The catastrophic tremors ripping through the grand dining hall showed absolutely no signs of stopping.
Pieces of fine porcelain shattered against the shaking floor, and the rich red wine spilled across the dark obsidian table like a fresh pool of blood.
Inside the chaotic room, Evelyn was clutching the vibrating edges of the table, her face entirely devoid of color as she stared at the silver-haired Duke in complete, paralyzing panic.
”Y-You…
where on earth are you going, Killian?!” Evelyn’s voice trembled violently over the roaring vibrations, her amethyst eyes wide with terrifying dread.
Brilliant, piercing blue light was actively erupting from Killian’s midnight-blue eyes, radiating a lethal and chilling energy that completely dominated the space.
He did not look back at her, his voice remaining an iron wall of absolute, freezing calmness as he responded, “To meet a guest.”
Killian shifted his gaze sharply toward his head butler, his tone snapping into an absolute, commanding register.
“Sebastian!
Go and take Evelyn to her private chambers immediately.
I shall handle everything else myself.”
Sebastian adjusted his spectacles with immense, rapid urgency, his usual deadpan mask hardening into absolute action.
“Yes, My Lord!
Right away!”
The butler turned toward the trembling princess, gesturing frantically toward the exit.
“Princess!
Quickly, please move to your room immediately!”
”But…
what about Killian?!” Evelyn cried out, her heart hammering wildly against her ribs as she looked between the two men.
”Our Lord shall handle everything flawlessly!
We must leave right now!” Sebastian insisted, his voice leaving absolutely zero room for argument.
Without wasting a single fraction of a second, Sebastian firmly guided Evelyn out of the vibrating dining hall, their footsteps hurrying rapidly down the grand corridor toward the safety of the master wing.
Killian, who was standing dead center in the middle of the shaking dining room, did not move a muscle.
Suddenly, with a sharp, fluid distortion of the air, his entire physical form completely vanished into thin air like a gust of wind.
The next instant, he materialized directly outside the grand mansion, standing tall and imposing upon the stone courtyard.
The violent blue light was still pouring brilliantly from his eyes, illuminating the darkness of the midnight hour.
He swept his razor-sharp gaze across the vast perimeter, scanning the dark trees of the surrounding jungle.
Strangely, the colossal tremors had suddenly stopped.
An eerie, heavy, and profound silence completely blanketed the entire estate.
Not a single leaf rustled, and the air felt suffocatingly still.
Killian’s eyes narrowed into focus, his deep, gravelly voice breaking the absolute quietness.
“What is the meaning of this sudden silence?
Could this be…
the heavy silence that arrives right before a devastating tsunami?”
Before the thought could fully form in his mind, the space directly behind his back violently ruptured.
A massive, horrifying hand adorned with exceptionally long, razor-sharp black talons cut through the darkness, launching a lethal, blindside attack straight toward his head.
With unbelievable, god-like reflexes, Killian instantly sidestepped the incoming blow, shifting his body away in a flawless blur.
Moving with absolute, fluid speed, he reached out into the empty air, pulling his massive, pristine silver sword directly out of thin air.
The moment his fingers gripped the hilt, a colossal, terrifying wave of brilliant blue aura violently erupted from his body.
The sheer pressure of his magical force was so immense that his tailored clothes and silver hair began to franticly billow and fly backward in the wind.
“Who did this?”
Out from the deep shadows of the courtyard, a massive, horrifying entity stepped into the moonlit square.
Standing a towering fifteen feet tall was a vicious, blood-curdling Gargoyle demon.
The beast possessed colossal, leathery bat-like wings that expanded across the space, rows of long, sharp needle-like fangs protruding from its slavering jaws, and fingers that tipped into exceptionally long, deadly black nails.
The Gargoyle’s glowing red eyes locked onto the Grand Duke, and without a single second of delay, it launched another violent, heavy strike directly toward Killian’s chest.
CLANG!
Killian raised his silver sword, blocking the massive talons with absolute precision as a shower of bright sparks exploded between them.
The Gargoyle demon suddenly bared its hideous fangs, a deep, raspy, and booming voice echoing from its throat.
“Hahaha!
What on earth are you thinking, boy?!
Do you honestly believe you can slaughter a formidable demon like myself with a mere, ordinary sword like that?!”
Hearing the beast’s arrogant words, Killian’s stoic expression vanished, completely replaced by a sharp, arrogant, and attitude-filled smirk.
He adjusted his grip on the silver hilt, his midnight-blue eyes flashing with an unyielding, prideful intensity as he chuckled darkly.
”Huh.
You truly think you can lay a single finger on my family or my people while I am standing here?
Let me make something absolutely clear to you…
if you consider yourself a demon, then I am a monster.”
The Gargoyle demon burst into a loud, mocking laughter that shook the surrounding trees.
“Arrogant brat!
Die!”
With a deafening roar, the beast violently thrust its razor-sharp talons forward, attempting to pierce Killian’s torso.
But Killian’s physical speed was so entirely beyond comprehension that before the massive hand could even brush against his coat, his body completely vanished from the spot.
The Gargoyle’s strike hit nothing but empty air, its massive eyes widening in absolute, bewildered shock.
“What?!
Where on earth did he go?!”
The massive demon spun its heavy torso around, its red eyes searching the dark courtyard frantically.
“Where are you hiding?!”
SLASH!
Without a single warning, a deep, agonizing laceration violently ripped open across the Gargoyle’s thick arm, black blood spraying onto the cobblestones.
The beast roared in sudden shock and pain.
“Agh?!”
SLASH!
SLASH!
Before it could even process the injury, another massive, burning wound slashed deeply across its chest, followed instantly by a heavy, devastating laceration along its right leg.
Within the span of a single, breathless minute, Killian moved around the colossal beast like a continuous streak of blue lightning, unleashing more than a hundred devastating strikes across its entire body.
Deep wounds erupted everywhere, and the dark demonic blood poured rapidly from the beast’s flesh.
With a smooth, fluid motion, Killian materialized directly in front of the staggered, bleeding demon, resting his silver sword casually over his shoulder.
His glowing blue eyes looked down at the panting beast, his voice dripping with an arrogant, mocking amusement.
”What is the matter?
This child has barely even started playing with you, and you are already this exhausted?
Meanwhile, upstairs inside the master bedchamber, a completely different atmosphere of intense psychological torment was taking place.
Evelyn was pacing back and forth across the plush rugs, her hands clasped tightly together as her mind entered a state of absolute, frantic worry.
Through the grand glass windows, the quietness of the night had been completely shattered.
Violent, booming sounds of clashing iron, agonizing roars, and brilliant flashes of blue and red magical lights were constantly illuminating the dark walls of her room.
She turned her frantic, panicking gaze toward the head butler, who was standing rigidly near the locked door.
“Sebastian…
please tell me!
Will…
will he truly be alright out there?!”
Sebastian adjusted his spectacles with absolute, unchanging deadpan calmness, his voice remaining smooth and grounded.
“My Lady, please set your mind at absolute ease.
There is not a single soul in this entire empire who possesses an amount of strength equal to our Lord.
You may remain entirely carefree; he shall manage everything with absolute perfection.”
Back in the blood-stained courtyard, the Gargoyle demon was panting heavily, its red eyes blazing with an unprecedented, psychotic fury as it stared at the unbothered silver-haired Duke standing before it.
”You worthless human…!” the demon roared, its voice trembling with blinding rage.
“Do you truly believe an insignificant insect like you can effortlessly slaughter me?!”
The beast violently threw its massive wings wide open, unleashing a dark, forbidden arcane magic.
The night sky above the Rosenberg estate suddenly turned into a swirling vortex of dark clouds, and within a fraction of a second, hundreds of massive, razor-sharp stone arrows and jagged boulders manifested in the air, humming with a lethal weight.
”Die under the weight of the heavens!” the Gargoyle screamed, violently swinging its arm down.
The hundreds of sharp stone arrows descended from the sky like a terrifying, relentless tidal wave, racing directly toward Killian.
Killian’s eyes narrowed.
He spun his silver sword with incredible, blinding speed, creating a powerful shield of blue aura that successfully shattered and deflected the first dozens of incoming boulders into absolute dust.
CRUSH!
SHATTER!
But without warning, the sheer, overwhelming volume of the magical spell was far too immense.
Two massive, jagged stone arrows managed to violently breach through his defensive aura, piercing directly into his physical form.
One sharp stone dug deep into his shoulder, while the other violently embedded itself straight into his abdomen.
”Agh!”
A sharp, agonizing gasp escaped Killian’s lips.
Dark red blood instantly coughed out from his mouth, staining his gold-lined collar, while fresh blood began to ooze rapidly from his stomach wound.
The sheer, devastating force of the impact broke his stance completely, and with a heavy thud, the proud, formidable Monster Duke dropped heavily onto his knees against the cold cobblestones, using his sword to barely support his trembling weight.
The Gargoyle demon took one look at his bleeding, broken form and let out a loud, malevolent, and triumphant roar of pure mockery.
”Hahaha!
Look at you now!” the demon hissed, its red eyes flashing with an evil joy as it stared down at the kneeling Duke.
“Have you finally realized your absolute limits and true place, you arrogant insect?!”
Thank you for reading!
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