Azure flames burst outward in every direction, shooting into the sky like an explosion.
They formed a chaotic and terrifying display of fire, their wild dance piercing straight into the night sky.
The black sky was lit up by the bright blue flames, and even the dark clouds were blasted open with a massive hole.
A terrifying shockwave hundreds of meters high swept across the area. The already cracked ground was stirred into a cloud of dust by the raging wind.
The scorching blue light that swallowed everything covered the surroundings completely, while the shockwave rolled over the nobles lying on the ground.
They raised their hands to shield their faces, trying to withstand the violent wind and keep it from twisting their features.
Their long robes whipped wildly in the wind, rubbing against the restless air and producing a series of sharp whistling sounds.
Soon, those sounds were swallowed by a wave of white dust that spread outward in every direction.
Only after it covered the entire courtyard did it gradually settle down.
After everything ended, the world finally became quiet again. Even the light that had been shining from one side of the courtyard slowly faded.
The last traces of blue flames burned themselves out before gradually disappearing into the darkness of the night.
The dust settled once more, and the chaotic noise faded into silence.
After the shockwave died down, the nobles slowly lowered their arms, their eyes gradually adjusting to the sudden darkness.
The roaring still echoed in their ears. It took them a long time before they slowly recovered from the shock.
The nobles looked through the drifting dust toward the center of the magical explosion.
What met everyone's eyes was only a huge, dark crater.
It was so enormous that it looked capable of swallowing a demon.
The ground around the crater had been turned over, with dirt and rocks piled everywhere.
It looked as though taking one step closer would make the entire crater collapse even farther inward.
The sight made people question whether this was really the power of a human.
The nobles stared in shock at the heavily damaged crater. Following its edge with their eyes, they found Viktor standing there quietly.
His expression was still calm, as if that terrifying spell had placed no burden on him at all.
Only now, he was the only one standing there.
Leopold, who had been standing in front of him moments ago, had apparently been right at the center of the explosion.
Along with his body, he had completely disappeared.
As more and more nobles saw the scene, they couldn't help sucking in a cold breath.
An intense fear rose in their hearts. Their eyes widened as they stood frozen.
Violence.
What unbelievable violence.
It seemed that every time Viktor made a move, it was earth-shaking.
It was as if what he did best was bombard the world with overwhelming force.
Just like now.
When the enormous crater was fully revealed before them, almost everyone had the same thought.
'How much money is this going to cost...?'
The once magnificent banquet hall had been reduced to ruins, and even the carefully designed courtyard had been blown apart.
The extraordinary stone used to pave the courtyard had all been shattered into pieces.
Looking at the ruins before them, everyone's heart turned cold.
After all, every noble present had witnessed the explosion.
Once this incident was over, the cost of repairing the courtyard and banquet hall would probably fall on all of them.
Fortunately, every noble had survived unharmed.
"I-Is it... over?", One noble asked in a trembling voice.
His words reached everyone's ears, pulling them out of their daze.
If Leopold had survived Viktor's punch earlier, it could still be explained by saying he had an extraordinary body.
But after Viktor cast that terrifying spell...
If Leopold were somehow still alive, it simply wouldn't make sense.
After all, no ordinary person could survive a spell powerful enough to blast a crater dozens of meters deep into the earth through physical strength alone.
While everyone else was still in shock, one slightly braver noble cautiously approached the edge of the crater.
Squinting through the dust, he looked toward the bottom.
There, he saw a few torn pieces of an elegant golden formal suit.
His eyes widened in shock.
'Wait...'
'Only the clothes were left?'
'Where was the person?'
"Could he... have been blown into ashes?"
He couldn't believe it.
Seeing the noble's shocked expression, the First Prince grew curious and walked over. He followed the noble's gaze and looked down as well.
Now it wasn't just one noble who was shocked.
After the First Prince finally recovered, he couldn't help asking Viktor beside him, "Leopold... is he dead?"
Viktor calmly answered, "As you can see."
Hearing Viktor's confirmation, all the nobles let out a deep breath, and the heavy weight on their hearts was instantly lifted.
Although Leopold had died so quickly that it almost felt abrupt...
After thinking about it, wasn't the Second Prince the same?
Both of them had died at Viktor's hands.
If Viktor hadn't been here, they probably would have died countless times over.
But after calming down, the nobles began thinking about another issue.
Now they had to face reality.
Whether it was Leopold or the Second Prince, both had committed serious crimes.
Leopold had planned the Second Prince's operation to tear open the Southern Rift, while the Second Prince had colluded with demons, and the consequences were already plain to see.
'What?'
'You're saying the Second Prince wasn't the only one working with demons?'
'Viktor worked with demons too? And even more than the Second Prince?'
'Come on, did that count as colluding?'
'The great Lord Viktor was simply walking his pet demon while casually protecting justice!'
Everything he did against the Second Prince was legitimate self-defense.
After all, the Second Prince had already become a demon.
If Viktor hadn't fought back, they would all have died.
Besides, Queen Claudia had personally arrived and declared the Second Prince guilty.
Before the Queen appeared, Viktor had refrained from attacking the Second Prince out of respect for the royal family.
In the end, Viktor's attack on the Second Prince had proper justification.
Without the royal family's approval, even killing the Second Prince in self-defense would have made Viktor seem overly arrogant.
Fortunately, at the critical moment, Queen Claudia stepped forward and confirmed the Second Prince's crimes.
She was his own mother.
If even the Queen couldn't tolerate what he had done, then his crimes spoke for themselves.
So Viktor's actions had been completely justified.
The nobles had already come up with every possible explanation for Viktor, filling in all the reasoning on his behalf.
Because in this struggle, Viktor was the true winner.
Thinking of this, many nobles rushed over to Viktor.
Their eyes shone with excitement and joy as they repeatedly thanked him.
"Count Vikto... no, no, Councillor, thank you so much for helping us today."
"If it weren't for Lord Viktor, I probably wouldn't have made it out of this courtyard alive."
"Exactly! That damned Leopold manipulated the prince and brought demons here to make us kill each other. He's even more hateful than the demons!"
"Lord Viktor, thank you for getting rid of this menace for the people!"
None of the nobles were fools.
Once Leopold and the Second Prince had failed, everyone realized what today's event had really been about.
On the surface, this banquet had been held to welcome the elves and promote friendly relations between them and the Empire's nobles.
But in reality, it had been a battle over the right of succession.
In the end, the Second Prince had failed and earned the charge of colluding with demons.
The First Prince had failed as well.
Although he hadn't done anything himself, the crisis on the southern border couldn't be separated from him.
More importantly, by doing nothing, he had already lost his right to compete for the throne.
That made the outcome clear.
Aurelian, despite appearing to have done nothing, had ultimately secured the right to inherit the throne.
The nobles from both factions could only smile and accept it all, pretending to happily welcome one another.
All because Viktor was Aurelian's teacher.
By himself, he had changed the attitude of every noble family in the Empire.
Although the nobles smiled on the surface, they felt miserable inside.
After all, the prince they had supported for so many years had suddenly fallen without any warning.
There hadn't even been any transition.
There was no doubt that when they returned to their families tonight, none of them would be sleeping.
Even though they were unwilling to accept it, the outcome had already been decided.
The nobles could only do everything they could to flatter Viktor, showering him with endless praise and compliments.
Even the way they addressed him became much more respectful.
None of it was without purpose.
Every noble still had their own plans.
At the very least, after everything settled down, they hoped to receive Viktor's support.
If they couldn't rise any higher, they at least wanted to keep their current positions.
In the distance, Liya folded her arms and tilted her head slightly. Watching her brother's reputation reach its peak, she couldn't help sighing.
Fortunately, neither raising a demon nor putting the Second Prince on trial had damaged the family's reputation.
To Liya, that was wonderful news.
"Looks like it's over. Another happy ending."
Liya stretched lazily and covered her mouth as she yawned.
Standing far away, she had received the best protection.
Kokot and Gwen had stayed nearby to guard her, allowing an ordinary person like her to safely watch the whole event.
Now, as the night grew later, sleepiness began to set in.
Her eyelids became heavier and heavier.
"Mm... Time to bring Viktor home."
Thinking that, she was about to walk over to Viktor when a puzzled voice sounded beside her.
"That's strange..."
Liya turned around and saw the hooded demon hunter with the rather modest chest.
She had one hand resting on her chin, deep in thought.
She had been the one who spoke just now.
Her words made Liya curious.
'Strange?'
'What's strange?'
'Isn't everything already over?'
The voice also drew Gwen's attention.
Both of them looked at the demon hunter in confusion.
Under their gaze, the demon hunter rubbed her chin and said, "The demon separated from the Second Prince, but..."
"Where did that demon go?"