It wasn't until the figure beside the Duke came into focus that Noel finally relaxed. It was the butler—Sebas.
"You finally made it," Duke Aurelius exhaled. He hadn't dared breathe a moment ago. The situation had truly been dangerous.
But with his trusted personal butler now at his side, he could finally let his guard down.
"So it's the capital's most powerful butler, Sebas. What made you decide to become Aurelius's lapdog?" Husky spat in anger.
"The Lord has always treated me well. And I am no one's lapdog," Sebas replied coldly, his teeth clenched.
"That's just what you think," Husky sneered.
With a flick of his will, a horde of shadow soldiers flew toward Duke Aurelius. Sebas sprang into action—a blur of white light streaked across the room.
The shadow soldiers instantly disintegrated into faint wisps of smoke. Unlike before, they didn't reform—they vanished completely, sucked back into the ground.
"What kind of technique did you use?" Husky demanded, bewildered.
"I simply nullified your magic," Sebas replied, as if it were nothing at all.
"Oh? Then let's see if you can block this," Husky's tone rose with excitement. "Now things are starting to get interesting."
From the black pit, more figures emerged—twice as many as before. One after another, the shadows surged upward from the ground, as though trying to burst out of the earth.
A massive black shroud covered the entire ballroom. Strange shapes writhed along the walls, spreading like a plague, until they reached even the ceiling.
A thick, cursed darkness flooded the hall.
From this growing void, a giant spectral soldier began to take form. Blood-red eyes full of hatred and rage gleamed in the darkness, and a bone-chilling scream erupted from its maw.
"What in the world is that?!" Noel muttered in disbelief.
"No idea," Sebas replied from the side.
But Noel could sense that this entity was far stronger than the previous ones. It radiated a violently unstable aura—pure hostility in shadow form.
The creature let out a chilling, distorted laugh: "Kyeeh-heh-heh..." The sound sent shivers down their spines.
"Wind Magic: Exchange – Thunder Diffusion."
Lightning danced wildly across the blackened floor, a roaring thunder-dragon twisting and writhing beneath their feet, crackling loudly as its power surged.
The entire hall became a zone of high-voltage electricity, invisible lightning flickering through the air. The dragon shrieked and soared upward, confronting the dark specter.
The two forces clashed mid-air, locked in fierce battle. But it was clear that the thunder-dragon had the advantage—elemental superiority.
The dragon coiled tighter and began channeling all its energy into its fangs. With a final charge, it tore into the specter, the two forces canceling each other out in a brilliant explosion of light and shadow.
"Lightning magic… how troublesome," Husky muttered, clearly unsettled.
"Phantom Shadow Arrows," he chanted with a wave of his hand.
The ground erupted in an array of dark spectral arrows. However, the lingering electrical field dampened their power considerably.
Noel leapt into the air, narrowly avoiding a volley of incoming arrows. But the arrows, upon striking the shadow-covered walls, ricocheted back toward him.
"What the hell are these?!" he cursed.
"Leave those arrows to me," Sebas said, seeing Noel's difficulty.
In the blink of an eye, Sebas vanished again, white light streaking across the room as the arrows were shredded one after another. In seconds, he was back at the Duke's side—as if he'd never moved.
"Noel, don't worry about me. Sebas will protect me," the Duke reassured him.
With that, Noel could finally let loose.
His aura changed—no more hesitation.
"Wind Magic: Exchange – Dispel."
A dazzling light burst forth, banishing the shadows in the hall. Sections of the walls began to reappear from beneath the darkness.
"Hmph, interesting… Light-type dispel magic too," Husky muttered, eyeing Noel with a twisted admiration that sent chills down Noel's spine.
It was the kind of gaze one gives something they want to possess. Noel hated that kind of look.
"But tricks like that won't help you." Husky began an incantation in an unknown tongue. All around him, the shadows converged, crawling across the floor toward him.
One by one, they climbed up his arms, coating his body in darkness and forming a suit of shadow armor.
"You're impressive, kid," Husky said with a crazed smile. "So I'll give you the worst kind of death."
"Only if you can manage it," Noel shot back without flinching.
"Shadowstep."
The moment he spoke, Husky vanished, diving into the floor. A dark shadow slithered rapidly across the ground, aiming straight for Noel.
"Wind Magic: Exchange – Electromagnetic Field!"
A faint purple crackling burst out around Noel, expanding into rippling waves. The electricity traveled through the shadows.
Forced out of stealth, Husky popped back up, wincing. Even with his shadow armor, his body tingled painfully, unable to fully resist the electric current.
He gritted his teeth. Close-quarters combat was a bad idea. He had hoped to end the fight quickly—but it was dragging on.
And with Sebas guarding the Duke, he had no chance to land a sneak attack.
"I won't accept this…" Husky snarled. "There must be a way. Everyone I want dead… dies."
His blood-red eyes glowed brighter. From within his cloak, he pulled out a small bottle of red liquid.
Without hesitation, he drank the entire thing.
Noel didn't know what it was, but he could feel the ominous energy from it. It was dangerous—deeply evil.
"Ugh… Aaaarrghh…!"
Husky groaned in agony, his body twisting and transforming under the potion's effects. His eyes, once crimson, turned jet black. Two ears began sprouting atop his head, and his nose stretched outward.
His entire frame swelled rapidly, his cloak tearing apart at the seams. Coarse black fur sprouted across his skin.
"Awooooo…!"
"What the hell is this thing?" Noel muttered, alarmed.
The pressure Husky now emitted was almost identical to a snow wolf—a powerful and savage beast.
And yet… Noel couldn't shake the feeling that this one was off.
Its bloodline felt... inferior. Like a lesser variant.
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