Ellen, known as the Lover Exorcist, sat perched on a castle tower, her gaze fixed on the ongoing battle. She wore her usual green dress, and a pair of sunglasses that blocked quite a lot of her vision.

On her ear was a worm-like demon, whispering secrets to her, and functioning as a way to eavesdrop on conversations.

Why was someone as powerful as her, now considered one of the strongest exorcists, safeguarding a seemingly insignificant princess?

This wasn't her usual way of wasting time. Yet, she was doing it for Kon, her first and only student, who held a special place in her heart. He had been the first person to truly accept her, not driven by desire despite the unpredictable side effects of her special ability. His acceptance had paved the way for her demon's evolution.

She sighed when thinking about Kon, and shook her head. He was what she imagined having an annoying little brother would be. He was annoying, but she was also worried about his well-being.

Ellen decided to stop thinking about depressing things she had no control over, and concentrated on the battle. There were a couple of people that had caught her interest.

Fido leaped from one foe to another, tearing through their ranks as more enemies appeared, Ellen observed with a mixture of fascination and contemplation.

The demon trapped within Fido appeared to be a four-armed, or perhaps even a six-armed zombie. The latter type teetered on the brink of ultimate evolution, a force she doubted Organization X had the means to control.

Thoughts of undead creatures always led Ellen's mind back to her own zombie mentor, a feeling that elicited another sigh.

"Should I intervene?" she mused aloud.

A rippling distortion in space heralded the emergence of a peculiar face– half-male, half-female, seamlessly sewn together. "No matter your choice, we stand beside you," the demon's voice echoed, a duet of masculine and feminine tones.

"Thank you," Ellen replied, keeping her attention on Fido. "Why don't I have fans like that? I'm not too shabby in the looks department, so where are my devoted followers? Kon might have his talents, but he's no heartthrob like me."

Shaking her head, Ellen dismissed any inklings of envy towards her student. It was a trivial emotion she didn't want to entertain. Though Kon's popularity outshone hers, and Ellen's ego was only slightly wounded. She had initially sought to evade attention due to her ability's aftermath. But now, with her mastery over those effects, perhaps it was time for her to assert herself on the global stage.

Lowering herself, Ellen's demon withdrew into the folds of space, taking out the eavesdropping demon from her ear. While the demon was just low class, it had a very powerful eavesdropping ability. As a drawback, it would eat her ear and then slowly eat her brain if she wasn’t careful.

She jumped off the roof, leaving a crack in the stone, and effortlessly crashed through the window of the hallways the people were fighting, in an instant.

Fido was battered and fighting against the people, while the other silver-haired kids were being cautious and protecting the queen.

The glass shards that burst would've cut her skin, but an invisible carpet demon created a barrier that stopped them. Unlike before, Ellen had traveled the world and tamed many demons, which now acted as her protectors.

"Who are you?" One of the silver-haired kids asked.

Ellen's smile faltered a bit. She wasn't exactly a well-known public figure, but she was still an Exorcist! Others in her field should be familiar with her. Why did everyone know about Kon, her pupil, but not her?

Pushing her feelings down, she smiled again. "You can call me Ellen D Fork. I'm The Lover Exorcist, and I'm here to protect Queen Wisteria from today onwards."

"Why?" The same kid, a short one from the silver-haired group, inquired.

"Because my cute pupil asked me to. You might have heard of him – his name is Kon," Ellen smiled, anticipating shocked reactions. However, she was met with even more skeptical glances from the group.

Did they think she was lying?

She glanced at the other attackers; they looked suspicious too.

Now she was truly getting annoyed.

"I know you look like her," Queen Wisteria stated. "I saw you at the crowning ceremony next to Kon. But how do I know that you aren't someone who is wearing the Lover Exorcist's face? And just trying to use that as an excuse to get closer and kill me."

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Right then, Ellen resolved to protect this girl. She understood respect, and Queen Wisteria's concerns were reasonable.

Of course, she remembered her – who wouldn't? Her beauty was captivating even without her special ability!

"Of course," Ellen nodded, casting a smile toward the enemy group. "Lov, make them dizzy."

The space around her swirled, and the face of a man and woman stitched together emerged. But as the rest of their bodies became visible, the demon's appearance was quite strange, even among its kind.

Except for the head, the rest of its body resembled a balloon – a pink heart-shaped balloon with arms and legs. Honestly, for an ultimate-class demon, its appearance was rather ridiculous.

The enemies stared at the demon, their eyes glazed over, before dropping to one knee with drool trickling down their chins.

"Lady Ellen! We would love to do anything to please you!" they said together.

Ellen was surprised by how quickly her Ultimate Class demon's power took effect. These guys were probably very weak. Even though her power didn't care much about someone's raw strength, Ellen knew she had to be careful around certain people. Someone like Kon, for instance, could easily counter her ability.

It was annoying how effortlessly he did it, but at least he wasn't an enemy, so Ellen didn't need to worry about him.

"Go and kill everyone who conspired with you to kill the queen," Ellen said, smiling a bit. "If you succeed, I might even give you a kiss."

Men or women, young or old, they all stammered and nodded. Their emotions of love were stirred by their Ord, and they all rushed out, eager to be the first to finish the mission.

"They'll probably end up dying in the attempt, but keep an eye out for anyone who appears injured tomorrow," Ellen explained.

Fido, Kon's hardcore fan, squinted his eyes and accused, "You've got a human controlling ability. That's illegal."

What? This bastard really had some guts to call out someone so much stronger than him.

For a brief moment, Ellen wondered if she should shatter the young man's illusions and reveal that Kon also had a human controlling ability, technically. But unlike hers, Kon's ability could be easily countered by someone who knew the details.

Disclosing her friend's special ability like that, all for something so trivial, would be quite vindictive.

Ellen raised her hand. A small snake-like demon slithered out of her arm and unleashed a telekinetic blast that slammed Fido against the wall, tamped down his demon features, and turned him back to normal.

"If you've got something to say, say it to my face," she declared. “Though, if it’s something I don’t like, then expect a beating.”

That was an unfair statement, so what? If someone wanted to call her out on things, they had to be stronger than her if they didn’t want to get beat up.

***

Yara gazed at Ellen's Ord. Her energy seemed as abundant as Kon's, maybe even more so. Unlike him, though, Ellen's power felt more natural, as if she'd been born with it rather than acquiring it through some strange method – the kind of risky thing only crazy folks like Kon would attempt.

Moreover, Ellen possessed a type of power that Kon lacked. It was the same power Yara had been born with,where she was born to see things other people couldn’t. She doubted Ellen had to work hard to attain her vast reserves; Ord could be pretty unfair sometimes.

At least when she looked at Kon, she recognized his willingness to do things she wasn't. He might even have traded lifespan for more power.

However, Ellen had managed to defeat all her enemies without lifting a finger, bending them to her will. This was the true might of a top-ranked special exorcist.

As Yara continued to gaze at Ellen's Ord, its color gradually shifted to pink. Yara's heart quickened as she beheld the purest form of Ellen's power.

She'd never experienced anything like this before. Was this love?

Shaking her head, Yara closed her eyes and immediately regained her senses. 'What a dangerous power she possesses. Who would have thought merely looking at her Ord would stir up such emotions? I'm not even attracted to women.'

"Thank you for your assistance," Wisteria graciously expressed her gratitude.

"You're Kon's fiancée, right?" Ellen smiled and nodded. "I approve."

Despite the awkward assertion, Wisteria's composure held, and she affirmed, "Indeed, I am."

Ellen moved closer and whispered, "So, have you two done the deed yet?"

This caused Wisteria to blush, shaking her head. Her facade had crumbled.

Ellen sighed and rested a hand on her shoulder. "Don't worry, you're a good-looking girl. He's probably just gearing up for some ritual to boost his Ord. It’s just the kind of crazy bastard he is, and it has nothing to do with you. By the way, from what I've heard, he's a virgin too."

Even Yara felt a bit embarrassed by the conversation. But who was going to step in to stop it? Ellen was a top-ranked Special Exorcist. They didn’t want to antagonize her, and have her decide helping them was too annoying to do.

To Yara's surprise, Wisteria quickly regained her composure and changed the subject, "By the way, any news about Kon?"

Ellen shrugged. "I don’t have many contacts in the exorcist circles."

Wisteria then looked toward Yara. "Go and find out what happened to Kon, and what gave these cowards the guts to attack us?"

She nodded. Yara herself wondered why these attackers had the audacity. But deep down, she could guess the answer; she just needed confirmation.

After all, it seemed evident to her that, despite Queen Wisteria's intelligence, she was rejecting the most plausible scenario. Because, as long as Kon was alive, Yara was convinced these attackers wouldn't have dared to make a move – injuries or not.

Which really left only one option viable, as to why they would attack them.