"Inferno Sphere."
Claude’s voice echoed through the night, and from a massive black magic circle above, five blazing orbs of dark fire rained down onto Blackwood.
Each one crashed into the village like a meteor, ripping through houses as if they were made of paper.
The shockwaves alone sent people flying through the air, their bodies slamming into walls or the ground, bones shattering on impact.
Those unfortunate enough to be near the blasts were instantly reduced to ash.
Even the rain, pouring down relentlessly, couldn’t extinguish the cursed flames. They devoured everything, burning with a hunger that no natural fire possessed.
The villagers’ screams reached him even from high above, and Claude’s lips curled into a wide, sadistic smile.
"Morion," he said, his voice calm yet cold, fingers gently brushing through her hair.
"This is what happens to righteous fools who think they can burn our kind, enslave us, and butcher our brothers and sisters like animals."
Morion’s eyes sparkled with admiration, the reflection of flames dancing in her pupils. "I know, Father! You’re amazing!" she beamed.
"They’re no better than parasites! They deserve all of this!"
There was something disturbingly natural in the way she said it, but Claude didn’t mind.
She was his sister, the Lord Of Calamity blood ran through her body — and perhaps one day, the next ruler.
She needed to understand power.
Mercy was for the weak.
Claude smirked, stretching lazily. He could’ve wiped out the entire village in a single spell, but where was the fun in that?
Watching them scream, writhe, and crumble — it reminded him of burning ant nests as a child. Only this time, the ants screamed.
The surviving holy knights and clerics weren’t about to sit still. Spells of light arced toward him, while others cast blessings to let the knights take to the air and charge him.
"Hah! What a pathetic display." He lazily raised a hand. "Dread Slash."
A nearly invisible arc of dark wind cut through the air — and through the knights.
Their bodies split apart mid-flight, limbs and torsos raining down into the burning village below, adding fuel to the chaos.
"YOU MONSTER! GET DOWN HERE! FIGHT IN FAIR!"
A shrill voice rang out from the ground, cutting through the screams. Claude glanced down, his brow raising slightly.
"Olivia?"
The woman standing below wasn’t the same shy girl who once blushed at the sight of him.
Time had hardened her — and from the holy emblem clutched in her trembling hands, it was clear what path she’d chosen.
"What the hell happened while I was gone?" Claude muttered, disappointed.
"She grew into a beauty… such a waste." His smirk returned. "Too bad she’s a bitch now."
"Who’s that, Father?" Morion tilted her head, pointing at Olivia.
"An old friend," Claude shrugged. "I suppose I should grant her a quick death, out of respect."
He raised his hand, summoning a small ball of dark fire, and flicked it toward Olivia.
She tried to raise a barrier, but the difference in power was laughable. The flames tore through her shield like paper, engulfing her in searing black fire.
"AAAHHHH!"
Olivia’s scream mingled with the rest, her body writhing as the cursed flames ate into her flesh.
"NO! PLEASE, DON’T! HAVE MERCY ON HER!"
Sophia’s desperate voice cut through the night. Bound to the cross, she no longer cared about her own suffering. All she could see was her daughter burning alive.
Claude raised a brow. "Oh? You’re begging for her life?"
Sophia’s face was streaked with tears and soot, her body trembling as she tried to break free.
"She’s my daughter! Please… please spare her!"
Claude sighed theatrically and slashed his hand through the air. The flames instantly vanished — but the damage had already been done.
Olivia lay crumpled on the ground, her skin blackened, her breathing shallow and ragged.
"Hmm," Claude muttered.
"Third-degree burns, probably 80% of her body. She’s done for." He snapped his fingers again, causing Sophia’s chains to shatter.
She stumbled to the ground, crawling toward her daughter, hands hovering uselessly as she sobbed.
"I’m sorry… I’m so sorry, Olivia…"
Claude leaned back slightly, watching the scene unfold with detached curiosity.
"A mother’s love is terrifying," he said, half to himself.
Even after being betrayed, even after Olivia had stood by and let her mother be sentenced to death, Sophia still forgave her.
Humans really were fascinating creatures. Even when he was a human in the past, he still couldn’t understand the depth of their hatred and love.
Claude stood high above the smoldering ruins, his crimson eyes sweeping over the devastation below.
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Blackwood — the once vibrant town where he was born, where he used to stroll alongside his mother, where his innocent days had been spent — was now reduced to fragments of debris and scattered corpses.
A strange pang struck his chest, but he couldn’t tell if it was nostalgia or indifference.
"Did I overdo it?" he muttered to himself, lips curling into a half-smile.
Honestly, after reaching his third-star evolution, he hadn’t expected Inferno Sphere — a spell that was never meant to be that destructive — to have such catastrophic power.
It was almost disappointing how fragile the town had become under his touch.
He sighed, running a hand through his hair. "I can’t let the Church in Promised Land catch wind of this just yet."
Despite his overwhelming power, Claude knew better than to act recklessly. Before declaring war on the Church and taking the world into his hands, he needed to understand the true extent of Elysium’s military strength.
His gaze shifted, locking onto an old man emerging from the ruined church. The man’s robe was adorned with intricate gold embroidery — far more elaborate than the others’.
There was no mistaking it — this was the leader of the local church.
Claude’s brow arched. ’Did they replace the Cardinal?’
His mother once spoke of the Cardinal, the man who had purchased her from slavery and granted her freedom.
But this wasn’t the same man Claude remembered from the day he fled Blackwood.
"Interesting," Claude murmured, raising his hand again.
"Void Strike."
A thin beam of pure black energy shot down, piercing the heart of the church in a flash.
The entire building collapsed inward, reduced to nothing but dust and rubble. The cries of the clerics within were cut off instantly.
But Claude knew this was only the beginning. There was still unfinished business.
He still needed to kidnap his "dear father" and his perfect little family — and, of course, take Sophia for himself.
His eyes narrowed slightly as he caught sight of a familiar figure darting away from the chaos, running as fast as his legs could carry him.
Claude’s smile twisted into something cruel. "Running away, huh? Typical Enzo."
The so-called holy knight who once stood so proudly, the man who sneered at him from atop his self-righteous pedestal — now reduced to a fleeing coward.
’But will he abandon his wife and daughter, or does he have something else in mind?’
Claude’s eyes gleamed with dark amusement.
"Let’s see what you’re up to, ’Father.’"