Maybe it was because of Roxanna’s passive skill, but even Mera’s condition was slowly getting better. It also seemed that she had accidentally activated the Guardian Blessing skill, allowing her to calm him down, if only for a short while.
Even so, Mera didn’t suddenly become completely sane. But at least he could form a few words and answer some of Roxanna’s questions.
"But the Queen of Aquillian was trapped inside a bubble cage before," Roxanna said gently, doing her best not to frighten him. "Doesn’t the Leader have to stay alive for the bubble cage to keep existing?"
Mera didn’t answer right away. He simply stared into space, his eyes unfocused. Just when Roxanna thought he wasn’t going to respond, he finally spoke. "His body... isn’t dead."
Roxanna frowned. "What do you mean?"
But Mera didn’t answer again. His gaze became distant once more, as if he had already drifted back into his own world. Not wanting to push him any further, Roxanna decided to let the question go.
However, not long afterward, as the battle grew fiercer and more Devourers fell one after another, the sound of a harp suddenly echoed across the palace grounds.
It began with a soft, gentle hum, almost too quiet to notice beneath the sounds of clashing weapons and desperate cries.
But then, the melody slowly grew louder. The beautiful notes spread across the palace grounds like gentle waves, reaching every corner of the battlefield.
Roxanna frowned. "A harp?"
She looked up toward the highest balcony of the palace. There, dressed in flowing blue robes, Sybill stood with a silver harp resting in her arms. Her slender fingers moved gracefully across the strings, and a faint smile slowly appeared on her lips.
"Sybill?!" Azul suddenly shouted her name.
He lowered his weapon without realizing it and was almost stabbed by a Devourer. Thankfully, Calen reacted in time and knocked the attack away before it could reach him.
"Sybill, stop this!"
His voice was almost pleading, filled with desperation and disbelief. But Sybill didn’t even spare him a glance.
Sybill simply continued playing the harp, her expression calm as if she hadn’t heard him at all.
Just as Roxanna was about to open her mouth, the system suddenly chimed in.
[Fear Resistance Activated.]
[Effect: Reduces the effect of mental attacks, hallucinations, and fear-based illusions.]
The system quickly warned her. [To remain completely unaffected, Host, you must fight to stay conscious. One way to do that is by pinching yourself or forcing yourself to feel pain.]
Roxanna still had no idea what was happening, but she trusted the system without hesitation. She immediately dug her fingernails into her palm and the sharp pain shot through her hand, keeping her mind clear.
Unfortunately, the others weren’t immune to the sound of the harp. One by one, they froze where they stood, like puppets waiting for their strings to be pulled.
"Azul!" Roxanna screamed as the light in his eyes faded, leaving them empty and lifeless.
She quickly turned to her other husbands. "Calen! Zeir!"
No one answered.
It was as if they couldn’t hear her at all because the sound of the harp had completely filled their minds.
Then, the woman in the blue dress softly whispered, "Everyone..."
A gentle smile spread across the woman’s face as her fingers continued to glide across the harp strings. "Come to me."
The moment those words left Sybill’s lips, Azul was the one who swam toward her first. His movements were slow and stiff, as though he had completely lost control of his own body.
"Azul, stop!" Roxanna shouted as she grabbed his wrist.
He didn’t even look at her because his empty eyes remained fixed on Sybill.
As Roxanna desperately tried to stop him, Azul shoved her away with surprising force.
"Ah!" She was thrown backward, and a sharp pain spread through her chest.
The impact forced her to loosen her grip on Mera’s arm and the moment he was free, Mera silently swam toward Sybill as well, his empty eyes fixed on the woman playing the harp.
"No!" Roxanna reached out, but her fingers caught nothing except the water.
One after another, they all swam toward Sybill.
Azul.
Calen.
Zeir.
Mera.
Even Orion and the others.
It was as if they had forgotten everything and the only thing left in their minds was the need to reach Sybill.
When Roxanna glanced down, her heart nearly stopped because Maristella and Azura had stepped out from beneath the camouflage net, making them completely visible.
"No!" Without a second thought, Roxanna immediately swam toward them.
Heron and Darius moved to block her path, most likely because they had also fallen under the harp’s influence. But Roxanna didn’t want to stop.
She grabbed a Devourer’s spear drifting through the water and held it across her body, using it to force the two men away from her.
She didn’t know where that sudden burst of strength had come from. But right now, only one thought filled her mind: she had to stop Azura from reaching Sybill.
She didn’t even hesitate to shove Maristella back and forcefully take Azura from her arms.
Holding Azura tightly against her chest, Roxanna quickly swam backward, trying to get as far away from the others as possible.
Fortunately, no one chased after her because Maristella, Heron, and Darius simply continued swimming toward Sybill as if Roxanna no longer existed.
The problem was... even Azura wanted to go to Sybill.
The little girl struggled in Roxanna’s arms, pushing against her with her tiny hands as she tried to break free.
[Fun fact: Pain can reduce the effect of the harp. The more painful it is, the easier it becomes to break free from the harp’s mind control.]
Roxanna bit her lower lip before looking at Azura with guilt written all over her face. "I’m sorry..."
As soon as she finished speaking, she gently pulled Azura’s arm closer and bit down as hard as she could.
Blood slowly seeped from the bite mark and the little girl immediately burst into tears.
The sound broke Roxanna’s heart, but it was better than letting Azura remain under Sybill’s control.
A moment later, the system chimed in.
[Side Mission Activated: Free Your Husbands from the Harp!]
[Description: Save your husbands from Sybill’s mind control before they reach her.]
[Goals:
Prevent Azul from reaching Sybill. (0/1)
Prevent Calen from reaching Sybill. (0/1)
Prevent Zeir from reaching Sybill. (0/1)]
[Time Limit: Before any target reaches Sybill.]
[Rewards: 1× Mind Guardian Bell (Legendary) — Effect: Creates a protective field that greatly weakens mental attacks and mind-control effects for nearby allies.]
Roxanna’s eyes widened as she received the mission.
Freeing Azura from the mind control had been easy because she was still small, but her husbands?
They were all much bigger than her, and a single bite wouldn’t be enough to bring them back to their senses.
She gritted her teeth before asking the system, [Can I buy two more Advanced Healing Injections? They can heal any wound in a very short time, right?]
[Yes, Host! They can heal almost any wound in a very short time and are even more effective than Healing Potions!]
[However, if you buy them directly from the System Market, they will cost a large amount of Spirit Points.]
[One Advanced Healing Injection costs 50,000 Spirit Points.]
[I’ll buy two,] Roxanna said without the slightest hesitation. [Purchase them now!]
Hearing the determination in her voice and realizing she had no intention of backing down, the system immediately processed her request.
[Purchased 2× Advanced Healing Injections: 100,000 SP]
[Remaining Spirit Points (SP): 425,950]
Roxanna took a deep breath and thought there was no better choice than whatever in her mind right now.
She tightened her grip around Azura with one arm while reaching for the Devourer’s spear with the other.
"I’m sorry...
The apology wasn’t meant for Azura this time, but it was for Azul.
Without giving herself a chance to hesitate, Roxanna swam straight toward him.
She didn’t even try to call his name as she thrust the spear forward.
The sharp blade pierced through Azul’s back and came out through the front of his stomach.
Blood spread through the seawater and Azul’s entire body froze.
His eyes widened in shock before he coughed up a mouthful of blood. For a brief moment, the pain broke through the fog clouding his mind.
"R-Rox..."
Before he could finish speaking, Roxanna immediately pulled the spear back out of his body, causing him to tremble in shock.
"I’m sorry! Please forgive me!" Roxanna shouted.
Without the slightest hesitation, she pulled an Advanced Healing Injection from the System Inventory and pressed the injector against the side of Azul’s neck.
Click!
The medicine rushed into his body, and golden light spread beneath his skin almost instantly.
The bleeding stopped. The massive hole through his body began to close at a speed visible to the naked eye. Torn muscles, shattered organs, and broken flesh quickly stitched themselves back together.
Within just a few seconds, the wound had completely disappeared.