Chapter 244: Ch244: The Devilish Child

Klaus’s face tightened when he heard that his two bishops were dead. A wave of unease spread through him.

"What? How?" he asked in a serious tone.

"Boss, we have a huge problem. There’s a warrior with lightning powers, and he’s catching up to us quickly," the glowing blue sphere replied, panic evident in its voice.

"What?! Ah, shit...!"

Just then, dark clouds swirled into existence, and Baboon stumbled onto the fifth floor.

"Boss! There are three of them. I don’t want to die!" Baboon cried as he ran toward him.

As soon as he approached, panic flared in his eyes.

Klaus’s expression darkened, and seized Baboon by the neck with one hand, lifted him off the ground, and slammed him against the wall.

*THUD!*

Baboon’s back slammed into the stone.

*Gasp! Gasp! Gasp!*

"B-boss?! ...oss"

His eyes bulged with terror. Panic consumed his face as he clawed desperately at Klaus’s hand, but the grip around his throat remained unyielding.

His legs kicked wildly in the air, feet scraping uselessly against the wall.

Baboon’s entire body thrashed like a fish pulled from water, fighting desperately for the breath being crushed from his lungs.

"There’s no place for cowards in here," Klaus said coldly.

Suddenly—

*CRACK!*

Jagged stone spikes erupted from the ground behind Klaus, tearing through the stone floor as Baboon desperately unleashed his elemental power.

The spikes surged toward Klaus’s back — only to stop barely an inch away.

Klaus didn’t even flinch. He slowly glanced over his shoulder, his eyes narrowing at the spikes.

"Oh... so you think you can kill me, huh?"

His voice was calm. Far too calm.

*SNAP!*

A sharp crack echoed through the chamber as Baboon’s body jerked once before going completely limp. Only then did Klaus release his neck, and the lifeless body crumpled onto the floor.

*THUD!*

"Aaaah!" Floryn screamed.

Her entire body trembled as she stared at Baboon’s motionless form. The color drained from her face, and her fingers dug into the mattress as horror washed over her.

Klaus turned toward Floryn and slowly approached. He placed a palm over her face, blocking her view of the body.

"Shh... it’s okay. Everything’s alright," Klaus murmured, his expression remaining eerily calm.

Floryn couldn’t utter a single word, her eyes stayed wide with shock, fixed on the gaps between his fingers as she desperately tried to catch another glimpse of Baboon’s lifeless body.

Her breathing grew shaky, each breath trembling against Klaus’s palm.

*Clap! Clap! Clap!*

Slow, deliberate applause echoed through the chamber.

The door in the corner creaked open, and three figures who looked exactly like Kalma, Raine, and Baboon slowly stepped out, their footsteps scraping against the cold stone floor.

"Khar Khe Kha, which floor are they on?" Klaus asked.

"They’ve currently breached the second floor and are fighting the undead creatures," the glowing blue sphere replied.

Klaus’s eyes narrowed.

"For now, use this dead body to sustain the dungeon. Then raise the temperature on the third floor to its highest limit. Make it so hot they can barely breathe."

He paused, his voice turning colder.

"After that, drop the temperature on the fourth floor to its lowest limit. Do it now."

"But, Boss, our creatures won’t be able to withstand those extreme conditions."

"Let them die." Klaus’s expression remained cold. "Use as much mana as necessary. Keep spawning them until they’re all dead."

His gaze hardened.

"Once this dungeon finishes upgrading, they won’t be able to escape."

"Okay, Boss. As you wish."

The glowing blue sphere vanished.

At the same time, dark clouds began forming in the air behind Klaus.

*WHOOSH!*

The clouds twisted together before collapsing inward, revealing Sherlon.

"Boss, Valmond is here."

"He’s here?" A faint smile slowly spread across Klaus’s face.

...

Klaus instructed his summons to fight the intruders — not to win, but to hold their ground until the dungeon upgrade was complete.

Sherlon was ordered to join them as well.

The chamber fell silent again.

This time, however, Klaus was no longer in the main chamber. He sat cross-legged atop a massive ritual circle inside another room, with Zane lying motionless before him.

The red-glowing skull rested at the center of the ritual circle.

"Za xa Zurafa, Kal kre xhalom!"

"Za xa Zurafa, Kal kre xhalom!"

Klaus continued chanting the strange spell, his voice steady and rhythmic as Daniel watched every scene unfold from within the darkness of Klaus’s shadow.

The skull suddenly began to levitate, rising slowly into the air.

"Hehehe... tasty. Another soul."

The demonic laughter returned.

Crimson rays spilled from the skull and crawled across Klaus’s forehead, casting an eerie red glow over his face.

"I need only a few more soul, then we’ll be free from his hell...!"

Klaus narrowed his eyes. "Not so fast. I need my demands fulfilled right now. But first, you have to erase my brother’s memories," he said, his gaze falling toward Zane, who lay motionless before him.

"Then bring me my souls, and you’ll receive your reward," the skull replied.

"No, no, no, you don’t understand. We’re currently under attack. Think of it as an advance payment," Klaus argued.

A brief silence followed.

The two continued their negotiations for several moments, but the skull remained unmoved.

"That’s not my problem."

With those words, the skull stopped levitating.

*Thud*

It dropped onto the ritual circle, its red-glowing eyes fading until they were nothing more than empty sockets.

"Damn it." Klaus clenched his fists. "Then I have no choice but to summon the devil."

He rose to his feet, moved to the side of the ritual diagram, and reached for a strange book.

The torches behind Klaus cast a warm, flickering light across the room. His shadow stretched across the floor, creeping toward Daniel.

’What is this strange book?’ Daniel thought, gaze fixed on the cover.

A bizarre design covered its surface — something resembling a massive eyeball.

*Blink*

The eye moved.

Daniel’s expression stiffened.

*Blink*

It blinked again, slowly opening and closing as though the eye were actually alive.

’What the hell is this...?’

"Okay... here it is. The Devilish Child," Klaus muttered before taking several steps back, positioning himself behind Zane.

Then he drew a small knife.

*Slice*

The blade nicked his palm, and a few drops of blood dripped onto the ritual circle.

The symbols etched into the ritual diagram suddenly illuminated with a brilliant red glow.

*HUMMM~~~*

Red mist seeped from the ground, swirling upward as dark crimson clouds gathered above the chamber.

Klaus raised his arms. "Arise, the Devilish Child."

An evil smile slowly spread across his face.

Meanwhile, Daniel began crawling out from Klaus’s shadow, his palm burning with heat as his nerves tensed and faint blue sparks flickered between his fingers.