Denor could barely move. His feet were still trapped in the ground, buried up to the knees. He writhed helplessly as Helena placed her boot on his already mangled leg. Her expression stayed cold as untouched ice.

  The pressure of her combat shoe made his breath stutter. He knew he had made a fatal mistake. The agony from losing his arm still tore through him, but a fresh wave washed over his nerves as Helena pressed down again.

  She did not use much strength.

  His leg snapped in two.

  Denor screamed, louder than before, choking on his own spit.

  "Help me… h-help… Ghaa… Gale!"

  But Gale wasn’t listening. Gale was trying to figure out how to escape this nightmare alive. He knew very well he was next.

  Helena kept her boot on Denor’s shattered leg, slowly crushing down. His face twisted into something barely recognizable, drowned in tears and other fluids.

  "Where are my rings?" Helena asked, her tone cold and empty.

  Even through the fog of agony, her words rang painfully clear in his mind.

  Denor sobbed. "Please spare me… I will quit this business… I will live as a good person…"

  That was not what Helena wanted.

  "Give me back my rings."

  She pressed harder. Bone crunched beneath her heel, grinding down as if she intended to turn it to powder.

  Denor finally understood. With his remaining hand trembling violently, he fumbled at the pouch tied to his waist and held it out toward her.

  Helena took it and opened it. Gold coins filled the small bag, and nestled among them were her rings. All ten of them.

  She willed it, and the pouch and all the gold dissolved into dust, leaving only the rings behind.

  When she saw her marriage and engagement rings, a gentle smile touched her face. It softened her entirely. For a moment, she looked almost peaceful.

  Denor trembled. He thought she was happy. He thought she would spare him.

  Helena slid each ring back onto her fingers, one by one. She paused, admiring her marriage and engagement rings with quiet affection.

  Then the warmth left her expression. Her gaze returned to Denor, cold and precise.

  He asked weakly, "Will you spare me now…?"

  Helena answered calmly.

  "Nope."

  The last trace of hope drained from his bloodless face. He fainted from pain and shock. Helena didn’t look at him again.

  She turned toward the remaining adventurers.

  They trembled. None had dared to attack her. Not after witnessing her brutality. Some shook uncontrollably. Others had already collapsed to the ground, despair replacing every last thought.

  Gale was different. Terrified, yes. But he still clung to the idea that he might survive if he tried something. Anything. Unfortunately, he had nothing to offer her except—

  Money.

  "Lady Helena!" he shouted, voice cracking. "Please spare our lives! I will offer you one thousand gold coins! Just please spare us!"

  It was the most useless thing he could have offered.

  Money meant nothing to Helena. It never had. Her matter manipulation did more than reshape metal. Her core was the reason—

  a true Philosopher Stone.

  The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.

  Every awakened human on Earth carried an incomplete version of that stone, a failed creation meant to halt mutation. Those cores slowed corruption, but they couldn’t stop it. As the virus grew stronger, the flawed cores reached their limits, and awakened humans turned into powerful monsters. Many ended their own lives before losing themselves.

  Helena’s core had succeeded. A true Philosopher Stone. A cheat layered atop her already absurd ability. A core that could turn any material into anything she desired.

  She still didn’t know why hers had succeeded. The best guess was that her matter manipulation played a role.

  But because of it, gold held no value to her.

  Gale thought her silence meant dissatisfaction and raised his offer.

  "One thousand five hundred! Even if I must sell myself—I beg you, please spare us!"

  Helena didn’t even look at him.

  She had already turned away, walking toward the slaves who sat on the ground. They looked broken, their souls hollow. After watching Helena’s massacre, none had the strength to flee. To them, she was a monster wearing a woman’s skin, and she was walking straight toward them.

  Gale panicked deeper.

  "Two thousand! Two thousand five hundred gold! Please! I will give you everything!"

  Helena finally responded, her voice flat.

  "You are annoying."

  She flicked her finger.

  ---

  Gale felt his breath freeze as the sound of Helena’s finger snap rang out.

  Someone behind him screamed desperately,

  "Lady Helena, I love you!"

  A spike erupted from the ground with terrifying speed. Gale’s instincts flooded with adrenaline. He swung his sword with everything he had, channeling the last of his mana into his limbs and blade. The strike met the stone head-on.

  It felt like hitting solid iron.

  Gale gritted his teeth as the impact rattled through him. His arms shook violently. Sweat dripped from his chin. His mana nearly vanished.

  But he was alive.

  A shaky smile broke across his lips. He didn’t realize he had just stopped a single casual attack—one tiny gesture from Helena’s power.

  His eyes moved toward the rest of his party.

  His stomach dropped.

  All of them hung on spikes. Every one of them. Only Gale and one other swordsman remained alive because the spike had stopped inches before skewering him.

  The same swordsman who had shouted I love you.

  Helena wasn’t even looking at Gale anymore. Her attention was fixed on the lovesick adventurer. Her expression didn’t hide her disgust.

  The man’s name was James.

  He stared at the spike, then began laughing like he had discovered a miracle.

  "As I expected!"

  Helena blinked.

  "Can you tell me what you expected?"

  James straightened with confidence that defied reason.

  "I love you, dear."

  Helena nearly gagged. She opened her mouth to respond, but James spoke over her, turning to the exhausted Gale.

  "Boss, she isn’t hungry for money. She is hungry for love."

  Even Gale couldn’t believe what he was hearing. But he knew—every word James spoke made things worse.

  James continued proudly.

  "She only needs true love. Only I can give it to her! See? I confessed even when facing death!"

  Helena’s expression darkened to something close to demonic.

  Me… seeking love? With this orc? I’d rather kiss a mutant zombie than touch this man.

  James puffed his chest proudly.

  "Boss, she spared my life! She loves me! It was love at first sight!"

  Gale trembled as Helena’s face twisted further.

  He whispered weakly,

  "Please… stop, you dumb piece of shit. Don’t anger her more…"

  James didn’t hear a word.

  He grinned at Helena like he’d already won.

  Helena inhaled deeply.

  "You…"

  She didn’t know whether she should feel disgust or fury. She settled on exhaustion.

  James beamed.

  "Now release me, my dear. How can I love you if I'm stuck?"

  The ground answered before she did.

  A spike shot upward beneath him.

  His eyes bulged. He screamed—the kind of scream a man only gives once.

  Before he could finish it, a second spike rose behind him and pierced straight through his chest. Blood streamed down as his gaze went dim.

  His final trembling words were,

  "Weren’t you… in love with me…?"

  Helena’s reply was cold.

  "Not even if I lived a thousand lives would I love someone like you."

  ---

  After killing the delusional fool, Helena returned to the group of slaves. Their emotions clashed on their faces—fear, relief, disbelief. Some were terrified of Helena. Some were grateful she had saved them. Some silently rejoiced that their tormentors had died.

  Helena stopped before the slave girl and spoke gently.

  "Your wish is fulfilled. You are free now."

  The girl’s eyes widened. Tears immediately fell.

  Freedom.

  It had seemed impossibly far away. Now it was real.

  Only she knew how hellish the last four days had been—forcing herself to appear strong, enduring insults, enduring beatings, enduring hopelessness. For a simple village girl, it had been torment.

  Now, she believed an angel had come for her.

  She bowed deeply, almost lowering her forehead to the ground, but Helena caught her shoulders.

  "You don’t need to thank me."

  The girl whispered something through her sobs, too unclear to understand.

  "What?" Helena asked.

  "My name… my name is Una."

  Helena smiled, genuinely pleased.

  Afterward, the other former slaves gathered enough courage to thank Helena as well. A few were legal slaves, but that meant nothing to her. She wasn’t a judge. As long as they didn’t annoy her, she didn’t care.

  When the group settled, Helena asked,

  "So, Una, what is your plan now?"

  Una straightened herself and said,

  "We’ll head to the next city. It isn’t far, and we still have Denor’s two carriages and James’s horse. But… our clothes…"

  Everyone wore the same ragged slave clothes.

  Before Helena could offer help, someone shouted from the carriage,

  "I found a stock of clothes!"

  Una called back,

  "Are there enough for everyone?"

  "Yes! More than enough!"

  Relief filled her expression. Helena smiled slightly. She didn’t hide her power—she simply didn’t care who knew. Anyone who bothered her would be dealt with.

  The slaves converted two carriages into changing areas. One for men, one for women.

  Helena suddenly remembered something.

  "Una."

  Una nearly tripped running to her.

  "Yes, Lady Helena!"

  Helena blinked.

  "My question isn’t private. You didn’t have to run."

  Una flushed.

  "I ran because Lady Helena called…"

  Helena let it go.

  "What is the most populated place around here?"

  Una thought carefully.

  "That would be the capital city, Grant."

  Grant.

  Helena felt the name tug at hazy memories. Too distant to pull clearly. Too old to matter.

  "Well, whatever," Helena said brightly. "Capital City Grant, here I come."

  "Ehh? You’re not coming with us?" Una asked.

  "Where?"

  "To Salvis City."

  Helena tilted her head.

  "How big is Salvis compared to the capital?"

  Una froze.

  "I… I don’t know. But Salvis isn’t a big city."

  "Then sorry, Una, but I really want to see a crowded city."

  Una didn’t understand, but she nodded. Helena asked for directions, and Una provided them.

  Soon, wearing clean clothes, two full carriages of former slaves began their journey. Una and the others waved.

  Helena waved back, smiling.

  She wanted a crowd simply because she wanted to see people again.

  After thirty years alone, it was one of her few remaining desires.

  When the carriages vanished into the distance, Helena sighed softly.

  "It feels good to talk to people again."

  But she wasn’t alone.

  Two figures remained: Gale and the half dead Denor.

  Gale prayed Helena would just leave. He breathed so lightly he hoped she’d forget him.

  Then he heard the worst sound possible:

  A snap.

  Helena’s fingers.

  He raised his sword to block a spike—

  But none rose.

  Instead, two stone slabs emerged from the ground, swinging inward like giant hands aiming to crush him.

  Gale shouted and swung his sword with his final strength.

  But before the blade met the slabs, it crumbled to dust.

  His final words barely formed:

  "Ohh fu—"

  The slabs closed.

  Silence followed.