The old man was a bit surprised by William's swift movements, but not enough to frighten him.

This time, instead of summoning just one clone—he conjured ten. A staggering number.

"What do you think?" the old man said with a grin. "Think you can handle all of my clones?"

All of them charged toward William, running as fast as the original.

William knew he was in trouble. Things weren't looking good.

Still, he didn't let it shake him. He held his ground.

He stabbed his sword into the ground. The old man raised a brow.

Six of the clones were charging straight at him. This was the perfect moment to unleash one of his most powerful abilities.

A surge of dark energy began to channel through his palm—his most devastating magic: Black Fireball.

William had exceptional mastery over the spell. The orb formed quickly in his hand, and he hurled it toward the oncoming clones.

It was small on purpose. William had kept the size compact for faster casting. He didn't need it to grow too large.

But even in its small form, the destructive power of the spell was terrifying.

The old man couldn't sense much—because the core element wasn't mana, but demonic energy. The mana levels were low.

"That's it?" the man sneered.

Yet as soon as the Black Fireball hit one of the clones and detonated, he was speechless. A massive crater tore open in front of the house, and all six clones were instantly reduced to ash.

William grabbed his sword from the ground and dashed toward the remaining clones. It was the perfect opportunity to finish them off.

One slash for each. That was all it took.

The old man was stunned by what he saw. William also noticed he was starting to look fatigued.

"Summoning all those clones must've drained him," William thought.

He stopped and stared the old man down.

"Are you going to keep fighting—or are you ready to surrender?" William asked.

That old man was Rebo's grandfather, and Rebo's mother was likely inside the house too. Even if they were tied to dark magic and necromancy, William didn't want to kill them.

That would've been cruel to Rebo. So, he gave the old man a choice.

"You seriously think I'm going to give up?" he snapped. "This fight's only getting started! And even if you beat me—there are others inside the house ready to fight."

Just then, someone stepped through the front door.

A beautiful woman with dark hair. She didn't look that old—but William was nearly certain this woman was Kali.

Some of Rebo's facial features were reflected in her own. That's why William thought so.

"Kali?" William asked.

Surprised, the woman smirked. "So you know my name. How charming. Let me guess—Geneva sent you here? Must've been that bitch."

The hatred in Kali's voice was unmistakable. William couldn't understand why she felt that way.

"You came here to help your father fight? He looks like he's struggling," William said, mocking both of them.

Kali was stunned. Even Geneva hadn't known that man was her father. That made Kali begin to suspect William hadn't been sent by Geneva at all—maybe someone else.

"How do you know about my father? Who the hell are you?" Kali snapped, staff in hand, ready to cast spells.

"Doesn't matter who I am. What matters is that you return the necromancy book you stole," William said.

Deep down, he wanted to tell her that her son was here. He wanted to understand why she had vanished and left them behind.

But if he said anything, Geneva and Rebo might not be able to sneak into the mansion unnoticed. And that was the last thing he wanted.

"And why should I give the book back? You think it's fair that Geneva has a necromancy book but I don't? What makes her different from me?" Kali asked.

"She's not using the book to learn the spells. That's the difference," William replied.

"Oh, she's not? Are you sure about that?"

William was caught off guard. He'd never asked Geneva whether she'd actually practiced the spells. And another detail—why was she so desperate to get the book back?

It almost felt like Geneva wanted it not just to prevent harm, but maybe... to resume her own dark magic studies.

"You're just trying to stir up conflict," William said. "There's no proof she's practicing anything. But you—I know exactly what you're up to. So, what's it going to be?"

They were at an impasse.

"Looks like we'll have to fight, my friend. And let me warn you—you won't beat both of us," Kali said.

William already knew the fight wouldn't be easy. Kali radiated immense power, and even if her father was drained, he was still formidable.

So, William decided it was time to show them a bit more of what he was capable of.

He summoned his demonic energy, letting it envelop his body like armor.

It also coated his sword—dark fire swirling around the blade, just like the black flame he had used earlier.

This boosted all his attributes by about 80 points. It wasn't his full transformation, but it was one he could maintain for longer stretches.

Combined with the new passive magic he'd learned from Rebo and his father, William was now much stronger without exhausting himself.

"What is that?" Kali said, eyes locked on the dark aura surrounding William. "What kind of energy is that?"

Demonic energy wasn't native to this realm—or any nearby realms. William knew it.

Seeing it, Kali and her father were visibly intrigued.

"How do you do that? I'll rip the secrets out of you, you bastard," Kali growled.

William smirked. Now, with his stats boosted and defense up, he knew the odds of victory were high.

He chose the most exhausted target—Kali's father, who had burned through his energy conjuring all those clones.

If William could take him out of the fight, everything else would tip in his favor.

He drove power into his legs, shattering the ground beneath him, and launched forward like a missile.

He landed in front of the old man in a flash, grabbed him with one arm, and delivered two crushing knees to the torso.

Each strike forced blood from the man's mouth. Multiple ribs shattered.

Then, William broke one of his arms and kicked him flying.

His goal wasn't to kill Rebo's grandfather—just disable him. And the man was now clearly unable to continue fighting.

Kali was shaken. She hadn't expected his strength to surge so drastically.

Because William relied more on demonic energy than mana, opponents couldn't accurately gauge his power level.

Frightened, Kali said, "How about we talk for a moment? I'll pay you more than Geneva's offering—sound good? I mean, she's studying necromancy too, so what's the real difference?"

But before William could respond, two people emerged from the mansion—it was Geneva and Rebo.

When Kali turned and saw them—especially Rebo—she couldn't hold back her tears.

William was stunned. After everything she had done, he hadn't expected her to actually break down at the sight of her son.

"Oh, my child," she said. "I'm sorry for leaving you... I had to. Maybe someday you'll forgive me."

They embraced.

Rebo was still confused—he wanted to understand.

"You left us to study necromancy? Just a little magic was enough to throw us away?" he asked.

But that wasn't the truth. William knew it. Geneva's book had only disappeared recently. Kali had fled years ago.

There had to be another reason.

William stepped in.

"Just tell him the real reason you left. The necromancy book wasn't stolen until years after you were gone. Say it—your son deserves the truth!" William shouted.

Cornered, Kali shouted back, "I left to protect them, alright? If I'd stayed, they would've been murdered. You'd rather I let them die like animals?"

Everyone fell silent.

"There's a group of dark mages—necromancers. They've infiltrated the kingdom. Their goal is complete domination. One of their groups came near the village where we lived. They wanted to sacrifice my family in some cursed ritual."

"I managed to convince them to spare my husband and son... only if I joined their cult—me and my father. That's why we fled. To join them, we had to learn a bit of necromancy and pass their trials. If I don't show results within three months... they'll come for Rebo and my husband."

William hadn't expected that. The situation was far more complicated than anyone imagined.

William noticed how everyone was reacting. Rebo was clearly shaken by everything he'd just heard.

But Geneva… she didn't seem nearly as surprised. Something felt off.

"You knew all of this, didn't you, Geneva?" William said.

Geneva was caught off guard.

"Of course she knew," Kali snapped. "That wretch wants to join the necromancer cult too!"

William reacted instantly. He sprinted toward Kali and Rebo, grabbing them both and pulling them away from Geneva to make sure she wouldn't try anything.

Geneva stood calmly.

"You don't need to see me as an enemy—because I'm not," she said. "What she said is true. I do want to join the cult. That's why I need my necromancy book back."

In that moment, William had no idea which side to choose—or what to do next.