Becoming the Demon Lord: Taming the Demon Queen Begins

The soul energy within an Umbral Body is incredibly weak.

While this doesn't affect much during life, after death, in order to keep her soul from dissipating, Elara has to constantly feed on the souls of others.

For years, she's relied on Magnus to back her up.

To maintain her soul's integrity, she's consumed countless spirits, not even knowing how many at this point.

The luckier spirits, after being partially consumed, barely manage to survive, though they're left severely damaged and unable to recover.

The less fortunate ones, however, are completely obliterated, their souls scattered beyond any hope of reincarnation.

This time, the whole marriage proposal and wedding ceremony was just a front. Elara's real goal was to find someone whose soul she could feed on for a long time.

But she never expected…

"What? How is this possible? My soul energy… it's draining away!"

Feeling the sudden change in her body, Elara's face turned pale with shock.

She had been preparing to consume Timothy's soul, but to her horror, she realized that what she was absorbing wasn't soul energy at all.

Instead, it was an overwhelming, blazing vitality, as intense as the midday sun!

"This vitality… it's so pure and strong. You're not dead at all. You're alive!"

Elara's face went ghostly white, filled with terror.

No matter how much she tried to rationalize it, she couldn't believe that Timothy, who was surrounded by such thick ghostly energy, was actually a living person.

Her body, already severely lacking in soul energy, was now faced with a living being—especially one like Timothy, whose vitality was as radiant and scorching as the sun itself.

This intense vitality was something she deeply feared.

The streams of vitality flowing from Timothy made Elara feel like her body was melting, overwhelmed by an unbearable heat.

"Let me go! Let me go!"

She screamed in terror, but then noticed that Timothy's body was now glowing with a faint golden light.

Not only was this searing energy rushing toward her, but her own soul energy seemed to be drawn to him, flowing uncontrollably into his body.

The moment her soul energy touched him, it was instantly absorbed by the golden light surrounding Timothy, vanishing without a trace.

"What… what is this? Even the most vital living beings shouldn't have this kind of effect!"

Elara stared at Timothy in shock, her eyes wide with disbelief.

Suddenly, she noticed that the golden light enveloping Timothy carried an ancient, mysterious aura.

It was as if the very essence of the universe was flowing through him, with the faint echoes of some primordial force resonating in the air.

In that instant, a long-forgotten, almost mythical concept surfaced in Elara's mind—the Ancient Saintly Body.

Eight ancient meridians, channeling the energy of the heavens, aligned with the cosmic order.

Just the first meridian alone could radiate a holy, scorching light, forcing even the most malevolent spirits to bow in submission.

"This… could this really be the Ancient Saintly Body?"

The absurd thought took root in her mind, refusing to leave.

And with it came an overwhelming sense of fear that nearly consumed her entirely.

"If this really is the Ancient Saintly Body…"

Looking at her own soul, Elara finally realized, in terror, that her soul was already beginning to dissolve in the sacred, burning heat.

The ghostly energy around her was being drawn toward Timothy, and in an instant, it was absorbed by the golden light surrounding him.

She had always been the one to consume others' souls, but now, the situation had completely reversed.

Elara's panic was impossible to hide any longer. "How did a living person even get into the Netherworld? Let me go! If my father finds out what you've done to me, he'll never forgive you!"

As her body began to slowly disintegrate and the pain of her soul being damaged surged through her, Elara screamed in desperation.

The fear and terror in Elara's eyes grew more intense by the second.

"You wanted to devour other spirits, and now you're the one being devoured. What's so strange about that?" Timothy said with a slight smile, his tone calm.

He showed no intention of stopping. In fact, the flames in his hand flared even brighter.

In an instant, the spirit chains binding him ignited.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

These chains, which were supposed to restrain souls at their very core, seemed to have no effect at all.

"The spirit chains… they're useless! You… you really are alive!"

At that moment, Elara fully realized who Timothy was.

Timothy didn't bother hiding anymore. With a simple tug, he snapped the chains apart.

The thick ghostly aura that had been surrounding him instantly dissipated.

The vitality that surged from him was like the blazing sun at its peak, radiating an unbearable heat.

It was as if a roaring lion had been unleashed.

The scorching flames caused Elara's soul to visibly melt away, disintegrating before her eyes.

The excruciating pain consumed her, and she screamed in desperation, "No! Spare me! If you kill me, my father will—"

Whoosh.

A gust of searing wind swept through, enveloping Elara's soul completely.

In her terrified gaze, the heat closed in from all directions.

She couldn't even finish her sentence.

Like a moth drawn to a flame, she was incinerated in an instant, reduced to nothing but ashes.

"Even in the Netherworld, there are still people relying on their daddy, huh?" Timothy sighed, slowly retracting the power of his Ancient Saintly Body.

The candlelight flickered in the bridal chamber, and aside from the lingering heat in the air, it was as if nothing had happened at all.

Outside, the ghost soldiers stood guard not far away.

They had been stationed there to prevent Timothy from escaping.

Little did they know, their mistress had already been reduced to ashes.

But beyond that…

Timothy couldn't help but marvel at the profound power of the Ancient Saintly Body.

Even with such a disparity in strength, he hadn't even needed to lift a finger, and Elara had been burned away on the spot.

It was clear just how powerful the Ancient Saintly Body was against spirits.

He tossed aside the broken spirit chains and surveyed his surroundings.

The most important thing now wasn't just eliminating the daughter of the city lord, who possessed an Umbral Body.

It was…

"She mentioned that the being from the Elant Continent is in the next room."

Timothy stepped out of the chamber, and sure enough, beyond the brightly lit guest room, there was another, smaller room.

He pushed open the door, and inside the dimly lit room, there was a wooden coffin resting quietly.

A coffin in the Netherworld? That was definitely unusual.

Lighting a small candle, Timothy stared at the coffin.

It was covered in intricate, mysterious ghostly energy, as if it was meant to seal whatever—or whoever—was inside.

"Could it be… is Sylvia really in there?"

A flicker of doubt crossed Timothy's mind, and he quickly reached out, placing his hand on the coffin.