CHAPTER 41
As the red-eyed demon appeared before Asterios, several figures, including Jude and Nair, visibly flinched.
“No way… That appearance…? No, it can’t be…”
Jude murmured, recognizing Nox’s form.
He trembled as he came face to face with the Demon of all Demons who had existed a thousand years ago.
“Haa…! What’s wrong, Lord Jude?”
“Nair, do you know of the demon Nox, who was especially infamous for his powers of the mind?”
“Huh? You mean that Nox, the one who supposedly perished during the war with the Celestial Realm?”
Yes. They thought he had perished.
But the demon with crimson eyes, ashen-gray hair, and pointed ears—it was unmistakably Nox.
‘Don’t tell me… Is he using Lord Nox as a familiar??’
Back when his master Mephisto mentioned the intruder was Tenebres, it hadn’t felt real.
Now that he was facing him, chills surged through his entire body.
“It’s been a while since I’ve encountered such a formidable opponent.”
“If that really is him, shouldn’t we be running, Lord Jude? Hngh?”
And for good reason—Nox possessed the terrifying ability to control the unseen. His electric power distorted time and space, driving minds into chaos.
“Stay sharp, Nair. If you fall under Nox’s influence and betray our master, your fate will be annihilation.”
“Haaah… understood.”
If they were to confront someone who could command a legendary demon as their subordinate, then all of them would have to risk everything today.
At that moment, Asterios gave a command to his shadow, Nox.
“Nox, I shall judge them with my power of darkness…”
Crackle!
Asterios’s black aura surged through Nox—FLASH!—emitting a blinding surge of electricity.
“Kyaaa!”
“Gaaaah!”
With violent crackling and explosions, monsters and demons before them began to writhe in agony.
Nox’s crimson eyes turned completely black.
“Punish those who block my path.”
BOOOM! As Asterios’s command was fulfilled, immense energy burst forth from Nox’s eyes.
A massive black lightning bolt exploded, shaking the very foundation of the Demon King’s castle.
“Gaaah! Aaaaagh!”
Creatures of the Demon Realm twisted and howled.
Those with stronger magic began chanting incantations with all their might.
Oozing, sinister things slithered across the ground like serpents toward Asterios and Daniel.
Some spewed venom as they attacked Asterios and Nox, while others hurled themselves at Daniel, self-destructing. A few even stuck themselves to the door, trying to protect Mephisto’s chamber with their bodies.
Asterios poured even more power into Nox and shouted toward his black dragon.
“Break the door down, Blackbreath!”
THUD! Asterios and Blackbreath’s bodies were joined by a dark aura, slamming into the massive castle door. The dragon exhaled scorching flames, and its enormous tail smashed down repeatedly, tearing apart the demons and snake-like creatures clinging to the gate.
Boom! Boom! Explosions and lightning echoed in all directions.
With overwhelming force and devastation, Asterios was tearing the Demon King’s castle apart.
‘W-What’s that sound…?’
Boom… Boom… Something was crashing nearby.
‘My head feels foggy… I can’t think clearly.’
Rosiana’s violet eyes lifted, filled with a feverish heat.
“Haa…”
A sigh and a moan escaped her parted lips.
Breathing heavily, Rosiana slowly lifted her heavy eyelids.
‘I’m still in the cage…’
The spire atop the Mage Tower had been turned into a cage, large enough to hold a full room—and now there was even a bed. Her body felt wrapped in soft bedding.
Haa… haa…
Even to her own ears, her breaths sounded hot and indecent.
“Ugh…”
She couldn’t move. Only a strange, ticklish sensation was overtaking her body.
Suddenly, a cascade of long black hair fell into her view.
“!”
Her large violet eyes widened even more.
“Me… Mephisto?”
To her shock, Mephisto was holding her in his arms inside the cage.
“My lady… Won’t you call my name just one more time?”
His uncharacteristically gentle tone gave her chills. She struggled to pull away but couldn’t move at all.
“What do you want me to call you for? Creepy. Move your hand.”
“You’re quite impressive, my lady. No one has ever lasted this long inside the cage.”
“Then let me go already! Ngh!”
“Oh?”
Though her words rejected him, Mephisto could feel her body burning up. Ever since entering the cage, even his own body had become overwhelmed with singular desire.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Outside, chaos still raged in the corridor.
The enormous sealed door to his bedchamber—sealed with nearly all his magic—was beginning to crack open.
‘There’s not much time left, but… Just this small moment of conversation with you is so satisfying.’
He almost laughed at himself.
But he could no longer resist—and had no reason to.
Mephisto gently laid Rosiana onto the bed.
“W-What are you doing?! Let me go—hngh!”
Haa…
Her flushed cheeks were burning.
Mephisto lowered his head and pressed his lips against her soft, peach-like cheek as if marking her.
“Kyah!”
As his burning lips touched her, Rosiana screamed.
“Get off me, now!”
“To be told to ‘get lost’ by a lady… How exhilarating.”
“You perverted bastard!”
She hated to admit it, but the moment his lips touched her, a shiver ran through her body.
She refused to even imagine what might happen if it went further. Rosiana shook her head.
“Get away from me!”
Whoosh. In an instant, Mephisto was on top of her, staring down with smoldering eyes.
“My lady, I’ve never held back this much before.”
There was no trace of a lie in his gaze.
Rosiana’s throat went dry—not from desire, but from tension.
She understood what he meant: he would not wait any longer.
“Please… accept me, my lady.”
He gathered her slender arms and raised them above her head.
As her violet eyes trembled in panic, he felt a strange sense of fulfillment.
He wanted to see her fall apart beneath him, to break and cry out loud.
Her flushed lips looked as delicious as ripe fruit, even giving off a sweet scent—but instead, he sank his teeth into her pale neck.
“Haaah!”
A sweet moan escaped her red lips.
“Aah… As expected.”
Though nothing came from her neck, it felt like he was drinking her like a vampire—filling him with satisfaction.
He felt pure magical energy flow into his mouth.
Mephisto licked up her long, slender neck.
Her white, smooth skin was as sweet as whipped cream.
“How does my lady taste this good?”
“Y-You psycho! I’m not food!”
Hnnng!
She barely swallowed the moan trying to escape her lips.
Mephisto, as if just getting started, began nibbling on her neck with his lips.
“S-Stop! I won’t forgive—hngh!”
Eventually, a moan she couldn’t believe came from her own mouth.
She wanted to cover it with her hands, but with both arms restrained, tears welled in her eyes from frustration.
“Oh, my lady…”
Mephisto leaned closer to her teary violet eyes, glistening like jewels.
“With that look on your face, I’m in serious trouble…”
He whispered and turned his head—his gaze clearly directed at her chest.
‘No… Not that!’
As she hastily turned her head and shut her lips—
Boom! Crash!
KA-BOOM!
The door cracked and part of the bedchamber wall completely collapsed.
“Rosie!”
“As…?”
She still wasn’t free, but at the sight of him, her strength seemed to return.
She pushed Mephisto away from her with all her might.
“Urgh!”
Strangely, Mephisto was pushed back effortlessly. Though he still held her arm, there was no strength left in him. The power that had previously restrained her was completely gone.
‘What’s happening?’
Whatever the reason, she had one free hand—and she had to get out of the cage.
Even the brief contact with Mephisto had made her feel a strange change in her body.
Asterios stepped toward the cage.
“You dare!”
His voice was filled with fury.
As he approached, tears welled in Rosiana’s eyes upon seeing the face she hadn’t seen in centuries.
‘It really was you…’
Tenebres.
‘Asterios truly is Tenebres.’
“Ugh!”
Mephisto, still holding her arm, finally released it and collapsed.
The closer Asterios came, the harder it was for Mephisto to breathe. He gasped and choked in agony.
“Khak!”
Finally, Mephisto coughed up black-red blood.
A red stain bloomed on Rosiana’s white dress.
‘Wait… A wedding dress?’
“You disgusting pervert!”
Rosiana shouted as she stood up.
And then—her vision changed.
‘I can see… the flow of mana!’
She could see Asterios’s powerful aura.
She could also see the aura around Mephisto’s neck strangling him.
That was why Mephisto couldn’t breathe.
But it wasn’t just that. She also noticed a thin thread of aura connected to her neck.
A dark aura brushing against her skin—linked to Mephisto.
‘This is…!’
Mephisto’s strong aura was being absorbed into her body.
