"What I mean to say is, many years have passed, and people say the past can be buried."
Hyacinthus stepped over flecks of blood beneath his feet.
"Yet I have finally come to realize that is wrong, for the past always claws its way back up on its own."
He raised the tip of his index finger lightly, speaking to Rasheal like an orchestral conductor.
"Hyacinthus... you... what is wrong with you?!"
Rasheal retreated step by step, demanding answers in a low, heavy voice.
He did not believe that, even in an injured state, he was that much weaker than Hyacinthus, the First War God. Yet every nerve cell in his brain screamed at him that under no circumstances should he become entangled with this man today.
"Why did you kill Violet, your own ally? Aren't you in your right mind right now?"
Only then did Rasheal realize with hindsight that the seal binding him had completely vanished.
He had regained his freedom and should have been ecstatic, yet at this moment he felt only a bone-chilling dread.
He could not understand Hyacinthus, and this sheer incomprehension instilled in him a terror that shattered all logic.
"Ally? Hahaha... Rasheal, aren't you being a bit naive?"
Hyacinthus spoke as he walked, his tone soft and eerie.
"These commoners are like candlelight—they just make me want to snuff them out."
His eyes seemed to gaze twenty years into the past.
That day had also been the Creti National Day celebration, though it was later remembered as "Bloody Purge Day."
He had fled his mansion only to find the city-state engulfed in black smoke and a sea of flames, the neighboring manor blazing just as fiercely.
Back then, he had not dared to look up.
Because if he looked up, he would see that inhuman thing perched atop the roof of his own home—
*"He can't have run far. He's just a child of a few years old—there's no hope of him getting away today."*
*"Once we catch him, disembowel him just like his parents! Hang him from the mansion's roof for all to see!"*
*"Their family has royal blood. Isn't this going too far?"*
*"We've already come this far! That's precisely why we must see it through to the end!"*
*"Don't let a single remnant of the marquis's bloodline escape!"*
The sounds of those searching footsteps still echoed in his ears even after twenty years, constantly hunting him down.
"Every single day I spent around Violet, I wondered what expression she would make when she finally saw me for who I really was. Do you know? She actually took me for a commoner just like herself. It really is hilarious."
Hyacinthus shook his head with a sense of relief and looked toward Rasheal at the far end of the pitch-black hall.
"Well then, it's time for this play to come to an end."
He gazed at Rasheal as though admiring an exquisite treasure, speaking in a measured, orderly cadence.
"Hyacinthus, why don't we cooperate?"
Rasheal felt a chill surge straight to his crown. It was no longer Violet's frost, but the deepest, darkest dampness of the Creti Empire under nightfall.
For some inexplicable reason, he lacked the confidence that Blood Mind Control would land on Hyacinthus.
In theory, if Hyacinthus came just a bit closer, he should be able to seize control of him successfully. Yet his intuition clanged alarm bells relentlessly, warning him never to take the initiative against this man.
He did not fully grasp Hyacinthus's words. Based on the childhood Mind Laceration he had detected earlier, Hyacinthus must have suffered some brutal tragedy when he was young, turning him into someone who harbored immense hatred for both the empire and the commoners, enduring and disguising himself all the way to this day.
If Hyacinthus truly wanted to overthrow the Creti Empire, it might still take time. But if he cooperated with the Blood Clan, the opportune moment would arrive immediately.
"I meticulously prepared betrayal and ruin—a gift for Violet, and a gift for your Blood Clan."
Hyacinthus drew near to Rasheal. He displayed no hostility whatsoever, nor did he listen to what Rasheal was saying, as though treating Rasheal merely as a corpse or an inanimate object that had never possessed life in the first place.
"Don't come any closer!"
Rasheal roared, his steps frantic as he backed past another pillar.
He was not even sure why he feared Hyacinthus so intensely right now, but he knew his current condition was no match for this man who held all the cards.
Before Rasheal's body could react and pull away, the space between him and Hyacinthus seemed to displace, and Hyacinthus seized him by the back of the neck, hoisting him off his feet.
Rasheal's blood-red pupils locked directly onto Hyacinthus, constricting and trembling uncontrollably.
Hyacinthus's bizarre physical prowess made his movements so fast that Rasheal could not track them at all.
Even the Sanctprant Pope back then had never lifted him like a little rabbit to stare at him from point-blank range.
"What are you thinking when you look at me? I really am curious."
Hyacinthus studied Rasheal's crimson eyes.
"...!"
Driven toward sheer fury, caught between terror and rage, Rasheal knew he had to strike now.
His eyes turned violently scarlet, his body floating weightlessly as countless dark-red blood threads erupted from all over him. Circling and crisscrossing at close quarters, they wove into a massive bloody web that ensnared Hyacinthus.
"Submit to me, Hyacinthus!"
Rasheal unleashed his authority immediately, attempting to dominate Hyacinthus's mind.
Hyacinthus had overlooked one thing!
The single greatest miscalculation born of his arrogance!
Earlier, Blood Mind Control had failed to take effect because Violet's Moon Goddess Immaculate Pure Land barrier had disrupted the mental incantations within this sacred hall.
Yet now, Hyacinthus had slaughtered Violet with his own hands, and the barrier had vanished along with her.
Given Hyacinthus's mental state and the depth of his Mind Laceration, it was impossible for him to evade Blood Mind Control.
Since he had controlled Hyacinthus once before, he could surely control him a second time.
"..."
Hyacinthus's body froze, his eyes staring straight into Rasheal's without wavering an inch.
"Hyacinthus, you were too overconfident. You've played yourself this time!"
Rasheal's heart pounded like a war drum, and the smile of an ultimate victor gradually bloomed at the corners of his mouth.
He drew ragged breaths of the frigid air in the gloomy hall.
He had hit Hyacinthus.
This strike had suffered no interference from the Moon Goddess Immaculate Pure Land, nor had Hyacinthus managed to dodge it!
As long as he controlled Hyacinthus, no matter how sinister this man was, he would cease to be a threat.
A few moments passed.
Seeing no movement, Rasheal's heart continued to race, not daring to relax completely.
"Hyacinthus, obey my command, will you?" Rasheal asked tentatively.
He sensed something was off.
Because Hyacinthus still held him aloft, completely motionless.
"Haha, no problem."
Far from obeying, Hyacinthus chuckled, the mild look in the depths of his eyes unchanged.
"No, that's impossible! Why aren't you under my control?! You clearly have such a massive Mind Laceration inside your soul—it couldn't possibly have healed!"
Rasheal was dumbstruck. A sensation of weightlessness overwhelmed him, and cold sweat instantly soaked his back.
His Blood Mind Control... failed?
*Could it be...*
Rasheal's eyes darted frantically left and right. Amid his racing thoughts, he seized upon one possibility.
Hyacinthus's most proficient spells were all counter-based.
If Hyacinthus was a viable target for Blood Mind Control, the spell had hit, and there was no outside interference, the only reason it could fail was that Hyacinthus possessed an exceedingly terrifying ultimate counter spell.
In theory, Rasheal had never seen a counter spell that could effortlessly neutralize an epic authority belonging to a progenitor.
Reflected in Rasheal's crimson pupils was an invisible vortex of mana swirling before Hyacinthus. Rasheal exhausted his last dregs of mana to appraise the magical fluctuation that had just been triggered before his very eyes.
"Oh my, you noticed?" Hyacinthus asked in an airy voice.
At that moment, Rasheal finally saw clearly what spell Hyacinthus had used.
[Imbalance Devourer]
[Category: Active Spell]
[Quality: Orange Epic]
[Attribute: Counter / Seal]
[Tier: 8]
[Effect: Engulfs and wards off all attacks, traps, and items within range, temporarily storing them in the soul space, and allows them to be fully returned within thirty seconds. Cooldown: one minute.]
Rasheal felt as though struck by lightning, his pupils constricting violently once more.
Even throughout the long era of the Blood Moon's reign, he had never seen a spell counter like this among demons or humans.
In any era, this man's threat to the Blood Clan would be no lower than Lanclos of the Black Sun.
Even without displaying his true swordsmanship, this single counter spell was enough to confiscate all the offensive and controlling authorities of the Blood Clan.
"Actually, I could have beaten you last time, but I didn't. Do you know why?"
Seeing that Rasheal had depleted his Tier 9 appraisal spell, Hyacinthus looked mildly troubled for once.
"You... what on earth are you?! What is your goal?!" Rasheal demanded harshly, his voice shrill with terror.
"I just thought watching you make a fuss in the empire was rather amusing. I simply wanted to see how far you could tear up the Creti Empire. All I had to do was quietly play along with your little drama. It didn't affect my life in the slightest. I still went about being my usual Hyacinthus day after day—what difference did it make?"
Hyacinthus did not answer directly. He merely hoisted Rasheal by the neck once more with leisurely ease, his slender fingers sinking into flesh and inflicting bone-chilling pain.
"However, since you want to challenge me again this time, I won't hold back."
Hyacinthus looked down haughtily at Rasheal, leaving his feet dangling in the air as he spoke.
Boundless shadow swallowed the entire space, plunging the hall into unprecedented darkness.
Amid the dark, only Hyacinthus's eyes flickered with an eerie glow, like a predatory beast lurking in the night, sending shivers through Rasheal.
Rasheal could only raise a trembling hand to grasp Hyacinthus's steel-like wrist, unable to budge it in the slightest.
"No, Hyacinthus, we can talk! Whatever you want to do in the empire, I can help you! We can cooperate!"
Rasheal pleaded, desperate to negotiate with Hyacinthus.
He was already severely wounded and held captive by Hyacinthus, the strongest man in the Creti Empire. With his spells proving utterly useless against Hyacinthus, he could not fathom any way to fight him.
"Is there any point?" Hyacinthus asked with genuine puzzlement.
"...!"
Rasheal stiffened, his dry throat bobbing.
He realized the worst possible scenario that was about to unfold.
Hyacinthus had swallowed his Blood Mind Control, which meant he could immediately reflect it back at him.
And he, Duke Rasheal, the esteemed Third Progenitor, truly possessed painful memories he never wished to face—memories that would leave him vulnerable to Blood Mind Control.
"No, don't control me!" Rasheal pleaded in despair.
"Oh? Judging by that expression, you really can be controlled by your own mind-control magic? How ironic. Do even you have a Mind Laceration?"
Hyacinthus merely mocked Rasheal with amusement.
Last time, he had not considered that this spell could also control Rasheal.
From Rasheal's mental state tonight, Hyacinthus had grown fairly certain that the progenitor harbored such a weakness, and this test had just proven it correct.
The vortex before Hyacinthus opened once more, its center abruptly turning blood-red. Countless crimson blood threads shot out from the vortex, swirling and intertwining at close quarters until they formed a massive bloody web that wrapped around Rasheal.
"Aaaah! Nooo!"
Rasheal cried out in a fractured voice, trying to cling to the last shred of his will.
"Why are you being so serious? Smile for me too. What a wonderful day it is."
Hyacinthus did not stop, returning the devoured spell to Rasheal in its entirety.
He placed his other hand beside his ear, as if listening to the cheers and laughter of the citizens celebrating National Day.
Listening closely, their frequencies were surprisingly identical to the screams from twenty years ago.
In an instant, Rasheal's eyes turned vacant, his struggles ceased, and he stood frozen in place like a puppet.
"There now, Rasheal. Night has fallen, and you've recovered to Tier 9. I'll provide the stage—go bring me some amusement."
Hyacinthus rested his bloodstained hand on his sword hilt and gazed toward the imperial Saint Astri Palace.
Right about now, Emperor Saint Bardo was surely delivering his final speech to the populace in peace and comfort.
Little did he know that the blood-red moon was already about to cast its light upon him.
"Saint Bardo..." Rasheal murmured with hollow eyes.
"Emperor Saint Bardo..."
Soon, a bloody mist began to drift from his scarlet eyes. Accompanied by an explosive burst of killing intent, his Tier 9 mana blew right through the entrance gates of the Hall of Divine Descent, setting off a continuous chain of city defense sirens that echoed over Brillda.
"Hmm-hmm-hmm."
Hyacinthus hummed a little tune. Resting his hand on the hilt of his sword like leaning on a cane, he strolled leisurely toward the outside of the hall where Rasheal had fled.
The crisp clatter of his boots against the stone tiles rang out clearly, every step sounding like the toll of a bell.
Until Hyacinthus's silhouette vanished entirely into the evening glow beyond the hall, the sanctuary held only the blurry grating of light refracted through the rose window, draped over the blood pooling in the seams of the floor.
The blood moon illuminated the colonnade of the Hall of Divine Descent.
*"Violet, what happened over there...?"*
*"Bzz..."*
*"Can you hear me...?"*
The sacred communication magic link bound to Violet's soul steadily degraded toward disconnection.
Those final voices could do nothing to awaken the motionless figure of the high priestess lying in a pool of blood.
Chapter 844