Gray pushed open the ornate double doors to his father’s private quarters without hesitation.

Creack...

The heavy doors creaked loudly as they swung inward, revealing a lavishly decorated chamber filled with antique furniture, glowing magical artifacts, and shelves lined with forbidden tomes.

But the Duke was nowhere to be seen.

Instead, three High-tier demons stood waiting for him in the center of the room, their auras leaking out with an oppressive killing intent.

They had clearly been expecting him.

The first was a giant figure with obsidian skin and burning crimson eyes, a Blood Drinker.

The second had multiple writhing tentacles and pale, sickly flesh... which meant that it was another Corruption Weaver.

The third, however, made Gray’s eyes narrow slightly.

It was a woman.

Or rather, it wore the appearance of one.

A beautiful maid with long brown hair, gentle features, and a modest uniform... it was the same maid who had taken care of him during his early childhood.

She looked almost exactly as he remembered her, except for the faint demonic energy leaking from her eyes and the subtle black veins visible beneath her pale skin.

The Blood Drinker let out a deep, mocking laugh as Gray stepped inside.

"Well, well... the exiled young master finally returns."

"We’ve been waiting for you. The Duke sends his regards... and his apologies that he couldn’t be here to greet you personally."

The Corruption Weaver smiled grotesquely, its tentacles writhing in excitement.

"He ran like the coward he is. But we stayed. After all... we’ve heard so much about you. The failure... the disappointment. The one who was thrown away like garbage."

The maid-like demon stepped forward gracefully, tilting her head with a soft, almost nostalgic smile

. Her voice was gentle, exactly as Gray remembered from his childhood.

"Young Master Gray..." she said warmly, as if truly happy to see him.

"Do you remember me? I used to sing you to sleep when you had nightmares. I brought you sweets when your father wasn’t looking. I was the one who cared for you when no one else would."

She took another step closer, her eyes glistening with what looked like affection.

"I always wondered what became of you... My sweet little young master."

The room fell into heavy silence.

Gray stared at her for a long moment, his black eyes cold and emotionless. Then, in a flat, indifferent voice, he replied:

"No wonder I didn’t like you."

The maid’s gentle smile froze.

Gray continued, his tone completely devoid of warmth.

"Even back then... something about you always felt wrong. Now I understand why... you were never human."

He slowly drew both Enchanted Demon Hunting Daggers, the blades humming with lethal intent.

The three High-tier demons laughed at him.

Crackk...!

The Blood Drinker cracked its knuckles.

"Such arrogance. Do you really think you can defeat all three of us alone, boy?"

The Corruption Weaver’s tentacles writhed faster.

"We’ll enjoy breaking your mind before we tear your body apart."

The maid’s gentle expression twisted into something ugly and cruel.

"...How cold. After all the love I showed you as a child."

Gray didn’t reply and took a step forward, his eyes narrowing as he looked at the three of them.

’Aurora’s information wasn’t entirely right, it seems... there’s one more Corruption Weaver, and this maid of mine...’

The three demons sneered, clearly confident in their numbers and power.

The maid-like demon tilted her head, her gentle facade cracking into something vicious.

"Oh? Still pretending to be strong? How adorable. I remember when you were just a crying little boy who clung to my skirt..."

Gray cut her off without a single word.

He had decided... it was finally time.

His eyes turned completely dark, as if all light had been swallowed within them.

"...Authority of Destruction."

The moment the words left his mouth, the entire room trembled.

A pitch-black aura exploded outward from Gray’s body like a silent storm. It wasn’t flashy as there were no dramatic lights or explosions of energy.

Instead, it was something far more terrifying, an absolute, devouring nothingness that made the very concept of existence feel fragile.

The three High-tier demons froze mid-sentence.

The Blood Drinker’s mocking grin vanished instantly.

"W-what is this?!"

Before it could finish, the black aura touched it.

Its massive body suddenly began disintegrating from the edges inward. His body didn’t burn or melt... it simply... ceased to exist.

Its obsidian skin crumbled into black dust, then even the dust vanished into nothingness.

The demon’s eyes widened in pure terror as it tried to scream, but its throat had already disappeared.

In less than two seconds, the powerful Blood Drinker was completely erased; not even a single drop of blood or core remained.

The second demon, more precisely the Corruption Weaver, tried to flee.

It unleashed a desperate wave of mental attacks, trying to invade Gray’s mind, but the Authority of Destruction didn’t care about such things.

The black aura simply washed over it.

Its tentacles withered and turned to ash mid-air. Its many eyes popped one by one like bubbles.

The demon let out a final, distorted scream as its entire body collapsed into a swirling vortex of nothingness, vanishing without a trace.

The maid-like demon reacted the fastest. She tried to transform into pure demonic energy and escape through the floor, but the Authority was absolute.

She looked at Gray with wide, horrified eyes as the black aura reached her.

"Y-Young Master... please... I raised you!"

Her words cut off as her legs dissolved first.

Then her torso... her arms...

Her face twisted in ultimate despair as the last thing to disappear was her mouth, still trying to beg for mercy.

Schhhhhhh...

And then... silence.

The entire room was deathly quiet.

Not a single sound or remnant of a demon...

The three High-tier demons had been erased so completely that even their demonic energy had been devoured by the Authority.

Gray stood motionless in the center of the chamber, the black aura slowly receding back into his body.

His breathing was steady, but his eyes remained cold and empty.

He glanced at the spot where the maid had been standing just moments ago.

"...Pathetic," he muttered.

He had barely used 40% of the Authority’s one-minute duration.

The rest of the time simply faded away harmlessly. The power was so overwhelming that three High-tier demons had been deleted like insignificant insects.

Gray rolled his shoulders once, feeling the strain on his body from using such a high-level ability.

Even with his current realm, using the Authority of Destruction still consumed a quite a heavy toll on his soul.

He looked toward the hidden door at the back of the room, the entrance to the secret escape tunnel.

His father had already fled.

But that was fine as Gray had planned for this.

"...It’s time to end this."

He stopped in front of the large painting on the far wall, a portrait of his father in his younger years, looking proud and domineering.

Gray reached out, pressing his palm against the frame.

Click...

The painting swung open silently, revealing a dark, narrow passage behind it. The hidden escape tunnel.

Gray stepped inside without hesitation.

The tunnel was dimly lit by faint blue crystals embedded in the walls. The air was stale, cold, and carried the scent of old stone and fear.

He moved deeper, following the long corridor that sloped downward. His [Spirit Eyes] were active, scanning every corner for traps or hidden threats.

There were none.

His father had always been more focused on running than fighting.

After several minutes of walking, the tunnel opened into a small, circular underground chamber.

At the center stood a glowing teleportation portal, its runes shimmering with unstable energy.

And there, desperately trying to activate it, was Duke Vireux D’Aurélion.

The man looked nothing like the proud, tyrannical noble Gray remembered from his childhood.

His once-immaculate robes were disheveled and torn.

His face was pale, gaunt, and covered in cold sweat. His eyes, the same green eyes Maelis had inherited, were wide with exhaustion and actual fear.

The Duke’s hands trembled violently as he poured mana into the portal, trying to force it open.

The runes flickered weakly, refusing to stabilize.

"Come on... come on, damn you!" he hissed through gritted teeth, his voice was hoarse and cracking.

"Activate! Activate!"

Gray stopped at the entrance of the chamber, silently watching him.

The Duke finally noticed the presence behind him.

He spun around, eyes widening in terror as he saw his son standing there, covered in blood, daggers still in hand, expression colder than death itself.

"Gray..." the Duke whispered, his voice shaking.

"You... you actually came."

Gray didn’t reply. He simply took one slow step forward.

The Duke stumbled backward, nearly tripping over his own feet. His back hit the unstable portal frame.

"I... I didn’t have a choice!" he shouted, his voice breaking with fear,

"You were too dangerous! Too unpredictable! The family needed stability! I had to exile you! It was for the greater good of..."

Gray raised his hand.

"Nullification."

[-4000 Soul Points!]

The teleportation portal flickered once... then died completely. All the runes turned dark and lifeless in an instant.

The Duke’s only escape route had been severed.

The older man’s face drained of all color. His legs gave out, and he slid down to the floor, back against the dead portal.

"No... no, no, no..." he muttered, eyes wide with panic.

"Not like this... not like this..."

Gray walked closer until he stood directly in front of his father. He looked down at the broken, terrified man who had once ruled his life with fear and cruelty.

The Duke looked up at him, breathing raggedly, tears of fear and desperation welling in his eyes.

"Gray... my son..." he whispered in a trembling voice.

"Please... have mercy. I’m still your father. I gave you life. I..."

His voice stopped as he noticed Gray’s dull black eyes.

"You gave me nothing but pain," Gray replied coldly, cutting him off.

"You exiled me. You tried to have me killed. You made pacts with demons and sold your soul for power. And now you beg for mercy?"

The Duke’s lips quivered. He reached out a shaking hand toward Gray, as if hoping for some last scrap of familial pity.

"I... I was scared of you," he admitted.

"You were always too talented. Too dangerous. I saw what you could become... and I was terrified. So I tried to break you before you could surpass me. I was wrong... I see that now. Please... just let me live. I’ll give you everything. The title, the wealth, the territory... it’s all yours. Just spare me..."

Gray looked down at the outstretched hand.

Then, without a word, he raised one of his Enchanted Demon Hunting Daggers.

The Duke’s eyes widened in pure terror.

"Gray!!! Wait!"

Swish!

The dagger flashed downward in a clean, merciless arc.