A mere child, barely seven or eight years old.

Even though he could no longer exert even a tenth of his original strength after his battle with Richard, and had lost half of his remaining power to the estate's traps, Satanail was still confident he could snap the neck of one small child with his eyes closed.

The only thing that slightly unnerved him was the faintly ominous aura radiating from the dog beside her, but a dog wasn't something that could make him fearful.

‘I am Satanail, the one destined to rule this continent!!!’

Despite his unexpected setbacks, Satanail saw no reason to be intimidated by a mere child and a dog.

Perhaps because of this confidence, he charged at Ada without even preparing a defensive stance, focusing solely on reaching her as fast as possible.

“Somerset Style, Bear Slayer.”

Ada remained calm, even with Satanail bearing down on her.

She merely steadied her breathing, took a stance, and spoke the name of her technique.

It was a skill she had learned from Alain, the Somerset family’s secret martial art.

Bear Slayer was one of the techniques developed by their ancestor, John Bofus. It was a move that involved chopping down an opponent's neck with the edge of her hand as if slashing with a sword.

Ada had also incorporated the principles of "Impact Strike," a technique she’d mastered herself, into Bear Slayer.

Starting from her toes, she twisted her waist in a continuous motion, channeling the force through her shoulder and all the way to her fingertips.

The key to both Bear Slayer and Impact Strike was timing.

Only by hitting the target at precisely the right moment would the technique unleash its full power.

Yet, to Ada’s eyes, Satanail’s straight, reckless movement was as stationary as a target on a practice field.

Bang!

Satanail didn’t even have time to scream.

The moment Ada’s hand connected with his neck, a sound like an explosion erupted, and his head slammed into the ground as if it were nailed there.

Thud!

Ada didn’t even look at Satanail, whose head was now embedded in the floor.

She merely raised a clenched fist in her signature victory pose.

“Woof!!”

Rasshu let out a triumphant howl, celebrating Ada’s victory.

He’d seen her strike this very pose countless times before—when she’d chased off the bullies from a neighboring territory who’d tormented the children of Somerset, defeated her bodyguard Owen, and even floored Kyle when he’d visited the Somerset estate’s training grounds.

Knowing he’d get a longer walk if he cheered her on, Rasshu howled with all his might to ensure he wouldn’t miss his reward.

 

 

“What in the world…?”

The Earl and Rupert, who had rushed out of the study at the sound of an explosion, could hardly believe their eyes.

After seeing Ada’s door ajar, they’d burst in, only to find Satanail with his head lodged in the floor, twitching.

There was Ada, proudly striking her victory pose, with Rasshu circling her and yipping in adoration—a scene that defied logic.

“Father! Please go fetch Brother from outside!”

“Yes, right away!”

Rupert, still struggling to understand how Satanail had infiltrated the estate, couldn’t deny that this was indeed Satanail.

Realizing it would be best to leave handling him to Richard, Rupert quickly decided not to touch him carelessly.

“Ada, did you capture this?”

“Didn’t I tell you not to do anything dangerous?”

Rupert sighed, watching Ada beam with pride as though she’d caught a rabbit.

Having witnessed Satanail’s strength from the window, Rupert knew exactly how risky this encounter had been for Ada.

“But he came after me first!”

Ada puffed out her cheeks in protest, claiming she’d only fought Satanail because he’d come into her room.

Rupert patted her on the head, reminding her that it would be better to flee from dangerous enemies than fight, before checking on the unconscious Satanail.

Satanail’s body was covered in injuries, with arrows embedded in his back, tacks sticking out of his feet, and not a single undamaged spot on him.

‘Looks like he fell for every trap in the manor.’

Thinking back to the traps Crun had set up so confidently, Rupert had doubted that any intruder would be foolish enough to be caught in every single one.

Yet here was Satanail, just as Crun had predicted, struck by every trap, making Rupert question if this was truly the villain who had brought the continent to its knees.

“Graaah!!”

Lost in thought for a moment, Rupert snapped back as Satanail screamed and pulled his head from the floor.

“What the—!”

Rupert was taken aback.

“I’ll repay today’s humiliation!”

Although Satanail managed to regain consciousness, he was still disoriented and swaying, pointing at Rupert and Ada with fury in his eyes.

“Get him, Rasshu!!”

Sensing Satanail’s intent to flee, Rupert quickly commanded Rasshu to attack, and Rasshu lunged forward.

“Whoa! He transformed!!”

But Satanail transformed into a bat and flew out the door in an instant.

“Woof!”

“We have to chase him!”

Realizing that letting Satanail escape would only cause more trouble later, Rupert quickly set off with Rasshu in pursuit, though Ada tried to follow.

Rupert shot her a stern look, ordering her to stay in her room, leaving Ada reluctantly behind.

Meanwhile, Satanail, now in bat form, spotted an open room and swooped inside.

Once he was near a window, he could escape, and no one would be able to stop him.

‘I’ll recover and wait for my next chance.’

Healing from the injuries he’d sustained today would take decades, perhaps longer, but he was one of the night’s True Blood inheritors.

Time was on his side, not the allies’, and he was ready to start over from the beginning.

So long as he lived, he would eventually avenge today’s humiliation, even if he had to endure for now.

“That…!”

Just as he was about to escape through the window, a gasp escaped his lips.

There, on a table in the room, was a single blue flower carefully displayed in a vase.

Though its aura wasn’t as intense as the one he’d felt from Ada, he knew it was the Blue Flower he’d been searching for.

“It was here all along!!!”

Reverting from his bat form, Satanail stumbled toward the table in a trance.

How many humiliations and hardships had he endured to find this single flower?

He’d nearly given up, but as if by fate, here it was, right before him, like a divine revelation.

The flower, the ultimate command to transcend his limits and engulf the continent in darkness.

“No! Stop!!!”

Just as he reached out in elation, Rupert, who had finally caught up, lunged at him.

“Stay out of my way!”

Recalling the pain Ada had inflicted, Satanail tensed, fearing Rupert might be just as formidable.

But seeing Rupert’s awkward movements, he instantly swept his arm out, brushing Rupert aside like a fly.

Thud!

“Guh!”

Rupert crashed against the wall, the impact leaving him stunned.

‘Why is he so strong…?’

Rupert had underestimated Satanail, thinking he was weakened after his defeat by Ada. But now, feeling the throbbing pain in his entire body, Rupert lost consciousness.

No matter how weakened, Satanail still had enough power to crush an ordinary human like an ant.

It was just that Ada was no ordinary “ant” but one the size of an elephant.

Rupert, however, was an “ordinary ant,” and Satanail’s blow was enough to leave him barely alive.

As Rupert lay unconscious, a faint light shimmered from his chest.

“Where did it go?! Where is the Blue Flower?!”

After disposing of the nuisance, Satanail frantically searched for the Blue Flower, but it had vanished from the table.

Fumbling under the desk to see if it had fallen, Satanail froze as he heard a menacing growl.

He turned to see Rasshu with the Blue Flower clenched in his jaws.

“You miserable beast!!! Drop it immediately!!!”

Satanail lunged toward Rasshu, who, with a final triumphant bark, swallowed the Blue Flower whole.

 

Sizzle!

“Hah… that was the last fragment?”

“Yes, sir. None of them managed to escape.”

Though they thought they had defeated Satanail in a final blow, his scattered flesh had turned into fragments and attempted to flee, sending Richard and the allied forces into a frenzy.

Thankfully, the fragments were neither fast nor strong, so the allies were able to destroy them all, finally breathing a sigh of relief.

“Thank you, Zenia. Without your help, it would have been much more difficult.”

“Not at all. Without you facing him head-on, Sir Richard, it wouldn’t have been possible.”

Richard and Zenia praised each other’s efforts.

The fight against Satanail had been challenging, and without both of them, it would have been a struggle to overcome him.

“If he had managed to find the Blue Flower and grow stronger, it would have been a nightmare.”

“Yes, considering how much the night’s minions desired the Blue Flower in the past.”

Zenia recalled ancient texts detailing the obsession of the night’s minions with the Blue Flower.

However, they had never obtained it due to the guardians known as the Blue Werewolves.

“The continent only survived thanks to those powerful beings who once protected the Blue Flower.”

“It’s hard to believe such strong beings went extinct,” Richard replied, puzzled.

Why had the Blue Flower’s guardians, whom even the night’s minions feared, vanished?

“I looked into it, and it seems their numbers were always very few.”

Moreover, Zenia explained, the Blue Werewolf clan could only awaken their true form by consuming the Blue Flower.

With the flowers dwindling over time, they’d likely faded away without ever achieving their true power, disappearing as mere wolves.

“Richard!!”

Just then, the Earl’s urgent voice called out for Richard.