Chapter: 4

Karina looked at Ariel as if surprised, and Ariel made an awkward expression.
On Ariel’s back, Denian could be seen—his face gaunt, sleeping as if unconscious.

“It looks like he endured it through sheer mental strength.”

She was a little surprised, wondering what kind of thoughts such a young child must have clung to while enduring that tiny cell.
The little brat—he was tougher than he looked.

As Karina gazed at Denian, who lay asleep with a hollow, exhausted face and not a single tear shed, Ariel asked curiously,

“More importantly, how did you manage to endure it?”

Karina hesitated for a moment at the question, then brushed it off vaguely.

“I gained an ability.”

Well, having gained internal energy, it wasn’t wrong to say she had acquired an ability.

“Really? Wow! So you finally awakened too, Karina! What kind of ability is it?”

At Ariel’s over-the-top reaction, Karina sensed Isaac—who had been leaning against the wall with a bored expression some distance away—turning his gaze toward them.

Aware of Isaac’s eyes on her, Karina answered Ariel calmly.

“It’s a secret.”

There was no benefit in revealing her abilities in a place where enemies were everywhere.
Even if they seemed like allies.

She had experienced countless times how the closest allies could suddenly turn into enemies.

At Karina’s cold response, Ariel looked disappointed, but she didn’t press further.

Just then, the instructor’s voice rang out.

“Attention.”

Everyone except those who had fainted turned their eyes toward the instructor.

“For this test, fourteen have passed, excluding the six who either withdrew voluntarily or lost consciousness. Return to your quarters and rest.”

Looking around, Karina noticed that the two girls who had been following Isabella were nowhere to be seen.
Isabella herself stood there with her head lowered, her face full of resentment.

How did she manage to endure it?
She doesn’t look like she has that much mental fortitude.

At that moment, Karina’s nose—sharpened by the awakening of her internal energy—caught a powerful scent.

It was coming from Isabella.

A fragrance?

One of Isabella’s subordinates, a practitioner of Phantom Sound Demon Arts, had used techniques involving musk as well.

So that scent must be how she endured the room.

Just as Karina was about to accept it and move on, another smell brushed past her senses.

This is…?

The smell of burning.
A scorched scent, as if something had been seared by fire, drifted faintly through the air.

The source of the smell was one of the tiny cells lined up in a row.

As Karina passed by and glanced inside one of the rooms, she cast a sideways look at Isaac.

It was the room Isaac had been in.

Looks like he trained inside.

That was nothing unusual in the Demonic Cult.
Closed-door cultivation—there were even specialized chambers designed for training in total isolation.

Not bad.

At that moment, Isaac’s gaze met Karina’s.

When their eyes met, Isaac muttered something in her direction.

Judging by the shape of his lips—

“F—ing bitch.”

She took back what she’d said about him being impressive.

Once she regained her martial arts, she’d seal that bastard’s mouth first.

“Everyone, attention!”

The children who had been undergoing physical training in the open field stopped at the instructor’s command.

“Today, His Grace the Duke will be visiting, so do not slack off in your training!”

At the instructor’s announcement, the children began to murmur.

“The Duke is coming?”
“Really? That Duke of Batius?”

In contrast, Karina merely wore an indifferent expression, as if it had nothing to do with her.

What was so amazing about some duke that everyone was making such a fuss?

“Oh my goodness, Karina! It looks like the Duke is coming to watch our training!”

“What’s so great about a guy who just makes kids run themselves ragged?”

At Karina’s careless remark, Ariel gasped and hurriedly covered her mouth.

“Shh! Karina! What if the Duke hears you?!”

Was the Duke some kind of master of sound-based martial arts?
He hadn’t even appeared yet—how could he possibly hear?

Annoyed, Karina brushed Ariel’s hand away.

Unlike her, the other children looked fired up at the news of the Duke’s visit.

Even Denian—who always stood there blankly like an emotionless doll.

Seeing Denian, who never spoke, narrow his eyes sharply, Karina asked in confusion,

“By the way, why doesn’t he talk?”

At Karina’s question, Ariel looked at Denian with pity.

“Denian can’t speak.”

When Karina continued to stare in surprise, Ariel added bitterly,

“I think it’s a mental issue.”

Aphasia, maybe?
Well, none of my business.

Thinking that, Karina swung her wooden sword with sandbags strapped to her body—when suddenly, her body stiffened.

The flow of energy around her had changed.

Now that she could manipulate internal energy, she was sensitive to such things.

The currents of energy that had been lively and restless just moments ago suddenly became docile—like prey standing before a predator.

Before she could even question it, a chill ran down her spine.

At the same time, Karina snapped her head around.

There stood a man on the platform, looking down at her.

Jet-black hair like the depths of night, and crimson eyes that evoked the image of a demon.

Could it be him?

The Duke of Batius.

Such an overwhelming presence.

Even when she had faced the greatest experts of the Central Plains, she had never felt anything like this.

Not even when she met Namgung Hwi, who had reached the Profound Realm before her, had she felt such crushing pressure.

Is that even human?

Now that her dantian had formed and she could sense energy, she knew instantly.

He was stronger than anyone she had ever met.

And this dark, dense aura—

If a demon or demon god were to manifest, would it feel like this?

Come to think of it, she had felt something similar before.

Back when she was a child training at the Black Dao Hall.

She had once encountered Cheonma, Cheon Wi-cheon—the strongest cult leader in history—by chance.

That overwhelming aura he exuded.

It was incredibly similar to the one coming from this man.

The Heavenly Demon Divine Cult—no, the only being across the entire Central Plains to reach the Realm of Life and Death.

Compared to him, even her biological father, who had succeeded him as cult leader, paled in presence.

A man for whom the title Heavenly Demon fit perfectly.

If Cheonma were still alive, perhaps even she—who had remained in the Profound Realm—might have attained enlightenment and stepped closer to the Realm of Life and Death.

And now, that same oppressive current flowed from this man.

Just then, Ariel—belatedly noticing the Duke’s presence—tugged at Karina’s collar.

“Oh my gosh, it’s Duke Batius!”

So it really was him.

But why did he carry the same aura she had felt from Cheonma?

“Ariel.”

“Yeah?”

“Is Duke Batius strong?”

“In—cred—ibly strong! In terms of sheer martial power, he’s probably the strongest among the four great ducal houses that protect the Empire!”

This place had a far denser concentration of energy than the Central Plains she once lived in.

If what she was sensing was accurate—

Then it was entirely possible.

That man had undoubtedly reached the same realm as the Heavenly Demon.

The realm she could never surpass no matter how hard she tried.

“If I become the successor, will I learn the Duke’s swordsmanship?”

“Swordsmanship? I’m not sure about that, but I heard there’s a special power passed down only to the heirs of House Batius. And I heard the Duke is searching for a successor in order to pass that power on.”

“A special power…”

“I don’t know what kind it is, but they say it’s on a completely different level from the abilities we have.”

At that moment, the instructor’s furious shout rang out.

“You there!”

Startled, Ariel hurriedly corrected her posture and whispered,

“Karina! Stop staring at the Duke and train, train!”

Despite Ariel’s scolding, Karina didn’t withdraw her gaze from the Duke.

And Duke Batius was calmly staring right back at her.

She had found her reason to remain here.

A past where she could never even reach the Heavenly Demon’s feet, no matter how hard she tried.

A realm that even the brilliant Namgung Hwi had failed to attain.

This might be a chance bestowed by the heavens.

A chance to grasp the key to the realm she had long yearned for.

Duke Batius.

I will become your successor.

Karina curled her lips into a slow grin as she looked up at the Duke, who gazed down at her with cold eyes.