Laluri furrowed her brows, confused. Does that mean he wasn't worried she was a dark witch?

"I don't want to hear that word again." Abdin went on. "And I will punish whoever calls you a witch in this castle again, with my own hands. Now, I want you to tell me how you saw me earlier. I was using an invisibility skill and was rendered completely invisible. But you saw me, even though you didn't have any cultivation, and the cultivators present couldn't see me."

Abdin was quite curious about this. Even though Juwaira and her team had suppressed their cultivation, they still had the prowess of foundation establishment experts. Four among them had the prowess of core formation experts. But they couldn't see through his disguise. Laluri did. Effortlessly.

The young woman was quiet for some time before she said, "I see things ever since I was little."

Abdin squeezed his eyes shut. Things?

The young woman started crying at that moment. Her youthfulness, the ragged appearance, and the tears flowing down her face... It was a helpless sight.

Abdin moved closer and put a comforting hand on her shoulder. "Don't force yourself if you don't want to talk about it now. We can continue later, perhaps tomorrow or some other time. Okay?"

The young girl wiped her tears and looked Abdin in the eyes. "No one has ever shown me this much kindness since I set out. You are the only person to tell me you want me."

Abdin's eyes widened. The girl might have misunderstood him. He never said he wanted her - or perhaps he did - but that wasn't what he meant. What he meant was he wanted her to be sold to him.

"Ehm... That is..."

"Thank you," she said, interrupting him. Abdin frowned slightly. A slave had interrupted him. But he could look past it. After all, he planned to free the girl at the end of their conversation.

Seemingly oblivious to his cries and intentions, the young woman went on, "I am going to give you a chance to choose the way you die. I promise to follow your words strictly."

He heard her words, but it took a while before he understood them. He stared at her with furrowed brows. She was still tearful and as pitiable as ever.

He drew his hand away from her shoulder and withdrew away from her, at the same time surreptitiously wielding his cultivation base. "Explain your statement. Your words would determine the severity of your punishment."

The woman's face changed and the tears stopped flowing. Her brows furrowed and her face transformed into a completely different mask. The change was instant. An evil pol emanated from her body and her eyes became fully bloodshot.

"I have already decided to kill you some time ago. But your compassion towards me pushed me into giving you a choice. Understand that I am never thrilled about repeating words."

Her voice had changed in just a little time. Unlike the cool and weak voice, it was now icy and full of darkness. It was entirely bereaved of softness. Its sound alone made Abdin's hair stand on ends. Whatever it was he was thinking about the girl's situation a little while ago was now changed. She was a dark witch. That was why princess Juwaira checked on him. She came to warn him. And this was also why Denyanu was adamant to give her to him.

Abdin breathed in. "I would be lying if I say I am not surprised. You must be commended for deceiving my eyes, few have ever managed to pull it off. Although, I must say you have run out of luck."

"Really?"

She said tilting her head as though amused. One could swear she wasn't that pitiful girl from before. Sheer deceit and cunning.

"I am Laluri Nánata," she said. Abdin could swear she wanted to sigh but she didn't. "It is abominable in my tribe for life to kill another life without introducing oneself first."

Without asking for his name or giving him the chance to think, she threw him a longish weapon that had appeared in her hand at that same moment.

Abdin's reflexes were far beyond ordinary. Before the weapon left her hand, he had removed a mirror from his bag of holding and thrown it upwards. The mirror transformed into a wall and shielded him completely.

The longish weapon, which looked like a rope before, transformed into a serpent. The snake clashed with the mirror and both of them exploded. But at the same time, Abdin's right hand exploded, falling off of his body.

"This is the reward of the arrogant." Laluri shrugged. Because of her compassion for him, she gave the man a chance to choose his end. But he displayed the lack of respect humans were known for.

"I remember now." Abdin pointed at the young woman with his remaining hand. This wasn't the first or second time he had lost a hand. He was used to the pain. "The Nánata tribe!" He exclaimed. "You are from the Nánata tribe. That is why they call you a dark witch."

Laluri smiled. "Knowing this might help you in hell," she said and unleashed three snakes at once. There was no knowing where she produced the snakes as she didn't seem to be carrying any bag of holding.

If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

During the initial attack, the mirror and the snake clashed and destroyed each other. But then his whole right arm that wasn't in the way of the explosion ended up exploding and falling off.

It was the same arm with which he touched the woman earlier, so he could guess what happened.

Having come to a decision, he removed three mirrors and threw them upwards. Each of them faces a serpent. And all three exploded upon contact.

But just like before, it was his body parts that exploded. His two legs and the remains of his other arm exploded. The whole room was sleek with blood, while Laluri stood aside watching him dying.

She gave a small sigh and shook her head. "My offer still stands. You can still choose the way you prefer to die."

"When I touched you... That was when you poisoned me." Abdin stammered. "Right, young witch?" He talked with great effort because of the blood he was losing, but there was still no sign of fear in his eyes.

"Don't be sad, I'll take good care of your castle and you should be proud to die at the hands of a Nánata even in hell." She said to change the topic instead of replying.

Her glowing red eyes were the last thing he could remember. This was the first time he died in a long time. And he died at the hands of the most unexpected person.

***

The next time he opened his eyes, he was standing in the forest.

[You died at the hands of the enemies. You have lost three and a half years of pol.]

Abdin frowned. He had speedrun the loop by managing to escape with more than seven years worth of lifespan. But he mostly lost two years or less whenever he died at the hands of human cultivators. How did he lose three and a half now?

That only indicated the strength of the skill used against him. He was lucky he'd created a save point just before he summoned the castle. He would be returning to the same forest no matter how many times he was killed or where, as long as he had enough cultivation to support the process.

His ability to create save points in time was an unknown rank skill that also came from the castle. He was potentially immortal since every time he died, he would be returned to his last save point. But the cost was too severe. Although this skill was the reason he was still alive despite the dangers he had faced before, it was also the one siphoning off his pol. It was the reason he couldn't progress his cultivation. And he had to walk around every day anticipating death because he would run out of lifespan.

But, this time around, he would break out of the prison. Everything had been going according to plan until that girl...

The face of a certain slave girl came to his mind.

"Laluri!" He clenched his teeth as if biting the name. He had measured everything up to the point he would achieve a thousand years of pol. He would normally not die up to that time. Who would have thought that a single slave could ruin his first run? To be honest, the loop as a whole was a success. He had escaped with more longevity than the loop could take away. But this girl was infuriating.

The Nánata was an ancient tribe. No one knows how far back they started. It was the sole tribe known to Abdin that never meddled in world politics. There was this old competition between the cultivation sects, the royals, and the clergy. Every major tribe could be categorized under these three sections. But not Nánata. They maintained their sovereignty for countless years. And still, little was known of them.

Since it was normal to tag anyone with an out-of-the-ordinary ability or any strange cultivation as a witch belonging to the dark side, it was not surprising that Laluri was also called a witch. The name Laluri probably didn't mean 'problem' in whatever language Nánata spoke. Or perhaps it did. Abdin didn't know and didn't care.

The most important thing was how he was going to do away with the girl. All his schemes right now were hinged on princess Juwaira's team. Only they had the means, pol, and influence he needed. He mustn't change his schemes for just one person. It wasn't even a question he would consider.

Laluri had joined the team in the past three months. He couldn't exactly say what their relationship was, but from the look Juwaira gave her, and how Denyanu had tried to come between them, it was far from good, or at least it wasn't that deep yet. So killing her shouldn't ruin his relationship with them. Perhaps, he might even save them from whatever evil plots she was scheming on them.

But any cultivator that was capable of suppressing Juwaira's team was not to be dismissed easily. Abdin knew them and knew how strong they were. Laluri wouldn't have been able to get close to them if she hadn't very strong cultivation. Still, he was confident in his ability to deal with her. All he had to do was to avoid touching her.

He stayed there for some time thinking before he rose to the heart of the forest.

He summoned the castle and meditated for two hours before he came out to receive his guests.

He was invisible, but again, Laluri stared at him like a hound. He suddenly remembered her tears and how she looked pitiful yesterday. She deceived and killed him. His heart began to seethe. He felt like attacking her right away.

But killing her now wouldn't even count as protecting the castle so it wouldn't gain him any pol. Whereas opening the gate to let them in would, for instance, earn him extra pol. It wouldn't be as much as the eleven years he got previously, but it was better than none.

He controlled his fury and looked away from the girl. They argued with the party just like in the previous loop before he let them in.

[You have invited people to the castle. You have gained two years of pol.]

Abdin glanced at Laluri and the woman by her side and was instantly struck by an idea. He could just ask their owners to send them away. It would look like he was freeing them but he was letting go of a problem.

However, he dismissed the idea. They had already seen the castle. Setting them loose now could attract the big shots to him - an uncertain nightmare.

And if Laluri's ability truly worked by bodily contact, then perhaps she had already touched every person on the team. She could attack them if he showed any indication of knowing about her or if he tried to kill her or send her away, and that could ruin his plans even if he killed her in the end.

She had indeed become an obstacle to him. "I don't want to see any slaves here." He pointed at them frowning. "Take them to that building and lock them up. Two men should stay guard. I don't want to see them walking my streets."

That was his first instinct. But as they turned to leave, he realized that locking up Laluri was quite useless. With her ability, locking her up would be just a waste of time. It would be better to keep her close so he could keep an eye on her. At least that would make it hard for her to plan something behind his back.

"Wait," he said, raising his hand.

He would kill her the first chance he got. But before then, he needed to investigate a bit and find out about her relationship with Juwaira's party. That seemed to be the only way to permanently rid himself of the girl.