Chapter 177: The Demon Servant

Chapter 177: Chapter 177: The Demon Servant

Once she recovered, Xavier wanted her to have the courage to tell the truth.

That was the only way Maya could receive a genuine answer from her mother.

Whether Sarah continued rejecting her or finally revealed her true feelings, Xavier could accept either outcome.

He hadn’t brought Maya all the way here just to give her a comforting lie.

"Thank you, Brother X!"

With Xavier’s support, Liam became even more determined.

He accepted the two pills and immediately approached his sister.

"Hold on!"

Desmond Hale suddenly stepped forward, blocking his path.

"What are you trying to do?"

Liam frowned.

He had never liked this brother-in-law who had been arranged for his sister by the family. Now, his dislike had grown even stronger.

If Desmond Hale genuinely cared about Sarah, why was he repeatedly preventing people from helping her?

Something was clearly wrong.

Desmond Hale looked at the pills in Liam’s hand.

"I simply find it strange that you’re willing to give your sister medicine from someone you barely know without even checking what it is."

"What nonsense are you talking about?"

Liam immediately shot back.

"My brother X is a grandmaster alchemist. Do you seriously think he would give us fake pills?"

His response caused an immediate stir among the Shelby Family members.

"What? He’s a grandmaster alchemist?"

"Now I understand why General Quill kept addressing him as a grandmaster. I thought she was simply being respectful. I didn’t realize he was an alchemy grandmaster!"

"That’s incredible!"

The Shelby Family was a powerful force, yet even with all its resources, it had never managed to produce an alchemy grandmaster of its own.

Whenever the family needed high-level pills, it had to rely on cooperation with outside alchemists.

Now, Liam had brought someone like that into the family.

What a surprise!

The revelation left everyone astonished.

They had initially assumed that Victoria and Mira were merely using the title of grandmaster out of respect for Xavier. But learning that he was genuinely an alchemy grandmaster completely changed their perception of him.

No family understood the value of an alchemy grandmaster better than one that had struggled to secure high-grade pills.

And Xavier wasn’t merely an alchemist.

His combat strength was equally frightening. He was still so young, yet he had already reached the Star Sea Realm and demonstrated power that could overwhelm Divine Power Realm experts.

A young Star Sea Realm powerhouse who was also an alchemy grandmaster was someone the Shelby Family would be fortunate to befriend.

The way everyone looked at Xavier immediately changed.

Even Charles began to regard him as someone far more important than Desmond Hale.

"Ahem. Desmond, I believe Liam is right."

Charles cleared his throat.

"How could the pills provided by Grandmaster X possibly be fake?"

He turned toward Desmond Hale.

"Move aside. Don’t delay Sarah’s treatment."

Charles had no reason to doubt Liam’s words. He knew his younger brother well. Liam might be reckless and troublesome, but he wasn’t someone who would casually lie about something like this.

"Fine."

Desmond Hale finally stepped aside.

He understood that continuing to block them would only make his behavior appear suspicious.

He moved to one side, his eyes shifting slightly as he watched the others approach Sarah.

Nobody could tell what was going through his mind.

Liam immediately gave the two pills to his sister.

Their effects were swift.

Sarah coughed lightly and slowly opened her eyes.

"What’s wrong with me?"

She looked around in confusion, trying to understand why everyone was gathered around her.

Then the memories of what had happened before she fainted came rushing back.

Her expression crumbled, and tears began rolling down her cheeks.

"Danny... Danny is dead..."

She cried out in grief.

But the moment she realized Maya was still standing nearby, her expression changed abruptly.

"No! Maya, why would you tell me something like that? Leave! Get out of here right now!"

Sarah’s reaction was completely different from before.

Danny was the name everyone close to Maya’s father used. His full name was Daniel Knox.

The way Sarah had just cried over his death, only to immediately turn around and drive Maya away, made the truth painfully obvious.

She wasn’t saying what she truly felt.

Even Liam could no longer ignore it.

"Eldest Sister, what exactly are you hiding from us?"

He looked at Sarah anxiously.

Something was seriously wrong, and he wanted to know what it was.

"What are you talking about? I’m not hiding anything!"

Sarah became visibly flustered.

"Leave! All of you, get out! I don’t want to see any of you again!"

As she spoke, her eyes instinctively shifted toward Desmond Hale.

It was only a brief glance, but everyone present noticed it.

And in that moment, the fear in Sarah’s eyes was impossible to miss.

She was afraid of her own husband.

The realization changed the atmosphere in the room.

Everyone slowly turned toward Desmond Hale.

Liam’s expression became cold.

He finally understood what had been bothering him about his sister’s behavior during their earlier conversation.

Sarah had indeed been saying things she didn’t mean.

And the reason was the man who had been living beside her all these years.

Desmond Hale.

"Explain yourself."

Liam stared directly at him, his voice low and threatening.

Desmond Hale looked around at the people watching him.

Then, to everyone’s surprise, he smiled.

It was a bright, almost carefree smile.

"What is there left to explain?"

He spread his hands slightly.

"Haven’t all of you already figured out what’s going on?"

Desmond Hale realized there was no point pretending anymore.

He had no one to blame for the situation except himself.

For years, he had secretly manipulated the Shelby Family, gradually gaining influence over its members. Perhaps he had become too comfortable with his success. He had started looking down on everyone, convinced that nobody could see through his schemes.

But his greatest mistake was allowing his feelings for Sarah to interfere with his plans.

He had loved her since childhood. Winning her heart had always been one of his deepest desires. Yet, before he could accomplish the organization’s objectives, he had turned the woman he loved into a puppet who couldn’t even express her true feelings.

It was the same method he had used to control the Seventh Elder.

Desmond Hale had genuinely wanted Sarah to accept him. His obsession had gone so far that he had even manipulated the Seventh Elder into attempting to kill Maya.

Otherwise, even if Sarah’s behavior had raised suspicions, he could still have found a way to conceal the truth.

Unfortunately, his weakness had caused one mistake after another.

First, the Seventh Elder had been controlled and sent to attack Maya. Then Sarah had exposed her own abnormal behavior by openly rejecting her daughter while clearly struggling with her emotions.

By that point, Desmond Hale knew the people around him had begun to suspect something.

It was only a matter of time before they uncovered his identity.

Since things had reached this stage, he decided there was no reason to keep pretending.

"Although things have happened a little earlier than I planned, I suppose this isn’t such a bad outcome."

A refined smile appeared on his face.

"After all, capturing an alchemy grandmaster for my lord would be an excellent achievement. And this particular grandmaster possesses both the Six Directions Heaven-Piercing Finger and the Phantom God-Slaying Sword Technique. I’m sure my lord will be very pleased with such a valuable offering."

The moment those words left his mouth, everyone understood.

"My lord?"

Charles stared at him in disbelief.

"Wait... Are you saying you’re a member of the Abyss Cult?"

Peter’s expression changed drastically.

"No wonder your cultivation has improved so rapidly over the past few years! You’ve actually become a servant of the Abyss Cult!"

Liam was equally shocked.

"Brother-in-law, your father is a Venerable! He’s the Mountain Venerable himself! Why would you join the Abyss Cult?"

Even Eleanor looked as though she couldn’t believe what she was hearing.

"Desmond... My good son-in-law, please tell me this is some kind of joke!"

Nobody had expected to discover an Abyss Cult member so quickly after arriving at the Shelby Family manor.

What made the revelation even more unbelievable was the identity of the person standing before them.

Desmond Hale was the son of the Mountain Venerable. The Shelby Family had always treated him as an honored guest, and Charles had placed considerable trust in him.

Yet he was actually a member of the Abyss Cult!

"Why did I join?"

Desmond Hale’s expression twisted with resentment when he heard Peter’s question.

"Isn’t that obvious? You people left me with no other choice!"

His eyes swept across the Shelby Family members.

"Everyone knows I’ve loved Sarah since we were children. Eleanor, do you remember what you promised me back then? You said that once I came of age, you would arrange for Sarah to marry me!"

He suddenly pointed at Eleanor.

"But what did you do? You allowed her to run away with a farmer! She even had a child with that man!"

His voice grew louder as years of resentment poured out.

"If my father hadn’t broken through to the Venerable Realm around that time, would your family ever have managed to bring Sarah back? Would you have agreed to our marriage?"

Desmond Hale laughed bitterly.

"And even after she became my wife, none of you ever treated me with genuine respect. You looked down on me because I lacked martial arts talent and my cultivation was weak. You all considered me beneath you!"

He turned toward Sarah.

"Even my own wife refused to share a bed with me!"

His expression grew increasingly distorted.

"But fate eventually gave me another opportunity. Six years ago, while I was away from home, I was fortunate enough to encounter my master. He recognized my potential and brought me into the Abyss Cult."

Desmond Hale raised his chin proudly.

"From that day onward, I swore I would reclaim everything I had been denied. I would make everyone who looked down on me regret it!"

He had spent six years hiding his identity and carefully building his strength.

"After all these years, I’ve finally reached the third star of the Divine Power Realm!"

His smile returned.

"My original plan was to remain hidden for a few more years. Once I reached the peak of the Divine Power Realm, I would use the entire Shelby Family as an offering to my lord. With such a massive sacrifice, I would have the opportunity to break through into the Venerable Realm!"

He shook his head, seemingly amused by how things had turned out.

"I never expected my identity to be exposed so soon. But it doesn’t matter. An earlier sacrifice isn’t necessarily a bad thing."

His gaze settled on Xavier.

"And I should actually thank you for bringing me such an extraordinary offering, Grandmaster X. My lord will certainly appreciate someone like you. Once I present you to him, I’m sure I’ll receive an incredible reward. Perhaps my cultivation will advance by leaps and bounds!"

He spoke as though Xavier were already his prisoner.

"As for reaching the Venerable Realm, there are plenty of other families I can use. Even if the Shelby Family is destroyed, there’s still the Hartley Family, the Doyle Family, and the Marsh Family. I’ll always find another way!"

Desmond Hale sounded like a man who had completely lost his mind.

His expression was twisted with a strange mixture of hatred and excitement. After keeping his ambitions hidden for six years, he was finally able to reveal everything he had been planning.

"You monster!"

Charles could hardly contain his fury.

"You actually dare accuse the Shelby Family of looking down on you? If we truly despised you, why would we have welcomed you into our home and treated you like an honored guest all these years?"

He couldn’t understand how someone they had treated so generously could develop such hatred toward them.

Peter was equally confused.

"What exactly are you hoping to achieve? You’re the Mountain Venerable’s son! Your father is already a Venerable Realm expert, yet you chose to join the Abyss Cult?"

He shook his head.

"Doesn’t that make you a fool? You already had a powerful father backing you. Why throw all of that away?"

Eleanor, meanwhile, seemed completely lost.

"Desmond... This can’t be real. I’m dreaming, aren’t I? Please tell me I’m dreaming!"

Sarah was in an even worse state.