Chapter 702 Brother To Me (2)
Ibis struggled desperately within Astaroth's unyielding grasp, her fingers clawing at his vice-like grip as she gasped for breath. Her eyes, wide with fear, darted around the laboratory, searching for any sign of help. The Xyrans, who were present there, sensed the danger of the situation and formed a circle around them, their voices raised in a futile attempt to calm Astaroth.
Astaroth paid no heed to the pleas of his fellow Xyrans, and his grip remained unrelenting. He was determined to get answers, one way or the other.
He leaned in closer to Ibis, his voice laced with a deadly intensity as he demanded again, "Why did you try to kill Ashton?
Ibis struggled to form words under the relentless pressure on her throat. But she eventually found her voice as a faint, strained mumble. "I don't know what you're talking about." Hearing that answer made Astaroth even angrier. In his twisted mind, he came up with the only possible reason for Ibis to do something so reckless.
"Seraph... you endangered Ashton's life to get back at me for killing Seraph, is that it?" Astaroth scoffed before shaking his head. "I was foolish to believe you'll ever help me without an ulterior motive."
For some reason, hearing those words from Astaroth's mouth pained her like nothing had. Not even the news of Astaroth's presumed death was as painful as the look of hatred in his eyes for her. "Lady Ibis had nothing to do with the incident..."
At that very moment, another Xyran stepped forward, emboldened by the dire situation. His voice was unwavering as he admitted to his dark intent. "I was the one who tried to sabotage the Soul Splitter. I believed Ashton was too great a risk to be left alive," he continued. "I thought crippling or ending his existence would be the best course of action to restore the Xyran dominance over the galaxy."
"Nikai!" Ibis suddenly found her strength and exclaimed the young man's name. She knew Nikai held a candle for her but only viewed him as a friend and had always shot down his advances. However, she hadn't expected him to endanger his life for her sake. The thought that the young man could do something sinister never crossed Ibis's mind. Unfortunately, she didn't know that Nikai had indeed sabotaged the procedure, not in the hopes of killing Ashton but to stop Astaroth's resurrection. He knew with Astaroth in the picture, he would never be able to convince Ibis of his love for her. Hence, saw it as an opportunity to end the roadblock once and for all. With Beelzebub and Astaroth out of his way, no one could 'steal' Ibis away from him... or so Nikai thought. Unfortunately, he hadn't expected Astaroth to segregate Ashton and his conscience before the procedure. Hence, it was too late by the time he sabotaged the operation. Astaroth had already linked with his new body, and Ashton became the target as he was the only 'soul' in the primary body. When Astaroth violently reacted towards Ibis, Nikai realised he had made a mistake. But instead of telling the truth and diminishing his image in what could be his final moments, he decided to make up a story. Nikai wanted to portray himself as a hero who tried to maintain the status quo by eliminating the sole being who could threaten the Xyrans instead of a pathetic loser.
"I did what I thought was right," Nikai boldly proclaimed. "So, let her go and do what you will with me!"
Everyone in the room gasped as Nikai, someone who couldn't even correctly wield a sword, challenged someone like Astaroth. Still holding Ibis aloft, Astaroth regarded the confessor with a steely gaze before taking a deep breath. This wasn't how he had expected to live the first moments of his new life. "Very well then," he remarked. "I shall teach you a lesson in humility."
Astaroth's grip on Ibis's throat slowly loosened, and he released her, allowing her to fall to the ground. But instead of tending to her safety, Ibis launched herself at Astaroth's feet, her desperation noticeable even to the blind. She knew what was coming, and she was determined to prevent it.
"Astaroth! Please! He's a fool who doesn't know what he did!" she shrieked. "I'll teach him a lesson myself! You don't need to dirty your hands-"
"Dirty my hands?" Astaroth stopped before staring into Ibis's eyes. "You may have forgotten how many souls I have destroyed, but I do and adding another one to the pile won't affect anyone."
"Astaroth! Please, I beg you!" Ibis continued pleading for Nikai's life. "Nikai! Apologise to him this instant, and he'll forgive you!"
Unfortunately, it didn't seem Nikai felt the same. If anything, watching the love of his life beg for someone only made him angrier. Sadly, it was that anger that sealed Nikai's fate. "I'm sorry, my lady," Nikai mumbled before retrieving his pistol and aiming for Astaroth's head. "But I won't apologise to a traitor!"
Everyone was shocked and reprimanded Nikai for his words. Whether Astaroth was a traitor or not was debatable, but someone as lowly as Nikai had no right to threaten one of the great generals of their empire. However, Nikai didn't care about what others had to say and fired on Astaroth, who slightly tilted his head to dodge the bullet. Ibis tried to get everyone under control, but it was too late.
Astaroth shrugged her off with casual indifference. His golden eyes shifted to Nikai. In the blink of an eye, an explosion of energy emanated from Astaroth's hand, and the Xyran's head was obliterated in a grisly spectacle. The room fell into a horrified hush as they witnessed the abrupt and brutal demise of one of their own. The room was filled with a deafening silence, the aftermath of Astaroth's swift and merciless judgment. Nikai's lifeless body crumpled to the ground, blood still spurting from his headless corpse. Ibis sat a few paces away, her eyes wide with shock and her face drained of colour. Her hands trembled as she stared at the ghastly aftermath of misunderstandings and wrong choices. Her lips parted, but no words escaped; she only managed a faint, breathless gasp before turning towards Astaroth. But it didn't seem like he was in the mood to talk to her.
"Let this be a lesson for all of you," he said. "Betrayal to our cause will not be tolerated... now clean up this mess!"
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