Reincarnated as the Villainess's Unlucky Bodyguard

Chapter 75 The Price of Power

When Liria woke up, the world felt oddly quiet. Her body ached in ways she couldn't fully explain, and her mind felt like it had been wrung out and left to dry. She blinked up at the darkened canopy of the forest, the faint glow of dawn peeking through the leaves.

"What in the ever-burning hell happened?" she croaked, her voice raspy.

[Good morning, Liria! Let's start with the highlights: You lost control, turned into some kind of rage-fueled demon monster, wrecked half the forest, and got your butt handed to you by your grandmother. Successful day, wouldn't you agree?]

"Oh, fantastic," Liria muttered, rolling onto her side. Her arms felt like lead, and every movement sent a dull throb of pain through her body. "And here I was hoping for a peaceful morning."

Ananara's voice piped up from her side. "Peaceful? You? You were one cackle away from declaring yourself Queen of Chaos!"

She groaned, burying her face in the dirt. "Why are you still here?"

"Because, clearly, someone needs to keep you grounded. Metaphorically, of course, since you almost took flight with those horns."

Liria winced, touching her head. "Horns?"

[Oh yes, they were quite impressive. Very demonic. Very intimidating. Unfortunately, you lost the ability to think rationally, so, net negative overall.]

She sat up, her body still shaky. "What do you mean I wasn't thinking rationally?"

"Exactly what it sounds like," Daena's voice cut in, sharp and unmistakable.

Liria turned, spotting her grandmother leaning against a massive tree, her arms crossed and an unimpressed look on her face. Despite her casual stance, Daena's presence was anything but relaxed.

"You're awake. Good. That saves me the trouble of dragging your sorry self back to the castle unconscious," Daena said.

"What... what happened?" Liria asked hesitantly.

Daena's violet eyes narrowed. "You happened. Or rather, whatever dark force you've got brewing inside you happened. Care to explain where that came from?"

"I... I don't know," Liria stammered, her voice small. "It just... took over."

Daena sighed, rubbing her temples. "Of course, it did. And here I thought I'd seen every variety of reckless behavior you were capable of."

Liria bristled. "It's not like I wanted this to happen!"

[Breaks are for winners,] the system chirped. [You, dear Liria, are still firmly in the 'work in progress' category.]

Daena sighed, standing up. "Come on. We'll head back to the castle. You're clearly too stubborn to take this seriously without some extra 'motivation.'"

"Motivation?" Liria echoed warily.

"Let's just say you're in for a very enlightening week," Daena said with a wicked grin.

Liria didn't like the sound of that one bit.

As they trudged through the forest, the tension between Liria and Daena felt like an oppressive cloud hovering above them. Liria kicked at a loose rock, sending it tumbling into the underbrush.

"So, you're saying I'm a disaster waiting to happen?" she muttered, her voice barely audible over the rustling of leaves.

"No," Daena replied, her tone heavy with exasperation. "I'm saying you're a disaster in progress. The waiting part is over."

Liria groaned. "You really know how to inspire confidence, Grandma."

"Confidence?" Daena snorted. "You want confidence? Control that ridiculous power of yours. Then we'll talk about confidence."

Liria folded her arms, her pace slowing. "It's not like I asked for this, you know. I didn't wake up one day and say, 'Oh, I'd love to set myself on fire and go on a rampage.'"

"And yet, here we are," Daena said dryly, not bothering to look back.

The silence stretched for a moment before Liria huffed. "Okay, fine. Let's say I want to learn control what am I supposed to do? Meditate? Hug a tree? Ask the universe nicely not to turn me into a walking catastrophe?"

Daena stopped abruptly, spinning on her heel to face Liria. "First of all, don't mock meditation. It works for some people. Second, you don't ask the universe for anything. You take responsibility for yourself. Your power is yours. It doesn't control you—you control it."

"Yeah, well, tell that to my apparently psychotic inner demon," Liria shot back, gesturing wildly.

Daena arched a brow. "You think you're the only one with darkness inside, Liria? Newsflash: everyone's got their demons. The difference is whether you let yours win."

Liria blinked, her frustration faltering under Daena's sharp gaze. "I... didn't think about it like that."

"Start thinking," Daena said curtly, resuming her stride. "It'll save you a lot of trouble."

Liria followed, her mind racing. For once, she didn't have a snarky comeback.