Chapter 147: Chapter 147: Alarm Bells
Harsh brass gongs rang across the royal courtyards, shattering the quiet night.
Panic erupted below his balcony as shouting voices echoed through the winding corridors.
Kai stood perfectly still amidst the carnage, letting the cool breeze wash over his ruined silk robe.
Blood dripped from his fingertips, pooling onto the frozen marble beneath his boots.
Footsteps thundered down the hallway just seconds later.
Four squads of female Sandguard Elites rushed toward his shattered doorway, holding their spears ready for a fight.
They burst into the suite expecting to find an intruder standing over a dead consort.
Instead, they found a literal nightmare painted in crimson and blue frost.
Twelve bodies lay scattered across the frozen floorboards.
Shredded tapestries hung in ruined strips from the walls, blowing gently in the wind.
Guards and assassins alike shared the exact same gruesome fate.
Every single soldier froze in horror, their weapons shaking as they stared at the massacre.
Their new captain stepped forward cautiously, her eyes wide with undisguised terror.
She looked at the broken bodies, then stared at the handsome man standing calmly in the center of the room.
"You... you did this?" she asked, her voice shaking with disbelief.
Kai didn’t bother answering right away.
He wiped his purple voidglass dagger on a torn piece of black silk.
Sliding the clean blade into his hidden sheath, he offered her a chilling, empty smile.
’They look at me like I’m a monster,’ Kai thought, watching them tremble.
’Good. Let them fear me. Fear is so much more useful than respect.’
"Someone sent uninvited guests into my bedroom," Kai finally said, breaking the tense silence.
"I simply took out the trash for you."
"Drop any concealed weapons and put your hands behind your head," the captain ordered, though she took a hesitant step backward.
Kai chuckled softly, raising his empty hands to show he wasn’t holding a weapon.
He didn’t resist when they cautiously surrounded him.
Five guards moved in to secure his arms, checking his waistband for throwing knives.
They patted him down quickly, too terrified to search him properly, missing the hidden voidglass dagger strapped securely against his forearm.
"Move out," the captain commanded, pointing her spear toward the hallway.
"We are taking him to the lower holding blocks."
Marching through the palace corridors felt like a twisted victory parade.
Word of his brutal survival had already spread like a wildfire through the noble wings.
Wealthy women peeked from behind carved pillars and open doorways, gasping loudly at the blood-soaked man walking past their rooms.
Kai kept his chin high, projecting a lethal arrogance that made them swoon and shudder.
"Did you see his face," a Duchess whispered, fanning herself rapidly.
"He killed twelve trained fighters... alone... in mere minutes."
"Those were elite assassins," another noblewoman replied, pressing her hand against her chest.
"He snapped a royal guard’s spear with his bare hands."
"I want him," a Baroness sighed, watching his sculpted, bloodstained back.
"I don’t care how dangerous he is. He is glorious."
Kai heard every single word, letting their desperate obsession feed his own confidence.
’These women are so blinded by lust they don’t even care about the dead guards,’ Kai mused.
’They just want a beast they can try to tame.’
His escorts guided him down a spiraling stone staircase, leaving the lavish upper floors behind.
They didn’t drag him down to the filthy slave dungeons, however.
His guards marched him into a secure, polished holding block clearly meant for high-value political prisoners.
Reinforced iron bars lined the front of the cell, but the interior offered a clean stone bench and fresh water.
"Get inside," the captain ordered, stepping aside so he could enter.
Kai walked into the cell without a single complaint.
Iron doors slammed shut behind him with a resounding clatter, and the captain locked it with a brass key.
"Our Matriarch will decide your fate," she told him, refusing to meet his glowing eyes.
"I’m sure she will," Kai smirked, sitting down comfortably on the stone bench.
He leaned back against the cool wall, still shirtless and covered in drying blood.
Guards took up positions outside his cell, whispering anxiously among themselves.
Kai ignored them, closing his eyes to focus on his internal magic.
He circulated his freezing mana through his veins, letting the cold energy soothe his aching muscles.
Frost danced lightly over his skin, sealing the minor cuts on his arms and chest.
Pain faded into a dull, manageable throb as his body rapidly healed itself.
Blue light suddenly flickered behind his closed eyelids.
A translucent system window materialized in the dim cell, projecting bright text into his vision.
[System: Massacre Aftermath Detected]
[Palace Security Alert: Level Four]
[Scarlet Matriarch’s Obsession: 97%]
[New Title Progress: "Butcher of Silk"]
[Passive Skill Triggered: Cold Logic]
[Mental Fortitude Increased by Five]
Kai smiled coldly, opening his eyes to read the glowing prompts.
"Ninety-seven percent," Kai whispered to himself, resting his elbows on his knees.
"She is so close to the edge."
’She’ll come down here soon,’ Kai thought, staring at the iron bars.
’She can’t stay away from me now. I just slaughtered her best soldiers and ruined her assassins.’
’When she finally walks down those stairs, I’ll see just how broken she really is.’
Time stretched out slowly in the quiet holding block.
Kai didn’t pace or show any signs of anxiety.
He just sat there, acting like a king resting on a stone throne.
Guards swapped shifts outside his cell, but none of them dared to speak to him.
They knew he could probably freeze their blood from across the room if he really wanted to.
"Are you hungry," a young guard finally asked, breaking the long silence.
"I don’t eat prison food," Kai replied, opening one eye to look at her.
"It isn’t prison food," she stammered, holding up a silver tray covered with a silk cloth.
"Our royal kitchens sent roasted fowl and spiced wine. For you."
Kai laughed softly, realizing his crazy queen was still trying to pamper him even while he sat behind bars.
"Slide it under the door," Kai told her, deciding to accept the offering.
He picked up a piece of roasted meat, eating it slowly while he waited for his host to arrive.
’She wants me strong for the ritual tomorrow,’ Kai calculated, sipping the sweet wine.
’She knows I need energy if I’m going to survive the celestial array.’
’But she’s feeding a wolf that’s already planning to bite her hand off.’
Footsteps echoed down the stone stairwell an hour later.
These weren’t heavy boots belonging to a royal guard.
Soft, deliberate steps clicked against the marble steps, accompanied by the rustle of expensive silk.
Guards outside his cell immediately snapped to attention, dropping to their knees in a synchronized wave.
"Leave us," a demanding, breathless voice ordered.
"But my queen, he is highly dangerous," the captain protested weakly.
"I said leave us," Scarlet Matriarch hissed, her tone leaving no room for argument.
Armor clattered as guards scrambled to obey, running back up the stairs to leave them entirely alone.
Kai stayed seated on his bench, refusing to stand up for her arrival.
Scarlet Matriarch stepped in front of his iron bars, looking like a beautiful, chaotic storm.
She wore a sweeping black gown that dragged across the floor, but her glowing red veins pulsed brighter than ever.
Her crimson eyes locked onto his bloodstained chest, drinking in the sight of his fresh scars.
"You killed twelve people," she whispered, gripping the iron bars with trembling hands.
"I defended myself," Kai corrected her smoothly, setting his empty wine cup aside.
"They came into my room with poisoned blades. What did you expect me to do?"
"I expected you to survive," she admitted, her breathing turning ragged.
"But I didn’t expect you to butcher my elite guards with such effortless cruelty."
"I told you I wasn’t an easy man to own," Kai reminded her, leaning forward.
"You put me in a cage, sweetheart. Did you really think that would tame me?"
She pressed her body against the iron bars, ignoring the cold metal digging into her breasts.
"You look magnificent covered in blood," she breathed out, her crimson eyes dilating with raw lust.
"You smell like death and ice, Kai. It makes me want to drop to my knees right here in this filthy hallway."
Kai chuckled, stepping closer until his bare chest brushed against her knuckles.
"You can drop to your knees whenever you want," Kai offered smoothly, looking down at her parted lips.
"I won’t stop you."
She whined softly, squeezing the iron bars until her knuckles turned white.
Her nails scraped lightly against his toned abs, sending a jolt of heat straight to his groin.
She was clearly aroused by the pure violence he had just committed.
"Those assassins were sent by House Valerius," she told him, her voice dripping with venom.
"I already ordered their entire estate burned to the ground. Every man, woman, and child."
Kai raised an eyebrow, genuinely surprised by her swift, ruthless retaliation.
"You burned a noble house just because they tried to scratch your new favorite toy?"
"I burned them because they tried to take what is mine," she snapped, her celestial magic flaring into a red aura.
"Nobody touches you, Kai. You belong to me. Tomorrow night, we bind our cores."
"You seem very eager for a woman talking to a prisoner," Kai smirked, standing up straight.
He walked perfectly still, looking down into her frantic eyes.
"I’m not a prisoner," Kai whispered, tracing the dried blood on his stomach.
"I’m just waiting for you to open the door."
She gasped softly, her breathing quickening as she stared at his exposed chest.
"Tomorrow," she promised him, her fingers lingering against his warm skin.
"I will open this door, and I will drain every drop of your resistance until you are begging for my touch."
Kai caught her hand, holding her delicate fingers in his firm grip.
"Make sure you bring the key," he taunted, pressing a cold kiss to her knuckles.
She practically melted against the bars, her obsession blinding her to the obvious danger standing right in front of her.
She pulled her hand away reluctantly, looking at his lips with undeniable hunger.
"Rest well, my butcher," she murmured, turning away from the holding cell.
"Tomorrow night, we change this city forever."
Kai watched her walk back up the spiraling stairs, listening to the rustle of her black gown fade into the distance.
’She really thinks she has all the power here,’ Kai thought, returning to his stone bench.
’She just wiped out a rival noble family to protect her investment.’
’Her mind is fracturing into a million pieces, and she is taking her entire empire down with her.’
He lay back on the hard stone, crossing his arms behind his head.
Tomorrow’s ritual would undoubtedly involve a massive transfer of magical energy.
He needed to be prepared to counter her draining abilities on a much larger scale.
She planned to use celestial arrays to force their cores together, effectively turning him into a living cooling system for her corrupted brain.
’I just need to wait for the connection to open,’ Kai plotted silently in the dark.
’When she drops her defenses to bridge our minds, I’ll flood the array with pure ice.’
’I will freeze those celestial artifacts until they shatter into dust.’
He closed his eyes again, letting the quiet solitude of the holding block settle his nerves.
Blood dried completely on his skin, flaking off onto the floorboards whenever he shifted his weight.
He felt the familiar hum of his voidglass dagger resting safely against his forearm.
They really were incompetent, missing his primary weapon during their terrified search.
’Fools,’ Kai smirked, letting sleep finally claim him.
’I’m going to tear this palace apart.’
