My Reflector Is Invincible

28. What Was Taken Away

“Move now.”

The duke, who was being dragged into the room by the knights, gritted his teeth.

He was being ordered around by a mere captain of the knights, and not even a hundred of them.

“How dare… give me orders.”

“I apologize. However, these are the orders of the former duke.”

Thud.

The duke, who had even lost his position, gnashed his teeth in anger.

Another knight standing next to him whispered quietly, looking around.

“Please bear with it until the former duke’s anger subsides.”

The lord is his own son anyway.

It meant that the King of Knights would soon come looking for him again.

However, the duke could not bear it.

‘My own knights, following my father’s orders instead of mine.’

Even though his direct knights were imprisoned, he was currently the lord of the dukedom.

Yet, the words of the soldiers and knights were the same.

[These are the orders of the former duke.]

Well, that might be natural.

The King of Knights was the goal and the great idol of the knights.

He was an object of admiration not only for the knights of the dukedom but also for all the knights on the continent.

If only the duke had any power.

‘My father would not pass on the succession to me.’

It was because he lacked talent.

He couldn’t handle everything he had, so he couldn’t give it to me in the first place.

‘No, he must not have trusted me.’

Otherwise, why would he have said that he was looking for [him] and was passing on the position of the next lord to his grandsons?

He would pass on not only the position of the duke but also the succession to the next lord, not me.

‘Yes. I understand that much.’

However, he could not bear the existence of Joo-yeon.

‘A mere slave like him is [him]. How could he abandon me, his son, for such a guy!’

It was truly an unbearable insult.

The Edmer family was the ruler of the north.

It was ridiculous that such a ruling family was being pushed around by a mere slave.

It didn’t matter anymore.

‘If I can’t have it… no one else can have it.’

The duke was not a fool.

Maintaining the position of the duke was not an easy task.

‘I prepared for the worst-case scenario… but I didn’t know I’d actually have to use this.’

The duke had secretly joined hands with some people.

I tried to keep the secret until the end.

“But there’s no need for that anymore.”

The Duke took out something he had prepared.

It was a dark necklace with black pearls embedded in it.

Crash!

The Duke crushed the necklace in his hand.

The knights noticed something strange.

“What are you doing right now!”

“Take your hand off it!”

But the Duke’s faint voice came out first.

“It’s too late.”

“Your Grace!”

They were the ones who were going to boil his hands.

However, there was nothing to cover up the fact that he had lost his position as the Duke.

“Then you should have followed me. Your mistake is… following the orders of my father, not me.”

The knights hurriedly tried to pull out their weapons.

But right at that moment.

Thud, thud, thud!

Sharp claws pierced the knights’ chests and protruded.

“Ku… Crap…”

“Who the hell…”

At that moment, a creepy voice was heard.

[You’ve been rejecting it so far, but have you finally… decided to make a contract?]

The Duke no longer hesitated.

“I’ll make a contract. Give me what I want.”

[Tell me what you want.]

“The lives of two people.”

All I had to do was to kill the Knight King and the protagonist.

Then I could regain the Duke’s family that ruled the North again.

[Kukukuku. I didn’t know I’d be making a contract with a noble for just two lives.]

The surviving knights were surprised by the conversation between the two beings and shouted.

“What the hell are you doing right now!”

“Lord!”

“Then you should have obeyed me.”

A dog should not bite its owner.

As soon as the Duke finished speaking, a grotesque monster emerged from the black shadow.

The knights trembled at the sight.

A demon.

It was the enemy the previous Duke had fought all his life.

It means only one thing.

“Wh-What the…?!”

“Surely…His Grace the Duke…has become…a traitor?”

The duke had betrayed humanity.

He had joined hands with the demons and taken their side.

The knights’ eyes hardened.

The duke’s betrayal was a problem, but the immediate calamity before their eyes was a greater concern.

[Be torn apart.]

Just a single word.

Along with the demon’s utterance, an unimaginably powerful aura erupted forth.

Kuwoooooo!

A whirlwind surged up from beneath the knights’ feet.

The sharp wind tore apart the armored knights alive.

“Kyaaagh!”

The knights instinctively grasped the demons’ might.

‘They must be killed without fail.’

If so, there was only one way.

“I’ll hold him off! You somehow inform the King of Knights!”

Simultaneously, one knight broke ranks, and the remaining knights raised their shields.

＜I shall not turn my back on the enemy＞

It was the gray light of chivalry.

The chivalry ＜No Retreat＞, a valor and strength that arose from never surrendering just by facing the enemy.

The fierce wind attacked the knight, but to no avail.

“The title bestowed upon me by His Majesty is ＜Iron Wall＞! You cannot kill me with that wind!”

Even if he couldn’t defeat the demon, he could certainly hold back its legs, which was why he remained.

However, the demon that emerged from the shadows curled its lips.

[Oh really? But even the hardest steel has its weaknesses, you know.]

At that moment, the world of the shield-wielding knight came to a standstill.

Kwa-thud.

He had turned into an ice statue, frozen solid.

The remaining knights froze in place, their expressions filled with terror.

The demon, having disposed of all the knights, slowly approached the duke.

[Well then, now that the pests have been eliminated, let’s…formally seal the contract. Extend your hand.]

As the demon extended its hand, the blood in the vicinity gathered in one place.

The duke frowned.

‘It’s a contract that’s only advantageous to him.’

Once the contract was made, there was no way to escape his clutches ever again. If he made the contract, the duke would become a traitor to humanity.

As the head of the Edmer dukedom, it would be a fall from grace to the very depths.

But he didn’t stop.

‘If I can’t have it…no one can!’

It was when the duke’s hand was about to reach the contract paper.

At that moment.

BAM!

The Duke’s hand was blown away, and a red puddle burst into pieces.

The cause of the phenomenon was none other than a sword.

Tiiing.

What a powerful force.

It was stuck to the wall but was shaking violently.

The faces of the Demon and the Duke turned quickly.

“Who the hell is…….”

[How dare…….]

A man’s voice pierced their ears clearly.

“Look. I heard a rat was trying to give birth to its young here?”

It was Joo-Yeon.

* * *

‘I knew it.’

As Joo-Yeon intended, the Duke ended up making a contract with the Demon.

If they had made the contract in secret, it might have been overlooked.

The problem was that they made the mistake of rushing things. As a result, they ended up getting caught by a man who should never have known about it.

“Really…… there was a rat.”

The eyebrows of the Knight King, who had thrown the sword, twitched.

Although he had managed to stop the contract, he had an expression that could not bear the child’s mistake.

The other knights were equally furious.

“To think you would kill your own knights. How far do you intend to disgrace your honor, Lord?”

“Is this really…… what the young master intended?”

The Knight King and the 100 knights.

They were standing right behind Joo-Yeon.

The evidence was certain.

The witnesses were certain.

Now, the Duke had been branded a traitor to humanity.

It was all according to Joo-Yeon’s plan.

‘How can he be so predictable?’

Fortunately, he had been able to predict the pattern of the Demon and the Duke.

If he hadn’t known about the Duke’s betrayal and had been hit from behind, he could have been in real trouble.

Supplies could have been cut off at a critical moment.

Important items could have been intercepted.

Companions who needed to be found could have been scattered.

‘Yeah. And that’s a bad ending.’

The Demons were very dangerous beings that increased the probability of that happening. If he couldn’t handle this, the probability of death would increase even more.

No wonder it was said that the most important thing in the ‘Valentino Saga’ was to eliminate traitors.

Most traitors were leaders of their respective factions.

Without a just cause, they were often more troublesome than the demons.

Joo-yeon had dragged things out to this point for this very moment.

Just by looking at the eyes of the hundred knights and the King of Knights, one could tell that they were filled with murderous intent.

The knights who had been pierced by something and died.

The knights who had frozen to death.

All of them were clearly visible in their eyes.

The duke, who had been momentarily bewildered, gritted his teeth.

“Isn’t it all Father’s fault! Then… you shouldn’t ignore me… Duke Edmer!”

However, the King of Knights did not even answer.

No, as if it wasn’t worth answering, he opened his mouth to the knights.

“From this moment on, that guy is no longer a member of the Edmer family.”

As soon as the King of Knights finished speaking, the knights moved.

A dazzling light appeared around their bodies.

All the knights were moving to deal with the demons and the man who was no longer the lord.

At that sight, the duke gritted his teeth and shouted.

“If that’s Father’s will… I won’t just stand here and take it!”

The duke urged the demon.

“Demon! Hurry up and fulfill the contract! Get rid of those guys!”

[Our contract has not been fulfilled.]

“What…?”

[You must have seen the magic circle break earlier. To create a new magic circle, a new price is needed.]

“A new price! That’s not what we agreed on!”

[Or should I just leave?]

“……!?”

The duke’s eyes wavered.

He realized what the demon was trying to say.

Since the contract was not fulfilled due to interference, he was asking for a greater price if he wanted to survive here.

He bit his lip.

“I’ll give it to you! I’ll give you everything you want! Kill everyone here!”

[The contract is formed.]

The contract between the two beings was formed in an instant.

The blood on the floor formed the pattern of the contract, and their souls were immediately connected.

At the unexpected contract, the demon, a mix of wolf and bat, smiled. It must have been because he had achieved more than he had planned.

[I guess I can devour the Duke’s family more easily than I thought.]

This territory, the power here, even the people. One could clearly see what he was calculating.

He must have finished his calculations, because the demon immediately spread its two wings.

[Tear them apart! Sweep them away! Storm!]

A whirlwind formed around the demon.

It was an enormous force incomparable to the energy from a moment ago. The storm stretched out in all directions as if it would destroy everything.

Kwa-kwa-kwang!

The magnificent Peacock Castle crumbled.

The knights who were trying to capture the peacock were blown away by the strong gust of wind.

Only the King of Knights and Jooyeon were unharmed.

The 100 knights gnashed their teeth and shouted.

“A real demon has appeared!”

“Raise your weapons! Never let him approach the former Duke and the guest!”

In particular, the gaze of Knight Albert, who was at the forefront, was burning hot.

He was the captain of the 100 knights.

He was the one who actually commanded the knights instead of the King of Knights.

“The 1st platoon protects His Grace the former Duke… The 2nd platoon protects His Grace’s guest.”

At Albert’s command, the knights surrounded Jooyeon. It was as if they were determined to protect the King of Knights’ guest at all costs.

However, the demon laughed at the knights and flew into the sky.

[It’s useless, humans. I am Siond of the North Wind. I am the one who will take your lives.]

“……!”

The knights gasped at the name of the demon.

A demon with a title?

‘If it’s a Named-rank, it’s not an ordinary opponent.’

‘Isn’t it capable of annihilating an entire nation’s army?’

‘Only a heroic being can handle it…!’

Their faces turned pale.

It wasn’t just any demon that had attached itself to the Duke’s family.

In an instant, a tremendous sense of oppression spread in all directions.

It was similar to when the King of Knights appeared, no, it seemed even stronger.

But it was at that moment.

“Who said I’d let you take him?”

Jooyeon’s voice rang out from among the knights.

And another sound was heard.

Snap!

As if snapping his fingers.

Thud!

The demon that had been floating high in the sky crashed to the ground.