SSS-Knight in a Hero World-Chapter 95: A forgotten world

A dark cluster of smoke appeared in front of him, not too far away.

After a few seconds, it began to disappear, leaving behind a horned figure wearing a mourning gown that clung to her shape, with two distinct horns rising from her head.

Ferris remained still, though he was already prepared to attack if needed.

That’s the last proctor I haven’t seen yet. Great... Ferris mulled over his luck, disappointed.

She even blew a kiss toward me. Ferris suddenly felt uneasy. This woman might be more of a spectacle than Tianqin.

"I can finally meet you peacefully, not with those two men I find so discomforting."

I guess even villains don’t like each other. "Who are you?" he asked, flat and straightforward.

The woman smiled and stretched her arms wide. "Call me Lilith, and I have a proposal for you."

Ferris already knew how he would answer, yet for a split second, he considered agreeing.

The air shifted subtly. It felt sweet and intoxicating, so hot that his body nearly collapsed from sheer, contactless pleasure.

Some form of mind hex?

The moment Ferris reached that conclusion, his body dismissed the effect as if it were nothing more than a foul stench.

Just like the dragon egg, there weren’t many things in this world that could break a knight’s mind, built like an impenetrable fortress citadel. A trait Ferris had brought to this world completely intact.

It would take absolute domination to even have a chance of breaking someone like that.

"Become my servant—

"No."

Lilith looked genuinely surprised that he hadn’t been affected by her blessing, but she doubled down without hesitation.

The stench grew more pungent, but instead of becoming overwhelming, it merely turned irritating.

Lilith dropped her open gesture and stood firm, her expression shifting into that of a lustful predator. "Maybe I was too elusive with my words.

Become my slave. There are no other options. Not even death."

Without listening further, Ferris spotted a tiny pebble on the ground and kicked it at the speed of sound.

The air cracked as the pebble struck her squarely on the forehead, but instead of dying, Lilith burst into a cloud of dark smoke.

She’s one of those who fight with tricks instead of direct combat.

Ferris began analyzing what he knew of her from his time here.

A person capable of placing psychological restrictions on over a thousand people. That’s definitely a powerful blessing, but not impossible to negate. Otherwise, I’d already be completely under her control.

Is there a limit to her abilities?

Puff!

Thick smoke engulfed Ferris, blocking his vision. When it cleared, a pair of arms wrapped softly around his shoulders and neck, followed immediately by a solid mass pressing against his back.

The stench intensified a hundredfold. When Lilith leaned her head beside his, the effect skyrocketed even further.

Yet instead of falling into submission, Ferris reacted instantly. He grabbed her arms and hurled her forward, slamming her body into the pavement in a clean arc.

Unsurprisingly, the body dissolved into smoke and vanished.

So annoying. I need to sense her real body. She has to be nearby, at least.

"You are one asexual man. The dosage I gave you should’ve been enough to drain even a large beast.

Actually, do I even dare address you as a man?"

Her voice echoed from everywhere and nowhere. Ferris couldn’t tell its source. "Stop stalling me, woman."

"You wound me~ Oh hero, don’t you find me attractive?" Lilith teased, clearly joking.

Ferris smiled as he continued scanning the area. "I know someone who would fall for nearly anyone, but even he would find you distasteful."

"Then that person has terrible taste," Lilith replied with a muffled laugh.

"I concur."

I can’t find her. Then there’s only one thing left.

Instead of focusing on the immediate fight, Ferris stepped back and observed the situation as a whole.

Lilith wasn’t physically strong, and her blessing wasn’t enough to subjugate him. He clearly had the advantage, but he couldn’t capitalize on it quickly since he couldn’t locate her real body.

For now, Lilith was simply stalling, waiting for an opening to claim him.

Do strong villains just find me attractive? Ferris joked inwardly.

If that was the case, then the solution is simple.

If someone you don’t like approaches you with a confession...

Run away.

"I hate to break it to you, but you’re not my type."

Ignoring her presence entirely, Ferris leaped toward the dragon egg and continued on his way.

Of course, he knew she wouldn’t give up that easily. But he also knew that if she wanted to win now, she would need to change tactics, and that change might give him the opening he needed.

Landing firmly, he stared across the gaping valley that had once been the museum, then slowly looked up.

Now that the dust had settled long before, Ferris could clearly see what was going on with the sky.

It was clear that the egg was gaining essence at a tremendous rate, which meant one thing.

It was about to hatch soon. However, Ferris doubted that.

Even for a dragon, that amount of essence was simply too much to absorb. It wasn’t normal.

Then again, the dragon egg wasn’t normal from the beginning. As he continued to stare at the egg in the sky, it started to look more and more like a bomb.

To be born and to die with no living in between. Perhaps that’s what Artemis saw and felt pity for.

I can understand her...

Ferris abandoned his other senses and focused his entire being into one objective,

Bring the newborn the mercy they deserve.

He pulled everything into a single leap and focused on the pure essence in front of him.

Since the egg was pulling essence to absorb, the space near it was rather dense with essence, dense enough to give Ferris an easier time interacting with it physically.

Step.

With a great push of his legs, Ferris successfully jumped again.

It wasn’t a perfect execution though. Rather than leaping from something solid, it felt more like stomping on water.

But it was enough to bring him close enough.

Interacting with essence was now pointless, so he diverted his attention and essence into a single attack that would finally end its life.

And as his essence-coated arm was about to cleave through it, the prelude to the ending drew even closer...

_ _ _

Total darkness.

Ferris couldn’t react fast enough, but it happened nonetheless.

Lilith? Is this her trump card?!

He didn’t know what was happening around him, but he could immediately tell that something was forcibly resonating with his deepest consciousness, completely bypassing his mental defenses.

In an empty void, thick smoke appeared and left behind Lilith, who looked rather pleased. "Men are so easy. When something attractive even approaches them, they just freeze up.

All I needed to do was touch you, and I’ll have full access to the depths of your mind."

This was Lilith’s way of fighting, not with skill or strength, but by simply being stronger, though not in the traditional sense.

She would selectively pick the version of her opponent at their weakest and killed them from the inside.

Thick black smoke appeared again, this time from her shadow.

Like tendrils latching onto prey, they spread far and wide into the depths of the void.

"People are at their weakest when they’re at their lowest.

It’s a time when they even beg to be killed~

Now, show me this man when he’s at his lowest."

The tendrils of smoke suddenly expanded and engulfed the entire void. After a while, they slowly disappeared, leaving Lilith in a strange place.

There was nothing anywhere except a white, stone-like floor that stretched on forever.

There was no sky above her, only an endless pool of a starry expanse.

When she looked toward the horizon, she saw a blue line that gradually changed to orange, then to the stars.

A shred of doubt appeared on her face. Surely she had used her blessing correctly. Surely this place was her blessing’s interpretation of Ferris at his lowest point.

She noticed a lone figure in the distance that she hadn’t seen before.

A ringing question echoed in Lilith’s mind.

Who... is that person?

He looked over the horizon as if contemplating something important. His armor was dull and chipped beyond repair, and the sword he held had long since lost its shine and much of its length.

Every physical aspect of the man before her proved one thing. He was broken and ready to die at any second, and yet...

There was one clear feeling she experienced as she gazed at him.

Dread.