Cloud Thinking

"It's actually him?"

Helia was somewhat surprised, yet she also felt that his explanation made sense.

She didn't have much contact with Clementi—once for a physical examination and once for her soul to return to her body, both times in the palace, and both times thanks to Elroy, she was able to get help from this top-notch healing mage.

After much questioning, we finally obtained some useful clues.

At least when dealing with Zhou Ranyi in the future, I'll know who to ask for help.

“Your Highness Helia, if I may be so bold as to suggest, you’d better not provoke that elven mage,” Cammod added.

"Why?" Helia finally gave him a glance.

“Clementi…” Cammod chose his words carefully, “is someone who likes to solve problems at their root.”

"Many times, he doesn't solve problems, but rather he solves the people who create them."

"He is bloodthirsty."

Helia looked up at the sky, remained silent for a moment, and thought: Does he not see me as that kind of person?

“I couldn’t tell,” she replied. “Isn’t he a healing mage? Although his methods are a bit violent, he gives off a calm and composed vibe.”

“You do know him.” Although one could guess from Helia’s words and actions that she knew Clementi, guess is still just guess.

Now that he had received confirmation from her own mouth, Cammod felt a sense of relief and joy.

"Since you're so talkative, why don't you tell us more about Zhou Ranyi?" Helia was annoyed at being tricked into talking and tightened her grip slightly.

This guy is being held around the waist by her, and he's actually enjoying it?!

"I already said, if you want to talk about Zhou Ranyi, you might as well just kill me!" Camode shouted in despair.

Helia, however, discerned a different meaning in his words: "It's not that you don't want to say it, it's that you can't say it."

"The price of speaking out is harder to bear than death, isn't it?"

Camo hung his head and remained motionless, like a dead salted fish.

But this ambiguous silence only confirmed Helia's conjecture.

No wonder not many people know about Zhou Ranyi's affairs; it turns out that those in the know simply cannot divulge them.

She understood the association's approach—if it were her, she would also try to keep those who knew the secret quiet.

“Zhou Ranyi’s control reminds me of someone,” Helia continued, her gaze lingering on the three people opposite her, but she never quite locked onto her true target.

"The Herris family seems to be the most skilled at controlling magic."

“You said…” Helia stuffed the magic book back into Cammod’s arms and pointed her hand at someone with five fingers spread out.

As his lips moved, a fireball condensed in his palm.

Could Zhou Ranyi be their doing?

Before he could finish speaking, a fireball, so hot it almost consumed everything, was unleashed.

The law enforcement officers hurriedly dodged, but the fireball seemed to have a tracking function, relentlessly pursuing the targeted individuals no matter where they fled.

Left with no other choice, he had to turn to his teammates—if one person couldn't carry the load, he would pull others along to help.

Fortunately, the team had a defensive mage who managed to block the attack.

But Helia advanced like a mobile artillery platform, unstoppable.

Kamo watched the game from an awkward perspective, nervously swallowing his saliva.

Fortunately, Helia's target wasn't him, otherwise he would have been reduced to ashes long ago.

But he couldn't just stand by and watch his teammates get beaten.

He wouldn't be able to explain himself if he went back alive alone. But he didn't dare to lay a hand on Helia—ambushing her would be suicide, and he wanted to live a few more years.

So he had no choice but to talk to Helia in an attempt to distract her.

“I suspect there are, and it’s probably not just them.” He carefully answered within the scope of what he could say, “It should be said that any family with a seat in the association may have participated in the design and construction.”

"Hmph!" Helia snorted coldly.

“The Heris family is considered one of the more mysterious families among the great clans. I don’t know much about them, but I’ve heard rumors about them.” Cammod continued to interfere with the plan. “I’ve heard that the ancestor of the Heris family was a god who walked among humans in ancient times.”

That's unheard of.

Helia raised an eyebrow, hefted the person in her arms, and gestured for him to continue.

"Some say that the current Heris family are descendants of that god and human, while others say that they killed the god, divided up the god's authority, and devoured the god's remains."

"Opinions vary widely, and there is no consensus."

Camo breathed a slight sigh of relief when he saw that Helia's movements had slowed down.

Helia suddenly thought of Osinotto.

This false god's authority is also related to control, but it is limited to the soul.

Yurosh also possessed some power to control his emotions.

The Morabi family, like the Herris family, possesses a lineage of control-related martial arts.

With so many powers related to control, it's hard not to suspect that there was once a god who held the reins of control, but who perished and was divided among the people, leading to the current situation.

Currently, no single party has sufficient power to unify these fragmented authorities.

The lack of a higher authority to unify these forces has led to the current fragmented state of affairs.

Will I ever have that chance...?

The thought popped into her head at an inopportune moment. She licked her lips and suddenly felt hungry. The greed in her heart was so intense that it almost solidified into a physical form.

A moment of distraction allowed the already formidable law enforcement team to seize the opportunity.

A splinter emerged from under her feet, and even though Helia dodged it in time, she was still grazed on the arm because of the close proximity.

This also revealed the weakness of that divine protective shield to others—there was no defense beneath their feet.

Wood and Earth element mages instantly turned the tide of battle.

Spikes and vines rose and fell, and Helia dodged them one after another, soon finding herself with nowhere to land.

With insufficient ground defense and the risk of exposing her weaknesses by taking to the air, she had no choice but to rely on her agility to constantly move around.

A perfectly fine luxury estate crumbled in an instant.

Stones flew about, and thick roots intertwined everywhere.

Even so, she did not abandon Cammod, as if she wanted to take him hostage.

The problem is that his teammates acted without any restraint.

If Helia hadn't shielded him from the blows, he would have been riddled with holes by the thorny vines.

Now he behaved himself, shrinking back as much as possible to hide under her protection and no longer causing trouble.

He just couldn't understand why Helia always took him with her, and even protected him during the hunt.

Could it be that I am one of her targets?

"Kamod! How long are you going to play dead?!"

The uncle wielding two swords was of no use at the moment; he watched from the sidelines and occasionally offered assistance.

Seeing that Cammod remained motionless like a corpse, letting Helia lead him around, he was so angry that he wanted to kick him twice.

That idiot! He was so close to Helia! Such a good opportunity and he didn't even make a move!

Did they defect? ​​Or were they knocked unconscious?

Camord trembled at the shout, as if unwilling to face a difficult choice, and decisively pretended to be dead and didn't move.

Helia even had the leisure to joke: "Hey, I'm calling you, why aren't you responding?" As she spoke, she weighed him twice.

Camor continued to play dead.

Helia naturally remembered his previous harassment and now wanted to get a little revenge.

Taking advantage of a lull in the attack, she grabbed his overly long bangs and forcibly pulled his head up, letting everyone see his eyes filled with pain and shock.

“I forgot to ask.” Helia glanced down at his pink eyes. “Your eye color… is it something special?”

"Is she an elven hybrid?"

Camor closed his eyes tightly, unwilling to face it.

But his hair was being pulled painfully at the roots, and it seemed the other party wouldn't let go until he answered, so he was forced to speak:

"Yes! I am!"

Helia smiled knowingly. "No wonder... you and Clementi are the same kind of people, no wonder you pay so much attention to him."

But she didn't let go; instead, she tightened her grip even more, as if to make sure everyone could see clearly.

He grimaced in pain and struggled incessantly.

But Helia's strength was no joke—she could easily subdue the bamboo-like Cammod, or even break him in half.

That's why it's strange that she hasn't taken the plunge.

Camord had absolutely no idea what her intentions were.

"Kamod! Are you going to become a traitor?!" The dual-wielding uncle gritted his teeth in anger. "Do you know what happens to a traitor?!"

Helia: ...Is this putting pressure on my teammates?

She rolled away to avoid the spikes, but because she was controlling Camo with both hands, she couldn't defend herself in time. Her long skirt got caught on the spikes and tore, revealing her fair and slender legs.

The thorny vines, covered in barbs, wrapped around it and pulled sharply, leaving a gruesome bloody mark, but were quickly engulfed by the flames.

"Hiss—" Helia gasped in pain.

Just then, as if she had foreseen the ending, the previously docile Cammod suddenly lowered her head violently to break free from her restraints, and her broken hair fell from between her fingers.

He immediately summoned his wand and struck Helia's chin hard, knocking her head to the side. His attack was swift and decisive.

At this moment, he finally resembled a true law enforcer.

The distance was too close; even if Helia reacted, she couldn't dodge in time.

Before she could turn around, a bubble rushed over and enveloped her head, causing her to suffocate and exhale a string of bubbles.

This is going to drown her.

She let go of Cammod and instinctively scratched the blisters on her face.

However, the outermost membrane, though soft, is unbreakable. Even when faced with sharp dragon claws, it only deforms without showing any signs of cracking.

Camo fell to the ground and coughed violently.

The moment she attacked Helia, she also tightened her arms around her.

He felt as if his ribs were broken, his throat was filled with the taste of blood, and he was having difficulty breathing.

He struggled to escape—the bubbles couldn't hold Helia for long; once she freed her hands, she would surely die.

But after taking only two steps, he heard the whooshing sound of wind breaking and the popping of bubbles. Water splashed down, carrying a hint of blood on his face.

Looking up, Helia stood frozen in place, head bowed. The bubbles on her head had disappeared, and her long hair was soaking wet, dripping water droplets, making her look like a vengeful ghost crawling out of the water.

It was damp yet beautiful.

For some reason, the surroundings suddenly fell silent, and the teammates all stopped attacking.

A golden opportunity was presented to them, yet they stood frozen in strange poses like puppets.

"Cough—" Helia moved.

His body shuddered, and he spat out a mouthful of blood, which splattered onto Camor's face. The warm, sticky sensation made him freeze.

Helia, who was originally invulnerable to swords and spears, collapsed as easily as if her divine power had been stripped away, leaving him completely puzzled.

Helia swayed, slowly raised her head, and locked her gaze over the mess onto one person.

"Got you..." she grinned maliciously, her teeth glistening with blood, yet she showed no sign of distress, only a terrifying joy.

In the blink of an eye, golden light rippled in her azure eyes, and golden-red flames suddenly ignited around her, spreading along something.

Through the flames, Cammod finally saw that there were countless golden lines just an inch above his head.

Each one pierced through Helia's body.

Because the thread was so fine, the wound was tiny and difficult to detect.

But that doesn't mean it doesn't hurt.

It felt like countless needles were piercing her body at the same time, and the extreme pain made her unable to scream.

After that, numbness set in; the excessive pain numbed my senses.

The flames crackled as they burned the golden threads binding her.

At the same time, the other law enforcement officers, like robots programmed with instructions, rushed toward Helia in unison, showering her with various spells.

Although similar to the previous scene, it was clearly different—

The frequency, scale, actions, and even the tone of the incantation were all identical, eerily unsettling.

However, Helia's defensive barrier did not disappear, perfectly blocking the fancy attacks.

She didn't understand how the golden thread could penetrate and injure her, but it was within her expectations—the hidden enemy was no pushover.

Among this group of strange law enforcers, only one was different.

She straightened her cuffs, put on her military cap, and kicked her military boots, walking slowly and steadily towards Helia.

Helia smiled at her, about to say something, when she saw the person a dozen meters away flash behind her.

The broken dagger pierced straight through his back and emerged from his chest.

"It's time to get going," the woman said coldly, about to remove the thorns, but Helia grabbed the front of her hand.

"I told you... I caught you..." Helia said while spitting out blood, her face showing no pain, but rather an inexplicable ecstasy.

The woman frowned and raised her other hand, the gold thread between her fingers about to tighten, when her heart suddenly pounded.

Her pupils contracted sharply, and she looked at Helia in disbelief, "You..."

The body moves against its will.

The hand gripping the bayonet gradually loosened, the gold thread between the fingers disintegrated, and the limbs went limp and collapsed to the ground.

Helia pulled the dagger from her heart and tossed it aside, the blood splattering onto Cammod's face, who was pretending to be dead.

She turned and looked down at the woman's wide-open eyes.

Through the pupils, in a fleeting, dark instant, the mastermind behind it all was glimpsed—

A child who was about fifteen or sixteen years old.

He is also the true ruler of the Heris family today, an immortal descendant of the gods.

Helia's magic meandered along the golden thread, merging and permeating with the woman's magic, accurately capturing the aura belonging to the mastermind behind the scenes, and imprinting her mark upon it.

Then, through the magical connection, she penetrated the woman's consciousness as if diving into the deep sea.

Using the power of memory to peel back the layers, she finally found the hiding place of the person who truly wanted her dead.

Memory is irrational—once something has been seen, it inevitably leaves a trace.

Helia bent down, grabbed the woman's hair, and forcibly dragged her up.

Their eyes met, their burning gazes seemed to pierce through each other's pupils.

No, more accurately, she was staring into the eyes of the true mastermind behind tonight's chase.

The moment their similar golden eyes met, Helia didn't even have time to analyze the emotions in their eyes before she heard a crackling sound—

The invisible golden threads that controlled the law enforcers snapped instantly, including those that had pierced through her body.

Then, she saw the other person's lips slightly upturned, and they moved their mouth as if to say something.

As he waved, his youthful yet shrewd face, which seemed out of place for his age, gradually faded away.

Helia, however, didn't care at all.

She pressed her five fingers wide on the woman's head, ignoring the woman's twitching and rolling eyes, and forcefully extracted the memory, turning it into a ball of light blue light, which was then integrated into the prepared image stone.

A person who has lost their memory is like a blank sheet of paper.

To put it bluntly, they became fools and idiots who could be manipulated by others.

She won't live much longer—that's the price she'll pay.

Even if Helia doesn't make a move, the Heris family won't let her live, given that she has an opponent who can peer into memories.

Helia played with the image stone in her hand with great interest, then turned and walked toward the other unconscious law enforcement officers.

If you look closely at the pierced wound in her chest, you'll find that the flesh and blood flow slowly like lava, gradually repairing the injury.

Such a fatal wound was nothing more than that to her.