Chapter 355: Blood On The Hands Of A King
"Shut your mouth!" Solan roared. He hurled a powerful attack at her, which Selene countered with her own surge of black magic.
Light and darkness collided; the impact incinerated a cluster of ghouls nearby.
Selene laughed again and continued. "Why should I shut my mouth, Solan? Truth is bitter, isn’t it? I am sure the loyal people protecting their King should know exactly what kind of degrading man he is. A man who allows his poor, defenceless daughter to be tortured day and night by his cruel new wife and son."
"I said shut up!" Solan hurled another attack at her, but Selene countered it easily and scoffed.
"There is really no need to get upset with me, Solan. This is the truth, after all. You let her spirit be crushed every day behind closed doors, while I... I simply did it in the open. We are really no different, you know. Isn’t that right, my sweet husband?"
A stunned silence filled the air as everyone heard Selene’s words clearly.
No one spoke until Solan finally whispered, "You... what did you do?"
"Hm? Did you not just hear me? Really, Solan, you cannot be that dense, can you? You were always so gullible to believe me when I told you how to keep Evelyn away from all the vampires. But you... like the fool that you are, even after making that promise to your dying wife, you went ahead and sent her to the one place where she ended up meeting my man! My Ivan!" She sneered, her words cutting through Solan like a dagger to his heart.
Selene continued, "And now, even when I just told you that I killed her, your stupid head cannot grasp the simple fact of what has already been done. I finally had to take matters into my own hands by piercing a dagger straight through her heart. You should have seen our daughter. She cried beautiful tears of blood before she withered away like a helpless animal caught in chains..."
Solan could not believe what the woman was saying. All this while, he had been in love with such a creature, doing her bidding without question. He finally began to realise the weight of his actions over the past years. He had allowed every horrible thing to happen to his own flesh and blood because of this vile woman.
"Her blood is not just on my hands, Solan. Look closer, and you will realise that it is on your hands as well," she burst out laughing again on seeing Solan’s dumbfounded expressions.
But before Selene could say another word, Septimus released a pained cry and unleashed an attack so powerful that her dark barrier began to crack.
She cursed under her breath as she struggled to hold back the intensity of his magic. "You f*cking priest!"
But Septimus did not stop.
He pushed and pushed until the sound of shattering echoed through the air, and her barrier breached. His powerful light magic hit Selene with full force, sending her flying into the broken ruins of an altar pillar.
Her skin sizzled from the blast before it completely transformed into dark grey reptilian scales, revealing her true nature.
For some time, Selene remained slouched against the broken pillar. Her dark hair covered her face, and the only sign that she was still alive after receiving such a powerful attack from High Priest Septimus was the rise and fall of her heaving chest.
This made some people wonder what it would actually take for this vile and sick woman to die for good.
But their thoughts were abruptly interrupted when another explosive blast echoed from the other side of the field, where Ivan and Azrath were fighting.
Or rather, judging by the situation, it seemed that Azrath was simply toying with Ivan.
When the dust finally settled around them, they saw that Ivan had once again crashed against a large rock, which had been mercilessly shattered into rubble before melting under the intense heat radiating from his body.
People had not yet recovered from the shocking words Selene had uttered about murdering Princess Evelyn, or from the fact that this woman had been coveting Prince Ivan, her own daughter’s lover, all this while, when the ground around them suddenly began to shake violently once again.
It was only then that most people noticed another intense battle taking place on the other side of the field between two beings whose powers were beyond comprehension.
Their eyes widened as they recognised Prince Ivan.
He did not look like he was in the best state.
Blood oozed from the corner of his mouth, and various cuts were scattered across his body, though they continued to close because of his vampiric regeneration.
It was then that they heard the man whom Ivan had been fighting speak.
"Ah... this is no fun when you cannot even touch me, Malakai."
He tilted his head and asked, "What is it? Did you grow weaker after being reborn? Hmm... as I am getting more and more access to Zafira’s memories, I am beginning to understand why it feels like I am fighting a worthless human rather than the old, powerful Malakai."
His sinister, cold grey eyes swept across the crowd of fighters and finally landed on his loyal servant, who looked like just another weakling in his eyes.
"I see. You did manage to accumulate a large number of people who can use powers this time. They don’t only seem to be giving my minions from hell a hard time, but my loyal servant as well."
Azrath’s lips curved into a dark smile as he spoke the next words. "It is good. Finally, there will be more powerful souls for me to consume rather than just weak humans. I think it is time to end this one-sided battle."
At his words, just as Ivan struggled to his feet, Azrath raised his hand and blasted another powerful attack. It hit Ivan with such force that he crashed into the rubble once again.
Shocked gasps erupted from the other side of the field. Ivan’s people, like Iskara, Alex, Caleb, Cece, Damien, and Regulus, moved to aid him, but a sudden wall of fire stopped them.
Ivan roared, heaving with effort as he warned them. "Do not come to this side!"
They stopped in their tracks, blocked by the towering wall of flame. They knew that Ivan was trying to protect them from Azrath, knowing exactly how dangerous he was, but it did not stop them from voicing their concerns.
"Son! Let me through!" Iskara shouted.
"Ivan, let us help you!" Cece cried out.
"No! Stay back!" Ivan spoke through his pain, his voice unwavering despite his injuries.
Evil laughter broke through their conversation as Azrath rasped, "What an interesting bunch. Touching, really, but futile." Azrath hurled his next strike toward Ivan’s people, but the dragon roared and blasted a fireball, deflecting the blow before it could reach them.
"Oh, Malakai... how many times do I need to tell you that your powers won’t work on me anymore? But just for old times’ sake, I think it’s time to end you... and I shall do so in my true form. That is the final grace I can give you. Let me show you the power I have gained by consuming your beloved’s blood."
With that, Azrath spread his arms wide. Intense dark power, laced with crimson energy, pulsed around him before it began consuming his entire body, shrouding him in complete darkness.
Thick shadows swirled around him like a dense fog as crimson energy crackled violently through the air. His body began to change once again.
While this was happening, Ivan spat out the blood that had pooled in his mouth. Yet his fierce, burning gaze remained fixed on the monstrous transformation unfolding before him.
Ivan looked up and saw how restless Kai was, his gaze zeroing in on the paw that held Evelyn securely in its grasp.
Ivan knew he was at a great disadvantage; having Kai out in the open not only drained a massive amount of his power, but he could not actively involve the beast in the fight against the evil being before him.
This was because Kai was occupied with a dual task: shielding Evelyn’s body from the chaos and using divine power to preserve her form from decay.
He would never allow his beloved to be unprotected on this dangerous battlefield, nor would he let her be placed upon these tainted grounds where someone might defile her or steal her blood while he was distracted.
Ivan would have long ago destroyed the entire city, but that would mean killing his allies and granting a quick death to those he wanted to suffer infinitely more.
This was why he had left that worthless insect, Clair, alive so she could die a slow, painful death while watching the destruction of everything she knew.
However, he had not accounted for the Dark Lord being revived once again.
