CURTIS SMIT finally succeeded in breaking Prince Nero's Do.
He used the Mana Stone that he created from Regina Crowell's Mana. Thanks to that, he managed to borrow her ability even though the child wasn't there. He still didn't know why Regina Crowell and Edmund haven't arrived yet, but he couldn't afford to worry about that at the mont.
His top priority right now was to extract the Core in Prince Nero's heart.
[If we want a perfect Crown Prince that will one day beco the new emperor, then we must get rid of the thing that makes him a Roseheart.]
"Lord Curtis, do you need help in lting the ice?"
Curtis, while putting on his white surgical gloves, turned around to see five of his students behind him. "No, I can handle it," he said. "The ice that Prince Nero used seed to be a borrowed ability. Thus, it's not as strong as his Do. The Mana Stone with blue fla stored in that I brought would suffice."
His students seed disappointed.
For that excursion, he brought with him his five outstanding students (excluding Regina Crowell and Edmund): Kran (male, brunette, dark chocolate-eyed, gangly), Covey (male, dirty blond, blue-eyed, bulky), Tern (male, matching green hair and eyes, looked like a pre-teen despite being a grown adult), Cholena (female, short blonde hair, green-eyed, petite), and Daya (female, dark orange long hair tied in a high ponytail, amber eyes, voluptuous).
All his students wore a white robe under the black uniform that the young crows of the cult wore. The white robe that their wore was similar to his. His students probably wore it because they were in that room to "dissect" the Crown Prince.
"Just watch for now," he told his students. "Prince Nero is a special case because for the first ti in history, a royal prince with Roseheart blood was born. Although it's unacceptable, we have to admit that it piqued our interest. Thus, His Excellency asked to extract and study the Crown Prince's Core."
The excitent on his students' faces was obvious.
Thus, he didn't stall any longer.
He faced Prince Nero still trapped in the block of ice that was shaped like the Do. Then, he raised his right hand that was now engulfed with a blue fla. Just like the Mana Stone that he used earlier to borrow Regina Crowell's ability, he was using a Mana Stone that lent him the blue fla in his hand right now.
[I can't wait to extract your Core, Prince Nero.]
When his flaming hand touched the ice, he expected it to lt right away.
But sothing else happened.
He didn't know exactly what happened but when he blinked, he just found himself in a different dinsion.
[Where am I…?]
He found himself in a strange rose garden.
The roses, the leaves, and even the soil were all black, the sky was deep red, and the air was very hot. He just arrived in that strange dinsion, but he was already sweating heavily.
"Ah, an unwanted visitor."
He turned around to face the source of the deep, cold voice that he heard.
Much to his surprise, he was greeted by a man with horns and long, red hair. But the strangest thing about him was the fact that he looked unaffected while sitting on a flaming throne. And the most shocking thing out there was the color of the fla.
[It's pure white…]
And those horns…
"You're a dragon," he said in amazent. "Are you, perhaps, the Crown Prince's Soul Beast?"
It wouldn't be strange if he accidentally touched the Soul Beast's dinsion when he tried to extract the Core inside Prince Nero's heart.
After all, the Soul Beast served as a de Moonasterio's guardian.
[And I never expected this mission to be easy anyway.]
Still, he was glad to et the Crown Prince's Soul Beast.
For so reason, Prince Nero had never shown his Soul Beast to the public before. The "eye" that His Excellency planted in the palace could only say that the Crown Prince could use fla. But other than that, they still had no idea about Prince Nero's real power.
This was a good opportunity to get a grasp of the future emperor's real ability.
[His Royal Highness's Soul Beast looks strange though. I'm aware that the Soul Beasts have human forms. After all, the male Rosehearts were used as hosts for the Divine Beasts before they were turned into Soul Beasts. But this one is the strangest Soul Beast that I've seen so far.]
To be precise, this was the first ti that he saw a Soul Beast's human form with red eyes.
Wait, red eyes?
All of a sudden, he felt a shiver down his spine.
"Only gods are supposed to have red eyes…" he said in disbelief. "You couldn't possibly be a Roseheart since Rosehearts don't possess red eyes." He gulped before he asked. "What are you?"
The red-eyed man with horns just smiled. And that smile told him that he didn't have any intention to answer his question. "It would help a lot if you put this body in an extre pain that's enough to make anyone lose their mind. But unfortunately for you, my "host" is a stubborn yet smart child." He chuckled while shaking his head. "If that child uttered my real na back then, I would have taken over this body completely. But it looked like the child felt my malice back then."
He didn't understand a thing about what the Red Dragon was saying.
Moreover, he was still overwheld by the conclusion that he ca up with. Thus, he couldn't really comprehend anything else.
"You're a god," he said, stunned. "This is the first ti in history that a god serves as the Crown Prince' Soul Beast…"
Prince Nero, despite his Roseheart blood, was indeed special.
"Do you want to help show you how special my host is?"
He was startled by the god's question. "What do you an by that?"
"My host is about to undergo Lunacy but the child is doing a good job holding it back," the Red Dragon said. "But I know a way to make my host go insane," he said, then he pointed a finger with a long and sharp nail at him. "And you're the right person to help ."
"Lunacy?" Curtis asked, confused. "But why would Prince Nero have to undergo Lunacy at his tender age?"
"Because I'm bored," the god said, then he smirked. "And those bastards from the Upper World need to pay for locking up here."
***
CURTIS was shocked when he returned to his senses.
He knew that sothing happened in the few monts that his mind wandered. But he couldn't rember what exactly happened to him. Having said that, he could still hear a whisper in his ear– a whisper that he couldn't understand.
Unfortunately, he didn't have the ti to worry about that.
His thoughts got cut off when he realized that the fla in his hand had beco hotter to the point that his skin began getting burned. When he looked at his hand, he realized that the blue fla that engulfed it earlier was replaced with a red, hot fla.
[Red fla?]
When he raised his head, he was greeted by a pair of glowing red eyes.
"Who do you think you're trying to touch here?" Prince Nero asked coldly, the ice that entrapped him a while ago lting fast. "Tteokbokki, burn this bitch."
Curtis was shocked when a small Red Dragon the size of an adult horse appeared behind the Crown Prince. Then, the beast breathed fire at him without warning. Red fla wasn't supposed to be the strongest fla of all and yet, he felt like he was about to be burnt to ashes. "No!"
***
""NO," my face,"" Neoma said while watching Curtis Smit burn from Tteokbokki's red fla. "You can't be more arrogant than , Curtis Smit."
Tteokbokki, who was standing behind her, scoffed. "Of course. You're the most arrogant person in the whole world, thug prin–" When she glared at him, her Soul Beast gulped hard. "Thug prince."
[Good.]
"You look cute in your baby form, Tteokbokki," she said as payback for Tteokbokki almost calling her "thug princess" in front of the enemies. "You'd be perfect if only you learn how to shut your mouth."
"How can I shut up when you always bully ?"
She was about to retort when all of a sudden, she was attacked by three people dressed as doctors.
[What's with the white robe?]
Well, whatever.
The enemies' attack didn't touch her anyway because of the new Do that she created. Plus, the Do that she created this ti was covered with Tteokbokki's fla. Ever since she and her Soul Beast had a heart-to-heart talk earlier, she felt like her soul had beco closer to Tteokbokki's.
Although she had to admit that she could still feel that sothing was missing.
[Is it because I didn't call Tteokbokki by his real na?]
She couldn't help it though. Like what she told her Soul Beast, she refused to call him by his real na not because of her pride. She just genuinely felt that Tteokbokki wasn't being himself. Thus, she decided to follow her gut feeling.
Even now, she didn't regret her decision.
"Huh? He's quite good," Tteokbokki said in a half-amused and half-annoyed voice. "He managed to quench my fla with a strange Mana, thug prince. Be careful."
She turned to Curtis Smit who was being aided by two dudes.
Like what her Soul Beast said, the weirdo managed to quench Tteokbokki's red fla. But Curtis Smit's whole body was burned. Yes, even his clothes.
Thankfully, one of the dudes beside him quickly covered him in a cloak.
[My eyes remain clean.]
But the fact that Curtis Smit survived after being burned by Tteokbokki's red fla was a testant to his strength.
Moreover, the people attacking her right now weren't small fries.
They proved to be troubleso when the two dudes besides Curtis Smit suddenly perford a technique that thrilled her weeb heart.
[Clone jutsu!]
Yes, the two dudes perford a clone technique.
And now, the room was filled with fifty or more persons that looked like the casters of the technique.
After that, the clones along with the five dudes that seed to be Curtis Smit's subordinates began attacking him at the sa ti. They were throwing Mana waves (imagine Son G*ku's "kahaha") at her Do.
Of course, she was confident that that level of attack wouldn't be able to break her Do. But she couldn't also use the sa trick that she used during her test with Count Sean Dankworth. If she turned her durable Do into a jelly-like state, she was afraid that it might break because of the continuous attack that she was receiving from the enemies.
After all, the technique she nad 'Pudding' wasn't complete yet, unlike the Do.
[It's better to stick using the Do instead of replacing it with a technique that I've only used once.]
But at this rate, she wouldn't be able to attack freely.
"Apprehend the Crown Prince," Curtis Smit, lying against the chest of one of his subordinates, ordered in a hoarse and weak voice. "But don't kill him."
As if they could kill her.
But these people were starting to beco a nuisance. She didn't have the ti to deal with them since she was really worried about Lewis and Jasper Oppa.
"Should I co out of your Do and burn those brats, thug prince?" Tteokbokki asked her. "It's not like you to be this careful, you know?"
"Well, we need to be careful this ti," she said. "If we're in the camp, then it could only an that this place is full of children. I don't want your red fla to accidentally burn them."
If Tteokbokki's fla spread, they would have to quench it to avoid hurting innocent people. She didn't have the ti to do that. What she needed was a technique that could sohow knock down the enemies all at once.
[Knock them out…?]
She suddenly rembered what Ruto told her about his ability. Apparently, his electricity Mana was strong enough to zap and knock down people and animals.
[I should give it a shot.]
She raised her arm and touched the cute chicken drumstick doodle on her wrist. She couldn't help but smile while looking at it.
[Ruto, you suck at drawing. I'm glad you're good at cooking or else…]
"Thug prince, stop smiling to yourself," Tteokbokki said with a huff. "It's creepy."
She ignored her annoying Soul Beast.
Then, Neoma touched the cute doodle on her wrist while rembering the two words that Ruto made her rember before. "Strike, Veton."
She honestly thought that the people in the room except for her and Tteokbokki would be electrocuted.
But what happened next was beyond her imagination.
[Ruto, you're… not weak?]
***
HE WAS surprised when all of his Mana suddenly disappeared when he was about to blow the final strike to kill Regina Crowell.
As soon as he realized what happened, he froze.
There could only be one reason for his Mana to suddenly leave his body.
[The charm has been activated…]
Regina Crowell, who was lying on the ground after his last attack, used his mont of distraction to strike back. She quickly removed her gloves and grabbed his ankle. The coldness coming from her hand was a sign that her Mana was already working.
He imdiately pulled his sword out of the sheathe attached to his hip. Then, he cut off Regina Crowell's hand swiftly. After that, he peeled off the fingers of the severed hand that were wrapped around his ankle using the bloody blade of his sword.
The quietness of the night was pierced by the lady's agonizing scream.
Cutting off a child's hand might seem cruel. But if he didn't do that, his leg would have been disintegrated.
After all, Regina Crowell's real ability was sothing called 'Decay.'
[But she hasn't mastered it yet during this ti.]
She must have tried to use that ability out of desperation.
And that was made this lady dangerous.
[Just like most crows, she has several abilities.]
He gripped his sword tight and was about to stab Regina Crowell in the heart when all of a sudden, a light breeze went past him. The next thing he knew, the young lady and her severed hand already disappeared.
Only several black feathers were left in the spot where Regina Crowell was just a few seconds ago.
Whoever it was that saved the lady must be fast and invisible.
[They must have arrived during the ti I was distracted.]
Since killing Regina Crowell wasn't his top priority, he didn't chase the child.
Moreover, it would be dangerous for him to go after the enemies now that his Mana was temporarily gone.
That was how the "protective charm" that he gave her worked. Once the ancient spell was activated, all his Mana would be temporarily transferred to the one who had his mark. And since Veton, his Mana, had a life of its own, it would understand what kind of protection the person with his tattoo needed.
If she needed to kill people, Veton would kill them for her.
If she needed to escape, then Veton would make a way for her.
If she needed to destroy and simply wreak havoc, Veton would do it for her.
Even if it was all of the above, Veton would do it all for her because it was his will, and his will was always absolute when it cos to her.
[That's how it works.]
"I was hoping you wouldn't have to use my ability," Ruto whispered to himself while staring at the big and bright full moon that lights up the night sky. "I'm sorry I broke our promise, Neoma."
***
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