Chapter 237: Superpower failure
Xarion moved with terrifying speed.
Before Rory could even react, he had already brought her to the entrance of the Dragon Clan’s treasury.
The guards stationed at the door took one look at him—and their faces instantly turned pale.
Then, without hesitation, they turned and ran.
Rory stared at their retreating figures in disbelief.
"They just... ran?" she said, stunned. "They didn’t even try to stop you?"
Even if they couldn’t win, shouldn’t they at least pretend to defend their own treasury?
Xarion blinked at her, looking utterly innocent.
"Female Master, I told you already. They’re the ones who give the treasures to me. When I come here, they don’t stop me."
Aside from the very first time—when he had fought them—no one from the Dragon Clan had tried to block him again.
Meanwhile, the fleeing guards were screaming internally.
Do they think we don’t want to stop him?!
We simply can’t!
Not to mention, the Dragon Lord and the elders had already given strict orders: if Xarion showed up again, they were not to interfere—only report his arrival.
The captain of the guards, having run a safe distance away, immediately barked orders to his subordinates.
"Go! Inform the Dragon Lord and the Second Elder—tell them that demon is back again!"
***
Elsewhere, Ethan listened as the treasury guards reported Xarion’s arrival.
He waved his hand dismissively, clearly used to this by now.
"Leave him be. Let him take what he wants."
Their Dragon Lord was currently suffering from a collapse of spiritual power—there was no one capable of stopping Xarion anyway.
Besides, he never took much.
"You all stay at the entrance. Once he leaves, send the Third Elder in to check what he took."
"Afterward, we’ll just go to the Wolf Clan and collect compensation."
Whatever Xarion took, the Wolf King would repay in full.
They weren’t losing anything.
***
Inside the Dragon Clan treasury...
The moment Rory stepped in, she sucked in a sharp breath.
The sheer scale of it was staggering—it was as if an entire mountain had been hollowed out to create this place.
Massive luminous pearls and glittering crystals were embedded into the walls, casting a radiant glow across the vast space.
Beast cores, spirit crystals, star currency...
Treasures she recognized—and countless more she didn’t—were piled high in overwhelming abundance.
"The Dragon Clan is... ridiculously rich," Rory murmured, unable to hide her awe.
"Female Master, come with me." Xarion took her hand and led her deeper inside.
"These things out here are just ordinary. The real treasures are further in."
But Rory pulled him back, shaking her head.
"It’s enough just to look. We can’t take any of this."
If this had been an insectoid treasury, she would’ve emptied the place without a second thought.
But this was the Dragon Clan’s treasury.
And she was on good terms with them—very good terms. Walking in and openly taking their belongings like this just didn’t sit right.
"Female Master, do you not like these things?" Xarion looked at Rory in confusion.
How could she not like them?
Of course she did.
But there were principles to uphold.
"I like them," Rory admitted calmly. "But no matter how much I like them, they don’t belong to me. We’re close with the Dragon Clan. Taking their things like this isn’t right."
After speaking, she reached up and lightly twisted his ear.
"And you’re not allowed to come here and take things anymore. Understood?"
But the moment she finished, Rory suddenly froze.
Xarion had just been about to nod when he noticed her staring at him, silent and unmoving.
"Female Master? What’s wrong?"
Was something off about him?
Rory didn’t answer. Instead, she reached out and pinched his arm.
This time, she used a bit more force.
To Xarion, it was nothing—barely even noticeable.
But he knew it should have hurt her.
"Female Master, don’t hit me." Xarion’s expression turned tense with concern. "Does your arm hurt?"
Was she so upset with him that she’d lost her senses?
Hurting him didn’t matter—but she would feel it far worse.
"I don’t feel anything."
Rory shook her head, then struck him again—quickly, experimentally.
Still nothing.
Back in the palace, she had been too distracted to notice—but when she had twisted his ear earlier, her own ear hadn’t hurt at all.
Rory stared at him, shock dawning in her eyes.
"Xarion... your ability doesn’t seem to affect me anymore."
Xarion froze.
Then immediately said, "Female Master, try using your ability on me."
Rory nodded.
A flicker of red lightning gathered in her palm before she placed it against his arm.
At once, a red mark appeared on Xarion’s skin.
Xarion quickly grabbed her arm to check, but her skin was smooth and unmarked, as if nothing had happened.
"What’s going on?" Rory frowned at her arm. "Did your ability stop working?"
But that didn’t make sense.
Earlier that morning, when he fought the Thunderbeast, his ability had clearly still been active.
"Let’s go," Rory said decisively, grabbing his hand. "We’ll find Vincent and the others."
Xarion followed, equally puzzled as to why his ability no longer worked on her.
And yet, beneath that confusion, a quiet thrill stirred in his chest.
If this was true...
Didn’t that mean Female Master could do anything she wanted to him from now on?
Rory, of course, had no idea what he was thinking.
Holding his hand, she quickly led him toward Vincent’s palace.
By the time Rory arrived with Xarion, Yuel, Jasper, and Nix were still inside Vincent’s palace.
Vincent seemed to have just finished saying something to them.
Aside from Yuel, both Nix and Jasper wore utterly lifeless expressions—like their souls had already left their bodies.
The moment Nix saw Rory, his eyes lit up.
He had just started to run toward her when Vincent shot him a single glance.
Nix froze mid-step.
Then, like a frightened kitten, he retreated and stood stiffly beside Jasper, not daring to move another inch.
Vincent stepped forward, quickly making his way to Rory’s side.
"Rory, why are you here so soon?"
As he spoke, his gaze flicked briefly to Xarion behind her, a faint smile tugging at his lips.
"Is everything resolved?"
He was rather curious how she had dealt with Xarion.
Judging by Xarion’s expression... nothing seemed particularly different.
Rory released Xarion’s hand and said bluntly:
"Use your ability on him."
"...Use my ability on Xarion?" Vincent blinked, visibly startled as he glanced at the calm-faced man in question.
Lowering his voice, he tried to reason with her:
"Rory, I know it’s wrong for him to hide private funds, but... don’t you think this punishment is a bit too harsh?"
Vincent wasn’t afraid of Xarion’s ability—at worst, he’d just get injured.
It wouldn’t kill him.
But what exactly had Xarion done to make Rory this angry?
Nearby, both Jasper and Nix were equally stunned.
Even Yuel looked surprised.
They all wanted to know—what had Xarion done to provoke this kind of reaction?
If it were just about hiding money, Rory would never go so far as to have Vincent attack him.
Because they all knew that she didn’t actually care about that.
Her earlier threats about "settling accounts" had clearly just been playful teasing.
Rory immediately realized the misunderstanding.
"You’ve got it wrong," she said. "I’m not angry at Xarion. It’s just that... I discovered something."
She paused briefly before continuing:
"His ability doesn’t seem to work on me anymore. We’re not sure yet if it only fails on me, or if it’s stopped working on everyone. That’s why I want you to test it."
Xarion gave a small nod in agreement.
"Female Master is right."
"I see..." Vincent’s expression turned thoughtful.
Then, after a moment, he said seriously, "If I do it, both Xarion and I will end up seriously injured."
"Why not let Jasper and Nix try instead?"
He hadn’t suggested Yuel for a reason.
Terry was perched atop Yuel’s head.
If Xarion’s ability still worked on others, Vincent couldn’t guarantee whether the backlash would also affect Terry—especially with him so closely connected to Yuel.
At his words, Rory immediately turned to look at Nix and Jasper.
The two of them stiffened under her gaze, suddenly feeling a very bad premonition creeping in.