The Regressed Son of a Duke is an Assassin

Chapter 271: The Enemy of the Demon King (5)

“It’s not too late even now. How about you return and wait for the Demon King?”

“I don’t want to cause harm to those around me anymore. And I no longer wish to endure the painful waiting.”

Besty’s mind was made up.

Rogers repeated the thought in his head that perhaps talking was unwarranted.

Although he mentioned everything to regard her opinion, Besty had made her decision all too swiftly.

Amidst their jumbled thoughts and moving forward, they eventually arrived at their destination.

“It’s been a few years since we came here. This place too…”

The Lake of Oblivion.

The largest lake in the demon world, it shimmered faintly with a hazy blue glow as if about to reveal its interior.

The expanse was so wide that its horizon was indiscernible.

But one could only lose themselves in the majestic yet lonely sight for so long before —

“You have had a long journey.”

Ascalon and his entourage appeared through the misty lake fog.

“Just the two of you?”

“Can’t you see for yourself?” Besty replied coldly.

To that, Rogers added,

“Let me say this beforehand. If I sense even the slightest danger or harm towards Lady Besty, I will immediately escort her back to the castle.”

“I can’t promise there won’t be any dangers.”

“This is your answer?!”

“Calm yourself, Rogers!”

Besty, holding back the agitated Rogers, took a step toward Ascalon, her hand clasping a pendant tightly.

“What would you have me do?”

“…”

Ascalon gazed at Besty with a look of affectionate nostalgia before leaning in to whisper in her ear.

“Had you not been my daughter, I wouldn’t have done this.”

“…!”

It felt like a deep wound to her pride.

Besty clenched her fist so hard that she trembled, while Ascalon, as if nothing had happened, turned his head toward the other demons with a detached expression.

“Prepare.”

Following his command, other demons brought over pillars as large as their bodies, then began stacking them in predetermined spots, sprinkling an unknown white powder around them.

“What are you doing now?”

“Preparing for the ritual.”

“A ritual?”

Besty, with a clueless look on her face, received a matter-of-fact response from Ascalon.

“I will use magic to destroy that pendant which beguiles you.”

Rogers jumped up, objecting.

“That’s absurd! That pendant cannot be affected by magic, nor any power! If you try to force it open, it may harm Lady Besty…!”

“Who said anything about forcing it open?”

“…?”

“I will destroy it.”

The eyes of the two demons violently clashed.

“Power is honest. Weak power is always suppressed by stronger power. No power is exempt. I will destroy that pendant with my magic.”

Power supersedes power.

The idea was to completely obliterate it with an overwhelmingly powerful magic force to ensure it no longer exerts its influence.

Theoretically, it sounded reasonable, but it was as much a gamble as anything.

“This is too risky! What if touching the pendant’s power backfires on you?”

“That’s why I couldn’t assure you of no dangers…”

This was something Rogers could not accept.

No matter how renowned Ascalon was in the demon world for his abilities, risking her life on an uncertain outcome was not an option.

Without a second glance, Rogers turned away.

“There’s no need to think it over! This is a dangerous gamble! Even if the pendant is destroyed, if Lady Besty is harmed even the slightest, the Demon King will not stand by idly!”

“You might be right.”

Besty seemed to concur with Rogers’ opinion.

“But, Rogers.”

“Yes?”

“If we always think of the negative outcomes and give up, won’t we end up achieving nothing?”

“Lady Besty!”

Rogers shouted out, realizing her intent.

“I understand your urgency! But the more so, you need to think rationally now! Isn’t this always the advice you give to the Demon King?”

“I am thinking more rationally now than anyone else, Rogers. If we cannot remove this pendant as it is, it could lead to even worse situations for us.”

Unable to continue his words, Rogers just looked on.

As if to calm him, Besty gently pattered Rogers’ shoulders.

“Don’t worry, Rogers. I will overcome this. For the peace of the demon world, for Belkarion…”

With her last determination, Besty turned toward the site of the ritual.

Rogers, unable to hold her back, finally closed his eyes tightly.

“Please, be safe…”

Devoutly, Besty reached the center of the ritual site, with Ascalon following behind her.

The demons encircled them, forming a guard ring, and as Besty looked around and sighed, she closed her eyes.

“It will be over soon.”

Ascalon immediately commanded the ritual to begin.

-Vwoooom!

A crimson magic circle formed beneath their feet, and the magic power manifesting through the circle was transmitted to the erected pillars.

Then the magic power arising from the pillars surged toward Besty at the center.

“Kugh!”

Feeling the turbulent flow of magic power, Besty grimaced.

Her breath quickened, and her legs started trembling, nearly buckling at any moment.

Despite the danger, Besty desperately held on.

As she endured, the pendant, caught in the grip of the magic power, began to flutter and jerk about.

‘I must hold on!’

Besty repeated this thought continuously in her heart.

Even if her body crumbled and she vomited blood, she had to endure.

For the sake of Belkarion, who was still roaming the demon world for her.

But then,

“Stop this at once!”

Rogers, who had been watching the ritual from about ten paces away, suddenly shouted.

“Stop the ritual right now!”

Not just shouting, he dashed aggressively towards her.

The other demons blocked him, completely preventing his approach to the ritual site.

Realizing that something had gone wrong, Besty tried to turn around urgently with wide eyes,

“…!”

She abruptly met the gaze of Ascalon, who had moved in front of her.

His eyes were bloodshot, a deep crimson.

In only a few seconds, Ascalon’s face had contorted into something grotesque and uncanny.

Stunned by the transformation, Besty’s body stiffened, and she found herself locked eye-to-eye with him.

“Father? What is happening to you?”

“Everything is for the sake of light…”

Muttering incomprehensible words, Ascalon suddenly clutched the pendant.

-Crackle!

A spark burst from the pendant along with a flash of light.

“Let go of it!”

Besty managed to slap his hand away and dashed desperately out of the ritual space.

-Thud!

But she did not get far before colliding with an invisible barrier and bouncing back.

A magic barrier had been erected around the ritual site using the pillars.

Trapped with no escape, Besty crumpled to the ground, holding the pendant tightly in her hands.

-Thud…

Ascalon approached her again.

“Why are you doing this father? Come to your senses!”

“Everything is for the sake of light!”

Despite her heartfelt plea, Ascalon kept repeating the same unintelligible phrase.

Overcome with fear, Besty clenched her eyes shut.

Just as Ascalon’s relentless hand reached for the pendant again,

“Everything shall revert to Void (無) …”

Suddenly, a jet-black sphere appeared above their heads.

“…?”

Both Besty and Ascalon, along with his followers and even Rogers, focused their attention on the sphere.

“That… That’s?”

“The Sphere of Void (無)?”

It seemed to register too late what the sphere was,

-Vwoosh!

The Sphere of Void began to absorb all the magic around it.

Irresistible with its overwhelming force, the area’s magic was annihilated in no time, leaving everyone confused by the unexpected spectacle.

The Sphere of Void was a dark attribute magic that used the caster’s magic power to nullify all powers and magic of the opponent.

It was a simple spell that even a 1-star rank holder could perform, providing the attribute matched.

However, the caster’s magic power had to be significantly higher than the power they intended to absorb for the spell to be effective.

Ascalon was a demon of high repute, wielding the might equivalent to an 8-star human mage in the demon world.

Yet, his magic power was completely absorbed by the Sphere of Void without any resistance.

This implied that there was a sorcerer among them who summoned the sphere, someone with magic power surpassing Ascalon’s.

Naturally drawn to a familiar aura, Besty turned her eyes.

“Power supersedes power. It’s as simple and honest a principle as that. I considered destroying the pendant myself too.”

And then, out of the mist, a voice so languid revealed its owner.

“But like Rogers said, the risks were just too great, so I quickly abandoned thought.”

The demons reacted with shock at the sight of the woman.

“This human?”

But this was no ordinary human.

A magical prodigy that one might see once in hundreds of years in the human world.

She had transcended the limits of magic and now wielded divine spells, the sole human to have achieved such a feat.

She was the owner of Maseo Lemiharam, Lunav Reine River.

“Lu, Lunav?”

Ignoring Besty’s call, she approached Ascalon.

“I was curious if the magic of a demon would be different, so I thought I’d watch with interest, but it seems you never intended to destroy the pendant from the start?”

Ascalon, his eyes still bloodshot, glared at Lunav ferociously.

He swiftly raised his hand to manifest his mana, yet

-Swish

As if expecting that very moment, Lunav opened the Maseo and unleashed an even greater surge of mana.

Responding to her mana, the Sphere of Void unleashed a powerful vortex that enveloped Ascalon, absorbing his magic power completely.

“Scream!”

In torment, Ascalon cried tears of blood and soon collapsed face-forward onto the ground.

“Father!”

Besty was startled but,

“Do not come near, Besty!”

Ascalon raised a hand to fend her off.

Instead, Lunav leaned down to examine his face.

“So, it was that after all?”

“Lunav! What is happening?”

“She was under the influence of a beguiling power.”

“…!”

Covering her mouth, Besty trembled uncontrollably.

“Lady Besty!”

Rogers, having fought through the demons, rushed to her side.

“Are you alright?”

“I can stand, just about.”

Once she was confirmed safe, he let out a deep sigh of relief.

“Let’s get out of here for now.”

“But Ascalon! My father…”

“We don’t know when he’ll explode again! Let’s move to safety first, and we can come back once the situation is clear!”

“Alright. Rogers…”

Reluctantly conceding, Besty quickly left the place with Rogers.

While guiding her, Rogers took a moment to glance back at where Lunav was.

‘For her magic to absorb Ascalon’s so easily…’

Rogers was a demon adept in magic, not inferior to Ascalon himself.

But the magic power displayed by Lunav far transcended his own—it was on a completely different level.

‘That Sian who fought the Demon King to a stalemate, how far can human potential reach?’

Whether such heights would be tolerated by the beings who created them, he felt a mixture of awe and a rising sense of anxiety.

(To be continued)