Chapter 135: Chapter 135: Duchess Ruliana

As the dust slowly cleared, all eyes fixated on the cter of the shattered battlefield. The once formidable Marquis Reynard lay in ruin, his skeletal remains scattered, armor fragmted and brok, with pieces of his body strewn across the g.

A deafing silce gripped the ara, the crowd too stunned to utter a word.

Slightly disorited, Agus stood crouching down at the epicter of the destruction, his Hellfire and Darkness wings flickering ominously behind him, casting an eerie glow on the debris. His Claws still smoked from the impact, and the g beath him continued to smolder.

He slowly rose to his full height, shaking off the dust, his expression unreadable.

"Is Marquis Reynard dead?" the murmurs from the spectators grew louder, their voices tinged with disbelief.

"...."

Suddly, a low, raspy sound echoed across the hall. It was not a cheer, nor a gasp-it was the unmistakable crackling of bones.

From the rubble, the remains of Marquis Reynard began to stir. His hollow eye sockets flared with an unnatural light as his bones reassembled, piece by piece. The fragmts of his shattered body slowly drew together as if some dark force was pulling them back into form.

Agus narrowed his eyes but remained calm. He had expected this. After he had se what kind of abilities he had.

Reynard's skeletal body reformed, albeit shakier than before. His Death Aura flickered weakly a him. "You... think... this will stop me, demon?" he rasped, his voice a hollow echo. "I...

am eternal... death cannot claim me."

The audice gasped, watching in horror as the Undead Marquis, though severely weaked, stood once more.

Agus, however, did not look impressed. With a wave of his hand, the Hellfire suring him roared back to life, brighter and more intse than before.

"Not eternal ough, slave," Agus muttered coldly, his eyes glowing with dark power as he prepared to d the battle for good.

"Why is he calling Marquis Reynard a slave?" Belial mused, noticing something peculiar in Agus's words. "Or is it just arrogance?"

With a thunderous roar, Marquis Reynard unleashed his Skeleton King's Domain.

Unknown to the crowd, Reynard had be attempting to invade Agus's mind with soul attacks, trying to take control. But thanks to Nullified Mtal Attacks, Agus's impetrable soul shield thwarted every effort, making such attacks useless.

"I will remember you," Reynard rasped before turning his hollow gaze to Belial. "And Belial, start counting your days. I will kill you with my own hands." He laughed coldly.

Belial shot up from his seat, attempting to catch Reynard's soul before it could escape.

Bang!

But before Belial could reach him, Marquis Reynard detonated himself, both soul and body obliterated in a violt explosion.

In the aftermath, Duchess Ruliana exhaled a sigh of relief, but her reaction didn't go unnoticed. Suspicious glances were cast in her direction, most notably from Vina, whose eyes narrowed in growing suspicion.

Belial, towering over Agus with his muscular frame and bat-like, feathery wings, stared down at him, but Agus remained completely unfazed by the intimidating presce.

"Wh did you discover that Reynard was under a human's control? Ev I couldn't sse it. And why didn't inform it earlier?," Belial asked, his voice tinged with curiosity.

Bella, along with several others, approached, ssing the tsion in the air. She took her place beside Agus, an action that momtarily left Belial speechless.

"Is my darling daughter really abandoning me for the sake of the man she's known for only three weeks? Love truly makes people blind, just like I did in the past," Belial thought inwardly, observing Bella's overprotective stance towards Agus.

Agus responded calmly, "I possess an ability that makes me ssitive to the souls of others wh they're weaked. I can ev attack their soul, which can severely damage them. That's how I discovered the fragmted human soul controlling Reynard."

The last part was a lie to make it more believable.

Belial raised a brow, impressed yet wary. "Oh, you're more igmatic than I thought," he said with a faint smile, the hidd meaning in his words not lost on Agus.

"So, can you check if anyone else here is under their control?" Belial asked, subtly changing the topic wh he noticed Bella's gaze harding.

Agus shook his head, intding to dy the request. But as he did, his Appraisal ability unknowingly caught sight of Duchess Ruliana, and his lips curled into a smirk. There was something there, something intriguing.

Belial noticed the shift in Agus's demeanor and followed his gaze, briefly catching Ruliana's nervous expression. Suspicion flickered in his eyes, but for the momt, he said nothing, awaiting the next move in this unfolding drama.