In the restaurant, though time seemed to have frozen because of the confrontation, the storm outside raged on furiously.

Each flash of lightning cast a bright, blue-white light into the restaurant, bathing people's faces in violent brightness and then profound darkness.

Afterward, thunder roared like an enraged beast, echoing through the empty space, accompanied by the violent shaking of the restaurant's windows and doors.

The storm swept through the streets, raindrops hammered against the windows as if an army of thousands were eager to break into the restaurant, and water streamed down the glass, sometimes blurring the view outside. The world was isolated, leaving only them in the restaurant.

Hyperion didn't react at all, only instinctively feeling a strong sense of crisis.

Phoenix, sitting at the table beside the aisle Hyperion had just passed, moved with lightning speed.

The blade sought the most vulnerable part of Hyperion's neck; the short sword had already nearly claimed her life twice.

But just as he was about to strike Hyperion, an overwhelming pressure locked him in place, preventing him from advancing even half a step.

This was not a physical restraint, but a chill that penetrated to the marrow, a warning from the depths of hell.

Subconsciously, he traced the source of the danger, his eyes meeting Talia's deep, cold, golden eyes.

In that instant, he seemed to see the face of death.

In her eyes, besides indifference, there was an unpredictable rage.

Talia's movements seemed calm and slow, but were actually much faster than Phoenix's.

She gently embraced Hyperion, shielding her to her side, then Talia's fingers gripped the tip of the assassin's sword, forcefully stopping his attack.

Phoenix could feel the pressure emanating from Talia. No matter how hard he gripped the hilt, the sword was fixed in mid-air, unable to tremble even slightly.

This meant that he and his opponent were not even on the same level in terms of pure strength.

Why was a Lanchi's Beloved Poet so strong?!

Phoenix couldn't understand how a summon that had seemed like a First Order just now had become a terrifying being like a Great Demon.

His heart raced, sweat soaked his forehead, and all the muscles in his body trembled wildly. The fear exceeded anything he had ever experienced.

Instantly, several layers of curses seemed to travel along the hilt, causing Phoenix's meridians to ache unbearably while also being weakened, turning him into someone close to being chronically ill and disabled.

This Beloved Poet was definitely not right!!

Lanchi was even more suspicious!

Phoenix's horrified gaze moved away from Talia, sweeping across the entire restaurant, trying to find an escape route.

But even taking a single step seemed extremely difficult.

In front of Talia, his movements were no different from a child's game.

Just as he was about to struggle, he felt a powerful mental pressure surge towards him, and with a brief dizziness, he fell heavily to his knees.

The force was so great that he could barely feel his own breathing, like a giant anvil pressing down on his calves.

Talia stood before him, simply raising her index finger, her expression indifferent, but her eyes were enough to chill him to the bone.

For her, stopping this Fifth Order assassin was as effortless as swatting away a fly.

Phoenix had completely lost his former confidence. His face was pale, and his eyes flashed with deep fear.

The opponent's power far exceeded his imagination; the difference was like the contrast between an ant and a giant.

"You thought you could hurt her?"

Every word Talia spoke sounded like she was berating trash.

"Just what are you..."

Just as Phoenix was about to say these words, he felt a throat-scraping pain, and no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't make a sound.

Then Talia used mental magic to completely knock him unconscious.

The magic effect of the Great Puppet Theater was also dispelled.

The people in the restaurant looked dazed, glancing at each other, not knowing what had just happened, and why everyone had stood up.

"Eh, Miss Tata, what just happened?"

The waitress looked at Talia and Hyperion standing in the aisle, as if waking from a dream.

"The thunder was too loud just now, it scared everyone."

Talia explained calmly.

The Phoenix on the ground had already been quickly dragged to the storage room on the second floor by Talia's summon.

It was usually empty. She'd just borrow it from Cat Boss for a day.

She wasn't very good at interrogation, but a specialized *zha zhong* (gatekeeper) would be responsible for the aftermath later.

"Oh, oh."

The waitress looked at the customers and felt that was indeed the case.

The restaurant quickly returned to normal operation, as if nothing had happened.

Talia recalled the [Basic Etiquette] she had just tried, and felt that Lanchi's magic was indeed quite useful.

She wasn't as useless as Lanchi. With a high mental magic affinity and being skilled in using spells, she only needed Lanchi to teach her the principles of [Basic Etiquette] to directly master this First Order mental magic, and she could release it even without magic cards.

Then Talia shook her head violently.

Because she found Hyperion looking at her with a face full of admiration.

She couldn't corrupt the child.

"Sorry, I won't use it anymore in the future."

Talia released Hyperion, her tone still lacking emotion, plain and serious.

"No, Miss Tata, you were really cool when you used that spell. You had a majestic feeling of a monarch making her subjects kneel. For a moment, I even suspected that you were a noble empress."

Hyperion shook her head, admiring her with a throbbing gaze.

Although she had just recovered from a brief moment of surprise, with Talia's protection, she wasn't afraid at all. This was a sense of security she had never felt even when her father was by her side.

"...Is that so."

Talia clearly remembered that when Lanchi used these two spells, he was purely a *zha zhong* (gatekeeper).

Could it be that the same spell would give different impressions when used by different users?

"If you want to learn, I can teach you a few spells."

Talia said, looking at Hyperion.

Since she was Ifatia's daughter, her magical talent must not be bad, especially in mental magic and curse magic.

It was just that she might not be so good at learning human magic. Demonic magic was more suitable for her.

Talia remembered that Lanchi had introduced Hyperion to her, saying that she was a scholar who had done some research on demonic magic texts, so it should be no problem to teach Hyperion some low-level demonic magic first.

"I want to learn from you, Miss Tata."

Hyperion nodded sincerely again and again.

Talia nodded, then touched her stomach blankly.

"Let's eat first."

She had been accompanying Hyperion from morning until now, and hadn't eaten anything. She was too hungry.

(End of chapter)