The Mythical Path of a Princess from a Destroyed Kingdom

From the news that Maginus "accidentally" mentioned, Lenia learned that Benny had returned to the capital from his territory, and so she decided to go and see him.

The young lady's three "good subordinates," who had already secretly planned ahead, naturally had no objections and quickly approved her proposal.

She received a reply quickly after sending the letter, and the next day, Lenia took a carriage to Ted Manor, which she had visited twice before.

As the carriage stopped and Maginot stepped down, her half-closed eyes suddenly widened, a mixture of seriousness and excitement flashing in her pupils.

In the images brought by the tracking ability, the manor was shrouded in a red blood mist, especially the main residence where Benedict was located, which was now covered by a large number of red lines.

Many people have died here, and some have killed many people.

With her fingers twitching, the girl suppressed her excitement, raised her hand to touch her neck, and entered the mansion with Lenya.

"Miss Lenya, please."

Following the servant to the study, when the study door was opened, Benedict, who was sitting at his desk and looked no different than before, or rather, appeared even more resolute, saw Lenia and smiled as he got up to greet her.

"Miss Lenya, it's been a long time."

"Mr. Benedict, how have you been lately?"

There were servants present outside, and the two sides did not address each other with overly intimate terms. They shook hands and then sat down.

However, Lenya felt slightly uncomfortable. For some reason, Benedict's gaze had changed from before. This time, his gaze was strange and seemed to be full of aggression.

Because Benedict was mainly focused on Lenia, he didn't see Mine's brow furrow and then relax in an instant.

The moment Maginus entered, she noticed the “muddy” vitality emanating from Benedict.

If his vitality was previously like a small household stove lit with only one type of coal, now it's like a giant iron-burning furnace that mixes multiple types of coal together, doesn't expel the exhaust gas after ignition, and leaves the exhaust gas accumulating inside.

Chapter 185 A Well-Intentioned but Useless Reminder

Just looking at Benedict's current state of vitality, Maginus felt a sense of extreme nausea, like facing unpalatable food. In the girl's eyes, he was probably similar to the residual vitality in an undead creature.

How many people's life force has it consumed? Why hasn't its body collapsed yet?

Maginos had two questions in mind. How much she ate wasn't her main concern; the second question was the most important.

The girl's own spiritual energy underwent a special change due to the power of killing within her, allowing her to completely convert the life force of others for her own use.

It was precisely because she possessed life force psychic energy that she knew for certain that Benedict, being a human, would eventually suffer a hemorrhage from consuming mixed life force.

He should have been bleeding profusely by now, but something was holding his body firmly in place, making him appear completely safe from the outside.

Ignoring their conversation, Maginus carefully sensed and quietly observed Benedict, noticing some magical patterns through his raised collar and the magical aura emanating from him.

Is there some special magic helping him maintain his body?

Magnifying her senses to perceive the aura of magic, the girl smelled a faint scent of sulfur and soot, a magical aura that felt very familiar.

The lower planes... might be related to demons, which completes the conditions for the prophecy.

It seems that many people have found the residences of their cult relatives before. Could it be that this strange method of becoming stronger was found from that residence?

Maginus wondered, for some reason, she had never considered getting this method of becoming stronger from Benedict, even though her abilities were a perfect match for it.

By deeply analyzing Benedict through her life-affirming perception, the girl quickly discovered why she wasn't interested.

The life force he plundered seemed to be beyond his control, amplified by some kind of magic within Benedict's body, making him seem capable of doing something at any time.

His main source of strength wasn't the life force he consumed, but rather some kind of special magic that he didn't know what it was.

The current supply relationship is that life force powers magic, and magic provides power to Benedict.

Standing discreetly behind Lenia, Maginus decided to remind the soon-to-be-appointed count when they were almost back that he should be careful not to be overwhelmed by the chaotic life force.

She was just reminding him not to burst from being overstuffed; as for the rest, Maginos didn't want to care.

That's right, Maginus is actually capable of handling this matter. As long as Benedict's complex life force is circulated around in her and reduced, the remaining clean life force will definitely not cause him any problems, and the consequences of that magic will be greatly reduced.

But why would she help? She was waiting to see her brothers turn against each other.

……

After chatting for about an hour, Lenia, realizing she shouldn't linger any longer, calculated that it was about time and stood up to bow to Benedict: "Well then, Mr. Benedict, I'll be leaving now."

"Yes, chatting with you made me feel much more comfortable. I look forward to seeing you again next time."

Maintaining his smile, Benedict's burning desire was impossible to conceal. Lenia felt that he had changed, becoming somewhat unsettling. She wanted to point this out, but the servants around her made her keep her mouth shut.

Just as she was leaving with the two of them, Maginus leaned closer to her and said, "I'll sneak over tonight and find a way to remind Nidi after get off work that he seems a bit off."

"it is good."

Seeing that the girl was going back to remind her, the young lady's worry lessened slightly, and she immediately agreed to her decision.

Night fell quickly, and Maginus, dressed in black, arrived at the back gate of Ted Manor. The Coal Legion soldiers guarding the gate immediately raised their weapons and pointed them at her, but someone noticed something from her height and gestured for them to stop.

"Is this Miss Mine?"

She raised her head, revealing her beautiful face: "It's me. I request to see Lord Benedict."

Before long, she was ushered in and met Benedict in the morning study. Benedict's eyes showed a slight disappointment when he saw that Maginus had come alone, but he still smiled at her:

"Mine, you came to see me, Lenia. Is there something you want to tell me?"

Maginus shook her head, glancing around. "Bennedy, we need to discuss this privately. It concerns my psychic powers."

Upon hearing her psychic powers mentioned, Benedict immediately realized something, his expression instantly turning serious, and he waved for his closest servants to leave.

After closing the door, he took out a soundproofing scroll from his dimensional bag, tore it open, and stared at the girl with a somewhat serious expression: "What did you see?"

"Something's wrong with the life force in your body."

Maginus raised his hand and warned, "You know my abilities, right? I can see your life force growing huge and becoming chaotic. No matter how you did it, if you don't control yourself, your body might explode completely."

The girl, of course, wouldn't tell him everything she saw; she only said that he would most likely die a violent death in the end to increase Benedict's fear and dread.

After hearing her words, Benedict remained silent, a hint of nervousness flashing in his eyes. He then raised his hand and clenched his fist, as if trying to gauge just how strong he was.

"Phew... I understand, I'll be more careful."

Benedict simply said that, and Maginus, seeing this, didn't say anything more, opened the door, and turned to leave.

As the girl who had come to see him walked away, the young man took out the book that his subordinate had handed him earlier from his dimensional bag and spread it out. The contents of the book made Benedict's eyes flash with hesitation and an eerie light.

This text describes a blood sacrifice ritual that transforms the power of others into one's own, enabling rapid growth, and it also explains the consequences of the ritual.

This is a ritual from the devil. The cult bishop did not use this thing, but instead used the ritual to create powerful creatures, and then used these creatures as sacrifices to summon monsters, thereby controlling them.

Despite feeling his own inadequacy, Benedict could not resist the temptation. After confirming his strength could increase by using prisoners, he selected the most powerful people to perform the ritual.

Perhaps due to his special constitution, Benedict gradually became able to distinguish which people provided more abundant power, and thus gradually turned his attention to the nobility.

That's right, he had also worked as a noble assassin, and he was certain that nobles could offer something far more powerful.

Benedict has now successfully broken through to the intermediate level, and his strength continues to climb. If possible, he may even be able to reach the threshold of the advanced level.

However, every gift comes with a price; everything has a cost.

As he felt his strength growing stronger, Benedict would occasionally experience a racing heart and a negative temper. He knew that these were all because he had not been able to integrate his life force.

Chapter 186 It’s Snowing

Unaware that he had been absorbed into his body by some kind of magic after performing his first ritual, Benedict was currently flipping through the books left behind by the cult bishop.

He wanted to find a solution from above, unaware that the greatest danger he faced was not the chaotic life force, but that extremely special magic that helped him become stronger.

There was indeed a ritual performed, and it was quite simple. Benedict stared at the last sentence, muttering to himself, seemingly hesitating about something:

“Performing another ritual to connect with the Abyss will ensure that the chaotic life force is stable enough…”

Although not a researcher, Benedict, as a nobleman near the top of the kingdom, naturally understood what the Abyss represented: it was the abode of demons, and also the place where many evil gods chose to settle.

He had already performed a ritual to contact the Abyss once in order to become stronger. If he were to contact it again now... would he turn into a demon as prophesied?

In fact, the moment he received the ritual, he was already certain that he was the one who was prophesied to become a demon, but he was unwilling to believe it and felt that he could control himself.

"No, it's just using ritual magic to connect to the Abyss and gain power, not connecting to demons, so there shouldn't be any major problems..."

Clenching his fists and feeling the power he currently possessed, Benedict Ted, blinded by power, kept hypnotizing himself, trying to lower his moral boundaries and accept the unknown evil power.

But in the end, he didn't do it. The image of the Ted family, his family, and Lenia's smile flashed through his mind. He gritted his teeth, put the book back, and chose not to use this method.

……

"Mine, how is it? Why did Benedict end up like this?"

Lenia, who hadn't gone to sleep yet, immediately asked when she returned, but Maginus simply shook her head:

"He was too eager for quick success and instant benefits. He wanted to increase his strength significantly, so he used methods that were harmful to his body to make himself stronger."

"We have little say in this matter; it all depends on his own choice."

After the girl briefly recounted the matter to the young lady, Lenia couldn't help but show a worried expression. She then turned her gaze to Maginus, her heart filled with even more concern, and suddenly grabbed her hand.

Maginus looked at the young lady who was holding his hand and calmly replied, "What's wrong?"

"...Mine, you won't turn into Benedict, will you?"

"Of course not, I would never do something that would eliminate my potential."

Maginus lied to Lenia as if nothing had happened, feeling that he was only pursuing higher goals than Benedict.

If there truly were a ritual that could grant her the power to utterly kill her enemies, she would certainly be willing to complete such a ritual, killing as many people as she wanted.

The young lady visibly relaxed after receiving Maginus's reply, seemingly not expecting Maginus to speak to her, but she still raised her finger again to emphasize:

"Don't let power corrupt you. I don't want to see news of you being killed for doing evil anytime soon."

After meeting with Benedict, Maginus, finally unable to suppress her bloodlust, began to act again.

However, the remaining nobles were somewhat troublesome for her. She needed to devise a meticulous plan to kill as many as possible, and progress was very slow.

Fortunately, there were many warriors protecting the nobles. After Maginus completed another kill, reducing her killing urge and stress, she stopped what she was doing and finally focused her attention back on the noble blood relative, Maku.

Based on Elliott's previous statement that "Lenia needs to be protected for two or three months," the chaos in the Crystal Salt Kingdom is about to reach its peak, and she needs to prepare to obtain at least one portion of bloodline power.

However, just before she could get ready, a small incident occurred in Maginus's cold and indifferent world.

……

"Mine, wake up! Wake up!"

A burst of delighted laughter jolted Maginus awake from his self-hypnosis. Lenia's smiling eyes were fixed expectantly on the window, and she pointed in that direction, as if there was something very interesting.

A gust of cold wind blew by, and the girl followed her gaze outside, her eyes instantly becoming unfocused.

It's snowing outside.

Crystal-clear ice flowers were blown into the room by the cold wind. Maginos subconsciously raised her hand and stretched it out. The icy cold sensation entered her fingertips, causing her fingers to tremble slightly as she withdrew them.

She then realized that it was already late autumn or early winter; the Crystal Salt Kingdom seemed to be a place where winter came relatively early.

"How about we go play in the snow? It's snowing heavily!!"

Lenia turned around excitedly and said, "No, I..." Maginus narrowed his eyes, instinctively not wanting to look at Lenia's smile: "No, I..."

"Hey~, please play with me, I'll order you around as a young lady!"

Dissatisfied with the girl's answer, the purple-haired young lady, dressed in a thick cotton coat, decisively pounced on the girl's back and hugged her, putting on a pitiful expression in an attempt to get Maginus to agree to her request.

Looking back at the biting wind once more, Maginus sighed indifferently, knowing that if she didn't agree, Lenia would probably keep bothering her, so she finally nodded.

"Oh, yeah!"

Then she heard Lenia's triumphant laughter. Maginus, who had been sitting, was pulled up from the ground. After she changed into a thick coat, Lenia immediately dragged her downstairs and into the garden.

The snow was falling heavily, covering the ground with a white layer that would sink up to your ankles when you stepped on it. Seemingly unafraid of the cold, Lenia disregarded her manners and pounced on the ground, looking up at the not-so-bright sky, her smile fading to the corners of her mouth.

Looking up at the falling snowflakes, Maginos looked at the different ice crystals and recalled the past.

The last time I played in the snow was two years ago. Back then, things weren't like they are now. There were no traitors, no betrothed couples showing their fangs... and most importantly, my family was still alive.

Just as she was reminiscing about the past, some warm little hands suddenly touched her face. Maginus then came to her senses and found that Lenia had taken off her gloves and was holding her face in her hands, looking at her with a pained expression.

"Is there something you need, my dear young lady?"

Maginus remained nonchalant. Lenia ran her fingers over the corner of the girl's eye, revealing a trace of blood on her finger. Only then did the girl feel the cold dampness on her face.

She then realized that she seemed to have inadvertently started crying while reminiscing.

However, it seemed that the tears had completely dried up by then, perhaps due to psychic energy, and blood replaced the tears.

Chapter 187 Deliberately Distancing

Wiping away the blood-red tears from her face, Maginus moved Lenia's hand away, trying to change the subject: