The ‘Controlled’ Hero

Unshielded dignity.

The icy air made contact with every inch of exposed skin, raising fine tremors, but far more piercing than the low temperature,

was the extreme shame of being forcibly pressed down, having what needed protection utterly exposed to unfamiliar gazes.

The young woman’s cheeks burned, her ears flushed crimson.

Amber eyes blazing with fury and humiliation were fixed on the dollmaker standing calmly by the platform, observing her like a specimen.

“Dollmaker!”

Furenna’s voice was sharp with anger and a barely perceptible tremor.

“What is it you want?!

Is this the method of you demons? Despicable! Vile!”

Lili Ai’s gaze remained placidly upon her, the mask hiding half her face,

revealing only her elegantly shaped jaw and pale lips, betraying no emotion whatsoever.

Seeing her unmoved, Furenna’s inner rage flared hotter, and she tried to wound the other with the most venomous words she could muster:

“Hmph! I almost forgot, you demons are nothing but flawed cast-offs abandoned by the Goddess!

Filth and ugliness run in your very veins! No wonder you can only hide in ruins, using these underhanded methods to satisfy your twisted desires!

It’s utterly revolting!”

She even focused her gaze on Lili Ai’s silver half-mask, her tone dripping with bitter enmity:

“Do you think wearing that cold, lifeless mask can hide your vile nature?

No matter how exquisite the mask, it cannot cover the rot in your souls!”

Faced with this barrage of insults and personal attacks, Lili Ai didn’t even bat an eyelid.

She merely tilted her head slightly, gesturing to the doll maid, Doll, standing silently beside her.

Doll immediately and soundlessly handed over an object.

It appeared to be crafted from some dark metal, its structure complex and intricate, possessing a cold, hard texture.

It consisted of several smooth, curved bands, with a small, oval locking mechanism engraved with dense runes at the center.

The overall shape carried an eerie, unsettling sense of being designed for close conformity.

Although Furenna had never seen such a thing in person, based on common sense and the current situation, she instantly understood what it was—

a symbol of the most direct and complete form of physical restraint and humiliation, a well-designed yet ignoble shackle.

Just as Furenna’s pupils constricted in shock, Lili Ai’s cool, clear voice finally rang out,

not with the expected fury or shame, but with an almost cruel flatness:

“You and I are, ultimately, enemies. That is beyond doubt.”

Lili Ai’s gaze, seeming to pierce through Furenna’s feigned composure from behind the mask, continued,

“So, is the method used against an enemy so important?

Or are you expecting mercy from your foe?”

She gently shook the magical object in her hand, continuing in that same monotonous tone:

“As for what you call despicable, ugly…

Compared to those ‘noble’ comrades who stabbed you in the back, we at least place our malice out in the open.

Tell me then, my dear little Heroine, in your current wretched state, where are the human companions you protected?”

This sentence was like a poisoned dagger, piercing with perfect precision into the most fragile, most unwilling-to-touch corner of Furenna’s heart.

Scenes from her earlier nightmare surfaced once more—

the Crown Prince’s hypocritical smile, the Saintess’s icy judgment, and the searing pain and heartbreak of the sword piercing her body.

She opened her mouth, wanting to retort, but found her throat blocked as if by something, unable to utter a single word.

The grief and sense of betrayal she had forcibly suppressed now surged tumultuously under Lili Ai’s casual inquiry.

After a brief, suffocating silence, Furenna seemed to find her voice again, rebutting with a stubborn defiance that rang slightly hollow:

“… Th-that’s because there were precedents of Heroes going rogue and turning traitor!

They were just… just taking precautions!

For the safety of the majority, what’s wrong with necessary caution!”

Lili Ai remained silent for a moment, the half-mask lending her an air of detached elegance.

“Oh? Is that so,” she said faintly.

“If you can truly convince yourself of that, then it simplifies matters. Self-deception can be an excellent painkiller at times.”

“You—!”

Furenna, incensed, wanted to say more.

But Lili Ai had no intention of allowing her to continue her verbal barrage.

The cold magical object in the dollmaker’s hand slowly levitated under the control of magic, emitting a faint purplish-black aura,

then flew with irresistible precision toward Furenna’s position.

“No! Stop! You demon! You vile fiend! You won’t die well!”

Furenna felt herself nearing a breaking point. She began to struggle and twist frantically,

cursing with the foulest, most venomous words she had ever learned in her life, trying to prevent the impending humiliation.

However, the Heroine’s wrists and ankles were firmly locked into the framework. All her struggles only served to tighten the cold metal restraints further,

leaving red marks on her skin, her muscles trembling violently from overexertion, yet unable to move an inch.

Furenna’s loud curses echoed in the empty room, sounding so pale and powerless.

Lili Ai paid no heed to her screams, as if they were merely inconsequential background noise.

She focused on manipulating her magic, causing the magical harness to conform to Furenna’s body as if it had a life of its own.

The icy touch made Furenna stiffen all over. The bands automatically adjusted their size and curvature, the front arc wrapping around her waist, the rear conforming to her curves.

Finally, the small, intricate locking mechanism clicked shut perfectly upon the Heroine’s body.

The runes glowed faintly, signifying the magic had taken effect, thoroughly sealing the area.

Without the specific magical key or lock, it would be impossible to open.

Only after completing this did Lili Ai withdraw her magic.

Her gaze swept once more over Furenna’s face, pale and contorted with despair and fury, and over the cold restraint now fused with her body.

“Truly a creation meticulously sculpted by the Goddess,”

Lili Ai’s tone remained flat, indistinguishable as to whether it was praise or sarcasm.

“It saves me the trouble of clearing any weeds for you.”

Having said this, she turned without hesitation and walked towards the door.

The doll, Doll, followed silently, her six arms hanging elegantly at her sides.

At the doorway, Lili Ai paused but did not look back, merely leaving a light, airy sentence that fell like a final verdict:

“Wait here properly, Heroine-sama.

In a little while, someone will naturally come to personally teach you the rules of this place.”

The heavy iron door closed once more, leaving Furenna alone under the stark white light, upon the cold metal platform,

trapped within the metal harness that tightly bound the Heroine, a constant reminder of the humiliation she had suffered.

Cursing had exhausted Furenna’s last reserves of strength; struggling was futile.

The shackles upon her body contained powerful magic arrays that ceaselessly sapped her power.

Extreme shame, anger, and the pain of betrayal and imprisonment intertwined, almost tearing her reason apart.

Furenna lay on her back, her eyes vacant as she stared at the lamp on the ceiling emitting its harsh white light.

Tears, in the end, could not be suppressed, sliding from the corners of her eyes and dripping onto the cold metal surface of the platform.

The physical restraint was complete, but the torment of the mind seemed only to have just begun.

The dollmaker Lili Ai’s final words hung like a new shadow over the young woman’s unknown path ahead.

What kind of “rules” would the “others” who were to come next bring with them?