The Monster Monarch System-Chapter 256: Ritual Of The Old

The chamber erupted into chaos.

A few demons bolted for the exit, realizing this was a fight they couldn’t win.

Others reached for weapons, drawing curved daggers and enchanted blades.

Rem welcomed it.

The first to attack was fast, twin blades flashing as he lunged.

But Rem sidestepped effortlessly, catching the demon’s wrist mid-strike before twisting — hard. A sharp crack filled the room as the creature howled, his arm bending unnaturally.

Before the demon could even react, Rem brought his knee up, shattering his ribs with a single blow.

He finished him with a palm strike to the skull, sending the demon crumpling to the floor.

Another came at him from behind, attempting to drive a dagger into his spine.

Rem pivoted smoothly, grabbing the assailant by the throat. He squeezed, and with a sickening pop, the demon’s neck snapped.

Panic spread through the remaining demons.

This wasn’t a battle. This was a slaughter.

A few demons tried to use the human slaves as shields, pulling them in front of their bodies as protection.

Rem’s eyes darkened.

’Cowards!’

His fingers curled, and in an instant, an invisible force yanked the slaves free from their captors. The collars around their necks shattered, the spell binding them undone.

The demons barely had time to react before Rem struck again.

His next target attempted to run, but Rem closed the distance in an instant, driving a fist into his gut. The sheer force sent the demon crashing through a stone pillar, his body limp before he even hit the ground.

The last few demons in the chamber trembled, their weapons slipping from their hands as they backed away.

Rem wiped the blood from his knuckles, his gaze cold.

"You have one chance," he said, his voice quiet but sharp as steel. "Tell me where the rest of your kind are hiding."

One of the remaining demons, a wiry figure with narrow eyes, stammered. "I — I don’t know! We — we were just stationed here! The higher-ups — "

Rem’s gaze sharpened. "Who?"

"The — the Grand Caster!" the demon blurted. "He’s the one organizing everything! He’s the one bringing us here!"

Rem narrowed his eyes. "Where is he?"

The demon swallowed hard. "North of the city. There’s — there’s an old estate, abandoned for years. That’s where they’re gathering."

Rem studied him for a long moment, then exhaled.

The demon flinched as Rem lifted his hand — but instead of striking, Rem merely turned away.

The demon caught flames instantly after, burning into cinders.

Rem glanced around the chamber. The human slaves stared at him, wide-eyed, still processing their sudden freedom.

He turned toward the nearest one, a woman who looked no older than twenty, her wrists still raw from the chains.

"You’re free," he told her simply.

Tears welled in her eyes. She opened her mouth, as if to say something — but before she could, Rem had already turned away.

There was no time to waste.

He had a new target now.

The Grand Caster.

######

The Grand Caster strode through the dimly lit halls of the abandoned mansion, his steps echoing softly against the polished stone floor.

The air was thick with the scent of iron, the stench of death clinging to the walls like a lingering curse.

Scattered across the floor were human corpses, their lifeless forms twisted in agony, their blood still warm as it seeped into the cracks of the stone.

Their sacrifice was necessary.

At the heart of the formation — a circle drawn in blood, its intricate symbols pulsating with dark energy — sat a young man, his hands bound tightly behind his back, his face half-covered in bandages.

Though he couldn’t see, he squirmed, sensing the dark energy crackling around him. His breath was ragged, his chest rising and falling in rapid succession.

Fear.

The Grand Caster inhaled deeply, savoring the delicious scent of terror. It had been too long since he had performed a ritual of this scale.

Too long since he had heard the whispers of something greater than himself.

The demons surrounding him watched in anticipation, some kneeling, others standing in reverence.

Among them, one of the younger demons, barely old enough to have witnessed a century, hesitated before stepping forward.

"Grand Caster," the demon asked cautiously. "What... what exactly is the Monarch of Darkness?"

At that, the Grand Caster let out a low chuckle.

Ignorance.

But it was to be expected.

"You ask what the Monarch of Darkness is?" His voice carried a weight that silenced the entire room. "Foolish child. You should ask who he is."

The younger demon stiffened but remained silent, waiting for him to continue.

The Grand Caster’s golden eyes gleamed with something almost feverish as he began to speak.

"Long before this world fell into its current balance of power, before the monsters, before the dragons and the wretched divine, there existed a being whose presence eclipsed all others. The first Monarch. The true ruler of all things that lurked in the shadows. His power was boundless, his name whispered in terror across all realms."

The younger demon swallowed. "But if he was so powerful... what happened to him?"

The Grand Caster’s fingers curled, his expression darkening.

"He was betrayed," he said, his voice a low growl. "Defeated not by gods, nor by the forces of light, but by another... a rival. The Monster Monarch."

Murmurs broke out among the demons.

The Monster Monarch. A name that still carried weight in the present day, even among their kind.

The Grand Caster let them murmur, let the tension build before he silenced them with a single glance.

"But that was long ago," he continued. "The world has changed, and the time for his return is now. This ritual... this human we have chosen as the vessel... will become the key to bringing him back. He will rise again — not as he once was, but reborn in a body suited for this era, one that will allow him to rule once more."

He turned his gaze to the young man at the center of the ritual. The human tensed, as if he could feel the weight of those words pressing down upon him.

"It is a great honor," the Grand Caster said smoothly, kneeling before him. "Your body will become the conduit for something far greater than yourself. You should be grateful."

The young man said nothing. His breathing was shaky, his lips parted as if he wanted to speak but couldn’t find the words.

The Grand Caster stood, raising his hands.

"It is time."

A ripple of energy passed through the room.

The symbols on the ground began to glow a deep crimson, pulsating like a heartbeat. The corpses surrounding the ritual circle trembled, as if something unseen was pulling at them.

Then, one by one, the bodies began to dissolve.

Flesh and bone disintegrated into dark mist, swirling through the air like tendrils of living shadow.

The mist coiled and twisted before surging toward the human, sinking into his skin like ink spreading through water.