Chapter 43: Is Reversed, It turns out that Viktor is a Good Person
Lady Cassana found herself unable to accept this outco.
"I need to see His Majesty, I need to see His Majesty….."
"Livi, I'm warning you—even if my surna is no longer Sorel, I am still the Emperor's own younger sister."
Lady Cassana was visibly irate as she continued:
"You have no grounds to block from entering the Royal Capital."
"I will find a way to see His Majesty eventually."
"If you don't let through right now, I will absolutely file a complaint against you before His Majesty when the ti cos!"
"What is your real motive for deliberately blocking my path!"
Hearing Lady Cassana level such accusations at him, Duke Livi instead broke into a smile—like a crafty old fox—and spoke in a tone that sounded as though he had her best interests at heart:
"Lady Cassana, the Royal Capital is dangerous right now. I'm not letting you through for your own safety."
"Even if you were to file a complaint later, His Majesty would still be able to weigh the matter clearly and would not blindly lay the bla on ….."
Before a smooth and seasoned politician, every word Lady Cassana said felt hollow and powerless.
"Dangerous!? My son is the one in danger right now—he's on the verge of losing his life!"
The Lady's voice shot up several notches. She was both furious and frantic.
Even so, all she could do was sit here and wait for Duke Livi to grant her passage.
But the very next mont, Duke Livi's words froze her completely on the spot.
Her eyes went wide, and she fell silent.
"Lady Cassana, I am not joking with you……"
"There has been a Demon sighting inside the Academy."
"Your son—Dewen Rether—may very well have co into contact with a Demon."
"You're saying—a Demon?"
The previous night, Viktor had been talking casually with Leah in the Study.
"The Filth that Kavra ntioned—that's what it is."
Hearing Viktor's words, Leah found it hard to believe, and fell into silence.
She had once read about the appearance of Demons in books……
A foul stench, viscous skin, and a pair of bulging eyes with countless sharp fangs hidden within the tongue……
A body like a shadow of ink, a heart of pure greed.
Like a walking, putrid swamp—anyone who laid eyes on one would go out of their way to avoid it.
The books had also recorded that one such creature had once taken up residence for a ti in the outhouse of a small town in a remote country.
And the abilities it had granted caused the entire town to flourish and prosper for a period.
But after that, the people of the town began to disappear one by one.
No one could trace where they had gone. The once-thriving little town fell into desolation and ruin, forgotten by all.
And in the end, it vanished from history entirely.
Leah stopped reminiscing. Even the written descriptions alone had already begun to turn her stomach.
Of course, whether it was the creature's appearance or its deeds—these were nothing more than records in old texts.
It was hardly unusual for those in power to distort and fabricate facts in order to consolidate their authority.
But this much it did confirm—that Demons, whatever they were, were universally despised.
"You've found it?"
Leah asked tentatively.
She was surprised. It had only been just yesterday that she'd received word from Gwen, yet Viktor had already picked up the creature's trail today.
Was Viktor really that efficient?
Viktor's expression remained blank as he gave a single nod.
"That thing is inside the Academy."
Leah asked again, curious: "Do you think you can catch it or kill it?"
Viktor was direct and honest:
"Not necessarily."
If that Demon was what Viktor suspected it to be—an early-ga Demon Boss—then in its complete form, a 4th-Tier Mage might not necessarily be a match for it.
Sa as always.
When raw stats fall short, skill makes up the difference.
Viktor Clavena's stats were indeed no match for it.
But Viktor Clavena would absolutely be able to defeat it.
And if worse ca to worst, he still had his Cheat Ability.
"Even so, I need to lure that Filth out—and make sure I'm the one to kill it with my own hands."
Viktor said to Leah.
But Leah found sothing odd about that.
"Didn't you just say it wasn't certain? Then why still……"
"Even if the success rate is 99 percent, I would never claim it is absolutely foolproof."
Viktor's voice sounded perfectly ordinary, yet Leah could feel the staggering confidence behind his words.
But at this point, another question had ford in her mind.
Under normal circumstances, Viktor would never have said this much to her.
Because she couldn't be of help, and Viktor had no reason to explain this much to her.
He would handle everything himself.
Even with the volcano incident—if it weren't for news filtering back from outside, she never would have known that Viktor had done sothing so earth-shattering.
Leah felt as though she had realized sothing, and blinked.
"……Don't tell —you need to do sothing?"
"Viktor, there's sothing I want to make clear upfront: I am no Mage, and I am certainly no Knight like Gwen. I am completely useless in a fight—I might not even be able to hold a few bricks steady……"
"This is sothing only you can do."
Viktor's decisive tone almost made Leah wonder if she had so kind of hidden ability she wasn't aware of.
What on earth was it?
"Dewen Rether—do you know him?"
"That fat one you gave a good thrashing today?"
Leah thought for a mont, and couldn't help but laugh.
"That's honestly hilarious, you know? The news was already spreading like wildfire by tonight!"
Just thinking about it made Leah want to laugh. Even knowing that the dead pig turned out to be the Emperor's own nephew, she didn't feel the slightest bit afraid.
She even thought Viktor had done a fine job of it.
She didn't know what grudge had ford between the 2 of them, but……
Viktor represented the Clavena Family. If he'd made an enemy and still had to bite his tongue and worry about this and that—
If Viktor had actually done that, Leah would have wasted no ti preparing to strip him of his authority.
To sha the Clavena Family like that—he would no longer have the right to lead the family as its head.
"So then—what do you need to do?"
"Don't tell you want to go south and cut off their trade? That I can't do—they have factories everywhere."
"Besides, that's the imperial household's money machine. You might be bold enough to cross the Emperor, but I'm not."
Viktor cut off Leah's wild guessing.
"Before the Emperor gets involved—sar Dewen Rether's na as much as possible."
He said it without even lifting an eyebrow, perfectly calm.
Yet Leah understood in an instant, and her surprise was uncontained.
"You want to pin the Demon's dirty work on the Rether Family? How is that even possible?"
This was far too absurd a proposition.
"Setting aside whether we have enough people in the Royal Capital—no ordinary person would believe that."
"Unless……you've already reached the point where you can control a Demon?"
Viktor lifted his head and looked at Leah, saying plainly:
"The Demon will cooperate with you."
Leah stared at him with a look of revulsion, a chill running through her entire body.
"No one will ever want to make an enemy of you, Viktor."
"To think you'd even sche against a Demon—you're the real Demon here."
Viktor rose to his feet. Weija flapped his wings and lifted off from the desk, landing on his shoulder.
"If we're short on manpower, we can ask the Duke to lend us so."
"After all—he owes a very substantial favor."
With that, he walked out of the Study with Weija.
***
"Miss Leah Clavena, the most I can do is hold Lady Cassana at the city gate."
Duke Livi looked sowhat conflicted, smiling bitterly as he spoke.
"It isn't that I'm unwilling to help Viktor—this is simply the furthest extent of what I'm able to do."
Leah sat across from the Duke and said with a smile:
"That's more than enough, Your Grace."
"All we need is ti—ti for my brother to prove his innocence."
Duke Livi was quiet for a good while, then asked tentatively:
"So—Dewen Rether truly did co into contact with a Demon. Is that correct?"
Hearing the Duke's question, Leah let out a quiet sigh.
"Your Grace, I have no wish to deceive you. But think about it—why would my brother attack an ordinary 2nd-Tier Mage without any reason?"
Leah worked with the information she had, weaving everything together with elegant precision.
Duke Livi was like prey caught in a spider's web, ensnared by her expertly crafted words.
"Don't forget, Your Grace—the bond between the Clavena Family and the Delin Family is no ordinary one."
"Miss Kavra, by that sa token, is as good as a sister to ."
Duke Livi gave a nod.
The news of the Demon Invasion reaching the Royal Capital had, after all, co from Kavra. In that light, it was not unreasonable that Viktor might know sothing.
But Leah knew that Duke Livi had not truly been convinced.
Between Viktor on one side and the useless Dewen Rether on the other—any politician with half a brain knew which one to choose.
Still, Duke Livi had to weigh the cost of taking such action, and whether the Du Chloe Family could bear it.
So Leah added 1 more card to the table.
"If you are still unwilling to believe……"
Leah tapped the table with her fingers and continued:
"Today, Viktor will string Dewen Rether up in the Academy plaza. After that, an unpredictable incident may occur within the Academy—I can't say exactly what it will be."
"But what I can confirm is this: the Demon will most certainly use that mont to rescue Dewen Rether."
Duke Livi straightened up, his expression grave as he asked:
"But how would that prove this isn't all of Viktor's own staging?"
Leah smiled again.
"Your Grace is quite suspicious—though I don't mind your suspicion. Otherwise, my preparations would have gone to waste."
"I will have Grand Knight Commander Gwen lead the Royal Knight Company to the Academy. At that point, several hundred Knights will have Viktor under constant watch."
"The Royal Knight Company answers only to His Majesty. They will bear witness to everything in the most impartial manner possible."
***
Viktor stood in the Academy plaza. As far as the eye could see, Knights in silver armor had surrounded every direction.
In a single instant, Weija had already parsed the effects of the Magic.
This extraordinary barrier would weaken all Magic Power within its range, and inflict a Weakened status on those inside.
Magic Power naturally included certain special functions as well.
Such as Gwen's Heart of Justice.
At this mont, Viktor was 1 of the very few Mages still able to hold their ground in the plaza.
As for the others—more than half the student Mages had already collapsed to the ground, several 2nd-Tier instructors were swaying unsteadily, and even a handful of 3rd-Tier Mages were grimacing deeply, their internal Magic Power drained, completely unable to release any Magic.
The Knights, by contrast, were relatively steady on their feet—aside from feeling sowhat weakened and ntally drained.
"What on earth is happening?"
Everyone was thoroughly baffled. Apart from Viktor, no one had any idea what kind of formation they had been caught under.
All of a sudden, countless black tentacles erupted from the edges of the barrier—like frenzied, writhing serpents—streaking rapidly toward Professor Dewen.
Weija played along perfectly, flapping his wings and performing a suitably startled reaction.
Every Knight and every conscious Mage was drawn in by Weija's exaggerated response, every pair of eyes locked onto the scene.
Cries of alarm erupted in an instant.
"What the hell is that disgusting thing!?"
Viktor extended the Lava Arm—the 1 that could still move—and clashed against the countless chaotic tentacles.
Both sides fought to seize Professor Dewen.
The tentacles gradually coiled around Viktor's Lava Arm. The darkness lapped at it like countless frenzied tongues, trying to swallow Viktor whole.
Even under the Weakened status, Viktor still struggled, as though fighting to drive back an endless surge of venomous serpents.
But unfortunately, Viktor ultimately lost ground. His grip slackened, and Professor Dewen was dragged into the air by the tentacles.
The dark barrier opened like a great maw and swallowed Professor Dewen whole—and then vanished entirely.
In an instant, countless people were plunged into terror.
Viktor's expression was darkly ominous, his voice carrying a conspicuous note of exhaustion.
"You filthy Demon……"
"So I still couldn't stop you from taking him……"
?????
Every last person who heard those words stood frozen in place, like lost and helpless lambs.
What?
A Demon?
Rescued Dewen Rether?
What the hell—do you even hear yourself right now!?
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