While Ishla and I were talking outside, she handed me the Curse Petal.

-- Keep this. I'll head back to the camp to keep lurking and investigating. They're probably in turmoil now after seeing so many soldiers dead. -- Ishla said.

Why didn't you teleport the bodies? I thought you told me not to leave any evidence. - I asked.

-- It's not about the evidence. It's about sending a message. This will lower their morale. -- She replied.

Her reasoning didn't make much sense to me. I extended my hand to grab it, but then suddenly an overwhelming dizziness hit me. My vision blurred, and strange voices filled my head. The sky turned blood-red, and the loud caws of crows echoed around me like a funeral dirge.

When I looked at Ishla, her lifeless eyes stared back at me. She collapsed to the ground, blood pouring out of her body like a river. My gaze darted around, and I saw countless corpses littering the area.

Then the voices grew louder, flooding my mind in a deafening chorus:

I turned my head and froze. Stella was kneeling, her back riddled with spears and arrows. Her face was drenched in blood, and yet she clung desperately to a sphere of layered barriers. Inside the barrier, I saw the faint shadow of a child lying motionless.

Behind her stood a man with familiar figure , He held the Curse Petal in his right hand and a sword in his left. The sight was too familiar, like a nightmare coming to life.

Suddenly, the shadow of the child began to move. Slowly, it stood up, its body glowing with an intense white light. With every step it took, the layers of barriers shattered, one after the other.

I couldn't move. My body refused to obey me. My voice was trapped in my throat. I just stood there, frozen in terror.

The child stopped in front of me and spoke in a voice that echoed with both sorrow and urgency.

-- Save Stella... --

And then, just like that....

-- HEY BRAT! Why do you always act like that? Are you even listening to a word I'm saying? You know it's rude to ignore someone when they're talking to you! -- Ishla's sharp voice snapped me back to reality.

HOLD ON! What the hell just happened?! - I yelled, my heart still pounding.

-- Huh? What are you talking about? You've been standing there staring at me like a statue. Were you daydreaming or something? Anyway, take this Curse Petal Already! and go take a bath. You stinks like a demon. -- Ishla scolded, Then she vanished right on the spot.

I put the Curse petal into the system Inventory, and headed back inside the house, still confused and haunted by the vision I'd seen. Sitting at the dining table, I waited for Stella to serve the food she had prepared.

What I saw felt like a living nightmare. Was this a warning from the system? A precognition? It reminded me of what happened three years ago when I received my first quest to kill Lili.

I clenched my fists as my thoughts spiraled. I need to kill them all before they can hurt Stella and Ishla. No… I can't do that. But if I don't, they'll kill them.*

My mind wrestled with itself. Why am I even hesitating? In my previous life, I didn't care about other people. I even wanted to kill so many… What's happening to me? It feels like I'm losing the person I once was.*

And then it hit me. Of course. Back then, I had nothing to lose. My life was just a monotonous cycle, a twelve hours job I hated that destroyed my mind. But in this world… I've experienced what it means to live. I've been nurtured and cared for in ways I never thought possible.

I swallowed hard as the truth settled in. don't want to lose Stella. I don't want to lose anyone close to me. I'll kill them all if it means protecting the people I care about.

Stella then walked over to the table, carrying a bowl of boiling soup.

-- Leon, help me set the table. Get the plates and utensils, and serve the meat from the counter to Lord Diether. -- Stella instructed.

I immediately stood up and followed her orders. I grabbed the meat from the kitchen counter and brought it to Diether.

I went back to the kitchen to grab the utensils and additional bowls, placing them on the table before returning to my seat.

Stella served a roasted bird—a creature that resembled a chicken but wasn't quite the same. In this world, they called it Man'k. So, a roasted Man'k it was.

After placing the dish on the table, Stella took her seat and signaled us to eat. Her eyes carefully observed Diether as we began.

-- So, you're left-handed, Lord Diether? That's quite unique. The only other left-handed people I've known were the Hero and Lian, one of my apprentice mages from back then, -- Stella remarked.

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-- Yes, Miss Stella. My father was left-handed as well, so it runs in the family, -- Diether replied calmly.

I studied him more closely. His posture, his body shape… something about him gnawed at me, feeling disturbingly familiar.

Left-handed... A sword in his left hand, and in his right hand... the Curse Petal.

The realization hit me like a thunderclap. Goosebumps crawled up my skin as I recognized the horrifying truth. Diether was the same man from my vision—the one holding the sword and the Curse Petal.

This meant…

I dropped my utensils, the clatter startling everyone. Without hesitation, I summoned the Goblin King Sword from thin air and unleashed wind magic, pinning Diether to the wall. Chaos erupted in the room as the wind whipped around violently, sending chairs, the table, food, and even ornaments flying.

The wall cracked as Diether's body slammed into it. I aimed the sharp edge of the sword at his neck.

Stella stood frozen in shock.

Now tell me what you're planning! - I shouted.

-- Please! Put me down! Miss Stella, tell your child to stop this! -- Diether pleaded desperately.

-- Leon, what are you thinking? Drop Lord Diether now! -- Stella yelled, her voice sharp with anger.

She began chanting, summoning golden chains from the ground. But before they could touch me, I poured an immense amount of mana into a barrier, thick enough to block her spell.

Tell me who you really are before I drive this sword through your neck! - I demanded sharply.

-- I don't know what you're talking about! -- Diether cried.

I noticed his hand inching toward his pocket. Without hesitation, I unleashed a burst of wind magic—a sharp, cutting blade—slicing his hand clean off.

Diether's scream echoed through the room as his severed hand fell to the ground.

-- Leon! Stop this madness! -- Stella screamed, her voice desperate as she prepared another spell.

Mother! I know exactly what I'm doing! This man cannot be trusted! - I shouted back.

I picked up the object Diether had been reaching for and immediately recognized its shape. It was another Curse Petal.

Suddenly, Diether stopped screaming and began to laugh. A sinister smirk spread across his face as he looked at me, then at Stella.

-- This... is amusing! The plan was so close to perfection! Just a little longer, and I would've killed the Great Mage Stella Luxe! I almost had it! --

His appearance began to shift. A horn emerged from his head, his arms elongated grotesquely, and a tail grew from his back.

Stella's eyes widened.

-- A Cambion... -- she whispered.

Diether no, the demon grinned wickedly.

-- Do you remember me, Stella? Of course, you don't. You and the Hero killed my father long ago. All he wanted was to live peacefully with my human mother, but you slaughtered him and left my mother lonely and miserable. To end her suffering, I had no choice but to kill her myself... and eat her flesh. -- His voice cracked as tears streamed down his face, only to be followed by chilling laughter

.

So your plan was to kill my mother from the start? Why bother recruiting her, then? - I asked coldly.

-- So you're just guessing here, I see. Well, let me explain. Our initial plan was to use you, Stella, as a pawn to obliterate the nearby kingdom. That would have lessened the effort required for the Demon Army to conquer the land. But when I heard that you rejected, I personally approached your king. I convinced him to send me here to eliminate my favorite human, you, Stella.

Your king was foolish enough to sign an agreement with the Demon Archbishop Kazael years ago. In exchange for keeping his land and authority, once the Demon Lord conquered the entire continent and if that happened this kingdom would become nothing more than a livestock farm for human meat consumption. -- The demon laughed wickedly, his voice echoing through the room."

-- So that explains the unusual number of Figon roaming the kingdom these past few years, -- Stella muttered. -- The king must have used them as a means to communicate with the demons. -- Stella Realized.

-- HAHAHAHA! YOU POOR PEOPLE DOESN'T EVEN KNOW A THING , YOU'RE NOT EVEN AWARE THAT THE ONLY SAVIOR YOU HAVE WAS ALREADY DEAD, AND NOW NO ONE CAN STOP THE DEMON LORD!

Ṽ̸̳̭̖̺͚̖͓͓͈̟̚ͅi̶̝͈͖̿͊̈́̈́̒͌̂͋̄͂̍͋͝͝͠v̸͈̮̂͗̀̓͛a̵̡̤̠̫͍͝t̸̬̰̲͇̙̪̪̹̬̔̌̍̂̇͊̏̎̃̄͐̕ͅ ̸̠̬̣͖̗͙̹̫̩̂̾͐͊̏̀͜D̸̙͚̓͗̒̅̈́̈́̒͠͝æ̶͍̣͉̜͍̬̝͈̙̖͚̾̀̀̽̈̇̅̇͑̈́̓̓́m̶̢̨̝͔͖͉̖̜̣͇̥̰̀̐̇͐̾͑̿̚͜͠͝ͅò̴̧̠͕̻͓̺͈̝̪̠̱̿͠͝n̷̡̰̻̟͈͈̩͊̽̀́͐́̍͂̀̔í̸̡̧̞͈͕̤͎̀̒͂̀̏̉͘͘ú̷̡̧͇̯̮̝̖̗̱͋̉̒̅͒̚͠ḿ̷̨̧̲̟͈͎̪̣͖̼̙͆̀̅̎̋́̔͗̀͜͝ ̷̬͍̙̔̎̈́̔̀͆̄̃̽̀̃̍̆D̴̠͍̳̜̮̰̘̣͔̜̬̂̔̀͌͝͝͠ờ̷̦̮͍̹͇̬͎̔̎̓̽͌̊͆͌̑͊̈́͝͝m̶̬͖̠̤̼̤̞͎̭̯͈̱̍͌́͗͜͠ͅḯ̸͙͉̼̙̤͙̱͖̗̲̖͕̈́͜n̷̛̛̙͉͍̠̻͉̲͕̅̄̇͌́̂͛̏̿̑!!! -- The demon smirked, staring directly into my eyes.

-- Kill me now, child. Or you'll regret it later. --

I didn't hesitate. Slowly, I pressed the sword against his neck.

-- You're not human either, are you? You reek of demon blood... -- he hissed, his voice dripping with venom.

With one swift motion, I drove the sword through his neck, silencing him for good.