Why must the devil be Defeated?

The Leferut Family, former site.

This place was leveled to the ground by a meteor shower, and the incident of their silenced demise occurred just last night.

Thus, the Heavy Armored Knights of the Imperial Knight Order were still heavily surrounding the area, not allowing anyone to enter or exit.

Court Mages and officials from the Imperial Palace were moving back and forth within, occasionally casting spells and recording something—clearly investigating the true cause behind the Leferut Family's annihilation.

Although a meteor shower had thoroughly destroyed this place, leaving nearly all of the Leferut Family members dead, making it difficult to find any more clues, magic existed in this world. Certain specialized types of spells could still produce miraculous effects and uncover some leads.

For instance, there was magic that could trace back scenes, allowing one to witness what had transpired here in the past.

Moreover, there was highly precise Detecting Magic capable of identifying the culprit's Magic Power signature from the many fluctuating magic residues, recording it, and then using Tracking Series spells for arrest.

The Imperial Palace's people were preparing for such actions, and it shouldn't take long before, even if the identity of the mysterious and powerful individual was unknown, his location could be inferred.

At least, that's what the people here thought.

Unfortunately, they didn't know that Shane possessed the "Inner Destiny" Heavenly Destiny Skill, which could evade all forms of magic detection.

Therefore, even if they recorded Shane's magic signature and tried to locate him with Tracking Series spells, it was an impossible task.

Furthermore, though Shane had left a significant quantity of his Magic Power here last night, squandering quite a bit, it was not only Shane who had been present.

To extract Shane's Magic Power from that of so many people was not a simple matter.

Even if, by some chance, the Empire's people did find it, as Rocque had mentioned before, the Empire would definitely not dare to rashly provoke a top-level legendary-strong individual.

Of course, these considerations were irrelevant to the people here.

They only needed to carry out the tasks assigned by their superiors without weighing so many concerns.

Under such circumstances, everyone present continued with their respective duties, making the place quite bustling.

However, from time to time, one could overhear some conversations among these people.

"Has the Emperor truly gone mad?"

"Magic that drives one to madness..."

"To be inflicted with such a powerful spell that only the Temple Pope of the Kingdom can lift, His Majesty really is unlucky."

"But this also shows that someone has infiltrated the Imperial Palace again, and this time, they even targeted the Emperor, right?"

"Who could possibly have such capability?"

"Was it that Strange Thief from before?"

"I think it's that mysterious and powerful individual."

"Being breached successively like this, the Imperial Palace isn't as impregnable as before."

"I've heard the Nobles and upper echelons are nearly insane, the Palace is in complete disarray."

"Not only do they have to deal with the Emperor's situation, but the Palace is no longer secure; I wonder if they're worrying ceaselessly about who the next victim will be?"

"They deserve it, always ordering us around; they've always sat securely in the Palace, thinking that no threat could touch them, and now, all those Noble elites must be dumbstruck."

"I heard that a Viscount's House in the south was also wiped out without any noise."

"No way?"

"What's going on lately?"

"Why are all kinds of incidents starting to occur in the Imperial City?"

"I have a feeling that something big is about to happen."

"What... what should we do?"

Such dialogues would sporadically emerge among these people, causing many to display anxious, bewildered expressions.

Indeed, the current Imperial City was experiencing times fraught with incidents, which had already caused chaos, leaving many feeling panicked and uneasy.

Most of the Nobles had fallen into a state of extreme fear and vigilance, their days filled with trepidation, consequently paying close attention to the various events and rumors within the Imperial City of late.

It could only be said that the morale of the Empire's people was starting to waver.

Under such circumstances, Shane, as the instigator of everything, suddenly appeared here silently.

He went unnoticed by anyone and didn't do anything particularly out of the ordinary; he simply used the exceptional stealth capabilities of his "Inner Destiny" to enter the Leferut house, making his way to a dug-out area on the ground.

Many Mages were at work here, using various spells to move stones.

Because, according to the investigation, they had discovered a vast underground space beneath the Leferut residence.

That was the place where Shane had buried the people of the Leferut Family.

At this moment, the Court Mages from the Palace were reopening the area using magic, ready to enter and conduct a thorough investigation.

Shane watched this scene and closed his eyes.

The senses belonging to "Outer Destiny" spread out, and after Shane's control, they directly permeated the ground.

Indeed.

Shane was also investigating here.

After probing with the Perception Power of "Outer Destiny," Shane immediately made a discovery.

"It's really here, huh."

While smiling wryly, Shane took a step, and the man vanished on the spot.

When he reappeared again, he was already in the underground of the Leferut house.

However, Shane wasn't in the large underground hall as before but had arrived in an extremely hidden space.

Situated at the deepest part of the Leferut residence's underground, and with signs of Barrier protection, it was apparent that this was a very important place.

But now, with all of the members of the Leferut Family deceased, no matter how important this place was, it was of no use, and the Barrier's protection was as good as none. Even if someone touched it, no one would notice.

Shane didn't deliberately destroy it but instead used Instant Movement again, conventionally passing through the Barrier and entering its interior.

Upon entering, Shane discovered, to his surprise,

"So this is a Treasure Vault?"

Here were piles and piles of gold and silver treasures, and like the warehouse Shane had found in the High Priest's secret base, there were also various precious Magic Tools within.

It was well known that this was the Leferut Family's Treasure Vault.

"Good grief," Shane sighed incessantly.

Had he known, he wouldn't have run off so quickly before, but rather would have looted this place first before leaving.

Fortunately, no one else had reached the spot yet. Otherwise, these gold and silver treasures would surely have been confiscated by the Empire.

"If I ever do something again that gets my entire family executed, I need to make sure not to run too fast. Take a tour first, grab what needs to be grabbed," Shane thought, deciding that he must not miss out on such profitable raiding opportunities in the future.

Otherwise, how many billions would he lose?

As an earl, Shane was not as poor as before, but his wealth had been built with the help of You Lin.

In other words, his personal treasury wasn't as full as those of the ancient noble families.

In terms of personal wealth, Shane was undoubtedly the least wealthy among the earls, even behind some viscounts and barons.

If there was a chance to replenish his own treasury, he would certainly take it.

With this in mind, Shane couldn't help but walk towards the gold and silver treasures.

Just then...

"Whoosh!"

A shadow suddenly darted behind Shane, even taking a leap, closing in from behind.

In its hand, crimson magic flickered on the blade, bringing a sharp sense of danger.

Without a doubt, it was the "Magic Blade" Skill.

The sudden attacker came wielding the "Magic Blade," aiming a merciless slash at Shane's neck.

But just when the "Magic Blade" was about to touch Shane's neck, Shane suddenly turned around and reached out a hand, grabbing the assailant's arm.

The attacker's "Magic Blade" came to a halt right in front of Shane's neck, while Shane firmly grasped the hand, rendering it motionless.

"...!"

The attacker quickly raised the other hand.

On it, another blade appeared, its surface also flickering with crimson magic.

Seeing this, Shane was not alarmed but rather delighted.

"Alright, girl," Shane said, clearly annoyed.

"You're not seriously planning to murder your own husband, are you?"

His words, upon reaching the attacker's ears, caused the blade poised to strike to halt.

Even the hand he held loosened, and the crimson Magic Blade in front of Shane's neck was quickly extinguished.

Silence descended.

And the full appearance of the attacker was revealed to Shane's eyes.

It was a small-statured girl wielding a pair of blades, wearing a cloak and a hood just like him.

"...Is it you?"

After a long silence, a familiar and cool voice came from beneath the girl's hood.

Shane looked intently at her.

"Who else could it be?" he retorted, as if chastising her.

Hearing this, the girl finally relaxed.

Shane released her hand.

She immediately sheathed her blades and removed her hood.

The next second, a face wearing a half-mask was exposed to Shane's view.

Her purple hair, braided into a neat plait, dangled behind her, a pleasing sight to behold.

It was Tielle.

Tielle stared intently at Shane.

Understanding, Shane also removed his hood.

As the familiar face appeared before him, Tielle's eyes wavered.

She quickly lowered her head.

"...Why did you come?" Tielle asked softly.

Her demeanor was that of a child who had done something wrong.

"What do you mean?" Shane replied, even more irritable. "If I hadn't come, would you have seriously considered staying here to be randomly killed by those bastards?"

Tielle had no answer.

This past month, indeed, had been quite hard for her.

Even though she had prepared herself mentally and could bear it all, she still felt somewhat ashamed in front of Shane.

Seeing this, Shane sighed, as if exasperated.

"Come here."

Shane casually extended his hand in Tielle's direction.

Tielle lifted her eyes, looking at this gesture.

The next moment, without any hesitation, Tielle stepped forward, removed the mask from her face to reveal an exceptionally delicate and stunning beauty, and threw herself into Shane's arms.

Their lips pressed firmly against each other, no longer distinguishable from one another.