The battle across Count Morgan's estate escalated into total chaos. Kael and Brown remained locked in a deadly confrontation with the Rank 10 Hell Demon General, knowing that time was their greatest enemy. If Count Morgan arrived before the demon was dealt with, the situation would spiral beyond control.
Across the estate, each team fought with everything they had. Lyra and Amara unleashed relentless magical assaults, combining refined spellcraft with brutal close combat. Pallas, revealing her draconic form, dominated her battlefield entirely. With Thorne coordinating strikes, her overwhelming presence crushed the demon general's defenses. Zephyr pushed his limits, activating transformation magic to force close-range combat, while Malina—supported by her summoned beasts—kept pace despite sustaining serious injuries. Blood was spilled, mana was drained, but neither retreated.
Vex supported Arden with calculated precision. Arden's assassin techniques—shadow-stepping, silent strikes, and lethal angles—paired perfectly with Vex's alchemical bombs, which disrupted enemy formations and weakened demon cores. Elian provided deadly long-range cover, raining arrows charged with elemental energy. Luminor stood at the center of battlefield control, calmly wielding multiple schools of magic simultaneously thanks to his divine skill, Magic Container, shifting seamlessly between offense, defense, and support.
Meanwhile, the Rank 10 Hell Demon General, now heavily wounded, mocked Kael and demanded his surrender. Kael refused without hesitation. Instead, he spoke calmly, his resolve unshaken, describing life as a relentless journey of rises and falls—a path where every hardship forges strength, resilience, and growth. His words carried weight, not just defiance, but conviction born from suffering.
With no intention of backing down, Kael summoned two colossal abyssal monsters—ancient beasts Brown had tamed deep within the Abyssal Dungeon. Their arrival shook the battlefield, dark energy rippling outward as they charged the demon general.
Yet victory did not come easily. The reason Kael could not defeat the demon alone became clear: the Hell Demon General was the equivalent of an SSS-rank existence, standing just one tier above Kael's current SS-rank power. Recognizing the threat, the demon activated a forbidden skill—Demon Phantoms. Dozens of spectral demon manifestations erupted into existence, each wielding corrupted magic and physical force.
The battlefield collapsed into devastation. Brown responded instantly, summoning an additional thirty skeletal battle warriors to reinforce their position. Magic collided with dark energy, steel met claws, and explosions tore through the western wing of Count Morgan's mansion. Entire structures crumbled as the clash reached catastrophic levels.
One by one, Kael's companions overcame their respective demon generals. Exhausted but victorious, they regrouped, only to find Kael still locked in combat. The Hell Demon General, exhilarated by the fight, refused to concede easily, pushing beyond his limits in a final exchange.
In the end, it was a misjudgment—a single miscalculation of one of Kael's hidden skills—that decided the outcome. Severely damaged, the demon general was forced to retreat temporarily into the Demon Realm to recover. Before vanishing, he warned Kael coldly that their next encounter would not end the same way.
With the immediate threat neutralized, Kael regrouped with his companions. Together, they began a systematic search of Count Morgan's estate, determined to uncover evidence of his demonic dealings. Their investigation led them to a concealed passage beneath Morgan's private office. Without hesitation, they descended.
What awaited them below was beyond disturbing.
They discovered imprisoned civilians—emaciated, broken, and barely alive—victims of ritual experiments and demonic harvesting. Kael's group moved quickly, freeing all survivors they could, but one name remained unanswered: Arra.
One of the survivors, trembling with fear, pointed deeper into the underground complex.
When Kael and the others arrived, the sight before them silenced everyone.
Arra was unconscious, chained to a massive pillar. Dark runes covered the stone, pulsing faintly. Her body was frail, scarred, and trembling. Her abdomen was grotesquely swollen, resembling that of a pregnant woman—the unmistakable result of the demonic seed planted within her.
At that moment, all doubt vanished.
Count Morgan's crimes were far worse than anyone had imagined.