Forced to Sell Myself to the Female Lead After Killing the Male Lead

"Rumble... Rumble!!"

In the dead of night, accompanied by one earth-shaking explosion after another, grayish-white beams of magical power continuously erupted from the valley.

The terrifying energy waves instantly split the surrounding earth apart and tore open the sky itself.

Had the valley not been reinforced by powerful magic, it would likely have collapsed beneath this overwhelming outpouring of power...

The valley itself remained intact,

but inside it,

the Bishops and members of the Heavenly Punishment Holy Church who had been fighting desperately were swept away by the gray-white tidal wave of magic one after another.

Each of them completely lost the ability to fight, fell miserably from the sky, slammed into the ground, and immediately lost consciousness.

"Damn you!"

After watching their companions fall so effortlessly, the remaining members finally realized the overwhelming difference in strength between themselves and their opponent.

Led by one of the Great Archbishops, the members of the Heavenly Punishment Holy Church all took out Blood Soul Pills, preparing to fight the enemy before them to the death in order to protect the altar of the Demon God.

However,

upon witnessing this,

the black-haired man floating high above merely smiled helplessly.

"Life is very fragile. You should learn to treasure it~"

As those words left his lips,

grayish-white light surged once again.

A gigantic magic formation radiating dazzling brilliance suddenly appeared beneath the feet of the Heavenly Punishment believers, causing their expressions to change drastically in panic.

"T-This magic circle?! When was it set up?!"

"Quite a while ago~"

The black-haired man smiled calmly.

"High-Tier Magic—Vilsade Chain Binding."

As the incantation within his mind was completed at incredible speed,

the magic formation was instantly finished.

The next moment,

countless gray-white chains formed from magical energy burst out of the formation, shooting toward the completely unprepared members of the Heavenly Punishment Holy Church.

In the blink of an eye,

accompanied by another violent eruption of magical power,

dozens of members of the Heavenly Punishment Holy Church—including the Great Archbishop himself—were tightly bound by the chains and firmly pinned to the ground, completely unable to move.

Without question,

if the black-haired man wished,

a single High-Tier spell would be enough to wipe out every member of the Heavenly Punishment Holy Church present.

Yet,

he made no move.

Instead, he looked upward with an amused expression.

At that moment,

high in the sky,

a green-haired man was struggling desperately against three powerful magical summons.

If Yumo had been there, she would probably have been surprised to discover that the green-haired man engaged in fierce battle was none other than Welt-Sislov, the Cult Leader of the Heavenly Punishment Holy Church whom she had allowed to escape previously.

Facing the relentless assault of the three summoned beasts, Welt-Sislov refused to retreat.

Resolutely swinging the blood-red scythe in his hand,

"BOOM!!"

A deafening explosion echoed through the heavens.

An eerie emerald-green radiance illuminated the night, while violent emerald magical power instantly swept across the entire valley.

Accompanied by Welt-Sislov himself and the frenzied attacks of the two giant emerald energy serpents beside him,

the three powerful summoned creatures were finally destroyed,

dissolving into countless particles of magical energy.

"Cough... Cough!"

Although he had defeated the three summons, Welt-Sislov did not dare relax.

A far more terrifying opponent was still watching from nearby.

After coughing up several mouthfuls of blood,

he raised furious and unwilling eyes toward the black-haired man floating calmly in the distance.

When he saw the man's relaxed posture with both arms folded across his chest,

Welt-Sislov immediately realized...

the other members of the Heavenly Punishment Holy Church inside the valley had probably already been defeated.

By himself...

he had reduced them to this state.

Although Welt-Sislov himself wasn't in peak condition,

his opponent's strength had clearly exceeded every one of his expectations.

"You..."

Fixing his gaze upon the black rose embroidered with golden threads on the black military uniform,

Welt-Sislov narrowed his eyes.

Countless questions surfaced within his solemn gaze.

The Black Rose Family...

Why would someone who should have remained inside the Sadik Empire suddenly appear in the northern region of the Crimson Leaf Empire?

And why had he found their hidden headquarters so precisely?

No.

Now wasn't the time to think about that!

He had to eliminate this man.

He couldn't allow the headquarters they had painstakingly built over so many years to disappear like this!

I'll risk everything!

Completely ignoring the overwhelming magical power and terrifying killing intent surrounding his opponent,

Welt-Sislov suddenly opened his mouth and rapidly chanted an incantation.

As the chant continued,

an emerald-green magic formation materialized before him.

"Sanctuary Magic—Lulotte's Black Death Thorn Spear!"

The dense emerald magical power surrounding the battlefield immediately answered the call,

continuously pouring into the formation.

Under its construction,

a pitch-black spear wrapped in emerald thorns suddenly appeared before Welt-Sislov.

This was his strongest single-target spell—

the very same magic he had once used against Yumo.

Grasping the spear,

Welt-Sislov immediately hurled the magical weapon toward the black-haired man.

Space shattered instantly.

Accompanied by a ghostly, soul-piercing howl,

the spear screamed forward.

"Die!!"

...

...

Several minutes later,

the valley once again returned to silence.

Leisurely sipping tea,

the black-haired man strolled through the shattered remains of the valley,

apparently enjoying the beautiful night scenery and the pleasant climate.

The terrifying magical power and overwhelming killing intent that had surrounded him earlier had completely disappeared.

There was no trace left of the god of slaughter he had seemed moments ago.

After taking another sip of tea,

he couldn't help sighing with satisfaction.

"Hmm, the weather's nice. Not as hot as the Sadik Empire, and not as cold as the Snow Night Empire. Enmm... maybe after we conquer this place, we should build a palace here for Lady Yumo."

Just as he was speaking,

a weak male voice suddenly sounded nearby.

"Yumo? Who is that?"

"That's something you don't need to know."

The black-haired man smiled.

At the same time,

he slowly turned around,

looking politely behind him.

"It seems you've recovered fairly well, Cult Leader."

At that moment,

reflected within the black-haired man's eyes,

the severely wounded Welt-Sislov was pinned firmly to the ground beneath two enormous wolf-shaped summoned beasts.

His magical power had nearly been exhausted.

Both of his legs were broken,

and his right arm was nowhere to be seen.

Although an Eighth-Tier expert could regenerate severed limbs,

the remaining power within Welt-Sislov was nowhere near sufficient to accomplish such a feat.

It was obvious that he had completely lost the ability to fight.

He had been utterly suppressed by the black-haired man.

Even using a Blood Soul Pill to turn the tables was impossible,

because the storage ring containing the pills had been destroyed by the black-haired man at the very beginning.

He had assumed he would simply be killed.

Yet,

to his surprise,

his opponent had never delivered the finishing blow.

Instead,

the terrifying killing intent had disappeared altogether.

That left Welt-Sislov deeply puzzled.

At first,

he had assumed this man had come to eradicate the Heavenly Punishment Holy Church.

Now, however...

that clearly wasn't the case.

Welt-Sislov narrowed his emerald-green eyes.

"Lady Duke... what exactly are you trying to do? One moment you're overflowing with killing intent, and the next you're all smiles."

"Me?"

Hearing that,

the black-haired man—

Xiao—

smiled gently.

Without the slightest trace of hostility,

and even carrying a hint of apology,

he walked toward Welt-Sislov.

"My apologies. I may have hit a little too hard."

"I only did this to test your strength, as well as the combat ability of the Heavenly Punishment Holy Church, to determine whether you're worthy of cooperation."

"Although my companions reported plenty of information about you, I still preferred verifying it personally. Only then could I be completely certain."

"A test? Heh... so that's how it is."

Welt-Sislov let out a cold laugh.

The confusion he had felt throughout the battle was finally resolved.

Still,

the thought that he himself had become someone's test subject one day left him with an indescribably complicated feeling.

"So..."

"Have we proven our worth?"

"Yes."

"Anyone who can fight me for that long naturally has value."

"You possess the qualifications to cooperate with us."

"We do? And what of it?"

"Why should we cooperate with you?"

Faced with the question,

Xiao simply shook his head indifferently.

"Do you really think you're in any position to refuse?"

"You..."

Glancing at the magical wolves pinning him down,

then at his subordinates still trapped within the magic formation in the distance,

Welt-Sislov's eyes filled with unwillingness and humiliation.

"However..."

"I'm convinced you won't reject this proposal."

"What?"

Hearing the absolute confidence in Xiao's voice,

Welt-Sislov frowned.

"What... kind of cooperation?"

"Cooperation..."

"...to eliminate the Child of Destiny together."

"What?!"

In that instant,

seeing the genuine icy killing intent on Xiao's face,

even someone like Welt-Sislov—

a man who had slaughtered countless people—

felt a chill run down his spine.