​Compelled by an invisible, terrifying force, she subconsciously flew towards Mirabella, and landed on the rooftop, trembling. The ancient stone of the church roof cracked slightly beneath her heavy boots, but it was the crushing, absolute pressure of Mirabella’s aura that brought the beast woman to her knees.

​Mirabella turned around to the Beast Lady, a small smile on her face. It was not a smile of warmth, but the chilling expression of a predator analyzing its caught prey. She took a step forward, her aura spreading all over the rooftop, sending fear into the lady. The air grew thick and suffocating, vibrating with the power that defied the system’s natural laws.

​"You actually attacked my teammate from behind, do you know that alone already warrant your death?" She asked, taking another step. Her voice was calm, devoid of anger, which only made it infinitely more terrifying.

​The beast woman’s mind raced, her instincts screaming at her to flee, yet her muscles refused to obey.

​’Her team! So this here is the Captain! Even a descendant of the Golden Angel family is below her, who really is this lady?! I can’t even look up at her.’ She thought, her gaze fixed on her feet. The realization that a legitimate heir of the Fourth World’s apex clan was taking orders from this monstrous girl shattered her understanding of the universe’s hierarchy.

​Mirabella’s eyes gleamed with a cold, calculating light as she analyzed the situation.

​’Oh, she knows about Carl’s bloodline, then she can’t live... But she will make a good puppet.’ Mirabella thought, stopping in front of the lady. In the higher realms, knowledge was a contagion. To protect herself and Carl from the Aethelgard family’s wrath, loose ends had to be tied.

​Without another word, Mirabella placed her hand on the lady’s head, shocking her in place. The beast woman gasped, her scaled skin turning pale as a forbidden, god class skill activated.

​"Mental Overlord, third stage."

​BAM!

​"AHHHHHHHHH!!!"

​A force smashed into the lady’s mind, bypassing all mental defenses, and entered deep into her memories. The robust, hardened mental barriers forged by centuries of surviving in the vicious Fourth World shattered like cheap glass under the weight of Mirabella’s psychic intrusion.

​Mirabella closed her eyes, reading through everything in one go, and removed her hand. In a fraction of a second, she digested lifetimes of combat experience, planetary coordinates, and cosmic politics.

​"So you’re from the second world, then you advance to the third and lastly the fourth, right Veronica?" She asked, her tone conversational, as if she hadn’t just violated the woman’s very soul.

​Veronica collapsed on the ground, breathing heavily, as sweat rolled down her face. Her mind felt as though it had been put through a meat grinder. "I... I... What... What did you... Do... To me?" She stammered, her voice stripped of all its previous arrogance.

​"Nothing much, I just read your memories." Mirabella said, and snapped her fingers.

​Instantly; Veronica froze, her eyes turned white, and she slowly stood up, standing respectfully before Mirabella. The dominating system overwrite of the Mental Overlord skill had taken root, completely erasing her free will and replacing it with absolute, unwavering loyalty to her new master.

​"What is your order, Milady?" She asked, her voice hollow and perfectly obedient.

​"Just follow me." Mirabella turned around, and leaped down the roof, Cupcake and Veronica following behind.

__

​".....?!"

​The two teams were stunned, seeing the lady behind Mirabella. They looked at one another, then at her again. The terrifying Fourth World beast lady who had nearly wiped them out mere minutes ago was now trailing behind Mirabella like a docile pet.

​"Um... Big sister, about her?" Carl muttered, pointing his finger at Veronica, his grip tightening on his angelic dagger.

​"Don’t worry, she is under my control... It won’t last long, so let’s use her for now." Mirabella said smoothly, weaving a lie to mask the true horror of her capabilities.

​’Won’t last long? This will last for one month. Besides, I can still renew it before that one month, and she will serve me for another one month... That way, I will have an endless amount of puppets.’ She thought, a master tactician manipulating the ability’s loopholes to build an unstoppable shadow army. She turned to Veronica, evaluating her new asset.

​’Maybe she might be useful in the future, oh well, let’s complete this task first.’ She turned her head towards Jessica, and her team who stood some distance away. The Sword Academy elites had kept their distance, wary of the monster who had just obliterated an entire borough’s worth of undead.

​"What was your plan following us?! Do you want us to fight the monsters and lead you guys to the gateways?! So you can jump in and help?" She asked, her voice carrying across the silent, corpse-filled cemetery.

​"If that was their plan, then they’re after the team rewards points for completing the third objective." Rose said with a slight frown, her competitive instincts flaring. In the Competition, the third objective yielded massive progression points, enough to easily tip the scales of the tournament rankings.

​"So you want to be leeches?!! Didn’t know the Great Sword Academy’s Team will go to this level!!" Austin yelled at them, his words filled with sarcasm.

​Mirabella raised her hand, silencing her team with a single, absolute gesture. "Let’s hear them out first." She said.

​Jessica didn’t immediately respond. Instead, she moved her gaze around the thousands of monsters cards, and loots, including skill scrolls of all classes all over the place. The sheer volume of wealth dropped by the mass execution of twenty-five thousand monsters was astronomical. Epic and Legendary tier items glowed in the dirt like fallen stars.

​"We wanted to follow you and see the gateway, know how to kill the monsters guarding them. Then move to our own location and deal with our own gateway." Jessica said, sheathing her red sword. Her voice was steady, driven purely by cold logic and calculated observation.

​"Now that you noticed us, I am pretty sure you won’t agree to this." She said, fully expecting to be banished from the area.

​’This Bitch!! She just indirectly said the same thing I pointed out!!’ Rose hissed Inwardly, her frustration mounting at Jessica’s shameless pragmatism.

​Mirabella stared at her team, gauging their competitive fury, then at Jessica. "I have no objection."

​"But--" Rose started to protest, unwilling to share their hard-earned momentum.

​"--I am also sure none of my teammates has any." Mirabella cut her team off, staring at Jessica. Her words weren’t a suggestion; they were a royal decree. The Dragon Academy team immediately swallowed their protests, bowing to her absolute authority.

​"Huh? Are you sure? If we defeat the Boss and destroy the gateway, we will share the rewards from the third objective." Jessica pointed out, genuinely confused by Mirabella’s willingness to split the monumental tournament points.

​Mirabella walked towards her, and stopped beside Jessica. She looked at the Sword Academy prodigy not as a rival, but as a piece on a much larger chessboard.

​"Do you think those points will make you win this competition...? Don’t forget there are still two more rounds ahead." Mirabella said calmly, her words freezing Jessica in place.