Chapter 6: To Strike Down the Hero, One Must First Sever Their Bonds

"Achoo!" Mino sneezed on the soft, plush bed inside the Demon King's Castle.

He rubbed his nose and sat up slowly, looking puzzled. "What's going on? I feel inexplicably chilly all over... Does having my powers sealed make me prone to catching colds too?"

Muttering to himself, Mino shuddered. "Could it be that the citizens of the kingdom, along with my dearest friends and family, are missing me?!"

Only the most intense emotions could traverse this vast expanse and reach Mino's heart. For a moment, his eyes grew warm.

"They must be missing me to death right now, right?"

Mino walked to the window of his cell, gazing at the tiny sliver of night sky framed by the small pane, preparing to deliver a heartfelt soliloquy about his homesickness.

However, the words died in his throat.

The vast sky was adorned with countless stars against a deep, translucent blue canvas. The shimmering light flowed into a beautiful galaxy, embedded within the small frame of the window like a living, breathing painting.

"So beautiful..." Mino sniffled.

He recalled the perpetually gray, hazy sky of his kingdom; for some reason, even during the day, he could never see a dome as clear as this one.

For a moment, Mino was simply mesmerized... and the wave of "homesick reflections" that had been welling up in his heart was completely forgotten.

A silent shadow seeped from the floor, coalescing into a terrifying dark silhouette. Kletina appeared quietly outside the cell.

She wore a perfectly poised smile, just about to greet Mino, when she caught sight of his somber back.

The Hero, Mino, was staring at the starry sky, silent and motionless.

*He's homesick,* Kletina thought, lowering her eyes to hide the complexity within them.

After a while, she, acting as the First Secretary, shook her head to break the silence. "How are things, Hero? Life in a cell can't be easy, can it?"

Mino turned around to see Kletina dressed in a pale pink rose-patterned gown, watching him with a gentle smile.

Mino thought for a moment and replied, "It's alright."

Ignoring this display of feigned resilience, Kletina mocked, "I’m here to tell you that as of this morning, all the dolls in Kuhl II's study have been destroyed by us."

She stared intently at Mino's expression, hoping to catch a glimmer of guilt or unease.

"Oh." Mino remained expressionless.

Kletina blinked, looking at his unchanging face, and her voice rose in pitch: "Oh?"

The psychological weakness of Prince Ota, which Mino himself had revealed, and the terrifying operation they had carried out to destroy it with such haste—all of it had elicited nothing more than an "Oh" from the mastermind himself?

Could Mino Lake really be such a cold, selfish person? Impossible.

"That won't work. I believe in Prince Ota," Mino declared, lifting his chin with confidence.

Kletina returned to the conference hall in a daze, filled with suspicion. Could it be that Prince Kuhl II's mind was made of iron, possessing a will as resilient as Mino's?

Kletina convened the joint meeting, where the phantom flame representing the Demon Strategist, Swier, was already waiting at the table.

"Swier, did our operation to strike at Prince Ota not yield results?" Kletina asked, looking at the seat opposite her.

"No, the operation was very effective," the phantom flame flickered steadily. "Prince Ota cried in his study for an entire day."

Kletina was slightly stunned, then exhaled as if a burden had been lifted. She smiled, "Then the Kuhl Kingdom must be in chaos by now."

"No... unfortunately," Swier's voice turned grave. "The Prince's handling of state affairs hasn't changed in the slightest. He was handling them while crying, and his focus and efficiency were even higher than before!"

"What? How could that be?" Kletina's eyes widened.

Swier shook his head. "We only heard one thing: Prince Ota claims he wants to revitalize the kingdom's finances and fill the treasury!"

*At a juncture like this, Kuhl II actually wants to raise money?! For what...* Kletina felt a chill.

"It seems you and I share the same thought," Swier's flame drifted. "I am certain that Prince Ota has set his sights on us, on the Demon King's Castle! He hasn't been crushed by the heavy blow; instead, he wants to allocate more budget toward training soldiers and eliminating demons! To do that, he must fill the kingdom's treasury!"

Kletina nodded solemnly. As the heir to the throne, the "treasury" Prince Ota spoke of could only be the kingdom's treasury.

Mino's declaration flashed through her mind: "That won't work, I believe in Prince Ota."

It was true indeed.

"Secretary, we must admit that Kuhl II is an extremely cold and wise monarch. Even if he has weaknesses, it will be difficult to shake his will in the short term. Regarding the interrogation of the Hero Mino, I suggest we approach it from a different angle."

"What is your suggestion?" Kletina nodded, knowing Swier would have a plan.

"The Hero Mino is a tricky opponent. On one hand, he shows firm resistance to our interrogation, yet on the other, he easily reveals true and important information. He is in a state between yielding and not yielding... I think we should find a way to persecute someone he holds dear and trusts, in an attempt to shake both the human camp and the Hero Mino. We cannot let him hold the initiative."

*Someone who is both an important force in the Kuhl Kingdom and holds a significant place in the Hero's heart...* Kletina was conflicted. Was it the rumored Princess Kalia, who admired the Hero, or the Saintess Lena, who shared a deep, childhood bond with him from the same village?

"Let... me... see..."

A faint, distorted voice drifted from the phantom flame at the end of the long table.

Kletina turned, surprised and worried. "Magic Mirror, you haven't recovered yet, have you?"

The speaker was the Seventh Demon Official, the Nightmare Magic Mirror, who possessed the ability to manipulate dreams.

"I heard everything. Since you two are working so hard, the Nightmare cannot fall behind. Anyway... I just need to know who has the deepest bond with the Hero, right?"

"Magic Mirror, Mino's willpower is extremely strong. Don't push yourself," the Demon Strategist Swier warned.

The Nightmare Magic Mirror chuckled. "Don't worry, Swier. I only need to make the Hero 'dream' of the person deeply branded in his heart, and we only need to take a look at the Hero's dream... This doesn't involve mental torture."

With that, the mirror's flame pulled and twisted, deforming into a screen framed by fire, rippling deeply.

The Magic Mirror's power enveloped the sleeping Mino in his cell, and then it projected the guided dream content before them.

"The person with the deepest bond to me?"

In his dream, Mino wore silver armor, his Holy Sword plunged into the ground, and he laughed boldly.

"Of course, it is the Chief of the Magic Round Tower, the elder who is both my mentor and my friend."

"Ang Rak!"