I Died and Became a Noble's Heir

Chapter 607 607: Vorath's Impudence

Within three seconds, the Ice Drake collapsed, its massive form crashing to the floor with an impact that shook the throne room's foundations.

The crystalline body had gone completely opaque, all internal light extinguished as death claimed one of Jack's bound creatures.

Vorath stepped back, his bare hand still dripping with dark fluid as he turned toward Jack with an expression that mixed triumph and contempt. "See? Your 'mighty' dragon falls to a simple touch. What does that say about the Soul Warden's..."

The Ice Drake's body began glowing.

Not the natural luminescence of a living crystal, but something else entirely.

Silver light bled from within the opaque form, spreading through the fracture lines.

The cracks sealed themselves, and the damaged scales reforming with perfection erased all evidence of the Blight's corruption.

Then the creature's eyes opened, blazing with cold fury that transcended simple animal rage.

The Blight Clan leader moved immediately, her voice carrying desperate authority as she tried to salvage a situation that had already spiraled beyond control.

"Soul Warden, please, I will punish him immediately for his disrespect. The Blight Clan takes full responsibility for..."

"It won't be necessary," Jack stated, his tone carrying finality that made the leader's voice cut off mid-sentence.

The Ice Drake rose to its full height, its restored form radiating cold that made frost spread across the throne room's floor in an expanding circle.

Its attention remained fixed on Vorath, but it made no move to attack.

It waited, as if recognizing that its master had other plans for the demon who'd killed it.

Jack's yellow-orange eyes shifted from the resurrected drake to the Blight Clan leader, his expression carrying no particular emotion beyond clinical interest. "How many members does your clan have?"

The leader's bark-like skin went pale, and dark fluid leaked from her cracks in greater volume as stress manifested in her physical symptoms.

Her voice emerged carefully controlled despite the terror underlying every word. "Ten thousand, Soul Warden. Spread across Floor Twenty in three settlements."

Jack nodded once, then his right hand moved in a gesture that made the air shimmer with displaced energy.

A figure materialized beside his throne, drawn from the depths of space. The summoning was instant, reality-bending to accommodate the entity being pulled from wherever Jack kept his claimed servants.

Mira stood in the throne room's crimson light, her appearance exactly as it had been in life.

Red wavy hair fell past her shoulders, her figure carrying curves that would have made her one of the six flowers of Elysium had she been born in that region.

Her eyes were empty, consciousness present but stripped of everything except the ability to follow commands.

"Dog," Jack stated, his tone carrying the same casual authority he might use when addressing actual livestock. "Come here."

Mira moved immediately, her steps carrying her to stand before the throne without hesitation or visible emotion. "Yes, Master," she confirmed, her voice was hollow.

The Blight Clan members stared at the summoned woman, their expressions a mix of confusion and growing horror as they processed what they were witnessing.

This wasn't a bound demon or captured monster. This was a human soul, claimed and repurposed as a tool that existed only to execute its master's will.

Jack's gaze remained fixed on Mira, his yellow-orange eyes observing her graceful form as he admired her beauty.

"Take the Hydra and Voidweaver. Go to Floor Twenty. Find the Blight Clan's settlements and kill one thousand of their members. Make sure they understand this is happening because they offended me."

"Yes, Master," Mira confirmed, her tone carrying no particular emphasis despite receiving orders to commit mass murder.

The Blight Clan leader's carefully controlled expression crumbled, her bark-like features twisting with grief and terror as she processed what was about to happen.

Her subordinates went rigid, their bodies frozen with horror that paralyzed every muscle.

But it was Vorath who broke the silence.

"No!" he screamed, his voice carrying across the throne room with rage that transcended fear. "This is insane! You can't just murder a thousand of us because I touched your pathetic pet! That's not justice! That's not proportional! You're just a human throwing a tantrum because someone dared to question his authority!"

His bare hands clenched at his sides, dark fluid dripping more heavily as his agitation increased the Blight's manifestation.

His eyes tracked to the Clan Leader, desperately seeking support from someone who should be defending her people rather than accepting this massacre.

"Don't just stand there!" Vorath continued, his voice rising with desperation. "Fight back! Tell him no! Tell this human that the Blight Clan doesn't bow to some mortal pretending to be a demon lord! We're demons! We've existed for centuries! And you're going to let him slaughter a thousand of us because I proved his creature could die?!"

The Clan Leader remained silent, her head bowing further as if the weight of Vorath's words was crushing her to the floor.

"We're not servants!" Vorath shouted, his attention snapping back to Jack. "We're not slaves! We're not tools for some half-blood mortal to command! You sit on that throne like you own the tower, like you have the right to decide who lives and dies, but you're nothing! You're just a human playing dress-up with demon powers! Without your bound creatures, you're weak!"

s voice cracked with emotion that went beyond simple rage into something approaching genuine disbelief.

This wasn't calculated defiance.

This was pride refusing to accept reality, even when that reality was preparing to kill him.

"My clan has survived for three hundred years!" Vorath continued, his bare hands gesturing wildly as dark fluid sprayed across the floor. "We've outlasted demon lords, weathered purges, endured challenges that would have destroyed lesser clans! And you think you can just... just threaten us?! Demand our submission?! Murder our people because one demon dared to question whether you actually deserve the fear everyone shows you?!"

His eyes blazed with conviction that transcended self-preservation. "You don't deserve this throne! You don't deserve the title, Soul Warden! You're just a human who got lucky with Soul Magic, and now you're using it to terrorize everyone into pretending you're strong! But I see through it! I see the truth that everyone else is too cowardly to admit!"

Vorath's attention tracked back to his Clan Leader, desperate for her to recognize what he was saying. "We shouldn't be here! We shouldn't be bowing to him! We should be standing up and showing this mortal that demons don't serve humans! That we don't accept orders from someone who bleeds red instead of demonic ichor!"

The throne room had gone completely silent except for Vorath's increasingly frantic declarations, his voice echoing off stone walls that had witnessed countless proclamations but few this suicidally honest.

Jack stood from his throne with movement so casual it made Vorath's passionate speech seem almost embarrassing by contrast.

His boots made quiet sounds against stone as he descended the steps, his posture carrying so much confidence that he was completely unconcerned about anything the younger demon had just declared.

His left arm moved through the air, causing a shimmer as fire materialized, forming an appendage where his left hand should have been.