Chapter 89: Mannel’s Plan

Chris raised his head and looked at the person standing beside the bed. Just as he had expected, the attacker was none other than Mannel, the father of the twins.

His gaze shifted toward the blade in the man’s hand. A thick layer of demonic energy was covering its surface, and the moment it touched Chris’s hand, the energy began seeping into his body, attempting to invade it.

However, Chris didn’t waste any time dealing with it. Moving his arm to the side, he threw the blade away from his face before jumping out of bed and delivering a powerful kick to Mannel’s chest.

*BANG!*

Mannel’s body flew backward, crashing through the bedroom door and sending pieces of wood scattering across the hallway.

Aelia, who had already awakened and witnessed the entire scene, quickly got out of bed and pulled out her sword. Her eyes moved between Chris and Mannel, but she didn’t rush forward, knowing that Chris was planning something.

Meanwhile, the demonic energy that had entered Chris’s hand was quickly consumed by his Dark Gwenor, which had enveloped it without him needing to do anything.

Ever since becoming a part demon and acquiring his Dark Gwenor, Chris had noticed that ordinary demonic energy could no longer harm him as easily as before. Unless it was particularly powerful, his energy would naturally consume it before it could cause any real damage.

Pulling out his sword, Chris rushed through the broken doorway and into the hallway, where Mannel had already gotten back on his feet. Seeing Chris approaching, the man raised his own sword and swung it toward him.

*CLANG!*

Their blades collided, and the force behind the attack made Chris take a few steps backward. Raising an eyebrow, he looked at the man in front of him, finding his strength and fighting style strangely familiar.

"So it was you who attacked us the other day," Chris said, instantly understanding what had been bothering him.

Mannel smiled as he looked at him. "You’re quite smart, brat, but that won’t help you."

Without giving Chris any time to respond, he stepped forward and attacked again, swinging his sword with enough force to make the air around the blade tremble.

Chris jumped backward, narrowly avoiding the strike before extending his free hand and sending a fireball toward his opponent.

Mannel simply stepped to the side.

*BOOOOM!*

The fireball exploded against the hallway wall, blasting away a large section of it. The surrounding floor cracked, and pieces of stone and wood flew in every direction as the explosion shook the entire estate.

"W-What is happening!? Chris!? Father!?"

Both men turned their heads toward the voice, only to see Astra and Stella standing at the other end of the hallway. Having rushed over after hearing the explosion, the twins were now staring at the destroyed walls and the two men fighting in front of them with confusion and slight fear.

Chris didn’t bother explaining anything to them yet, instead turning his attention back to Mannel. "So... are you a Fallen or an acolyte? Maybe both?"

Mannel smiled. "Since you’ve already guessed, what’s the point in asking?"

Chris shook his head. "What I’m actually interested in is why you were so stupid as to think you could kill me so easily. You should know that my strength isn’t much weaker than yours."

A wrily smile appeared on Mannel’s face as he looked at Chris. "It wouldn’t hurt to try, would it? I tried to avoid alerting these silly girls, but... it doesn’t matter anymore. I was already prepared for this."

"What are you two talking about!? Father, explain!" Astra and Stella shouted, their confusion growing as they looked between the two men.

Although they had no idea what was happening, their conversation was enough for them to understand that Mannel had attacked Chris and was trying to kill him. The realization made their expressions change, but neither of them could bring themselves to believe what they were hearing.

"That man is the same person who attacked us at the lake," Chris explained, pointing his sword toward Mannel. "It seems your dear father isn’t the man you believed him to be."

The twins’ eyes widened as they turned toward Mannel. Their faces had gone pale, and Stella took a hesitant step forward, unable to stop her voice from trembling.

"F-Father? Is that true?"

Mannel looked at the two girls for a moment before nodding. "There is no use hiding it anymore. It was indeed me."

"WHY!?" Both twins shouted at the same time.

"Why?" Mannel repeated, an evil smile slowly spreading across his face. "Of course, it’s because the demons want your sacrifice!"

The girls had no idea what he meant by demons or why anyone would want to sacrifice them, but his words were enough to send chills down their spines. Tears immediately began gathering in their eyes as they stared at the man they had always considered their father.

"You are our father! Why would you do something like this!?" they cried out.

"Father?" Mannel tilted his head before suddenly bursting into laughter. "Hahahahahahahaha! Father? FATHER!? The only reason I ever adopted you was so you could be sacrificed to the demons! The only reason you have enjoyed such wonderful lives and been protected all these years was for this very purpose! You should be grateful and obediently accept your destiny!"

With every word, his expression became more twisted, until his face resembled that of a crazed fanatic who had completely lost his mind.

Chris shook his head while watching him. ’His mind is completely corrupted.’

The twins, meanwhile, had received a far greater mental blow than anything they had ever experienced. Unable to accept what they had just heard, they hugged each other tightly before slowly crouching down on the floor, tears streaming down their cheeks.

Their entire world had just fallen apart, and the person responsible was the very man they had trusted the most.

Looking at the two girls, Chris released a quiet sigh. He knew better than anyone how it felt to be betrayed by someone you trusted, and although he couldn’t imagine exactly what they were going through, he understood that this wasn’t something they could simply accept.

However, he had something more important to deal with first.

Turning his gaze back toward Mannel, Chris asked, "You’re quite confident in yourself, aren’t you? Aren’t you afraid your true nature will be exposed in your own country?"

"Exposed?" Mannel laughed again. "Hahahahaha! So what? We are already completely controlling Beldoria. There is nothing left to expose!"

"Completely controlling Beldoria?" Chris nodded as he considered those words. "So that’s why you’re so confident. No wonder."

"Well, I’ve answered your questions. Now, you will all die."

Mannel reached into his pocket and pulled out a small black bead. Without hesitation, he swallowed it, causing Chris’s expression to become slightly more serious.

"Chris... what should we do?" Aelia asked as she moved in front of the twins, holding her sword with both hands. Her eyes were fixed on Mannel, and although she didn’t know what the black bead was, she remembered Chris’s reaction when he had encountered something similar at the lake.

Soon, dark energy began gathering around Mannel’s body, gradually enveloping him until a vortex formed around him. The surrounding air trembled as the energy was drawn into his body, and in the next moment, his entire appearance began changing.

His skin turned completely dark, his eyes became blood red, and two ugly horns emerged from his head. The transformation was almost identical to what Chris had witnessed before, leaving little doubt about what he was dealing with.

"Nobody can save you now," Mannel said, his voice becoming rough and raspy.

Chris chuckled while looking at him. "You think you’re the only one who came prepared?"

Bringing his fingers to his mouth, he let out a loud whistle.

*WHISTLE!*

*BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!*

A series of explosions immediately rang out throughout the estate, shaking the buildings as numerous figures dashed through the walls and rushed toward the hallway.

Mannel’s expression changed as he looked around. Dozens of people had appeared, completely surrounding him from every direction. Among them were several familiar faces, including three men whose presence made his expression turn particularly ugly.

"General Aldric of Dunestia, General Howard of Narta, and even General Richard Armstrong of Ihvell," Mannel said, looking at the three men in disbelief. "I don’t need to remind you that you’ve just invaded a foreign country and trespassed into the home of a government official. This could cause a war!"

"A war?" Aldric chuckled, pulling out his enormous greatsword. "Weren’t you already preparing one against us? What’s the point of bringing that up now?"

Without waiting for a response, he rushed forward with incredible speed. Chris could barely follow his movements as Aldric’s figure blurred before disappearing from his sight.

In the next moment, Aldric appeared right in front of Mannel, swinging his greatsword toward him while turning its flat side toward the target.

*BANG!*

The enormous blade slammed into Mannel’s body, sending him flying through the hallway before he crashed into the wall on the opposite side.

*CRACK!*

The wall shattered around him, and his body became embedded in the broken stone. Coughing out a mouthful of black blood, Mannel quickly pushed himself away from the wall, intending to escape before the others could surround him.

"You’re not going anywhere."

Howard suddenly appeared beside him, holding a spear. Before Mannel could react, Howard swung the handle into his stomach, sending him flying once again.

*BANG!*

This time, his body flew toward the third man, who calmly raised one hand and caught him by the neck before slamming him into the ground.

*BANG!*

He clearly had no intention of allowing Mannel to move again. Raising his other hand, a golden light began gathering around his palm before he placed it against Mannel’s chest.

A golden lock appeared on his chest, and countless chains immediately spread from it, wrapping around his arms, legs, and entire body until he was completely restrained.

"General Armstrong, our two countries have a good relationship. Do you really want to sever that relationship because of this?" Mannel asked, struggling against the chains.

"Shut up, demon. I have no intention of listening to your bullshit. You’re coming with us."

Grabbing Mannel by the neck, Richard lifted his body off the ground without giving him another chance to speak.

Meanwhile, Aldric turned toward Chris with a smile. "Long time no see, Chris!"

"Hehe, it has indeed been some time, young man. It’s good to see that you’re doing fine," Howard added from the side.

Chris smiled as he looked at the two familiar faces. "It’s good to see that your old bones are still kicking. By the way, did you record all that?"

Aldric patted his chest confidently. "Of course! Everything has been recorded."

Chris nodded with satisfaction. "Excellent. Now, we should get out of here quickly."

"Why?" Aldric asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I’m sure that guy had some plans set in motion." Chris pointed toward the restrained Mannel. "I wouldn’t be surprised if we get attacked soon."

Understanding what Chris meant, Aldric immediately brought his fingers to his mouth.

*WHISTLE!*

Dozens of flying beasts descended through the roof, completely breaking it apart as they landed in the estate. Their riders were already prepared to leave, and the generals quickly began organizing their people.

"Let’s go!"

Everyone moved toward their respective beasts, preparing to leave before anyone else could arrive.

Chris, however, extended his Beast Pouch and summoned Azreon.

*ROAR!*

A powerful roar echoed throughout the estate as the dragon appeared above them, his enormous wings spreading wide enough to cover a large portion of the damaged building.

Looking down, Chris noticed that Astra and Stella were still crouching on the floor, holding each other tightly. Tears continued running down their faces, and neither girl even seemed to notice that everyone was preparing to leave.

’Sigh... How should I even deal with this...’

Approaching the twins, Chris crouched down before picking them both up, one in each arm. Their bodies were trembling, but neither of them resisted or even showed any real reaction to being lifted.

Turning toward Aelia, who was watching them with a worried expression, Chris gave her a small nod.

Together, they jumped onto Azreon’s back, with Chris carefully settling the twins between himself and Aelia.

"Let’s go!" Aldric shouted before taking off into the sky, followed by the other generals and their soldiers.

Azreon spread his wings and rose after them, leaving the damaged estate behind as the group disappeared into the night.