The volcanic lower valleys of Malgora were a stark contrast to the luxurious, amber-scented upper levels of the obsidian castle. Down here, the air tasted of sulfur and ash, thick with floating embers that cast an eerie, rhythmic red glow over the jagged black stone trenches. This was the territory of the Frontline Vanguard, a sector ruled by brutal strength, cutthroat politics, and raw, primal demonic power.
Raizael marched through the rocky canyon, his dark silk robe swapped out for an elegant, form-fitting set of midnight-black royal armor. Walking lazily beside him was Matriarch Lilithia. Her silver hair flowed in the hot wind, and her voluptuous purple gown parted at the thigh with every stride. Her obsidian wings were loosely folded behind her, and her expression was a mixture of absolute boredom and malicious anticipation.
She looked less like a mother marching toward her eldest son, and more like a apex predator tracking a minor inconvenience.
"My scouts report that Balthazar has concentrated his forces just past the sulfur ridge," Raizael said calmly, his sharp crimson eyes scanning the high cliffs. "He believes I am coming alone to review the crystal shipment. He expects an easy assassination."
"Let the little beast dream," Lilithia purred, her voice laced with absolute mockery. She paused, leaning her shoulder intimately against Raizael's armored arm, a dangerous spark flashing in her amethyst eyes. "He truly believes he inherited my intelligence along with my bloodline. He forgets that I am the one who built the foundations of this vanguard. He is merely a tool that has outlived its usefulness.
A neon-blue screen flickered in Raizael's peripheral vision.
[DING! Sinful System Passive Active: 'Lust-Bound Domination']
[Target 'Lilithia' compliance rate: 100%. Her demonic nature seeks betrayal, but the System has completely locked her loyalty to the Host's aura.]
Raizael smirked inwardly. He knew she was a monster, but under his System, she was nothing more than a well-behaved hound on a leash.
"As they cleared the final bend of the canyon, the valley opened up into a massive, heavily armed encampment. Hundreds of high-demon vanguard soldiers clad in heavy iron plate stood in strict formations. Stacked in the center of the camp were massive crates overflowing with raw, glowing dark magic crystals, the vital resources Balthazar had illegally intercepted.
Standing atop the primary crystal crate was a towering, heavily muscled high-demon warrior. He had jagged black horns curling violently from his head, and his bare torso was covered in jagged battle scars. This was Balthazar, the eldest hybrid son of Lilithia and the frontline commander.
The moment Raizael stepped into the camp, Balthazar let out a booming, arrogant laugh that echoed off the canyon walls. He jumped down from the crate, his heavy iron boots shattering the stone beneath him.
"Well, well! Look who finally decided to crawl out of his cozy little nest!" Balthazar sneered, slamming his massive broadsword into the dirt. He glared down at Raizael with absolute contempt. "The ghost prince himself. Tell me, Raizael, does your father even know you're alive? He hasn't looked at you in eighteen years, yet you think you can march down here and demand my crystal shipments? You are a weak, pathetic half-breed insect. Today, you die in an 'accidental' border skirmish, and I take my rightful place as the true heir of Malgora!"
The surrounding vanguard soldiers instantly drew their weapons, the metallic clatter echoing with lethal intent. Balthazar grinned, expecting to see terror on the young prince's face. Instead, Raizael simply stood there, a cold, mocking smirk slowly spreading across his lips.
"You always did talk too much in the original timeline, Balthazar," Raizael murmured, his voice deadly quiet.
"What did you say?!" Balthazar roared, stepping forward. But before he could raise his sword, his eyes locked onto the figure stepping out from behind Raizael's shadow. His arrogant expression instantly froze into a mask of pure shock. "M-Mother? What are you doing here? Did you come to watch me execute this pathetic prince?"
Lilithia stepped forward, her heels clicking sharply against the stone. She didn't look at Balthazar with a single shred of maternal warmth. Instead, she sneered, her voice dripping with absolute disgust.
"Silence, you muscle-brained disappointment," Lilithia commanded, her voice amplified by a sudden, crushing wave of high-demon mana that forced the surrounding soldiers to stagger backward. She looked over the entire vanguard army, her amethyst eyes flashing with terrifying authority. "Vanguard of Malgora! Kneel before your true sovereign, Prince Raizael! Drop your weapons immediately, or I will personally strip the flesh from your bones and feed your souls to the abyss!"
The soldiers gasped in absolute horror. They didn't fear Balthazar, they feared Lilithia. Within seconds, the sound of dropping swords and axes filled the valley as hundreds of hardened vanguard warriors fell to their knees, completely abandoning their commander.
"M-Mother?!" Balthazar stuttered, his face turning pale as he stumbled backward, looking at his own mother in total betrayal. "Are you insane?! I am your son! Your eldest! I built this army for us! Why are you standing beside this weak human-born outcast?!"
Lilithia let out a hollow, merciless laugh, casually leaning back against Raizael's chest as she looked down at her son like he was a piece of garbage. "Son? Don't make me laugh, Balthazar. I bred you and your siblings to be expendable sidekicks to clear this mountain, nothing more. You are a tool. And the moment a tool tries to touch my master, it gets broken." She looked up at Raizael, her eyes filling with a seductive, malicious hunger. "He's all yours, my prince. Show him what happens to those who dare to threaten your throne."
Raizael smiled darkly, stepping past the merciless mother. A glowing neon-blue interface flickered across his vision.
[DING! SINFUL SYSTEM ACTIVATED]
Target 'Balthazar' state: Terrified / Abandoned.
Executing Protocol: Divine Grace Subversion (Stolen from Holy Maiden Morrigan).
Raizael extended his right hand. Instead of dark demonic miasma, a blinding, golden holy light exploded from his palm, illuminating the entire dark valley. Balthazar screamed, shielding his eyes as the pure, celestial energy burned his demonic skin. But this wasn't pure light anymore. As Raizael channeled his Sinful System, the golden aura violently twisted, turning into a corrupt, pitch-black holy fire that crackled with absolute malice.
"Let's see how your proud demon blood handles the corrupted light of a maiden, Balthazar," Raizael whispered.
With a single flick of his wrist, the pitch-black holy flames erupted outward, locking onto the terrified commander.
"No! Mother! Help me!" Balthazar shrieked, his massive iron broadsword slipping from his trembling, blistered hands.
The towering commander tried to channel his high-demon bloodline to erect a defensive barrier, but the moment his demonic energy touched the pitch-black flames, the fire fed on his power, flaring twice as bright. The corruption stolen from Morrigan bypassed his physical armor entirely, burning away his lifeforce from the inside out.
With a final, desperate gasp, Balthazar's physical form collapsed under the weight of the corrupted light. The pitch-black flames dissolved into the sulfurous air, leaving behind nothing but a heap of dark, smoldering ash where the Vanguard Commander once stood.
A heavy, suffocating silence fell over the entire valley. Hundreds of hardened high-demon vanguard soldiers, still pressed hard against the volcanic stone on their knees, trembled violently. They had watched their strongest warrior get turned to dust in less than a minute by a prince they had mocked for eighteen years.
Before Raizael could even lower his hand, a cascade of neon-blue holographic screens exploded across his vision.
[DING! REBELLION QUELLED / HIGH-VALUE TARGET ELIMINATED]
Target 'Balthazar' executed.Sin Points Awarded: +10,000 Points.
Factional Influence: Vanguard of Malgora secured (100% Obedience).
[DING! SYSTEM REWARD PROTOCOL ACTIVATED]
Absorbed Core: High-Demon Vanguard Essence.
Host Stats Upgraded: Physical Strength +30, Mana Capacity +50, Demonic Charisma +20.
New Passive Skill Unlocked: [Sovereign's Gaze] Direct eye contact with lower or equal tier entities inflicts a 30% psychological suppression effect, forcing instinctual submission.
Raizael let out a slow, controlled exhale as the surge of raw, refined power stabilized within his core. He could feel the threads of the original timeline fraying even further. He turned his gaze to the kneeling vanguard army, his newly unlocked Sovereign's Gaze automatically activating. The invisible pressure radiating from his frame doubled, forcing the iron-plated soldiers to press their foreheads directly into the dirt.
"Your commander is dead because he mistook his own greed for power," Raizael's deep voice boomed through the canyon, carrying a chilling level of absolute authority. "From this day forth, the Vanguard answers to me and Matriarch Lilithia alone. Secure the dark magic crystals and return them to the upper castle vaults. If anyone dares to hold back even a single fragment... the ash under your knees will have company."
"W-We obey, Your Highness! Hail Prince Raizael!" the soldiers roared in unison, their voices shaking with absolute terror and fanaticism.
Lilithia stepped into his space, her translucent purple gown brushing against his dark armor as she looked up at him, her lips parted slightly in an expression of deep, insatiable hunger. "You truly are a magnificent monster, Raizael," she whispered, her breath hot against his chin. "You've taken my army, and you've taken my loyalty. Shall we return to the palace now? I believe I still owe you a proper reward for your hard work.
"Raizael smirked, gripping her waist firmly. "The day is still young, Lilithia. Let's head back to the palace master suite first. I need to check on our other two 'guests' before we indulge ourselves."