Chapter 635: Story and Deduction
"Lemme guess, your charm was affecting them?"
Hibiki’s bitter laugh confirmed Arthur’s guess. Though her charm no longer drove people mad, it still passively influenced them, intensifying their emotions. As she gained levels, the charm grew stronger, and even though she could suppress it, she couldn’t turn it off.
Scribbling patterns on the ground with a stick, she continued her tale.
Eventually, it fractured everything. One of the adventurers nearly died because the tank prioritized protecting her.
"The party mage realized what was happening, cast a spell to break the charm’s hold on them, and... that’s when they discovered something else I’d been hiding—my wings and tail that awakened sometime earlier."
"Considering it was a world where devil worshipers were executed, I assume they didn’t take kindly to that..."
"Of course not."
She tried to escape, but the knights were sent after her, intent on exorcising what they believed to be a danger.
But she survived and Arthur didn’t need to prompt her to say the reason.
"The paladin leading them saw me as a child, scared and alone, rather than a devil to be vanquished.
Instead of killing me, he cast a banishment spell—one that used the repulsive force of the world to force out invaders.
But I wasn’t an invader; I was born in that world. As a result, the spell sent me literally falling into the Infernal Dimension—the home of my unknown father.
I landed among Infernal Devils who planned to sell me as a slave. But my charm, the very thing that had brought me so much pain, became my saviour. In my desperation, I unleashed it, capturing them in its thrall."
She paused, grabbing a fistful of sand and pouring it back onto the ground.
"I didn’t want to be their plaything; I just wanted to survive."
The very power that had caused her so much suffering became her salvation. She used her charm to make the devils care for her, training her in magic and combat so she could grow stronger.
Over five years, she learned to enhance her charm, controlling those around her for survival. Despite her bitterness, a small smile appeared as she acknowledged the irony of relying on the power she once despised.
Arthur nodded slowly with a thoughtful expression on his face.
"Regardless of how you gained your power, if it’s essential for your survival, then don’t hesitate to use it. It seems you reached this conclusion a bit late.
Not surprising, considering you were just a kid."
Hibiki felt a sense of agreement swell within her at his words.
"Was just a kid; untrained and making some silly decisions."
"Don’t worry, you’re not alone in that department. Even I have my share of silly decisions."
When Arthur responded like this, Hibiki turned to him with a look of genuine surprise crossing her face.
"You do?"
"Of course. I’m not perfect."
Arthur knew he’d made a few stupid decisions here and there, with pretty severe repercussions on some occasions—like the one that got him hit with soul poison.
As he recollected, Hibiki leaned in closer, curiosity sparking in her eyes.
"But you strike me as the proud type who won’t admit when you’re wrong."
"What’s your impression of me, anyway? I’ll admit I can be proud, but I’m not so blinded by it that I can’t recognize reality."
Arthur acknowledged his pride, but he also made an effort to keep it in check.
"Enough about me...how did you get out of this place before?"
He returned the topic of conversation back to her and Hibiki shrugged, speaking in a lighter tone.
"There was a war between the Infernal Devils from the planet I was on and Denerth Prime. I slipped through the chaos and ended up in Denerth.
That’s how I stumbled upon the Dual Cultivation Sect I joined. They had the perfect techniques that would allow me to harness the very powers that had once kept me alive and make them even stronger so I joined up with them."
Hibiki concluded her story with a satisfied smile, as though the weight of her past was lifted and Arthur raised an eyebrow, his demeanour as casual as ever.
"So, you went from a kid trying to survive in the Infernal Dimension to a powerful member of a sect? Not bad at all."
He chuckled as he spoke and Hibiki laughed along with him—until he suddenly stopped. Leaning closer to her, he spoke.
"I’m surprised you shared so much with me. We’ve barely known each other for a few days."
Curiosity threaded through his words and Hibiki tilted her head slightly, a hint of mischief lighting her features.
"Why, huh? It’s simple. Didn’t I say earlier? I can see what emotions people feel towards me."
Recollection flashed in Arthur’s eyes and he leaned even closer, his curiosity increasing.
"Then what do you see for me?"
Hibiki paused, silence stretching between them as she focused, her expression contemplative.
"Grey."
She finally spoke, but then fell silent again, her eyes narrowing slightly. As for Arthur, he blinked, completely confused.
"I’m sorry, what?"
That wasn’t among the colours she’d mentioned earlier. Hibiki, sensing his confusion, laughed and leaned in closer, the distance between them virtually disappearing.
"Grey. It’s a colour I associate with disinterest and indifference. Your feelings toward me... they’re almost nothing.
Might I add that even after hearing my story, it only lightened a bit."
"..."
Arthur fell silent, her words hanging in the air like a thick mist. Finally, he laughed and spoke.
"Your ability must not be working perfectly. Don’t forget I’m the guy who travelled thousands of kilometres trying to find you."
Hearing him, Hibiki arched an eyebrow.
"You did that because of Crim, didn’t you?"
Arthur hesitated for a split second, but before he could answer, she continued.
"You lost interest in me from the moment I refused to use my charm on you. You didn’t come for me—you came because of her. She’s the one you’re interested in."
She pointed out, a knowing smile creeping onto her lips.
"Not romantically, though. You’re interested in her for some reason and Crim and I are close—enough to trust ourselves to stick together on a dangerous expedition—so you checked on me for her sake."
Hibiki continued speaking, not letting Arthur get a word in.
"Crim mentioned that among the first things you said to her, you mentioned her abilities and a way for her to use them better.
Artemisia also mentioned that you’re interested in her special powers too."
She slowly put her two palms together, as if fitting the pieces of a puzzle.
"So, for some reason, you’re after people with Unique Abilities, maybe outside the confines of just skills, and Crim is probably the next person who’s caught your interest."
Arthur looked at her in silence for a moment, before bursting out laughing.
"Wow, good one, Hibiki. Excellent deduction."
He gave her a light tap on the head, half-teasing, half-acknowledging her insight before getting to his feet.
"It’s midnight already and since you know I’m, as you say, indifferent towards you, you should feel safe enough to sleep without worrying about me doing anything."
Hibiki raised an eyebrow, a questioning look in her eyes.
"And you? Won’t you sleep?"
"Physically, I’m only a little exhausted."
Arthur admitted, stretching his arms with a yawn.
"I won’t deny that my mental stress is a lot more significant than my physical fatigue, but I’ll be fine after a little rest. My mentality is far stronger than you think. I could go a week without sleep and still be fine, so go to bed."
With those words, the boy’s figure vanished and completely disappeared from Hibiki’s perception.
Floating in the air, thousands of metres above ground, Arthur couldn’t help but contemplate Hibiki’s strange ability.
"An ability that lets her feel what others are feeling... it’s quite interesting."
He chuckled to himself.
"Would you look at that? You said I was indifferent towards you, yet here you are, pulling my interest in."
◇ ◇ ◇
The next morning, Arthur and Hibiki resumed their journey.
Arthur had flown up in the air to survey the area and ended up getting attacked by a Sovereign Realm flying-type demon beast.
He beat the living daylights out of it and then brought it down to Hibiki, who used her charm abilities on it.
Instantly, the creature became docile and served as their mount, carrying them thousands of kilometres across the land with incredible speed.
Midway through their journey to the West, Arthur pulled out his token and noticed something.
"Well, would you look at that, Artemisia and Evan’s signals are coming from the same place."
Hibiki glanced over when she heard his words.
"So, it seems Evan’s met up with Artemisia, and they’re heading in Beatrix’s direction?"
"Yeah. Beatrix is heading that way, too—oh!"
Arthur’s words cut off midway and Hibiki’s eyes widened as Beatrix’s position suddenly shifted a vast distance.
"She must have teleported."
He wasn’t surprised as he knew that she had spatial powers, but Hibiki was shocked at the vast distance.
"Teleporting that far? In one jump?"
A moment later, she recalled that yesterday, Evan was quite far from Artemisia.
"Can Evan do that too?"
"Yeah. Evan’s base speed is high and he’s a Dragonkin so he can fly, and with the occasional short-distance teleportation in between, it makes sense how he moved so fast.
Artemisia’s base speed is even higher, thanks to her lightning affinity. Beatrix can speed up time for herself and teleport too so it makes sense they’re already close to one another by now."
"Are these guys really in the Legendary Realm like me?"
Hibiki had to ask again because the implied speeds felt unreal and Arthur chuckled, putting the token away as he responded.
"They might’ve been closer than we thought. The token only gives general directions, not exact locations."
After saying that, he signalled their mount to land, then dismounted, stretching before sitting on a nearby rock.
"Arthur?"
Hibiki called, confused by his sudden stop but he didn’t respond, seemingly lost in thought, staring into the distance.
"Arthur? What’s wrong?"
Hibiki repeated her words, glancing around for any signs of danger. But the area was calm, the skies quiet.
Suddenly, Arthur raised a finger.
"Give me a moment."
And then, he vanished.
Hibiki barely had time to react before the shockwave from his movement obliterated the rock he’d been sitting on, sending her tumbling backwards.
One moment, he was beside her; the next, he was over 700 metres above, reaching out into thin air as if grabbing something invisible in the sky.
His grip tightened, and with a burst of magic, the veil of invisibility shattered, revealing a small black devil bird.
Arthur held it up to his face, his gaze cold as he spoke.
"So, you’re the bastard that’s been watching me since yesterday."
Why hadn’t Arthur slept last night? It wasn’t because he was trying to keep watch over Hibiki, but because he had sensed something watching him.
That was why, after their conversation the night before, he had floated into the sky—he was trying to pinpoint its source.
Now, he had found it.
Arthur descended, landing smoothly back on the ground in front of Hibiki, still holding the bird.
"You wouldn’t happen to have any spells to trace the owner of a familiar like this, would you?"
Hibiki stood up, dusting herself off, her gaze narrowing as she recognized the creature. It was a devil bird she recognized, and it was commonly used for spying.
