Chapter 239: The Slaughter Monarch

The entire continent witnessed his might through the ongoing broadcast. A figure stepped out from the spatial rift.

He wore a black mask, and his eyes shone with a sharp purple radiance. It was Nova in his Slaughter Monarch disguise — this time fully under his Chaotic Demon Transformation.

Two intimidating horns had grown from his head, similar in presence to Kharos’s own.

Kharos’s and Elaris’s eyes both widened.

Kharos, in particular, was shaken to his core. How could there be another demon in this world whose demonic aura stood on equal footing with his own? More than that, he could not see through the man’s true strength at all — yet the aura alone was completely on par with his.

Caelan was thinking the exact same thing. Who was this new demon? Why had he never been aware of such a being? Even Kharos looked visibly shocked as he stared at the figure.

"I finally found you, darling!!"

Elaris practically jumped with excitement the moment she saw him. She immediately recognized the overwhelming demonic aura she had once felt in the royal city of Zarven.

Yet this time, Nova’s aura was several times greater and far sharper than before. Kharos looked confused by Elaris’s words... until understanding finally dawned on him.

So this was Nova.

For some reason, Elaris had completely hidden the fact that the man she was searching for possessed this level of power. Now that Kharos was witnessing it with his own eyes, he was having a hard time believing it.

Nova did not even spare Elaris a glance. His masked gaze turned toward Albert and Ron.

"Remember me... you bastards."

His heavy voice, laced with overwhelming demonic aura, made both men shudder violently. They could barely remain standing.

They finally understood who had interfered back then — yet they still could not comprehend how he had become this monstrous in such a short time.

"Who are you?" Caelan demanded in an authoritative voice. This new threat was deeply concerning.Nova looked at the blonde Emperor and replied casually:

"Didn’t your dogs already tell you about me?"Caelan frowned. Was he supposed to know this person?

Albert forced himself forward, still struggling under the pressure.

"M-My lord... he is the Slaughter Monarch."

Caelan’s eyes widened slightly. He had received a report about such a figure... but nothing in those reports had prepared him for the monstrosity currently standing before them.

"Hahahahaha... looks like you remember now."

Nova’s laughter echoed as the air itself cracked under the weight of his aura. He was currently releasing the pure royal demonic aura of Demon Lord Raze.

"Come here, my love."

A spatial rift opened beside him. Nyxara stepped out, holding the unconscious Maria in her arms.

Everyone instantly recognized the beautiful figure.

Kharos’s eyes widened once again — as did the eyes of nearly everyone present. Not only was his daughter standing there, but somehow she had already taken Maria from Darius’s grasp. Darius himself was nowhere to be seen.

"If you’re looking for that guy," Nyxara said casually as she stood beside her husband, "he’s already dead."

Shock rippled through both armies. To kill a peak Level 9 Emperor so easily... then they noticed it.

Nyxara was releasing a Sovereign’s aura.

"What?! She’s a Sovereign now?!" Lyra exclaimed in disbelief as she felt the pressure.

Vaorak, Draeven, and the others were equally stunned — all except Aurora, whose mind was elsewhere as she processed something she was having a hard time accepting.

Kharos’s expression darkened.

"My daughter... are you really going to rebel against your own father? Against your family?"

Nyxara did not even look at him.

"Hmph. Who’s your daughter? Don’t call me that. The only family I have is my husband, Nova."

Kharos sighed and shook his head before turning his full attention to Nova.

"So you are Nova... the one with the royal bloodline. You defeated my son and caused chaos in my kingdom."

His crimson eyes narrowed further.

"And then you had the audacity to take my daughter away with you... until she turned against her own father."

Nova’s voice remained calm and cold.

"Hmph. Father, you say? The fact that she hates you this much... you know the reason better than anyone. As for your kingdom, I simply went to take a look at how the Abyss actually looks."

He paused, then added almost casually:

"Gotta say... Level 4 is the most amazing place in the entire Abyss."

Another wave of pure shock swept through both armies.

Vaorak and Draeven were having a hard time believing the words they were hearing.

Who was this man? He was calling the mighty Demon Princess — the third most beautiful woman in the world — his love, and she was openly calling him her husband.

He was powerful enough to casually describe the Fourth Level of the Abyss as "amazing." Albert and Ron were even more shaken than anyone else.

What the fuck is even going on?

What are they talking about?! He was only a Grandmaster not too long ago!

Across the entire continent, people watching the broadcast fell into chaos.

"Hey, look at that guy..."

"He has the same name as the champion of the tournament!"

"They also called him the Slaughter Monarch..."

"Fuck... he’s standing on the same level as the strongest Demon Lord and the Human Emperor!"

"Looks like the entire Human Continent is going to be destroyed today..."

Murmurs of fear and disbelief spread across the continent. Down below, the capital was still flooded with hybrids, though the human armies were slowly regaining control of the situation.

Yet more hybrids continued pouring out from spatial rifts that someone was continuously opening in the sky.

Caelan swept his hand through the air and sealed the space around the entire capital. No outside help would be able to arrive, and the gateways from which the hybrids had been pouring out instantly closed.

He then turned toward Nyxara, his golden eyes sharp.

"Give her back. Now."

Nyxara glanced at Nova. He gave a small nod. It was clear that Caelan truly cared for Maria as his granddaughter, so there was no reason to keep her any longer.

"Not so soon!"

The dragon-hybrid Sovereign standing beside Elaris suddenly charged straight at Nyxara. His power was clearly higher than hers. Nova had not expected a high-level Sovereign to attack so abruptly.

Although he could release an aura of that level, he still lacked the true strength to match it. Yet something unexpected happened.

Aurora appeared in front of Nyxara in an instant and stopped the dragon’s charge with a single hand. With a casual motion, she blasted him away.

Not wanting to waste time wondering why Aurora had helped them, Nyxara quickly sent Maria through a spatial rift toward Caelan.

The Human Emperor immediately ordered several peak-level Emperors to take her to safety. The moment his granddaughter was secured, Caelan’s suppressed rage finally surged.

He charged straight at Kharos, who had clearly been waiting for this moment.

The others were still wary of Nova, but they soon realized he was not targeting anyone in particular. Nova then fully released his demonic aura, and both armies charged at each other.

Vaorak engaged Zeon. Draeven confronted the other dragon Sovereign. Lyra moved to intercept the surrounding Emperors. She herself was only a Level 1 Sovereign — the same level as Nyxara — which was precisely why she had been so shocked earlier.

The sky above the Eastern Kingdom rippled violently under the colliding auras. Crackling energy filled the air as Kharos and Caelan clashed.

Neither of them was fighting at full power; both were carefully controlling their strength so they would not destroy their own allies.

Even so, Caelan could clearly sense that Kharos was not taking the fight seriously. He, too, restrained himself. If either of them truly went all out, the entire continent could be destroyed.

Aurora turned toward Nyxara. "It’s been quite a long time, little girl. I didn’t expect you to have already reached the Sovereign realm."

Nyxara growled at her. "Who are you calling ’little girl’?"

Nova calmly held her back before looking at Aurora.

"Why did you help us?"

Aurora remained silent for a moment. Then her gaze locked onto him.

"Tell me, Nova Valencrest... how did you transform yourself into a demon?"

**

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