Killed Me? Now I Have Your Power

Kaden was back in his own room silently, without anyone noticing he had disappeared. It made him wonder whether the security guards of this house were just here for decoration, or if they were genuinely working but still completely incompetent.

In either case, it was bad news—anyone could get in.

'I have to find a solution to this too,' he added it to the growing list of everything he had to change in his family. At this point, Kaden was doing the job of a patriarch more than Garros himself.

A truly concerning thing, if you ask me.

But that's what happens when you put someone made to wage war and lead armies on a battlefield… in charge of governing a whole family.

He was truly not suited for that.

Kaden sighed again. "Let's focus. Tomorrow I will march toward the East Continent. I have to be ready for any sort of situation," he said to himself.

He stood up slowly from his bed and walked to his window, staring at the starless night of Darklore, with the moon hanging high above—glowing with soft silver light tainted by a red hue, as if a part of the moon itself was bleeding.

He watched in silence, his thoughts drifting from one thing to another, unable to hold a single thought for more than five seconds. Eventually, they stopped on one particular subject.

The Cerveau.

He tilted his head slightly. 'Maybe I should hunt them one last time before going?' he thought, but the moment that thought formed in his mind—his perception went into overdrive.

Kaden shuddered with pure dread as every hair on his body stood on end.

He gasped, taking a shaky step back before falling unceremoniously to the floor with a loud thud.

Ahhh… Ahhh… Ahhh…

"Fuck… what was that?" Kaden managed to breathe out between ragged gasps, his heart still pounding like war drums echoing deep inside his chest.

He sensed danger. Deep and harrowing.

'Did the Cerveau prepare something for me…? Are they trying to trap me…?' Kaden wondered.

Because the threat of death wouldn't give him that kind of feeling.

So it had to be something else.

He didn't know what exactly… and honestly, he didn't want to know either.

'Forget it. I'll just go sleep to be ready for tomorrow,' he decided, not willing to risk anything tonight.

With a deep sigh, Kaden stood back up from the floor and walked to his bed before laying down peacefully, choosing to flee from whatever problems were coming… with deep sleep.

'I wonder what they had planned… heh. Perception, you are such a useful stat,' he thought at last, genuinely praising perception before slipping into unconsciousness.

Not knowing that he had just escaped the harrowing possibility of his identity being revealed to the Cerveau.

Something that would have made the already complicated situation even more… complicated.

It seemed fate favored him this time.

…

Darklore – Medusa's Territory.

Inside a room that looked like a classic Disney princess bedroom, if the princess were obsessed with snakes and the theme color was venom-green, Inara sat in front of her mirror, looking at her reflection with satisfaction.

"I've become more beautiful!" she said with a happy smile.

"Beautiful is not the only thing you've become, it seems," a soft but venomous voice echoed beside her, as a green-scaled snake appeared from thin air beside her.

Inara didn't look surprised. She just sighed. "Are you gonna spy on me forever, Mom?" she asked, her voice tired.

"Definitely," the snake, just a manifestation of her mother's power, answered with a stern tone.

Inara just shook her head. Clearly, this wasn't the first time they'd had this conversation.

Ever since she came back, her mother hadn't left her side for even a second, claiming she might disappear again.

But that wasn't the only reason. Medusa had been asking Inara a lot of questions—about where she went, how she completed her evolution quest, and especially…

"Why do I feel inside you a power that makes me feel… weird?" Medusa asked, her voice laced with deep curiosity and something else… apprehension.

Because she could feel it. Something primal inside her was dreading her daughter. Or maybe not her daughter herself… but whatever now lived inside her.

She couldn't explain it. Couldn't understand it. And she needed to.

If it wasn't her daughter, Medusa would've already tortured her until she revealed everything.

Inara remained silent, her expression unchanged—but inwardly, she was frowning deeply.

Her bloodline had been altered by Echidna's blood. She was no longer just a snake, even if outwardly she still looked like one.

'But appearance alone is not enough. I need to learn how to hide this aura that makes monsters either love me or hate me to the bone,' she thought.

Otherwise, it would become a serious problem in the future.

And for that, she needed training. Training in mana manipulation, presence—or in more common terms, aura.

Only then could she walk freely without drawing attention. And the only person who could help her with that training… was the one speaking to her right now.

"I don't know myself, Mother. I wish I did," Inara said, her voice heavy with pain.

"I don't know who I'm becoming anymore, Mother… none of my clansmen want to come near me… Mother, why…?"

Inara suddenly broke down, out of nowhere, as tears streamed down her face.

Medusa immediately panicked—the snake trembled slightly, as if she didn't know what to say.

"My daughter… don't be like this. You're still a snake. Still one of us. And above all, you are my daughter."

"And if you're worried about this, I will help you conceal it. I'll help you control your aura. I can even give you an artifact to suppress it," Medusa said, the snake gently and lovingly caressing Inara's cheek.

'How easy…' Inara thought inwardly with a small smile, while outwardly she continued sobbing like she'd just lost her great-grandmother.

Her mother truly loved her. It hurt to lie to her like this but she had no other choice.

For now, she decided to hide her status as the heir of Echidna, because—as her master had warned her,

Problems would fly to her like iron to a magnet, even if she did nothing.

That's why—

'I must get strong fast. Not just me, my monsters too.'

And so,

Inara's path began.

—End of Chapter 141—