Mind Demon's Path of Domination

Yuri blinked from the shadows of a giant tree, looking at a blond-haired three-eyed Golden Savage. Of course, the third eye was closed—merely a slit for now. He looked young, his face still childish, but in those yellow eyes, Yuri could see that familiar gaze of Mark, too, so she grew calmer than she had been.

She rubbed her nose and walked out of the shadows.

Mark's Puppet shifted, a small rock in his hand, but seeing the familiar curious gaze hiding a well of wisdom, he calmed down inwardly while placing a shocked expression outwardly on his face.

Yuri had red hair, short and curly, while her eyes were crimson and piercing—yet, the mask on her face hid her facial features, which made it difficult to tell her apart from any other red-haired red-eyed woman out there.

She walked forward and stood in front of Mark's Puppet, her gaze stern.

Meanwhile, Mark, who was still inside the impromptu dungeon that the Boss had helped him make, looked at the violet light in front of him with a smile.

====

[The Dream Gamble—Yanchan/Mark]

[Dream: Find and meet his sister Yuuna.]

[Conditions]

Successfully accomplish the Dream.

[Warning]

Do not let the Puppet—Yanchan—die while the Dream Gamble is live, or the main body will also die.

[Success Reward: You can take any one thing from Yanchan as your own]

[Failure Price: Yanchan can take any one thing from you of his choice as his own.]

====

Yuri cringed inwardly but she said, her voice hoarse for some reason but clearly filled with surprise: "Is that you, Yanchan?"

She had taken enough precautions to make her voice believable, too. Mark's Puppet was frozen for a second, his eyes wide and his mouth open. And in the dungeon, Mark's true body frowned, filled with sudden doubts.

Weird… this Puppet.

"Sis—Sister Yuuna, is that you?" The Puppet asked, walking forward towards Yuri.

Yuri's heart thudded inside her chest, yet, her face was a mask.

His gaze changed, and I am no longer talking to Mark. What is going on? Wasn't this guy his puppet?

She didn't answer saying she was indeed Yuuna, instead, she shut off her mind. Yes, in this critical moment, she turned off her mind which was relentless with thoughts 24/7.

I do not need to think, I just have to act how Mark would in this situation.

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Manipulate.

"You, are you really Yanchen?" she asked as if she was deep in doubt. "Then why is your hair… blonde? No, no, did you also become a Savage?"

The Golden Savage before her just stared at her, as if lost in thought.

Inside the dungeon, Mark breathed out—his muscles had started loosening after the battle, but suddenly, all of them were taut and ready. Trembling in restlessness. How did his Puppet suddenly get out of his control? Was his demonic trick failing? How? No way!

Suddenly, he understood.

The Dream Gambler's Mortal Puppet demonic trick worked by tricking and manipulating the Will of a World itself. It only worked once in every world, because the same trick wouldn't work twice on something as grand as the World Wills.

All Golden Savages had a piece of the Savage World's Will within them.

The World Will must have helped him gain his free will, turning him into a normal Golden Savage from my Puppet.

Yanchan tilted his head, his yellow eyes filled with a frown as he stared at Yuri.

"But no, you are not my sister—" He frowned. "She was so tall even as a kid, and you, aren't you short?"

He clutched his head. His mind felt so muddled as if it had just woke up. Yet, there was a cool sensation in his forehead—a grand presence that calmed him down. Suddenly his face twisted again and Yuri took a step back, feeling her teeth itch.

Fuck you, Mark, how could you forget about height?! At least, I never told him I was Yuuna.

"Are you… not my sister?" he asked, voice somehow suppressed. "And why do I feel like you are all trying to cheat me?" brought-to-you-by-MvLeMpYr

Yuri felt a chill on her back.

He is strong. Strong enough to kill me. Do something, Yuri, don't let him see you as a threat. Yes, manipulate him with words like Mark does with others. Yes, yes, fuck, how can I do that? This is not scientific research, I am no good at this.

I am not Mark!

"And why do…" He clutched his head again and suddenly took two steps back. His head felt as if it was being buried under a landslide, but only a second later, he saw something in front of him. It was a contract, and even Yuri herself could see it.

Her heart thumped violently.

====

[The Dream Gamble—Mark/Yanchan]

[Dream: Find and meet with your sister Yuuna.]

[Conditions]

Successfully fail the Dream.

[Warning]

Do not let the Puppet's main body—Marcus—die while the Dream Gamble is live, or the Puppet will also die.

[Success Reward: You can take any one thing from the demon, Marcus, as your own]

[Failure Price: The demon, Marcus, can take any one thing from you of his choice as his own.]

====

"Ah…" Yanchan took a deep breath. I remember now, the gamble with the demon I took part in. Just before I lost all bodily functions he started controlling me.

Yuri's hair rose as Yanchan tilted his head and began laughing like a deranged madman. The person opposite her was just a young kid, but something about him was incredibly wrong. If Mark was able to see this sight clearly, he would have known what the wrong was.

This was no simple boy.

Yanchan had nearly died in a landslide, he had no hope of survival. Yet, he had survived by the sheer power of obsession. He had breathed in that nearly suffocating darkness under the mud, not letting himself succumb to unconsciousness. He had kept his eyes open, not winking, even when he hadn't eaten or drank anything for days.

Malnutrition, suffocation, thirst, hunger, fear, sadness, hatred, nothing had killed him. None of those could kill his obsession—they might kill his body if they got another chance, but not his obsession.

This young boy, of measly age, had more will, grit, and obsession than any ordinary man.

I DON'T WANT TO DIE BEFORE I MEET HER! EVEN IF HELL AND HEAVEN CRUSH ME TO PIECES.

Of course, Yuri would be intimidated. Seeing a boy so young with that kind of mindset was creepy, not to mention that the young boy just happened to also have strength.

An aura of power so vast, nearly suffocating levels pushed down on Yuri's body. She felt her jaws tremble, face freeze, and eyes shake. Yet, her rational mind made calm judgments.

Definitely stronger than your average A-rank Hunter. And if his attacks can have the power of a small tier higher than normal due to the Mask, he is as strong as a hypothetical S-rank Hunter. A tier 3.

Indeed, he can kill me.

Suddenly, that sense of oppression vanished and the boy smiled like a youth his age was supposed to. A smile filled with innocent relief.

He said, "I have lived solely for this moment since three years ago, my whole life, I've wanted nothing more." Rubbing his nose, he looked at Yuri. "Uh, the unknown big sister who is acting as my big sister…"

He suddenly appeared behind her.

"You are not my big sister, and that's the truth. And don't worry, I am not going to hurt you. I am not going to stop searching for my true sister just because of some gamble, either. That demon who gave me this chance, he is the one who sent you, right? Tell him, I am forever grateful."

Aura Teleportation!

Yuri felt a cold sweat bead down her neck. What a terrifying kid.

He raised his hand as if to remove her mask, but before he could, a strong—bloody—arm reached out from behind her and clutched the youth's hand in an iron grip. Yuri felt as if a mountain had suddenly been lifted from her shoulders.

"Demon…"

"Mark…"

Mark looked down at the boy and the boy stared up at him, his third eye opening. Three yellow pupils stared at Mark, each calm as a lake.

"I had thrown away the rock with my Aura to it to a far distance, I can teleport before you can kill me."

Mark looked down with a complex expression.

"What are you going to do from now on?" he asked.

The boy replied, calmly, "I will go search for my real sister. If she is alive, I want to help her live a happy life, if she is dead, I'll go sleep in the same tomb as her."

"You must know, if you see her, you will lose the Gamble and I can take anything from you. Do you not feel any issue there?"

The boy frowned. "What will you take from me?"

"Your powers."

"Ah, then it's fine. You gave me what I have, it belongs to you. Powers are fun, yeah, but I don't really care about them. I just want to go back to my normal life before the savages took away my sister."

Mark let go of his hand and the boy rolled his wrist painfully. "So, can I go now?"

"I will give you a day or two—and take this." Mark threw the boy a picture map. "Your sister should be there, along with other Silver Savages like herself. And probably, she is being ordered around by a Golden Savage. Go meet her quick, or the next time I meet you, I won't be this good to you."

The boy stared at Mark with a resentful glare. "You could have gone and saved her, brought her here, and won the Dream Gamble fair and square. Why did you send this big sister to fake it instead?"

"Because it was more interesting that way."

"She could have failed!"

"If she failed, I could bring the real thing then. I didn't think my Puppet would come alive and put her life at risk."

He stared at Yuri, then at Mark, and nodded. "... I understand."

Then, he left them and walked into the forest, still rubbing his wrist with a painful expression.

Yuri blinked. "Should you trust the kid?"

"I know an obsession when I see one. Don't worry, he'd rather die than fail at achieving it as soon as possible. Didn't you see the spark?"

Yuri frowned, looking at the hamster on Mark's head, at his bloody appearance that seemed to have just walked out of a warzone. "I didn't see anything, but I did feel that this kid was somehow terrifying."

Mark nodded. "But I think his goal is shallow, if that obsession was for something grander, he could have gone so far."

Yuri rolled her eyes. "Not everyone lives to become the strongest in all of existence, yeah, that's why I thought what I did. I now understand!" She looked at Mark with a deep expression.

Because he resembles you.

"You are a more extreme version of himself, just that your obsessions are different. Just that you are more tricky to see through unlike the boy who revealed everything about him so simply."

Mark scooped her up into a princess carry, and she gasped in disgust.

"So much blood, and you stink!"

Walking further, she shut up. After a while, she asked, "What is your obsession?"

"To see the greatest extent of what life can offer. To see the apex level of living. What is not mine, I want it all."

She laughed, her voice melodious as her red hair bobbed in the air. "Then, I want to understand the science behind the entire universe."