’So the Aethelgard family is also very powerful, and I am pretty sure they’re from the fourth world... Hmm, are the ancient families from that world?’ Mirabella thought, completely ignoring the dragon hovering above her. Her mind raced, piecing together the fragmented lore of the higher realms. If the Fourth World was the true origin of the ancient bloodlines, the power scaling she had known was fundamentally flawed.

​"Hey you," she snapped, looking up at the horrified dragon. Her tone left no room for negotiation.

​"Pledge your loyalty to me and Become my servant," she ordered, her golden aura flaring with absolute authority.

​The Dragon frowned at her, his draconic pride warring with the primal fear she had just instilled. "I am a dragon, do you think I will serve you?!!! I would rather die!!" he yelled, barring his fangs.

​"I know you will say this, are all villains so stupid?!" she sighed. It was the same predictable script. Without another word, she snapped her fingers, activating the second ability of the Mental Overlord third stage.

​BAM!

​A psionic force smashed directly into the dragon’s skull, instantly bypassing his physical defenses and freezing him in place. His green eyes went blank, stripped of their ancient malice.

​"Get down here," Mirabella commanded.

​"Yes, Master."

​The Dragon descended from the sky, his movements stiff and mechanical. He landed heavily in front of Mirabella, dropping down on one knee in absolute submission.

​’This skill is good, but it won’t last forever, highest one month... And I can’t ask him anything, because the skill mess with the target’s memories, turning him into a puppet,’ she analyzed, walking past the kneeling behemoth and staring deeply into the swirling vortex of the gateway. The swirling ash and eerie green light seemed to mock her current understanding of the universe.

​’If I enter this gateway, where will I appear?’ She sighed, frustration gnawing at her. Information was the most valuable currency in the multiverse, and right now, she was broke.

​’If I use mental Overlord to search his messed up memories, I won’t get anything. Wait!’

​She snapped her fingers, her eyes lighting up with a sudden, ruthless realization.

​"Got it!!"

​She turned sharply towards the kneeling Dragon. "Come here!!"

​The gateway guard quickly stood up and walked towards Mirabella, bowing his head in mindless obedience.

​"Now, let’s chain you down first," she said coldly. She spread her palm, and from the void, heavy dark chains materialized. They wrapped tightly around the dragon’s massive frame, binding him securely in place. With his physical body restrained, she consciously severed her connection to his mind, undoing the Mental Overlord influence.

​"WHAT?!! WHAT HAPPENED?!!" he yelled in shock, the sudden rush of returning consciousness violently clashing with the reality of his confinement. He thrashed against the bindings. "What is this?!!!" he yelled, moving his gaze around in panic.

​With a desperate, single thought, he called upon his bound weapon. The bone broadsword shot out from the cracked earth, rocketing towards him like a homing missile.

​"You are still relying on this?" Mirabella stretched her hand towards the incoming weapon. Before the dragon could even comprehend her movement, the miniature Golden Palace materialized directly in the sword’s path.

​"Is that?!!!"

​BAM!!

​The God-class sword vanished inside the Palace, swallowed by its supreme spatial laws; stunning the Dragon guard into absolute silence.

​’This?! My connection to the sword is lost, and that Golden Palace, was that the legendary supreme class golden palace?! The main artifact of Genevieve?!’ he thought, his mind reeling from the weight of what he had just witnessed.

​"Correct." The Palace flew back towards Mirabella, hovering obediently on her open palm.

​"It’s indeed my mother’s, now, it’s mine," she said with a proud smile. She then raised her left hand, her expression hardening, and placed it directly on the dragon guard’s scaled forehead.

​She violently tore through his remaining mental defenses, plunging her consciousness straight into his uncorrupted memories.

​For a fraction of a second, Mirabella stood triumphant. But then, the dam broke.

​Mirabella’s eyes widened in horror as countless lifetimes of knowledge, cosmic horrors, and unfathomable auras flooded her mind. The sheer pressure of the entities she glimpsed was enough to crush a mortal soul. She violently ripped her hand away, breaking the connection as she stumbled backward.

​’What was that?!’ she thought, a cold sweat rolling down her temples. Her heart pounded against her ribs. For the first time since her rebirth, she felt truly, insignificantly small.

​"Hahahaha!! Now you saw what is waiting ahead!! The Third World will soon become a graveyard. The main powers are in the fourth world!! Do you think you can defeat my Lord?!!" the Dragon yelled at her, his laughter unhinged and triumphant despite his chains.

​Mirabella stared at him with a deep, unsettling frown.

​’He is right, those people around his Lord, I don’t have the strength to fight them... Not to mention the Lord, himself. How can such a powerhouse exist in any world?’ she thought, a rare, bitter hint of fear weaving into her internal thoughts. The entities in his mind weren’t just strong; they were the apex of existence.

​’I couldn’t even go through his memories and know about that person... Not to mention he detected me.’ A chill ran down her spine. The entity in the memory had looked back at her. She exhaled softly, forcing her racing heart to calm.

​’I am still too weak... I need to get stronger. This Dragon here isn’t even a genuine ancient dragon, compare to some besides that man, he’s an ant... That explains why I can easily defeat him even when he’s many ranks higher than me.’ She exhaled softly, rebuilding the walls of her supreme confidence, if only on the outside.

​"Your Lord is indeed strong, but he won’t survive one attack from me," she said, stepping forward and placing her hand flat against the Dragon guard’s chest.

​’What the hell am I saying?! I can’t even fight the people around this Lord, and I am bluffing that I can defeat him...’ she thought with a slight frown, highly aware of her own ridiculous bravado. Pushing her fear aside, she steeled her resolve and spread her lethal energy directly into his chest.