Chapter 163: Clues about a dead man.
"My dear, you want everything, don't you?" the mysterious entity said as it embraced Ethan from behind, releasing a black smoke around him.
"Yes, I want everything," he said as his eyes turned red, being influenced by the entity's words.
"Hm? Did you say something, prince?" Jun-he asked, and Ethan glanced at her, ignoring her. "It's nothing, just pondering over a few things. How are things?"
"Princess Sara Vortex entered the palace a few hours ago and went to meet the Empress," Jun-he said, studying him. Ethan fell into thought.
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"Was she accompanied?" He inquired, and Jun-he nodded, hesitantly continuing, "With Simon Cloht and... Nagasawa Scarlet."
Ethan looked bitterly at Jun-he, who shrank back. She already knew this would be his reaction, as the name Scarlet is one of the things he despises most in this world.
"Anything else?" He said, bitter with her last words, but Jun-he was not to blame. She would have to speak again about a Scarlet.
"Morgana Arcano is free," she said, and Ethan raised his eyebrows, looking surprised at Jun-he. He clearly wanted her to continue speaking, and she nodded, informing him, "She changed her name to Scarlet... and apparently, she was the one who sealed the world of Nighsphere. Some of the spies I sent returned like this." She said and handed him some "magic photos."
The scene was horrific, the face was completely disfigured, arms and legs torn off, and something was written in magic on her chest.
"You're next, Ethan," he read aloud, without any emotion, neutral as if this were nothing more than a mere unfounded threat, a bluff.
"Morgana?" He questioned, and Jun-he nodded. "It seems the ghosts of the past don't want to leave me alone," he murmured, rising with a sinister smile on his face.
"Where's Axilen?" He asked, and Jun-he promptly replied, "She's in her chambers, seems like she's communicating with her family, she's been doing that a lot lately."
"I see, I'll return later," he said and walked to the door.
"Where are you going, Your Majesty?" She questioned as she watched Ethan leave, but he didn't respond.
"What's happened to you? You've been acting strange lately... You don't even touch me..." she thought and remained alone in the room.
Meanwhile, a conversation took place between Empress Aldria and her two honored guests.
"Are you telling me someone managed to summon Valentina's spear?" Sara spoke incredulously, knowing a few things about the scarlet lance.
"Yes, this person... well, I wouldn't know who it is, but... I think you know where I'm getting at," she commented, and Sara was perplexed.
"No, that's impossible," Nagasawa was the first to speak. She was trying to read the Empress, but... nothing came. Unlike that man who is Dante, she couldn't penetrate the Empress's barrier.
"The immense number of demons has been increasing more and more, I think the boundaries of what's possible and impossible have already been broken, Lady Nagasawa," Aldria commented as she savored a cup of tea.
"We're only talking about her Spear. I'm not entirely sure, but... you can take a look if you want," Aldria said, and in front of her, the broken spear appeared.
In reality, Dante's plan was already beginning. As mentioned earlier, only some information could be leaked to Sara and Nagasawa so they could have a broader perspective of information to be cautious about what might happen during the coronation. Aldria wouldn't reveal that she already knew about Dante; she would just follow what he wanted after all; now she didn't have many choices.
"If I could just tell the truth right away... I don't understand why he's so cautious with his own women, men are idiots," Aldria thought as she watched the women surprised by the spear in front of them.
"We found her in the wreckage of the illegal auction destruction; she's bonded with an extra bond that we couldn't break," she commented.
Sara became curious as she analyzed the appearance of the weapon in front of her. 'The strongest Spear ever created, one of the strongest weapons this world has ever seen... is like this.' She lightly approached, looking at the damaged runes, the worn carvings, and the color that seemed to be fading.
She touched the spear and felt a slight shock, but then she grabbed the spear and felt as if her world opened up again and then dropped the spear on the ground as if she had received a very strong shock.
"Argh!" She screamed in pain, and Nagasawa immediately turned to her. "Sara?" She questioned, helping the girl to stand, her whole body trembling.
"That!" Sara screamed, and Nagasawa moved towards the spear, motivated, and when she held it.
Her world turned black, and only two things could be seen. One, it was Valentina who was inside the prison cube punching the air tirelessly, and the other... a golden cocoon without any specific view of what was inside, but it was definitely something or someone; she saw the cocoon lightly breaking and cracking.
Soon after,
"Argh!" She also screamed in pain throwing the Spear to the ground. A grating noise emerged from its impact on the ground, and they all covered their ears.
"Argh!" The three screamed in pain and almost fainted from the force of the aura the Spear emitted; they managed to calm down, and Sara grabbed the spear again.
"There's something wrong here! This aura! It's Dante's!" She screamed, making the three exchange looks.
"You've felt this before!" Sara spoke to Aldria, who thankfully agreed. "Yes, it seems like... well, I don't even know what to say, actually, it's just speculation, but... he might be alive." Both women's worlds collapsed.
The women started to cry lightly; their tears began to fall as Aldria looked to one of the corners of the Room.
There he was... Dante Scarlet watched the whole scene with his heart in his hands; he had already orchestrated all of this unfolding.
'This whole scene just for me to get more time to end the problems of this place... I'm getting too old to become this kind of person.' He thought as he began to question if what he was doing was right.
'Planting doubt, showing things beyond the truth, and even manipulating your reactions, it's painful to lie to you, you know? I'll punish you for making me set all of this up, just because you're the best women in the world! You should stop being so good to me!' He shouted mentally as he began to leave the scene.
'Damn, what a headache! It would be easier if you were as innocent as Velryna, who accepted quickly. You'd probably beat me until you understood that I am Dante.' He said and left in flames through the door without opening it.
He stood at the Empress's door waiting for them to leave; as he had led them, he needed to maintain the appearance of a noble knight.
Meanwhile, he heard some screams, and soon something appeared in the hallway, coming from one of the corners.
Dante came across something... that he didn't expect.