Thraxxis caught the savage glint in Idir’s eyes, and his pupils shrank. He quickly raised his hands in surrender. "Do whatever you like—I won’t interfere."

Why had this male suddenly set his sights on him? He had no intention of confronting him head-on just yet. It would be far wiser to wait for the right moment to invade his mind again—his chances of success would be much higher then.

Besides, dealing with them earlier had already drained a considerable amount of his strength. He needed time to recover.

"But Nina finds you an eyesore."

Idir’s expression turned ice-cold. Around him, countless black spikes condensed into existence, hovering with lethal intent. "Then die."

They shot forward in a blur, piercing through the watching eyes. In an instant, every single one vanished.

Deep within the darkness, a pair of crimson eyes began to bleed.

Thraxxis’ gaze darkened. As expected, once awakened, this Teng snake was terrifyingly powerful. To think he could wound him so easily.

There was no more time to wait. He had to take control of him now.

Thraxxis stopped holding back. A massive surge of power burst forth.

Thick, suffocating black mist rolled toward Nina and Idir, swallowing them whole.

Thraxxis attempted to invade both their minds, but Nina’s remained impenetrable. Left with no choice, he focused entirely on Idir.

He slipped into his consciousness, searching for a weakness and then froze.

His eyes widened, twitching in disbelief.

There was no darkness. No killing intent. Not even hatred.

Only Nina.

His entire mental world was filled with her.

Thraxxis felt his mind go numb. Had this male’s consciousness been completely overtaken by Nina? Everywhere he looked—her. Nothing but her.

How was he supposed to break through that?

He had invaded countless beastmen before, but this was the first time he had encountered something like this. Just what had Nina done to him?

Idir sensed the intruder immediately. His gaze turned razor-sharp. "What are you doing here?"

Thraxxis hadn’t even formed a reply when Idir’s impatience flared.

"A filthy thing like you thinks it belongs anywhere near Nina? You’re an eyesore."

With that, he forcefully expelled Thraxxis from his mind.

The black mist around them dissipated at once. Backlash struck Thraxxis, and the bloodlust in his eyes deepened.

But that brief invasion had exposed his true location.

Idir lifted his hand. A powerful force surged outward, dragging one of Thraxxis’ eyes straight into his grasp.

He didn’t touch it. The moment it neared him, he flung it to the ground.

He had no intention of laying a finger on something so filthy.

Nina stared at the fallen eye, stunned.

They’d found it... just like that?

She had expected a far more difficult search—but it had ended in an instant.

Thraxxis was equally shaken. The Teng snake had actually located his eye.

Recovering quickly, he spoke at once, trying to bargain. "Don’t kill me. We can make a deal."

That eye carried a significant portion of his power. If it were destroyed, even if his true body eventually broke free from the seal, his strength would be greatly diminished.

Regret flickered through him. He shouldn’t have invaded that Teng snake’s mind.

Idir didn’t even bother to look at him. "I have nothing to trade with you."

He had no interest in making deals with something that had interrupted him and Nina.

With that, he moved to destroy the eye.

A flash of urgency crossed Thraxxis’ gaze.

Just as Idir lifted his foot to crush it, Nina stopped him. "Wait."

She had a feeling this alone might not be enough to destroy it. It would be safer to use what the Beast God had given her.

Thraxxis let out a quiet breath of relief. "Little one, if you spare me this time, I can grant you anything you want."

Simply stepping on it might not destroy it—but if Idir infused his power into the strike, that would be another matter entirely. He wasn’t willing to take that risk.

Nina didn’t respond to Thraxxis right away. Instead, she turned to Idir.

"Idir, release your hold on me."

He frowned, clearly unwilling. "No. You’ll run."

Nina sighed, exasperated. "I won’t."

Idir’s arm tightened around her waist as he pulled her closer. His voice dropped low.

"You really won’t run?"

"Really," Nina urged. "Now hurry and release me."

Idir hesitated for a moment, then finally lifted the restraint he had placed on her.

Nina flexed her fingers, relief washing over her as movement returned. At last.

She glanced down at his arm around her waist—and the tail still coiled around her. "And let go of your hand and your tail too."

Instead of loosening, he tightened his hold. "But I like holding you like this."

A headache began to form behind Nina’s temples. "Well, I don’t. It’s uncomfortable."

She couldn’t help but sigh inwardly. Ever since losing control, he’d become unbearably clingy.

Reluctantly, Idir loosened his tail, though his hand still gripped hers firmly.

Nina couldn’t pull free, but she gave up trying and stepped toward Thraxxis, studying him closely.

This should be the real one... right? Judging by how panicked he looked, it had to be.

"What did you do to Zena? What kind of restriction did you put on her—and how do we remove it?" Nina asked.

She wasn’t entirely certain whether destroying Thraxxis’ eye would automatically break Zena’s restriction, though under normal circumstances, it should.

"She formed a contract with me," Thraxxis replied. "I placed a movement restriction on her, so she can’t leave Barbarian City. If you spare me, I can void the contract myself."

"If I kill you, won’t it void it anyway?" Nina countered calmly.

She suspected Thraxxis had used the unique power of his eye to bind Zena, meaning it wasn’t deeply tied to his true body.

"You—you can’t kill me!" Thraxxis snapped. "If you touch me, I’ll kill Zena right now!"

The threat came out rushed, almost desperate. In truth, Nina had guessed correctly—destroying his eye would sever the contract. And since he was sealed here, unable to leave, he could only form weaker, limited contracts.

He was bluffing.

Nina caught it instantly. A faint smile curled her lips. "Are you sure you can kill her right now?"

She had already sealed off this space. Thraxxis’ power shouldn’t be able to reach Zena at all.

Thraxxis’ gaze flickered, a trace of unease betraying him. "Of course I can."

Nina let out a soft scoff. "You don’t have to lie to me. You’re not leaving here alive today."

She fully intended to destroy that eye.

Reaching into her storage, she took out the conical crystal the Beast God had given her. It was already coated with her blood, its surface gleaming faintly.

The moment Thraxxis saw it, his pupils shrank violently.

It was over. That had to be something Eldros had given her.

Fear flooded his eyes. "Don’t kill me! Aside from Zena, you can name any condition—I’ll agree to all of them!"

That snake might not be able to destroy him completely, but the object in Nina’s hand absolutely could.

Nina ignored him. She raised the crystal.

Realizing she had no intention of sparing him, Thraxxis’ voice turned shrill with panic. "Nina, you can’t kill me! If you do, I will take revenge! You know this isn’t my true body!"

Nina let out a cold laugh—and drove the crystal straight into his eye.

"Ah—!"

A scream tore from him the instant it struck. 𝘧𝘳𝘦ℯ𝓌𝘦𝒷𝘯𝑜𝑣𝘦𝓁.𝒸𝘰𝓂

His power unraveled, dispersing in violent waves. The entire sealed space trembled faintly.

After the strike, Nina rose to her feet and turned to Idir. "Finish it."

Idir cast a disdainful glance at the thing on the ground, then brought his foot down hard—crushing it, grinding it into nothing.

Moments later, the surrounding energy faded. Silence returned.

Nina felt a flicker of satisfaction as she confirmed the eye was finally destroyed.

Just as she was about to take Idir and leave, he suddenly pulled her into his arms.

"Nina, now there are no more eyes watching," he murmured.

Before she could react, he lowered his head and kissed her again.