## Chapter 239 – Malice (3)
Taking Ryu and Claire, Lowen arrived at the tower’s basement and snapped her fingers to light the way.
Candles hanging on the walls ignited simultaneously, revealing a spacious room. Ryu had lived in District 2 for a long time, but this was the first time he knew such a space existed underground. A massive magic circle was drawn on the floor, and on top of it was a small altar just big enough for one person to lie down.
Lowen didn’t say much, simply pointing at the altar and saying,
“Lie down there.”
Convinced that Lowen would never do anything to harm him, Ryu immediately lay down on it.
At the same moment, chains made of magical energy shot out and bound his entire body.
Surprised by the unexpected situation, Ryu looked at Lowen and said in a bewildered voice,
“L-Lowen-nim?”
Lowen stroked his forehead and said in a kind tone,
“You don’t have to worry too much.”
Hearing her voice, Ryu felt relieved again and sighed in relief. Lowen continued to stroke his forehead with a warm touch and began to explain.
“Honey, from now on, I’m going to extract all the malice that’s eating away at your body…”
Sensing the ominous atmosphere, Ryu swallowed nervously. If Lowen hadn’t been holding his hand beside him, he would have wanted to run away from that spot immediately. Having completed all the preparations, Lowen whispered in his ear,
“When you wake up, everything will be over… So, rest easy for now.”
Lowen brushed Ryu’s eyes with her palm, and he immediately lost consciousness. She placed a small chair where she could see Ryu right in front of her, sat down, puffed on her pipe, and gestured to Claire.
Claire quickly approached at Lowen’s gesture. Every time she got closer, she felt her head getting hazy from the fragrant smell rising from the pipe. Lowen, seeing Claire standing there looking quite nervous, said,
“It’ll take some time, so let’s talk until then.”
“Yes, I understand.”
Lowen glanced at Claire, who was standing stiffly, and spoke again.
“Don’t just stand there like that, sit here too.”
Claire quickly grabbed a chair and sat next to Lowen as she was told. Stiffly staring straight ahead, Claire couldn’t even move from the pressure that was gradually tightening around her throat. She would have been more comfortable with Lahart, who was at least familiar because of his many public activities.
Lowen was a mysterious figure who never left District 2 except for major academy events. The thought of daring to speak to Lowen first didn’t even cross her mind.
In the ensuing silence, when the candlelight flickered once, Lowen casually asked her,
“Why did you choose Ryu?”
Caught off guard by the unexpected question, Claire asked back in a flustered voice,
“Excuse me?”
“Your first experience of defeat?”
“N-No, that’s not it.”
Claire swallowed hard and continued,
“From the moment I first saw him, I just felt like he was the one. That competition was just the final confirmation.”
Hearing those words, Lowen looked at Claire for the first time with a pitiful expression.
“I see… So, you’re one of the people caught up in this child’s fate.”
Claire simply stared at her, unable to understand Lowen’s words.
“It’s nothing… Just dismiss it as the ramblings of an old woman.”
As she had felt earlier, Lowen was quite kind, unlike the rumors Claire had heard. At least, that’s how she seemed when she was with Ryu. Perhaps influenced by their brief conversation, Claire’s fear of Lowen had subsided a lot, and she tried to muster the courage to ask her a simple question.
Of course, it didn’t go as planned. Just as Claire was about to part her lips, Lowen raised her hand slightly to stop her.
Claire was briefly seized with fear, wondering if she had overstepped her bounds and offended her. But Lowen’s gaze wasn’t directed at Claire. She fixed her eyes on Ryu and said,
“It seems like it’s about to begin.”
No sooner had Lowen’s words ended than Ryu’s body began to convulse violently, as if having a seizure.
While flustered, Claire approached him, prioritizing the safety of her lord. But Lowen held out her pipe horizontally, stopping her.
“Step back if you don’t want to die…”
The warning contained in her slow tone could not be ignored.
Ryu’s body, which had been convulsing like a fish out of water, gradually began to regain stability.
At the same time, black mist rose from his body. Lowen’s eyebrows furrowed slightly as she confirmed it.
“This is quite…”
The same situation that had happened to Ryu’s parents in the past, except that the quality and quantity of resentment were different.
The black mist, made up of immense resentment, filled the room and then gathered in one place to form a mass, soon taking the shape of a dragon.
Claire was not flustered by the sight of her lord’s transformed appearance and immediately drew her sword, but Lowen blocked her way.
“I’ll say it again, step back from here. This is not something you can handle.”
Claire, who had some confidence in her skills, could understand what she meant. She wasn’t foolish enough not to sense the difference between them. As she sheathed her sword and stepped back, Lowen stepped forward.
Claire knew Lowen was strong, but she had never seen anything like that. Claire asked in a worried voice,
“Are you alright, Lowen-nim?”
Lowen smiled faintly.
“Well… Accepting a child’s adolescence is also a mother’s role.”
Her body was clad in an ominous magical power she had never seen before.
“Cover your ears.”
Hearing Lowen’s words, Claire immediately covered her ears.
She was afraid, but at the same time, her heart was racing.
Watching the battle of the strong from the front was always a stepping stone for growth. Especially since it was the battle of Lowen, who was on par with Lahart, Claire vowed to engrave this moment in her eyes and never forget it.
Lowen puffed on her pipe once and approached the resentment that had come out of Ryu’s body, exhaling thick smoke.
The dragon-shaped entity was wildly attacking its surroundings, spewing out its energy like a whip. Each time it touched something, the walls cracked and corroded, making it a dangerous attack to behold, but Lowen calmly began to move into it.
Claire held her breath and watched the scene.
Even so, wasn’t she too defenseless?
“It seems a bit cramped here…”
When Lowen snapped her fingers, the surrounding space instantly distorted.
With a shattering sound, as if a mirror was breaking, the space shattered and a new space appeared.
A lake with a beautiful, spotless night sky, in a dreamlike atmosphere as if the world had been reversed, Lowen opened her mouth.
“Come. I’ll accept everything…”
The resentment that had been gnawing at Ryu’s mind instantly increased its size. Having grown large enough to fill the sky, it rushed at Lowen with a rough roar.
She narrowed her eyes and exhaled thick smoke again.
“Kneel.”
Lowen’s voice cut through the air, having a tremendous impact on reality. It was as if she was defying the laws of the world… No, it was a voice as if the world was obeying her. The surrounding air sank heavily, and the dragon of resentment lay its body on the ground, roaring in a voice filled with pain.
The single word she uttered possessed a powerful force that could bind the giant dragon.
Claire, who had witnessed Lowen’s power firsthand, unknowingly knelt down at her voice, which shook her brain even though she was covering her ears.
Awe.
That was the only emotion that came to mind.
But perhaps because of the large amount of negativity gathered, the dragon struggled violently again, resisting to break free from Lowen’s command. Of course, it didn’t take long to realize that it was a futile struggle.
“Let’s finish this soon.”
Lowen pointed at the dragon with the end of her pipe and said,
“Disappear.”
At that moment, the dragon’s body began to swell, and then it exploded with a huge bang and shattered into pieces, scattering in all directions. The negative emotions scattered everywhere, like scattered entrails, slowly dissipated, and they had already returned to the basement where they had been.
Claire could finally feel how absolute Lowen’s power was, which she had only heard about.
Lowen slowly walked towards Ryu and checked his condition.
Seeing him looking more comfortable than before, Lowen naturally wore a faint smile.
