NOVPUBThe film showed a hall, with crisscrossing beams of light pouring down from the wall lamps, illuminating the palace decorated in the style of the Demon World.
Row after row of fan-shaped seats spread out from low to high, forming a spacious semicircular seating arrangement.
Even without exchanging words, both Hyperion and Lanci recognized the scene appearing on the screen—it was the Regency Hall of the Demon King Palace in Naikarisu.
Many Demon Race nobles were gathered there, as well as a delegation from the Blood Clan. The scene was very similar to the day Lanci and Hyperion chose paintings in the Shadow World, the only difference being that the throne was empty, with no sign of the princess.
The atmosphere in the entire Regency Hall seemed to be tense, as what had been a harmonious negotiation between the Blood Clan and the Demon Race took a sudden and steep downturn.
Because at the moment the gathering commenced, Eduado, the Fourth Ancestor, had his eyes emit a blinding red light from the platform opposite the throne, his body cracked and emitted an alarming blood-colored magic power.
With terrifying magic power consolidating in an instant, amid the tumultuous noise, all Demons became aware of what was happening.
The Fourth Ancestor, Eduado, was about to use an unknown mandatory Self-Destructive Spell at a moment when the Great Demon Clan was assembled!
In the Regency Hall, Mist Sir and Lord Raeming, the two generals, were the first to act towards the direction of the Fourth Ancestor.
Their eyes were angry and grave, not understanding why the Fourth Ancestor possessed a power suspiciously similar to that of the Sixth Ancestor and, after triggering it, lost all control!
Subsequently, Eduado’s body swelled, the blood-colored light growing brighter and brighter as cracks like a spider’s web spread across his skin. In an instant, it nearly reached its limit, and his mouth, emitting a blood mist, roared deafeningly.
Even separated by the screen, Hyperion shrank her head in fear, for this scene in real history was far more thrilling than what she had experienced at the Naikarisu Royal City.
At least in the Shadow World, the Fallen Lord had made preparations to act; in this instance, the Fourth Ancestor Eduado had almost unleashed the Sixth Ancestor’s power, Blood Destruction, without a word.
Eduado was about to become a vast red light, carrying with him endless rage and destructive force, aiming to spread to every corner of Naikarisu’s Royal City.
"Stop, Eduado!!"
Accompanied by the angry shout of Fallen Lord Calila, she finally caught up and unleashed the Falling Hometown without holding back.
Invisible waves of magic power suddenly swept through the space of the Regency Hall, preventing the fervent red light from bursting further and allowing Eduado to continue.
The entire space-time of Naikarisu’s Regency Hall appeared to stand still.
All the figures of the Demon Race and Blood Clan stood motionless, as if turned to stone.
Seeing this, both Lanci and Hyperion now knew what day Calila was recording.
"Even without the princess’s selection ceremony, did the Blood Clan still plan to bring a weakened Fourth Ancestor Eduado to destroy the core of the Demon King Castle?"
Lanci shook his head helplessly.
The Demon King had died in a fight with the Second Progenitor Prince of the Blood Clan, who was also severely wounded. But the Fourth Ancestor had replicated the healing power of other Blood Clan members, shared his Blood Clan origin with the Second Progenitor, and accelerated his recovery.
Then the Fourth Ancestor replicated the power of the Sixth Ancestor, pretending to negotiate while in reality aiming to initiate the war with the Demon Race.
"Wait, according to this development, how is the Fallen Lord supposed to deal with the Tenth Progenitor, Ulysses?"
Hyperion stared at the precarious image of the Demon King Palace.
Even if Fallen Lord Calila had managed to cast the spell successfully, she did not relax in the slightest, but instead sweat began to pour from her forehead.
[Falling gentle hometown]’s only flaw was that it was an indiscriminate, large-scale Barrier Magic. Although it could forcibly control the Fourth Ancestor, Eduado, all the allies within the Demon King Palace also fell into the illusion of the Gentle Town.
Being of Ninth-order herself, she needed to expend a vast amount of focus to ensure she maintained Eduado’s dream completely, preventing him from breaking free even for an instant to continue [Blood Destruction].
She now had to wait for Demon Race members to quickly struggle out of the high-powered hostile use of Falling Hometown and assist her against Eduado.
As long as she could wait for two or three members of the Great Demon Clan to come out, they could forcibly seal Eduado, who had fallen into the phantasmagoria, from the outside.
"Esmod...!"
Calila, supporting herself to the limit with the illusion on Eduado, desperately controlled this weapon of destruction, straining to open her half-closed eyes looking towards Sir True Night, Esmod, who was sitting on one side.
She distributed her last bit of strength to observe the dreams of other high-ranking Demons, as countless images infiltrated her mind.
In Calila’s judgment, the most likely member of the Great Demon Clan to break free from the spell of the Falling Hometown quickly was True Night Sir.
However.
Abrupt blaring noise, within the silence of the palace, echoed with unusual clarity, causing the Fallen Lord to tremble slightly, and with a start, she lifted her head.
Across from the throne, in the seating area of the Blood Clan, the Tenth Progenitor Ulysses had already made his move.
He was casually pointing towards the direction of True Night Sir.
"Sorry, are you waiting for her?"
Ulysses, with his leg elegantly crossed, seemed to have escaped the illusion in a blink, his blood-red eyes clear and sharp.
That interested smile of his seemed to mock the very magic of the Falling Hometown created by the Fallen Lord.
To Calila, the calm voice of Ulysses fell like a stone in an icy cave.
Tenth Progenitor, Marquis Ulysses, chuckled as he raised a hand towards the front, and a thin barrier within the royal palace dissipated instantly.
"Choose, Calila, whether you wait for me to reach you and kill you, or if you release your control now, abandon these Great Demon Clan members, and perhaps you could survive the explosion and flee."
Marquis Ulysses asked with his usual composure.
This was a game of wits.
For Calila, to choose the former meant all members of the Great Demon Clan would die, but by choosing the latter, at least she had a chance to survive.
"Let’s see if you can break the barrier faster or if any Great Demon Clan members wake up first."
Calila bowed her head, her hand back trembling slightly, as she tried her best to keep her voice steady.
She knew that Tenth Progenitor Ulysses was trying to shake her resolve, to make her give up the possibility "that a Demon Race member would wake up before he arrived."
"Oh dear, such a stubborn female demon."
Ulysses commented helplessly about Calila.
With a sense of resignation, he looked towards the left side of the seating area, where a small Wolf Demon was seated.
Initially, his plan was to have the Fourth Progenitor, Eduado, successfully self-destruct.
But now, he had changed his mind—if possible, he would take the poorly disguised Wolf Girl pretending to be a demon away first.
She possessed a most exceptional bloodline, and starting with her, breeding a slave Wolf Clan would be an excellent strategic move for their Blood Clan.
Outside the Shadow Painting.
"Who can help Calila?"
Hyperion mumbled anxiously.
She had noticed that the little Wolf Girl whom the Tenth Progenitor Ulysses had set his sights on was none other than her Siegler.
In the true history, with no Princess of Demon Clan left for the Blood Clan to abduct, Siegler became the Blood Clan’s next hunting target!
Suddenly, Hyperion spotted a familiar yet unfamiliar figure among the Demon Race seating within the image, right next to Siegler.
It made her eyes widen.
It was a Radiant Demon.
His antlers, like white jade exoskeletons, were covered in cracks, dulled and lusterless.
Different from Lanci, his hair was white and tied in a messy fashion over his shoulder.
He was looking down, as if deeply immersed in a dream, unable to wake up.
