The Estrid bloodline is noble.
No one can touch someone with Estrid’s blood without permission.
Even if it’s between Estrids, unauthorized contact is considered a grave offense and a sin.
Yet…
Yulia couldn’t resist the boy, Ortega, who had taken control of Lloyd’s body. She couldn’t defy him as he held her cheek.
Why?
Why had she frozen like this?
Was it fear of Ortega?
She couldn’t deny it completely. Ortega had single-handedly massacred an entire city and turned the entire Empire against him. He was both a stain and the strongest member of the Estrid bloodline, a ghost that wandered the world after surpassing human limitations.
There’s no way she wouldn’t be afraid.
Her fingers trembled, her lips quivered. These were all signs of her fear.
But the fear only went so far.
Yulia knew herself well. She wasn’t the kind of person to stop because of fear alone.
Something else was holding her back.
– Swish.
It was the heavy hand gripping her cheek.
It was the owner of that hand.
‘Lloyd.’
From the first moment she met him, and when she realized that Ortega was lying dormant within him, she had resolved countless times.
‘I swore I’d kill you.’
She had promised herself that if Ortega ever took control of Lloyd’s body, she would kill him without hesitation.
That resolve was the problem.
If she moved, it would mean killing Ortega. But it would also mean killing Lloyd.
“Are you frozen, woman?”
Ortega sneered, squeezing Yulia’s cheek harder.
“…”
“I didn’t want to see those blue eyes again. They make my skin crawl.”
Brrrr.
His hand trembled. Whether it was from rage or joy, she couldn’t tell.
“It has nothing to do with me. Perhaps it was only the Arcane Eyes of your time that didn’t get along with you.”
That wasn’t true.
Even now, Yulia wanted nothing more than to either kill Ortega or seal him away.
She was simply suppressing the instinctual urge rising from within her because of one presence confusing her.
“Girl. Your eyes are shaking.”
“No, they’re not.”
“Then why have you already taken a step back?”
Yulia faltered.
Ortega’s lips curled upward as he watched her reaction.
“You like it.”
“…”
“You like this body I’ve taken over.”
“That’s impossible.”
“Hahahahahahahaha!”
His laughter filled the air, and he bent over, snickering.
In that brief moment, Yulia took several steps back.
Ortega quickly straightened himself.
“Hey, Arcane Eyes.”
“…”
“Don’t bother hiding it. Every single person with the Arcane Eyes I met was dying to kill me.”
Yulia bit her lower lip.
Blood dripped down her chin.
“Open those cursed eyes.”
“…”
“I’ve been wanting to stretch my limbs for a while. That last woman wasn’t strong—just filthy.”
Whoosh.
Ortega’s presence spread in an instant.
The air became heavy in an instant.
“Huff, Huff.”
Breathing became difficult.
Was this wretched thing controlling even the air around them?
“Hurry up and activate your Arcane Eyes. Or will you be crushed like this?”
“…Shut up.”
“Well, getting crushed might not be so bad after all.”
“…Gasp.”
“I never wanted to see those eyes again. They’re bad luck. Every time I look at them—”
At that moment, Ortega swung his hand downward.
— Boom!
Everything within the space around them caved inwards.
“Ugh!”
Yulia coughed up blood that filled her mouth.
Slowly, Ortega walked toward her, his demeanor casual and unbothered.
It wasn’t even carelessness—it was more like he didn’t need to care.
Anyone could see that Ortega was dominating the situation.
Yulia counted silently in her head.
‘This is the second approach.’
As Ortega drew closer, he crushed Yulia’s fingers under his boot.
“Argh…”
“Those cursed Arcane Eyes. They remind me of the time I was sealed.”
The previous wielder of the Arcane Eyes.
The reason he was able to seal Ortega wasn’t because his strength as an Arcane Eyes bearer was overwhelming.
If that had been the case, Ortega would have been stopped long before he destroyed an entire city.
No, the reason he couldn’t fully seal Ortega was because of…
‘The sacrifice of the Arcane Eyes bearer.’
The Arcane Eyes would remain fixed on Ortega, constantly dismantling his spells.
In other words, the bearer of the Arcane Eyes became a box to contain Ortega.
‘I can do it.’
Yulia wasn’t afraid of becoming that box.
She was willing to do anything to imprison this monstrous being.
But…
‘That’s only for the worst-case scenario.’
Yulia knew now.
There was another way to stop Ortega.
She didn’t have to sacrifice herself—if she could just let Lloyd regain control of his body, it would be enough.
Swoosh.
Yulia’s Arcane Eyes began to shine.
Ortega approached, sneering.
This was the third approach.
“You think lighting up your eyes will so much as touch me? You’re still far from…”
His voice faltered, his brow furrowing in confusion.
“Far—?”
He seemed to struggle to move his tongue.
“Huh?”
Ortega looked down at his leg with wide eyes.
“What is this?”
Clink.
A shackle had appeared around his ankle.
Ortega’s eyes widened further, and Yulia’s lips curled into a sly smile.
“A secret trick.”
◆
Before the confrontation with the Seventh Death Squad.
Lloyd had called for a strategy meeting.
The only ones present were Lloyd, Yulia, and the village chief, but Lloyd’s words were enough to command attention.
“I have a secret plan.”
“… A secret plan?”
“Yes. Come over here.”
Thump.
Lloyd put something on the table.
“… Shackles?”
The village chief murmured, and Yulia finally noticed what she was looking at. A small iron shackle that could barely restrain two or three fingers, let alone an ankle. There was also a small iron ball attached, light enough to be lifted with one hand. It was a tiny, almost toy-like shackle.
“And what exactly do you plan to do with this?”
Yulia’s voice was incredulous.
But despite her disbelief, Lloyd smiled brightly, fiddling with the chain of the shackle.
“Do you know how hard it was to get this?”
“With this little toy…?”
“A toy? Oh, wait a second.”
Lloyd spread out one palm and took out a sedative from his pocket.
He popped a couple of pills into his mouth and swallowed them all at once.
“…Aren’t you taking too many of those, Lloyd?”
“Oh. I need to, since this next part is something Ortega can’t overhear.”
Smirk.
Lloyd grinned softly, his expression becoming slightly drowsy as he continued to speak.
“We are about to face One. She’s undoubtedly a strong woman. Skilled in assassination, her base is likely filled with traps and sorcery. She won’t be an easy opponent.”
“Right, those types are always tricky, with their various dirty tricks and skills.”
“Exactly, which is why we need to prepare as much as we can.”
“But we’re the ones attacking. What kind of preparation can we make?”
“Well, the problem is that One is strong.”
“Exactly. The danger is high.”
“And there are many ways to deal with a strong opponent.”
“Many ways to deal with a strong opponent, you say?”
“Yes.”
Lloyd responded casually, as if it was no big deal.
It wasn’t arrogance.
After all, most of the enemies Lloyd had faced on his way to challenging the Demon King were stronger than the Hero’s Party.
“Political scheming, trap-setting, using powerful artifacts… there are countless methods. The key isn’t how strong the opponent is, but how intelligent they are.”
Tap Tap.
Lloyd tapped his head.
Using one’s brain.
For the village chief, that was fine.
He didn’t need to think too hard as long as Lloyd took care of it.
That smart young man had probably come up with a strategy, and that artifact must be part of it.
“And that artifact?”
“There are unique magical artifacts in this world. Some of them become more powerful depending on the strength of the opponent.”
Artifacts that exist are common knowledge.
But an artifact that becomes stronger based on the opponent?
Both Yulia and the village chief’s eyes widened in surprise.
“This artifact can impose ‘restrictions’.”
“Restrictions, as in… the more difficult the conditions, the stronger the effect?”
“Yes. The harder the conditions, the more powerful the effect becomes. In other words, when facing a strong opponent, this artifact’s power increases exponentially.”
“Where did you get such a thing?”
“It wasn’t easy to obtain. I had Claire’s help to secure it. Anyway.”
Lloyd raised his fingers.
“We’ll input three conditions.”
“Three conditions?”
“Yes. The more difficult the conditions, the stronger the binding power. So, the first condition: the opponent’s guard must be lowered. If we’re in a situation urgent enough to use this, it’s likely the opponent has gained control and become overconfident. It’s a hard condition, but it’s a good insurance.”
Lloyd raised his second finger.
“The second condition: we must have already fallen into one of the enemy’s traps.”
“And that means?”
“We’re attacking the base of the Seventh Death Squad. We will definitely trigger one trap. And the third condition.”
Lloyd extended his ring finger and continued.
“The opponent must approach three times.”
If these conditions are met, no matter how strong the opponent is, they will be bound and unable to move.
Lloyd concluded with confidence.
◆
Now, facing Ortega again.
Yulia was deep in thought.
She had been sure the artifact’s target was One, but…
‘If Lloyd mentioned using a sedative, it means he knew it could also work on Ortega.’
“Did you really think you could bind me with something as trivial as this?”
Ortega charged forward with a smile.
Watching her, Yulia knew she had to make a decision.
Should she trust Lloyd?
Or should she give up everything and seal Ortega herself?
Yulia clenched her fists.
