CHAPTER 298: CONTROLLING THE POWER!?

The uncertainty gnawed at Sophie, making her pace in circles around the room in an attempt to calm her thoughts. She grabbed a glass of water and drank in uneven, shallow gulps.

"What should I do? What should I do?..."

Almost without realizing it, she drifted out of her room. Her gaze fell to the side—toward Grey’s door. She stood there in silence, her heart heavy.

Summoning every ounce of courage left in her, she slowly raised her hand and knocked.

"Hmm?" a voice came from within. "What’s up?"

"Umm..." She swallowed hard, hesitation flickering in her eyes. "Can I come in?"

"Sure."

The door creaked open on its own, and Sophie finally peered inside with a tentative gaze. Grey lay face down on the bed, his body slack, almost entirely unresponsive.

Sophie gulped as she cautiously approached him, tugging at his sleeve as if to confirm he wasn’t dead.

Grey’s brow twitched in irritation. "What exactly do you think you’re doing?"

She flinched back instantly, staring at him with a tentative gaze.

"You do realize I answered you earlier, right? That should’ve told you I’m not dead yet." Grey’s voice was flat, his expression speechless.

"Yeah, yeah..." Sophie muttered under her breath.

Grey arched a brow. "So, what do you want?"

"I... I want to stay here," she admitted softly, her voice almost a whisper. "I feel uneasy. Like... if I’m alone, someone might try to assassinate me."

Grey paused for a moment, then said calmly, "Well... you’re not wrong about that."

"Huh?" Sophie tilted her head confusion written all over her face.

Grey chuckled, a mysterious smile tugging at his lips. "Come out, Lilith."

A massive red grimoire emerged from his body, hovering in the air. Its pages flipped furiously as he lifted a crimson quill and began writing on it.

Boom!

Shockwaves radiated from it, spreading everywhere.

Dull thuds echoed from the bodies hitting the ground.

Sophie spun toward the noise, eyes wide in alarm. "Who... who’s there?"

"There was," Grey replied casually, his lazy, bored expression unchanging.

"There was!?" Sophie stammered, her body trembling uncontrollably.

"They’re unconscious," he said with a soft chuckle. "Do you really think I’d kill them?"

"Y-yeah..." she shuddered, unable to meet his gaze.

"Anyway, drag them here so you can investigate. Even if I protected you during the coronation, what guarantee is there that your life wouldn’t be at risk afterward?" Grey fell back onto the bed without a hint of movement, staring lazily at the ceiling.

A shiver ran down Sophie’s spine as realisation dawned in her eyes. "You’re right."

"So, now go and get them," Grey said, closing his eyes and settling into rest.

"Okay."

She spun around and left the room in haste.

Grey watched silently as she returned, dragging five bodies behind her, one by one, she laid them carefully in front of him.

"These are the bodies," Sophie said, her eyes flashing with murderous intent as she glared at them.

"Hmm." Grey stood from the bed and slowly circled the corpses, scrutinising each one in silence.

"I damaged their souls, so these guys will probably stay unconscious for a long time."

"Damaged their souls!?" Sophie exclaimed, utterly shocked.

"Yeah," Grey replied calmly. "Are you really that surprised?"

"I’m surprised they’re still alive," Sophie said seriously. The soul was the most fragile part of a being, one misstep, and they could have died instantly. The fact that they were still breathing was remarkable.

"You heard that, Lilith," Grey said with a chuckle. "She’s praising you."

"No, no, this is not because of me, it’s because of my dear," Lilith replied with a gentle voice, her grimoire’s edges gently nudging his shoulder.

"..." Grey just stood in utter silence.

"With the help of the Ancient Artefact and you reaching Master Book Tamer, it is obvious that you will have more control over the Grimoire," Lilith purred, her huge Grimoire appearing right next to his ears.

He certainly would have felt something if it was Lilith’s real body, but a book? Grey wasn’t such a person at all...

"Umm." Sophie looked at the conversation between the two with an awkward smile on her face. For a moment, she was a little uncertain if she should even disturb them.

"Cough." Grey coughed, noticing the awkward atmosphere. "Come, Lilith."

"Okay, dear, I cannot resist coming," Lilith spoke and turned into a blinding, flickering red light before entering his body.

Silence!

The awkwardness shot through the roof.

Especially with the way Sophie was looking at him. For a moment, Grey even lost his composure.

Luckily, he managed to keep his calm and spoke to her, "Let’s wait until they wake up."

"Wouldn’t that take forever?" Sophie queried.

Grey almost felt like slapping himself. He called out, "Come out, Lilith."

A red flicker of light appeared out of his body and materialized into her.

"Dear, what’s wrong?" Lilith replied with a purr.

"Let’s heal their souls, and we can get to asking." Grey raised his red quill again.

"Hehe, you shouldn’t have made me come. Now I feel tired," she chuckled, but still flipped her pages, and Grey wrote on it quickly, ignoring her comments entirely.

"Let thy soothe the soul and heal."

As Grey finished writing upon Lilith, the five slowly awakened, their groggy eyes looking around in confusion.

"Have we been caught?" one of them muttered with a bitter expression.

"What do you think, genius?" Grey stared at him.

"This..." A brief hesitation flickered in his eyes.

Suddenly, a grimoire appeared before another spy, and he moved to raise his quill to write on it. But how could Grey allow that to happen?

A fox-shaped grimoire suddenly manifested in front of him and he quickly wrote on it, a blue flame erupted, instantly engulfing the man’s grimoire.

The flames were terrifying, scorching both the grimoire and the quill before traveling up to the spy and consuming him entirely.

Grey lowered the intensity.

The four spies stared in horror as their companion was burned to a crisp. The flames finally subsided, leaving him crumpled on the ground with a dull thud.

"Start speaking."

"...Yes."