Debuff Master-Chapter 925

“F-Father! Sniff! Sniff!”

Verdandi was shocked and terrified by everything that had happened so far, and she sobbed the moment she saw Siegfried. She had been holding out, but the tears she fought back burst the moment she saw her father standing by her side.

“Waaaah!”

“It’s all right. Everything’s all right now.”

Siegfried hugged her tightly, gently stroking her back as she wept, tears and snot streaming down her face. He sounded gentle, but his fury was boiling inside.

‘Those bastards... Do they know who they’re messing with?’

No matter how bad their relationship was, some lines couldn't be crossed.

One of those things was going after the other's family.

Siegfried’s anger reached its peak, and he was ready to tear apart anyone who stood in his way, no matter who they were. However, he tried his best to suppress his anger for now. He focused on comforting Verdandi, making sure she was all right.

Verdandi was still young, so this had to have been really shocking for her, and the last thing she needed was to see her furious father.

“You’re safe now.”

“Sniff! Sniff! F-Father!”

“It’s all right.”

“B-But... Mother is acting strange. Sniff!”

“Don’t worry,” Siegfried said gently while patting her back. Then, he turned to his side and called out, “Hey, Hamchi.”

“Kyu?”

“Can you take care of Verdandi for me?”

“Leave it to me! Kyuuu!”

Hamchi scurried over and placed Verdandi on his back.

“Kyuuu! Don’t worry! Uncle Hamchi is here to protect you!”

“Uncle Hamchi!”

“Everything will be all right now! So, no more tears, my lovely niece! Uncle Hamchi will protect you and your dad is going to teach those bad guys a lesson! Kyuuu!”

Right after handing Verdandi to Hamchi, Siegfried turned his eyes to Auriel.

“Heh...” Auriel sneered after getting back on his feet.

There was no way he would harbor any goodwill toward Siegfried.

In their previous encounter, Siegfried passed the baton—the Demon Sword: Avenger to Metatron. As a result, Archangel Auriel received a brutal beating from Metatron. He was humiliated for the first time in his life before being forcefully sent back to the Celestial Realm.

“It’s been a while,” Auriel greeted, with malice dripping from his voice. He was exuding immense killing intent that made him look more like a demon than an angel. Not a single trace of Brunhilde’s gentleness remained on her face, as Auriel had completely taken over her body, which meant malice was evident on her face.[1]

“You bastard. Get out of her right now,” Siegfried growled in response. He was already infuriated beyond his limits, and his anger was evident in his sharp and hostile tone.

“Hoho! I don’t think so, human. You see, this is quite a good vessel for me,” Auriel said with a wicked grin.

“What did you say?”

“It’s not perfect... But it’s good enough to hold my powers.”

“You son of a—!”

Siegfried gnashed his teeth and was about to curse the angel.

Archangel Auriel taunted him by grabbing "her" chest, “Besides, this is such a beautiful body, isn’t it? I’m sure you know exactly what I mean, don’t you? Hehehe!”

“You sick bastard...!” Siegfried growled, gritting his teeth and clenching his fists. His blood boiled at the sight of Auriel’s disgusting behavior, and he almost lunged at him on the spot.

‘No! Not yet...!’

He managed to hold himself back for now—for Verdandi’s sake.

“Hey, Hamchi. Take Verdandi and go.”

“Kyuuu! Got it! Uncle Hamchi will protect niece’s mental health!”

Fortunately, Hamchi covered Verdandi’s eyes before Auriel could put on that disgusting display. If he had been a second too late, she would have witnessed something that she wasn't supposed to see.

“Hahahaha!”

Auriel burst out into a peal of laughter as if he was thoroughly enjoying the situation.

Then, he flashed a twisted grin and mocked, “Are you angry, human?”

“I’m going to kill you... in the most painful way possible—”

It was then.

Auriel raised the Holy Sword: Phoenix at his own neck.

“How about this?”

“...!”

“I’ll just get sent back to the Celestial Realm. But what about your precious wife? What do you think will happen to her?”

“...You fucker!”

Siegfried had no idea how to respond to the threat and ended up cursing instead.

If Auriel killed himself, then Brunhilde would be the one dying.

Auriel had Siegfried cornered, and he knew he had him good.

***

Siegfried found himself facing the greatest crisis of his gaming life.

He had never imagined, even in his wildest nightmares, that Brunhilde would end up becoming an Archangel's hostage.

“Kuhuhu! So! What are you going to do?!” Auriel let out a twisted laugh while gazing straight at Siegfried.

“...”

“Will you watch your wife kill herself, or will you grovel before me?”

Siegfried did not answer.

‘What do I do...?’

He racked his brains in a desperate bid to find a way out of this nightmare.

Brunhilde was possessed and taken hostage by Auriel.

‘Can I subdue her by force? But what if he killed her in the struggle?’

No matter how much he racked his brains, there seemed to be no clear solution.

He was confident he could win in a fight, but his hands were completely tied in this situation. He was not a magician nor a sorcerer, so expecting him to easily find a solution to this was simply impossible.

“I asked you a question, human.”

Auriel’s voice cut through the silence.

“Let me spell it out for you if you can’t make up your mind, human.”

“...”

“If you want to save your wife, then don’t resist. Let me beat you to death like the insect you are. That way, your wife will live! Well, her body will become my vessel, and I’ll use her to exterminate every last vermin like you from this world. But hey, at least she lives a bit longer, right? Kuhuhu!”

“You son of a—!”

“But if you resist? Then your wife’s head will roll right here before your very eyes,” Auriel sneered with a chilling grin.

At that moment, thunderous roars filled the heavens.

“How could you have fallen so far, O Archangel?”

“I will not stand by and watch as you invade this world, Archangel.”

Dozens of dragons of various colors came flying toward Auriel at terrifying speed.

As the mightiest creatures in the world, they immediately sensed the unique energy unleashed by Auriel’s descent, and they hurried over to intervene.

Surprisingly, Auriel seemed to have found the dragons burdensome to deal with.

“Tsk... Those damned lizards,” he grumbled with a hint of agitation in his voice.

Auriel was powerful, but even he would struggle against a dragon, so he hesitated against dozens of them.

Besides, the dragons specialized in repelling the demons from the world. Considering that the angels were on par with demons, repelling them, too, would not be difficult for the dragons.

“It seems you got lucky, human. Too lucky,” Auriel said, gazing at Siegfried.

“...?”

“I would have killed your wife right now and watched you despair, but I suppose I’ll have to let this one slide,” Auriel said nonchalantly.

With those words, flames engulfed Brunhilde as Auriel slowly left her.

“I can’t afford to break such a good vessel, right?”

“You bastard...!”

“We will meet again soon,” Auriel said as he left Brunhilde. Just as he was about to disappear, he spoke once more, “Your daughter is the perfect vessel for the Chief Archangel, so I’ll be back to claim her soon.”

“What?!”

“Take good care of her until then! Kuhuhu!”

And with that, Auriel vanished.

The archangel's presence had completely disappeared from the world.

Thud...!

Brunhilde collapsed, devoid of any strength.

“Honey!” Siegfried immediately rushed to her side, catching her before she hit the ground.

“...”

She was unconscious, but she was still alive.

“I’m glad you’re all right...” Siegfried muttered with a sigh of relief.

If the dragons hadn't arrived in time, he would have lost her forever.

However, his relief was short-lived.

“That son of a bitch dares to threaten my family...?” Siegfried growled, clenching his fists.

Auriel claimed Brunhilde as his vessel, and he planned to offer Verdandi as a vessel to the Chief Archangel, Lucifer.

This was a threat that Siegfried would not sit idly by and take.

“Never... Over my dead body...” Siegfried growled, his clenched fists trembling in anger.

There was no way he would allow his wife and daughter to become vessels for those corrupted archangels.

‘I need to be more powerful. I’m still not strong enough.’

Despite becoming a Master, Siegfried felt he was still far from being powerful enough.

He was still not powerful enough to protect his beloved wife and daughter.

***

The Battle of Eternal Forest ended in the crushing defeat of the dark elves and demons.

“Kill them all!”

“Don’t let a single one escape!”

The enraged soldiers and knights of the Proatine Kingdom scoured the Eternal Forest, cutting down every dark elf and demon they found alive.

The slaughter was utterly ruthless.

There were so many casualties from the dark elves and the demons that their corpses piled up into hills, and their blood formed rivers that tainted the land.

“We will eradicate the dark elves from this world. Not a single one shall be left alive!” Siegfried commanded.

His voice sounded firm yet cold, and every word that came out from his mouth was filled with anger. He had always strictly forbidden his troops from killing others unnecessarily, but this time, his rage could not be contained.

For once, he showed no mercy.

While the Proatine Kingdom’s forces continued their purge, Siegfried set off to find Lohengrin.

“Father-in-law!”

“Guh... H-Hello...”

“Are you all right?!”

“I-I’m fine. I knew you could come... help us... argh!”

Lohengrin suffered grave injuries, but fortunately, his limbs were intact, and his life was not in danger.

With proper treatment, he would make a full recovery in a matter of months.

Surviving a difficult battle was proof that he hadn't become a Master out of sheer luck.

“What about the others...?”

“They are all safe.”

Lohengrin forced himself up and said, “That’s good... I knew you would pull through. Thank you... for protecting us—”

It was then.

Thud...!

He finally reached his limits and passed out right after hearing that Brunhilde and Verdandi were safe.

“Take him to the healers.”

“Yes, Your Majesty!”

Siegfried entrusted Lohengrin to the healers and stood up. The first thing he had to do was restore order to the now-devastated Eternal Forest and escort his family back to the Proatine Kingdom.

‘But first...’

Siegfried activated Inzaghi’s Clairvoyance and used it to locate Chae Hyung-Seok.

[Alert: Searching!]

[Alert: 3%... 23%... 66%...]

He was too caught up earlier to even think about Chae Hyung-Seok, but now that the dust had settled, he had the luxury to play with him.

And honestly, he needed a break right now. The two main targets of his revenge, Credos and Baroque, had already burned to death. And the archangel, Auriel, fled like a coward right thanks to the dragons' presence.

Thus, Siegfried had no one else left to vent his anger on. There was only one person he missed far more than anyone else in this entire world whenever he felt like venting his fury.

‘Where are you, my lovely Hyung-Seok?’ Siegfried wondered while eagerly waiting for the search results.

1. A bit confusing here, so let me explain. According to Author-nim, Auriel possessed Brunhilde but it’s still her body. But for some reason, Author-nim referred to the body as Auriel rather than Brunhilde. Basically, Auriel is currently possessing Brunhilde’s body, so the physical form is still Brunhilde. ☜

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