Chapter 261

[Pi, pii!]

[Buuuu!]

Two children were bound by tree vines, struggling to break free. Beside them, a little baby rabbit and a black creature hovered anxiously, keeping watch over them.

"What on earth...?"

Why were Ceres's Tamer Relics tying up the children and keeping them under guard? Should he release them?

Shake, shake!

As though they had read Duke Schweiz's mind, Airien and Sooty shook their heads vigorously.

It was as if they were saying they couldn't release the children without Ceres's orders.

"Let me down... Let me down... Sob... I have to kill my big sister..."

"I'll do it, I'll... I'll kill my sister..."

"..."

Duke Schweiz frowned at the children's tearful muttering. They were so exhausted that they barely had any strength left.

Only then did he begin to understand what was happening. He had heard that something was wrong with the household servants, and now it was clear that something had happened to the children as well.

"Where's Ceres?"

After briefly checking the two children for injuries, Duke Schweiz asked where Ceres was.

[Pi!]

[Buu!]

No sooner had he asked than Airien and Sooty began hopping up and down, repeatedly pointing outside the window.

It was as though they were urging him to hurry and help Ceres.

After checking the children one last time, Duke Schweiz immediately leaped out the window.

Whoosh!

Flash!

Just as Duke Schweiz landed below, two figures appeared at the entrance to the mansion in a burst of brilliant light.

They were Duke Norea and Duke Elkain.

"Where's Ceres?"

"Are the children all right?"

The two men, who had been away in the southern and eastern regions, had also received word just moments earlier.

They had been told that something was seriously wrong around Ceres.

"Ceres isn't inside the mansion."

"Then where is she?"

The already grim expressions on their faces twisted further.

Could this be the work of some faction trying to keep them in check?

What if something had happened to Ceres because of them?

They couldn't endure that pain again, not after losing little Ren!

Awooooo—

"...! What's that sound?"

"A monster?"

A tremendous howl suddenly rang out.

Even the three dukes felt goosebumps rise across their bodies.

They had faced countless monsters, yet a single howl was enough to set every nerve on edge.

"Don't tell me something's happened to Ceres!"

No sooner had Duke Norea voiced his concern than a powerful wind began to blow.

Whoooosh!

Duke Schweiz had summoned the wind.

After circling around him for a moment, it scattered in every direction.

"That way."

A short while later, Duke Schweiz immediately set off.

As long as the distance wasn't too great, he could easily use the power of the wind to locate anyone he wished to find.

Whoosh!

Seeing him move, Duke Norea and Duke Elkain hurried after him.

And when the three dukes finally reached their destination, they encountered someone very familiar.

"You're late."

A man was pulling his sword out of someone's heart.

"..."

"..."

"..."

The man glanced at them indifferently, the corners of his mouth lifting into an infuriating little smile.

It was Kainel.

***

Step.

Flinch!

Veilks, who had been watching the situation from a short distance away from the Drow Baron's mansion, felt something he had never experienced before as he watched a man approach him.

Tension.

The man held a blood-dripping sword in one hand.

And in his other hand...

Thud.

"Didn't I tell you before?"

A corpse was thrown toward Veilks.

It belonged to one of the subordinates he had sent after Ceres just moments earlier.

"If you kept letting these bugs swarm around her..."

The man speaking in such an indifferent tone, casually flicking the blood from his sword, was Kainel.

But there was nothing casual about his words.

"I might actually feel like ripping your heart out."

"..."

At Kainel's appearance, Veilks involuntarily took a step backward.

'Damn it.'

...Could he take him on?

Even under normal circumstances, Kainel was an opponent whose strength made the outcome difficult to predict.

But now?

Veilks had already dispersed a considerable amount of his power, making the outcome even more uncertain.

Whoosh!

"Urgh!"

It happened in an instant.

Kainel's figure seemed to blur for a moment, and before Veilks knew it, Kainel's hand was wrapped around his throat.

"Stop it. Right now."

Like the three dukes, Kainel had received word that something had happened to Ceres and had immediately taken action.

Among the countless people surrounding and attacking Ceres's home, a few had caught his attention.

Veilks's subordinates.

Their movements were distinctly different from those of ordinary people, and the moment Kainel spotted them, he understood what was happening.

Rather than going to Ceres, Kainel had headed straight for Veilks.

Subduing him was the quickest way to bring this situation to an end.

He wasn't worried about Ceres's safety.

He knew her abilities better than anyone.

Even if those people possessed demonic power, he didn't believe for a moment that Ceres would fall so easily to such feeble strength.

Besides...

'That Master of the Forest bastard is with her, too.'

Although he hadn't told Ceres, Kainel had been the first to figure out Whitey's true identity.

Ceres seemed to believe that Whitey was the Master of the Forest's offspring, but Kainel had immediately suspected the little creature's identity.

After all, he had never heard of the Master of the Forest having any offspring.

And the strange phenomena that began occurring in the Ice Tree Forest after Whitey stayed by Ceres's side had only strengthened his suspicions.

The reason the Ice Tree Forest had become so chaotic, as °• N 𝑜 v 𝑒 l i g h t •° though its entire hierarchy had collapsed, was that the Master of the Forest had disappeared, triggering a new struggle for dominance.

'I don't know why, though.'

Still, it was obvious that the Master of the Forest regarded Ceres as someone special.

Kainel had realized that when he saw the creature protecting Julia after she went missing.

The Master of the Forest, of all beings, had personally intervened and killed monsters simply to protect a little human child.

That was something that should never have happened.

In any case, it wasn't a bad thing, so Kainel had pretended not to notice.

He always welcomed powerful beings staying by Ceres's side.

As long as they weren't human bastards.

Squeeze!

"Ur...gh!"

"I said stop it. Those things are your doing, aren't they?"

Veilks's eyes flashed fiercely.

Black energy began seeping from his body.

He might have scattered much of his power, but that didn't mean he could simply stand there and let himself be treated like this.

The black energy pouring from Veilks's body surged toward Kainel, wrapping around him as though to bind him.

"Petty tricks."

Kainel clicked his tongue lightly as he watched the black energy crawl up his body.

At that moment, a contrasting stream of pure white energy flowed out and tightly enveloped the black energy.

Crack!

The black energy binding Kainel was swallowed by the white energy, freezing solid and becoming completely motionless.

Boom!

Kainel lightly stamped his foot, and the black energy fell away from his body, shattering into countless pieces.

"Urgh..."

Seeing the energy he had used to attack Kainel disperse so pathetically, Veilks immediately fled.

He hadn't managed to inflict any real damage on Kainel, but at least the attack had created an opening for him to escape.

He quickly launched himself away.

Whoosh!

Stab!

"Ke...gh!"

But something immediately pierced his heart!

A sword.

Kainel had thrown his sword at the fleeing Veilks, aiming precisely for his heart.

'Damn it!'

The moment his heart was destroyed, Veilks felt that part of his soul had been damaged as well.

He needed to hurry and leave this body, heal his soul, and find a new contractor.

'Otherwise...!'

With the sword still embedded in his heart, Veilks fled with even greater desperation.

"As I thought."

A faint chuckle escaped Kainel as he watched him.

So it really was that bastard from back then.

The bastard who had been rummaging through Grace's residence a long time ago.

The one whose heart Kainel had ripped out.

That rat bastard had also managed to survive and escape even after his heart was destroyed.

Kainel pursued him.

He needed to eliminate Veilks as quickly as possible if he wanted the danger threatening Ceres to disappear.

He trusted her abilities, but that didn't mean this was a situation where he could afford to take his time.

Whoooosh!

Pure white energy gathered in Kainel's hand.

The power of the cold sharpened into a deadly force and surged toward the fleeing Veilks.

Flash!

"Urgh!"

A groan escaped Veilks as the full force of the attack struck him.

However, although he faltered for a moment, he did not stop running, contrary to Kainel's expectations.

Veilks knew perfectly well that if he was caught now, he would not survive so easily.