Chapter 76: Killing Melissa

"Oh? Is that so? Your plan is as cruel as it is foolish... But I promise you this—you won’t live long enough to see it succeed."

Melissa’s laughter died instantly the moment she heard the voice. A chill ran down her spine as her eyes widened in shock.

She quickly turned toward the source—and to her shock, saw Nolan sitting on the rubble of the destroyed wall.

His right leg was bent, the left dangling loosely. His right hand rested casually on his raised knee, a mocking smile playing on his lips as his playful gaze locked onto Melissa.

"You..." Melissa gasped, stepping back. "How are you still alive? I killed you! You were supposed to be dead!"

She had just killed him—she was certain of it. So how could he be here now, completely unscathed?

Nolan chuckled softly as he leapt down from the rubble. Brushing the dust from the back of his trousers, he asked casually, "Dead? When exactly did I die? Are you hallucinating?"

Nolan’s words left Melissa frozen. Her eyes instinctively darted to the side—to where his lifeless body had been just moments ago.

But to her shock, it was gone. In its place lay a wooden puppet, its stomach pierced by a gaping hole.

"A... a wooden puppet?" Her heart pounded. She stared at Nolan in disbelief. "How did you do this? Was it replacement magic? But I couldn’t feel any mana flow from you!"

The mana flow was the circuit through which mana moved within the body.

To a mage, it was as vital as life itself. Through it, they could wield powerful magic.

And yet, Melissa couldn’t sense even the slightest trace of mana flow in Nolan’s body—no fluctuation, no presence, nothing.

So how had he managed to replace himself with a wooden puppet right under her nose?

Questions raced through her mind, one after another, yet none had a logical answer.

Instead, countless terrifying and impossible possibilities began to swirl in her head—and slowly, fear crept into her heart.

"You don’t need to know how I did it," Nolan said casually, his eyes narrowing with a glint of murderous intent. "What matters now is... how do you want to die? I’ve prepared a thousand ways. Go ahead—take your pick."

His arrogance instantly set Melissa ablaze with fury, burning away the fear that had gripped her moments ago.

"How arrogant!" She spat, her voice hoarse with rage. "Just because you survived once, you think you can beat me? Don’t make me laugh! That little trick was impressive, but I can kill you again—and again—until you run out of ways to crawl back!"

A sinister smile curled across her beautiful face.

"And when that moment comes... will you still be as arrogant as you are now?"

The moment she finished speaking, her figure vanished—only to reappear right in front of Nolan.

With her right claw pulled back, she struck at his heart in a flash.

Srckk!

Her claws pierced through his chest, erupting from his back as fresh blood gushed out like a fountain.

"Hahaha! You won’t survive this time, Nolan Lorian!" Melissa let out a loud, triumphant laugh.

But to her shock, Nolan—who should have died from her attack—showed no signs of pain.

To the contrary, he smiled playfully and said, "Oh? Are you sure? Because it looks like you just attacked yourself."

"What?" Melissa’s laughter froze.

Before she could react, Nolan’s figure dissolved into a cloud of white smoke.

At that very moment, a sharp, excruciating pain tore through her chest.

"Pfft!" Blood spurted from her mouth, and her body stumbled backward.

When she looked down, her eyes widened in horror—there was a gaping hole in her chest.

"N-no... impossible... H-how could... Pfft!"

Her words were cut off by another gush of blood. Her knees buckled, and she collapsed to the ground, clutching her wound as her face turned deathly pale.

"Hah... hah... hah..." Her breath came in ragged gasps, and cold sweat drenched her trembling body.

As powerful as she was, she couldn’t heal herself—not while inhabiting this body. It wasn’t her true form, but Melissa’s.

That meant the magic she could use was limited.

Worse still, the more magic she used, the weaker her soul became.

If that continued, she might never return to her original body—the one she had hidden not far from here.

And that—exactly that—was the reason she had never revealed herself all these years, choosing instead to remain in hiding, wearing Melissa’s face.

Had it not been for that bastard Nolan, the plan she had spent years crafting to destroy the Caltheron family wouldn’t have fallen apart like this.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk. So, how does it feel to be the one getting played? Fun, isn’t it?"

The playful voice rang out in front of her, reigniting her fury.

She looked up, her eyes burning with hatred as she glared at Nolan standing before her.

"Nolan Lorian..." Melissa growled through clenched teeth. "Who exactly are you? How can you use such mysterious tricks?"

Despite hiding behind Melissa’s identity for so long, she remained well-informed about the imperial princes—Nolan included.

According to everything she had heard, Nolan was a lazy, unruly nuisance—wild, arrogant, and the subject of endless negative gossip.

That was why she had never seen him as a threat—in fact, she had always underestimated him.

But now, the man she once considered easy prey stood before her as a mysterious and dangerous opponent.

This was nothing like the Nolan she had heard about.

"You’re too weak to know who I really am," Nolan said coolly. "Now tell me everything about the Demon Emperor’s resurrection plan—or I’ll kill you."

His gaze turned icy—a sharp, piercing glare that could freeze even the boldest soul.

"Hehehe... Kill me? You won’t be able to, Nolan Lorian," Melissa sneered, a sardonic smile curling back onto her lips. "I’ll admit—you’re good at hiding. But that’s all. You don’t have what it takes to kill me."

It wasn’t arrogance—at least, not in her mind.

To her, Nolan’s success in tricking and humiliating her was nothing more than the result of her own carelessness.

After all, the methods he used were fit for deception—not direct combat. That was why his threats didn’t faze her in the slightest.

"Is that so? I like your confidence... But now, I’m going to shatter it."

The moment those words left Nolan’s mouth, he lunged forward, grabbing Melissa by the neck and yanking her face close—so close, only a few centimeters separated them.

Then, something terrifying happened. The pupil of Nolan’s left eye slowly twisted into a star shape, while his right eye transformed into a blazing sun.

Badump!

Melissa’s heart skipped a beat. Her eyes widened in horror.

"Those eyes... those are the Eyes of the Singu—"

Before she could finish, black flames erupted from thin air and engulfed her.

"Argh!" She screamed in agony.

Her body writhed like a worm tossed into a bed of burning coals, desperate for the pain to end.

But the flames didn’t stop. They only intensified, devouring her until nothing remained—just a pile of scorched ash.

Nolan stared at the ashes, his face devoid of emotion—no satisfaction, no smile.

Then, his gaze shifted eastward, toward the forest roughly ten kilometers from Valmiris City.

"So she’s returned to her true body... Now, it’s time to extract the truth," he muttered.

Whoosh

In the blink of an eye, his figure vanished, as if swept away by the wind.