Chapter 66: Who could have imagined their actions?
“Lord Karat… why did you summon me so urgently?”
In the palace hall, Celia’s charming smile had vanished.
A slight frown creased her brow, casting a shadow over her face.
“If it was just a minor collapse in the garden, you wouldn’t have called me here, would you?”
The vast hall was empty, save for Karat and Celia, as if they were the only two left in the entire palace.
Karat didn’t answer immediately.
His gaze lingered on the throne at the hall’s center.
When Celia’s impatience grew, he finally spoke slowly.
“His Highness is already waiting underground. Don’t keep him waiting too long.”
Celia’s body visibly trembled at his words.
The gloom on her face faded, replaced by an odd expression.
“Has that madman truly made up his mind?”
“Once that thing is activated, this splendid capital will likely turn into a ghost town, won’t it?”
“It’s already this late, and you’re still dwelling on that?”
Karat’s aged voice carried a trace of anger.
“The garden’s collapse was no accident. There are maze-like passages beneath the palace. It’s likely the work of the Borus Empire’s secret guards.”
“Secret guards? The ones who rival the Holy Slaughter Canon?”
“In terms of individual strength, the Saint Slaughter Canon’s members are superior. But for teamwork, the Dark Guards hold the clear advantage.”
Karat, gripping his staff, dragged his white robe as he approached the throne, his words lingering.
“Because of our plan, the palace is nearly deserted. The only ones who could stop us are from the Glorious Canon.”
“Have they left yet?”
“Yes, so we must hurry. This is our chance to wipe them out in one stroke.”
Following Karat, Celia surveyed the vast palace and couldn’t help but click her tongue.
“Tch, doesn’t that madman have a shred of humanity? So many servants and guards in the palace—many of them trust him deeply, don’t they?”
“How could he do this?”
“Merely small sacrifices.”
Karat’s tone held no sympathy.
Celia seemed to feel a pang of regret, but she knew she had no right to judge.
After all, birds of a feather flock together.
She even began to muse about how to have more fun in the future.
As a key figure in maintaining Kallia’s hold over the people, asking for a bit more reward later wouldn’t be too much, right?
With these thoughts, Celia followed Karat until they reached the throne.
Karat said nothing more.
He gently activated a hidden mechanism behind the throne.
Within seconds, the throne slid aside, revealing a dark hole.
A rancid stench hit them, making Celia frown again.
The two descended the stairs slowly, soon reaching the bottom.
In the nearly pitch-black space, only a stone platform in the center glowed with a blood-red light.
The source was a crown, unadorned and plain.
No gemstones, no gold or silver—if not for the blood energy it emitted, Celia would’ve mistaken it for a trinket.
‘Ha, who’d have thought this is the legendary [Scarlet Blood Crown]?’
The thought always made her laugh at herself.
“Your Highness, we may begin.”
Karat stepped forward, standing before the Scarlet Blood Crown.
He gently lifted it and turned to Kallia, who stood nearby.
“Hmm… very well.”
Kallia’s voice was flat as she took the crown from Karat and placed it on her head without hesitation.
“Let’s begin.”
At her words, Karat’s staff began to glow with pure white light.
The light merged with the blood energy from the crown, flowing endlessly into Kallia’s body.
Guided by Karat’s light, the dim underground space brightened, revealing its true nature to Celia.
A massive pile of eerie white bones, stacked like a small mountain, loomed in the back.
The bones were unnaturally clean, devoid of even a trace of flesh.
‘It’s as if something consumed them… No, if they were eaten, they wouldn’t be this clean.’
The sight made Celia’s scalp tingle.
Now she understood the source of the rotten smell.
No, surrounded by so many corpses, for there to be only a faint decayed odor…
‘Is it really because of the Blood Crown…?’
Celia glanced at Karat and Kallia.
Their ritual was ongoing, the blood energy still flowing toward them.
‘Wow… this looks like it’ll take a while. Is this place really safe?’
‘I wonder how Ina’s doing in the dungeon… Tch, no chance to play with her now, I suppose.’
Celia yawned out of boredom, scratching her head absentmindedly.
But the next moment, something felt off.
‘The sensation from my body… it’s not right.’
Her body stiffened.
She slowly looked at her fingertips, only to see the flesh and blood gone, exposing the bones beneath.
‘Ah… ah?!’
Horror gripped her as she stared at her hands, unable to make a sound.
Celia suddenly realized why Karat had summoned her.
‘That damned old bastard!!!’
‘He’s using me as a sacrifice!!!’
She tried to stop Karat and Kallia, but as she took a step, she collapsed.
Only then did she realize she could no longer feel her legs.
She couldn’t even crawl.
She could only watch as her flesh dissolved bit by bit, turning into blood mist and drifting toward Kallia.
Until her body was nothing but bones.
Meanwhile, armed with clear information, Cynthia’s group broke out of the cathedral and raced toward the palace.
Suddenly, Cynthia’s heart lurched, gripped by an indescribable sense of danger.
This feeling… it dwarfed even the threat of Balofer.
[‘It’s over. We’re probably too late.’]
The moment the sensation hit, the Blood Demon’s voice echoed in her mind, tinged with regret.
[Didn’t you say the Blood Crown could be stabilized for a while?]
Cynthia halted, questioning the Blood Demon in her mind.
“Are you saying they forcibly activated the Blood Crown?!”
[Huh? You’re even picking up on things quickly now?]
The Blood Demon sounded unhurried, almost amused, as it confirmed her suspicion.
[They’ve indeed forced the Blood Crown’s activation, and it’s in the direction you’re heading.]
[So what do we do now?]
[I’m here, aren’t I? What’s there to fear?]
[But we need to move fast. The Blood Crown’s still some time from full activation.]
[Besides, it’s this late in the game—why sneak around like fools? Stop running and just fly there!]