Chapter 504: Nyxariel Getting Curious
Inside the royal palace, deep within a restricted section where demon authorities inspected corpses before disposing of them, stood the Crematory.
It was a grim place.
Dead enemies, criminals, and prisoners were brought here after examination. Once all investigations were completed, their bodies would be burned within the massive furnace that occupied one side of the facility.
Click.
Click.
Click.
The sound of footsteps echoed through the dim stone corridor leading toward the crematory hall.
The person walking through it was none other than Nyxariel Nyctora.
Standing well over six and a half feet tall, the Demon Queen moved with an imposing presence. Black armor covered her fit and curvaceous figure, while her long rose-pink hair flowed freely down her back.
Soon, she entered the large chamber illuminated by mana lamps fixed to the walls. The air carried the unpleasant scent of blood, chemicals, and decaying flesh.
Dark stone walls surrounded the room. In one corner, a massive furnace burned continuously, its orange flames dancing behind iron grates.
"Your Majesty!"
Two demons working in the center of the chamber immediately noticed her arrival. Both were specialists responsible for examining corpses and gathering information from the dead.
They instantly dropped to one knee.
Nyxariel continued walking toward the examination tables.
"Stand."
The two demons immediately obeyed. On the stone tables before them lay the corpses of the two demons who had been killed by Amon and his group.
Nyxariel calmly observed them.
One of the researchers stepped forward.
"Your Majesty, this demon’s name was Xen. He was killed by the students Seraphina Luminous, Aisha Darkfang, and the demon boy Lark. However, the final attack was delivered by Seraphina, who played the largest role in defeating him."
Nyxariel’s eyes moved to Xen’s corpse.
The body was in terrible condition.
His flesh had been burned extensively. His hair had been completely incinerated. It almost appeared as if portions of his body had partially melted under intense heat.
A massive vertical slash ran down the front of his torso.
"Fascinating..."
She studied the wound carefully.
"To perform an attack of this level at such a young age while still being at the Master Rank..."
A faint look of admiration crossed her face.
"She truly resembles her grandfather. A genuine genius."
The second researcher pointed toward the other corpse.
"This demon’s name was Nazi. He was killed by the students Amon Vale, Marcus Lionheart, and Princess Eliana Sylvaris."
Nyxariel shifted her gaze.
Unlike Xen’s body, this corpse presented a completely different scene. The skull had been crushed brutally. His lower body showed signs of severe burns.
However, what caught her attention most were the numerous ruptures across his body. Chunks of flesh had torn outward from multiple locations.
The wounds looked unnatural. Almost as if something had burst from inside him.
Her brows furrowed. "Who delivered the final attack?"
"From the reports, it was Amon Vale, Your Majesty."
"I see..."
Her eyes narrowed slightly.
"The way these wounds were created is strange."
The researcher immediately nodded.
"Yes, Your Majesty. We thought the same."
"And we discovered something even stranger."
That finally drew her interest.
"What did you find?"
The researcher exchanged glances with his colleague before replying.
"We analyzed the blood around the ruptured wounds."
"And?"
"The blood found within those damaged areas does not belong to Nazi."
Nyxariel raised an eyebrow.
"Interesting."
"Then whose blood is it?"
"We do not know."
The researcher shook his head.
"However, we confirmed that it belongs to a human."
A thoughtful silence followed.
"Our current theory is that the blood belongs either to Marcus Lionheart or Amon Vale. Princess Eliana is an elf, so she can be ruled out."
Normally, Nyxariel would have ignored such information. During combat, blood often splattered between opponents.
It was hardly unusual.
"Isn’t that normal?" she asked.
The researcher immediately shook his head.
"No, Your Majesty. The blood was found deep inside the wounds where the flesh burst outward."
"The pattern is highly abnormal." the second demon said.
Nyxariel’s eyes sharpened. Now that was suspicious.
’Could one of those boys possess an ability related to blood?’
She considered the possibility.
"Did either Amon or Marcus display any blood-related powers during the battle?"
One of the researchers immediately responded.
"That should be impossible."
"Only the Royal Family of the Vampire Kingdom and the Bloodhart Ducal Family possess true blood-manipulation abilities."
"Even among vampires, such powers are extremely rare."
"How could a human possess them?"
Nyxariel remained silent. She could not argue with that. It was known that only those two family posses blood related magic powers.
"Interesting..." she murmured.
Then she asked another question. "Did you find anything else on the bodies?"
"Anything related to their organization or background?"
Both researchers shook their heads.
"No, Your Majesty."
"We found nothing."
She nodded.
"Did you preserve a sample of the human blood?"
"Yes."
One of the researchers carefully produced a small glass tube.
Inside was a tiny amount of dark red blood. "Most of it had mixed with Nazi’s blood."
"We were only able to isolate a very small sample."
"It’s enough."
Nyxariel accepted the tube.
"Good work."
With that, she turned and began walking toward the exit.
As she left the chamber, her thoughts drifted toward a certain young man.
Amon Vale.
When she had first met the students, her attention had naturally been drawn toward Seraphina Luminous and Princess Eliana.
Yet for a brief moment her eyes had fallen upon Amon. And she had sensed something strange.
It was only for a second, nothing more.
At the time, she dismissed it. Then those same girls had brought Amon along when they came to meet her.
During their conversation, he appeared completely ordinary. A harmless and somewhat innocent young man. Yet appearances could be deceiving.
He was Amon Vale. The boy who had survived on the Island of the Celestial Tree’s Grave.
The same boy who had discovered Vetaal. A mysterious existence whose origins remained unknown.
Nyxariel’s eyes lowered toward the vial in her hand.
"Vetaal..."
She remembered the reports. Kael had witnessed Amon’s battle against the Angel of Chaos. At the time, Vetaal had temporarily controlled Amon’s body.
According to Kael’s testimony, Vetaal possessed powers related to blood.
Her gaze lingered on the crimson sample.
’Am I holding Amon’s blood? Did he inherit some form of blood-related ability from Vetaal?’
The possibility intrigued her.
A small smile appeared on her lips. "I should call the witch. If anyone can tell me more about this... It would be her."
A communication crystal materialized in her free hand.
Its surface glowed faintly beneath the corridor’s dim light as the Demon Queen continued walking through the palace.
Her thoughts remained fixed on one name. ’Amon Vale.’
---
Meanwhile, the young man, Amon Vale, was resting in the bedroom assigned to him.
A communication crystal glowed softly in his hand.
He lay sprawled across the large bed, its soft mattress sinking beneath his weight.
After spending that time with Seraphina earlier, his heart had been behaving strangely. It had beaten faster around her. The same way it always did whenever he was with Scarlett.
Just thinking about it made him rub his face in frustration. The crystal suddenly lit up brighter.
A familiar voice reached his ears. "Hey, Amon. How are you?"
Scarlett’s sweet voice flowed from the other side of the communication crystal. The moment he heard it, all the confusion and restlessness inside him seemed to calm down instantly.
A smile appeared on his face.
"I’m good," he replied. "Currently lying on my bed while thinking about you."
"Hmm. I’m missing you as well."
Her gentle response made him unexpectedly happy.
A warm sensation spread through his chest.
Scarlett chuckled softly.
"Did you call me because you missed me?"
"Hmm... yes."
Amon answered honestly.
Then he suddenly remembered the real reason he had contacted her.
His expression stiffened. "Wait! Scarlett! There’s something important I need to talk to you about!"
His sudden outburst immediately caught her attention.
"What is it?" she asked, her tone becoming slightly more serious.
Amon swallowed nervously.
"Actually... tonight..."
"Hmm?"
"Me, my friends, and Professor Adelia went out to explore the demon capital."
"Okay..." Scarlett said. "So what happened?"
Amon hesitated.
For some reason, he suddenly felt like a guilty husband reporting suspicious events to his wife.
"Well..."
"What happened, Amon?"
"Actually..."
He scratched the back of his head.
"While we were walking..."
"Yes?"
"Seraphina held my hand."
"..."
There was complete silence.
Amon instantly sat upright on the bed. "Scarlett?"
No response came from other side.
His panic increased.
"Scarlett? Say something! Scarlett, I need you right now!"
Finally, her voice came through the crystal.
It was calm and cold. "Okay."
Amon immediately felt danger.
"She held your hand."
"...Yes."
"And why exactly did she do that?"
"I-I don’t know!"
Amon answered quickly.
"Maybe because there was a crowd, and she didn’t want us to get separated."
The explanation left his mouth faster than he intended. He sounded exactly like a husband desperately trying to explain why another woman had been holding his hand.
Scarlett remained silent for a moment.
She laughed. It was a beautiful laugh.
Unfortunately for Amon, it sounded terrifying. The temperature in the room seemed to drop.
"Scarlett?"
"Hmm?"
Her voice was still sweet.
Amon knew he was in danger.
"Tell me everything."
"What?"
"Everything."
Her tone remained gentle.
"I mean every single detail."
Amon felt cold sweat appear on his forehead.
"From the very beginning."
"..."
"Where did you go?"
"..."
"What happened?"
"..."
"And most importantly..."
A pause followed.
Then Scarlett asked the question that made Amon feel as if he were standing before final judgment.
"How long were you two holding hands?"
Amon stared at the ceiling.
His soul nearly left his body. At that moment, he realized one thing. Tonight was going to be a very long night.
---
[A/N: Should I write the conversation between Amon and Scarlett more? Or just skip it? Tell me in comment section.]
