Chapter 32 – The Price of the Throne.

The walk back from the Palace of New Nobles to the Ivory & Silk Residence appeared calm on the outside. 

Diana maintained a steady stride, her head held high, bearing the icy countenance of Commander, while Rhea walked beside her and Kael and Lyra covered the rear with faces full of pride. Diana held the dragon leather pouch containing twenty extorted silver coins, the Magical Contract of Tax Exemption tucked in her pocket.

However, the millisecond they crossed the heavy oak door of the duplex apartment and the magical lock engaged, Diana's armor of steel collapsed.

CRASH.

Diana dropped to her knees on the hallway's marble floor.

The dragon leather pouch slipped from her hands, and she braced her arms on the ground, her entire body shaking in a violent, uncontrollable convulsion.

"DIANA!" Rhea screamed, throwing her daggers to the floor and rushing to her friend in sheer terror.

An overwhelming dizziness sent Diana's vision spiraling. An agonizing pain, as if thousands of burning needles were piercing her brain from the inside out, exploded in her head. Her lungs burned, and her stomach contracted so brutally she could not hold back the nausea.

Diana doubled over and vomited a dark, bitter bile onto the floor, laced with tiny sparks of purified black mana.

Her fair skin turned terrifyingly pale, and a scorching magic fever ignited in her body in a matter of seconds, causing her skin to burn to the touch.

Kael and Lyra froze in the hallway, shocked, dread stamped across their faces.

"Commander!" Kael took a step forward.

"Kael, help carry her to the bedroom!" Rhea ordered, her voice trembling with despair, holding Diana's shoulders while the human girl kept gasping and shaking in spasms of pain. "Lyra, bring cold water and clean towels right now!"

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Master Suite - Ivory & Silk Residence

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For six consecutive hours, the apartment's master suite turned into an emergency infirmary.

Diana lay on the soft bed, covered by linen sheets, shivering with violent chills alternating with spikes of high fever. Her headache was so severe she could barely open her eyes without feeling the magic lamp's light pierce her vision.

Rhea didn't leave the bedside for a single second.

With tireless devotion, the hybrid girl swapped the cold water compresses on Diana's forehead, wiped sweat from her skin, and coaxed small spoonfuls of MP restoration potion and medicinal herbal tea between her friend's trembling lips.

Kael kept vigil at the bedroom door with his volcanic steel shield ready, while Lyra prepared herbal infusions on the kitchen stove.

Diana's condition was not a bacterial infection or ordinary poison.

It was Soul Backlash from the unbridled use of a Sovereign skill.

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Around two in the morning, Diana's fever began to break.

The excruciating pain in her brain subsided to a muffled pulse, and the human girl's erratic breathing finally stabilized into a calm, deep rhythm.

Rhea, exhausted from six hours of continuous care, had fallen asleep sitting on the floor beside the bed, her head resting on the mattress. The wolf girl's right hand still gripped Diana's fingers firmly, refusing to let go even in sleep.

Diana opened her eyes slowly.

Her vision was no longer blurry. The physical weakness was still pronounced, but Diana's analytical mind had returned to full control.

She looked at Rhea's hand holding hers.

A calm, faint, yet deeply sincere and grateful smile appeared on Diana's lips. She gently squeezed Rhea's fingers back, feeling her friend's warmth.

With her left hand, Diana snapped her fingers and opened the System interface in private black-gold mode.

"System." Diana called in thought, her voice faint. "Collapse diagnosis and audit."

The dark golden interface floated before her face in the room's gloom:

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[SYSTEM: SOUL BACKLASH DIAGNOSTIC REPORT]

- Cause of Collapse: Spiritual Pressure Overload (Use of [Aura of the Sovereign of Greed] at Level 14).

- Diagnosis: Vessel Incompatibility. Channeling 100% of a Deadly Sin Candidate's Aura through a mortal Level 14 body is equivalent to channeling dam water through a thin plastic pipe.

- Consequence: Magic Fever, Residual Mana Vomiting, and Magic Channel Exhaustion for 12 Hours.

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Diana stared at the report.

"Explain the limitations." Diana ordered mentally. "Why didn't extracting Vane's attribute point cause me pain, but the Aura did?"

The System's voice echoed in her head, calm and explanatory.

—[Harvest Extraction] is a passive harvesting process, Diana.

The System explained.

—When the target [Lord Vane] entered extreme terror and total submission, his soul yielded its Intelligence essence voluntarily out of weakness. You spent no MP and didn't strain your body to steal that point. The point came free because your soul is a bottomless pit.

—On the other hand… the System continued, its tone turning serious, …the [Aura of the Sovereign] is the direct projection of a Deadly Sin's power. To paralyze four Level 22 guards and a Level 28 noble in the same hall, you forced your soul to emit the pressure of a Level 100+ entity.

"My Level 14 body couldn't handle the weight of my own soul." Diana concluded coldly.

—Exactly.

The System confirmed.

—If you keep unleashing 100% of that Aura before reaching Level 50, your body's vessel will shatter. Your brain will melt and you'll die of mana collapse.

Diana furrowed her brows. "What are the restrictions to use the Aura without dying?"

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[SOVEREIGN AURA RESTRICTION RULES (UNTIL LEVEL 50)]

1. Output Limit: Aura restricted to a maximum of 10% to 15% output.

2. Short Burst Usage: Pressure projection allowed only in a 2-second pulse (Area Intimidation Style).

3. Target Restriction: Do not use full Aura against targets more than twenty levels above yours without soul-stabilizing elixir support.

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Diana committed every restriction to memory.

She was a pragmatist. Understanding the rules and limits of her power was the difference between being a brilliant strategist or an idiot killed by her own pride.

Aura restricted to 15% for short intimidation bursts… Diana reasoned. …and to use 100% without Soul Backlash, I need to raise my body level and my Vitality.

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By dawn the following day, Diana's fever had completely vanished.

Rhea woke up at Diana's movement on the bed and leaped up from the floor, her amber eyes shining with anxious concern.

"Diana! How are you?! Did the fever pass?!" Rhea asked, touching Diana's forehead with both hands.

Diana looked at the hybrid girl and smiled. A small, calm, deeply genuine smile.

"The fever passed, Rhea." Diana said, her voice firm. "Thank you for taking care of me."

Rhea let out a long sigh of pure relief, wiping a tear from her eye, and smiled back.

Diana sent Rhea to the citadel's rare herb market to purchase soul restoration elixirs to ensure her mana channels remained 100% clear.

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[HEALTH RECOVERY EXPENSES]

- Purchase of Soul Restoration Elixirs (Rare Herbs): -1 Silver Coin and 50 Bronze Coins (150 Bronze).

[TEMPORARY POCKET BALANCE: 49 SILVER COINS (4,900 Bronze / 4.9 Gold Coins)]

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Around ten in the morning, Diana gathered the complete Arcane Greed Faction in the duplex apartment living room.

Kael wore his new Volcanic Steel Shield, Lyra held her Mana Crystal Staff, and Rhea wore her Silk Overcoat and Corrosive Daggers.

Rather than being frightened by the previous day's physical collapse, Diana's ambition burned hotter than ever. She had understood the lesson: for her body to keep pace with the monstrous growth of her anomalous soul, she needed to level up quickly.

Diana looked at the three members of her team, her dark eyes sparking with invincible resolve.

"Adjustments complete." Diana declared, her crisp voice echoing through the room. "Starting today, we end hunts in amateur sector dungeons."

Kael and Lyra straightened their posture, attentive.

"We are going to the Dungeon of the Fallen King's Ruins (Level 18-20)." Diana announced, a sharp, predatory smile appearing on her lips. "It's the most dangerous dungeon on the Second Circle border. That's where the strongest monsters, the most valuable loot, and the definitive path to Level 20 lie."

Rhea smiled with confidence beside Diana, Kael struck his steel shield onto the floor with determination, and Lyra raised her crystal staff ready for combat.

With 49 Silver in the vault, Intelligence 29 reached, the Arcane Greed Faction fully equipped, and their objective set, Diana led her squad with firm strides toward the Fallen King's Ruins.

Final Notes:

Consequences my people, this power is too strong for such a weak body, after all. Anyway, what are you guys thinking?