But the Demon posing as the Duke felt as if his body had been hollowed out. An indescribable exhaustion spread from his wound through his entire body.
Then, with a bang, he could no longer maintain his human form. A cloud of red smoke billowed out, and he became a red-skinned monster over two meters tall, his body packed with muscle. Two horns jutted from his ugly head, and a long, lizard-like tail trailed behind him.
Even returning to his Demon form did nothing to stop him from dying.
Fear filled his eyes. His aura grew weaker and weaker until he collapsed, twitched twice, and lay still.
The noblewoman beside him opened her mouth wide to scream, only to discover in shock that she could not make a sound.
Then the door creaked open from outside, and a dark figure in a black robe walked in, one step at a time.
The figure stopped beside the Demon's corpse and casually pushed back his hood, revealing a face covered in scars. It was Via, the Shadow!
Via held a golden spear. This Divine Artifact was a Demon's bane—the Demon-Hunting Spear!
An ordinary weapon could never have killed a Legendary Rank Demon with that strike. Even against a Calamity-Rank Strong One like Via, the Demon might have escaped. But a wound from the Demon-Hunting Spear drained its victim's life force. Fatal wound or not, one strike meant death.
Via glanced expressionlessly at the Duchess. Ignoring the terrified woman, he walked straight to the wall beside the bed.
Then he punched it with a bang.
Stone and plaster tumbled down, leaving a large hole in the wall beneath its ornate wallpaper. A black safe stood exposed inside.
The Duchess looked even more stunned. She was the mistress of this estate, yet even she