The Damned Demon - Chapter 769

Chapter 769: A Necessary Sacrifice



Ceti's eyes widened, her expression trembling as the weight of his words sank in, "Your son?" she asked, her voice almost breaking. "You're telling me... Silvan is behind all this?"

Seron didn't answer immediately, but his silence spoke volumes. Finally, in a voice that carried both resignation and desperation, he said, "Please, Ceti. I trust no one else to stop him before it's too late."

Ceti's grip on the Whisper Stone tightened, her knuckles pale as her heart thundered in her chest. Her voice was low but resolute, edged with a flicker of dread. "What did he exactly do...?"

On the other end, Seron spoke quickly, his voice filled with an urgency that carried the weight of a grave truth. As he revealed everything Silvan had done-Ceti's face drained of color.

Her mind spun as she struggled to process what she had just heard. Silvan, the honorable and noble man she trusted, a friend she had trusted and fought alongside, was capable of such treachery?

Her fingers dug into the stone as her dark blue eyes shimmered with determination. "I...I will find him!" she said firmly, her voice cracking slightly. She lowered the Whisper Stone and clenched her jaw, her mind set. Whatever Silvan had done, she needed to confront him and uncover the truth herself.

A destroyed town towards the east was hauntingly silent, save for the occasional whisper of the wind weaving through the ruins.

Carnage lay all around-corpses scattered across the blood-streaked ground, their lifeless eyes staring at nothing. The air was thick with the stench of decay and smoke, a grim reminder of the horrors that had unfolded here.

Silvan walked among the devastation, his boots crunching over broken debris and charred remains. His expression was unreadable, his gaze sharp as he scanned the ruins, almost as if searching for something-or someone.

He paused, his brows furrowing slightly as he heard the sound of footsteps approaching. Turning around, his crimson eyes locked onto Ceti, who was walking toward him with a mixture of confusion and purpose etched across her face.

"Silvan, you are here?" she called out, her voice calm despite the storm of emotions roiling beneath her composed exterior.

"Ceti?" Silvan blinked, his brows raising in mild surprise. "I wasn't expecting you to be here as well. Did something happen?"

Ceti shook her head, her steps slow and measured as she closed the distance between them. "I heard that this town was going down, and I wanted to try and save as many people as I could. But it seems I was too late," she said in a tone of regret and pain, her gaze sweeping briefly over the carnage before settling back on him, "What about you and the legion you were commanding?"

Silvan sighed, his shoulders rising and falling in a way that almost seemed weary, "I also came here to try and salvage what I could of this town and its people. But like you, I was too late. I entrusted one of my men to command my legion until I returned. You should go back, Ceti. The castle and the queen need you now more than ever. I'll head back and resume my duties."

Ceti's steps became soft, her hand slipping behind her back to grip the small dagger hidden there. Its tip shimmered faintly with a dark purple liquid-the potent poison meant to incapacitate him. Her voice softened as she said while walking towards him, "There's something else I needed your help with."

Silvan blinked, tilting his head slightly. "Oh, sure."

"Enough!" Ceti roared, her anger exploding as she surged forward. The spiked knuckles on her fists crackled with mana, a deadly glow radiating from them as she swung a powerful punch at

him.

Over the past year, she had risked her life so many times and persevered hard to finally break the barrier and become a low-level Soul Devourer to help protect this kingdom during the

war.

And since Silvan was also a low-level Soul Devourer, she had confidence that she could take

him down.

However, Silvan's movement was almost casual, his hand darting up to deflect her attack with unnerving ease. His expression darkened as he countered with a devastating punch to her

stomach.

"Urkk!" The force of the blow was like thunder, driving the air from her lungs as her eyes bulged and blood spurted from her lips.

Her body shot backward like a projectile, crashing through a crumbling building that collapsed in a cloud of dust and debris.

"Ungh..." Ceti groaned, her hands trembling as she pressed them against the ground to push herself up. Pain radiated through her body, her breath coming in shallow gasps.

She lifted her gaze toward Silvan, her dark blue eyes wide with disbelief, "Y-You... You were hiding your strength?" she rasped, the realization striking her harder than his punch. Based on the power behind his blow despite holding back, she was able to guess that his strength was on par with a peak-level Soul Devourer!

Silvan's dark red eyes softened, though his tone remained distant, "Another ironic thing

about our world is that the trees that stand out the most get cut down," he said simply, "So I had to hide some things until this day. I really wished things wouldn't have turned out like this between us. But it is what it is."

Ceti gritted her teeth, her bloodied hands curling into fists as anger and pain churned within her. But before she could respond, Silvan turned his back on her, his silhouette growing smaller as he walked away into the distance.

"Goodbye, Ceti," he said without looking back, his voice carrying a faint edge of sorrow.

Ceti's fingers dug into the dirt as she wiped the blood trickling from her lips, her body trembling. Her dark blue eyes shimmered with unshed tears as she blamed herself for being unable to see this coming.