Chapter 467: Crushed
Countless demon hunters wearing enigmatic masks materialized from the shadows like emerging constellations, moving with predatory grace.
Witnessing this development, the Second Prince—trapped in his bull-headed demonic form—felt his consciousness explode with deafening reverberations.
Those crimson eyes swept the perimeter with savage intensity, cataloguing each hunter wielding their exotic weaponry.
Finally, his gaze locked with deadly focus upon the woman commanding their center.
Though her face bore a mask carved with intricate patterns, that unmistakably distinctive silver hair stirred immediate recognition among all present.
Combined with Viktor's recent declaration, her identity became unmistakable.
"The... the Empress?"
One noble stammered in complete bewilderment, voicing what others dared not believe.
This can't be right!
This is the Empress?
Every surrounding noble stared with bulging eyes, exchanging looks of mutual disbelief.
The Empress is a demon hunter?!
Their minds reeled, utterly incapable of processing such a revelation.
Even the typically composed First Prince stood frozen in shock.
His gaze had lost all focus—like a marionette with severed strings—staring blankly at Claudia's measured approach.
The First Prince recalled their recent encounter in the royal capital.
Unlike Owiser, he treasured family relationships above all else.
Back then, Empress Claudia had been strolling through palace gardens.
Surrounded by dancing butterflies and blooming flower beds, she'd embodied grace, nobility, gentleness, and dignity—an image forever etched in his memory.
But this current Empress bore no resemblance to that cherished recollection.
Though he hadn't seen his mother for an extended period, still...
Her former virtue and tenderness had vanished completely, replaced by an aura of lethal frost.
The silver spear in her grasp resembled an enraged dragon.
Poised to explode from her hands at any moment, ready to shred the demon before her into countless fragments.
The First Prince peered through her mask at those exposed features.
He couldn't forget—these were unmistakably Empress Claudia's eyes.
Yet that crimson orb dominating half her face filled him with unprecedented alienation and dread.
Slowly, he turned toward Viktor.
At this moment, Albanie finally grasped the complete picture.
Viktor had detected the demonic presence within Owiser long ago.
Therefore, he'd been stalling from the very beginning—ensuring knights could evacuate surrounding civilians.
While systematically provoking Owiser's rage, completely drawing forth his inner demon.
Until their mother—the Empress herself—made her appearance.
To deliver Owiser's final judgment.
Claudia gripped her spear shaft with both hands, spinning the weapon through several aerial rotations.
Its gleaming tip carved brilliant trajectories through the air.
Those crimson eyes hidden beneath her mask flashed with traces of scarlet radiance.
She slowly raised her head, locking gazes with Owiser in his giant bull-demon form.
The instant their eyes met, Owiser's crimson pupils contracted sharply.
His voice emerged trembling, like chaotic bell tolls resonating from all directions:
"Mo... ther?"
With that single word—'Mother'—every lingering doubt dissolved completely.
The nobles stared wide-eyed while even distant Lia and Gwen heard with perfect clarity.
Now it was irrefutably confirmed.
Who could have imagined that the Emperor's wife—Empress Claudia—was actually a demon hunter?
This revelation left Owiser bewildered, Albanie stunned, and every noble equally confounded.
No wonder—this explained why Empress Claudia had abandoned the royal capital for over a decade.
She'd left the empire to hunt demons.
But now, an even more chilling realization gradually dawned upon these nobles.
Everything unfolding seemed like perfect orchestration.
The precise timing of Owiser's demonic transformation coinciding exactly with Empress Claudia's emergence as a demon hunter.
Like an elaborately choreographed trap.
And the architect behind these events...
Every gaze converged upon Viktor.
If this sequence constituted a mission, then Viktor was undoubtedly its mastermind.
Now every condition had been perfectly fulfilled.
The Second Prince's demonic collusion stood exposed—he would face royal judgment personally.
Especially during this critical succession struggle.
The Second Prince's true nature had been completely revealed.
He no longer possessed any claim to the throne.
Now, that bull-headed demon concealed within the clouds finally regained awareness.
It extended massive hands from the cloud cover, clutching its own skull.
Those crimson eyes gradually disappeared behind giant palms as the sky plunged into silent darkness.
If one could observe its expression, they would discover—
At this moment, the Second Prince's eyes trembled uncontrollably.
"No... what have I just... done?"
"I was manipulated into rage?"
Finally, the Second Prince grasped the situation's gravity.
Through waves of profound self-doubt, he finally understood—those three demons had never intended genuine combat.
Their punches and kicks, those mockery-laden taunts, even Greed's betrayal—
Every action pointed toward identical purpose:
Luring him into a meticulously designed snare.
The Sloth demon had made his thinking sluggish and heavy.
The Greed demon had amplified his desires to extremes.
While the Wrath demon proved crucial—constantly stoking his fury, preventing any calm reflection.
Exactly as planned, these three demons had successfully stalled until royal intervention arrived.
All of this completely shattered the Second Prince's originally meticulous scheme.
He'd intended to emerge from chaos after the Greed demon created disorder.
Controlling demons to eliminate his brother on the spot.
For the throne, the Second Prince would employ any means necessary.
He hadn't even minded these nobles discovering his demonic alliance.
Because controlling demons meant they were merely extensions of his power.
He'd planned to display his strength before the nobility—proving that he, Owiser, possessed the capability to command demons for any purpose.
Even achieving unmatched supremacy.
Most crucially, only he could accomplish this.
Because he was a prince.
When royalty abandoned all dignity, they could act without restraint.
Even Viktor couldn't touch him!
This was his uncle Leopold's teaching.
But he should never have summoned his internal demonic power—never exposed his true demonic form.
Most catastrophically, he shouldn't have allowed royal family members to witness it directly.
Because his actions transcended mere demonic collusion.
Seeing Owiser's demonic transformation, everyone would realize—
He, Owiser, was attempting demonic fusion.
Controlling demons versus becoming one—
These were fundamentally different transgressions.
Indeed, none save royal family could challenge him.
However, royal members operated under different rules.
Especially when that member was a demon hunter who happened to be his mother.
Owiser's jaw had barely opened when—
Suddenly, countless dazzling silver lights erupted like stellar explosions.
Daggers hurled by the demon hunter contingent struck with perfect precision into the earth beneath the bull demon's feet, rapidly spreading luminous patterns between impact points.
These designs interconnected, gradually weaving into a colossal runic formation array.
The next instant, a towering transparent barrier erupted from underground.
Cascading brilliant snowflakes defied air currents, spiraling around the barrier as they ascended rapidly, forming a pristine white vortex.
This massive cage isolated all nobles and elves outside while tightly ensnaring the demon lurking beneath cloud cover.
Space around the transparent barrier rippled with void-like distortions as countless pallid chains extended from within.
They wound tightly around the giant demon's limbs, forcing his arms to spread wide.
Ultimately, he could only watch helplessly as his hands became completely immobilized.
Fresh chains coiled around his massive skull, forcibly dragging him from the cloud layers.
The Second Prince felt increasingly agonizing weakness washing over him as he cried out from the heights:
"No! Stop!"
His words had barely concluded when his enormous form emerged halfway from the clouds, thoroughly bound by restraints.
Those iron chains treated cloud layers like prison walls, pinning him firmly against the sky.
Countless silver daggers from demon hunter hands launched like torrential downpour, mercilessly piercing his robust bull-demon physique.
From those stinging wounds, streams of liquid obsidian blood began flowing.
As that vital fluid drained away, the Second Prince felt his strength rapidly ebbing.
As if the demonic power within was being systematically extracted—stripped away piece by piece.
The Second Prince experienced bone-deep agony—like countless needles drilling through his fingernail beds.
With each passing moment, this torment intensified exponentially.
Finally, he could endure no more and screamed:
"Uncle, save—"
Before he could complete his plea, a slender silver spear erupted from the earth, tracing an elegant luminous arc through the air.
Thunk—
In one fluid motion, that dragon-like silver lance pierced clean through the bull demon's upper and lower jaws, locking them firmly together.
At that moment, the Second Prince could produce no further sound.
Claudia maintained her throwing stance perfectly.
Observing her spear's successful strike, she straightened with fluid grace, rotating her waist as she advanced toward the demon.
As she passed Viktor, he offered a subtle glance.
His inquiry rang out simultaneously:
"Your Majesty, do you require assistance?"
Claudia never turned back, her focus remaining fixed upon the Second Prince as she responded with casual indifference:
"Unnecessary. This remains a family matter."
Upon speaking, glacial light flashed within her eyes.
With a slight arm gesture, five silver-white droplets seemed to detach from her limb.
Following her arm's motion, they fell into her palm, transforming into five mercury spears—finally gripped firmly in her grasp.
At last, Claudia's crimson eye blazed with incandescent fury.
Gazing up at the sky-bound demon, she spoke with measured authority:
"Disobedient children require proper discipline."
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