Chapter 499: Dark Lord Benjamin
Yuki wasn’t convinced, and was still trying to stand up while trembling like a fawn.
Her legs shook beneath her, her body barely able to support her own weight. She had pushed herself too far, given too much, and now she had nothing left.
Her blue eyes remained fixed on Benjamin, wary and suspicious, ready to strike again if he made any sudden moves.
"These women..." She whispered as her party members started getting ready for another fight, one more dangerous than the last, "they have been hiding and watching us for a while... They must be the researchers who made this dragon an anomaly!"
The ice witch’s voice carried a cold edge, her blue eyes narrowing to dangerous slits as she studied the space where the mysterious pair had suddenly materialized.
Her hands were still raised, frost gathering at her fingertips in intricate patterns, ready to unleash another wave of freezing magic at a moment’s notice.
The air around her crackled with barely contained power, and the temperature dropped noticeably as her emotions spiked.
The other adventurers moved into formation around her, their weapons raised, their bodies tense with renewed alertness.
The katana-wielding lady shifted her stance. Even the mages, exhausted from their earlier efforts, began to gather what little magic they had left, their faces pale with determination.
"Eh?! Women? What kind of plot is this turning into?!" Benjamin recoiled and moved back a bit, his hands raised in a placating gesture that was meant to look non-threatening but came across as awkward and clumsy. "Please, let’s be logical. There’s no way I’ll be standing so close to you guys without being found out!"
He glanced at Heka, then back at the adventurers as if trying to understand how he had become the target of such suspicion.
The female mage squinted her red eyes, her gaze piercing and analytical as she studied Benjamin with intensity.
"But..." Her lips pressed into a thin line, as if listening to something that no one else could hear. "there’s no way you can possibly get THIS close without us noticing as well... Not with that chaotic magic power. How were you able to come this close?"
Her words hung in the air, heavy with implication. The other adventurers exchanged glances, their suspicion deepening.
They had been fighting for their lives against an unnatural dragon, and now two strangers had appeared from nowhere, watching them from a position of safety while they struggled and bled.
It was too convenient and suspicious, too much of a coincidence to be anything other than deliberate.
"Magic power...?" Benjamin tilted his head, and looked around himself.
His brow furrowed as he seemed to notice something for the first time, something that had escaped his attention until this very moment.
He raised his hands, turning them over as if seeing them for the first time, and could see the fluctuation of energy that surrounded them, the telltale sign of magic that was not being properly contained.
He suddenly paled and then blushed, only just realizing his magic power was not being properly contained as before.
It was leaking out of him like water through a cracked vessel, visible to anyone watching. The adventurers could see it and feel it, and their fear was palpable.
[Eep! S-Sys, what is going on?! I’m practically naked!] Benjamin immediately signalled the trusty voice in his head.
His internal panic was palpable, a frantic scrambling to understand what had gone wrong.
{It has something to do with the ability that turned the cliff environment in the Khairkhan tribe to a forest of magic. In a few minutes, I will have Master’s magic power back to normal.}
[Don’t suddenly go professional secretary on me! Why didn’t you tell me my magic increased?] Benjamin whined internally, his mental voice ringing with petulance that seemed almost childish.
He was frustrated, embarrassed, and more than a little scared at the prospect of his power being exposed to strangers who already had reason to distrust him.
However, Sys could not bring herself to tell Benjamin that his power is still unstable from growing abnormally in such a small amount of time, and that this was the best she could do.
Since the truth was far more complicated than Benjamin could handle at the moment, Sys had judged that he was not ready to hear it.
There was no simple fix, no easy solution. All she could do was manage the symptoms and hope that his body would eventually catch up to the lingering power.
After appeasing him, Sys withdrew some percentage of his magic... But it only increased the suspicion of the Adventurers.
The sudden shift in magical energy was impossible to miss, a dramatic drain that sent ripples through the air around them.
"Sh... She’s lying about her magic power!" The Amazon said, her eyes wide and terrified. Her gaze was fixed on Benjamin, her body tensed for combat despite her wounds. "We do not know how much magic she actually has, but it is abnormal to absorb such a great amount of magic into the vessel. This is not a human..."
[Thank you very much, Sys.] [Ben]
{I exist to serve}
She answered without understanding the sarcasm, her tone as neutral and professional as ever.
"Wait!" Heka stood up, raising her hand to calm the terrified group. Her voice was firm. She stepped forward, placing herself between Benjamin and the adventurers, her posture one of protection. "The dark Lord Benjamin is not a threat! Trust me, Amazons never tell lies!"
[Dark Lord what?!] [Ben]
"You say that but... what kind of Amazon survives a shot from Yuki’s intent to kill?" Maria asked, suspicion clear in her gaze.
"Ah, that was a very nice hit. I felt it in my skull. Thank you very much." This, said by Heka with her eyes and face bright with joy, made the group move back several steps in recoil, thinking Heka might be more of a threat.
Her cheerful tone, her genuine appreciation for the attack that had nearly killed her, was very unsettling.
The back and forth went on for minutes, the adventurers demanding answers, with Benjamin and Heka struggling to provide them.
But Benjamin forcefully healed the group and introduced himself as a god-touched.
He explained his power and strangeness with a casualness that seemed rehearsed, as if he had done this many times already.
The healing was immediate and complete, the adventurers’ wounds closing before their eyes, their exhaustion fading away like mist in the morning sun.
That Heka was the daughter of the Amazon Queen, Elara also explained why such an attack from the powerful ice witch didn’t end her life or at least put her in mortal danger.
The revelation was surprising, but it made sense. Heka was not an ordinary Amazon; she was royalty, blessed with the strength and resilience that came directly from generations of powerful bloodlines.
Her survival was not a miracle, but rather a testament to her heritage.
With the group more at ease and healed in a matter of seconds, they calmed down.
The tension that had gripped them moments before began to dissipate, replaced by a cautious curiosity. They still had questions, still harbored doubts, but they were no longer on the verge of attacking.