought for a moment and added, "Go to taverns, docks, or brothels—anywhere that might house unidentified girls and inquire there."

"Archmage," the white-robed mage acknowledged. "I’ve heard that other archmages discovered some ways to cast spells again during this recent gathering."

"What?"

"Scroll magic."

"Lance." Mira appeared in Lance's bedroom.

"What did you show Maria?" Lance had taken Maria to the Thunder Cell, but he had insisted that Mira stay behind.

"The path to the other side of the Demon Scar," Lance replied.

"Why didn’t you bring me along?"

"It’s too dangerous."

Mira pouted, understanding that Lance was being cautious, but she was truly curious.

"Didn't we agree not to hide things from each other?" Mira stared down at her toes.

"I'll tell you my secret if you tell me yours. What do you say?" She suggested softly, a reluctant expression on her face.

Mira wanted Lance to figure out that she knew he was a dragon on his own—saying it out loud would spoil the fun. But she still wanted to know what Lance was hiding.

"Ah, so you lied to me when you said couples should be honest," Lance raised an eyebrow, looking at Mira.

"No, no." Mira lifted her head quickly and denied it.

Lance held back a laugh and continued to stare at her.

"Your denial sounds very guilty," he said.

It was a bit guilty.

Mira sighed. She wanted Lance to figure it out, but the situation didn’t seem right for playing guessing games.

Mira soon came up with another clever idea and moved closer to Lance.

"Lean down," she said.

"Why lean down?"

"Just lean down first, then ask why."

Lance chuckled helplessly and bent down, following her suggestion.

As he leaned down, his blue eyes filled with a smile got closer, and Mira instinctively held her breath.

Lance noticed her dazed expression, and his smile deepened.

"Mira, I've already bent down," Lance kindly reminded her.

Mira blinked. Two patches of red appeared on her cheeks, but she still forced herself to stay composed and acted out the scene she had imagined.

Mira quickly kissed both sides of Lance's face.

"Can you tell me now?" She lowered her head, trying to be cheeky.

Lance laughed.

"It looks like you’re hiding a big secret from me." Lance straightened up, looking down at Mira, who had her head down like an ostrich.

"No, I’m not." Mira retorted. It was just a small secret.

Lance came closer, and Mira was once again enveloped by his pleasant scent. He became more assertive.

"My secret is big," Lance said. "Just kissing your cheek won’t make me tell you."

"Lance, you’re becoming naughty. Who taught you that?"

"A succubus," Lance replied, taking the opportunity to pick Mira up.

Mira looked at him, her cheeks flushed, but her gaze was unshy, staring straight at him.

Lance leaned forward and kissed the corner of her lips before pressing his lips to Mira’s, seeking the long-awaited kiss.

Mira noticed that when Lance kissed her, he was initially very gentle, as if human-shaped Lance should give the feeling of a spring breeze. But gradually, the kiss would become more intense, and the scent would grow heavier, and his body temperature would rise.

At this moment, he was more like a blue dragon.

Mira liked this change. It was a very strange feeling. It was as if she had entered a dark valley, and amidst the winding paths, a glimmer of light suddenly appeared, wrapping her in its warmth.

This was the duality of Lance.

Sometimes she would be completely consumed by the light, even forgetting to breathe, forgetting where she was. But the embrace of the blue dragon gave her a sense of home.

Mira lightly rubbed her forehead against Lance’s chest.

The area over his chest was always warmer than anywhere else. She knew it was because beneath his clothes, there was a patch of scales that were different from the rest—his heart-protecting scales.

The blue dragon wanted to kiss her again, but Mira evaded him.

"Enough kissing. You still have to answer my question about the Thunder Cell. I want to go see it too." Despite the chaos, Mira didn’t forget her main goal and kept reminding him of what was important.

Kisses shouldn’t be wasted.

Lance chuckled darkly.

"What about you? Your secret? Aren’t you hiding something from me?"

"I want you to guess," Mira said honestly. She reached out and gently caressed Lance’s chest, feeling the powerful heartbeat beneath the heart-protecting scales.

"What can I do if you’re a fool?" Mira complained.

"There’s not a single clue." Lance said, "How am I supposed to guess?"

"I just guessed on my own," Mira whispered. "Though I had a bit of a clue. But those clues were things I figured out myself. What can I say? You can’t even lie well."

Mira felt her fingers glide over Lance’s skin, slipping under his clothes and pressing against the dragon’s burning muscles.

The heartbeat under the heart-protecting scales was so powerful, its rhythm almost creating a magical pulse.

Lance immediately grabbed Mira’s hand. As his palm enclosed her hand, a thought suddenly flashed through his mind.

Mira noticed the tension in his muscles.

In the blink of an eye, Lance’s face displayed a surprised, flustered expression. He stared at Mira, opened his mouth, but couldn’t utter a full sentence.

Mira pouted. This was nothing like what she had imagined!

Lance pulled her close, wrapping her tightly in his arms.

Instead of trying to stop Mira’s mischief, he guided her, pressing her hand against the heart-protecting scales.

"Smart little troublemaker," Lance said without looking at her, realizing she had guessed some dangerous truths.

"How did you guess?" Lance asked.

"I already told you, you’re bad at lying," Mira recalled Lance’s confusing words, and after thinking carefully, she realized the inconsistencies.

"Anyway, I figured it out," Mira said, taking out a scale hanging from her neck.

"That’s because of this," Mira explained. Maria had reminded her that it was a scale from the blue dragon, and only then did she connect the dots.

"Did you pull it off yourself?" Mira touched the scale.

"Mm," Lance replied. There had been no other suitable option, and it just seemed like the thing to do at the time.

"Didn’t it hurt?" Mira frowned. Although she had guessed it before, now that it was confirmed, she still felt surprised. Just imagining the sensation made her think it must have been painful.

Lance was truly a fool.

"It didn’t hurt." The blue dragon answered. He thought for a moment, recalling that at the time, he was recovering and his new scales were growing. Instead of pain, what he felt more was the itch as the scales emerged from his skin.

"It was itchy."

"Don’t do that again next time."

"There’s enough medium with just one." The blue dragon didn’t understand Mira’s meaning. "The caster still relies more on their own power."

Mira felt herself getting angry, pretending she was about to bite Lance’s head off.

"I’m not talking about pulling scales off; I mean don’t hurt yourself."

Lance paused for a moment, chuckling twice. "So you were concerned about me?"

"I wasn’t!" Mira snorted, pulling her hand from Lance’s chest. His heat was so intense it made her hand sweat.

Recently, Mira had read a lot about dragons and knew exactly what was on their minds at times like these.

Lance was a bit slow, but after all, he was still a dragon.

The blue dragon picked her up and started walking towards the bed.

"What are you doing!" Mira protested.

"Sleeping."

"I'm not sleeping until you tell me your secret."

"I already guessed it myself." Lance tried to dodge. "You didn’t tell me."

"I reminded you." She had already made her move.

"That was just you acting impulsively, not reminding me."

"Nonsense."

Mira began to sulk, quickly wrapping herself up in the blanket, curling up into a ball.

Outside the house was a volcano. She had nowhere to run, so she could only stay put and hold her ground with Lance.

"You’ve already kissed me, you can’t do this."

She pulled the blanket tightly around herself. "If you keep this up, I’ll go sleep with Maria tonight."

"Maria won’t sleep with you."

"She will. Maria and I are best friends."

Lance fell silent.

He sat down, watching Mira, who was wrapped in her blanket.

"Mira, I think it’s for the best that I don’t tell you," he said softly. "I’m not trying to hide anything from you on purpose."

His tone was serious, though quiet. Mira could tell that what Lance was hiding was different from what she was hiding.

She wanted Lance to guess that she knew he was a blue dragon—after all, it was just a little game between them. But what Lance was hiding seemed to be something far more significant.

Mira poked her head out from under the blanket.

Her hair was all messy, and Lance reached out to help her fix it.

"Is this why you went to the gathering?" Mira asked Lance.

She had initially asked to go to the black market to obtain materials for the magic circle, but after realizing that the circle couldn’t harm black dragons, she lost interest in the black market.

It was Lance who brought it up again at the gathering. He had briefly left to search for remnants of goblin descendants.

Mira understood that these events were connected, and it all had to do with her, which was why Lance had that expression now.

She slightly tilted her head.

"It’s related to me, but it’s not a good thing?"

Lance nodded.

It involved psychic powers, artificial mediums, the magic hub, and other matters related to Mira, all pointing to one inevitable conclusion.

"I want to hear it," Mira said after thinking for a moment.

But this time, it wasn’t out of curiosity. It was because everything was connected to her, and she had every right to know.

Lance was hiding this for her sake, and Mira understood, but she still hoped to know everything, even if it wasn’t pleasant.

Mira reached out her arms toward Lance.

"Hold me," she said. She had a feeling she might cry, and if that happened, she wanted Lance to be the one to hold her.

The blue dragon held her gently, laying her down on the bed.

"Like telling a bedtime story," Mira looked up at Lance, her eyes curving into a smile. No matter what had happened or what would happen, nothing could destroy that smile.

Lance couldn’t help but touch her eyes. The soft lashes brushed against his lips, a gentle sound filling the air.

But Lance wasn’t about to tell a bedtime story; instead, it was one tragedy after another.

The goblin city, the best traders in the world. The clan's inventors had created dozens of different magic arrays based on the flow of energy, engraving them onto the right type of stones to create various magical mediums.

This was the very beginning of artificial mediums.

The goblins quickly accumulated a fortune with this skill. But just like how the artificial mediums for the magic hub required Magic-Nullifying Stones from the Ghillian mines, the goblins needed raw materials to make their medium crystals.

They didn’t cooperate with humans but instead chose their close cousins, the dwarves.

The dwarves were mostly simple-minded and physically strong. They weren’t good at business, so as long as the goblins paid enough to buy materials for their brewing, these bearded men wouldn’t care if they were deliberately underpriced.

The cooperation between the two races had always been stable. The goblins would buy enough ore from the dwarves at a satisfactory price, then turn those ores into mediums and sell them to mages from various tribes.

Until one day, a strange stone appeared in the batch of minerals. A drunken dwarf had mixed this unusual stone with the other normal ores, but the goblin inspecting the goods immediately noticed something extraordinary about this gem.

They didn't tell the dwarves but took the extraordinary gemstone at the usual price they paid for such acquisitions.

"The Stone of the Soul." Lance introduced the name of the stone to Mira, and when he said those words, his arm involuntarily tightened.

Mira paused. She wasn't surprised by the previous events, but Lance's reaction revealed the unusual nature of the Stone of the Soul.

Mira gently nuzzled his neck, trying to help Lance relax with the gesture.

"You smell so good, Lance." Mira purposely brushed her nose against his neck, causing him to shudder involuntarily.

"Stop messing around." Lance ruffled her hair, his body shifting from one kind of tension to another.

It was like the heart of the shadow deep in the Ghillian mine. The Stone of the Soul was a pure collection of energy, untainted by any external impurities.

As the heart of the world, it itself was a powerful medium, requiring no wasteful magic arrays to corrupt its purity. But goblins couldn't use the stone freely—it was too pure.

However, goblin tribes had never been afraid of challenges. As an intelligent race, they preferred to solve problems with their clever minds.

For a long time, the wisest among them gathered, trying all sorts of methods, until they finally found a way to channel the energy of the Stone of the Soul.

Just like magic requires a medium, the Stone of the Soul was pure energy, and with the help of a medium, one could wield its power.

Finding an ancient force like the Stone of the Soul wasn't easy.

One goblin sage suggested using the bodies of the dead as a medium. Death, like the primal force of the world, nourished the ancient.

His suggestion was not accepted, but it guided them toward the final answer.

The goblins decided to use newly born life as the medium, hoping this method could awaken the power within the Stone of the Soul.

But just as they were about to carry out their final experiment, humans, who had heard of it from somewhere, interrupted their progress.

The hatred between humans and goblins had existed since they first competed for business. But this time, the actions of the magic hub far exceeded the goblins' expectations.

These greedy little green-skinned creatures liked money and deceit, occasionally resorting to forceful trade, but they never considered wiping out their competitors entirely.

The situation that day was brutal. Humans sent their most powerful spellcasters, unleashing their strongest magic. They destroyed the goblin stronghold, took the gemstone, and stole the method for using it.

Thus began the greatest artificial medium in the history of the magic hub.

In all the stereotypes, girls seemed always pure, spotless, and inseparably innocent.

The magic hub had nurtured countless such girls, using artificial insemination to try and cultivate a suitable medium. Many children shared Mira's fate, but there were many failures too.

They succeeded. Finally, a little girl was able to bear the full power of the Stone of the Soul. The stone transformed into pure energy and merged into her body.

Carl named her Mira, meaning "miracle."

Lance's voice trailed off.

He watched Mira, who had stopped smiling but didn't seem surprised.

Yes, after reading that letter, she already knew much. Although the specific details were unclear, Mira's imagination could vividly picture the unknowns.

"You've seen my letter." Mira finally understood why Lance was trembling. He had opened her heart and seen the letter that appeared in her mind.

The letter had written "use."

"I know what 'use' means." Mira closed her eyes.

She had once seen the true book of demons in the magic hub's library.

The book stated that on the other side of the demon's mark, there were terrifying sacrificial rituals.

They would send carefully chosen demon girls to the lord. The lord would grant them magical power, and they would share the power bestowed by the demon lord, enjoying the body, devouring the flesh, and under the wild intertwining of hunger and lust, the result would be the demon's destructive instinct.

The demon book recorded unimaginable consciousness. Mira had once opened this book out of curiosity, but later, it disappeared and could no longer be found.

Were they going to sacrifice the princess to the magic dragon? At first, she thought it was laughable.

Mira wasn't afraid. She had seen the hell described in the texts, and when she entered the tower, she was just trying to survive.

The tower wasn't hell.

He was Lance.