Chapter 138

Chapter 138
## Chapter 138
A rain of monsters was falling from the sky.

Along with the army that the roaring demon vomited incessantly, the number of corpses resurrected by the Archlich exceeded hundreds.

Each monster was weak enough to be easily defeated, but when they formed an army, even veteran mercenaries could do nothing but flee, gasping for breath.

However, those gathered there were only the brave.

Guided by the heroine Rodelia, along with veteran special forces, Count Belmierd’s finest soldiers, and the mercenaries of Beldern—who had dedicated their lives to hunting monsters—they were people who knew how to brandish their swords even when a horde lunged at them.

Before the Beltus mansion turned into a nest of monsters, all of them wore determined expressions, ready to end it all.

The blood from the goblin corpses mingled with the night air, the wings of monstrous bats were torn, and the tusks of trolls brandishing broken spears were shattered.

Even so, the wave of monsters did not lose momentum. Rodelia clicked her tongue at that absurdly overwhelming offensive.

‘An Archlich and high-level demons… there is a limit to how long we can keep killing these endless pests…’

She dodged the axe blade of a resurrected goblin and swung her Holy Blood Sword, splitting its neck in two.

Then, looking up toward the railing of the second floor of the great hall, she saw Dereck unsheathing his sword under the moonlight.

“We must help Baron Ravenclaw and eliminate the source of all these monsters. Subduing Grand Duke Beltus is the top priority…”

Grand Duke Beltus was a five-star mage, someone Dereck could not face alone.

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But to get close to him, they first had to eliminate the Archlich controlling the first floor of the main hall.

That chilling high-ranking monster seemed determined not to let anyone near Dereck, giving orders to all the soldiers on that floor.

Breaking through was no easy task. That creature not only resurrected corpses endlessly but also practiced advanced magic.

‘First… that Archlich…’

With that thought in mind, Rodelia brandished the Holy Blood Sword and charged at the Archlich.

*Slash!*

On the railing of the second floor of the great hall, Grand Duke Beltus, facing Dereck, had the veins in his eyes bulging as dark red magic enveloped him.

That nobleman, saturated with an overwhelming amount of necromantic energy, struggled amazingly to maintain control.

Even with the traces of madness that Fina had deliberately injected into him, a five-star mage managed to resist somehow.

However, his physical state was far from normal. He coughed up blood, his fingers trembled, and saliva dripped from his mouth; fighting the madness of that necromantic magic was no easy feat.

“Ha… Pant… pant…”

“…”

“You… you… planned this?… turning my mansion upside down… and… doing this to me…”

Dereck, with a cold gaze, took a combat stance and replied briefly.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“That… necromancer… that woman must have… another purpose… besides killing me… Pant… Pant…!”

Everything happened exactly at the moment he unsheathed his sword to kill Dereck.

Although he found no conclusive evidence, it was too much of a coincidence. He was convinced that Dereck was involved somehow.

Dereck feigned innocence.

But judging by his cold gaze, he did not seem oblivious to the situation.

The Grand Duke Beltus ground his teeth while staring at him fixedly.

“You… damn you…”

“…”

“You will regret angering me for the rest of your life… Even if I end up in this miserable state… even if I am falsely accused of some nonsense… I will drag you… I will drag you to hell with me…”

Grand Duke Beltus had manipulated countless people as if they were chess pieces, had murdered those who were no longer useful to him, had framed his rivals, had ruined families, and had ruled with blood-stained hands.

However, Dereck had no intention of morally condemning him or uttering words of morality.

Having been involved with the nobility for quite some time, he understood.

No one who lived off power was completely innocent. In one way or another, everyone had blood-stained hands, committed immoral acts, or, on occasion, strayed from the right path.

Dereck also had blood-stained hands from his days as a mercenary and was by no means free of guilt.

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That was the way of the world. Perhaps Grand Duke Beltus had simply been fighting in his own way to get ahead in the middle of that mud.

Of course, for those who had suffered under his rule, it was a matter of hatred and pain, but in the end, he was nothing more than a man who knew no bounds to his ambition.

Born of noble blood and gazing at the stars with a longing for greatness.

It might have seemed romantic, but had he not considered the price?

“You talk too much, Grand Duke Beltus.”

When Dereck’s eyes flashed, Beltus’s pupils dilated for an instant.

Come to think of it, Dereck had never criticized his evil deeds or his atrocities.

The reason he pointed his sword at him was not due to a moral conclusion.

It was something much more primitive.

If you point a sword at someone, you must be prepared for the blade to turn toward you as well.

That was all Dereck was saying.

“Did you not desire to seize the southwest of the continent and, beyond that, make your name resonate throughout the world with power and authority?”

“…”

“Did you really believe that such an ambition could be achieved without facing a crisis?”

Just as Dereck once reached his hands toward the heavens, dreaming of reaching seven-star magic, this man also sought to rise endlessly toward that unreachable sky.

He did not care at all about the cruel circumstances that arose during the process.

If their paths crossed and one of them had to fall, at least Dereck had no intention of being the one who did.

That is why Dereck unsheathed his sword, pushed off the ground, and charged at Grand Duke Beltus.

*Slash!*

Burning spirits in human form rose around the duke.

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Each of them, equipped with high-quality armor, was the result of four-star summoning magic.

*Slash! Clang!*

But before the spirits could even unsheathe their swords, they were all enveloped in frost.

It was the three-star combat spell “Freeze.”

The memory of when Siern instantly mastered the magic that had taken him a lifetime to learn flashed fleetingly through his mind.

*Crack! Slash!*

In an instant, everything around the railing froze, even Duke Beltus’s feet, which were fixed to the ground by ice.

But the duke invoked the two-star combat spell “Explosion,” shattered the ice, and retreated while casting more spells.

Four swords emerged from the ground, intending to pierce Dereck’s body, but he rolled across the ice and dove to the side.

*Boom! Boom!*

The swords that emerged shattered the frozen floor.

Duke Beltus did not waste that brief instant and conjured new magic.

Although his own mana was nearly exhausted, he forced himself to use the necromancy that Fina had instilled in him.

Grand Duke Beltus was a completely different being from the mages Dereck had faced before.

If he hid his skills or hesitated even for an instant, his life would be in immediate danger.

He had to give it his all.

To squeeze every last drop of strength from within and face him with the sole determination to kill his opponent.

If he lost concentration even for a moment, the blade would pierce his neck.

That stinging sensation, like walking on a tightrope suspended over lava, ran through his body, making every hair on his skin stand on end.

Death was near.

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Ironically, the closer he got to it, the more alive he felt.

– *Clang! Clang!*

– *Boom! Bang!*

Grand Duke Beltus began to summon all kinds of weapons.

Steel swords, spiked spears, gold arrows, sharp scimitars, maces, and throwing weapons—so many that they surrounded the area like a storm.

Before Dereck could cast a defensive spell, his body was covered in cuts. The speed was such that he could barely react, but he managed to break through the wall next to him and threw himself inside, securing a safer position.

“Damn you… You have no idea what you’ve done! I am fundamentally different from you, both in nobility and in the magnitude of my ambition. I… have been chosen by this era to reach greater heights…”

Madness and desire.

The flames burning in Grand Duke Beltus’s eyes began to glow with an even more sinister energy.

*Auge!* (Boom!)

The interior of the wall where Dereck was hiding was a luxurious bedroom.

The fist of the enormous demon, roaring as if covering the sky, smashed into the room.

*Rumble! Boom!*

That mansion belonged to Grand Duke Beltus, so he knew every corner.

All the summoned creatures moved according to his will; even the demons and monsters were under his control.

One way or another, this was Beltus’s domain; it was no exaggeration to call it the kingdom he himself had built.

His magic level was five stars, and the entire battlefield was his territory.

Facing him face to face in such a place was an impossible task.

However, Dereck, undeterred, jumped out of the room.

*Pum! Bang!*

He rolled once on the floor and ran down the hallway.

The great hall on the second floor was too wide; the open space allowed Beltus to deploy multiple summons simultaneously.

To gain an advantage in battle, that space had to be restricted.

The surest way to do that was to lure him into a narrow place.

“So… you are using your head… Kuhk… Huhk…!”

While chasing him, an intense pain caused by necromantic magic tormented Grand Duke Beltus’s mind again.

Blood began to come out of his nose and the veins in his eyes swelled even more.

In the midst of the burning and agony, Beltus barely managed to maintain his sanity.

He was a man destined to reach higher. He would not fall so crashly.

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Gritting his teeth with that determination, he used levitation magic and rose through the air toward the hallway.

*Hwaaak!*

Magic enveloped his hand as he wielded the five-star magic weapon Light of the Empire.

Although it was an inferior replica of the original, its power was still worthy of a weapon of war.

Anyone hit directly by that staff would die instantly.

To prove it, the amount of energy the staff radiated was much greater than before.

*Auge!* (Boom!)

Dereck, running down the hallway, analyzed every corner, looking for an opportunity to counterattack.

Luxurious carpets, curtains, and all kinds of antiques decorated the hallway.

Although he could not examine the layout of all the rooms, most seemed spacious.

At the end of the hallway were the external staircase, the service tool storerooms, the Grand Duke’s office, and several empty rooms.

‘Haa… Hoo… Hoo…’

Dereck was breathing heavily.

As he advanced, several monsters emerged to intercept him, but he eliminated them one by one with his sword.

His movements were so fluid that it seemed nothing could stop him.

But if he lowered his guard even for a second, it would all be over. Beltus’s combat magic far surpassed that of any ordinary mage.

A cold sweat ran down his back; the chill of death ran through his body.

Life or death.

A battle on the edge.

A sharp, bluish sensation he hadn’t felt in a long time.

As a child, it was part of his daily routine: whether hunting goblins or facing trolls, he always had to risk his life; a single mistake could cost him an arm or a leg.

That feeling of walking on the edge of an abyss sharpened all his senses to the limit.

Only in the midst of danger and such fierce battles could his whole being burst into flames.

The sharp sense of crisis, like needles pricking every pore, propelled him even further.

— Pull out everything inside you, defeat superior beings, and remember that sensation in your hands. I know better than anyone the pleasure of that moment.

— Killing is something pleasurable. Although you don’t seem like the type of person who lets themselves be carried away by that pleasure.

Although he couldn’t agree with Fina’s wild words, he had to admit there was some truth in them.

Only in extreme situations, on the brink of death, could one glimpse the realm that extended beyond one’s own limits.

By pushing his body to the limit in every exchange, Dereck was reaching the peak of his own limits.

*Boom! Bang! Crack! Snap!*

High-power spells flew at incredible speed, destroying the corridor.

Although combat magic was not his specialty, the Grand Duke’s destructive power surpassed Dereck’s.

*Crack! Snap!*

And his way of using magic was completely different from that of ordinary mages.

His power had no defined limits; it combined combat, confusion, and summoning, transcending the magic system itself.

The system accepted in this era was nothing more than a structure established by a genius named Adelbert.

But the magic of those who understood its true essence existed at a level that others could never reach.

The fireballs he threw contained Fina’s necromantic power; they were not flames that burned flesh, but energy that devoured the soul and vitality.

The floating swords were imbued with confusion magic: illusions mixed with the real blades, and if you tried to dodge them only by sight, they would cut you in an instant.

*Snap! Crackle!*

Dereck rolled on the floor to dodge a slash and cast a spell, throwing fireballs toward Beltus.

*Break!*

But Beltus destroyed them in the air with a simple gesture of his forehead.

He had never seen such manipulation of magic before.

It was, without a doubt, the result of the duke’s countless years of research.

Dereck’s arm trembled.

His pupils dilated once more.

Seeing his reaction, Beltus smiled with blood-stained lips.

“What is it? Do you finally understand the difference between you and me?”

A being two levels above.

No matter how much of a genius Dereck was or how fast he progressed, he could never reach the level of a fully developed five-star mage.

Did he understand now?

Seeing his look of astonishment, the Grand Duke raised his voice.

“Gaah… you… will never follow in my footsteps… Die here…”

An even greater surge of magic energy began to sprout from his staff.

Three-star summoning magic: Stone Turtle, Shadow Spirit, Magic Raven, Fire Wolf.

So many creatures appeared that it was impossible to count them.

But Beltus did not use them directly.

Instead, he deployed superior power and fused all those summoned beings.

A fusion summoning spell.

A type of enchantment non-existent in any book. Books and literature.

Fina had once told him that to reach rank four or higher, one had to enter their own terrain, no longer bound by any system or formula.

If until then you had been following a path already laid out, from four stars onwards, you had to forge it yourself.

As proof of this, Beltus’s magic was riddled with unpredictable variables.

Dereck’s arm trembled even more.

The duke, noticing his state, smiled with madness.

“You must be terrified. Now you understand how arrogant you were.”

*Burst!*

Without giving him a chance to breathe, the demon’s fist descended from the sky once more.

He had to fight not only against the duke but also against all the entities he had summoned.

It required a reaction speed superior to human capacity.

And yet, Dereck managed to dodge and avoid a mortal wound.

Starlight filtered through the shattered roof.

The joints of the fused being were all twisted, and energies of various elements emanated from its body.

It was a creature half wolf, half human.

When the demon threw fire, Dereck, who had just dodged its blow, took the full impact.

*Crash! Bang!*

With superhuman reflexes, he protected himself with magic, narrowly escaping death.

But the pain in his shoulder burned like fire, and his bones creaked as if several had been shattered.

The moonlight, filtering through the broken roof, illuminated his figure against the wall.

Covered in dust and debris, breathing heavily, it was evident that Dereck was on the brink of death.

“Ha… ha, ha…”

The madness of necromancy began to devour Grand Duke Beltus once again.

Drooling, with his face contorted, the archmage still resisted.

“Yes… those are the emotions that correspond to your level… fear… dread before death… ha, ha… tell me… what does it feel like to face it?”

Throughout his life, many young nobles like Dereck had dared to challenge him.

At first, they were full of pride and determination, but in the end, when they were crushed, stripped of their belongings, and threatened at swordpoint, they all trembled in the same way.

Dereck was no different, or at least that’s what Beltus believed.

He enjoyed seeing that youthful arrogance crumble.

He enjoyed seeing Dereck covered in dust, trembling and with wide eyes.

And just as he sketched a demented smile…

“Yes… this is exciting…”

He noticed something strange.

Dereck’s hand was trembling, yes, but not from fear.

Madness takes many forms.

And Dereck was no exception.

“What…?”

*Crackle, pop.*

Dereck was a reserved man, but that didn’t mean he never smiled.

He smiled when necessary.

As a nobleman, it was something expected of him.

On occasion, he even showed an elegant and serene smile, typical of a refined gentleman.

But the smile he wore now was not out of courtesy.

It was something much more primitive.

Duke Beltus’s eyes widened in surprise.

In a situation where anyone else would see death before them, in an environment dominated by overwhelming power, Dereck was excited.

It was the tremor of someone who had glimpsed a superior level of magic.

More than fear, it resembled the ecstasy prior to awakening.

Grand Duke Beltus was not the only madman there.

It was the first time Dereck had witnessed such magic manipulation.

It was the first time he had witnessed a summons of such magnitude.

It was the first time he had observed a magic weapon of that power.

It was the first time he had faced such a complex fusion.

For someone who had felt stagnant, as if trapped behind the three-star wall, this experience touched him directly.

What filled Dereck’s mind as he slowly stood up was not fear, but the pure euphoria of a mage who had discovered a new horizon.

“Yes… your way of using magic is unique… I think I’m starting to understand it… interesting… really interesting…”

And seeing that spark of talent, which grew like a sponge absorbing everything, it was the other who felt fear.

Grand Duke Beltus suddenly realized.

That man had to die, here and now.