Chapter 284 : Chapter 284
Chapter 284. The Demon’s Entrance
Moran stopped before the filth and blood covering the floor. The surroundings were clearly deathly silent, yet he turned without the slightest ripple of emotion and looked toward the depths of the dim passage.
He shifted half a step aside, waiting for the existence in the darkness with the calm posture of someone welcoming a collaborator.
True terror descended in silence.
Under Moran’s gaze, the ghostly green light emitted by the shattered magic array seemed to be caught by some terrifying gravitational pull. It began to twist and struggle violently, before finally dimming in helpless submission.
From the depths of the dark passage came an extremely soft footstep, yet it was as heavy as the strike of a giant hammer.
A “person” strolled out of the shadows along the path Moran had cleared.
That figure’s entire body was wrapped tightly in a broad, heavy black robe. The material of the robe seemed capable of greedily devouring all the light around it, without revealing even the slightest trace of living skin.
He walked into the secret chamber with composed steps. His leather boots stepped on the bluestone floor, and every dull sound they made seemed to strike directly against the souls of those watching. Moran, however, remained expressionless and simply stood beside him in silence.
The figure stopped beside the old King’s corpse and looked down at it from above, like an indescribable god idly examining the remains of an ant.
Then he slowly raised a hand so pale that it held no trace of blood and grasped the edge of his wide hood.
Then he pulled it off.
BOOM! The dim, ghostly green light in the secret chamber shook wildly at that instant, as though silently screaming in fear.
The light completely illuminated that face. It was the face of an extremely pale, extraordinarily handsome man. He wore gold-rimmed glasses, and his features were as perfect as a marble sculpture, yet they carried a strange and evil beauty that surpassed human aesthetics and pierced straight into the soul.
Far beyond the light screen, Logaris’s fingers, which had been rhythmically tapping against his thigh, abruptly froze in midair.
He had seen that face before!
A few days ago, when Maggie had used the strange silver mirror they had seized to cast Truth Retrospection, this shadowy figure had appeared.
There was absolutely no mistake!
This was a demigod-level existence that should have existed in the Hell Plane.
One of the Seven Sovereigns of Hell.
The Grand Duke of Hell who governed the Authority of 【Greed】, Kresis.
A true high-ranking demon.
He had walked openly into the deepest part of the Astrelia Palace and stood side by side with the serving Prime Minister, with no distinction of superior or subordinate between them.
No sound came from the image. Moran and Kresis exchanged a few words, and Moran even spread his hands slightly, as though explaining the stakes of some transaction.
Then Moran rolled up his sleeves, took two steps forward, and stopped beside the old King’s body.
He raised both hands and spread his ten fingers.
Bone-white energy threads shot out from his fingertips. These threads did not possess the light and shadow effects of magic. Instead, they had a nauseating fleshy texture, looking very much like some kind of parasite.
The chill in Logaris’s eyes grew increasingly severe.
In the image, the white threads cruelly pierced into every part of the old King’s body. The thickest one nailed directly into the spine at the back of the old King’s neck.
The cracking sounds of dislocated bones came through the array, making one’s teeth ache.
Then a horrifying scene unfolded.
The old King on the ground moved. His limbs braced against the floor at an extremely awkward angle, and under the forceful pulling of the threads, he slowly stood upright. That loose flesh refilled under the stimulation of necromantic spellwork.
He raised his head and opened his eyes.
His gaze was clear, and even carried a trace of a monarch’s pressure. It was completely identical to the leonine bearing he had displayed during his brief appearance at the state banquet.
A perfect string-controlled puppet.
This was the truth.
Moran, this Prime Minister who had always seemed gentle and refined, who never competed with others, had not only secretly reached some unspeakable transaction with the Grand Duke of 【Greed】 from Hell, but had also turned Astrelia’s supreme ruler into a string-controlled puppet that he could use whenever he wished.
A bone-deep chill condensed in Logaris’s eyes, but the rigorous thinking of a scholar was still operating at high speed.
He had to admit that the technology Kresis had bestowed upon Moran far exceeded the understanding of the present world. The Bio-Alchemy and necromantic spells they controlled were far too powerful and advanced. Even at such close range, outsiders could not detect any difference at all. Even a top-tier powerhouse like the Pope, who was proficient in sacred spellcraft, had been kept completely in the dark.
Moran’s motive was obvious. By using a lifelike and undetectable symbol of royal authority to pacify the people and the nobles, he could steal the entire Astrelia Kingdom from behind the scenes without shedding a drop of blood.
But what truly made Logaris’s heart tremble was the other party in this transaction.
The Grand Duke of 【Greed】, Kresis, that ancient demon whom Maggie had described as famous for his shrewdness and insatiable greed. He would never cooperate with a human politician in playing with power merely for a few mortal souls.
What kind of astronomical bargaining chip had Moran offered to feed Kresis’s bottomless appetite? The lives of the millions of citizens in the entire Royal Capital? Or some sacred object hidden beneath Astrelia’s lands, coveted even by the abyss?
And what role did Moran, who possessed the power of “Secrecy,” play in this transaction? Servant? Collaborator? Mastermind?
For now, Logaris could not obtain an answer.
“Enough. Shut down the array.” Logaris adjusted his cuffs and forcefully suppressed the dangerous conjectures surging through his mind.
The mana dispersed, and the image of the secret chamber twisted and vanished. The Tower of Inverted Truth returned to its original dimness.
“Once this kind of intelligence gets out, that Royal Capital of yours will explode within half a day.” Maggie landed on the ground and straightened her robe. “What are you planning to do? Expose him directly?”
“If we flip the table before we are one hundred percent certain we can crush him to death, and before we find out exactly what Kresis is plotting, we will only make him drag the entire Royal Capital down with him.” Logaris took out a Communication Stone from his Spatial Ring. “We still need to prepare further.”
He turned and walked toward the Spatial Anchor Point.
“Thank you, Lady Maggie. This intelligence is very useful.”
“Take care. I will not see you off.” Maggie waved her hand. Looking at his disappearing back, a mad smile curled at the corner of her lips. “This is getting more and more interesting.”
Space flickered.
Logaris’s figure vanished from the tower.
…
The Inner Ring of the Royal Capital.
Sylvia’s temporary palace.
Logaris stepped out from the teleportation array in the basement. He pushed open the door and entered the study.
Sylvia was sitting behind the broad desk, reading through documents and files that had passed through Moran’s hands.
Logaris pulled out a chair and sat down. Without any preamble, he laid out the earth-shattering inside story he had seen through Truth Retrospection in full. Astrelia VI was dead, and the one now sitting upon the throne was nothing more than a puppet controlled by Prime Minister Moran through forbidden necromantic spellwork.
And, of course, there was also that horrifying transaction between Moran and the Grand Duke of Hell.
After hearing all of this, the study fell into deathly silence.