"Master, the foolish villagers are just ahead," Talia said as she led the way.

Hovering in midair, Karo sniffed lightly and spoke in a calm tone, "Talia, it seems someone has already taken action for us."

Talia froze for a moment. Before them, a well-trained cavalry unit, escorting a grand carriage, slowly emerged from the village.

At the front, the knight's lance skewered the frail body of an old man who clung weakly to life.

Talia fell silent, and Karo could feel the weight of her darkening mood.

"Who is that? Your enemy?" Karo asked with interest.

Talia nodded, her voice quiet. "And also… my father."

A ripple of magical energy surged from her body as she rapidly chanted a series of harsh, guttural syllables. A crimson fireball materialized before her and flew swiftly toward the knight.

Sensing the attack, the knight swung his lance just as the fireball approached, using the old man as a shield.

Already on the verge of death, the old man let out one final, agonizing scream as the flames consumed him. His body twisted in pain, but soon, all that remained was a blackened, charred corpse.

The knight’s sharp gaze locked onto Talia, and he flicked his lance with a practiced ease.

"You killed your own father, woman." A mocking voice echoed from inside the carriage, and a corpulent baron leaned out. His small eyes widened in shock when they landed on Karo. "A Great Knight?!"

"No," came the gruff voice of the knight-captain, Rot. "It’s just magic."

The baron exhaled in relief, his sneer returning. "So, this little apprentice witch has a companion? Hmph..."

Talia paid him no mind, her voice barely a whisper. "Poor father… may you rot in Hell for eternity. May disaster and suffering follow you all your days..."

Talia, now a full-fledged follower of the Abyss, offered this twisted eulogy to her father, Old John.

As her master, Karo knew the fireball had been meant for Old John all along. She hadn’t wanted him to linger in this world, to suffer any longer. She had sent him to Hell with her own hands.

What a tragic yet fascinating tale, Karo thought with a sigh.

"Rot, kill the dwarf. I want the witch alive." The baron issued his command to his most powerful subordinate.

This narrative has been purloined without the author's approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.

The knight-captain grunted in response, his lance glowing faintly with a pale white light—the mark of an intermediate knight.

The baron’s lips curled into a smug grin. Rot was his trump card.

An intermediate knight! A warrior capable of wielding battle aura. Few counts could claim a servant of such power. The baron had secured Rot’s loyalty only through a stroke of luck, having saved the knight’s life long ago.

What strength could an apprentice witch’s companion possibly have? Surely nothing beyond a low level. Against a mage, an agile knight always had the upper hand. The baron could hardly wait to witness the massacre of the witch and her ally.

Talia, despite her raw talent, had only recently been introduced to demonic magic by Karo. Yet she was already casting several spells with impressive precision.

"Curse."

A dull gray light shot from Talia’s hand, striking Rot. His body seized, and his horse collapsed with a pitiful whinny, foam bubbling from its mouth.

But a flash of white light rippled across Rot's body, instantly dispelling the curse. Without slowing, his lance shot forward like a silver bolt of lightning aimed directly at Talia's face.

Yet her grotesque, twisted features showed no trace of fear. She calmly began preparing another spell, though it was clear she wouldn’t finish in time. Even if she did, it wouldn’t be enough to stop Rot. Her actions seemed like the height of folly.

But Talia wasn’t a fool. She was waiting for her master, the pure-blooded demon from the Abyss, to intervene. She knew Karo would never let her die.

"Talia, step back."

A soft voice whispered in her ear, and without hesitation, Talia stopped chanting and retreated two steps.

Rot’s lance instantly shifted course, aiming now for Karo.

But in the blink of an eye, the lance slowed as if caught in thick, invisible mud. Its speed reduced to a crawl.

It wasn’t the air that had thickened; it was Rot's strength that had diminished.

"Weakness" and "Gravity."

With the innate advantages of a demon, Karo needed no lengthy, cumbersome incantations. A mere flick of his finger sufficed, and his spells were magnitudes more powerful than Talia’s.

Rot's strength was reduced to that of a mere mortal.

"An… intermediate… wizard..." Rot’s eyes flickered with disbelief before dulling. His soul dissipated into a thick, gray mist, which Karo inhaled with satisfaction.

The Hellfire seed within him grew stronger—15 more experience points, 150 more evil points.

In a rare mood to explain, Karo remarked, "I’m not an advanced wizard, merely intermediate. And I’m no wizard at all. I am a demon."

But Rot would never hear those words.

The entire encounter had lasted mere seconds. The baron hadn’t even processed what had happened. His most powerful knight was dead, without so much as a proper struggle, slain as easily as a chicken in a slaughterhouse.

"All of you, attack! Kill them both!" The baron’s voice shook with terror as he hastily shoved his bloated form back into the carriage.

What followed was a slaughter—swift and brutal.

Karo didn’t bother with magic. He picked up Rot's fallen lance and demonstrated the ferocity of demonic combat techniques. The results were astonishing. The combat skills honed by the demons of the Abyss, forged through endless battles against countless races, far surpassed anything this lowly world had to offer.

A squad of cavalry, along with dozens of fully armed guards, crumpled like paper under Karo’s assault. They didn’t even have the chance to flee. Moments later, all of them had been reduced to nothing more than experience points and evil value.

"Master, where shall we go next?" Talia asked, her tone changed. As the small village burned and crumbled into ashes, something within her had shifted.

If there had been any part of her heart left untouched by darkness, it was gone now. Talia had fully embraced the Abyss, leaving nothing behind.