Whizz!

In the direction of the city center, not too far from here, a dazzling blood-red light streaking in the air with a strong sulfur smell shot across.

"Who dares to cause trouble in Uppsala City?!"

Due to the intruder's highest alert signal, he unhesitatingly charged towards Bach, who was as conspicuous as a bonfire.

"The Knight Commander is here!"

"It's Lord Morgan, the strongest in the Marquis Domain!"

Bach yelled, swinging to break the ropes off a tomboy and throwing her onto a nearby rooftop. He drew the [Thunder Fang] from his waist, obtained from Aiven, and advanced to meet the opponent.

Whether Atlanteans or Koyak people, they live in icy lands, their harsh environment bestows upon them tenacity embedded in their bloodline, all of which Bach inherited.

Even though he had just been promoted recently, he showed no fear against strong enemies.

Whizz! Whizz! Whizz!...

A flash of electricity, a flash of blood, flickered endlessly like specters.

The two fierce contenders turned their longswords into a storm, and the ear-splitting whistle filled several adjacent blocks.

On Bach's body, the divine electrical light sparked fiercely. With his outstanding talent, he could effortlessly wield [Secret Technique: Instant Flash] and [Secret Technique: Thunder Mercury].

When Aiven demonstrated this [Desperate Thunder Swordsmanship], it appeared grand and noble; in the hands of Bach, the world's second [Branded Swordsman], it was instead fierce and ruthless.

It drew from the mixed-blood youth's harsh, survivalist instinct when he once lived alone with a seven-gilled eel on a deserted island!

However, this stalemate did not last long.

Upon discovering the opponent's unfamiliar form of power and realizing the thunder attribute extraordinary was not easy to deal with, Morgan, known as the Knight Commander, abruptly revealed his trump card.

"Hah!"

As the Great Knight's heart pounded intensely, his body echoed with a mighty roar like a steam engine.

His body swelled greatly in size.

Muscles, like granite, gleamed with an iron color, and hot white steam erupted from every pore on his body, making him seem more like a terrifying, muscular armor than a human form.

[Bloodline Ability: Magic Power Release]

Boom——!

He brandished his sword, shattering half the street with one strike, dust, and snow erupted into the sky. 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝓮𝒘𝙚𝙗𝒏𝙤𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝒐𝙢

Evidently, he, too, was a demon species, and an upper-rank demon whose Tier 3 advancement was far ahead of Bach's.

With lightning underfoot, barely dodging within a fraction of a second, a cold sweat silently trickled down Bach's forehead.

Shh——!

Steam continued to gush out.

Seeing the increasingly non-human form of the Knight Commander, suppressing a growing madness, he raised his longsword again and advanced step by step.

Bach swallowed hard, realizing that sometimes words might be more effective than force.

"Wait, I mean no harm to this city!"

Step... step... step…

"I'm from the Bach Clan, and have much heritage with Atlant."

Step... step... step…

"I only wish to leave with the Bach family's descendants and legacy; shouldn't this honor of being the Saintess be given to someone else?"

Step... step... step…

Seeing that the adversary remained unmoved.

Bach realized that after revealing his demonic form, perhaps the Knight Commander's mind was consumed by a desire for slaughter, intending to erase any outsider who had seen such a state.

He sighed deeply, made a pause gesture with both hands, and solemnly said:

"My mentor is the Grand Duke Galliot, His Majesty Saint Aiven. Could you do me the honor of giving face to my teacher?"

Step!

Surrounded by swirling steam, Morgan's red-eyed steps suddenly halted, his eyes clearing significantly.

Bach effortlessly displayed a "Thorny Crown Sea Serpent Emblem" of the Galliot family in front of him.

I reveal myself; no more pretending.

From Aiven, a [Divine Creature], even the faint but high-level aura was like a bucket of cold water dousing Morgan's head, bringing him entirely back to his senses.

"Galliot... Your Majesty."

With human nature taking dominance, the Great Knight's eyes flickered between deep suspicion and fierce glints, making it clear that killing off for silence was not entirely off his consideration.

After a long while, he finally uttered, in an exceedingly hoarse voice as if speaking to himself:

"Huh, that esteemed individual's not here..."

Still trying hard to maintain the composure of a powerful extraordinary, especially in front of his subordinates.

"Oh, right, it is a pity indeed; perhaps my teacher will seek you personally then."

Bach said this while pointing to the sky.

A massive bird silhouette flashed across; it was a spiritualized Seagull, always connected to the [Mind Network].

Whoosh——!

Steam spewed, and the half-demonized Knight Commander restored his human form.

This careful individual who constantly kept a "combat recorder" on that kept one on their toes.

"Hmph, you can take both the person and the thing."

"Thank you, sir."

As electric light flickered, Bach and the tomboy had already disappeared from the scene.

"My lord, are we just letting them go like this?"

"Hmm? Send him to the Marquis's Mansion as a 'Holy Son'."

"Sir, no—!"

...

In the depths of the Marquis's Mansion, in a dark, sunless underground chamber.

Drip...

Rivers of blood flowed quietly around a rocky altar.

"Master of the Thorny Jungle, Wilderness God, Cunning Hunter, Wise Sage Kathy Morale....."

A faint buzzing echoed continually in the dark space.

The only light source was a stunning young girl with splendid red hair lying quietly on the altar.

The barefooted girl, clad in a luxurious red silk robe embroidered with gold thread, had her slender hands placed over her abdomen, her eyes tightly closed, as if in deep sleep, or perhaps dead.

On her left lay a pair of eagle wings, and on her right a massive black dog's hide.

Above her, the magic book, "Book of Remongaton," continually emitted blood light.

Outside this ominous glow stood a circle of black-robed figures, chanting prayers towards the girl in unison.

Any mystic visiting could see this was an extremely evil summoning ceremony.

The target was Duchess Kathy Morale, one of the seventy-two Demon Gods of the Lower Realm, and the stunning girl was merely a shell.

Though among the seventy-two of the Lower Realm there is no True God, their personalities at least hold the divine authority corresponding to that realm.

From highest to lowest there are distinctions like Dark Prince, Grand Duke, Cabinet Ministers, General, King, Duke, Marquis, Count, Noble Young Master, Demon, Servant Demon.

Duchess Kathy Morale is ranked 25th as one of the strong presences.

With many aliases like Gulasha, Gulachia Rapola, Katie Crinolas, and appeared in front of summoners in the form of a massive black hound with huge wings.

Besides a penchant for hunting down intelligent creatures, Kathy Morale imparts rich knowledge, especially in the sciences, to summoners, and can grant humans abilities like invisibility and hunting.

At this moment.

As the prayers rose abruptly.

Scrr—!

On the altar, the "girl's" eyes suddenly cracked open, revealing a sliver of blood light akin to that of a Cannibal Demon.

"Am... I the first to successfully descend into the material world?"