"Ku-ku-ku…"


    With eyes widened in shock, the people in the castle looked at Land. His heavy and sinisterughter echoed throughout the room, astounding them just as much as it chilled their spine.


    ''What just happened?'' everyone thought.


    It was very close for Land; had the miracle happened just a few millisecondste, he would have been reduced to ashes. Still, calling it a miracle would be unfair since he seemed to have known in advance that something like that would happen.


    Thud!


    Too focused on Land, they were flustered by the sound they heard. They immediately turned their head towards the direction where the sound came, and found the shredded bodies of the Guardians who had been trying to kill him.


    Instantly, those who knew what Land was capable of figuring out what had happened. The reason why the defence mechanism was deactivated at thest moment was that those who powered it had died.


    Land, using his skill: [Senbonzakura], killed all of them at once. He had deliberately waited until all of them were connected, so he could reap as much as he could from them.


    "Do you know how good it feels seeing the disbelieving face of your opponent?" putting hisughter to a stop, Land asked. "The moment when they realized that what is happening isn''t up to what they expected to happen—it''sughably amusing."


    Standing behind the Barrier protecting him alone, Iorael stared at Land with his stone-cold face. Disbelief, bemusement, indignation, shame—he wanted none of the things he felt currently.


    Everything should have gone ording to n. With the help of the Elders, he and Elrohir would share the throne, and finally break their current status quo, which was being neutral, so they could be a race with a concrete standing in the world.


    He just wanted the best for the Dark Elves. He didn''t ignore Teanosvera''s for his own benefit; he wanted to bring Lysimork to a new era where they were known not as the cursed Light Elves but as another part of the Elven Race with a different ideology.


    "Haletha, you don''t know what you are doing, aren''t you?" Iorael asked solemnly. "Lysimork—the entire society of Dark Elves is on the brink of copse. We haven''t partaken in any major event for thest two decades … People are slowly forgetting us."


    "What is your point, Iorael?"


    "I just want the best for our people! I want us to be known! I want everyone in this world to know we are different from the Light Elves—we are not the failed version of them!" Iorael became emotional. "I just… want us to exist."


    "We do exist—we don''t need people''s recognition to prove that we do," Haletha retorted calmly. "You failed to understand that simple thing and you thought that I was the one dragging our whole race down—I don''t, Iorael."


    "This shameless harlot!"


    "Look around you, Iorael. No, I don''t think it is proper to say that in this kind of situation." Haletha shook her head faintly. "Tell me, Iorael, in which part of Lysimork have you encountered a suffering Dark Elf?"


    "…"


    "I know what you wanted, but there is a catch to your desire: you have to involve all of our citizens in a war we can never win. You, of course, will bring Lysimork to a new era by doing that but I am sure it is not for the better."


    "Shut it! You and your ancestors don''t know anything about what it means to exist!"


    "Oh, we do know but we prioritize everyone''s livelihood first and foremost." Haletha''s gaze got instantly cold. "Unlike you, who are too busy thinking your own desire, we set our priorities right."


    Iorael could no longer find anything to say; the more he heard Haletha speak, the more he realized how wrong he was. Of course, that didn''t mean he was willing to admit he was wrong—he was too prideful to do that.


    Boom!


    Crack!


    "Enough talk?"


    Land''s sudden appearance before him shocked Iorael. He had gotten too carried away with the conversation he had with Haletha to remember he still had Land to be concerned about.


    Luckily for him, the Barrier protecting him was strong enough to protect him. Although it had cracked quite severely, it could still withstand another one of Land''s attacks.


    … Or so he thought.


    Shatter!


    "Impossible!"


    The moment Land destroyed his Barrier by just simply bursting his Mana out of the tip of Rexorem, Iorael widened his eyes in panic. He was as bewildered as he was terrified by how strong Land had be.


    It had also been the case when he had fought Land outside of the pce: the longer he fought, the stronger Land became. He had felt yed, but now it was happening to him again much to his irritation.


    Dash!


    Utilizing his Footwork Technique, Iorael got away from Land. Much to his surprise, Land merely stood there as he put Rexorem on his shoulder.


    Soon after, Iorael realized the reason why Land didn''t even bother to chase after him: it was time for Eliseus and Haletha to shine. Clicking his tongue in annoyance, he abruptly stopped in his tracks and then assumed a stance as he prepared a Spell.


    "Mountain Pier—what the hell?!"


    Just as he was about attack the two, however, the ground below him cracked open. He fell right into the crack, all the while thinking about what had just happened.


    He, of course, didn''t just ept his fate and did nothing to get himself out of the situation. Being a Dark Elf, he was also well-versed in Earth Magic—casting a simple Earth Spell, he stopped his fall.


    "No one should be able to use Earth Magic in this room—not even Haletha," Iorael muttered to himself. "Unless Teanosvera broke his promise to stay neutral, this shouldn''t be possible."


    The pce was the safest ce for rulers. In Lysimork, the pce was designed to impair the Dark Elves quite significantly by preventing them to use Earth Magic, which could be done by making the floor of the pce with a special stone that blocked Earth Magic.


    Essentially, Earth Magic could still be used, but one needed to be a Forest Spirit to do that because only Earth Essence could pass through the special stone that separated those inside the pce from the earth.


    The reason why it was designed to impair the Dark Elves was that the odds of having the other racee and conquer their Kingdom were minuscule. In the very first ce, very few of them even knew where Lysimork was.


    Knowing the nature of Dark Elves, it was easy to tell who had the most possibility to overthrow the rulers—none other than their own kin. The rulers of Lysimork made the pce that way to give them time to escape in case their people suddenly invaded the pce.


    "It shouldn''t be possible—is that what you are thinking?"


    The voice that he suddenly heard startled Iorael. He immediately turned to the direction where the voice came, only to be surprised by the grip around his neck.


    "You—keuk!"


    "Yo, do you know how long I have wanted to snap this neck of yours?" Land, who was grasping Iorael''s neck, smirked.


    After killing the thirty-eight Guardians at the same time with [Senbonzakura], he was already just as strong as Iorael. How? One might wonder. The Guardians had been weaker than him, so getting power-ups from them shouldn''t be possible, right? It is possible.


    Although weaker than him, the Guardians were connected to each other—they shared their power, which made them stronger than they really were. Added to that fact, their power was also boosted by the Runes inscribed for the pce''s defence mechanism.


    An idea popped up in his mind at the time. ''What if I kill them at the same time? Will I gain a power-up that is equivalent to their individual strength when being connected to each other and boosted by the Runes?''


    Deciding to be bold, he tested the idea right away. He intentionally waited until they had finished their preparation even though he could stop them anytime he wanted.


    Much to his pleasant surprise, it worked. Even better, each of them was as strong if not slightly weaker than Iorael.


    "You see, I actually no longer have any intention to kill you—your death no longer means something to me. I do still want to ask you something though."


    Iorael just harrumphed coldly.


    "You see, I was actually quite surprised when I saw Logan here. I didn''t expect you could easily invite Heroes, so I am really curious about how you can summon them. You know, I want to ask you the way to contact them. You seem to know quite a lot of them."


    Iorael merely stared at Land coldly, showing no intention to answer him. Land smirked at that Iorael and grasped his neck tighter as he activated his Demon King''s Mark.


    "Speak, mongrel."


    As soon as the mark lit up, Iorael''s eyes widened in utter shock. Everything now made sense: why he felt something familiar about Land, and the absurd ability Land had.


    His mouth moved without his consent, blurting out everything that Land wanted to know. A Geas—a Demon King''s Geas was already carved on his forehead; it became the reason why he obeyed Land''smand.


    Instantly, he felt maybe dying wasn''t such a bad thing. Knowing that a new Demon King was already born, he could imagine how chaotic the future would be.