The air within the hall seemed to harden as all of Strax's wives turned their gazes to Lilith.

It wasn't just distrust—it was the presence of predators eyeing prey who had dared to breathe the same air as their king.

Lilith instinctively took a step back. The mana chains binding her glowed with a faint light, reacting to the women's growing aura. Even shackled, she felt as if each glance could pierce her.

Scarlet was the first to speak. Her voice, normally playful, was now a whisper, sharp as a blade.

"Strax… who is this woman?"

Tiamat, her dragon eyes shimmering with gold and red, tilted her head. "She seems too fragile to be near you."

Ouroboros moved silently, like a living shadow. "And yet, there's something strange about her. A residue of energy… unpleasant."

Kali crossed her arms, watching Lilith with the analytical gaze of someone who already knew what Strax was going to say. "I bet you have a good explanation for that, don't you, dear?"

Strax raised his hand, the gesture simple and calm, but enough to ease the tension in the air—just a little. His voice, when he spoke, carried a dangerous calm.

"Relax," he said unhurriedly. "She's here because she has... something I want."

The group exchanged glances. Scarlet was the first to react, raising an eyebrow.

"Something you want?"

"Or maybe... a group of people I want," Strax corrected.

The golden glow in his eyes seemed to shimmer more intensely as he added, with a small, indecipherable smile. "Lilith has friends. And I want to meet them."

The sentence hung in the air like thunder about to fall.

Beatrice closed the book in her hands with a soft snap. "Are you talking about a group of mages, mercenaries... or something worse?"

Before Strax could answer, Samira stepped forward with a wry half-smile. "No need to guess, Bea. I've seen the type." She jerked her thumb at Lilith. "It seems this girl here belongs to one of those sects, a celestial demonic cult... or some stupid name like that."

Lilith frowned but remained silent.

Samira continued, amused:

"Anyway, the kind of people who love to hide behind cloaks and pretty words while sacrificing entire cities in the name of some heavenly promise." She looked at Strax and arched an eyebrow. "And our dear husband wants that for himself."

The other women reacted almost in unison. Tiamat crossed her arms, visibly skeptical. Kali huffed something in another language. Scarlet just sighed.

Strax, however, remained calm.

"You all seem surprised." "I thought we had a plan," he said, his tone calm and precarious. "I thought we had a plan."

"What plan, exactly?" Monica asked calmly, though there was a subtle warning in her voice.

Strax turned to her, his golden gaze reflecting the lights in the hall.

"One where we would dominate this continent."

"And the next step would be to create an army strong enough to face the gods."

The silence that followed was absolute. Only the distant sound of the city rebuilding broke the tension.

Strax stepped forward and gestured toward Lilith.

"So I found this."

Lilith looked up, confused.

"A group of fanatics," he continued. "Warriors and mages who fight with irrational fervor. Willing to die for divine promises they don't even understand." His tone grew colder. "Fanatics like that are powerful. And dangerous." But under the right leadership…" He paused, the corner of his lips curling. "…they could be useful."

Scarlet laughed softly, a humorless laugh. "You want to convert an entire cult to your followers."

"I want to understand them first," he replied calmly. "And then decide if they're worth the effort."

Kali approached slowly, her dark cloak sliding across the floor. Her voice was low, almost whispered.

"And if they don't want to?"

Strax looked at Lilith, her golden eyes burning like contained flames.

"Then they will learn."

Samira clucked her tongue. "Here he goes again with that 'dragon king, conqueror of all' look."

Ouroboros, leaning against the wall, watched silently. "Don't underestimate fanatics, Strax. They'll burn alive with pleasure if they think it pleases their gods."

He nodded. "I know." Then he turned to Lilith. "But I want to see how far their loyalty goes."

Lilith, until then motionless, looked up. Her voice, trembling but firm, rang through the hall. "What if what you seek is greater than you think?"

Strax studied her for a moment. "Explain."

"The 'Celestial Cult' isn't just a sect," she said, her voice lower. "It's a network. A collection of ancient factions that serve the will of beings... who live beyond the confines of the mortal plane." She looked directly at him. "If you tamper with them, you'll touch forces that even the gods fear."

Tiamat held back a laugh… "That woman is such an idiot if she actually trusts in such things… the gods of this world are quite different from what she believes… that's pathetic."

Monica, however, looked at Strax thoughtfully. "Are you saying you want to start a war against a crazy organization before even facing the gods themselves?"

"Not exactly." He crossed his arms. "I want a bridge."

Kryssia, who had remained silent until then, stepped forward. "A bridge?"

Strax nodded. "I just want to dominate everything and take it for myself. We're stronger, and that's how this continent works, right? Let's just take everything for ourselves."

Beatrice looked intrigued. "You're trying to create your own system of power and dominate everything."

Strax looked at her and smiled. "Exactly."

Samira laughed, shaking her head. "You don't think small, do you?"

"I never did," he replied matter-of-factly.

Monica sighed. "So what's the plan now?"

Strax looked back at Lilith. "First, understand how much she knows."

Monica sighed. "So what's the plan now?"

Strax looked back at Lilith. "First, I'll show you something I've learned. See how she gets in a trance."

The woman looked away, but Strax approached with slow steps, the sound echoing on the newly polished marble floor.

He stopped in front of her. "Lilith."

She took a deep breath, trying to remain calm. "Yes."

"How old are you?" he asked calmly.

"Thirty-five," he replied without hesitation.

"And what is your greatest wish?"

She was silent for a moment. Strax's wives watched, some curious, some bored, but there was a collective attention floating among them—as if they all wanted to understand why he cared so much for this woman.

Lilith lowered her eyes.

"My greatest wish… is to never be afraid again."

The hall fell silent.

Strax kept his gaze fixed on her. "Afraid of what?"

"Of dying," Lilith replied, her voice barely above a whisper.

For a moment, no one spoke. The sound of the wind coming through the newly rebuilt windows seemed louder than usual, swaying the curtains and making the torches' flames dance.

Strax stood before her, his golden gaze fixed, analyzing her every reaction. He tilted his head slightly.

"So it's the fear of death that drives you…" he murmured, as if speaking more to himself than to her.

Lilith didn't answer, just kept her eyes lowered, almost trembling under the weight of his gaze.

Samira sighed, crossing her arms. "Well, that explains a lot. Fanatics always say they're not afraid of death, but in the end, that's precisely what controls them."

Scarlet nodded, circling Lilith like a panther examining its prey. "And the funny thing is, fear is the purest faith there is. No religion, no belief, nothing is truer than the instinct to want to continue existing."

Beatrice closed the book slowly, interested. "So the entire cult can be driven by this same fear disguised as devotion."

Strax smiled slightly. "Exactly."

He moved closer to Lilith. His voice was calm, but there was a weight there, something almost hypnotic.

"Lilith, look at me."

She looked up reluctantly.

"Can you hear me well?"

"Yes..." he replied, his voice trembling.

"Then tell me." Strax took a step forward, and the glow in his eyes grew, as if the mana around him responded to him. "What do you feel now?"

Lilith opened her mouth, but no words came out. For a moment, it seemed as if she were fighting some invisible force within her. And then, suddenly, her expression changed—her eyes lost focus, and her body relaxed.

Samira frowned. "There... there it is."

Monica watched intently, her expression calm but curious. "Is this mind control?"

"No," Strax replied, his eyes never leaving Lilith's. "It's something... simpler."

He raised one hand, making a small gesture.

"Lilith, raise your right hand."

She obeyed.

"Now, lower it."

She obeyed again, with the same blank look.

Scarlet laughed, unable to hide her astonishment. "So it's true. She obeys with words alone."

Tiamat crossed her arms, intrigued. "This isn't magic. Not runes, not dragon commands."

Kryssia took a step forward. "It's as if her body responds to something deeper."

Strax kept his tone calm. "Maybe it is. Maybe it's instinct. Or maybe she's reacting to the presence of someone who represents absolute power." He turned to them, the golden glow in his eyes slowly fading. "Whatever it is, I can use it."

Samira looked at him with a half-smile. "Of course you can. I can see it: soon there will be an entire legion of these 'faithful' marching behind you, calling you 'sir' and kneeling every time you breathe."

He didn't deny it. He just smiled.

Lilith blinked a few times, as if coming to, confused. "What... what happened?"

"Nothing much," Strax replied. "I just proved a point."

She looked around, startled by the silence that followed. The others' gazes were still on her, heavy as iron.

"You went into a trance, dear," Scarlet said, her smile barely reaching her eyes.

Lilith took a step back, visibly disturbed. "I... I don't remember anything."

Strax watched her silently, studying her. "So it's real."

Beatrice made mental notes. "Fascinating. Her response was automatic, without magical resistance. That means she recognizes your authority on a subconscious level."

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