Amidst the eeriness of the dark hall, the atmosphere was heavy with tension and power.
The moment Rebecca's icy blood projectiles honed in on Asher, he vanished, a mere whisper in the air, only to reappear behind her with the silence and swiftness of a shadow.
"What the hell do you think you are doing? Trying to kill your own king? Are you tired of your life already?" Asher's voice, laced with disbelief and a chilling edge, filled the space between them. His dark yellow eyes burned with an intensity that could scorch souls, a cold light illuminating the darkness of the hall, yet he didn't seem the least bit anxious.
Rebecca slowly turned, her movements measured and deliberate. The twisted smile that graced her lips was a stark contrast to the dark intent that clouded her expression, "People will only thank me even if they came to know that I killed our traitorous king. But all I care about is that I will just kill you and reanimate your corpse to make you bring Oberon back to me," she declared, her voice a chilling echo of her resolve.
"Have you truly gone mad?" Asher's incredulity was palpable, his bafflement at her audacity and resolve filling the air between them.
"Mad? I have always been mad," she retorted, her words chilling the very air.
With a casual flick of her wrist, a staff as dark as the depths of space itself materialized in her grip, its icy blue gem glinting menacingly.
The air around them grew colder as she swiftly aimed the staff at Asher, unleashing a beam of dark blue energy at him. Instantly, frost began to rapidly consume him, his movements slowing to a crawl as if he was getting frozen while trying to shield himself, only to find himself slowed down significantly - transformed into nothing more than an ice sculpture.
A wicked smile graced Rebecca's lips as she approached the frozen figure of Asher, "Now, I will make you suffer at least twice what you made him go through. I'll kill off each of your organs, one by one until you are nothing but an empty husk. Then, I'll use your undead body to destroy everyone you've ever cared for until those who are left would have no choice but to destroy whatever is left of you. After that, your soul will be purged in the depths of Tartarus, and by then, it will be too late as you regret the pain you made me endure," Her words hung in the air, a dark vow that resonated with the depth of her anguish and fury.
But the stillness that followed her words was shattered as the ice encasing Asher started to crack, the cracks spreading like spider webs across a frozen pond. His once lifeless eyes now gleamed a menacing emerald hue as ghostly tendrils of mist seeped outward. The sight caused Rebecca's expression to sour as she reached out.
"Don't bother trying," she scoffed, raising her staff to reinforce the ice, "I will just-"
*BOOOOM!!!*
Her words were cut short as an ear-shattering blast erupted from the ice prison, shattering it into a million glittering shards. A dark green light engulfed Asher's body while shards of ice flew in every direction, and a blast of dark green energy erupted from within. Rebecca, caught off guard, was sent hurtling through the air like a ragdoll, slamming into the far wall with a sickening thud. Her staff clattered to the ground, just out of reach, while her gown was singed and the fabric burnt here and there.
Asher stepped out, free from his frozen prison. Skeletal structures, reminiscent of burnt black diamonds, formed his body; yet these bones pulsed with malevolent life, veined with vivid dark green flame. He stood tall, radiating pure power as he took one deliberate step after another, advancing on her, his steps echoing ominously on the cold marble floor, "You've made a grave mistake, you crazy bitch," his voice rumbled forth like thunder with an ominous grace, "You should have finished me off when you had the chance...when I was nothing but a helpless and soulless cripple," His bony fists clenched and unclenched, green energy crackling around them.
Rebecca coughed, wincing as she tried to push herself up, only to be shocked upon seeing him walking towards her with an aura that overwhelmed hers by a huge margin. Just a couple seconds ago, his aura was nowhere near this strong.
"Yaargh!" Rebecca's guttural cry of rage filled the air as she forced herself to her feet, her body trembling with pain and fury. However, before she managed to reach her trusted staff, Asher lunged forward, launching his fiery ring-blade straight at her hand.
Time passed by, the only sound in the silent hall was the crackling of the dying torches.
Rebecca's body was motionless, her chest rising and falling shallowly, her eyes closed, as if the world around her had vanished.
Suddenly, her eyelids fluttered, and she gasped as memories of what she remembered last flooded her mind.
She was still in the same dark hall, but something was different.
Her limbs were bound by chains, her wrists and ankles straining against the unforgiving metal. Confusion clouded her mind as she tried to free herself, but the restraints left her suspended in the air, her toes just barely touching the frigid floor.
She was dismayed to find her mana circuit sealed, and the chains were too strong for her to break using physical force.
"That was fast," Asher's voice drifted through the shadows, and she turned her head to see him emerging from the gloom, "As expected, a vampire like you heals quite fast... except for your hand, It's not like you can grow it back," he sneered, gesturing to her stump of a wrist.
Rage filled Rebecca's heart, and she spat out, "Release me right now, you traitor! You can't kill me. Not unless you want a civil war on your hands."
Asher chuckled and pressed a finger to his lips. "Shhh," His figure then suddenly dashed towards her as he grabbed her hair roughly, yanking her head back, and exposing her pale slender neck.
"Take off your filthy hand, you bastard!" Rebecca glowed at him spitefully as she clenched her jaw.
"Traitor? How bold of you to accuse your king like that. Do you know the punishment for doing so?" Asher asked, his lips almost touching her ear.
Rebecca hissed as she said, her contempt palpable, "I don't have to care. I know you are in cahoots with that draconian bitch. I felt it strange that she cared for your life a bit too much in the middle of a battlefield. I wonder what Rowena is going to think when she learns that you love sleeping with our enemies."
"You have proof that I am sleeping with her?" Asher asked with a cold, amused smile, to which Rebecca pressed her lips together before she spat out, "I know you are the one telling Lysandra to torture my son and made her send those projections to me. I will demand to have your memories checked and you will be done for."
Asher's grip tightened, and his voice was ice cold, "You must already know that Rowena and I share a bond that goes far beyond most husband and wife in this world, including yours. It's not like you can ever comprehend such a bond. She would never demand that no matter what a cunt like you says, even without knowing what your extremely loyal son did during my journey to the Draconis Kingdom. Without any solid proof, you can't do shit. Instead, you should worry about having your or your son's memories checked if anything suspicious comes to light."
Rebecca grunted in anger and frustration as she knew he was right. But she never expected he was already so powerful that he defeated her with such ease. How could that be possible when he was only a low-level Soul Devourer?
"But if you really think you are right about me having a connection with Lysandra. I should then probably tell her to put your poor son out of his misery," Saying so, Asher took out his Whisper Stone while Rebecca's eyes widened and shook.