I, Kenneth, am going to get to the root of the problem today.

Page 101

"A blood ring that attacks the soul... does that mean that's the only option? Before that..."

With a wary eye on the sea of ​​flowers that could obstruct their movement at any moment, Hiel's body suddenly shot into the sky. The overflowing blood turned into fuel, igniting blood flames. The black key, burning with purifying fire, was thrown by Hiel and plunged into the rose sea like a machine gun. The scorching air currents ignited the vegetation, and the burst of flames made Hiel's rapidly moving figure appear illusory.

"Trying to burn down my garden? What an impolite fellow."

With a snap of her fingers, Rosean's flickering flames lost their heat like a mirage, and the burning flower sea instantly broke through the soil. A whooshing sound rang out as six black keys locked down the space for dodging.

"Honestly, this kind of stuff for dealing with inferior products is useless against me."

"But I didn't intend to use this against you."

The black key sank into the ground, the key handle's spell connected, and the rising barrier of light instantly imprisoned Rosanne within. The rules of the world distorted, the sea of ​​roses lost contact, and even the blood ring held by Rosanne was subtly restricted at this moment.

"Sanctuary, no, this smell is from Kromkurey's 'City, Kingdom,' and it can even use the Blood Ring? Only someone like you deserves to be in my collection! Agent!"

The cold light arrived in an instant, and all the black keys in Siel's hand shattered. Resisting Rojane's impact, Siel, now in a defensive stance, connected with the sword of light far away in the sky.

Chapter 266 The Defeated Death

The raven feathers that blotted out the sky, the crowds walking like puppets on the street, and the light barrier that flashed by in the distance—everything before their eyes undoubtedly indicated that the ritual prepared by Roya had begun. After sending the unconscious Arcueid into the constructed alternate dimension, Kenneth immediately turned his attention to Merry, who couldn't wait to jump out and cause trouble.

"What are you expecting? Hurry up, it's your turn."

"No, let me watch a little longer... Wait! What are you doing? Don't kick me! I can walk by myself!"

As the ritual began, Arcueid became agitated due to the power stolen by Roja. To prevent Arcueid from willingly surrendering, Kenneth forced Arcueid's soul into an offline state, relying on the Third Law to protect the soul and on Meryl's ability to sink into a dream, creating a virtual world to contain Arcueid's soul. When Kenneth destroys the Crimson Moon, the awakened Arcueid will be reborn.

"Relax, relax. Do you really think Miss Meryl is that unreliable? I would never do anything reckless!"

Patting her chest as she assured Kenny, Meryl, having stepped into the alternate dimension, slowly closed the barrier of space. To be honest, if it weren't for the need for Meryl to appease Arcueid's spirit, Kenny would never have allowed this scoundrel to interfere with Arcueid's problems.

"Here's a piece of advice: if you don't want to add another charge against your race, you'd better not interfere with Arcueid's soul."

With an OK sign, Meryl's figure completely disappeared from Kenneth's sight. The next second, an impact struck, the window shattered, and shards of glass pierced the surrounding walls like steel blades. Darkness crept into the room along the walls, and the chandelier inside flickered and then went out.

The harsh, hoarse cries drew closer, and the sound of wings flapping through the air lingered in Kenneth's ears. In the pitch-black darkness, the world silently replaced itself. Falling raven feathers landed on his skin, leaving a burning sting. Suddenly, from the darkness, two crimson eyes, like the moon, appeared out of nowhere.

quack--!!

A deafening screech echoed overhead, a fierce wind rustled the branches, and the black birds left on the withered branches followed with a chorus of cawing. A misty white fog rose, and birds representing the dead circled above Kenneth, their whispers constantly enticing him toward the endless fog ahead.

"The road to the underworld is one of no return; the other shore attracts the dead. Are you trying to send me to my grave?"

Wings swirled up mist, feathers exuded death, and the breath of life was lost in the strong wind. Within this barrier filled with death, Kenneth's soul faintly felt the urge to detach from his body. The decaying death aura took the opportunity to seep into his flesh, and the perfect body created by the Third Law gradually exuded a decaying aura under the authority of the Blackwing Lord.

"To drag death from the distant future into the present, to bestow indiscriminate death upon those who step into this space, to be a bird that guides the souls of the dead—to possess such authority, is it not worthy of being the familiar of the Moon King?"

Boom! It was as if something was pounding the world, crack! Something shattered in mid-air, crack! Crack! The image of the eroding world was covered in cracks as it trembled violently. A ferocious claw pierced through the barrier and entered the enchantment. Coming from the world of the image, the body of the Sixth Beast forcibly invaded the world built by the Blackwing Lord.

Death is something that no living being can avoid. It brings death to all who see it. This is the blood ring that Blackwing Lord possesses. Under this death that reaches the rule, even an immortal ancestor will decay in the barrier of no return. However, Blackwing Lord chose the wrong target.

The Third Law endowed Kenneth with an eternal soul, and physical death was no longer a condition for Kenneth's demise; the qualification of the Beast bound Kenneth to humanity, and human evil had to be overcome by humanity. The authority manifested alone gave Kenneth the highest resistance to death, and Kenneth's death could not be granted by a Dead Apostle.

"Unfortunately, the death you inflict is meaningless to me. Are you prepared to be shot down, Blackmoya?"

The calm voice carried no hint of bullying. Slowly raising its hand, the sixth beast, which had rushed into the bounded barrier, opened its mouth. Dark magic gathered, and the swirling air waves distorted the world in the mind's eye. The environment within the barrier rapidly turned gray and white, like an unreal photograph.

Realizing its authority was invalid, the crow, with a wingspan of thousands of meters, stirred up space with a somersault. The black mist under the moonlight turned into waves and surged down towards the ground. The desolate silence that filled the space dragged its feathers and shattered the space. Within the collapsing barrier, two extreme black forces collided across a vast distance.

Fragments of the world, bearing traces of the past, fall from the sky. The black ocean that shrouds the heavens rises violently from the impact of the ground. Death and prosperity, the darkness representing different powers, intertwine and hinder the world's repair. In this narrow gap between the mind and reality, flames that melt all things break through the pitch-black ocean.

Compared to the funeral bird with a wingspan of a thousand meters, scattering death, the flames that broke through the black ocean were merely insignificant beams of light, perhaps not even the size of a single feather. The pitch-black flames surged towards the shadowy figure, comparable in size to an asteroid, gently sweeping across the funeral bird's body. So gentle, so utterly gentle, that they didn't even stir a ripple; the flames were like a gentle breeze, like licking the body.

however!

Sizzle—! Like water poured onto scorching hot tiles, the pitch-black flames revealed their world-destroying power the moment they touched the Blackwing's body. The sky-covering, death-laden shadow melted away, and the seemingly gentle licking of the black flames was actually a low murmur from the end.

Brakmoya's eyes widened. This painless disappearance instilled a soul-deep fear in the messenger of death. Normally, the loss of a part of such a massive body would not be easily noticed, but now, this shell, thousands of meters in size, was disappearing at a visible rate. Every second, the body would melt away an unbelievable volume.

"How...how is this possible! There's not even a trace of pain?"

For the first time since his arrival, Blackwing uttered a sound, hoarse and terrified, in pain. No one likes pain, but the most terrifying way to die is to feel no pain at all.

"What a joke! I still have a mission to complete, I... I can't die!"

He used the power of death to block the flames, and the black waves gathered once again to try to drown the light, but the result was despairing. The black flames, along with death, disintegrated into the world.

Looking at its wings, which were mostly gone, and remembering the request it had made to Roya in order to welcome that king, the Black-Winged King, circling in the sky, let out a shrill and resolute cry. With a tearing sound, blood rained down from the sky, and along with its blood-stained wings, the Black-Winged King broke off its own wings.

Chapter 267 Fallen Death

Hesitation leads to trouble. Blackmore's decisiveness in seizing the Ancestor's seat in his familiar form after the moon sets is remarkable, even impressing Kenneth. Spiderweb-like blood lines crawl all over his body, and the shadows above the shattered world disintegrate with a roar.

Flesh and blood gave way and were dissolved upon landing, but the flames that dissolved the world did not stop there. The funeral birds that hovered around Brakmoa were dissolved the moment they touched the dark light. Perhaps these familiars, unaware of the danger, did not realize the karmic fire that was engulfing them until their deaths.

Seconds later, the pitch-black flames that had burned away all obstacles landed on the collapsed inherent barrier, breaking the balance between the reconstruction of the mental image and the correction of the world. The flickering flames indiscriminately disintegrated the two opposing forces on the spot.

"Still struggling? No, are you stalling for time? Looks like you've got a surprise in store for me too."

As magic continued to flow in, the nearly broken barrier was barely stabilized thanks to Brakmore's all-out repair efforts. Flesh and blood reassembled from mid-air, and Blackwing reappeared before Kenneth's eyes. However, compared to its previous wingspan of a thousand meters, Brakmore was now somewhat miniature.

Although Beast's authority did not display its original power against the Dead Apostles, who were also enemies of humanity, the flames that burned away humanity still left Blackwing with irreparable wounds. The same process of condensation and compression was repeated continuously. In just a few breaths, illusory light covered the black-gold wings like a shell.

A pale aura was gradually engulfing this desolate world. Wings covered its body, and the rapidly collapsing magic captured all the passing light, like a black hole. The black sun of death shone down on its feet with a chilling light that pierced the soul.

"Death and regret are all that lies beneath my wings, but I have long since transcended death."

As the Black Death sun set, it was as if a pent-up storm had suddenly erupted, and a burst of energy abruptly appeared. The Third Law—the Heaven's Cup—was a power that Kenneth rarely used, but now, in order to break through this crumbling Reality Barrier, Kenneth resorted to the most violent means.

The essence of a Reality Marble is a World Egg. As a world, its upper limit is predetermined. Souls, spirits, and bodies cycle without limit under the drive of the Third Law. Energy that violates the laws of thermodynamics expands at an exponential rate, shaking the heavens and the earth. The light that burns the world rushes into the darkness, and the foundation that constitutes this world trembles violently.

The muffled thud that pierced the 'egg' finally resounded across the sky. The collapsing death was inevitably submerged in this wave that could shake the planet. Immediately afterward, a terrifying storm burst forth from the cracks in the world, instantly transforming into a raging sea of ​​fire that covered the darkness. The collapsed heart seemed to burst into flames like dry tinder. The traces of Brakmoya were forcibly evaporated before our eyes at this moment. The sky was disintegrating, disintegrating to create a chasm leading to the real world.

However, that was not enough. The extreme white light completely covered the gray and white space within the shattered space, and the surging waves swept rapidly around Kenneth, who was standing in the illusion.

Tear——!!

The magical storm collided with the framework of the heart-shaped image, and the tornadoes brought up by the spreading wind pressure spread unchecked in the darkness behind the world. The images that made up the world were ignited like pieces of paper, and with a bang, the world summoned by the Blackwing Lord suddenly collapsed in the burst of flames.

The darkness of the real world replaced the cracked barrier. Before the world could be repaired, it was overwhelmed by the increasingly powerful magic. The magic, which could be ignited at any moment, sparked with the collision of the world. The long-accumulated energy burst forth at this moment, illuminating the planet with its scorching heat.

Even though more than 90% of the diffused energy dissipated into the cracks of the world, less than 10% of the light still illuminated the entire sky of Misaki. Even thousands of meters away from the sea of ​​fire, the Dead Apostles wandering the streets were scorched red, their bodies emitting bluish-white smoke. These ghouls, transformed into torches, screamed and searched for the darkness that should belong to the night under the intense light that pierced through flesh.

Extreme temperatures and terrifying energy density spread across the skies above Misaki City. If one were to approach the sea of ​​fire directly—no, even just getting a little closer—one's bones would likely melt at such temperatures. Sensing the raging fire capable of incinerating the city, Nero Chaos felt a surge of fear from his animalistic instincts. This fear stemmed from his primal unease about the intense heat and his dread of the beast within the flames.

But both he and Roya were staring intently at the sea of ​​fire above, their eyes pierced by the intense heat and light, because they both knew that the success of the plan depended entirely on the state of the person bathed in the flames.

"What a terrifying man. With such strength, he barely qualifies to serve me."

In the same sea of ​​fire, but in a different area, Altrouge gazed at the intense heat above, while around her, the blood of the poisonous world constantly attempted to contaminate her delicate and petite body.

"I am fine, Lord Stuart. I underestimated those traitors. They thought these curses would corrupt me? Did they really think my will was so weak?"

Her expression remained calm, but the restless blood of the True Ancestors undoubtedly indicated that Eltrauge's current situation was far from unharmed. The fact that Brad, lying in pieces beside Stuart, was already a clear indication of the current predicament.

“If I’m not mistaken, I will see that man next, but this situation is not in my favor. Lord Stulbit, take Bremett and Brad and deal with those reptiles for me.”

"Your Highness, we should..."

With a wave of her hand, she shattered the poisonous blood that had transformed into chains, and Altrouge directly stopped Stuart's request to stay and guard her.

"It's alright. I've long been prepared to personally assess that man. Besides, I won't let these things control my mind. I am the Black Blood Moon that forever reigns in the sky. Let the delusions of this mere traitor fall under my control!"

Suddenly, the world's poison that had gathered was completely controlled by Altruki. Altruki's will twisted the world at this moment, and the power of the contract backfired on the ritual. Altruki, wearing a black dress, appeared in the world in her complete form.

Just then, the flames in the sky caved in like a curtain, and at the same time, all the non-human creatures remaining in various corners of Misaki City turned their gazes toward the sky.

"Aaaaaaa——!!"

Beneath the sea of ​​fire that covered the entire night sky, Brakmoya's hoarse roar, filled with pain, resounded. The agony conveyed in that roar made everyone watching the battle feel the excruciating pain of being burned alive.

Immediately afterwards, everyone saw the figure falling from the terrifying sea of ​​fire. The funeral bird, hundreds of meters in size and charred black, fell down. It was Blackwing. But a few seconds later, everyone’s attention was focused on the man who was standing on Blackwing’s body and looked like a grain of rice.

With white hair and red eyes, he trampled Blackwing Duke, one of the Twenty-Seven Ancestors, under his feet in human form. His upright body showed no signs of scorching. Under the raging flames, his equally red skin indicated that this man had also emerged from a sea of ​​fire.

“What a monster. I didn’t expect that even Brakmoya couldn’t stop him? What are you going to do then, Michael? That Ancient Red has also broken free from your ritual.”

Still looking confident of victory, Roya showed no change in emotion despite Chaos's sarcasm.

"The raven has already fulfilled its purpose as a sacrifice, allowing us to know that guy's abilities. As for that princess, my ritual is not so easy to get rid of."

The Blood Ring is a constraint above the Testament, a curse left by Roya within the blood of poison. Even though Altrouge has freed herself from the abnormality floating in the bloodline of the True Ancestor through her will, this deeply buried commandment still affects her will. Through Altrouge's consideration for Kenneth, Roya invisibly transferred his resentment towards Kenneth to Altrouge.

"Is that so? The master of the throne has not yet appeared, and it seems that your ritual has not found its master."

"It doesn't matter, no matter where! My ritual will find her! This is the bond between me and the princess!"

Looking at Roya, whose face was contorted with madness, Nero Chaos felt a deep unease for some reason.

Chapter 268 The World Dominated

A dark shadow descended from the sky, piercing through the clouds and crushing the sea of ​​fire. With a deafening roar, beneath the massive black-winged giant's hundred-meter-tall body, a hundred-meter-high building collapsed like a toy. Amidst the flying rubble, Kenneth's figure stepped through the dust and appeared in the real world.

With a strong, powerful heartbeat, the magic nurtured by the Third Law flowed continuously into every corner of his body. In just a few breaths, Kenneth's skin, which had turned red from the high temperature, returned to its normal state.

"You truly keep refreshing my impressions. With your perpetual motion magic and vibrant life force, I can hardly wait to taste you."

Unlike her usual petite figure, Altrouge now appeared before Kenneth with a tall and slender form. Looking at Altrouge, who bore a resemblance to Arcueid but appeared particularly reserved, Kenneth's gaze finally fell on the illusory chains hovering around Altrouge.

"I see. Was your part as the True Ancestor affected? You were even able to control the ritual in return. Your will is a bit beyond my expectations."

The 'poison that kills the world' is a ritual to capture the True Ancestor. As a hybrid with the blood of the True Ancestor, Altruki was naturally included in the ritual. Moreover, through those chains, Kenneth saw a deeper blood ring. Kenneth had to acknowledge Altruki's resilience in bearing such a curse and still maintaining her true self.

"There's no need for such formalities. Although I'm not in the best of health right now, it's enough to judge you. Whether you can become my husband depends on whether you have the magnanimity to make me submit to you!"

Altruchi didn't care about the current situation, nor did she care about the impact of the ceremony covering Misaki City. After her encounter with Kenneth, Altruchi's only purpose in staying in Misaki City was to bring Kenneth into her fold. As for those rebellious subjects who dared to defy her, she could deal with them after she had Kenneth under her control.

The Black Blood Moon emerged from the sea of ​​fire that burned the sky, and its radiant light fell entirely upon Altruki. Bathed in this power of returning to the origin, Altruki's aura rapidly ascended towards the limits of this world.

"I am Altrudge Brunstadt, and the world submits to me!"

With a resounding boom, the world responded to Altrouge's call. An invisible contract enveloped this realm, and the dominating power brought all that existed on the planet's surface under its control.

Suddenly, Kenneth felt a sense of oppression. The planet beneath his feet was resisting him, and the world he was in was rejecting him. The air, the temperature, the light... everything that humans use to sustain life was refusing to take from this body. It seemed that with every step he took, Kenneth was going against the entire world. The ground made a terrible cracking sound. If it were anyone else, they would probably have been crushed into a pile of minced meat by now.

However, this was not the end. The blood in his body slowed down, and even flowed backward. The flesh under his skin bulged uncontrollably under the pressure of the inner and outer worlds. The strange movements coming from his body were undoubtedly telling Kenneth that his body was being controlled by Altruchi.

With just a word, Altrouge placed her will above the planet's rules. Looking at Kenneth, who was still standing in the same spot, Altrouge gracefully raised her five fingers.

"Your frail flesh and blood are unworthy of your will. Come into my embrace, and I will give you the power to rule the world."

As Kenneth watched the delicate hand slowly reach towards his heart, he analyzed the power emanating from the world and, under the gaze of Eltruch, raised his arm. Kenneth had experienced something similar—fighting against the consciousness of the world—even before acquiring this power.

"I prefer to obtain the power to dominate the world myself rather than have it bestowed upon me by others."

Crack! Crack! The sound of rules shattering seemed to echo through the soul. Kenneth's arm broke through the barriers and directly blocked the hand that was trying to pierce his chest. The power of the Sixth Beast was released, and the gray space replaced the world.

"Interesting, very interesting! Your will has been granted, so let me savor your taste! My husband!"

The sheer force of breaking free from the world's will was enough for Altrouge to acknowledge Kenneth's magnanimity. Her five fingers intertwined around his arm, and immense pressure descended upon him. Kenneth's body felt a restraint far greater than ever before. Altrouge's exquisite features appeared before Kenneth's eyes with her dance-like steps.

"As my future husband, you should gratefully accept my first time!"

With her lips slightly parted and her silver teeth barely visible, Altrouge's right hand climbed up her neck, her warm breath landing on Kenneth's skin. Her increasingly lowered red eyes clearly revealed Altrouge's intentions.

Vampireism, or the first embrace, is the most direct means for vampires to create familiars. If there is any difference between this and creating ordinary familiars, then Altruchi is performing her first embrace with the power of contract and domination, completely transforming Kenneth with her own power, so that he serves her, the King of the Dead Apostles, as an Ancestor.

"I'm sorry, I think being a good person is great, and I prefer being proactive to being passive."

As the gray world faded and colors emerged, Altrouge suddenly realized that her body had lost its control, just as Kenneth's words fell. Relying on the neighboring dystopian realm, Kenneth dismantled Altrouge's dominance and incorporated it into this world, using his own power to drive it, placing his will above it. Thus, the rules of the dystopian world became increasingly perfect, and Kenneth's will became the master of this space.

"Is this feeling my power, or is it this world? I never expected you to be able to do this, but don't underestimate me!"

Subtly, Altrudge's will showed signs of breaking free of its shackles, causing the dystopian realm to tremble slightly. Seeing that Altrudge still refused to bow her head, Kenneth raised his hand and lifted Altrudge's chin.

"What a disobedient kitty. But I don't have time to train you right now. Just be quiet for a bit."

The dystopian world responded to Kenneth's domination. The oppression emanating from the Sixth Beast instantly shattered Altruki's barrier. Radiant white magic emerged from her palm, and with a snap, Altruki's consciousness finally sank into darkness under the suppression of the Third Law. Kenneth reached into her soul, and the illusory chains that had bound Altruki due to the ritual were immediately torn off.

"Ha, chains pointing to the soul, you really have guts!"

Now that things have come to this, Kenneth finally understands Roya's plan: to capture Arcueid with the poison that kills the world, and then graft his soul onto Arcueid's consciousness with these cursed chains, replacing Arcueid's existence with his own fragmented obsessions. It has to be said that with Roya's audacity, even the King of Hell would give him a good beating.

"That aura, which direction is it coming from? They've really hidden far away."

Guided by these chains, Kenneth walked toward Roya, toward that scoundrel who sought to replace Arcueid.

Chapter 269 The Expedition

The ritual to poison the world continued to accumulate, and as the sword of light from the stratosphere fell to the ground, the crimson full moon, hidden behind thick cirrus clouds, was revealed to all eyes.

Golden light streaked across the ground, leaving a ravine a hundred meters deep. The great cathedral that imprisoned Rojane exploded with a deafening roar from the rapidly expanding impact. The scorching blast of air scraped the ground, tearing the swaying building into pieces. The dried-out branches burst into flames, and it was in these infernal ruins that, amidst the rubble scorched red-hot, rose a plume of rubble, where Hiel, his blood drained, struggled to his feet.

The Star of Galvallo, a grand magic woven from the Blood Rings of the Twenty-Five Ancestors, is also the strongest attack method that Hiel has mastered to date. The rose garden has been burned to ashes, and the thorny vines lurking underground have also been carbonized by the swirling air waves. Through the gaps between his fingers, Hiel, holding the black key, is doing his best to search for Rojaan's whereabouts.

The night winds blowing from all sides diluted the scorching heat in the air. Apart from the crackling sound of burning wood, Siel, whose body was taut, could not hear anything. It seemed that there was no other life in this flickering sea of ​​fire, but even so, Siel, holding the black keys, still kept his body tense.

Time ticked by, until the rocks cooled and the sparks disappeared. Siel, still alert, did not put down the black keys in his hand. Just then, the world in Siel's eyes rippled like a lake, and Rosie, dressed in white, appeared in the ruins without a trace of dust.