NOVEL NEXT Chapter 336: How can she?
In an hour, the carriage finally came to a stop.
WHUMMM... CREAK...
During the whole journey, Leon had been receiving killer looks from the red and purple mixed-haired woman sitting directly in front of him. Aria's crimson eyes never wavered, filled with contempt and disgust that she made no effort whatsoever to conceal.
She really hates me. Fine. I don't care what she thinks.
Once the carriage stopped, Aria exited first with practiced grace, stepping down onto the cobblestone path with military precision.
Then Leon was roughly pushed out, flanked by the two officers who had been gripping his arms like he was a dangerous prisoner throughout the entire ride. Their hands tightened as they forced him forward.
THUD!
He didn't like being manhandled this way—the indignity of it grated against his pride—but he had to endure it until he made contact with Seraphine and Loriel. Only after confirming their safety with his own eyes would he be certain they were truly unharmed and not being mistreated.
Because once I'm there with them, no one will be able to touch them. I'll make absolutely sure of that.
Leon was also genuinely pissed about the completely fabricated allegations made against all three of them. More importantly, he couldn't comprehend how these people had discovered his connection to the monster in the first place.
I did fight it—their basic assumption is correct on that point. But how did they come to know about me specifically? That doesn't make any sense. I was absolutely certain no one had seen me during that battle. My spatial awareness would have detected any observers.
The Supreme Court building stood imposingly before him—a giant castle-like structure that dominated the entire landscape. Multiple towers reached toward the sky as stone fingers, and powerful defensive enchantments shimmered visibly across every surface, creating an almost translucent barrier.
He was being led by Aria, who walked several paces ahead with her head held high and shoulders squared. Guards in ceremonial armor opened the massive reinforced gates as the group approached, their expressions stoic and professional.
CRRREAK... THUD!
Leon followed after her. Well, to be more accurate, he appeared to be dragged by the two officers gripping his arms. Though it probably looked to any outside observer like they were successfully restraining a dangerous criminal, in reality, Leon was simply walking cooperatively on his own.
These two couldn't make me move even a single inch if I genuinely resisted. But let them maintain their illusion of control for now.
As he passed through the giant gates and entered the castle courtyard, he was immediately greeted with the sight of multiple powerful individuals standing in a formal reception formation ahead. Strong in the relative sense of this world—decent fighters by middle domain standards, certainly—but finding anyone who could actually match him in combat would be impossible here, he believed with absolute confidence.
They're waiting specifically for me. This reception was planned and coordinated.
It seemed Aria was leading him directly toward this welcoming party.
And they, in turn, began walking forward to meet Leon's group halfway across the ornate courtyard.
The two parties came to a stop facing each other, separated by roughly one meter of decorative stone pathway.
There were five people in front of him.
First and most prominent was a shiny blonde-haired man wearing fancy ceremonial armor that gleamed in the afternoon light. An impressive sword was strapped to his back—clearly a weapon of significant quality. He was tall and classically handsome in that traditional hero sort of way, and Leon could immediately sense that his strength was the highest among everyone present in the courtyard.
Probably their leader or champion of some kind. Definitely the strongest one here.
Beside him stood a woman dressed in priest-like clothing—essentially a nun. She also had blonde hair pulled back in a neat, practical style. She was notably short in stature, but her chest was disproportionately large compared to her petite frame, straining somewhat against the fabric of her modest religious garments.
Next in the lineup was a woman of medium height whose face was completely concealed by a sleek black mask. Every piece of her clothing screamed the single color black—dark leather armor, black fabric wrappings, obsidian accessories. Leon could easily spot multiple daggers strapped visibly to her waist, and he believed that even more hidden weapons were throughout her outfit.
Assassin. Definitely a professional assassin. Probably their stealth and intelligence specialist.
Another imposing figure stood in formation—a man even taller than the first blonde warrior and far more muscular and bulky in build. His face and limbs displayed clear features of both lion and human ancestry merged together. A demi-human, unmistakably, and an exceptionally impressive physical specimen. He towered at approximately eight feet tall, his mere presence radiating primal strength and intimidation.
And lastly, there was another woman who immediately captured Leon's attention.
The nun had been conventionally pretty in that demure, religious kind of way. But this final woman was something else entirely—she embodied the very definition of beauty. She was absolutely gorgeous in a manner that went beyond normal human attractiveness into something almost otherworldly.
Her hair was pure, pristine white, flowing elegantly down past her shoulders like streams of liquid silk. She possessed remarkably harmonious facial features that seemed almost mathematically perfect in their proportions—high cheekbones, a refined nose, full lips. Her skin was flawlessly pure white, smooth as polished porcelain without a single visible blemish. Tall and graceful in her movements, her entire figure appeared refined and elegant in every conceivable way.
However, her eyes were completely covered by a distinctive red blindfold wrapped securely around her head, concealing them entirely from view. She wore relatively simple white light armor with minimal decorative designs, but even the plain equipment couldn't possibly hide or diminish her absolutely striking natural beauty.
Leon found himself genuinely thinking she was gorgeous.
Objectively speaking, without any bias, she might actually be the most beautiful woman I've ever encountered in either of my lives.
However, right now, he absolutely had to focus on matters far more important than physical appearances or aesthetic appreciation.
He could clearly sense palpable hostility radiating from most of these assembled people as they regarded him with varying intense degrees of suspicion, disgust, anger, and judgment in their eyes and body language. However, rather strangely, he detected absolutely no hostility whatsoever emanating from the blindfolded woman specifically.
That's genuinely odd. Why is she completely different from her companions? They're obviously together as a full party.
Suddenly breaking the silence, a commanding voice rang out from the blonde-haired man standing prominently in the middle of their formation, clearly marking him as the leader.
"Cassandra, is that him? Confirm the identification."
But no verbal response came from the blindfolded woman.
The man's brow furrowed with growing irritation. "Cassandra?"
He called the same name again with more emphasis, but still received absolutely no acknowledgment or answer.
All five people beside them turned their heads to look directly at the blindfolded woman with varying expressions of confusion and concern. Even Aria, who had positioned herself beside the group, joined them in staring.
Cassandra seemed to be completely lost in some kind of profound trance, her covered eyes seemingly fixed with laser focus directly on the silver-white-haired prisoner who had just arrived in custody.
And Leon was also looking back at her, though his reason was considerably simpler and more straightforward.
She's just exceptionally pretty to look at. That's honestly all there is to it on my end.
"CASSANDRA!"
The blonde warrior suddenly shouted with genuine force, his voice powerfully enhanced with thick mana that created visible shockwaves rippling through the air itself.
WHOOOOSH! CRACK!
The blindfolded woman jerked noticeably, her entire body giving a slight start as she snapped abruptly out of whatever deep trance had completely captured her attention and awareness.
The threads... I can see them so clearly. Not just one or two, but literally countless threads of fate and destiny surrounding him. So many that I genuinely can't even count them all. It's absolutely entrancing. I've never witnessed anything remotely like this before.
She possessed an extremely rare and unique ability—she could perceive the invisible threads of fate, destiny, and causality that connected individuals to significant world-changing events and outcomes. And this handcuffed man standing before her was wrapped, covered, completely enveloped in more threads than she had ever witnessed concentrated on a single individual in her entire life of using this gift or Curse.
She recognized the commanding voice immediately and responded, though notably she continued facing directly toward Leon rather than turning to address the speaker properly.
"Yes, Arthur?"
Her voice came out soft, soothing, but perfectly clear, carrying easily across.
Arthur, witnessing this blatant display of disrespect—not even bothering to face him directly when responding to his direct question—felt his annoyance and anger spike sharply. But he forcibly pushed the emotion down and continued with the critically important matter at hand that superseded petty concerns.
"Is he the one we're looking for? Confirm his identity with absolute certainty."
Cassandra replied immediately without breaking her fixed attention on Leon, seemingly unable or unwilling to look away from the unprecedented phenomenon she was witnessing through her unique supernatural sight.
"Yes. He is definitely, without any possible doubt, the one who was present with the world-class monster in Thornwood Forest during the incident."
Leon, hearing this utterly impossible conversation play out before him, felt genuine shock ripple through his entire system like cold water.
How did she know that? How could she possibly know with such certainty?
His spatial awareness had been continuously active during the entire duration of that catastrophic battle with Morpheus. He had been absolutely, completely certain that no observers were present anywhere within kilometers of that devastated combat zone. His detection range had been pushed to its maximum limits specifically to ensure privacy.
Yet somehow, impossibly, this blindfolded woman knew with absolute conviction and perfect accuracy that he had been there, involved directly with that world-class threat.
What kind of ability does she possess? How does her power actually work? Can she see the past somehow? Read residual energy signatures? Something else entirely?