"Now," Xize'er demanded, "tell ... who exactly sent you?"
His expression turned cold as he took a silent step forward. The tip of his short blade touched the assassin's throat, drawing a thin line of blood. The assassin trembled all over as crimson liquid trickled down the edge of the blade.
"It was Her Majesty the Queen!" the assassin roared. "It was the Queen!"
Xize'er's pupils violently contracted, and his grip on the blade faltered slightly. He stared blankly, murmuring:
"Queen... Mother?"
Yagubalu tilted its head, slightly stunned, its tail dropping flat. 'What kind of situation is this?' it thought. 'So it is not just a case of fraternal harmony, but also kind mother and filial son?'
"You are lying to ..." Xize'er frowned.
"I am not lying!"
"I hate seeing people bleed. I really... really hate it," Xize'er growled hoarsely, emphasizing every single word. "So please, do not force !"
Despite his words, Xize'er's blade did not waver. The line of blood on the assassin's throat grew increasingly pronounced.
The assassin shrieked in a trembling voice, utterly consud by fear, "I am really not lying to you! It was the Queen, the Queen sent us!"
Xize'er froze completely. He slowly loosened his grip on the short blade and stood dazed for a mont. Then, muttering, "No, you are lying," he stumbled backward like a puppet with cut strings.
He only ca to a gradual halt when his back hit the bookshelf, leaving him with nowhere else to retreat.
A photo album tumbled from the corner, flipping open to a page showing the three princes hunting at sea alongside the King and the Queen.
The sun had been radiant that day, the sea breeze fierce.
On the open deck, Xize'er stood between Lorenzo and Cosimo, his eyes closed, his white lashes concealing his cyan irises.
He had tried his best to open his eyes and face the cara, but he simply could not do it. Lorenzo and Cosimo had their hands resting on his shoulders. His older brothers were looking down at him with gentle smiles.
Caliliana stood behind them, a kind and loving smile gracing her face.
Leaning against the bookshelf, Xize'er slowly slid down to the floor. He sat on his knees, his head bowed, his hollow gaze fixed on the ground.
"So that is how it is... The Queen is on your brothers' side too, which is why she does not want to see you inherit the throne," Yagubalu said in realization. "I was wondering why your two older brothers were acting so recklessly. After all, with the King unconscious, the most powerful person in the entire Whalegarden right now is your mother."
'Then why did the Queen arrange for Xize'er to leave this place?' it pondered.
'Could it be... she wants to take advantage of the mont Xize'er leaves the Whalegarden to silently erase him in the outside world?'
Xize'er remained utterly silent.
"Since we already got our answer," Yagubalu asked, "should we kill him?"
"Yagubalu... eat him," Xize'er finally spoke after a mont of silence.
"Shasha does not eat people."
Listening to the exchange between the boy and the shark, the assassin was montarily stunned before he started screaming:
"You said you would let
go!"
"When did I ever say that?" Xize'er slowly raised his head. "I rely allowed you to die a little later. Do not gain an inch and want a foot."
He paused, then looked at Yagubalu with a freezing expression.
"Eat him."
Yagubalu sighed, then exaggeratedly opened its mouth wide like a character in an animated series, preparing to swallow the assassin whole. At that mont, the shark's shadow abruptly expanded, blotting out all the moonlight and nearly engulfing the assassin completely.
The assassin scread in sheer terror, trembling as he clutched his head.
But in the very next second, Yagubalu suddenly snapped its mouth shut. "Good brother, shake out all the cards from your Anecdote Catalog. If I get full on fragnts, I might just spare you."
"Really?" the assassin asked, overjoyed. White foam gathered at the corners of his mouth; he was already scared senseless.
"Really... Shasha never lies," Yagubalu nodded.
The assassin summoned his Anecdote Catalog and shook out the few Anecdote Fragnts he possessed onto the floor.
In a flash, Yagubalu darted its head forward, opening its maw to catch the five fragnts, swallowing them down with a loud gulp.
[Devoured 5 Universal-grade Anecdote Fragnts. Triggering the effect of the Unique Cultivation System, Anomaly Gluttony. Your True Form Size has increased by 2.5 ters.]
[Unit 3 — Eternal Abyss Shark Yagubalu's size change: 122 ters to 124.5 ters.]
"Any more?"
Yagubalu licked its sharp fangs, its eyes gleaming.
"There are... of course there are, I am sending you to Hell, you monster!" the assassin bellowed, suddenly breaking into a maniacal grin.
He violently yanked a card laced with silver patterns from the final page of the catalog and crushed it. Instantly, flas flared up, and a fireball wrapped in howling winds shot explosively toward Yagubalu.
It opened its mouth and swallowed the fireball down its throat with a loud chomp.
"Fireballs are tasty," it burped. "But what I want are fragnts."
"Monster..."
The assassin fell into utter despair, all color fading from his eyes.
Accepting his fate, he slowly picked up the short blade Xize'er had dropped on the floor. After a brief hesitation, he reversed the blade and plunged it into his own throat, ending his life.
"So la..." Yagubalu curled its lips. "Do you still want
to eat him, Xize'er?"
Saying that, the shark turned its head to look at the white-haired boy sitting blankly in front of the bookshelf.
Xize'er did not answer. Yagubalu sniffled. "Then I will clean up these corpses first... they stink. I will mop the floor for you while I am at it. Honestly, Shasha is a bit of a neat freak."
It manipulated the dark currents of water, lifting the corpses in the bedroom and hurling them off the edge of the rooftop into the sea.
Afterward, the black water began washing the bedroom, first erasing the bloodstains from the walls and the floor, then extracting all the moisture from the bed curtains.
The air inside the room instantly beca fresh again. Yagubalu flicked its tail in satisfaction, thinking to itself that it would probably be highly sought after if it applied for a job as a butler.
Seeing Xize'er still completely silent, simply hugging the crystal ball, Yagubalu shrank its size down to the palm of a hand.
It reverted into that harmless looking Norbe Shark. Wrapped in dark currents, its round, chubby body plopped back into the crystal ball, then controlled the water to close the lid.
The little shark swallowed two mouthfuls of seawater, silently gazing at the figure in the bedroom.
Faint sobbing drifted from the darkness. Xize'er sat on his knees, his nose scrunched up, his eyes rimd red.
He hugged the crystal ball tightly, as though clinging to the very last trace of warmth. This was the Father King's gift, given to him by the last person in the Whalegarden who truly cared about him.
The little shark raised its head, looking at him with pity in its crystalline eyes.
'In the end, he is just a little brat,' it thought. 'No matter how much he tries to act tough, no matter how much he forces a stony expression to appear cold and ruthless, a little brat is still a little brat.'
'Even if he mutters "I have turned to the dark side" ten thousand tis, mimicking those powerful big figures from animated series, making himself look as proud as possible, acting so arrogant as if he is above all laws, he could still be beaten back to his original form by cruel reality the very next day.'
'Even adults eventually have monts where they can no longer endure it... much less a re twelve-year-old boy.'
A dead silence shrouded the bedroom. The lonely moonlight spilled through the windowsill, illuminating the white-haired boy's vacant cyan eyes.
A mont later, he spoke, breaking the silence.
"Why... why do my brothers, and even the Queen Mother, want to kill ?"
"Uh, maybe you are not her biological child?" Yagubalu pondered. "That is the only reason I can think of. As a King... it is not weird for him to have an affair on the outside."
Xize'er froze slightly.
He suddenly recalled his childhood; he could always faintly sense his mother casting disgusted looks at him. Yet, whenever he turned his head to look back, Caliliana's face would already be replaced with a gentle, amiable smile.
"The person who poisoned the King might not have been your brothers, but your own mother," Yagubalu said. "She is the closest person to the King. That would perfectly explain why she never sent anyone to protect you."
It paused. "You also have to be careful with that new butler. He was not necessarily sent by the King."
Xize'er suddenly let out a low laugh. The laughter carried a faint, choked sob, making him seem like a pitiful puppy that had its backbone removed.
He asked, "Yagubalu, what exactly did I do wrong... Should I have never been born in the first place?"
"You did not do anything wrong... you simply have terrible luck."
Yagubalu swished its tail and continued, "By the way, the reason they did not land a fatal blow on the King is because they feel that as long as you die, the throne will be theirs... Therefore, the old King's life can be spared for now."
It lowered its voice. "However, if they realize they cannot kill you in secret, they will shift their target and make a move on the King instead."
"As long as I die, the Father King will be fine?" Xize'er asked in a heavy tone.
"No, your Father King loves you so much. Once he wakes up, he will sooner or later figure out what the people around him have done... By then, he will still have to die. As long as the Black Death is not completely cured... even if he does not die, he will only beco a puppet for your mother and brothers."
"Is that so... Even the Father King is... implicated because of ."
"We no longer have any way out, Xize'er," Yagubalu said. "The King is destined to die, you cannot save him... and those wicked people will absolutely make their move against you. August 1st is their final deadline."
It mulled it over. "Your Queen Mother pretended to take you out of the Whalegarden, but in reality, she wanted to deal a lethal blow to you in a place where no one could see... With the King unconscious, the Royal Court Squad naturally only takes orders from the Queen. Even the Royal Court Squad is our enemy."
Xize'er lowered his eyes, asking in a weary and hoarse voice, "Yagubalu, tell ... why... why does the entire world have to treat
like this?"
Yagubalu stayed quiet for a mont before its voice gradually turned cold. "Xize'er, join ... let us devour this twisted nation together."
It lowered its voice. "You are not alone... If the whole world is your enemy, then we will burn the entire world down to ashes."
"But... it is just the two of us. How are we supposed to fight them?" Xize'er asked. "You said it yourself, the Royal Court Squad is on the Queen Mother's side as well."
"No, it is not just the two of us. I have so friends, and their na is the White Raven Brigade."
At this point, the little shark flashed a ferocious grin, exposing its sharp little fangs. "And what my friends do best is destruction and pillaging. If it is them, they would certainly be more than happy to help you smash this world to pieces."
"When will they arrive?"
"On August 1st, the day the Legendary Whale lands, the mbers of the White Raven Brigade will arrive right on schedule. The Queen thinks you have fallen into her trap, but in reality, this has actually handed us an opportunity."
After a lengthy silence, Xize'er finally spoke up:
"I believe you, Yagubalu. Since the Father King's death is unavoidable, and everyone around
has completely abandoned , then I no longer have any attachnts to this place."
"That is wonderful. I actually thought you were going to reject ."
Xize'er lowered his eyes, looking at the little shark inside the crystal ball. "You are the only one I can trust now. Will you deceive ?"
"I promise you," Yagubalu stated, pronouncing every single word clearly. "As long as you do not betray , I will never abandon you."
Under the moonlight, Xize'er slowly raised his head. Tears slipped from the corners of his eyes, but his gaze was brimming with resentnt, his expression turning ferocious. "Alright, then I agree... We will burn this world to the ground together."
Reviews
All reviews (0)