A Peacock Husband of Five Princesses by day, a Noble Assassin by Night

As the sun dipped below the horizon, the blood moon began to rise, casting an eerie red glow across the sky.

Meanwhile, inside the undisclosed location, at the Clowns of Ark HQ, mages gathered in magenta robes, wearing clown masks but showing no distinction of their ranks this time, i.e. no wigs, hats, or crowns. They merely covered their heads with the hoods attached to the robes and candles were lit all over the place, fresh blood of a pure dragon was used to draw the ritual circles.

Kael stood beside Mia, his expression unreadable but focused, watching as the ritual began to unfold. Around them, the atmosphere seemed to hum with unnatural energy. Strange incantations echoed through the air, the words unfamiliar, their power becoming obvious as time passed. He could feel the tremors in the air.

The priest, his hunched form looming before them, moved into the center of the ritualistic circle. In his hands, he held the orb of soul, its glow faint at first, then intensifying as he began to chant more fervently.

Mia stood next to Kael, her eyes cast downward, fighting a storm of emotions inside her. She had never thought it would come to this—to a point where she had to make a decision that weighed so heavily on her heart. But in the end, she did it, placing her entire trust in her brother whom she believed weak and the person she needed to protect, not the other way around.

Despite everything she knew about the demon heart's origin and the possible consequences if this failed, she had to give it up. The enemies had her brother in their grasp.

While she was a filial descendant who tried to carry her duty of bearing the burden all her life, she still had no desire to save the world—her priority lies more in protecting him. If it meant her life, her soul, her everything, then so be it. The rest of the world could go to hell. Her brother was her world, and if the choice ever came down to his life or the world's, she would choose him even in her dreams.

Her hand trembled as her tattoo glowed intensely, her mindscape opening in response to her will.

The demon's heart began to materialize in front of her. The purple-colored heart was a heavyweight, both physically and mentally.

At once, Kael and Mia felt the gazes from the surroundings. The Clowns and even the priest couldn't help but stare at the demon's heart, which was exuding a terrifying aura.

The demon's heart tried to go back into Mia, not into her mindscape but into her body to fuse with her, and the latter felt the temptations. She started hearing whisperings in her ear, making her go into a trace.

"Don't reject my power, Mia."

"Accept my power and become an immortal."

"With my power, you can protect your loved ones and kill your enemies with ease."

"Mia, accept it. We are fated to be with one another. You are my jailer and I'm your prisoner."

"Mia… Mia… Mia…" Kael's voice brought her out of her trance state, urging her to go along with the ritual. "Sever ties with it, Mia. You can do this, Mia. Throw that damn thing away."

Mia, who managed to return to her senses, clenched her jaw. The heart floated before her now, dark and swirling with demonic energy. Just as the whisperings began once again, taking a deep breath, she became focused.

Meanwhile, the priest's voice rose higher, his words weaving in the air.

Mia focused on the heart and, as Kael had said, detached it from her soul with the help of a tattoo.

"Argh…" A loud, piercing scream escaped her mouth as a searing pain shot through her body while the connection was severed and the demon's heart slowly started floating in the sky. Its color started turning black. Meanwhile, the ritual was reaching its peak.

The priest, seeing the heart in its raw form, began chanting faster, words dripping with ancient power. He raised his hands as if preparing for the final procession of the ritual.

Kael's mind raced as the ritual reached its critical juncture.

He had the fragmented wheel of light waiting in his mindscape, a merging of his sword and Mia's pendant, and with it, he would have the strength to strike down whatever stood in his way. He just needs the perfect time to launch an attack.

But it wasn't just the power of the wheel that gave him confidence. No, it was the primordial dark attribute that he was born with.

Meanwhile, the heart, black as the darkest void, floated suspended before them. Mia, now free from its influence, exhaled a breath of relief, her face drained from the strain of having carried such a burden for so long. She involuntarily grabbed her brother's arm.

Kael's gaze flicked to Mia, then to the priest and the mages around them, who were watching as the heart was slowly moving toward the priest's body. The priest, smiled, accepting the demon's heart in his hand, carrying the artifact that carried the Monarch's soul in another hand.

"Bring the host," ordered the priest.

A young man with an almost perfect physique, bald and upper body naked, brought to him. His eyes looked all hazy as if he wasn't sure what was happening.

The two hooded clowns made him lie on the ground, the priest moved away from the center of the ritualistic circle and instead, this young man was placed down there.

The Priest raised the demon's heart and spoke the second part of the incantation. "Oh, Lord Wepwawet, Opener of the Ways, Lord of the war, death, and the afterlife, please grant me…"

While he is in the middle of incantation, Kael makes his move.

With a swift motion, Kael struck, his hand moving too fast for anyone to react.

He chopped down at Mia's neck, delivering a blow that sent her collapsing to the ground instantly. She didn't even know what happened and some invisible attack struck her.

Of course, had she possessed her true strength, she could have atleast sensed the sudden attack but with her mana restricted, her body weakened from severe malnutrition for the past year, and the fact that she was too tensed about what was going to happen, she couldn't sense it. As a result, she was knocked out cold. The mages thought of it as she fainted due to exhaustion or the connection severance with the demon's heart and they didn't pay much attention. But, Jagger, who had been observing Kael from the start, saw it clearly and it stunned him. His face hardened. "This brat… he is going to interrupt the ritual."

Meanwhile, Kael caught her gently before she hit the ground, his arms steady despite the intensity of the situation. He could feel her breathing, shallow but steady, and that was all that mattered.

With a flicker of concentration, Kael reached out to his mindscape, pulling out the fragmented wheel of light.

The weapon pulsed before him, its power like nothing he had ever felt before.

"Wow~"

Kael involuntarily expressed his amazement at the weapon he was carrying. He carried it before but he didn't do it outside the mindscape. And when he carried it now, it boosted his confidence.

Not just himself, now, even the clowns around felt the power radiating by it. It was in the same leagues as the demon heart's power. Or atleast, the aura that it generated.

The entire hall seemed to hold its breath as Kael looked up at the stunned crowd.