Chapter 5: The Experiment of Fear

There were eleven of them in total.

They all had fierce expressions, but none were armed with weapons or showed any signs of using magic.

They weren’t intimidating.

To Lucy, a top-ranked player in Ragnarok, they might as well have been snails.

They’re probably around the same level as the thug NPCs.

In the game, wandering through back alleys often led to encounters with thugs. The average level of those NPCs was around 20, with even the strongest bosses barely reaching level 40.

Was it the same here?

It was a natural question to ask.

Lucy kept her eyes on the long-haired man, who appeared to be their leader. She was trying to gauge his strength, but he must have mistaken her scrutiny for fear. He smirked.

“Hey, are you sure it’s her?”

“Yeah, that’s the one, hyung.”

“Hmm, I can’t tell with that robe over her head, but is she really a noblewoman?”

“I’m sure. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have the gold coins. And more importantly…”

The man who had just received the gold coins whispered to the thug.

“For a brat, she’s pretty good.”

The thugs smirked at his flattery.

A noble who looked like easy prey—just the kind of victim that suited those who lived in the shadows.

Lucy, however, was extremely displeased.

How humiliating.

And to be looked at with such filthy eyes…

The title of ‘Demon King’ would make me cry at this point.

Because of that, she decided against simply ignoring them and running away

This is a good chance to test whether illusions work on self-aware NPCs.

Lucy untied her robe.

The moment she did, her ash-colored hair fluttered in the wind, revealing the face that had been hidden beneath.

A girl with porcelain-white skin and ruby-red eyes.

The thugs gasped in admiration—she was even more stunning than they had expected.

Among them, the long-haired man with a snake tattoo on his face stepped forward.

“Isn’t it bad for a young lady to be out alone at this hour?”

“You talk like you’re my parent. No, if you were, you wouldn’t be looking at me with such a disgusting look.”

“…?”

The man was briefly taken aback by the unexpected response but quickly snorted.

“Well, well, it’s a high-quality product, huh? Look, just don’t resist, and we won’t hurt you. Be smart and come along quietly.”

“What if I don’t want to?”

“What if—” The man chuckled. “Are you going to scream for help? It’s useless. This area belongs to us. No one’s coming to save you.”

He was confident.

Of course, why wouldn’t he be? He ruled this place, and his opponent was just a little girl. She must have looked like an easy target.

Lucy pulled out a gold coin from her sleeve and tossed it to the ground.

Clink—

The man frowned at the coin on the ground.

“One gold coin. Take that and walk away, and I’ll pretend this never happened.”

It was his last chance.

On the other hand, it was also an excuse for what she was about to do.

Of course, the thugs didn’t understand that. They burst into laughter.

“Hahaha! What are you talking about, brat? Hey! Bring her here! She’s top quality, so be careful not to rough her up.”

The leader turned away, clearly considering the matter settled.

Then—

“!?”
The two thugs who had approached Lucy were suddenly flung backward, rolling across the ground.

They crashed right at the leader’s feet.

His eyes widened in shock.

“What the…? What just happened? Was that… magic?! Damn it! Everyone, charge at her!”

The remaining thugs hesitated, swallowing nervously.

But before they could move—

“Stop.”

At Lucy’s single word, everyone froze.

Their bodies, stiff as stone, wouldn’t budge—as if time itself had stopped.

Word Power.

A skill that bound or controlled an opponent’s movements with the power of words.

The thugs, completely paralyzed, couldn’t even scream. The only sign of their terror was the frantic trembling in their eyes.

Lucy observed them carefully before leisurely stepping toward their leader.

“Ugh…!! Ugh…!!”

The man, unable to move or speak, struggled as if he had been gagged.

If he had been around level 40, he might have been able to resist.

But he was much weaker than she had expected.

At best, he’s probably level 20.

It was easy to gauge his strength.

But how strong is that in this world?

“You can talk now.”

“Phew!! Gasp… gasp…”

The moment his mouth was freed, the man took a sharp breath, his pale face drained of all confidence.

“P-please spare me! It was our fault!”

He caught on quickly and immediately began begging for his life.

“Answer my questions. You said earlier that you control this area, right?”

“It’s not me… It’s the organization I work for…”

“Don’t trail off.”

“…The Black Death controls this area.”

“Are you one of their strong members?”

“Y-yes… Even though I’m just a low-ranking officer…”

If the Black Death was active in the capital, it had to be a large organization.

But if one of their ‘strong’ members couldn’t even resist words—

They’re not as impressive as I thought.

The man, desperate, cried out.

“I answered, so please spare me!”

“Who said I was killing you?”

“T-thank you!”

But his relief was short-lived.

Lucy smirked.

“Silly.”

“Silly…?”

“You wasted the chance I gave you. Now, you’ll have to pay the price.”

In truth, she just needed to test how illusions worked on NPCs.

Memory manipulation. Sense manipulation. Brainwashing. Hypnosis resistance.

She had dozens of things to experiment with.

“W-wait! Please—”

“Magic Skill: Trauma.”

The space around them distorted.

The thing the man feared most manifested before his eyes.

Kiiiiik—!!

“G-get it away from me!!”

Inside the Satanic Castle.

Lucy had safely completed her experiment.

She returned to the imperial palace with a sense of relief.

Not a bad outcome.

She had expanded her understanding of this world’s geography and power structure.

And she confirmed that her illusion abilities worked here.

A shame the thugs lost their minds in the process, but… oh well.

It’s their own fault.

“But… where was my room again?”

The imperial palace’s halls were too vast and complex.

She could have just climbed in through the window, but she had no idea where her room was.

As she wandered, she heard footsteps.

At this hour? A patrolling guard?

Clink—Clink—

Judging by the sound of heels, it wasn’t a guard.

A figure emerged from the corner—a woman.

“Gulp.”

For some reason, the situation was tense.

A breathtaking beauty with obsidian-black hair wearing a noble jet-black dress appeared in front of her. She had Jewel-like purple eyes.

Lucy was mesmerized. She could feel her royalty.

Lucy was inwardly admiring her, ‘If I had still been a man, I would have lost my mind.’ she thought.

The lady stopped walking and knelt before Lucy to pay her respects.

“Nice to meet you, Lucy Deviluke.”

“… Who?”

“I’m late in greeting you. I am Arasia, one of the Seven Great Demons.

While Satan is away, I have been entrusted with the management of the imperial family.”

The woman who introduced herself as ‘Arasia’ looked up at Lucy and smiled brightly.

Her gentle appearance which showed no trace of hostility, seemed to have let her guard down.

“But, if it’s not presumptuous of me to ask…”

“Huh?”

“Where have you been at this hour?”

…….Oh my.

Come to think of it, she had been out without permission.

“Uh.. I couldn’t sleep, so I was taking a walk around the palace.”

“Walking…”

Arasia thought deeply about something after hearing the answer, then immediately clapped her hands as if she understood.

“Ah! You can’t sleep because you have come to an unfamiliar place?”

“Yeah.. that’s right.”

At that moment, as if she had been waiting for that answer, Arasia suddenly got up and took a step closer to Lucy.

“Then I’ll read you a storybook until you fall asleep.”

“Huh?.. a storybook? I’ll decline.”

Lucy took a step back, surprised at the excessive kindness.

But Arasia didn’t care and grabbed Lucy’s hands tightly.

“No need to decline, it is my duty to help you adapt well to this place,

and moreover, I am Satan’s future companion, you can think of me as a mother whenever you need to….”

Her speech suddenly had some haste to it.

At the same time, some sort of uneasiness could be felt looking at her unfocused purple eyes.

This woman is a little scary..

Feeling awkward, Lucy quickly pulled her hand away and left the place.

“Go… I suddenly feel sleepy, so I’ll go to bed quickly..”

Lucy ran away.

On the other hand, Arasia caressed her cheek and made a regretful expression.

“…It was a good opportunity to become close to Satan’s daughter, what a pity.”