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Zeta was born into the Golden Panther tribe, the daughter of the chieftain.
Her original name was Lilim, but Zeta is what she’s known by now.
The Golden Panther tribe was one of the most powerful beastman tribes, with a long history behind them.
As the chieftain’s daughter, Zeta had a sharp mind from the very beginning.
As a child, she devoured books, absorbing knowledge far beyond her years.
Her father sometimes discussed difficult problems with her.
Zeta’s intelligence far surpassed his.
He often called her a genius.
Life went on, day after day.
But in her twelfth year, Zeta noticed black patterns spreading across her belly.
At first, she ignored them.
But as the patterns grew larger and spread wider, panic set in.
She went to her parents for help.
When her father saw the black marks on her body, his face turned grim.
“Father, what is this?”
“Demonic Possession.”
“Demonic Possession…”
Zeta had read enough books to know exactly what that meant.
Contracting this disease meant the end of her family’s hopes.
Her parents would be implicated because of her.
She looked at her father’s worried face.
Inside, she made a decision.
“Father, kill me.
If I die, everything will be fine.
Otherwise, I’ll drag the whole family down!
For you, for Mother, for my little brother — I can’t let myself ruin everyone!”
Her father stared at her resolute face.
He never imagined a child so young could say something like that.
Voluntary sacrifice.
Few people were capable of it.
“Don’t rush.
Trust your father.
I’ll find a way to cure Demonic Possession!
I remember the Elven books record a treatment method!”
He flipped through the pages frantically.
His expression was desperate, the look of a man grasping for any shred of hope.
Zeta had read every Elven book.
She knew exactly what was in them.
There was no cure.
“Mother, please talk some sense into him!
Killing me is the only way!”
Her mother looked at her.
She couldn’t agree.
She stayed silent.
Zeta was obedient, understanding, a good child.
Her father loved her deeply.
Now that this had happened, how could they possibly kill her?
“Found it!
It’s written here!”
Her father handed her the Elven book.
Drops of tears fell onto the pages.
Her father’s tears.
The book said it clearly.
Demonic Possession was incurable.
Zeta had never seen her father cry before.
This was the first time.
He pulled her into a tight embrace.
“Trust me.
I will find a way.
Trust your father.”
Her mother hugged them both.
They held Zeta and wept.
Zeta patted their backs.
“Father, I trust you.”
…
The next day, her father left.
He said he’d return in a month.
Her mother wrapped bandages around Zeta’s black marks.
“Remember, Zeta.
Don’t go outside.
Wait for your father to come back.”
…
A month later, noise erupted outside their home.
Her mother took Zeta and went out.
Golden Panther tribesmen surrounded them, holding torches.
Her father was tied up, kneeling on the ground.
Zeta stared at the scene.
Her clever mind understood everything.
Someone had found out about the Demonic Possession.
She had ruined her father.
“What are you doing?
Are you betraying the tribe?”
Her mother shouted at the crowd.
Before she could finish, a figure stepped forward from among the tribesmen.
“Hmph.
Filth has appeared in the tribe.
Demonic Possession must be purged immediately.
That’s the law, isn’t it?”
It was the leader of the branch line.
The Golden Panther tribe was enormous, split into several branches.
Zeta’s father was the chieftain of the main line.
The branch leader drew his sword and stabbed it into Zeta’s father’s shoulder.
“Tell me — who has the Demonic Possession?”
Her father answered with three words.
“I don’t know.”
“You don’t know, is that so?”
The sword stabbed into his left shoulder.
The branch leader’s goal was never to get the name from Zeta’s father’s mouth.
He knew Zeta’s father was tough.
But someone present wouldn’t be able to bear watching him suffer.
Her father stayed silent.
The branch leader turned to Zeta.
Zeta said nothing.
Her expression didn’t change.
She was smart.
If they wanted to interrogate her father, they didn’t need to do it here.
They were doing it here because they wanted her to speak.
Even if she confessed, her father wouldn’t be saved.
So she kept her mouth shut.
Seeing no reaction, the branch leader spoke.
“How boring.”
“This man betrayed the tribe.
I am the new chief of the Golden Panther tribe.
Not long ago, a priest from the Holy Church found us.
He said there was the scent of Demonic Possession among us.”
“And in the East, the Holy Church will take away those with Demonic Possession to cleanse the filth.”
A man in priestly robes stepped out from the crowd.
He spoke with an air of righteousness.
“The filth must be cleansed immediately.
If left unchecked, it will spread to the entire village.”
“You’re lying!” Zeta’s father said, his voice hoarse.
The priest looked at him.
“Beastman, did I say something wrong?”
“Demonic Possession is a lie of the Holy Church.”
“What nonsense are you spouting?
Everyone knows what Demonic Possession is!” the branch leader cut in.
“Beastman, do you have any evidence?” the priest asked, his expression stern.
“The Golden Panther tribe has been passed down since ancient times.
Our earliest chieftain was one of the Three Heroes — the beastman hero Lily!
The Three Heroes weren’t men, but women.
Demonic Possession isn’t a curse, it’s a blessing!”
“A fairy tale.”
“This is no fairy tale!
This is something only the chieftain of the Golden Panther tribe can know.
Demonic Possession isn’t a curse, it’s the blessing of the Three Heroes!”
Silence fell around them.
“Hahahahaha!
That’s hilarious!
First time I’ve heard such a joke!”
The branch leader roared with laughter.
The crowd joined in.
Everyone thought Zeta’s father was making things up.
“It is quite funny,” the priest said.
But he wasn’t smiling.
His face had turned ugly.
“So you’re saying Demonic Possession is a blessing, not a curse.
And you want to drag the entire tribe into danger with your ridiculous delusion?”
The branch leader’s voice boomed.
“You may find it hard to believe, but it’s the truth.”
“Enough jokes!”
The branch leader punched Zeta’s father in the face.
Punch after punch, hammering into his face.
Zeta trembled all over but couldn’t do anything.
She had knowledge.
She had no power.
“Speak!
Where is the filth?”
“If you don’t tell me, I’ll burn you all to death!”
“Whether I speak or not, you’ll do it anyway.”
The branch leader’s face darkened.
His thoughts had been read.
It made him angry.
“Fine then!
I’ll burn you all to death!”
“No!
It’s me!” Zeta shouted.
She tore off the bandage on her arm.
Black patterns covered her skin.
Her whole body trembled as she spoke.
“I…
am…
the Demonic Possession.”
She looked at her father.
He looked back and spoke.
“We are descendants of Lily — one of the Three Heroes who saved the world.”
“We are a clan with proud blood.
Why did she bestow the hero’s story upon us?
Why did she command the chieftain to pass it down through generations?”
“Because we have a mission.”
Zeta was crying.
She couldn’t hear his words.
She regretted it.
She regretted with everything she had that she hadn’t found a place to kill herself.
Why did she have to drag her parents and her little brother into this?
“You have inherited the hero’s bloodline more richly than anyone.
You are my strong, smart, most pride-worthy daughter.
Go!
Head east to the Kingdom of Midgar.
Someone there can cure Demonic Possession.
That is your mission.”
“Father, I…”
Tears streamed down Zeta’s face.
Her father looked at her mother.
“It’s up to you.”
Her mother hugged Zeta and her younger brother.
“Do you think I’ll let you escape?” the branch leader said.
His men surrounded them.
“Go!
Even if it costs me my life, I’ll hold them off!”
As the words left his mouth, Zeta’s father’s body began to creak.
Something pulsed inside him.
The next moment, a massive surge of magic power erupted from his body.
“What power is this!” the branch leader gasped.
“This is the lingering beast blood of the Golden Panther tribe’s hero!”
“Now let me show you what fear truly is!”
Zeta’s father’s fur began to grow rapidly.
He was transforming from a man back into a beast.
“This is a forbidden technique known only to the chieftain of the Golden Panther tribe!”
“Go!” he shouted at Zeta’s mother.
“No!
I want Father to come with us!”
“Take her away!
This technique will turn me into a mindless monster!
Go!”
He punched toward the east.
Terrifying magic power sent dozens of Golden Panther tribesmen flying.
They hit the ground, eyes rolled back, life or death unknown.
Zeta’s mother carried Zeta and her brother and ran east.
“How interesting.
Truly interesting.
I thought this was just an ordinary mission, retrieve the Demonic Possession and be done.”
“Instead, I get to witness such a wonderful story!”
The priest laughed wildly.
Zeta was carried away by her mother.
Behind them, her father fought the priest.
Terrifying magic power flashed, illuminating the sky.
Zeta’s mother moved through the forest at incredible speed, making no sound.
She had been hiding her strength all along.
But she still sensed pursuers.
They were close behind.
“Some Golden Panther tribesmen with keen senses are tracking us.”
She stopped.
“Zeta, we’ll split up.”
“No, Mom, let’s stay together!”
“Zeta, listen to me.
I’ll head southeast.
You take your brother, cross the river, hide your presence, and head east.”
“We’ll meet at the Kingdom of Midgar.”
She handed the younger brother to Zeta.
“Brother should stay with you!”
“Be good, Zeta.
Ever since you were born, you’ve made your father and me happy.
Your father always smiled and called you a genius.
You’re the reason we live.
Only when you’re safe can I have no worries.”
“Okay.
It’s a promise, Mom.
We absolutely have to meet at the Kingdom of Midgar.”
Zeta walked east, turning back with every step.
Her mother watched her leave.
Then she fled southeast.
Her footsteps were deliberately loud.
Zeta kept running, head down, holding her brother.
A figure flew across the sky.
Zeta could only make out golden hair.
It looked like two people.
She hid.
After they passed, she kept running.
Pain shot through her body.
The Demonic Possession.
She gritted her teeth and kept going.
As dawn broke, Zeta ran out of the forest.
She saw a beach and an endless sea.
She felt reborn.
She knew it was the sea.
To confirm, she licked the water.
“So salty.”
She didn’t know where the Kingdom of Midgar was.
Running east had led her to the sea.
Nothing but endless water.
Snow began to fall.
“There’s nothing to the east.
Where is the Kingdom of Midgar?
Mother, where are you?
I’m so cold.”
The winter night was bitter.
Zeta’s body was stiff from the cold.
The Demonic Possession still tore through her.
In her arms, she held her brother.
She looked at the small life entrusted to her.
She exhaled a puff of white breath.
“I have no choice.
I’ll cross the sea.”
She remembered reading that there was a country on the other side.
“I hope that country is the Kingdom of Midgar.”
“Father said east.
It must be.
Mother will be waiting for me there too.”
She walked along the coast.
Soon she spotted a fishing village in the distance.
There would be boats there.
“Hahaha!
So here you are.
Where do you think you’re going?”
A figure appeared in front of her.
The priest.
He held a bloodstained chain.
It clinked with every movement.
“Don’t come near me!”
Zeta hugged her brother tighter.
“Let me guess — where could the Demonic Possession be?”
He held up a head.
“Is it him?”
It was her father’s head.
“Father…”
Zeta’s eyes went vacant.
She stared at the severed head.
All her memories with her father flashed through her mind.
“A blood-soaked head.
Proof enough of how bloody the battle was.”
“Looks like it’s not him.”
The head hit the ground and rolled to Zeta’s feet.
Her mind went blank.
She couldn’t think.
“Or is it her?”
He held up another head.
Her mother.
Zeta opened her mouth.
No sound came out.
Her mind was chaos.
The heads of her parents.
She couldn’t think straight.
“Looks like neither.”
He dropped her mother’s head.
“If it’s not them, there are two left.
Maybe it’s the one in your arms.”
Hearing that, Zeta’s mind snapped back.
“No!
Don’t hurt my brother!”
“Then who has the Demonic Possession?”
“It’s me!
It’s me!
Don’t hurt my brother!”
“What a good child.”
The priest touched Zeta’s head with his hands.
They were still wet with her parents’ blood.
Zeta forced herself to endure.
For her brother.
She had to endure.
“Don’t worry.
If it’s not Demonic Possession, nothing will happen.
So…”
The next second, her brother was snatched away.
Zeta’s body was frozen stiff.
She had no strength left.
The Demonic Possession was still tormenting her.
The priest took her brother easily.
“I won’t let him feel pain.
I’ll just kill him quickly.”
Right in front of Zeta, he tore her brother’s head off.
Blood sprayed everywhere.
“Haha!
What a wonderful day!
High-quality Demonic Possession.
I am High Priest Petos.
Pleased to meet you.
I think we’ll be spending a long time together.”
Zeta saw it.
Her heart shattered.
“I will kill you.
I will kill you.
I will kill you.” She repeated it over and over.
“Excellent!
Hatred gives you the will to live.
That way, you won’t die so easily.
How wonderful.”
➤ Next: Zeta — What Was Lost