Chapter 107
Ding! Ding!
The bell rang, but hardly anyone came rushing in.
Thanks to a preemptive ambush, many of the guards stationed nearby had already been taken care of.
Of course, reinforcements from inside the castle would arrive soon enough, but by then, it would be too late.
Whoosh!
A black flame erupted from Melin’s sword.
The destructive blaze, forged from black steel, struck the inner side of the castle gate.
More specifically, it targeted the massive latch.
The gate trembled as Melin swung again with all her might, slicing through the latch.
Finally—
“No, no!!!”
The pale-faced retainers of the Libery family, arriving late, shouted in despair.
Boom!
The castle gate swung open.
And from the shadows, the Black Swamp Knights of the Kazar family poured into the castle.
At that moment, a bloodstorm descended upon the Libery family.
The battle was one-sided.
In terms of sheer strength, the Kazar and Libery families were fairly evenly matched.
After all, the Liberys were also a top-tier noble house.
But even with equal power, the way each side fought made all the difference.
The Kazars had prepared meticulously.
The Liberies had been caught completely off guard.
The outcome was decided from the very start.
Thanks to this, Count Kazar even had time to look around.
“Our target is the Libery family! Be careful not to harm any civilians!”
“Yes, sir!”
The battle, which had erupted late at night, was already nearing its end before dawn.
It was an overwhelming victory.
The Libery family had suffered heavy casualties, while the Kazars had barely a scratch.
“Strange. This is too easy.”
Count Kazar muttered suspiciously.
Christos nodded in agreement.
“Something’s off. We caught them off guard, yes, but to collapse this completely… it’s unusual.”
“I don’t know where the Libery count is. He should be inside the castle.”
Throughout the battle, the Libery count had been nowhere to be seen.
That was the decisive reason for their crushing defeat.
“He either fled… or—”
Count Kazar’s gaze shifted.
Deep within the castle.
The Libery family’s mansion, still unconquered.
“He’s probably holed up in his fortress, waiting for us.”
Just then, a retainer sent to scout came running.
“The mansion’s situation is strange! A thick fog of curses surrounds it; we can’t get close!”
Count Kazar chuckled.
“So he’s not confident enough to face us directly and set traps in his mansion instead.”
“That seems to be the case.”
“Well, it doesn’t matter. Such a coward isn’t worth my time.”
Count Kazar spoke firmly.
In truth, he was a six-star upper rank.
The Libery count was six-star middle rank.
Within the same star level, the gap between upper, middle, and lower ranks was significant.
So his confidence wasn’t unfounded.
But Christos wasn’t reassured.
‘Something’s wrong. The Libery count must know he’s weaker than his father. Why wouldn’t he run away?’
Suddenly, Christos recalled the Libery count’s curse skills he’d seen back in the Brusenne Duchy.
A formidable mastery—not to be underestimated.
A bad feeling settled in.
“I’ll go with you.”
“You too?”
“Yes. I can be of help.”
Though unlikely, the worst-case scenario was still possible.
He needed to be there.
Fortunately, Count Kazar nodded.
Christos was a strong retainer—no longer just a son to be sheltered.
Then, Tern, standing nearby, hurriedly spoke up.
“I-I want to come too!”
“…Tern, you?”
“I can help! I’ll support you and my brother with curse magic from behind!”
Christos made an uncertain face.
‘I’m not sure how much help he’ll be.’
But then he reconsidered.
‘…Actually, he might be more useful than I thought.’
He recalled how much Tern had improved since the last time he saw him.
Tern was definitely a ‘natural’ when it came to curses.
A natural’s magic, even if the same spell, was far purer and more potent than others’.
That would be a great help.
“Father, what if Tern comes along? It would be good experience for him.”
After some thought, Count Kazar nodded.
“But Tern, under no circumstances are you to take the lead.”
“Yes, I will remember that.”
Christos also warned him.
“Tern, if things get dangerous, trust me and follow my orders.”
“Yes, understood.”
Tern nodded, and Christos looked toward the mansion.
“Then let’s go.”
The mansion was lavish beyond words, befitting the Libery family’s status.
Grand in size.
Countless statues.
Gardens embroidered like a scene from a painting.
But now, it felt eerie and desolate.
The Black Swamp Knights surrounded the mansion with grim determination.
“What’s the situation inside?”
“Quiet.”
“Quiet?”
“Yes, no sign of life at all.”
It was baffling.
If this mansion was their last stronghold, the retainers should have gathered to defend it.
“Strange.”
“Yes, we can’t confirm the exact situation inside. The moment you step in, a curse of madness takes hold.”
Count Kazar raised his gaze to survey the mansion.
“‘Rampage of Madness.’ A black magic curse that induces insanity over a wide area.”
A six-star mental curse.
Covering the entire mansion.
Yet Count Kazar kept frowning.
“I don’t understand. Why waste power like this?”
Mental curses.
Exclusive to six-star master class.
Powerful, but extremely draining each time they’re cast.
Especially wide-area mental curses like this.
“You don’t think such a petty curse would work on me, do you?”
Step.
Count Kazar stepped toward the mansion’s closed door.
[Screech!]
His vision blurred and a chilling scream echoed, but—
“Go!”
He shouted, and with the sound of shattering glass, the madness lifted.
He had forcibly suppressed the curse.
Wide-area black magic curses were great for slaughtering the weak, but ineffective against someone as strong as Count Kazar.
“You two, come in.”
Christos stepped forward, but the madness began to take hold of him.
Unlike Count Kazar, he lacked the strength to forcibly resist the curse.
However—
‘Only fools fall for such curses.’
He had studied the curse’s mechanism.
How it invaded the mind.
Why it caused madness.
After analyzing the spell in detail, he severed its connection.
Even a wide-area curse could be nullified so simply—it was astonishing.
Tern’s performance was equally impressive.
Buzz!
A dense, ashen veil enveloped him.
He cast the ‘Curse of Malice’ on himself.
The malice surrounding Tern repelled the madness curse attacking him.
A curse countering a curse—an ingenious tactic.
As expected, his skill was exceptional.
“Both of you did well. Let’s go in.”
Count Kazar showed a brief look of satisfaction at his sons’ prowess before stepping inside.
But once inside—
“!!”
The three of them gasped.
An unimaginable, horrific sight awaited.
Creak. Creak.
A discordant noise.
Countless corpses hung from the ceiling, dripping blood.
This was why no sign of life had been detected inside.
They had all turned into corpses.
As the group froze in shock at the gruesome scene—
Click! Clack!
The door they had entered slammed shut and locked itself.
Then every window sealed tight.
As if to ensure no one could escape.
And then, music filled the mansion.
A chilling funeral dirge echoed throughout.
Amid the eerie, spine-tingling scene, footsteps echoed.
“Long time no see, Count Kazar.”
“!!”
It was the Libery count.
Dressed in black mourning clothes as if conducting a funeral, he held an old music box playing the dirge in one hand.
Christos’ expression hardened as he recognized the music box.
“Father, could that be… from the main family?”
“Yeah, it looks like it.”
Count Kazar frowned.
“A cursed artifact—the ‘Voracious Music Box.’ An ‘Ego Artifact’ kept by the main family. How did he get his hands on it?”
An artifact with its own consciousness.
Sacrifices made to it would empower the curse magic of the wielder.
The more sacrifices, the more the sorcerer could wield curses far beyond their own limits.
A terrifying tool, crafted by demons.
“Heh heh, what’s power if not this? I am the top vassal of the Dark Mage Clan. Unlike you, who were cast aside as a distant branch, it’s no trouble for me to acquire such artifacts. But still…”
The Libery count’s cold gaze fixed on Christos.
“You never imagined I’d end up like this, did you? Probably all because of you, Christos.”
“!!”
“Don’t expect to leave here alive.”
Count Kazar stepped forward, his face grim.
“Shut up. Do you think I’ll let you have your way?”
“Heh heh, you’re mistaken. The only one dying here today isn’t just Christos.”
The Libery count’s eyes glowed fiercely.
“You too, Count Kazar.”
“!!”
The music box’s tune began to rise.
Then came the horrifying murmurs spreading through the air.
[Screee… screech. Feed… me… food… blood…! H-hurry…!]
It was the music box’s ‘ego.’
As if infused with a fragment of a demon, just hearing its voice sent a chilling shiver down the spine.
Count Libery burst into a mad laugh and shouted,
“I’ve prepared the sacrifice—feast to your heart’s content! And play the curse for me!”
Whoosh!
The blood of those hanging from the ceiling started to be sucked into the music box.
[Hee-hee! Keeek!!!]
The more blood it absorbed, the deeper and darker the dirge became.
As if sinking into an abyss.
Count Libery’s body darkened into a deep ash-gray, and a sinister aura seeped from the music box.
He was about to unleash the curse through it!
“Father!”
“I know!!”
Flash!
Count Kazar’s sword was engulfed in black darkness.
The Black Steel Blade.
No, this was no ordinary Black Steel Blade.
Its darkness deepened as if submerged in an abyss.
The curse had begun to take hold.
The ‘Frenzy Curse’ that maximizes attack power.
The ‘Shatter Curse’ that utterly breaks through an opponent’s defense.
Not just once.
Both curses layered endlessly, sinking deeper into the blade, and after dozens of overlaps, perfect ruin was infused into the Black Steel.
On top of that, the ‘Carnivorous Binding’ that completely nullifies the target’s evasion.
This was Count Kazar’s spirit technique—the ‘Blade of Annihilation.’
A spirit technique designed to deliver a fatal blow to any opponent.
Once targeted, escape was impossible.
Flash!
In an instant, the Blade of Annihilation struck Count Libery.