CHAPTER 256: KNIGHT OF CALAMITY?

Viktor suddenly pulled Erica into his arms, holding her tightly.

The surrounding nobles' gazes were drawn to Viktor's bold behavior, their eyes widening in extreme shock.

The media reporters were completely stunned, their hands holding the magic stones trembling slightly, as if they wanted to shove them into Viktor's mouth the next second.

Rumors had suggested Viktor had feelings for the young lady, and today everyone witnessed it firsthand.

Moreover, the girl Viktor was now embracing happened to be the protagonist of those rumors - Duke's daughter Erica, to whom Viktor had once confessed.

Although confessing wasn't illegal, Viktor had previously been a notorious viscount.

Publicly pursuing the Duke's daughter.

This was indeed morally questionable.

However now... no one dared to say much.

Times had changed.

If Viktor truly had feelings, the nobles present would eagerly send all their daughters to his side.

Although shocked, they didn't dare breathe in front of Duke Levi, standing frozen in place, holding their breath.

The surrounding air seemed to stagnate, dropping to freezing point.

Claudia sat elegantly in her chair, one leg crossed over the other, holding a fan to cover her mouth, her eyes slightly curved as she stared intently at Viktor and Levi, as if anticipating an exciting performance.

Her lips curved slightly upward:

"This is quite unexpected."

Seeing Viktor's rash behavior, Levi was already having trouble controlling his emotions.

His body trembled slightly, showing signs of anger.

Water droplets had begun forming in the surrounding air, with white mist dispersing around.

"Baron Viktor."

His voice was cold and trembling.

His face was gloomy, with his mouth and eye corners frozen.

Seeing this scene, everyone couldn't help but shudder.

Everyone knew that Levi was a famously doting father.

Having a daughter in his later years, he was especially protective of Erica.

No matter how excellent Viktor might be, he had one serious problem.

That is:

Viktor already had a fiancée.

As a Duke, Levi would never let his daughter compete with another woman for a man.

At this moment, hearing her father's voice, Erica gradually regained her senses.

She quickly raised her head, staring intently at Viktor, hurriedly saying: "Professor."

"Don't..."

Feeling Erica's struggle, Viktor's arms only tightened further.

After reaching a strength that made it completely impossible for Erica to break free, he calmly said to Levi:

"Your Grace, is there something you wish to say?"

The nobles who heard Viktor's question couldn't help but stare in shock.

How dare he!

You're embracing someone else's daughter and still asking such a question?

He really isn't taking Duke Levi seriously at all!

Duke Levi's body seemed to tremble with anger, but in the next second, he froze in place.

Because he noticed.

At some point, the surroundings had quickly become enveloped in a nebula-like purple hue.

In this daze, his consciousness seemed to enter another world.

In this world, only Viktor and himself remained.

Levi raised his head, looking behind Viktor.

There, three enormous behemoths appeared, each situated on three different continents.

A massive beast entirely wrapped in red wandered above the lava, its body covered in crimson patterns.

Between those patterns, molten lava and high-temperature flames flowed slowly.

Dust particles carrying sparks floated above the continent, yet the behemoth showed no fear of these extremely high-temperature lava fragments.

It slowly approached the volcano, extended its giant claw into the volcano's bottom, stirred it around, then pulled out a large chunk of flowing magma and put it in its mouth.

After the lava beast swallowed it, it let out a tremendous roar.

Another land presented a completely different scene.

On the ground covered with lush vegetation, almost no traces of life could be seen.

Until the soil trembled slightly, and a serpentine beast with three pairs of compound eyes raised its body.

Its soft green body was somewhat transparent, moving nimbly between the bushes, its three pairs of compound eyes constantly examining the towering tree trunks.

An insect crawled out from a crack in the giant tree, moving its antennae as if searching for direction.

Then, the giant snake moved its body behind this insect, its three pairs of eyes fixed upon it.

Like an observer in the forest, watching countless creatures growing there.

Observing them, where they would go.

And the last continent was completely unclear in its full appearance.

The entire continent was completely covered by thick gloomy clouds, with storms rolling within the surging dark clouds.

On the ground, air currents constantly rotated.

The dark clouds rolled like surging waves, raising peak after peak on the sea surface.

Between the clouds, a huge black snake-like body could be vaguely seen.

The elongated body rolled between the cloud layers, passing through the hazy gloom without pause.

Levi could see clearly now, it was a huge black dragon covered entirely in sharp black scales.

At this moment, it seemed to be enjoying these rolling clouds, twisting its body back and forth.

Those yellow vertical pupiled eyes blinked, its entire dragon body completely relaxed.

Viktor stood with his hands in his pockets, likewise observing the enormous beings behind Levi.

"Don't you understand yet, Your Grace?"

Behind Levi appeared an illusory ocean.

Fierce winds from an unknown source made this place incredibly turbulent.

Gloomy clouds blocked out the sunlight, making even the sea surface appear pitch black.

The sea surface was covered with a very thick disguise of heavy fog, in the haziness only the sound of waves could be heard, constantly rippling.

Deep in the fog, there seemed to be a hint of faint blue phosphorescence.

In the depths of the sea, it seemed there was a huge beast wandering within, its muffled echoes mixing with the splashing of waves.

Levi also saw the special scene appearing behind himself, then turned back to look behind Viktor and calmly said:

"The true... source of Calamity."

Viktor raised his head with satisfaction, looking at Levi:

"Finally stopped hiding it?"

Long ago, Viktor had already asked Levi if he knew about the Calamities.

But at that time, Viktor wasn't worth Levi's serious attention.

And now, Viktor stood before Levi again, carrying the power of three Calamities.

He believed the other party would definitely not brush him off like before.

Levi narrowed his eyes, looking behind Viktor, then slowly said:

"What do you want to get from me?"

Viktor looked at Levi calmly, giving a light laugh:

"Don't misunderstand, you don't have anything worth my attention yet."

At this point, he snapped his fingers.

Instantly, the three behemoths behind Viktor gradually dissolved, and the continents collapsed with them, transforming into three differently colored natural elements.

These three differently colored elemental worlds began to collide with each other, and finally merged together.

The sun hung high in the sky, emanating warm energy and dazzling light.

Dense forests slowly rose from the ground, gentle winds blowing through the gaps between the trees, making branches sway.

The entire continent was thus full of vitality.

This continent had evidently merged into an extremely real world.

Levi was slightly startled, hearing Viktor continue:

"Does it feel familiar?"

At this moment, Duke Levi had a flash of realization.

He suddenly understood why Viktor would ask him this way.

Because just now, he had seen a world almost identical to this one.

Yes, the Monster Rift.

That world was imperfect.

Just like the world behind Viktor now.

It had winds, dense forests, and a blazing sun hanging in the sky.

But everywhere only had singular and permanently flourishing forests, the wind speed rarely changed, often just bringing gentle breezes.

The sun forever rose in the east and set in the west singularly, but never were there clouds that could shade the sky, bringing a simple gloom.

That Monster Rift world was extremely real,

But, it just couldn't compare to the real world.

Because the entire world only had these three elements.

At this moment, Levi seemed to understand what Viktor wanted to do.

"You want to... create a new world?"

"To be honest, I don't have such a grand ideal yet."

Viktor shrugged, the entire space behind him returning to void.

"But since I've already made a start, not collecting all of them."

"How could I be content with that?"

Levi's eyes widened.

Viktor spoke as if somewhat casually.

"Wouldn't this be as you wish too, Your Grace?"

"The Calamities are part of this world, even if they lose their source, new Calamities will appear in any corner of this world."

"And once a Calamity is reborn, then."

Viktor waved his hand, and a fiery image appeared before Levi.

The person wrapped within it was Erica.

She closed her eyes, her body surrounded by holy light.

In six different directions around her body, there were six differently colored halos.

Two of the halos were particularly bright.

One was a white halo, symbolizing the wind element.

Another was a green halo, symbolizing the wood element.

And finally, the red halo was gradually brightening.

As if sensing something's resurrection, gradually recovering its power.

Then, the image turned to ashes under the burning flames, gradually burning and shattering.

Levi stared blankly at the sky, as if not having fully processed everything yet. Then Viktor's voice sounded again:

"Erica is your daughter, I don't think I need to remind you of her special nature."

Levi came back to his senses, looking at Viktor:

"Just what... do you know..."

Viktor looked behind Levi, quietly saying:

"Not much, but enough."

"For example, the [Water's Blessing] on you."

When he saw the wounds on Sapphirose's body, he already had a guess.

If previously, Viktor only had suspicions about Levi's identity, now, when he embraced Erica.

Viktor was certain.

Levi's power could only come from.

The Water Calamity — Dozale.

Thank you all for waiting! I took a month-long break to take care of some other matters, but now I’m back. I’ll be gradually catching up on updates for this series. I truly appreciate all your comments and support—it means a lot to me.