Chapter 232 - Chapter 232: Chapter 222: Demon Backlash (2/2)
The weather was turning cold, and Marzo gazed at the luxurious manor ahead.
“Is this the place where Viscount Bast lives? The nearby maple trees have been telling me that there are many Extraordinary Exponents of considerable strength inside this manor.”
The view in front of him was Viscount Bast’s Ahornblatt Manor, surrounded by maple leaves fluttering down like red snowflakes. They twirled lightly in the air, while the sunlight filtered through the gaps in the leaves, illuminating their fiery color, as if the whole world had been painted with the hues of burning orange and red.
Byrne walked forward slowly. The flame descendant maid who had once served him had already entered middle age and become the head maidservant of the manor. It seemed that everything had passed very quickly.
He entered the manor in silence, and all the guests waiting to be received recognized the man who entered. They all stood up, many even bowing excitedly in greeting.
“His Excellency Byrne! Good day!”
“It’s an honor to see you, His Excellency Byrne!”
“Our hero, His Excellency Byrne, you have always been my idol!”
Byrne responded to everyone with a nod and a calm smile.
He no longer needed a separate reception room. Under the guidance of the flame descendant head maidservant, without any waiting, he headed straight for Viscount Bast’s study, enjoying treatment almost no different from the important members of the Lion clan.
The flame descendant head maidservant asked calmly and politely, “May I know who this lady is?”
Byrne nodded slightly and said with composure, “She is my friend, an emerald elf from afar. She has come with me this time to assist Viscount Bast.”
“I see.”
The flame descendant head maidservant nodded lightly, no longer asking further. She then led Byrne and Marzo to Viscount Bast’s study.
“Byrne, you’ve finally come, haha. We’ll be able to depart in two days.”
“Hmm, and who is this beautiful elf miss?”
Byrne introduced her again, “She is Marzo, as you can see, a noble emerald elf, a friend of the Fischer family from far away. I’ve asked her to come as an assistant this time.”
“Greetings.”
Marzo spoke a cool hello, without adding any more words, and couldn’t even feign respect for Viscount Bast.
“Noble elf, thank you for your arrival.”
Viscount Bast smiled without minding Marzo’s arrogance and impoliteness.
Byrne cut to the chase and asked, “So we are departing in two days? Are we still waiting for someone? Renzo? Abel?”
Viscount Bast shook his head lightly, explaining:
“Renzo is already here; he’s resting in his room. As for Abel, that fellow simply can’t come back from the front line, because the decisive battle of this war might erupt there.”
Byrne fell into thought and couldn’t help but remember Darren, who was still alive but missing, and muttered to himself, “A decisive battle?”
Viscount Bast nodded slightly to explain who else was to come.
“Hmm, our Acting Bishop Zayne Frosac is also coming. I’ve made a deal with him—he helps me break through to Monarch, and later, I will help him break through to Monarch.”
Viscount Bast paused briefly, then continued smiling, “When that time comes, Zayne will no longer be an Acting Bishop but the true Tempest Bishop!”
“I see.”
It wasn’t exactly surprising. Byrne nodded slightly, knowing such mutual assistance between forces was common, and the exchange of favors and resources was something all families did.
In recent years, the powers of the church had also gradually been tainted by secular matters, no longer being purely divine-oriented Extraordinary organizations.
Viscount Bast was silent, not speaking for a long while, his eyes faintly reddening.
His body suddenly tilted to one side, his palm bracing against the wall, gasping for breath, shaking uncontrollably.
“What’s wrong with you?”
Just then, Byrne suddenly felt something seriously amiss, as if the air around had become stagnant.
Marzo stepped back coldly, staring at Viscount Bast and saying, “Why is there such a strong demonic presence?”
Viscount Bast looked terrible, barely standing up and trembling. He murmured as if talking to himself, “Damn, can’t suppress it anymore…”
“You should be careful. Demons… the demons of hell…” he could barely get the words out.
Byrne was momentarily stunned; he could feel the terrifying presence increasing steadily.
He had once seen Viscount Bast’s trade with “Solar Gold” and knew that Viscount Bast possessed the Forbidden knowledge to make a Demon Contract, just never knowing what its price was.
So, was the price of signing a Demon Contract the possibility of being consumed by a demon’s power from hell?
The air around was gradually getting colder, and Viscount Bast’s body shook more violently, his eyes growing more bloodshot.
“Ah!”
The dark shadow behind Viscount Bast suddenly rose to stand, looking like a slender and gaunt ghostly figure, reaching out towards Byrne.