Su Nian’s gaze snapped toward the swirling black mist.
This was it.
That wretched creature’s power!
The Horned Demon, that infuriating trickster, had always appeared and vanished before her in a shroud of this same dark mist.
How could she mistake it?
Yet today, the sight of that black mist didn’t stir the usual dread or humiliation in her heart.
When the mist materialized, a flicker of unexpected joy sparked within her.
Instinctively, she saw it not as a threat, but as an ally—reinforcements on her side.
Olette, sensing the shift behind him, whipped around in terror.
The moment his eyes landed on the coalescing black mist, the manic gleam on his face dissolved into raw fear.
His trembling hand clutched the dagger tighter, betraying his crumbling composure.
The mist ignored Olette’s panicked cries, slowly taking form.
The towering silhouette of the Horned Demon emerged, cloaked in his ornate black robe, its golden embroidery glinting eerily in the dim light, like a herald from the underworld.
Chu Tian’s lips curved into a faint smile, but it carried a chilling edge that sent shivers down the spine.
His gaze, cold and piercing, seemed to strip away all pretense as it fixed on Olette—regarding him as nothing more than a lamb awaiting slaughter.
“Who… who are you? Stay back!” Olette’s voice cracked, sharp and trembling, echoing harshly through the grim dungeon.
“What… what do you want? I’m warning you, don’t try anything! I’m… I’m from the Morsen family! You wouldn’t dare touch me!”
Olette’s words were a desperate attempt to mask his fear, but his quavering voice betrayed his panic.
If the reinforcements had not stormed in earlier which diverted Su Nian’s attention then he might already be dead.
Olette understood now.
This magical idol, Su Nian, wasn’t bluffing—she was ready to kill him.
His dagger hovered near Amy’s throat, poised to strike.
But then—
A thin veil of black mist surged forward, blocking the blade in an instant.
Before Olette could react, the Horned Demon—Su Nian’s so-called “bastard”—delivered a swift kick, sending Olette sprawling away from Amy.
At that moment, Su Nian exhaled, her focus shifting to the incoming reinforcements charging from outside.
Though it was the Horned Demon who had appeared, saving Amy—the second lead singer of the Magic Feather Fantasy, next to herself—was undeniably in the interest of Shadowmoon Manor.
Chu Tian advanced toward Olette, each step radiating a thickening aura of dark magic, pressing down like an invisible weight.
Olette gasped under the crushing pressure, as though a mountain bore down on him, stealing his breath.
“Ding-dong: Fear absorbed. Annoyance Points +337.”
“Ding-dong: Despair absorbed. Annoyance Points +417.”
Chu Tian had long since noticed a pattern.
The efficiency of absorbing Annoyance Points depended on the target’s strength, status, and the intensity of their negative emotions.
This explained why Olette, despite his mediocre power, yielded such a disproportionate number of points—likely due to his nominal ties to the Morsen family.
It dawned on Chu Tian: defeating or provoking negative emotions in those of high status or power could yield a fortune in Annoyance Points.
Of course, nothing compared to the steady stream he harvested by tormenting Su Nian at home—an effortless and endless supply.
This was merely a bonus.
Why was he here now?
Simple.
He had little else to occupy his time.
While in human form, Chu Tian had been teasing Su Nian via magical phone messages under the guise of the Magic Feather Fantasy.
Then Lise, another member of the Magic Feather Fantasy, came running to him in tears, sobbing that Amy had vanished.
Su Nian had bolted out like a gust of wind.
What could he do but follow?
While secretly guarding Su Nian, he pieced together the situation and handled the smaller details.
He’d retrieved evidence sent to the patrol department, ensured no records were filed, and cast silencing and cloaking spells over Viscount Vere’s mansion.
After all, they were crossing the Morsen family.
Loose ends had to be tied.
No one could know that Su Nian and the Magic Feather Fantasy were the ones who stormed this estate.
For now, making enemies was unwise.
Meanwhile, Olette, blood streaming down his face from Chu Tian’s kick, stammered, “Stay back! If you touch me, the Morsen family will never let you go!”
He clung to the Morsen name like a shield against the Horned Demon.
“The Morsen family?” Chu Tian’s voice was laced with disdain.
“They were once a potential ally. But if they tolerate scum like you, they’re not worth my time.”
Before this, Chu Tian had considered reaching out to the three major powers of the Red Maple Kingdom.
Now, the Morsen family seemed utterly dispensable.
If they were truly capable of defending Morsen Fortress, the human world wouldn’t have fallen to the demon clans so swiftly.
As for the fraud before him—
Olette Morsen.
“People like you are an insult to this world,” Chu Tian declared.
With a wave of his hand, Olette’s body lifted into the air, bound by an invisible force of dark energy.
Olette groaned in agony, his legs already mangled by icy spikes from the Abyss Flame Wall, blood pooling beneath him.
Chu Tian’s dark magic tightened its grip, slamming Olette repeatedly into the ground.
The pain from his pierced legs was excruciating, amplified by each brutal impact.
Olette’s screams grew shrill and desperate.
“I was wrong… please… don’t kill me!”
Chu Tian toyed with him, watching the Annoyance Points climb.
“Ding-dong: Fear absorbed. Annoyance Points +571.”
“Ding-dong: Despair absorbed. Annoyance Points +669.”
To Chu Tian, this man wasn’t sorry—he was simply terrified of death.
Su Nian, having dispatched the reinforcements with a mix of intimidation and force, turned to witness the scene.
Though she still seethed at the Horned Demon for the humiliations he’d inflicted on her, she couldn’t deny one thing: watching him pummel Olette, this deranged monster, felt right.
In this moment, she and the Horned Demon were, impossibly, allies.
What a cruel twist of fate.
Now, only one step remained.
Since they’d already burned bridges, letting Olette Morsen live would invite endless trouble.
This was also vengeance for those he’d tormented and killed.
She had promised blood today.
Just then—
“Wait,” the Horned Demon’s voice cut through.
Su Nian’s sword froze mid-air, its tip three inches from Olette’s throat.
She turned to the man shrouded in black mist.
“Are you stopping me?” Her voice trembled with defiance.
If the Horned Demon dared to interfere, she was ready to fight him, no matter the cost—the humiliating photos, the videos of her kneeling, her parents’ safety, or the uncertainty of his true power.
Damn him.
She knew they could never truly be allies.
“I’m not stopping you. He deserves to die,” Chu Tian said with a soft chuckle, his dark magic coiling into chains that hoisted Olette into the air.
“But a quick death is too kind. Wouldn’t it be more fitting to let him rot slowly in despair?”