"You don't understand. The Stellaron gave Belobog the hope it needed most… Even if it's just a single reed, to a drowning person, it is the most precious hope of all!"
Cocolia's tone was exceptionally resolute as she said this. Dan Heng and March 7th couldn't help but look at Caelus.
"Caelus, is she really lucid?"
Caelus frowned as he looked at Cocolia's status bar. Something was definitely wrong with her condition.
[Bewitchment I: 05:00]
"No, she's been bewitched again."
Caelus immediately took out a bucket of milk, pried open Cocolia's mouth, and started pouring it in.
Again?!
Cocolia's eyes went wide. She tried to claw at Caelus, but March and Dan Heng rushed forward and pinned her arms and legs down. In order to breathe, she had no choice but to instinctively swallow the milk being poured into her mouth.
Cocolia stared daggers at Caelus, her eyes filled with humiliation. If she weren't so outmatched, she would have torn this insolent buffoon to shreds!
Just then, Natasha happened to walk in with a tray of tea. The chaotic scene that greeted her made her freeze in the doorway.
Seeing a stranger, Cocolia, though unable to speak, desperately tried to signal to Natasha with her eyes, pleading for help.
Caelus's group noticed Cocolia's gaze and all turned to look at Natasha. Natasha pursed her lips, forcing a strained smile.
"The tea is a bit cold. I'll go get a fresh pot."
Natasha hastily left the room with the steaming tray of tea, thoughtfully closing the door behind her.
Seeing Natasha "flee," Cocolia fell into complete despair. She could only obediently continue to swallow the milk in her mouth. At least that was more comfortable.
In no time, an entire bucket of milk had been finished by Cocolia, her abdomen visibly distended. Any normal person would be like this after chugging two buckets of milk in such a short period.
After the milk was finished, Caelus confirmed from her status bar that the Bewitchment I buff had disappeared. Still, he felt something was odd, so he asked her again.
"Cocolia, do you still believe in the Stellaron?"
"What else?" Cocolia sneered, her cold eyes sweeping over Caelus's face. "Am I supposed to believe my kidnapper?"
[Bewitchment I: 05:00]
The buff that had just disappeared popped up again. Caelus's heart sank. It seemed the Stellaron's bewitchment was like a command block in Minecraft, constantly reapplying the buff to Cocolia.
Although milk could remove the buff, its effect was limited. It couldn't prevent Cocolia from being re-infected. Unless he continuously poured milk down her throat, but that would just cause her to burst.
Better to just put her out of her misery himself than let her die from milk bloat.
"March, you watch her. Dan Heng, come with me for a second."
Caelus told March to keep an eye on Cocolia, then called Dan Heng out of the room. He left the door ajar as a precaution, so they could monitor the situation inside.
Leaning against the wall with his arms crossed, Caelus looked troubled. Seeing his expression, Dan Heng guessed that Cocolia's situation was not good.
"Can't the milk cleanse the bewitchment status from her?"
"No, it can, but she gets bewitched again less than two minutes later. How can her willpower be so weak?"
Hearing this, Dan Heng suddenly shook his head.
"Perhaps this isn't a matter of weak willpower, Caelus. Just as she said, for a drowning person, a reed that appears right before their eyes is their last straw. The Stellaron that bewitches her is different from us. A century ago, the Stellaron triggered the Eternal Freeze, which stopped the Antimatter Legion's invasion. That is a tangible fact. We, on the other hand, have only just arrived on Jarilo-VI and have done nothing. She naturally won't compare us with the Stellaron. Perhaps we need to find a way to make her trust us. Only then will she not be bewitched by the Stellaron again."
Dan Heng's words were a wake-up call for Caelus. His eyes lit up as he looked at Dan Heng, asking excitedly, "What did you just say?"
Dan Heng paused. "We need to find a way to make her trust us?"
"No, the line before that!"
"She won't compare us with the Stellaron?"
"That's it!"
Caelus slapped his thigh. That was it! This place didn't just have one Stellaron!
Compared to that thing hiding in some godforsaken corner, only able to secretly brainwash people, he was a different story. He was a Stellaron Spirit, certified by Herta herself! He was at least a tier higher!
"I have a plan."
Caelus immediately pushed the door open and walked back into the room, Dan Heng following close behind.
Seeing the two return, March 7th lowered the longbow she was holding. She had been aiming it tensely at Cocolia the whole time, afraid she might suddenly lash out.
Cocolia, lying on the bed, merely glanced at the two of them before her gaze returned to the ceiling.
Caelus walked over and sat beside her. He reached out and forcefully pinched her chin, compelling her to look at him.
"Cocolia, let me ask you, do you think the Stellaron is very powerful?"
Cocolia frowned, not understanding why Caelus was asking this, but to make him give up completely, she nodded.
Caelus was very satisfied with her response and continued, "And you believe the Stellaron definitely has the power to save Jarilo-VI, right?"
Cocolia nodded again. Perhaps a part of her deep down held a sliver of disbelief, but she had no other path to take.
"Well then! Since you're willing to believe that low-level Stellaron hiding in a corner, why aren't you willing to believe in me, a high-level Stellaron?"
Cocolia instinctively wanted to nod, but her brain caught up, and she stared at the brightly smiling Caelus with a look of pure astonishment.
"What did you just say?"
Caelus pulled the Stellaron directly from his inventory. The moment it appeared, it began to flash rapidly. A dazzling white light soon filled the entire room, forcing everyone present to shield their eyes.
Cocolia, being the closest, felt it most intensely. The moment the Stellaron's light flared, an irresistible aura pressed down on her, as if she would be erased from existence in the very next second.
Fortunately, after a second or two, Caelus put the Stellaron away. Cocolia, however, had yet to recover from the sheer power it had just displayed. Caelus reached out and patted her on the cheek.
"See that? You should know what I just took out, right?"
"A Stellaron." Cocolia came back to her senses. She had heard from the other Stellaron that Caelus also had one inside him. She had been skeptical, but she never imagined it was actually true!
And based on that oppressive feeling, it seemed the one inside Caelus was even more powerful!
---o---