Amid the fierce battle between spirits and corpses, Solan Neumann was in a desperate situation, yet she continued fighting after noticing signs of retreat from the puppet. Solan thought:
"Shion destroyed a Domain earlier, and this Domain now must be the inheritance Domain Shion warned us about. It seems this puppet can no longer continue, especially after Shion destroyed the blood veins spread throughout the place."
A small spirit approached Solan and informed her of Shion's request. Shocked, Solan exclaimed angrily,
"I'm doing everything to protect him, and now he wants to join this chaos?! And he's asking for Water and Fire spirits?!"
While venting her anger at the tiny spirit, Roto Night was in terrible condition and desperately searching for a way to survive.
"That's bad...."
Solan's Spirits World prevented his corrupted energy from reaching her, the blood veins had ceased functioning, and only remnants of corpses remained. Even the seventh-level guardian no longer responded to him.
A thought crossed his mind,
"I still have one final solution… but it's dangerous. I won't be able to control it. Yet from what I see, no one else can guarantee my survival besides him… damn it!"
The Corrupted Domain began shrinking, and some corpses lost their power, but Solan did not relax.
"Polter, go test him!" she ordered.
Polter obeyed immediately, charging toward the condensing Domain. Using the Neumann Family Swordsmanship, he launched a deadly slash at Roto, who wrapped himself inside a cocoon formed from his Domain.
Before the blade could reach him, the ground collapsed.
A new body emerged from beneath the earth and effortlessly blocked Polter's strike, throwing him away.
Polter steadied himself and stared at the new opponent in confusion.
Its face resembled that of a child, but the rest of its body constantly shifted into rotten flesh and decayed limbs. In its hand was a sword formed entirely from bones.
Roto declared proudly inside his domain,
"This is the final masterpiece I created!"
Solan looked carefully at the boy and saw a soul desperately refusing to surrender while corrupted energy tried to consume it. Signs of torture covered the child's face. Bloody tears stained his cheeks. His eyes were bloodshot, his skin pale, and his gaze unstable.
Yet his appearance matched a certain description.
Solan trembled.
"Is… is that Enfel Kito?"
The puppet clapped mockingly.
"You truly possess sharp eyes!! You recognized him immediately. Even if his parents were still alive, they wouldn't recognize him anymore!"
A terrifying wave of rage swept through the hall.
Solan could barely breathe from anger as she shouted,
"Roto Night! You didn't just destroy your family — you destroyed yourself and everything around you! Tell me now, you cursed bastard, where are the rest of the children?!"
Meanwhile, Polter launched another attack at Roto, but Enfel moved at blinding speed and intercepted him again, forcing him back.
From Solan's perspective, Enfel's soul suffered even more damage after each clash.
Roto answered calmly,
"You care about irrelevant details. How else do you think I turned a mere child into a seventh-level swordsman?"
Realization struck Solan like lightning.
Her breath stopped for a moment.
Roto grinned.
"Correct. They were sacrificed to create this fearless warrior who knows no fear of death! Enfel — destroy them!"
Enfel instantly charged toward the Spirit World. Though the barrier repelled him, he immediately clashed against Polter.
Polter drew power from Solan and the Spirit World as he fought fiercely.
Polter shouted furiously,
"If there were even a single lightning strike here, I'd kill you myself, you damned monster!"
Roto ignored him completely, sitting confidently within his Domain as though watching a performance. He firmly believed no one could touch him.
The battle between spirit and corpse intensified.
Corrupted energy spread everywhere.
Solan remained trapped inside her Spirit World, silently supporting Polter.
Suddenly, without warning, Enfel unleashed his own simple Domain.
Polter responded in kind.
Their collision became savage and unbelievably fast, destroying walls, ceilings, and floors alike. The palace no longer retained any trace of the nobility it once possessed.
...
Outside the palace, the Kito Family elders maintained defensive barriers to contain the corrupted energy and protect civilians.
One elder cursed,
"That damned bitch! I never imagined she'd become this monstrous!"
"No wonder Lord Davy warned us about her. She's a monster!"
"So Mel Tri wasn't the child kidnapper after all… it was this puppet!"
"Damn it!"
Corpses pushed out from the palace after being driven back by the spirits, only to encounter the defensive barrier. They immediately attempted to destroy it.
The elders resisted desperately, but their strongest members were only level five.
Within minutes, cracks began spreading across the barrier under the assault and corrupted energy.
Then suddenly, a member of the Shine Family arrived — Sterai Shine.
Using purification magic, he restored the barrier instantly.
Yet because of the overwhelming difference in levels, the corrupted energy resumed spreading again almost immediately.
'I thought it would be my chance to unleash my heritage but.... it's a chaos!!'
As Sterai searched desperately for a solution, a powerful presence descended upon the battlefield.
The newcomer glanced coldly at him.
"You followers of the First Prince… why did you allow this trash to flee the battlefield?"
He threw Shun Ranus onto the ground in humiliation.
Sterai could only swallow his anger.
The man before him was still in his late twenties, yet already at the sixth level and approaching level seven.
Sterai feared him more than any other noble.
It was Grimm Jura, heir of the Jura Family, leading the battalion sent to rescue the princess.
"Sterai! Where is Her Highness?!" Grimm demanded.
Sterai nervously pointed inside the palace.
Grimm smirked.
"Seems someone is using inheritance power and is about to die. I'll go enjoy the show a little."
A female voice interrupted him from behind.
"Grimm! Did you forget why Father sent us here?!"
Grimm sighed.
"Sis, Father won't complain if I watch for a bit."
Sterai turned in shock toward the woman.
She appeared to be in her mid-twenties, equally sixth level, and just as overwhelming as her brother.
This was Ji Jura.
Both siblings inherited Earth and Gravity abilities from the Jora Family.
Ji spoke thoughtfully,
"The Kito Family may be second-rank nobility, but the absence of even a single level-seven member is strange."
Grimm shrugged.
"No idea. But we came to rescue Her Highness, so let's work."
Ji approached the barrier.
The elders of Kito family acknowledged her at once so they were surprised,
"Lady Jura?!!"
"Thanks for coming! Can you please help us?"
Ji stopped to raise her hand and activated,
"Jura Family Technique: Hardening."
She slid across the ground as though skating on ice, though it was merely her earth magic manipulating the terrain.
Each touch reinforced the barrier, making it denser and stronger.
After circling it rapidly, she announced,
"Brother! You can enter now!"
Grimm stepped beyond the barrier and descended into the corrupted energy.
Completely unbothered, he activated,
"Jura Family Technique: Adhesion."
The corrupted energy floating in the air suddenly stuck to the ground and could no longer even touch his feet.
He walked through it casually and entered the palace.
Inside, he sensed terrifying energy.
But he smiled and said,
"It's going to be an interesting battle!"
Preparing himself, he put on his gloves.
He saw Polter fighting Enfel in a losing battle. Enfel attacked relentlessly while Polter could only defend, since counterattacks would further damage Enfel's soul.
Then Grimm noticed the puppet — a once-beautiful face now horribly distorted.
Looking upward, he saw Solan Neumann in her true appearance.
Her beauty stole his breath instantly.
"I'll save her no matter the cost," he spoke unconsciously.
But eventually Polter retreated back into the Spirit World.
Without hesitation, Enfel targeted Grimm.
Caught distracted, Grimm was smashed violently out of the palace.
"Huh?!"
He recovered quickly and glared at Enfel furiously.
"You ignorant child!"
"..."
Enfel charged again.
This time Grimm activated his stars and circles.
Without speaking, crushing gravity descended upon Enfel.
Enfel stopped in his place. His back leaned forward and his knees flexed weakly.
Grimm walked through the pressure effortlessly while preparing his fists.
"A child created through forbidden magic who reached seventh level… my apologies to your creator in advance."
His fist crashed into Enfel's face, dealing horrifying damage.
But Enfel couldn't even cry so his body stood again to face Grimm.
Before he could strike again, Solan shouted angrily,
"What are you doing, idiot?! You're hurting a living child!"
Grimm paused and turned toward her.
"Greetings, Queen of Beauty. How may I serve you?"
Before Solan could answer, a blast of corrupted energy struck Grimm directly.
Assuming it harmless, he failed to defend properly.
"What?! What is this?!"
Only then did he realize Roto Night himself had attacked him — an existence that should never be approached carelessly.
The corruption invaded him immediately.
Even his guardian spirit struggled to resist it.
At the same moment, Enfel broke free and charged Grimm again.
But Star Instructor Asin Night arrived and intercepted the attack, forcing Enfel away.
Then Asin shoved Grimm backward toward Princess Jina Joul, whose golden eyes glowed brilliantly.
Activating the royal technique, she declared,
"Royal Command: Eliminate the corrupted energy!"
The Royal Command spell resembled Pearl Jewel's speech magic, but instead of persuasion, it enforced absolute submission upon all citizens of the kingdom.
Jina turned toward Roto Night.
However, Celisia Jewel stopped her.
"He's dead. The command won't affect him!"
Jina abandoned the attempt.
Drawing her sword, she fully unleashed her golden eyes and began identifying the least dangerous paths through the battlefield.
Protected by her aura, she advanced through the corruption.
Meanwhile, Asin clashed directly against Enfel's bone sword using only his hands.
Another devastating collision shook the palace.
Though Asin's combat experience surpassed the boy's, Roto's corrupted energy gave Enfel the advantage.
Still, Asin managed to continue fighting using countless techniques.
Solan called out anxiously,
"Princess! What happened to Shion?!"
Jina silently pointed somewhere.
When Solan looked, there was nothing there.
Furious, she snapped,
"Are you mocking me, you brat?!"
Jina looked stunned.
'Did she scold me?!'
Before another word could be spoken, Asin struck Enfel away with a palm technique, smashing him through a wall.
Enfel attempted to stand again.
Then suddenly—
A cold hand rested gently upon his shoulder.
Shi Yun Lan's voice echoed calmly as he activated the technique,
"(Art of Annihilation: Body of the Dead)."
The power of the Third Vein ignited within the Veins Domain, activating fifth-level power while two stars and two circles remained focused solely on stabilizing themselves.
Shi Yun Lan thought silently,
'If the boy pretends to use this power again himself, he'll suffer severe damage. So I took over briefly at my own expense. I coordinated with Asin to bring the child here, free him from that bastard, then return to the Veins Domain. I can still unleash one final attack before becoming dormant… now don't fail me, Shion Lan.'
Shi Yun Lan retreated.
From the shattered wall emerged Shion himself.
White hair.
Faint silver eyes.
Sword in hand.
He stared directly at Roto Night and asked coldly:
"Who are you? …Actually, it doesn't matter. You're dying today."