Atiste followed the System’s instructions to save the Hero.
He arrived at the entrance of the Underground Demon Cave in the middle of the continent.
This was a place where most Awakened Ones came to hunt monsters and level up.
Ordinary people did not come here because the monsters were relatively violent and had a strong desire to attack.
Even at the cave entrance, many low-intelligence Goblin Thugs were gathered.
Atiste activated his Invisibility Art, concealing his presence, magic fluctuations, and body.
He became completely transparent; even under the bright sun, no one could see him.
This cave had existed for thousands of years, and no one had ever truly reached its deepest depths.
Legend had it that this was a demon cave left over from the dawn of creation, where all monsters were born.
Of course, legends were just stories, and Atiste was too lazy to believe such nonsense.
If he wanted to, he could use a destruction spell to blow this place apart entirely.
But what would be the point?
Atiste was an artist, not a destroyer.
Since this Underground Demon Cave had existed here from the start, he would just let it remain in its natural state.
Moreover, he had been to the deepest part of the cave.
Below was nothing more than a Lava Hell, where a fellow called the Flame Demon claimed to be the boss of the cave.
But his strength was mediocre at best; he couldn’t even withstand Atiste’s Ice Magic.
Coming here this time, he did not sense the Flame Demon’s presence.
Instead, he found Eileen’s…
It was impossible for Atiste to be mistaken; the Master-Servant Contract between them allowed him to locate her accurately within a radius of 5 kilometers.
He used Magic Perception to check the interior of the cave.
The monsters on the first floor were all dead.
The second floor was the same.
There was also a dying Human with weak magic.
This was likely the “Hero” the System mentioned.
Beside the Hero was… Eileen?
Atiste was puzzled.
‘Why is Eileen with the current Hero?’
There was no use overthinking it; he would just enter the cave to investigate.
Arriving at the second floor of the Underground Demon Cave, Atiste saw Eileen “torturing” the current Hero.
Eileen’s face was full of madness.
She kicked and punched the weak Hero while simultaneously casting healing magic on her.
She would heal her, then hit her again; cripple her, and heal her once more.
As she struck, she laughed maniacally.
“Hahaha! Master Atiste can only be mine! I want to love him, I want to kill him — but since killing him is impossible, I can only kill you!”
The Hero’s blood had splattered all over Eileen.
Her face was covered in blood, as were her maid dress, her legs, and her body.
The Hero had been beaten beyond recognition.
Atiste thought,
‘She looks far too pitiful.’
Every time she was on the verge of death, Eileen would revive her with a Great Recovery Art.
Afterward, the torment would continue.
Atiste didn’t even dare to deactivate his Invisibility Art right now, fearing that Eileen would detect him.
That would make things extremely troublesome.
When she went on a rampage, it was no ordinary trouble; she wouldn’t stop for 3 days and 3 nights.
But he couldn’t actually let her kill the Hero.
The System said that if the Hero died, the world would collapse.
[2 minutes and 30 seconds until the Hero’s death]
There was no other way.
He had to act forcibly and snatch the Hero from Eileen’s hands.
Although Atiste couldn’t use overly powerful magic while under the Invisibility Art, he could still manage to cast a Magic Barrier to isolate the Hero.
Atiste whispered,
“Protect her, MAGIC BARRIER.”
Suddenly, a translucent barrier enveloped the dying Hero.
Eileen punched the indestructible Magic Barrier.
“What? How could she use such a tough Magic Barrier?”
Eileen was shocked.
Atiste whispered again,
“FULL RECOVERY ART.”
Inside the barrier, the female Hero, Rena, suddenly felt herself fill with vitality.
She regained consciousness and found herself encased within an unbreakable barrier.
The madwoman in the maid outfit before her was still launching frenzied attacks, attempting to break the barrier.
Rena scrambled up and picked up the Holy Sword, Paladin, which lay beside her.
She entered a combat stance.
“I don’t know who’s helping me, but thank you for now…”
Rena’s head throbbed.
Firstly, it hurt from the beating, and secondly, she could neither advance nor retreat.
Thus, she had no choice but to try speaking with the madwoman in front of her.
“I don’t think I’ve provoked you. Why won’t you let me go?”
Rena had originally intended to come to the Underground Demon Cave to train and hunt some low-level monsters to increase her magic.
However, somehow, she had run into this crazy woman.
“There is no reason! I just want to kill you!”
Eileen continued her assault, but the translucent barrier remained undamaged, showing no reaction at all.
Eileen felt bewildered.
‘What’s going on?’
She had used significant power; how could she not shatter this barrier?
It was absolutely impossible for this to be the Hero’s own strength.
Yet, the only magic signatures here were hers and the Hero’s.
‘Something must be wrong.’
“As expected of the Hero! You have the blessing of the chosen. But don’t get happy too early. Sooner or later, I’ll smash this barrier, pull you out, and torture you over and over again!”
Eileen laughed crazily.
She was truly enraged, and the reason was simple — it was because her Master was too stupid.
Her current behavior was purely a way to relieve stress.
She had originally planned to find the Flame Demon and kill him 100 times; after all, he could revive infinitely in the Lava Hell.
But she hadn’t expected to run into the Hero wielding the Holy Sword.
When this female Hero first saw Eileen, she thought she was just an ordinary person trapped here.
But Eileen suddenly remembered that a Hero hadn’t appeared for hundreds of years.
Furthermore, according to that letter the Master had received, the Holy Sword, Paladin, would surely cause him trouble.
So, when Rena approached to show concern and ask if she needed help, Eileen had taken her down in a single blow.
Then she healed her, took her down again, and healed her once more.
She found this to be a great way to relieve stress.
It allowed her to temporarily forget about Lillian and her Master.
Unwittingly, she began to grow manic.
It felt as if something that shouldn’t have been awakened was stirring in her heart.
‘Rather, it’s all Master’s fault.’
“Hehehehe…”
Eileen intensified her offensive.
While attacking the barrier, she laughed wildly and shouted,
“It’s all Master’s fault… It’s all Master’s fault… It’s all Master’s fault!”
Rena believed the person before her had turned into an unreasonable monster.
But she couldn’t defeat her, nor could she escape from this barrier.
Atiste watched all this from the side, feeling panicked as well.
‘Eileen has never been this insane. Why on earth has she become like this?’
He was completely baffled.
Rena suggested to Eileen,
“Why don’t you tell me what your Master did wrong? I’ll see if I can help you?”
Hearing this, Eileen suddenly stopped her attack.
But her face remained grim, and the corners of her mouth stayed curled into a twisted, terrifying smile…