CHAPTER 281: CHARGING STRAIGHT INTO THE VOID

The black knight's gaze locked onto the giant eagle soaring in from the distant sky. He stepped forward, the heavy plates of his black armor clashing with a deep, resonant clang.

A beast of that size was, at minimum, a full knight on the threshold of advancing into a grand knight. As a sentinel of the spire, he had the duty of ensuring that no threat approached the cursebinding spire unchecked.

Yet the eagle veered away and withdrew upon nearing the tower's perimeter. Two figures leapt from its back and descended toward the ground.

Wind gathered beneath them, sculpted by sorcery into a cushioning force. Wang Yu landed smoothly, cradling Avia in his arms. Without pause, they sprinted toward the tower.

"We've come to see the wizard Lilya Svein. I am her niece, Avia Dovan. Please deliver our message!"

Her voice, amplified by spellcraft, could be heard all the way from the spire.

A guttural, indistinct rumble emerged from the depths of the knight's helm. Raising his gauntleted arm, he held out his hand, signaling Wang Yu to stop. Then, he acknowledged the message with a subtle nod.

They didn't seem hostile. He would carry out his duties.

Wang Yu and Avia stopped short. The devils had given them a tight deadline. Of the fifteen days allotted, thirteen had already passed—even with the giant eagle Angola flying nonstop thanks to its innate abilities.

Now was not the time to provoke conflict. All their preparations had been made en route.

The black knight turned and disappeared into the tower. He didn't fear these two forcing their way in—after all, the spire itself was the greatest defense.

The knight intercepted a flustered wizard rushing by and uttered another series of low, unintelligible sounds. Yet everyone within the tower seemed to understand him.

"Visitors? At a time like this? Wait—they're asking for Lilya? If I recall correctly, she does have a niece named Avia Dovan... She's here? Alright, I'll go inform her."

Though initially reluctant, the wizard turned on his heel and darted up the stairs upon hearing Avia's name.

At that moment, Lilya was in the midst of a crisis. Her face was pale as she struggled to command the void around her, attempting to analyze the "voidwell" that resembled the very fabric of the cosmos centered around her sister.

Yet the moment her void spells touched the region, they collapsed. The void, once fully hers to command, slipped free from her grasp like water through her fingers.

Three figures in well-tailored suits stood beside Mira, their faces veiled in shadow. Every few moments, they spoke, lacing mockery with deliberate provocation. Their taunts sparked a fire in Lilya's chest that threatened to consume her restraint.

"Humans and the void... The gap between us is just too wide. Ha! Watching you struggle so hard to draw upon its power, only to be so utterly denied—it's hilarious. Honestly, I'd give up if I were you."

One of the devils doffed his hat and waved it mockingly at Lilya, a sardonic smile on his lips. The moment void energy crossed into the voidwell, it became useless and inert.

"Just who are you?!" Mira growled, her brows furrowed in fury. She wasn't the only wizard here studying the voidwell.

Wizards and researchers all across the cursebinding spire were poring over this anomaly, but none had made any progress. Their spells, tools, and knowledge yielded nothing of substance.

"You've probably guessed by now, haven't you?" said one devil lightly. "We are what you humans call devils. Strange, isn't it? Three devils together—surely that's impossible, right? And yet... here we are. What fun.

"Let me think—what did Four say again? Ah, yes. You're her sister, aren't you? Lilya Svein. Helpless. Unable to do anything but watch. Delightful.

"But don't worry—we're not here for you. So relax. Just sit back and enjoy the show. It's all you're capable of, anyway."

Their words pierced Lilya like cold steel. She knew the truth: in the face of devils, even the most accomplished wizards stood on rocky ground.

Devils were born of the void. To them, human wizards might as well have been flailing children. Commanding the void was, to devils, perhaps easier than the very act of breathing. It would be near-impossible to challenge them on the basis of wizardry.

"...Garcia. Cut it."

After a brief silence, Lilya tapped the knight beside her. He understood at once—he would channel fighting spirit and slash at the space itself.

A surge of energy raced through Garcia's veins and into his battle-worn longsword. He stomped on the ground, cracking tile and stone, and unleashed a cleaving arc of pure fighting spirit into the room.

A faint sound followed as the blade slipped through what felt like a thin, invisible membrane. Yet beyond that veil, the force dissipated. It grew translucent in mid-air, then vanished entirely before it struck anything.

"My, my! That was terribly reckless. What if you'd hit dear Mira? Do move her in a little further, won't you? Such brute force!"

The devil Five feigned panic as he patted the shoulder of his companion, who obligingly rolled Mira's chair deeper into the room—though both knew she was never in danger.

"Damn it," Lilya muttered. "Why are these devils here? And how did Mira get involved without telling me? No—if they're devils, maybe she couldn't say a word to begin with."

A heavy sense of helplessness mingled with her anger. The voidwell was nearing its final stage—it had become something akin to a portal into the void itself. Any physical attack, like Garcia's slash, would simply be nullified.

The devils' presence exacerbated the issue. Their influence severed the connection between the void and the wizards around it. Just as Five had said, all they could do... was watch.

No one blamed them for their powerlessness. Even a single devil was an event of legend. Three together was nothing short of calamity. Their inability to act could only be considered misfortune.

"Damn it all..."

The cheerfully flippant Lilya was gone. As a grand wizard, no one understood the gravity of this situation better than she did. There was no breakthrough in sight. No hope save for miracles—but what miracles could there be for wizards who scorned the gods?

"We can't give up. We won't. These devils didn't come here just for amusement. We must find out what they want."

She slammed her fist against her brow, forcibly clearing her mind. Magic had failed—now only one option remained: negotiation.

"Wizard Lilya, someone's here for you... She claims to be your niece."

As Lilya steeled herself to speak to the devils, a breathless wizard arrived.

"Avia?" she said sharply.

Her attention had been fixed entirely on the voidwell and the devils within. But the word "niece" pierced that fog of concentration like lightning.

"She came at this precise moment... alongside the sudden arrival of devils..." Lilya muttered. "Garcia. Bring her here. Now."

Her instincts made the connection immediately. Whatever catastrophe had befallen Mira, Avia's arrival was no coincidence. And given her current state of helplessness, she might just be the key to resolving this situation.

Garcia vanished into motion. He descended the winding steps in a blur. As he spotted the pair below, he shouted, "Wang Yu, Avia, come with me!"

Carrying Avia in his arms, Wang Yu darted forward the instant he was granted passage, charging up the stairs behind Garcia until they reached the threshold of Lilya's chamber.

"Well, well... you made it just in time," Five chuckled, before Lilya could even speak. "Rather well done of you. I should reward that with some honesty, don't you think?"

"What do you want?"

Wang Yu cut straight to the point—true to their supposed offer of honesty.

"Come now, don't make us sound like villains," Five said, clapping mockingly. "We're simply here to uphold a contract. And if there's a breach... well, perhaps that's your mother's fault, hmm?"

His words twisted like a knife as he turned his attention to Avia.

"What do you want?" she asked plainly. "What will it take to free my mother?"

"Don't be hasty," Five said with a grin. "There's nothing you can do but watch."

"This is a pact signed with your ancestors," he continued. "We took residence in their souls, granting them and their descendants an enhanced affinity with the void. That's how the ‘Key' left behind by Roland ended up choosing them."

"And between devils' blood and the Key, the Dovan family became a lineage of powerful wizards. Ascending to the realm of legend was no longer out of reach. You know your own history, don't you? The Dovans were once at the very heart of the kingdom's power."

Beside Five, another devil stepped forward—Four. He reached into the air behind Mira and withdrew a parchment scroll that shimmered with voidlight.

"And the cost?" Wang Yu asked flatly. "Devils aren't known for charity."

Four cackled, a jagged laugh like shattering glass. "The cost is simple: when they die, their souls belong to me. Their void affinity. Their memories. Everything—they're mine."

That was the other side of the deal.

Just like other devils, Four possessed a unique power: that of contract. By tapping into the void, he could forge bonds that would persist for generations, unbroken and immutable.

Indeed, those tales that trickled down through obscure histories, speaking of devils toying with mortals, binding them with honeyed words and cursed parchment, were not mere legends. They were but pale reflections of the truths surrounding this devil, Four.

"Impossible," Lilya interrupted, her voice edged with fury. "Our family's magical lineage has waned for generations. By your logic, our affinity should have only grown stronger."

"Ah... well, that's not my fault," Four said with mock apology. "Much like how you and your dear sister Mira failed to inherit ‘me' and the Key together. It's just bad luck. Or perhaps your own doing.

"Technically, it wasn't a breach of contract. But one of your ancestors, believing the pact unjust, sought to sever their ties with the Void entirely. That little act of rebellion caused your bloodline's affinity to decline sharply."

He sighed, as if disappointed in their folly. "To think they tried to defy the Void. What a foolish resistance. Their struggle neither voided the pact nor spared them the price. They merely lived on, devoid of any meaningful magical power."

His casual cruelty lit a flame of rage behind Lilya's eyes.

"She was the same," Four continued, nodding at Mira, "though her fight wasn't for herself. She tried everything to free her heir from our grasp. Oh, you wouldn't believe it—do you know what she did?"

He pointed with theatrical flair at the figure slumped in the rocking chair beside him.

"She sacrificed half her soul, calling upon a lesser god in hopes of obliterating me. Madness, truly—but it nearly worked. If not for her efforts, I wouldn't still be rotting in this decrepit shell. I'd be wearing her daughter's body now.

"And that cursed Key... She managed to wrench it from me, too. You have it now, don't you? That, too, was meant to be mine."

He leered at Avia as he spoke, revealing the lengths to which her mother had gone for her sake.

Avia's eyes opened wide. As fragmented memories resurfaced, she began to understand that her mother's presence had lingered far more often than she ever realized.

"Hmph. Still, I did gain something in return. A soul half-gone... made room for me to stay. Lady Mira, look upon your daughter. Miss Avia, look upon your mother, who worked so hard to free you from my control."

He snapped his fingers. The devil vanished. And the woman in the rocking chair, Mira, lifted her head at last. Unfocused and urgent, her gaze swept the room.

"Avia...?"

Her voice trembled as her eyes fell upon the young woman standing in the doorway. But in the next breath, her expression shifted with panic and resolve. A fireball bloomed in her left hand, which she pressed to her own temple.

"Tch. You tried that trick back at the manor too, didn't you?" said the voice now rising from Mira's mouth—but it was no longer hers. "Trying to kill yourself to keep your daughter away. Did it work then? You're even weaker now. I control most of this body. Still hoping to die and save her from being used as leverage?"

The devil seized control. Her right hand shot up and crushed the left, snuffing out the fireball.

Mira wore a twisted smile, her voice now clearly Four's. His mocking tone dripped with triumph.

Avia stood frozen. The expression on that face... It was the same look her mother wore the night before she left for the capital with Wang Yu. Now it all made sense. That was why she'd insisted that Avia go with him. She'd known.

"How moving," said Five, stepping in with a pleased smirk. "But let's talk about terms. What would it take to reunite mother and daughter? I must admit, I'd enjoy watching you squirm a bit longer—but it's time we got to the point."

He turned to Avia, voice smooth as poisoned silk.

"I need you to forge a new pact, Miss Avia. One between you and Four—not your family. Just you.

"You, who slipped beyond the bounds of our original contract thanks to your mother's desperate efforts. Your affinity for the void has surpassed anything we expected. Frankly, Four didn't believe such power could be yours. But it is.

"It's too tempting to ignore. The world isn't fair, is it? A human with such affinity—enhanced, yes, by the Key, but still far beyond what should be possible.

"We want that power. That voidborn gift. In death, your soul shall belong to us. But until then, you're free to live as you wish. Chase your path, perhaps even attain the realm of legend.

"But this time, no loopholes. This contract will be sealed tighter than the last. We won't be so careless again.

"So? Live a glorious life, and surrender what will no longer matter when it ends."

Five turned his gaze upon Avia.

He wasn't worried. According to Four, this girl was hopelessly bound by sentiment. She wouldn't abandon the last family she had left.

Whether she signed or not, it mattered little. To sign meant stepping willingly into the space governed by the three devils—easy prey for the void.

And if she refused, they would simply consume Mira entirely. Her body might linger a while longer, but her soul would be gone.

The contract, after all, still offered a sliver of protection to those of the Svein line—so long as their blood was bound by the pact. Once Mira died, the pact would be concluded.

With Mira devoured, and all her memories laid bare, the devils would simply wait. They had all the time in the world. They would weave a new net. Avia's affinity would be theirs eventually.

Five admired her as one might a glittering prize. The void hummed around her.

Even among the countless souls born of this world, hers shone brightly—perhaps among the greatest he had ever seen. A soul to rival those of legends.

And it would ultimately belong to them. It was inevitable.

Either she would sign the contract to save her mother and be dragged into the void in the process, or she would watch that same fate befall her mother and learn the crushing pain of losing her sole kin. Mira's devoured soul would then be used in their plans against Avia in the future.

Such was the nature of devils. They could toy with the material world, which had no recourse against them, at will.

Then, the walls shook. A figure crashed through the doorway—Wang Yu, the knight.

Five's face twisted in disgust. Him again—to his sight, Wang Yu was soulless and mechanical, just like a golem or puppet. He was nothing more than a shell.

The void surged forward, ready to consume the intruder. He would vanish like mist. Five smiled in anticipation.

It was a foolish experiment. Thinking that he would be immune to void corruption just because he was soulless—ha! An existence so steeped in the physical world wouldn't even be able to touch them.

And yet—Wang Yu's hand closed around Mira, whose physical body had almost completely merged with the void.

"What?!"

In unison, the three devils recoiled in shock. And they were not alone. Outside the chamber, within the cursebinding spire, the watching wizards all froze in disbelief.

Wang Yu had leapt headlong into the void—and within that impossible space, had used his physical body to seize something that should have repelled all touch.

All the devils' machinations, all their veiled threats and twisted traps—none of it mattered.

He would not bargain. He would not yield. He couldn't be sure his method would work—but better to fight and fail than to give devils the upper hand.

In the end, it was a matter of power. And this, this was his and Avia's only answer.

They would rush into the void and tear the devils apart with what they had prepared. They would try their best to save Mira—and if they failed, they would have no regrets.

The power of the Chariot surged forth. In a single motion, Wang Yu seized Mira and the two devils nearest her, tearing them from their lair. Then, together, they vanished into the depths of the void.