As we arrived at the center of this enclosed world, towering walls made of stone greeted us.


    Beyond the walls, a massive open gate revealed what appeared to be a small town sprawling within.


    It came to me that this location wasn''t solely inhabited by Zol n members; there were also a lot of humans present.


    In fact, just beyond the wall, along the street, I observed only a handful of Zol n members, while the majority were all humans in modern but rugged clothing.


    And there was something unsettling about them; their eyes held no spark of life, as if they had surrendered all hope and were merely going through the motions.


    "I thought the Zol n hates humans?" Shao Mi asked, clearly surprised by what she was seeing.


    They were notorious for treating humans even worse than livestock, known as serial killers who had terrorized humanity for ages, and had brought forth multiple apocalyptic events.


    Therefore, the idea of humans living together with them should have been a big no-no.


    So, the presence of humans in this ce was puzzling. Moreover, judging by their attire and appearance, it was evident that most of them came here just recently.


    They did not look locals at all.


    "Maybe they''ve opened a resort here? And it''s now open for business?" I chuckled, attempting to inject some humor into the conversation.


    However, Shao Mi just shot me a daggering re and rolled her eyes in response.


    She must have been feeling infuriated witnessing the mistreatment of so many humans.


    It was just like her; unlike the other powerful family heads who were consumed by power and greed, she genuinely wanted to protect humanity.


    "Alright, sorry, I''ll be more serious," I apologized before walking toward one of the humans toiling in the field just outside the walled city.


    From his appearance, it was obvious that this guy belonged to the 21st century, and he also seemed to came from France or a nearby region, judging from his facial traits .


    "Hey, how did you get here?" I asked him.


    "Master, I''m sorry," he immediately bowed his head, fear and trauma evident in his trembling voice.


    At present, I had copied the energy signature of a Zol n member, so both Shao Mi and I resembled them.


    "Why are you apologizing?" I inquired, attempting to calm him down normally, but it was futile because he was already too broken.


    Not wanting to waste anymore time , I touched his head and essed his memories.


    There, I discovered what had transpired.


    He and his family had been kidnapped, and after waking up, they found themselves here, forced into very.


    It was bad enough that they were enved, but the Zol n members took their cruelty to another level.


    They subjected him to torture, forced him to fight his own wife and son, and watch them beat each other mercilessly.


    His wife suffered even more, enduring repeated vitions before those sadistic maniacs finally ended her life


    ''So they kidnapped humans just to torture them? What a bunch of crazies,'' I muttered.


    It seemed there was no saving them; this cruelty was deeply embedded in their bones and culture.


    ''This power, Oath?'' I mused inwardly, recognizing that this ability was from Zayen.


    It became clear that this was why these humans werepelled to endure very rather than taking their own lives—they were all bound by her ability


    "You''ve suffered enough," I murmured softly as I touched his forehead, ending his torment with a painless death.


    With a thud, his lifeless body dropped to the ground, but none of the other humans even flinched.


    It was evident that death in this ce was amon urrence.


    "Why did you kill him?" Shao Mi eximed in frustration, unable to believe what I had just done.


    ''Oh, right. I could have just healed his mind with a mere thought,'' I cursed myself, realizing my old habits were still there—the remnants of my cold, brutal viinous persona.


    ''It''s really hard to change,'' I sighed.


    I couldn''t entirely me myself; my thought process was still entangled with my old twisted views.


    From time to time, I forgot that I was actually acting the part of the good guy here.


    "Those bastards. They imnted something in his mind that made him suffer. Death was a salvation for him," I said, acting hurt and disgusted by what they did to the poor man, which forced me to take his life.


    It was easier to ce the me on the Zol n for everything rather than admitting my own mistake.


    After hearing my exnation, Shao Mi felt guilty. "I''m sorry for shouting… I did not mean it that way," she apologized, her eyes darting away from my gazed.


    She felt ashamed because she had used me right away, and I could sense genuine guilt in her eyes.


    It was this vulnerable side of her that made me realize that despite all her beauty, status, and power, she was just a maiden at heart. Discover hidden stories at empire@@novelbin@@


    In terms of personality, I think Sung Hei was far more strong-willed than her. She was so independent that even when I imed her as mine, she still asionally resisted following my lead.


    "It''s alright, it''s an honest mistake," I reassured her, patting her head and ying with her hair.


    Normally, she would act a little bit guarded and perhaps push my hands away, but because she felt guilty, she just let me be.


    After wrapping up our discussion and gaining a general understanding of the city''s workings, Shao Mi and I proceeded to the gate.


    Two Zol n members were stationed there as guards, but after sensing our aura, they chose to ignore us and allowed us to pass without interference.


    Shao Mi stopped asking too many questions.


    At this point, she just assumed that I had cast some magical spells to smooth things out.


    Inside, I discovered that it resembled a small Asian town from the 1990s.


    There were no towering buildings, and the tallest structures were three-story buildings at most.


    Most establishments were ces to for enjoyment: drinking houses, gambling dens, and a red light district where male Zol n members could select human women disyed like meat in the market for their pleasure.


    The faces of the women being used were etched with sadness, and I could figured out from the wounds on their bodies that what they experienced were not the pleasant type of pleasure.


    "This is too much," Shao Mi grabbed the tip of my robe, her emotions slowly showing as she struggled to hold them back.


    ***


    Author''s Note.


    We finally reached 500 Chapters !!!