Nasema Luminaris perished, his death devoid of significance.
From an utterly objective standpoint, His Grace the Duke of Luminaris indeed fell victim to a conspiracy — a plot, however, that neither the conspirators nor the conspired had ever intended to be lethal.
He was rely unfortunate to be in a position where anyone would have t their demise, and thus he died a aningless death, taking with him the three-century legacy of the Luminaris family, all obliterated in an instant.
Perhaps it was precisely because his death was so devoid of aning that our emperor, in her boundless rcy, did not annihilate the entire Luminaris lineage. After executing the Duke of Luminaris, she could not be bothered to deal with the rest.
With great benevolence, he left those bereft of their protector to the rcy of a pack of ravenous beasts.
In theory, Mr. Conrad Luminaris would certainly have the right to inherit all his father's possessions, regardless of whether he held a title or not, as it is only natural for offspring to inherit from their parents.
But clearly, this is a situation that exists only in theory.
In reality, the various predators circling the Luminaris inheritance would be considered exceedingly generous if they were to leave Conrad with even a sliver of capital to make a coback.
And Conrad Luminaris, once the prodigy of the Etheric Academy, bathed in countless glories, the favored son of the heavens... It is evident from the fact that he took the family na as his surna even before he beca the head of the household, how much he valued the family's honor.
How could such a man flee like a dog with his tail between his legs, hiding in a cold cave, daydreaming of rising and revenge?
When the Luminaris family perished, Conrad too had resolved to embrace death, but before that...
There were so accounts to be settled.
If Conrad's intrusion was rely baffling, what followed exceeded everyone's expectations.
The backstage of the podium was instantly reduced to ashes by a sky-high inferno, the long drapes now a cascade of flowing lava, and amidst the furious curses of the noblewon, the temperature in the entire auditorium soared!
In the Imperial Capital, only a fifth-stage extraordinary being could barely escape Her Majesty's suppression. It seed that Ronger, who was also under attack, almost instinctively looked towards Ravenna on the podium, her eyes filled with utmost urgency. She stared at the black-robed figure that had suddenly appeared, the molten gold light coalescing into an imnse and terrifying pressure:
"Have you lost your minds?! Mr. Barnes, let's join forces—"
In the next instant, the space where the three fifth-stage extraordinary beings stood twisted without warning… and they vanished in the blink of an eye!
"Do you still have the leisure to look at others?"
Ravenna, who had instinctively turned to check on Ronger, almost reflexively raised her defensive spells upon hearing this voice. But the blazing light cannon that struck her, with its terrifying energy, blasted her right into the burning drapes behind her.
"...Not dead yet?" ca a deep voice from the steel golem, "You still cling to life as always, Ravenna."
...The abnormal energy output had already surpassed the third stage!
Ravenna, hurled into the ruins, coughed up a pool of blood. The energy decay necklace hanging from her chest had shattered due to overload. Conrad's seemingly plain and unadorned light cannon was in fact a compression of highly concentrated light essence, the burst of instantaneous energy capable of vaporizing the target was no exaggeration, a signature skill of the Luminaris family.
But Conrad couldn't possibly possess such skill... The external armor on him? A weakened version of chanical armor? Impossible, the Duke of Luminaris at most had the skill to replicate chanical armor based on Ansel's blueprints, definitely not the capability to improve it—
Boom!
The steel golem wielding a longsword cleaved down, and the exploding column of light obliterated everything in front, nearly bisecting the entire hall. Ravenna, who had narrowly escaped the strike by hiding behind the drapes, gasped for breath, the fresh blood trickling down her forehead staining her ashen glasses.
The digits of the data system danced wildly, yet within this hair's breadth, its juvenile and coarse nature was evidently ill-suited for significant tasks. Conrad, with his clear intent and well-prepared plan, harbored the desire to annihilate her here, fueled by resentnt. He was not one to prattle self-righteous nonsense before taking action.
If all went as expected, the next strike could potentially...
The steel golem raised its sword, the light flickering on the blade surged in an instant, making the entire sword appear to have swelled dozens of tis its size. Despite the frantic alarms on the lens, Ravenna remained indifferent, for she knew there was nothing she could do at this mont.
Under the blinding white light, even though she was tens of ters away, Ravenna could still feel the intense heat that threatened to incinerate her skin. Light, heat, energy... the simplest output, the purest violence. Conrad was well aware that his ti was limited, so he chose to obliterate Ravenna in the most brutal way possible.
There should be other fifth-stage beings on this floor... they should be able to make it in ti. No, they might just stand by and watch die, or they might be entangled by Conrad's people. The only person I can hope for is —
"Go ahead and be destroyed before , Ravenna Ziegler!"
...How ridiculous, at this mont, are you actually hoping for his rescue, Ravenna?
Ravenna thought so amidst Conrad's maniacal laughter.
The will to survive can never be wrong. Of course, Ravenna didn't want her life to end so absurdly in such a place.
But... if the fleeting thought that just flashed by was true, if the rupture three years ago was not truly Ansel's intention, did she really have the right to expect Ansel's rescue?
Or rather, why was she so sure that Ansel would save her? Was it her worth, was it that Ansel still intended to ta her, not letting her die, or...
Or was it the words Ansel whispered repeatedly in her ear during last night's wild desire?
"Because I am the only one in this world who can resonate with you."
Ravenna had to admit that she had shivered several tis because of this sentence. She had to admit that she would vent her negative emotions in such an absurd way because the only person in this world who was most suitable for her was Ansel.
They shared the sa ideals, they had such compatibility... if Ansel's "betrayal" back then really had so hidden truth, if her anger and resentnt were too self-centered, then what had she been doing these three years...
What exactly had she lost?
Ravenna didn't know. Before the arrival of destruction, she felt no fear, only confusion.
It was as if soone had set fire to their own house, determined to find a new place to live, but when they stepped outside, they found that the world was nothing but a vast expanse of icy snow.
Such a sight was so piercing to the eyes, so empty to the soul, such a cold confusion.
And in this confusion, her salvation... arrived as it should have.
The destructive light did not engulf Ravenna, because with a loud noise, the golem's spell was directly interrupted.
Yes, that person would not let her die here, she was valuable to him, he still wanted to ta her, but... but if, if he didn't think so, he still considered a friend... he said before, he was still my friend—
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