Chapter 319: The Scarlet Queen vs. the High B-Rank Snake Princess!

"Start."

Peiro finally spoke, clearly growing bored with their conversation.

The battle began.

Whoosh!

The instant his words ended, Selene leaped backward, creating distance between herself and Brynessa.

She needed enough space to bring out her abilities properly.

Brynessa didn’t pursue her.

She simply watched, allowing Selene to display whatever power she intended to use.

Once Selene had revealed everything she possessed, Brynessa would crush her pride, shatter her confidence, and prove that placing one’s trust in a hero was nothing more than a mistake.

She would do it by killing Selene’s hero.

Her husband. Right in front of her.

Selene continued retreating until she had reached roughly one kilometer away. Only then did she stop. Then her expression became serious.

The playful wife who had been teasing Luke moments ago had completely disappeared, replaced by the Scarlet Queen whom very few people in this world had ever had the opportunity to witness fighting seriously.

She raised her hand.

’S-RANK ORIGIN SKILL.’

"Crimson Throne!"

The instant those words escaped her lips, countless blood-like tendrils erupted from her body.

They spread outward before curling behind her, intertwining with one another and gradually taking shape.

The strange mass of dark crimson blood continued gathering and forming a single structure behind Selene.

At once, every spectator’s attention shifted toward the arena.

Even Alia, Isaria, and Estelle stopped paying attention to Luke and turned their gazes toward the battle.

Everyone except Luke.

He was still slumped deep in his chair like a man whose soul had temporarily abandoned his body.

Soon, the strange structure behind Selene was completed.

A crimson throne formed entirely from blood now stood behind her.

Dark crimson blood continuously flowed across its surface, almost as though the throne itself were alive. Its design resembled an ancient royal throne, with a tall backrest, sharp crimson edges, and a faint red glow running throughout its entire structure.

"So it’s finally starting," Zeyr said with anticipation.

Even the Empyrean Academy representatives became more attentive. They rarely had the opportunity to witness the Scarlet Queen in combat.

And now, they were finally about to see what she could truly do.

Selene didn’t sit upon the throne immediately.

Instead, she prepared to reveal something she had never shown publicly before.

At least, not in front of an audience like this.

She slowly spread both arms wide, as though welcoming something that had been waiting beyond the boundaries of the world.

"B-RANK INNATE ABILITY."

The moment those words left her mouth, the surrounding space suddenly cracked.

Fractures appeared above her, below her, and on both sides of her body, spreading across the air like cracks appearing across glass.

It looked as though Selene had forcibly created a gateway connected to another dimension.

And from those fractures, blood began pouring out.

Dark crimson blood.

An immense quantity of it.

The blood surged through the spatial fractures and rushed directly toward Selene, surrounding her before merging into her body.

Everyone’s eyes widened. "She awakened her innate ability!"

The spectators were stunned.

For an beast or speices, an innate ability could be awakened from birth or emerge at some point later in life.

But for the descendants of an Emperor, an innate ability awakening was something entirely different.

It represented the awakening of the hidden inheritance sleeping within their bloodline.

The power of their ancestor could manifest through them, with the final strength depending on their own mastery and compatibility with that inheritance.

Because of that, every Emperor’s child was essentially involved in an invisible race. Everyone wanted to know who would awaken their innate ability first after reaching B-rank.

And now Selene had done exactly that.

At the early B-rank stage.

That alone demonstrated just how extraordinary her talent was.

Even Brynessa was stunned. But the surprise on her face quickly transformed into something else.

Jealousy.

Deep, bitter jealousy.

’Why can she awaken it, but not me?’ For an instant, Brynessa felt as though the entire world itself was conspiring against her.

It wasn’t actually guaranteed that every Emperor’s child would awaken their innate ability at early B-rank.

However, one fact had already been established.

Every Emperor’s child would awaken their innate ability before reaching A-rank. That much had already been proven.

Yet Brynessa had failed to awaken hers early.

Because of that, her peers had mocked her. Among the other Emperor’s children, she had eventually become a laughingstock.

She had already reached High B-rank, standing just below Peak B-rank, and still hadn’t awakened the inheritance sleeping within her blood.

That had also been one of the reasons she had fallen in love with the Elf Hero.

He had supported her, told her that she was special.

He had told her that she didn’t need to compare herself with anyone else. And she had believed him.

After that, she did everything he asked.

She gave him everything she possessed. Her resources and treasures.

Even things that should have remained exclusive to the Beast Empire’s Emperor’s treasury.

She didn’t care. All she wanted was his love.

She had even given him secret information about the Beast Empire, information that could be considered treasonous if exposed.

Yet even after giving him so much, his attitude toward her gradually changed.

He became distant and cold.

And Brynessa began to fear that he would eventually abandon her. That fear was what pushed her into making the proposal.

She believed that if she could break the curse placed upon her bloodline by their ancestral Snake God, everything would change.

She would become stronger and even more useful to him. And perhaps, after becoming stronger, she could finally become someone he could never abandon.

But she had never realized the real reason behind his actions.

He had always been afraid of her. Afraid that one day she would surpass him.

Afraid that the woman who loved him so desperately would one day become stronger than the hero everyone worshipped.

So after taking everything from her, he rejected her pleas and made certain that no one else would truly love her.

He wanted to make sure that she would never break her curse.

So he spread rumors, words and even her private images.

He destroyed the reputation of the woman who had once given him everything. And in the end, he succeeded.

Brynessa committed suicide.

He thought that was the end. But the Elf Hero had forgotten one thing.

The gods were far above mortals.

Their schemes went deeper than anything a mortal could understand.

And so, Brynessa was resurrected.

Iveron found her.

He revealed the truth about the Elf Hero and explained why the hero had done everything to her.

After that, Brynessa became his pawn.

Even so, her potential remained nearly equal to that of the other Emperor’s children.

There was only one thing Iveron had been waiting for.

Her awakening.