Silence.
Complete silence.
At that moment, not a single sound remained in the entire courtyard.
The only thing left between heaven and earth was the cold winter wind, carrying white fragments through the air.
The moment Viktor raised his hand, everyone realized what had happened.
The spear that had been knocked away had been thrown back by Viktor using magic.
Yet at that moment, no one dared to speak.
The nobles could only stand there in a daze.
The last thing reflected in their eyes was the joy born from despair in the eyes of the Second Prince, who had transformed into a minotaur demon.
But that joy vanished in an instant.
As that calm voice rang out, everyone's gaze was drawn to Viktor.
The massive minotaur demon collapsed weakly onto the ground, and the red light in its deep eye sockets completely faded.
It would never make another sound again.
At the same time, Liya's mind had gone blank.
She stared at the motionless minotaur demon, her lips trembling without her noticing.
"Th-That... that Second Prince... n-no, that demon..."
"I-Is he... dead?"
'What... just happened?'
'The head of the Lesser family could fly?'
'No, no, that's not the point.'
'Viktor killed the Second Prince!?'
'Right! That's it!'
Liya took a deep breath and finally collapsed weakly into Gwen's arms.
'It's over.'
'Everything's over.'
Nearby, the Demon Hunter wearing a wide hood slowly raised his head.
The eyes hidden beneath the shadows also fell upon the Second Prince's corpse.
At that moment, no one made a sound.
Only a heavy silence hung over everyone present.
At the same time, a muttering voice came from the sky.
"Hm? So that's how it is."
Cocotte was lying comfortably on a cloud.
She rested her face in her hands while swinging her legs back and forth.
As her eyes settled on Leopold, a look of sudden understanding flashed across her clear eyes.
Simply put, she had seen the layer of golden defensive light that had appeared on the Second Prince.
No wonder Viktor had asked her to warn the Mage Council.
At first, she thought Viktor wanted the Mage Council to come deal with the demons in the Empire.
Now it seemed he had caught an even bigger fish.
Looking at Leopold, whose body was glowing with golden light, Cocotte rested her chin on her hands, frowned slightly, and fell into thought.
"So... how do I keep it here?"
Before she could think any further, something new happened below.
A bubbling sound slowly rose from the ruined courtyard.
The moment the sound appeared, everyone's eyes turned toward its source.
It was the Second Prince.
At that moment, his minotaur body seemed to turn into boiling liquid, with black bubbles rising across its surface.
Under everyone's shocked gaze, the demon attached to the Second Prince slowly peeled away from his body.
The loose black smoke gathered into a mass and slid down his clothes like melting flesh.
A strong bloody smell instantly filled the entire courtyard.
When all the minotaur demon's flesh had finally separated, Owiser's body was revealed beneath it.
It was as if he had replaced the minotaur demon, lying motionless on the ground.
His eyes were open, but empty and lifeless.
The horrifying flesh holes on his limbs, lips, and forehead were still there.
Silence swept through the crowd once more.
But this time, the Crown Prince's voice suddenly broke it.
"O-Owiser!"
Almost instinctively, Albany rushed to Owiser's side.
He dropped to one knee and kept shaking Owiser's unresponsive body.
But it was as if all life had already left him.
There wasn't the slightest response.
Watching this scene, it felt as though thunder exploded inside every noble's mind.
'D-Dead?'
'The Second Prince... Is dead!?'
The nobles who had supported the Second Prince's claim to the throne saw this and their vision immediately darkened.
The crushing reality swallowed them almost instantly, leaving them unable to accept it as they collapsed to the side.
Fortunately, those beside them caught them before they hit the ground.
"Baron Hunt, are you alright?"
The noble who had nearly fallen was helped back up by the person beside him.
He gave the other man a friendly smile and took a deep breath.
But everyone understood.
They all silently reached the same conclusion.
The Second Prince's faction was finished.
Seeing this scene of "brotherly love," Claudia showed not the slightest trace of sympathy.
She slowly removed the silver mask from her face.
One half of her face looked normal.
The other half was covered in blood-red markings.
Finally, she looked coldly at the unconscious Second Prince and calmly gave her order.
"Take the Second Prince away."
The Demon Hunters moved immediately.
Ignoring everyone present, they dragged the Second Prince's body out of the courtyard right in front of the Crown Prince.
Albany could only watch helplessly as the Second Prince was taken farther and farther away.
Still kneeling on one knee, he slowly raised his head and looked toward Claudia, the one who had given the order.
He could clearly see his mother's face.
Especially that half covered in red markings.
It filled him with an overwhelming sense of unfamiliarity.
"Mother... Owiser..."
"He must take responsibility for everything he has done."
After saying that, she didn't look at Albany again.
Instead, she turned her gaze toward Viktor and Leopold.
After everything that had just happened, everyone knew there was definitely something wrong with Leopold.
Especially Claudia.
She had personally felt the mysterious power surrounding him.
The golden reverse flow that had deflected her attack was definitely no coincidence.
More importantly, Leopold had been involved in everything that happened today.
Whether it was the chaos in the south or the demons that appeared today.
What she couldn't understand, however, was that Leopold didn't seem to care whether Owiser lived or died.
After Owiser was attacked, he had only stood there in a daze for a short while.
Only after Owiser was taken away did Leopold put on a relieved smile again.
His eyes locked firmly onto Viktor, golden light flowing within them.
"Viktor Clavenna."
"I've been watching you ever since the moment you stopped being willing to live an ordinary life."
As he spoke, Leopold slowly raised his head.
His golden eyes casually swept across the nobles present.
Whenever his gaze landed on one of them, that noble would instinctively lower their head and avoid looking at him.
Leopold simply smiled at their reactions and continued, "You know better than I do how filthy these people are."
"They're greedy."
"They're selfish."
"Their desires can never be satisfied."
With every sentence he spoke, the surrounding nobles couldn't help remembering how disgracefully they had argued over just a few gold coins.
The more they remembered, the lower they bowed their heads.
Leopold slowly turned back to Viktor.
He narrowed his eyes, and his words carried an almost magical temptation.
"But you, Viktor, are different."
"You've always held yourself above others and never bowed your head to anyone. That is also why you've always been criticized."
Geniuses were always lonely.
A genius who refused to fit in would be isolated even more.
The old Viktor was proof of that.
Though he was also a noble, he looked down on every single one of them equally.
"Because you know exactly how filthy they are!"
Leopold suddenly shouted.
His whole body leaned backward as he raised his head toward the sky.
As the golden sand in his eyes spun rapidly, the thick clouds above split open into a long, narrow crack.
A faint light shone down from the sky, falling across his handsome face.
Bathed in the light, Leopold slowly closed his eyes.
"So this world needs to be completely reshuffled."
His voice was soft, yet it carried a force that shook people's hearts.
It was like the solemn ringing of church bells, echoing again and again.
Those words made every noble's eyes widen.
Shock and disbelief covered their faces.
In front of everyone, Leopold smiled and looked at Viktor again.
"Viktor, you're powerful."
"So powerful that your emotions never control you."
"I've always admired you."
"So..."
Bathed in the golden light, he slowly reached out a hand toward Viktor.
"Join us. Let us change this overly filthy worl..."
Before he could finish speaking, the figure in the black trench coat suddenly appeared right in front of Leopold's calm face.
Then he threw a punch straight at it.
The fist tore through the air at incredible speed, creating a violent explosion of air in front of Leopold's face.
For a moment, all sound seemed to disappear with that punch.
Leopold calmly watched it all, golden contempt flashing in his eyes.
'How could a mage's fist possibly break through my perfect def...'
Crack!
A clear breaking sound rang out as the punch landed squarely on Leopold's face.
The golden barrier in front of him shattered with a tiny crack.
In an instant, the crack spread outward, splitting into countless spiderweb fractures around the point of impact.
Crack!
Bang!
A crisp shattering sound echoed as countless tiny golden fragments scattered through the air.
Before Leopold could even widen his eyes, Viktor's fist had already slammed into his face.
BOOM!!!
Empowered by terrifying force, a large section of Leopold's face caved in.
The flesh rippled like waves, and even his jaw twisted out of shape.
The instant that punch landed, a violent shockwave erupted beneath Viktor's feet and spread in every direction.
The surrounding nobles couldn't even open their eyes against the blast.
They could only raise their hands to shield themselves.
Meanwhile, Leopold flew away together with the shattered golden light and fragments, leaving behind a long golden trail.
Like a meteor with a glowing tail, he was carried far away by the shockwave.
BOOM!
A violent crash of breaking stone rang out as Leopold slammed into the courtyard wall.
His limbs twisted unnaturally, white foam spilling from his mouth.
At that moment, even his golden eyes lost their focus.
The nobles slowly lowered their hands.
Their minds suddenly buzzed, leaving them completely blank.
Then they suddenly realized something.
Every pair of eyes turned toward Viktor.
At some point, his left hand was holding a golden bird-headed staff.
The staff was still circulating magic, constantly sending some kind of power into Viktor's arm.
One of his eyes glowed with a faint blue light, like a flame flickering in the air.
Even the black crow on his shoulder was covered in a faint blue glow.
As if he had just done something insignificant, Viktor pulled back his right fist and casually shook it.
Amid everyone's wide-eyed shock and complete disbelief, his cold voice rang out.
"Did I tell you that you could speak?"