The heavy, moonlit darkness inside the master bedchamber was thick with an unyielding tension.
Princess Evelyn sat rigidly upon the edge of the grand royal bed, her fingers clenching the silken sheets with immense force.
Standing a respectful distance away near the dark mahogany wardrobe was Sebastian, his arms folded behind his back in his usual statuesque posture.
Suddenly, a violent, unexplainable chill rushed straight down Evelyn’s spine.
Her breath hitched instantly, and a sudden wave of severe, suffocating anxiety gripped her chest.
It felt as though a tether connected to her very soul had been brutally strained.
She snapped her head toward the grand balcony windows, her amethyst eyes widening in sheer panic as she gasped out loud.
Something had gone terribly wrong out there.
Outside, beneath the shattered night sky, the reality was entirely gruesome.
Grand Duke Killian Von Rosenberg was forced onto his knees against the freezing, blood-stained cobblestones of the courtyard, using the heavy blade of his silver sword as a makeshift crutch to barely support his trembling weight.
The jagged stone arrows thrown by the beast were deeply embedded in his flesh, and dark, hot blood was rapidly coughing out from his mouth and pouring from his abdomen, staining his pristine gold-lined jacket.
Standing a few feet away, the towering fifteen-foot Gargoyle demon let out a loud, mocking, and echoing laughter that shook the very foundation of the estate.
The beast glared down at the bleeding Duke, its red eyes flashing with malevolent joy.
“What is the matter?
Dead already?
Hahaha!
And here I thought you were an even bigger monster than I am!”
With a sudden, violent screech, the Gargoyle swung its massive arm down, thrusting its razor-sharp black talons directly toward the kneeling Duke to crush him into absolute dust.
The heavy hand struck the earth with a colossal, deafening thud, embedding itself deeply into the stone floor, shattering the courtyard blocks.
However, the moment the demon pulled its claw back from the crater, its red eyes went wide.
There was no crushed corpse beneath its hand.
Killian was completely gone.
The Gargoyle spun its heavy torso around, looking frantically in every direction as it roared in utter bewilderment.
“What?!
Where…
where on earth did he disappear to?!”
The courtyard had plunged into a dead, absolute vacuum of silence.
Killian was nowhere to be seen, his presence entirely erased from the air.
SLASH!
Without a single fraction of a warning, a blinding flash of silver light cleaved through the darkness.
With a clean, terrifyingly swift stroke, the Gargoyle’s entire right arm was cleanly severed from its shoulder, flying into the air before crashing heavily onto the cobblestones.
The beast unleashed a sudden, blood-curdling screech of pure, agonizing pain, black demonic blood spraying violently from the stump.
“AGHHH!”
Through the mist of dark blood, Killian slowly materialized, standing perfectly straight directly in front of the writhing demon.
The blue aura radiating from his body was now infinitely faster, wilder, and more terrifying than before, the brilliant blue light glowing with an unyielding, blinding intensity.
But the most terrifying sight was his silver sword—the entire blade was now actively cloaked in a thick, rolling current of ominous black smoke.
Killian looked up at the towering beast, his midnight-blue eyes completely cold as an arrogant, merciless smirk touched his lips.
His deep voice boomed with absolute chill.
“What is the matter?
This child has barely even started playing with you.”
The Gargoyle demon, trembling with a mixture of intense rage and newfound terror, violently threw its massive leathery wings wide open.
With a desperate roar, it leapt into the air, flapping its wings frantically as it attempted to escape into the safety of the dark sky.
But before it could even clear the height of the mansion’s roof, the space directly in front of it distorted violently.
In a flash of blue lightning, Killian materialized directly in the open air, standing suspended in the sky as his immense magical aura allowed him to effortlessly fly through the heavens.
He stared down at the flying beast, his voice echoing over the winds like a god of death.
“Come…
let me show you what a true monster actually is.”
The black smoke trailing the blade tore through the air like a demonic whip, cleanly slicing directly through the Gargoyle’s remaining arm and tearing its wings to absolute shreds.
Right at that exact moment, the dark horizon began to crack.
The very first rays of the morning sun began to bleed over the distant mountains, signaling the arrival of dawn.
The armless, wingless Gargoyle began to fall through the sky, but as it caught sight of the rising dawn, a hysterical, frantic laugh escaped its slavering jaws.
“Hahaha!
You cannot slaughter me now, human!
The moment the sun’s pure rays strike my flesh, I shall be entirely reduced to harmless ash!
Hahaha!
You have failed!”
Killian’s glowing blue eyes locked onto the descending beast, his voice remaining a freezing wall of absolute pride.
“The sun has barely just begun to rise.
By the time it fully emerges over the horizon, I shall completely erase your entire name and existence from this world.”
The moment the words left his lips, Killian’s physical form completely vanished into the empty air once more.
SLASH!
HURRICANE!
SLASH!
Moving with god-like, invisible speed in mid-air, Killian unleashed a relentless, furious storm of devastating slashes upon the falling demon.
The Gargoyle’s remaining wings were completely hacked away into nothingness, and its massive body was torn open from every angle as it violently plummeted toward the earth.
Killian materialized directly above the falling beast, planting his boots heavily onto the demon’s bleeding chest, using his immense weight to drive the creature straight down.
BOOM!
The Gargoyle crashed violently into the center of the courtyard, creating a massive crater as the earth shattered.
Before the beast could even let out a final groan, Killian swung his silver sword downward with absolute, crushing force, embedding the blade straight through the center of the demon’s chest, pinning it to the broken ground.
The moment the black-smoke-cloaked sword pierced its heart, the Gargoyle’s entire fifteen-foot frame violently convulsed before dissolving into a cloud of dark, empty mist, completely vanishing from existence.
A short distance away, hidden deep within the treeline of the dark jungle, the imperial dark wizards had been watching the entire battlefield through their scrying spheres.
The moment the demon vanished into mist, the head dark wizard stumbled backward, his face turning completely translucent with pure, unadulterated terror.
“How…
how can this be?!” the head wizard stammered, his body shaking uncontrollably as he clutched his staff.
“What…
what absolute response am I going to offer to the Empress now?!
Despite being severely wounded and bleeding, that Rosenberg monster effortlessly slaughtered our most powerful ancient demon all by himself!
Quickly!
We must return to the Imperial Palace this very instant before he senses our presence!
Move!”
The terrified sorcerers didn’t waste a single second, frantically channeling their teleportation magic to flee back toward the capital.
Back in the quiet, blood-soaked courtyard, the massive blue aura surrounding Killian finally dissolved into nothingness, and his glowing eyes returned to their natural, exhausted shade.
The sheer, overwhelming strain of the battle and the severe internal injuries from the stone arrows finally took their absolute toll.
Killian dropped heavily back onto his knees, a massive wave of fresh, dark blood coughing out from his mouth.
His vision blurred completely, his strength failing him entirely as his body tilted sideways, collapsing limply onto the hard cobblestones, losing consciousness completely in the open courtyard.
The heavy double doors of the mansion were violently thrown open from within.
Evelyn came running out onto the marble stairs, flanked closely by Sebastian.
The moment her amethyst eyes landed on Killian’s bleeding, unconscious form lying in the center of the crater, her heart completely shattered with frantic panic.
She sprinted down the stairs, throwing herself onto her knees right beside his statuesque, broken body, her hands trembling violently as she touched his cold face.
“Killian!
Oh my goodness, Killian, please open your eyes!” she cried out frantically, her voice cracking with deep, sorrowful emotion as she turned her head toward the head butler.
“Sebastian!
We must dress and bandage his wounds right this instant!
Move!”
Sebastian moved forward with rapid urgency, his deadpan expression tight with worry as he carefully lifted his master’s heavy frame.
Evelyn clutched her hands against her chest, tears of intense guilt and anxiety welling in her eyes as she stared at the trail of blood.
‘This…
all of this horrific destruction is happening strictly because of me,’ her soul screamed in pure agony.
‘He fought that terrifying beast and nearly lost his life just to keep a useless disgrace like me safe!’
Meanwhile, across the capital, the atmosphere inside the grand inner chambers of the Imperial Palace was absolutely lethal.
The Empress of Eldoria was pacing the floor like a caged predator, her elegant silk robes rustling violently as she turned her furious, venomous gaze toward the returning dark wizards who were kneeling before her dais, trembling in terror.
“Insolent, worthless fools!” the Empress roared hysterically, her voice echoing through the high arches as she slammed her fan against a crystal table.
“You have completely ruined every single part of my plan!
I assigned you one simple, absolute task, yet your collective incompetence has failed me completely!
That Rosenberg monster and that worthless Evelyn are still completely alive and breathing!”
The head dark wizard buried his face flat against the plush rug, his voice cracking with pure fear.
“M-My Lady…
please grant us your mercy!
We beg for your forgiveness—”
“Shut your worthless mouth this instant!” the Empress hissed, her eyes flashing with volatile, deadly magic as she stepped closer.
“Say another word, and I shall personally rip your insolent tongue out from your throat!”
The wizards went entirely rigid, not daring to breathe.
Right at that exact second, the heavy double doors opened, and the young Prince stepped confidently into the tense room.
He walked up to his mother’s side, a sharp, cunning expression plastered across his features.
“Mother…
please calm your wrath.
I have managed to discover an alternate, absolute path to achieve our victory.”
The Empress turned her sharp gaze toward her son, her chest heaving with lingering anger.
“Speak.
What path do you speak of?”
The Prince offered a sinister, cold smile, his voice dropping into a smooth, conspiratorial whisper.
“Situated a short distance beyond the outer perimeters of our kingdom, deep within the forgotten mountains, lies a hidden, highly mysterious cave.
Residing within those dark depths is an exceptionally ancient sorcerer—a master who has completely perfected the arts of forbidden black magic.
It is said that this sorcerer keeps dozens of ancient wraiths, and powerful demons securely imprisoned under his absolute command.”
The Empress listened intently, her dark eyes narrowing as the Prince continued.
“If we can manage to negotiate or use any means necessary to acquire just one or two of his personal demons…
we will effortlessly be able to slaughter that Rosenberg beast.
The rumors state that the entities possessed by that ancient sorcerer are completely distinct; they are absolutely not ordinary, common demons like the one we unleashed today.”
Hearing this, the heavy anger clouding the Empress’s face vanished into thin air, completely replaced by a wave of profound, wicked delight.
A brilliant, sinister smile broke across her beautiful features.
“Excellent!” the Empress proclaimed proudly, her voice dripping with absolute malice.
“Then let us waste no time.
Prepare the royal guards for departure immediately!
The very moment tomorrow’s dawn breaks, we shall set out for those mountains!”
She turned her sharp, calculating eyes toward the grand windows, staring out into the dark horizon with an expression of pure, unadulterated madness as she let out a loud, terrifyingly sinister laugh.
“Rosenberg…
you may have managed to secure the upper hand and win the wager this time.
But I assure you, when our next strike arrives, you shall directly fall into a deep, eternal sleep from which you will never wake!
Hahaha!”