Chapter – 24
Reverse Rampage.
It was a symptom where the out-of-control power of an esper came back to affect its controller.
A very intuitive term, wasn’t it?
“Ugh…ugh…!”
The Count writhed on the ground, gagging violently.
He scratched at his throat as if it were hard to breathe, and snake-like scales tore through his skin.
“Ahhh…!”
Even those watching paled at the sight.
So that’s why beast-transformation powers are so painful.
Anyone from Tenebrin would know that kind of suffering.
And yet, he tried to intentionally push the princess into a rampage despite knowing it.
Normally, the original owner of a power could endure at least some of the backlash, because it was their own strength.
“Ugh…ah!”
One of the Count’s arms instantly transformed into a massive snake tail as he went into reverse rampage.
Just as the tail was about to whip the ground, Jeanne shouted to the shadows.
“Everyone, make shields!”
They were quick, having been warned in advance by Lirian.
Thanks to them, even as the whip struck, shields made of solid stone and earth blocked it.
As the snake tail tried to sweep through the air again, it suddenly vanished, melting away like snow.
Then, from behind Lirian, came a languid voice, full of disbelief.
“How far did you see, exactly?”
“…Your Highness.”
The villain was hugging Lirian’s waist from behind.
He clicked his tongue at the sight of the Count, his arm disintegrated and collapsing on the ground.
“You told me to wait somewhere nearby, didn’t you?”
“That was a request, not an order.”
“I’m curious… did you expect this man to turn out like this?”
“It was obvious.”
Want to mess with an esper?
The most effective method was to make them go berserk.
At first, he probably thought simply disrupting Lirian’s repairs would suffice.
But humans like that tend to be ridiculously thorough.
So Lirian checked the princess’s hand when she visited the temporary workshop.
“Your Highness, could you extend your hand for a moment?”
“…? Why?”
It was to check whether a pattern causing a rampage had been marked.
It should be somewhere the protege wouldn’t suspect, an easy place to mark.
Usually, the back of the hand was convenient.
Now that she was a controller, even transparent markings could be detected.
Unlike an “engraving,” this was a one-time mind-control technique.
The chance of it triggering at this exact moment was high!
It would destroy any video evidence and provide an excuse to emphasize the princess’s instability.
Fortunately, it had been set to activate in reverse ahead of time.
“Ah!”
Lirian pressed her temple.
A dizzying pain shot through her.
When she removed her hand, blood was smeared on her skin—it stung as if her skin had been torn.
“Ugh…?”
Hmm.
So the snake beast-transformation power could regenerate.
The villain destroyed the tail, and yet it grew back.
It even hit some scattered gravel.
As long as it didn’t hit the eyes, it was fine. Being in a temple, she could easily ask for some healing.
But then, from behind Lirian, all sound vanished.
“…?”
An overwhelming presence arose, so strong she didn’t dare turn around.
Like walking down a dark alley with something horrifying stalking behind her.
And the source of that presence brushed past on her left.
Only then could she draw the breath she’d been holding.
“…Your Highness?”
Suddenly… the villain was irritated.
She realized anew why the original description of him was so terrifying, despite his fleetingly beautiful appearance.
A smiling face could be as bloodthirsty as a demon.
Each step he took made the grass beneath him vanish to white.
From the vanished spot, the effect rippled outward in a circle.
Her instincts screamed that a disaster would occur if things continued this way.
Lirian hurriedly blocked Evren’s path.
“Your Highness. Use your hands!”
“Move aside.”
“Your Highness, wait! Use your hands! Remember your hands?”
“Lirian Tillard.”
The calm, gentle voice was chilling in its menace.
“I’m in a very bad mood right now. You won’t see much.”
“…!”
“So step back.”
Lirian’s mouth went dry.
Hands… didn’t he know how to use them?
And he had been fine just a moment ago—why did his temper suddenly explode?
At that moment, a flash of white light descended from the air like snow.
It struck the Count’s arm, which had transformed into a snake tail.
“Argh!”
“Hmm. Mythical snakes can keep regenerating, it seems.”
“Ugh…!”
“Does that regenerative power extend to humans too? Fascinating…”
Her voice carried no trace of actual curiosity.
The Count, going into reverse rampage via his snake power, kept regenerating over and over.
Yet the villain didn’t incapacitate him, though he could have.
The princess and the Tenebrin entourage trembled in fear.
The shadows, usually lively before Lirian, turned cold.
It felt familiar.
A scene she had simply forgotten for a while.
Lirian slowly closed her mouth.
Of course, she didn’t feel even a drop of sympathy for the Count.
He deserved torture.
She could understand it if he were sentenced to death in the kingdom.
But administering punishment proportional to his crime was different from playing with humans like toys.
She needed to quickly reduce the mental contamination of the enraged espers—not just the villain but also the Count, who kept retaliating.
For a controller, reducing an esper’s mental contamination was usually done through “touch.”
Focus.
Some used the power externally rather than direct contact.
Though less effective than touching, it was a perfect solution for the current situation.
That weird infinity symbol appeared too.
Lirian gritted her teeth, trying to draw the power circulating inside her to the surface of her skin.
She clasped her hands together as if in prayer.
Push it out… push it out…!
At that moment, pink butterflies, shimmering with sparkling particles, appeared in the air.
They floated dreamily above everyone’s heads.
When the luminous particles falling from their wings touched skin, they vanished cleanly, leaving only a refreshing sensation.
Then, a pink butterfly gently landed on the Count’s brow.
“Ugh…ugh…”
The Count slowly crumpled to the ground.
Lirian ran to the man who had stopped in his tracks.
She had awakened him and drawn him into this situation.
He had even branded him without permission.
Then he had to maintain his own sanity until the end to keep things balanced, right?
“Your Highness. Please, stop now.”
Lirian hurriedly grabbed the villain’s left hand.
He still stared straight ahead.
Was controlling him with her hands not enough?
She gripped and massaged his hand desperately.
If the situation weren’t so urgent, it might have looked like she was diligently caring for him.
Yet he didn’t budge.
Now, what else can I touch here?
