Clatter-

The ground in the backyard made a noise as it moved.

“There’s no one here.”

Someone’s voice was heard softly through the cracks in the floor.

Clatter- Thud-!

The wooden plank covering the passage was lifted and then placed down a little distance away.

“I’ll go up first. Guh-cha-!”

With a shout, Hyle came up from beneath the ground.

Could there be any danger? He dusted off his hands, looked around, and then bent over towards the passage and opened his mouth.

“All clear. Please come up.”

“How on earth did they dig such a tunnel?”

Evan, having come up to the surface, dusted off his clothes and spoke, causing Hyle to shrug his shoulders.

“Well, it’s obvious for that era. They must have made the slaves of the palace dig it.”

Following Evan, Leopold and Noah also came up to the surface.

But then Leopold sniffed the air.

‘Something smells like it’s burning…’

A bad premonition flashed through his mind.

If the dark mages had brought Ariel here, then this burnt smell must be related to Ariel.

His red pupils trembled violently.

“What’s the matter, Your Majesty?”

The three, puzzled by Leopold’s behavior, soon wrinkled their noses at the burnt smell carried in the air.

“It seems there’s been a fire.”

Upon Evan’s words, Leopold sprinted towards the direction from where the smell was coming.

Circling around the castle, there was a fire burning under a huge pole.

The stench of smoke began to spread.

‘Someone seems to be hanging from the pole.’

Could it be Ariel?

Leopold squinted his eyes, trying hard to see what was hanging on the pole.

“Your Majesty.”

Behind him, Noah Diaz’s voice was heard, but Leopold still fixed his gaze and raised his hand for silence.

At that moment, Leopold’s eyes widened.

Bright blonde hair fluttering in the wind. A white training outfit just like his own.

It was Ariel.

‘How could this happen…!’

The fire was spreading along the firewood, growing larger.

If a little more time passes in this state, the tall pole might burn down, dropping Ariel into the fire, or Ariel might burn up from the heat of the fire.

“Ariel-!”

Leopold drew his sword from his waist and dashed towards the blazing pole.

She must have been so scared when she was captured by those cruel people and hung on the pole. It must have hurt.

Just imagining the pain and fear Ariel might have felt was tearing his heart apart.

‘First, I need to save Ariel.’

Any further delay might put her life in danger.

When he reached near the pole, he leapt into the air.

The fire was burning more intensely beneath him.

‘It feels like I’m suffocating from the heat alone, even though the flames haven’t touched me.’

Leopold Diaz bit his lips hard.

Floating in mid-air, Leopold walked in steps until he reached Ariel’s height.

Finally, Ariel’s pale face came into his view.

‘I can’t believe it.’

Under his furrowed brows, his red eyes wandered aimlessly.

Could she be dead?

No. That can’t be.

‘I won’t believe it until I see for myself.’

Leopold moved closer to Ariel.

That’s when it happened.

An attack came from below.

Bang-!

Leopold stepped back a few steps and swung his sword to neutralize the black magic attack.

He quickly turned his head towards the source of the attack.

“Leopold Diaz. How did you get here!”

Diaton stood there with a shocked face.

How dare you lay hands on the Empress of Atlan.

I’ve been holding back on wanting to touch and hug her more because I thought she might wear out just by looking at her.

Thinking of how they dragged her here and hung her on the pole with those filthy and dirty hands touching Ariel made him seethe with anger from head to toe.

Leopold gritted his teeth hard.

“Hyle, please take care of Ariel.”

“…I also ask of you. Please make sure that bastard pays for his crimes.”

“Of course. I’ll tear him limb from limb.”

Hyle kicked off the ground and flew into the air, passing by Leopold towards Ariel.

On the other hand, Leopold lowered his body and dashed towards the ground while swinging his sword.

***

Evan Clark and Noah Diaz were covering for Leopold and Hyle, slowly approaching them.

But then, their feet stopped dead when they heard Leopold screaming Ariel’s name out loud.

His desperate cry painfully pierced through Evan and Noah’s ears.

“The person hanging on that pole is my sister…!”

“It’s my fault. This happened because of me.”

Noah Diaz buried his face in his hands with a tormented expression.

He had no idea what Diaton was thinking to do such a thing, but one thing was certain: not only did he steal Ariel’s mana out of his dissatisfaction with him, but he also intended to kill her.

‘I should have warned him when I found out he sealed Ariel’s mana without my permission.’

At that time, I couldn’t have imagined that I would come to hold her so dearly in my heart.

And anyway, since Noah was put in charge of the White territory by Leopold’s orders, he had to work hard on managing and protecting the territory, and at least outwardly, he had to form a knight order and show that he was hunting demonic beasts…

‘I also entrusted Diaton with the task of finding the scattered wings.’

Diaton can boldly carry out such acts because he can exert greater power than the abilities he originally possessed.

The power of the wings imbued with the Demon King’s abilities.

Diaton is committing these harsh acts with the abilities originally possessed by Demon King Aristo.

‘Hopefully, he hasn’t gathered all the wings without informing me. If all the wings are gathered, pure evil might consume Diaton. If that happens, something irreversible will occur.’

Humans are not inherently evil, but Demon Kings are inherently evil.

A being that delights every time evil is perpetrated in the world, causing people to kill each other and wars to break out between nations.

If one gathers all the Demon King’s wings and absorbs their power, the evil of the Demon King will consume the human. No matter how good a person he was, he eventually becomes a person pursuing the embodiment of pure evil.

‘My judgment has become too poor after becoming human. I guess I trusted Diaton too much…’

Evan grabbed Noah’s shoulder and shook it. His expression showed a mix of bewilderment and anger, somewhere in between.

“What do you mean, Duke? What are you doing to know so much about dark mages!”

Evan knew only bits and pieces about Duke Noah Diaz.

Had he known this person was related to dark mages, he would have been wary of him from the moment Ariel came into contact with him in Norca.

Because he saved Ariel, Marquis Louis couldn’t harshly refuse his request to meet Ariel when he suddenly showed up at his house.

Thud, thud.

Just as Noah was about to say something to Evan, footsteps were heard from behind them.

They simultaneously turned their bodies around.

A dark mage in a black robe, Bill, was running towards them.

His left arm was wrapped in bandages.

“There have been cockroaches appearing in the castle. I wondered who brought them in, and it turns out it was Duke Noah Diaz.”

Bill let out an unpleasant laugh with a snicker.

What does it matter if one was a Demon King before turning back time? Now just a mere human, and not nearly as remarkable in ability compared to Lord Diaton.

‘I’ll put an end to you lot.’

Bill’s lips curled up sinisterly. He immediately put his hand in his mouth and whistled.

Whistle- Whistle-!

The sound of whistling used to call demonic beasts.

Duke Noah Diaz quickly drew his sword and looked at Evan standing next to him.

“Evan. Draw your sword quickly. The demonic beasts are coming.”

No sooner had he finished speaking,

Thudthudthudthudthudthudthudthudthud-!

The ground rumbled.

The tremendous sound of something running made Evan’s eyes go wide.

“He called the demonic beasts.”

A sound similar to animal cries but more sinister and bizarre was heard.

“What on earth is going on.”

Evan drew his sword and grumbled, making sure Duke Noah heard him.

“I will explain everything once this is all over.”

“You must answer every question without omission.”

“Understood.”

Boom!

The castle walls, which seemed impregnable, collapsed.

Shadows of demonic beasts faintly appeared through the whirlwind of sand blowing in the air.

‘There are unnecessarily many of them.’

Evan’s Adam’s apple bobbed up and down.