Chapter 31: Psychopath and Three Beautiful Princesses (Magic Castle Bonus)

Chapter 31. Psychopath and Three Beautiful Princesses (Magic Castle Bonus)

We arrived around ten minutes later.

By then, I looked like a psychopath escorting three absurdly beautiful princesses through the underground ruins of an abandoned Light Temple.

Which, technically, was exactly what was happening.

Monster blood had splattered across the lower half of my cloak. There was another streak on my cheek that I hadn’t bothered wiping away, and the black fabric around my sleeve had dried into something unpleasantly stiff. Meanwhile Ariel walked beside me in her elegant dress with her new blue pendant glowing softly against her neck, Seris followed with the dignified posture of a phoenix princess, and Lily practically illuminated the corridor simply by existing.

The contrast was incredible.

If someone stumbled across us right now, there would be no misunderstanding whatsoever.

They would immediately conclude I’d kidnapped them.

Wonderful.

Eventually, the narrow underground corridor opened.

And there it was.

The restoration pool.

I stopped.

Ariel did too.

The chamber was enormous, circular, and surprisingly intact compared to the temple above. Pale stone pillars surrounded a natural pool almost thirty meters across. Crystalline veins ran through the walls and disappeared beneath the water, glowing with soft blue-white light. The surface shimmered despite there being no wind.

Mana.

A ridiculous amount of it.

Water affinity.

Light affinity.

Earth beneath both.

Natural convergence.

I could feel the structure immediately.

"Beautiful..." Lily whispered.

Seris nodded.

Ariel said nothing. She simply stared.

This restoration pool was one of the reasons Rey had chosen to establish his estate near this town in the first place.

He’d discovered it while desperately searching for ways to stop the curse.

The plan had been simple.

Use the natural restorative properties of the pool while Elia performed purification and mana stabilization.

Rey had thought combining the two might repair the damage to his core.

It hadn’t.

Nothing had.

Eventually, the Light Temple abandoned this location, Elia’s attempts became less frequent, Rey’s condition worsened, and this place became another failed solution in a very long list of failed solutions.

I stared at the water.

Well. Failure depended heavily on what you were trying to repair.

"Wait."

Ariel glanced at me.

I crouched beside the pool.

[Abyssal Formation Creation.]

A black-violet circle expanded beneath my palm.

Thin lines raced around the edge of the water before sinking underneath.

[Environmental Analysis Formation established.]

[Scanning...]

[Foreign Mana Contamination: Minimal.]

[Hostile Curse Presence: None.]

[Monster Presence: None.]

[Restorative Mana Density: High.]

[Water Element Affinity: High.]

[Light Element Affinity: Moderate.]

[Suitable for Mana Recovery.]

"Safe."

Ariel smiled.

She stepped toward the edge and carefully removed the outer layers of her dress, keeping a simple fitted top for modesty before lowering herself into the water.

The transformation happened almost immediately.

Her legs shimmered.

Blue light swept over them.

Then...

Her mermaid tail emerged beneath the surface.

Scales caught the glowing mana from the pool, scattering light across the chamber.

Lily immediately crouched beside the water. "Pretty."

Ariel laughed. "You’ve seen my tail before."

"Still pretty."

Fair argument.

Ariel swam farther into the pool.

The effect was immediate.

Her shoulders relaxed.

Her breathing deepened.

The faint tension I’d noticed around her mana core began easing as restorative energy flowed naturally through her channels.

I activated Arcane Eye.

Mana pathways appeared.

Core.

Mantle.

Circulation.

The inflamed mana mantle was absorbing restorative energy. Slowly.

Ariel closed her eyes. "This feels wonderful."

I didn’t answer.

Because I could already see the problem.

Relief? Yes.

Recovery? Barely.

The pool could soothe the damaged mantle.

It could accelerate natural healing.

But Ariel hadn’t come here merely for a magical spa day.

I wanted it fixed.

Completely.

My gaze sharpened.

Then an old formation surfaced in my memory.

Not Rey’s.

Mine.

Evan Veyr’s.

I stepped closer to the pool.

[Abyssal Formation Creation.]

This time I didn’t use an ancient formation.

I constructed my own.

Lines exploded outward.

One circle.

Three.

Seven.

Twelve.

Layer after layer spread beneath the pool, climbing the pillars and connecting through the chamber floor.

Seris’s eyes widened.

Lily stood.

Even Ariel opened her eyes. "What is that?"

"Restoration formation."

Except it wasn’t from this era.

I’d created the original design thousands of years later.

Back when I still had my fractured mana core.

I’d spent months going through therapies.

Mana baths.

Core stimulation.

Artificial circulation.

Resonance treatment.

Expensive medicine.

Experimental medicine.

Very expensive experimental medicine that tasted like fermented socks.

Nothing restored my core.

So naturally, thirteen-year-old Evan had decided. "Fine. I’ll invent something myself."

This formation had been one of those attempts.

It worked by taking ambient restorative mana, refining it, matching it to the patient’s natural frequency, then forcing controlled circulation around damaged mana structures.

For me? Failure.

My core had been physically fractured.

You couldn’t polish a shattered cup until it became whole.

But Ariel’s core wasn’t broken.

Her mantle was burned.

Inflamed.

Overworked.

This?

This was exactly what the formation was meant to repair.

[Restoration Formation established.]

[Required Energy Source detected.]

[Compatible Energy: Normal Mana.]

I stared at the notification.

Forbidden Energy would probably contaminate the pool.

Not risking that.

"Fine."

I placed both hands against the formation.

Mana poured out.

Real mana.

Immediately, something twisted inside my chest.

Black veins crawled over my wrist.

Ariel’s eyes snapped open. "Rey?"

"Stay."

She started swimming toward the edge. "Rey, your—"

"No." My voice hardened. A command. "Stay there."

She froze.

Our eyes met. Mine weren’t playful anymore. "Trust me."

The formation roared.

[Curse Stability: 89%.]

[Curse Stability: 84%.]

[Curse Stability: 80%.]

Fast.

Very fast.

Because I wasn’t casting one spell.

I was continuously feeding a massive formation.

Pain crawled through my veins like heated wire.

My teeth clenched.

But through Arcane Eye, I could see Ariel’s mantle changing.

The inflamed sections were cooling.

Mana circulation stabilized.

Micro-damage began closing.

Yes.

There.

Exactly.

A grin pulled at my mouth.

Seris stepped toward me. "Rey, stop. You’re hurting yourself."

"Temporary."

Black veins reached my neck.

[Curse Stability: 76%.]

[Curse Stability: 70%.]

Lily looked genuinely frightened now. "Rey!"

"Almost."

The formation brightened.

Ariel gasped.

Her tail flashed brilliant turquoise.

The entire pool shimmered.

Then...

[Target Mana Mantle stabilization complete.]

[Mana circulation restored.]

[Mana Mantle Burn: Cleared.]

I canceled everything.

The formation vanished.

My knees nearly followed.

I staggered backward and clutched my chest.

"Rey!" Seris caught my shoulder.

Lily grabbed my other arm.

Ariel surged toward the edge of the pool.

I lifted one hand. "Wait."

Pain pulsed through me.

Black veins covered my arm.

My heartbeat sounded disgusting.

But underneath all of it?

Corruption.

Beautiful, useful corruption.

I smiled.

[Curse Conversion activated.]

The pain vanished.

Black veins retreated.

The corruption reversed through my channels and compressed into that familiar dark reservoir.

[Corruption successfully converted.]

[Forbidden Energy Capacity expanded by 5%.]

[Arcana Evolution Progress: 4%.]

I inhaled.

Deeply.

Then exhaled.

My grin returned. "That’s better."

Seris stared at my face. "You’re okay?"

"I’m okay." I tapped my chest. "The curse is under control."

Then I sat down because my legs had filed an official complaint regarding that statement.

Lily crouched beside me. "You’re insane."

"Probably."

"That’s not something you should agree with."

"Then stop saying correct things."

A splash came from the pool.

Ariel had reached the edge.

Her eyes were wet again.

But she was smiling.

More importantly... Her mana.

Smooth.

Stable.

Healthy.

"Rey."

I looked at her.

She touched her chest. "It doesn’t hurt anymore."

Something warm settled behind my ribs.

"Good."

She looked at the pool.

Then at me.

Then at Seris and Lily.

"Come in."

I raised an eyebrow. "What?"

"The water." Ariel smiled. "Come in."

"I’m fine."

"You just poured enough mana into a formation to make your curse flare."

"And converted it."

"Rey."

"No. The pool might reject me."

Well, maybe not.

But considering what was currently flowing through my body, there was also a very real possibility I’d step into a sacred restoration pool and accidentally corrupt the entire damn thing.

So...

Nah.

Better not.

Silence.

I waved one hand casually. "Just have fun."

Seris, meanwhile, looked at the shimmering water.

"Well..."

Lily was already removing her shoes.

Traitor.

Seris sighed. "You two enjoy yourselves." She smiled. "I guess I will join too..." She jumped into the pool.

I smiled. "Enjoy your bath."

Ariel splashed water at me.

I leaned aside.

It missed.

Another splash.

[Warning.]

My system suddenly flared across my vision.

[Perimeter Detection Formation activated.]

[Movement detected.]

[Number of entities: 6.]

[Monster signatures: Negative.]

[Unknown humanoid signatures detected.]

[Hostile intent detected.]

I froze.

The second wave of water hit me directly in the face.

Water dripped from my hair.

Down my nose.

Along my chin.

But I barely noticed it anymore.

Because six little dots had appeared inside the detection formation surrounding the ruined temple.

Moving carefully.

Avoiding the main entrance.

Suppressing their mana.

Trying very, very hard not to be noticed.

My lips slowly curled upward. My gaze shifted toward the dark corridor leading back upstairs.

"There you are." Black-violet mana quietly crawled between my fingers. My smile widened. "I was starting to think you wouldn’t send your assassins after me again."