True Sight activated almost immediately, giving Ethan the ability to examine the man standing before him, searching for the slightest trace of a visual illusion. But there was none, neither were the two demons actively circulating mana.

And somehow, that only made Ethan even more annoyed at the situation. "What kind of sick joke is this?!"

"It’s... him," Eduardo said. He hadn’t taken his eyes off Lord Krygon for even a second.

Ethan’s attention was instantly drawn to his butler. "What?"

Still staring ahead, Eduardo spoke again. "I would never forget Master Nathan’s scent..." His voice trembled slightly. "It’s... him."

Others, like Isabella, had been completely lost until Eduardo uttered that name. Her expression slowly changed as she turned back toward the Demon Lord, her eyes searching his face with a sense of puzzlement.

For the next few seconds, Ethan refused to accept what he was seeing, and in a bid to make sure there wasn’t any foul play at work, he sent controlled bursts of static through his own neural system, deliberately disrupting his neural signals in an attempt to break free from the effects of any possible mental interference.

But after that, it didn’t seem like he was being deceived. Moreover, unless one were some sort of higher-level being, it was almost impossible for that many Grand Classes to all be subjected to an illusion simultaneously.

Finally, Lord Krygon—or rather, Nathan—spoke. "I had hoped my return to this family would be under better circumstances."

Even his voice... it sounded painfully familiar.

But Ethan cut him off before he could continue. "If you’re really who you expect us to believe you are... then why are you after the girl?"

At this time, Ishtar was still within the manor.

Ethan took another step forward. "In fact, look at everything you’ve done just to get her. You were prepared to ruin over a thousand innocent lives, all for one girl."

He shook his head. "So forgive me if I’m not buying this bullshit display standing in front of me."

What Ethan had just mentioned was the exact same conflict raging within everyone else’s hearts, especially Eduardo and Francesca, who desperately wanted to believe the impossible—that their master was truly standing before them.

But every one of those thoughts was being crushed beneath the reality that this man had nearly plunged the country into disaster, all in pursuit of Ishtar.

Nathan continued staring at Ethan without the slightest change in his expression.

Right then, the Prince slowly raised his sword toward Nathan as his hand trembled with rage. "You bear the crest of the Krygon Family. That means you are Demon Lord Krygon."

"And if you are that Demon Lord... then not only have you chased Ishtar all the way here, you were the one responsible for wiping out her family five years ago, leaving her as the only survivor you imprisoned and experimented upon for half a decade."

Rayleigh knew there was nothing he could realistically do against a Demon Lord. But none of that mattered because, at that moment, he simply couldn’t suppress the anger boiling inside him.

Nathan closed his eyes and let out a weary sigh before opening them again and speaking.

"There has been... a great misunderstanding regarding the true sequence of those events. But if you wish to judge my actions, then hear the reason behind them first."

"Irene, my wife, has been taken prisoner."

The revelation hit them again with renewed levels of shock and disbelief.

Nathan continued. "The reason I have searched for the girl is because the power she possesses may be the only thing capable of allowing me to fight against the Dragon Emperor, the one who has kept Irene captive for all these years."

Ethan’s expression hardened. "No... no... This is bullshit."

He shook his head. "From everything we know, demons are more than capable of transferring souls into different bodies. So yes... that may very well be my father’s body, but the soul inside it could belong to someone else."

He gestured toward Nathan. "And whoever that soul is would naturally inherit his memories after taking over the body. This is nothing but another elaborate attempt to manipulate us."

Nathan quickly replied, "I could prove it by showing you, but I’m afraid I cannot use magic."

His gaze shifted briefly toward the sky.

"It would seem the fellow in black is capable of perceiving demonic mana from quite some distance. I have no desire to draw him here."

It was part of the reason Lord Krygon and Jillia weren’t releasing the slightest trace of mana since arriving here, as they were deliberately suppressing it from Norman.

But suddenly, Ishtar walked out through the front door, causing everyone to turn toward her.

There was a green glow burning in her eyes with such furious intensity, while enormous amounts of green mana continuously poured from her body.

Francesca immediately reached toward her. "My dear—"

Before she could finish, Ishtar shot past her and everyone else, arriving above the ground in flight while locking her eyes onto Nathan.

"YOU!"

Her voice echoed with uncontrollable hatred.

Ethan’s eyes widened. "Ishtar, wait—"

In that moment, a colossal torrent of energy burst from her outstretched hand toward both demons.

Having no other choice but to defend themselves, Nathan immediately stretched one hand toward the incoming blast, bringing forth a gigantic purple magic circle before them that defended against the emerald beam as it slammed into it.

The collision shook the ground.

Ishtar screamed as more mana flooded from her body, causing the blast to intensify into an overwhelming torrent that completely engulfed Nathan and Jillia as the explosion spread outward, swallowing the compound in blinding green light.

...

When the light finally began to fade, a gigantic crater had claimed a good part of the courtyard as dust drifted through the air.

Nathan and Jillia were gone, seemingly vanishing from the place.

Ishtar breathed heavily as she continued glaring at the empty space before her, her fists clenched in anger.

Everyone simply stared at her, looking stunned, yet understanding her reaction.

She had heard enough of the conversation from inside to let all that hatred consume her at once.

——

At the palace...

It had been several hours since the appointed time Lord Krygon had given for Ishtar to be surrendered to him. The elaborate ambush prepared within the palace had ultimately amounted to nothing, as the Demon Lord had never appeared.

King Carson was currently seated on his throne while General Iroh stood before him alongside several captains of the Imperial Guard as they were all in some sort of deliberation.

"I’ve already received reports from the Chief Enforcer," General Iroh was saying. "He has dispatched officers throughout the capital and the surrounding cities, and there have been no reports of any civilians suddenly going on a rampage."

He paused before adding, "Perhaps... the spell truly worked, Your Majesty."

But Carson replied, "We still have no idea where that Demon Lord is hiding."

Just then, the doors of the throne room slowly opened as two Palace Casters entered with their heads respectfully lowered. One of them, a lady, carefully carried a small velvet cushion with a black orb resting atop it.

She stopped several steps before the throne and bowed. "Your Majesty."

King Carson frowned slightly. "What is it?"

"The Western Coalition has called for an emergency meeting," she replied.

The King looked almost surprised. "An emergency meeting? The next meeting wasn’t due for another three days."

"Yes, Your Majesty," the Caster replied. "However, new instructions have just been received."

She gently raised the velvet cushion toward him. "The summons was delivered through the Transmission Orb."

King Carson gave a slight nod before the Caster stepped forward and presented the orb. He gently placed a hand upon its smooth black surface and channeled his mana into it.

The orb immediately responded, and a large magic circle appeared beneath the King’s feet as the spell activated.

At the same time, fine luminous patterns spread across his eyes. They resembled countless translucent lines sweeping over his irises, as though some invisible magical scanner had passed through them.

From that moment onward, King Carson was no longer truly looking at the throne room before him.

-

Inside a vast circular conference chamber, a holographic projection suddenly materialized upon one of the empty seats surrounding the enormous round table.

The projection then solidified into the complete image of King Carson, who looked around to see that the other rulers had already arrived.

Each of them was merely a magical projection, just like himself.

Although none of their physical bodies had actually left their respective nations, the transmission system reproduced them so perfectly that it appeared as though everyone there was sharing the same room.

The Transmission Orb was one of the greatest collaborations between magical engineering and modern technology, a system that utilized long-range magical synchronization and holographic projection to allow the continent’s leaders to conduct meetings without ever leaving their countries.

Meanwhile, within the throne room back in Gritnia, the black orb began echoing every conversation taking place inside the conference chamber.

The other Caster who had come in with the lady held a scroll and quill, and as the discussions unfolded, he carefully recorded every word, producing the official minutes of the meeting while their King participated through the projection.

President Julius was seated at the head of the table, and the rulers and representatives of the nations of the Western Continent sat around him.

Dark Nova was present as well. Unlike the others, he attended not as a ruler, but as an agent who had a matter to report.