Chapter 244: Carla

Charles descended with a surging aura.

His hair was disheveled, and his expression was so cold that it looked as if he was itching for a fight.

The people standing by the window had no choice but to retreat, unable to withstand Charles’s aura.

He was no longer in the Grimoire Realm. He had already advanced to the Lord Realm.

Luke rolled his eyes when he saw Charles, clearly not wanting any trouble right now, since he knew the young miss would arrive sooner or later.

It all depended on whether she had already heard the news about Richard.

Despite Charles’s ferocious aura, Richard merely looked at him calmly.

He had long stopped regarding Charles as an enemy, since he had already won the competition that had been the root of their hostility.

After landing, Charles even drew a sword that seemed to be made of pure light.

"Boy..." He made no effort to maintain any courtesy at all, directly pointing his sword at Richard.

"I want to see who will save you here..."

"Why would I need saving?" Richard replied with a chuckle, remaining seated.

"I’m just curious—why do you hate me so much? Is it because of Lilith? If that’s the case, even if you kill me, it won’t change anything. I’ve already spent two nights in the same bed with her."

"..."

"You deserve to die!"

Charles could no longer endure Richard’s provocation. He was so obsessed with Lilith that, in this moment, he no longer cared about his image.

This time, he wasn’t just speaking. His sword of light thrust toward Richard.

It pierced straight through the window as if the glass didn’t exist at all, the pane melting from its center.

Power of light. Richard knew this wasn’t a type of power he could afford to underestimate.

It might even be a natural counter to shadow-type powers.

That sword of light could very well damage his Moonshadow Armor, which should have been immune to any attack.

After all, light was not a tangible object.

Richard didn’t dare to be careless.

He leaped backward.

At the very least, dodging wasn’t difficult, since Charles was only using a basic movement.

However, Charles’s figure then erupted with an extremely dazzling radiance, instantly filling the restaurant and leaving Richard unable to see anything but light.

The experience felt similar to when he had fought Dasmond.

This was also a domain—but a domain of light.

After a short while, Richard found the light growing even more blinding, to the point where his eyes began to sting.

He subconsciously closed his eyes, not daring to open them.

But to his shock, even with his Sixth Sense, the effect still reached his eyes.

How could this be?

"You’re finished, boy!"

Charles’s voice echoed behind Richard, and Richard clearly felt something incredibly sharp trying to pierce his back.

He had to admit that Charles was on an entirely different level compared to Dasmond, even though they were in the exact same realm.

This thrust seemed capable of killing him—at least, according to Charles’s conviction.

At this point, Richard thought he could only enter void mode.

But just as he was about to do so, a voice suddenly echoed out.

"Stop this, Charles, or do you want me to imprison you beneath the mountain for a thousand years!"

The voice was gentle and sweet, yet filled with an unmistakable tone of threat.

What shocked everyone even more was that Charles’s movements appeared to be forcibly halted. Then, the surrounding light abruptly dimmed before vanishing altogether, like a lamp being switched off.

The restaurant had already been destroyed, and Richard saw that Charles behind him was completely unable to move, bound tightly by red chains.

Clang!

His sword fell to the ground.

Many people were utterly confused by the situation.

They had all been swallowed by Charles’s light domain earlier—how could they possibly understand what had just happened?

Looking up, Richard was immediately startled by the sight of a young girl wearing a dark red dress.

She was so beautiful that she looked like a doll stepped out of a painting, with orange hair that perfectly complemented her snow-white skin.

What shocked Richard the most was that she was truly alone.

She was clearly only in the Life Aether Realm.

Yet she seemed to have complete control over the red chains binding Charles, and those chains were obviously no ordinary artifact.

Charles had been rendered completely helpless.

"Miss?"

"It’s Miss Carla..."

The members of the Order of the Crimson Veil couldn’t have been more shocked when they saw the girl.

One by one, they bowed respectfully, Luke included.

"Miss!" Charles greeted her as well, even though he couldn’t bow due to being restrained.

Charles looked utterly confused as to why his actions had been stopped, to the point that he was even bound like this—as if he had committed some grave mistake.

The girl stared at him with displeasure.

But when she looked at Richard, she began to smile.

She descended toward him and said, "Brother Richard, I finally get to see you. I’ve heard about you for a long time."

Her tone was friendly and pleasant, making Richard feel as if he were being teased.

"Miss, who are you?" Richard naturally had to pretend not to know.

"Just call me Carla. To be honest, I want to learn many things from you. I was already planning to visit you, but who would have thought you’d come here instead? How about coming with me to my place..." the girl replied, not hiding her delight at all.

This seemed to be more than mere admiration.

Richard hadn’t expected someone in the Order of the Crimson Veil to truly become his fan.

Even though he had known beforehand, he was still surprised.

"Miss, where is your place?"

"On that mountain," the girl answered, pointing at the massive crimson mountain.

"You have to come with me... I’ll even give you a gift," she added when she saw Richard looking toward the mountain.

Although her tone remained gentle and her face was even smiling, she gave the impression that she would be extremely angry if her request were refused.

A girl with a status surpassing that of any princess was naturally spoiled. Even if she appeared kind, she clearly wouldn’t tolerate rejection.

Richard thought for a moment and glanced at Luke, who deliberately looked away.

Richard figured that if this girl were the one bringing him to that massive crimson mountain, there shouldn’t be any problem—even if he entered without permission.

After all, her wish was more than just permission.

After a brief moment of consideration, Richard nodded.

"Alright, Miss... I’ll go with you," he said.

"Hahaha, good. You don’t need to worry about your enemies here. They won’t dare bother you as long as I’m by your side," the girl said, then turned her gaze toward the members of the Order of the Crimson Veil.

"Remember this—Brother Richard is my brother. If any of you dare to challenge him, it means you are challenging me, and I will not forgive you."

She made the announcement in a cold voice, her gaze finally falling on Charles, who looked more shocked than ever.