Chapter 250: A Disaster Caused by Carelessness
Inside his office, Alvaron worked through a stack of documents on his desk. From time to time, he let out a small sigh and scratched his head.
"Damn..." he muttered, shoving the papers aside and leaning back in his chair. "I can't calm down in the middle of this mess."
The war between the Castellan and Valmire families had already begun, yet he could not interfere. It wasn't that he lacked the will or the power—it was Nolan's order.
Even so, countless letters of protest had already arrived from the heads of noble families. It was no surprise, considering both were Marquis houses—second only to his own Austin family.
Their conflict had thrown the surrounding territories into chaos and disrupted the economy in the eastern region.
Whoosh!
At that moment, a ball of light suddenly appeared two meters from his desk. In the next instant, the beautiful figure of Malverna, half her face hidden behind a mask, emerged from the glow.
Alvaron froze, his body stiff. But he quickly snapped out of it, stood up, and stepped back.
"Who are you?" he asked cautiously, narrowing his eyes. "Did you come here to kill me?"
He examined the woman from head to toe with extreme vigilance.
As someone who held the highest position, it was only natural that many would oppose him—even hate him. There had already been several assassination attempts, all aimed at eliminating him.
Fortunately, he was always prepared, and every attack had failed. But now, with a mysterious woman standing before him, panic and fear stirred inside him.
After all, she radiated incredible strength. If she attacked, he would have no chance of fighting back.
Malverna glanced at him indifferently and waved her right hand. In an instant, a stack of documents materialized out of thin air and landed on his desk.
"Someone asked me to deliver these," she said in a flat, nonchalant tone.
Alvaron lowered his gaze, staring at the pile of papers in shock.
"This..." He looked up, ready to ask, but Malverna was already gone—vanished as if she had never been there.
His lips pressed shut as he fell into silence. Slowly, he sat back down, his eyes still fixed on the documents.
"What exactly is this?" he muttered under his breath.
He had never seen that woman before, nor even heard of her. Yet, from the way she carried herself, it was clear she bore no hostile intent.
Pushing aside his unease, Alvaron pulled the documents closer and began going through them one by one.
Half an hour later, his expression had turned grim and dark—like a man who had just lost his parents.
"Damn it..." he cursed, his fists clenching tight. "The Castellans are bastards—especially Rovert. How dare that piece of trash do this?"
His breath grew heavy, his chest heaving with rage. Never in his life had he felt such burning fury.
The documents revealed the truth: Rovert had committed the most depraved and unforgivable acts—turning human beings into experimental material.
As insane as it sounded, it was all written there in chilling detail. At least three to five hundred thousand men had already fallen victim to his experiments.
What was even more horrifying, Rovert had indulged his vile lust upon them before reducing them to test subjects.
Alvaron nearly vomited as he read through the reports. He wanted to believe they were forgeries, but the evidence left no doubt.
The documents bore the Castellan family's official seal—clear proof that Rovert himself had written them.
Quickly, Alvaron put the papers away and drained his tea in a single gulp.
"Damn it..." he growled through gritted teeth, seething with anger. "Just reading this report makes me sick."
Even a demon would not stoop to such atrocities. Rovert was human—or no, calling him human was an insult to humanity itself. He was trash, filth—anything but human.
Suddenly, Alvaron flinched as a memory struck him: the old reports of missing men from cities across the east.
"Don't tell me... this was all Rovert's doing."
His heart pounded as rage surged once more. Nearly twenty years ago, there had been a chilling case—the sudden disappearance of every man in a remote eastern village.
The terrified women and children had reported it to the local nobles, and the case eventually landed on his desk.
Back then, he had just succeeded his father as the ruler of the eastern region.
Determined to prove himself as a capable leader, he had launched a massive search. But it ended in complete failure.
Before that case was even closed, another report surfaced—fifty men vanishing from a distant town. Then more and more cases followed, piling up until it felt like his head would split apart.
"Rovert..." Alvaron snarled, his voice thick with fury. "If I don't kill you with my own hands, I'm not worthy of being called a Duke!"
With rage burning like a forest fire, he rose to his feet and stormed out of his study.
...
"Kyahaha! Keep attacking, Nolan Lorian! The result will always be the same—nothing! You'd better surrender now and accept your fate as my toy!"
Rovert burst into laughter, his eyes full of mockery. More than an hour had passed, and still, Nolan kept hammering away at his monsters.
But it was all in vain. The creatures were eternal, impossible to kill—his efforts were useless.
Yet Nolan, hearing the taunts, didn't flinch. His expression stayed calm as he continued smashing every monster that lunged at him.
Shouldn't be long now, he muttered under his breath, activating the Eyes of Chaos and locking onto the weakening mana flow.
Another ten minutes dragged by, and Rovert's confidence only grew. He was certain victory was already his.
But then—
Badump!
His heart skipped a beat. Fear flashed in his eyes as he clutched his chest with his left hand.
"This..." He gasped, but blood was already trickling from the corner of his lips.
"Hehehe..." Nolan's low laughter echoed from below. "Looks like my prediction was right. You really are careless, Rovert."
Rovert froze, staring down at him in shock and wariness.
"Is this your doing?" he asked coldly, wiping the blood from his mouth.
"My doing? Don't slander me." Nolan shook his head lightly, a faint grin on his face. "This was all your own doing. Did you really think everything I've done until now was in vain?"
Rovert gasped, panic flashing in his eyes. He quickly checked his body—only to realize his mana was completely gone.
"What? How… how could I—"
Before he could finish, blood spewed from his mouth. His body, once floating in the air, plummeted and slammed into the ground with a heavy thud. Pain shot through every nerve, forcing a groan from his lips.
Nolan only chuckled, shaking his head in amusement.
"What a fool," he mocked coldly. "Have your decades of disguise dulled your brain?"
As a Celestial Mage, Rovert should have sensed his mana draining. Yet he ignored it, blinded by the illusion of victory right before his eyes.
That arrogance had dragged him to the edge of defeat.
Whoosh!
The surrounding monsters disintegrated into dust, clearing the battlefield. Nolan strode toward Rovert at an unhurried pace, every step echoing with confidence.
"So…" he said with a wide grin. "How do you want to die? I'll even let you choose. Hehehe…"