Lathel felt the presence of evil and coldness enveloping his entire mind.
Lathel raised his hand, gazing at his palm. Countless vines pierced through his hand, extending outward.
Fresh blood gushed out like a stream, the excruciating pain stimulating his brain.
The wound was torn open, revealing blood vessels, muscle fibers, and even the bone of his forearm.
Countless maggots and small insects crawled wriggling inside the wound, looking utterly horrifying.
Crack!
A sound like a branch snapping echoed.
Lathel’s other hand was also broken into a zigzag shape, the bone inside piercing through the flesh, jutting outward.
Fresh blood flowed from the wound like tiny streams.
However, Lathel remained remarkably calm, glancing at that arm as if it did not belong to him.
BAM!
Suddenly, his left eyeball exploded, bits of flesh mixed with blood splattering everywhere.
"Feel the pain..." that strange voice echoed once more.
"Feel the fear..."
BAM!
Imdiately after, both of Lathel’s legs burst apart into a bloody, mangled ss, sending him crashing to the ground.
He lay there in a pool of his own blood, unmoving. If anyone were to witness this scene, they would surely weep for him, cry for what he was enduring.
Yet, his face showed no emotion whatsoever.
That’s right, not even a twitch, no sign at all that he was suffering such horrendous pain.
In fact, throughout the process of having both arms, both legs, and even his eyeball exploded, he never uttered a single sound.
Celethalis seed to sense anger, its voice began to tremble: "Human... how long do you think you can endure this?"
"You are nothing but a useless, inferior, filthy creature."
"If you offer up your loyalty, your soul, and your heart to , I may consider making you my servant."
"Pff! Hahahaha... hahahaha..." Suddenly, Lathel burst out laughing, his laughter echoing throughout this bizarre space.
"Hahahaha... hahaha..." The crazed, wicked laughter was so intense that Celethalis was left dumbfounded, unable to say another word.
"Impossible..." Celethalis stamred, not knowing whether it was enraged or terrified: "Humans cannot possibly withstand such agonizing pain."
"Humans cannot possibly endure this torture."
"You... you..." Celethalis panted, "You are not human." "Hahahaha... ah! How laughable." Lathel laughed for a while, then spoke, his voice completely devoid of any tremor or fear.
That voice was utterly calm, even carrying a hint of mockery and contempt within it.
"You amuse , Celethalis."
"You..." Celethalis gritted its teeth, the sound grinding together harsh and piercing: "Where... did he go?"
Suddenly, Celethalis’s tone changed, shifting from anger to surprise.
Then, a hand suddenly reached out from the darkness.
"Ack! You... you bastard! Take your filthy hand off !" Celethalis scread.
However, that hand seed to grasp nothing but air, not Celethalis at all.
"Do you know, in this world, who is the most terrifying of all?" Suddenly, Lathel stepped out from the darkness.
His face wore the sa warm smile that everyone was used to seeing.
Yet, that smile now was anything but warm; in fact, it exuded a coldness like a massive glacier drifting across the ocean.
"A murderer?"
"A person of high status?"
"A wielder of absolute power?"
"No!" Lathel laughed, his voice as chilling as ice, making even the ’air’ he was gripping tremble violently.
"The most terrifying of all... are the madn."
BAM!
Suddenly, Lathel clenched tightly, and the darkness exploded, then dissipated like a wisp of smoke.
Light returned, and the room reverted to its forr state, as if nothing had ever happened.
At that mont, the hand that had been gripping ’the air’ was now gripping the long spear Celethalis.
He smiled gently: "Congratulations. You have beco my weapon."
"Human..." Celethalis growled, "Do you think you’re worthy enough to wield ?"
"You’re nothing but a lowly creature and... Um..."
Celethalis imdiately fell silent as Lathel tightened his grip. He tilted his head, his expression indifferent, and said, "I’ll give you two choices: either serve , or I’ll toss you into a dung pit until you rust."
"Lowly human..." Celethalis panted, "You... you dare do that to ? Do you know who I am?"
"I don’t care," Lathel sneered. "In my eyes, there are only two things—either you’re my ally, or you’re my enemy."
"I’ll count to three... One..."
"You..." Celethalis tried to say sothing, but Lathel’s voice rang out, cutting it off.
"Two..."
"Lowly human, do you know that I—"
"Three..."
...
Outside, the maids and the guards had already left Catherine’s study.
It could be said that there wasn’t a single soul within a thousand-ter radius of her office.
In addition, she had placed a magic barrier around the room to prevent anyone from discovering what was happening inside.
"Ah, Lathel... it’s been more than thirty minutes, why hasn’t he made a sound yet?" Catherine sighed, feeling deeply uneasy inside.
She kept glancing toward the room, her hand reaching out as if wanting to push the door open.
However, she still had faith in Lathel.
She believed he was not as weak as everyone thought.
In the end, Catherine withdrew her hand, letting out a long sigh. Yet her face was full of worry.
"Lathel, I trust you, but... I’m sorry, I care more about your safety."
Catherine murmured, then resolutely reached out and pushed the door open.
Krit!
As soon as the door opened, Catherine imdiately rushed inside, anxiously calling out, "Lathel, you... ah!"
Catherine was a bit startled to see Lathel holding the long spear, gazing at it.
Seeing her co in, he turned and looked at her, giving her that sa warm smile as always.
"Mother..."
Catherine’s lips trembled because at that mont, Lathel truly looked too handso.
Sunlight stread through the door, shining upon him, making his golden hair even more dazzling.
His smile was warr than the sunlight itself, and his eyes were as clear as the most precious jewels in the world.
Catherine was dazed, staring at Lathel for a long while before taking a deep breath and asking, "Are you... are you really Lathel?"
Lathel burst out laughing: "Pff! Hahaha... Mother, what are you talking about?"
Seeing this, Catherine felt reassured, hurried over to Lathel, and... pulled him into her arms.
Lathel was startled as well, but he didn’t resist, letting Catherine hug him tightly.
The scent from Catherine’s body wafted out, alluring yet incredibly powerful.
It was a fragrance like a blend of jasmine and agarwood—gentle, yet exuding her nobility.
"Lathel... next ti, don’t be so reckless, all right?" Catherine hugged him even tighter, as if she were afraid of losing him.
"Mother... don’t worry. I’m not as weak as you think," Lathel said, his voice gentle, as if soothing her.
"Uhm! But... I’m afraid I’ll lose you," Catherine said, her voice trembling slightly.
The strong Queen—who struck fear into the neighboring kingdoms—now seed to tremble a little, just like a fragile young woman.
Lathel reached out and gently patted her soft back. "Don’t worry... I’ll always be by your side, Mother."
"Uhm!" Catherine hugged Lathel for a long while, then slowly let go.
Lathel could see her moist eyes gazing at him.
He reached out, his fingers gently wiping away her tears.
Catherine’s cheeks flushed bright red, and she quickly said, "Don’t do that, you... you’re not..."
"I’m not... what?" Lathel pretended not to understand.
"Ah! No... it’s nothing." Catherine hurriedly turned her head away, patting her chest as if to calm herself.
Then, she glanced at Lathel and the long spear, calmly asking, "Lathel, what is that spear?"
Lathel looked at it, then sighed and replied, "I’m not exactly sure, but after overcoming a small trial, I was able to use it."
"Ah! Mother, I also have a little surprise for you."
Lathel pretended as if he’d just discovered sothing, imdiately lifted his foot, and stomped hard on the floor.
BAM!
The floor tile beneath his foot instantly shattered, his foot sinking down into the ground.
Catherine was startled at the sight.
One had to know, the floor tiles in the Royal Palace—especially in Catherine’s room—were made of extrely hard stone.
Yet Lathel was able to crush them easily, and his foot even sank deep into the floor.
This proved that Lathel’s strength had increased trendously.
"Lathel... what is this..." Catherine stamred in disbelief.
"Hahaha..." Lathel laughed cheerfully, "Mother, this spear belonged to an ancient powerhouse."
"Now, I’m able to wield it. Thanks to it, I can possess strength far beyond that of ordinary people."
"Ah!" Catherine nodded, not doubting his words in the slightest, trusting him imdiately.
Her eyes shone with joy, the corners of her mouth lifting in a thoroughly satisfied smile.
However, she suddenly rembered sothing and quickly said, "Lathel, there’s no such thing as a free al—you’ll have to pay so kind of price, won’t you?"
"And... I could sense that the black smoke from earlier was no ordinary thing. Lathel, you... shouldn’t trust that spear so easily. There’s a good chance it’s connected to that event."
"That event?" Lathel looked interested, but his face still showed concern. "What event is that?"
Catherine sighed, glanced at Lathel, as if wanting to say sothing, then hesitated.
In the end, she decided to speak: "Lathel, I have a feeling that black smoke is related to... the Dark Mist incident."
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