Chapter 1036 Forced Respect
A thunderous roar echoed as the Executor's voice pierced the air overbearingly.
His voice carried a commanding tone as he pointed firmly toward the ground, demanding the Witch to kneel before him and demonstrate that her allegiance now belonged to him. Despite such a demand that might be tolerated in a private setting, this was in bare public.
For the Witch, this is more of a public humiliation than a showcase of loyalty.
Even her pet, the insectoid-cursed creature that coiled around her showed its aggression.
It wasn't going to let its mother be humiliated like this.
But there doesn't seem to be any negotiation room in the Executor's eyes, it was either she do as she was told or she wouldn't be welcomed back. A dilemma struck the Witch as this was not a simple gesture for her.
Only a few were worthy to receive that much respect from her.
Naturally, the Executor knew that fact and also knew that this would be a big thing for her.
Kneeling is a guarantee for him that she is not going to backstab him.
Moreover, should the Witch kneel at this moment, the Executor would gain initial influence over her children—a natural exchange of cursed power, and it would be a very big deal. It might not surpass the Witch's dominion over them, yet its presence was undeniable.
Due to those reasons, it was hard for the Witch to kneel.
"I am not going to repeat myself for the second time, Witch..." the Executor pressured.
Upon hearing this, the Witch gritted her teeth and reluctantly descended—swallowing her pride whole. Others made a considerable space for the Witch to land before the palanquin, while the Executor's smile grew as he watched this unfolding scene.
He was so ecstatic that his arms were trembling from exhilaration.
'Good... Kneel to me. With this, you'll solidify that I'm as much as dominant as my brothers'
Not even most of his brothers were able to bear the scene of the Witch of Chaos kneeling before them. Only one was able to do that, and it was the Secondborn thus with this, the Executor would be at the same level as the Secondborn.
Landing lightly on the ground, the Witch clenched her jaw and looked at the Executor.
She gave him a look one last time before lowering her head.
All onlookers witnessed the Witch going down slowly to one knee before the Executor.
It was when she was in a perfect kneeling position that the insectoid-cursed creature let out a loud screech, blasting cursed energy from the surroundings. Moreover, for a brief second, a book manifested that caught the onlookers' eyes, including the Executor.
Due to how fast it faded away again, none was able to properly decipher what it was.
But for the Executor, it was clear what the book was.
It was the Grimoire of Chaos, passed down to the chosen successors of the Witch of Chaos.
Relishing in the sight of the Witch bowing down before him, the Executor spreads his arms to the sides, basking in the air of triumph. He felt like he was ascending to the sky, touching the realm of the Gods.
After savoring the taste of the moment, the Executor took out his majestic black spear.
He then threw it, aiming at right before the Witch.
Clang!
Upon hearing the ringing metallic sound, the Witch looked up and saw the black spear.
"Just as you proposed earlier, infuse my spear with your pet" He commanded.
Knowing that she couldn't say no right now, as it was what she promised earlier, the Witch stood up and strode over to the spear. She cast an apologetic look at the insectoid-cursed creature, apologizing for what she was about to do.
Taking a deep breath, she grabbed the spear and infused it with her cursed energy.
Resonating with her energy, the spear began to shake violently.
It went on for ten seconds or so before she pointed her hand toward the insectoid-cursed creature, lifting its massive body from the ground as if she had telekinetic abilities. Naturally, it wailed to break free, but it was futile.
Screechh!!
Nearing the black spear, the Witch made a twisting gesture with her hand.
Following that, the insectoid-cursed creature screeched in agony—its entire body was being extracted and turned into essences of pure cursed energy. With a devastated look, the Witch fused the extracted essence into the black spear.
Almost instantly, the entire body of the spear started to form visible cracks.
Within those cracks were gleaming bronze light.
Until the entire extracted essence was absorbed by the black spear, which was only able to hardly contain the energy, the Witch eventually stopped. Her breath was evidently rigid, and her eyes dimmed, revealing the extent of her exhaustion.
Raising the black spear, she presents it back to the Executor.
Instead of earlier, the aura around the black spear was now corrupted by cursed energy.
Since the insectoid-cursed creature was the one infused into the black spear, it acquired a new ability to corrupt the blood of the victims. A powerful ability of the ninth epiphany, able to pierce those who are not adept in curses easily.
Looking at the new black spear, the Executor uses his energy to grab ahold of it.
He marveled at the aura before cracking a satisfied grin.
But it was then, his eyes darted back to the Witch, "Where is the other one?"
Receiving that question, the Witch frowned and remained silent for a moment. Obviously, the Executor was referring to her other child who was not present, for a good reason that is, 'If I give any excuse, then he would just demand it forcefully from me. Hmm... I need an excuse to make the Executor think that I'm not in control'
Nodding her head, she then answered, "It's not with me..."
"What do you mean it's not with you?" the Executor probed further, squinting his eyes.
Clearing her throat, the Witch then continued, "The Royal Black Prince found out about my intention, and he took the other hostage. I was hoping that when this is all over, you could help me get it back"
Upon hearing the perpetrator, the Executor scoffed in disdain.
"Don't worry, after this battle, he's already dead" He replied, crossing his arms arrogantly.
Afterward, the Executor scanned the surroundings before his countenance transformed into a fierce expression. He glared at the entire army and barked, "What are you all looking at? I never commanded any of you to stop, so keep on marching!"
Startled, the entire army turned their attention away and resumed their march.
The Witch's arrival caught them in a trance.
Now that he had already gained what he wanted, the Executor intended to go back into his own private space. Meanwhile, on the other hand, the Witch kept looking at his back before her eyes flickered with a peculiar light.
It was only then that the Executor suddenly halted in his tracks.
Going to the side of the palanquin, he looked to the far distance with an evident frown.
"What happened? Why did it go berserk...?" He uttered whisperingly.
Judging from his reaction, he seemed to have sensed something happening in the distance, but the entire army remained oblivious. Pondering for a moment, he turned around, meeting the gaze of the Witch, who was equally aware of the disturbance in the distance.
With a quick stride, the Executor went inside the palanquin again and closed the door.
On the other hand, the Witch flew and landed on the palanquin.
A moment passed and the Executor soon came out again, now with a more serious look.
Ignoring the Witch who was standing beside the door, he intended to go somewhere, but the Witch's voice stopped him, "Did you lose your focus or something?" She asked. "Because if you did, corpses would stack there"
"No, something happened to it," the Executor glanced over his shoulder sharply.
However, the Witch was unfazed by his look and continued, "When I came to meet you here, the Royal Black Prince was not around. So, if I were you, I'd be more careful. He's losing his mind from being berserk, but I'm sure he's not giving up"
Upon hearing this, the Executor squinted his eyes cautiously.
Deciding to not say anything, he held the black spear tightly and leaped, vanishing instantly.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the army.
King John was in and out of his head while he rode his mount—his mind was still filled with the fact that the Witch gave him a deliberate glance towards him earlier. He could somewhat tell that she had something to say to him.
However, even until now when the situation already receded, the Witch never came.
It was killing him inside as to what the Witch wanted from him.
A part of him said that it was something about Rex, but the other part of him said that she might have bad intentions towards him. But either way, he only wanted to know the answer in order to ease his mind.
'Maybe I should go to Gistella again, to see if she knew what to expect' He pondered.
But it was then, he felt a brush on his nape.
Feeling the brush on his nape prompted him to look back, and it was only then that he saw a silhouette of a woman, gesturing using her hand to come towards her. Since the pull was, for the moment, quite strong, he decided to follow her.
King John jumped down from his mount and followed the woman's lead.
He went through the gap between legions of the army, grabbing the attention of many.
All of them were marching forward, so naturally, walking in the opposite direction like he was doing right now would grab attention. However, the really odd part was the fact that nobody noticed her, even though she was also walking the opposite way.
It was almost as if she was seeable only to King John.
Soon enough, King John found himself in front of his own palanquin located to the east.
Confused as to why the woman brought him here, he decided to get inside.
He sat inside in silence, still confused about the situation before out of nowhere, he let out a big gasp when a figure suddenly came to be, sitting beside him. It was the Witch, and there was a sinister aura around her.
Just sitting beside her alone sends danger signals to his senses.
"Are you the one that calls me here...?" He asked.
Instead of answering his question, the Witch replied with a command, "Close your eyes"
Upon hearing this, King John's throat tightened with apprehension. He feared that closing his eyes might invite an unfortunate fate, expecting the Witch to kill him. Naturally, considering that the Executor was around, such an act seemed improbable.
But for some reason, he felt that if it was the Witch, she might actually do that.
Although reluctant, he closed his eyes.
It was then that he suddenly felt a chill traversing through the inside of his body, beginning from his torso before spreading throughout the rest of his body. Out of instinct, he opened his eyes to see if he was okay.
However, like before, he was still exactly the same.
"When your guts tell you to, eat this and immediately clench your teeth," the Witch said.
She handed a small black pill, oozing with cursed energy.
Examining the black pill's appearance alone tells King John that it's a kind of poison or other thing with a malevolent nature—able to cause extreme pain or even death. It was quite clear that she was the one who concocted this black pill.
Anything that she made is surely lethal.
Her title is the Witch of Chaos, so trusting anything she makes was nothing sort of foolish.
Nevertheless, he took it from the Witch, disregarding his confusion.
"What is this pill for?" King John asked.
But once again, the Witch evaded his question, stating cryptically, "If you have a strong will to live, then you'll be fine. When your instincts urge you to consume it, then do it. After that, everything will depend on you, so prepare yourself"
Upon hearing this, King John frowned as he became even more confused.
He had questions inside his head, and he wanted the Witch to answer some of them, but when he turned towards her to ask, she was already gone, "Just what is happening right now? I don't understand anything at all..."
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