Chapter 122: Ultimatum

"Halt! The duke has forbidden all visitors!"

The guards outside of Duke Ashburn's mansion crossed their spears and laid hands on hilts as Duchess Euklid and her daughter, Rebecca, approached the front gates. Behind them, Aura sauntered in broad daylight without even attempting to hide her presence.

Most of the guards who served the duke had a large amount of experience battling monsters, and some had even brushed nearby Monster Lords before. They all had beads of sweat on their forehead and desperately held onto their weapons out of fear they would simply drop them to the ground despite being Third Step rankers. Such was the domineering pressure emitted from Aura

Nearby residents either screamed in fear and ran, collapsed on the road, or silently hid themselves wherever they could.

The three visitors carried a faint stench of blood, the blood of the gate guards and any nearby volunteer who had tried to stop them entering the city.

The most fearless people were the reporters from The Relevant, who had been constantly loitering out in front of the duke's mansion the past week in hopes to get a word from him regarding his current seclusion and its relation to his late son.

Duchess Euklid glared at the guards and commanded them in an authoritative tone.

"Step aside."

The guards clenched their jaws and maintained their defensive positions despite their shaking limbs due to Aura.

"Duchess… You didn't announce your arrival ahead of time… Please wait while we inform the duke of your arrival."

"So he can flee out the back door?" Rebecca harrumphed and stuck forth her very buxom chest. "I won't allow it! Aura!"

The wolf-eared woman behind them barely moved, but the guards in the center of the formation were instantly crushed along with the entire gate.

Twisted and torn pieces of metal along with bricks and earth exploded out from where she struck. The guards to the side were blown away in the process and neglected, their fates unknown.

The reporters were truly fearless though, doing everything they could to record the incident in special magitech devices. They also took countless pictures from afar believing it to be a safe distance. It wasn't that the Monster Lord didn't know they were there or couldn't eliminate them, but she held no interest in doing so.

The three strolled directly into the duke's mansion that had already become as silent as a grave.

"Is he still here?" Duchess Euklid asked herself as her footsteps echoed on the marble staircase leading up to the second floor.

"Mmm," Aura dipped her head slightly, indicating that the duke was still present and in which direction.

The duchess held her stride and headed directly to one of the duke's studies, where she found Duke and Duchess Ashburn sitting at the back of the room with a glass of expensive wine in their hands,

"I had thought you would run," Duchess Euklid said whilst brushing her straight, long black hair behind her ear.

"Would there be any use in doing so?"

"If you left the dungeon core, I may find myself disinterested in chasing after you."

"That bastard illegal dungeon lord would never let us off! Rip the grass up from the roots without a doubt!"

"Styx is not that kind of person," Rebecca instinctively refuted the duke's callous words, earning a snort of derision from the latter.

"And what of you, almost-daughter-in-law? You changed greatly since you came out of the dungeon, almost lifeless in comparison to how you used to be."

"…I cannot deny that."

Duchess Ashburn glared at her old rival Duchess Euklid with resentment as directed razor sharp words at her.

"Edna, despite our differences ever since we met at Duke O'Riley's end of year banquet and ball, I had never thought you to be the kind who would betray the kingdom. I take it you came in here prepared to kill us?"

"Hayleigh, please don't do this-"

"If it is necessary," Rebecca cut off her own mother and asserted with dominance, causing both duchesses and the duke to look back at her in surprise.

"Duke and Duchess Ashburn, I am sorry for the loss of your son, I had never wished for such a thing to occur. Regardless, it is time to surrender to Styx and come under his banner."

"Hmph! Unlike you, I would never betray the kingdom I spilt my blood protecting!"

Rebecca looked at the nobles and saw the unwavering emotions in their eyes.

"You still have two sons, in the royal academy no less, don't you? It would be a shame for you to die."

She knew that no matter what she said, they would not change their decision, but this didn't stop her from trying.

"We have already made all the necessary arrangements. It wasn't that long ago that you were marrying one of our children in order to protect yourself. How quick you were to sell your body to another, do you have any dignity left?"

"Me and your son were not in love. That, and this, were both for the safety of our city. I will give you one final chance, surrender and live. You will still be in charge of running the city."

Duke Ashburn raised his half full wine cup with a gaze of steel. He turned it upside down and poured its contents onto the thick hand woven carpet that was worth more than the average citizen's annual wage.

The Duchess just calmly sipped on her cup and closed her eyes, waiting for her fate to come.

"How can you just abandon your remaining kids!" Rebecca burst out whilst swinging her arms out wide.

She had the most powerful mana sight, not just being inborn with the talent, but it further being boosted by the piece of Styx in her mind. She could see that the two Third Step rankers knew they couldn't fight back and didn't utilize a single skill to protect themselves. Their mana was dull and ran through their bodies at a sluggish pace.

"You do not understand, young duchess to be," Duchess Ashburn opened one eye and looked at Rebecca askance. "To abandon the kingdom is the ultimate sin, no matter the circumstance. We fight for the kingdom, and die with the kingdom. This is what loyalty is, and the duty of all nobles."

The final say in the confrontation was actually Rebecca, rather than her mother, so Duchess Euklid remained silent as her daughter swung her arm and shouted in a bout of rage.

"Enough with your stupid ideals! A noble's raison d'etre is to protect and serve the people! No more excuses, you have one week to surrender or you really will die!"