Chapter 928: Confirmation of the Emperor’s Secret!

"N-No....No! Noooooooo!"

The fox-masked woman struggled desperately as the black tendrils approached, her hands scratching against the floor while the oppressive aura surrounding Asmodeus prevented her from standing.

"Haa... Why are you screaming? I haven’t even touched you yet."

Asmodeus frowned.

He’d expected a little more courage from someone willing to enter his territory and kidnap one of his wives. Yet the woman seemed terrified of him, trembling so violently that her mask rattled against the floor.

’What a disappointment.’

He reached forward and grabbed her collar, lifting her until her feet dangled above the ground.

"Let’s start with something simple. Who ordered you to capture Velvet?"

"..."

"Don’t waste my time."

The fox swallowed.

Asmodeus noticed her eyes moving towards the surviving wolf.

’Hm?’

Before he could understand why, the man suddenly began struggling, his broken arms twisting as he attempted to reach something beneath his armour.

Crack!

Asmodeus crushed the man’s wrist with a little pressure from his mana, stopping him before he could complete whatever he intended.

"Arghhhhh!"

"Stay still."

Desperate to avoid the pain, the Wolf lost consciousness, avoiding his wrath. However, the fox’s expression had become strange. She wasn’t looking at her injured companion anymore, but rather seemed fixated on Asmodeus.

Then her eyes flicked to her companion and remained fixed on the small golden light spreading beneath his mask.

"...Shit!"

Asmodeus immediately understood something was wrong.

He threw the fox towards Velvet before extending his hand towards the wolf.

BOOM!

The man’s body exploded.

Golden flames erupted from beneath his armour, burning through his flesh and bones with such intensity that the surrounding stone began melting. Yet Asmodeus gripped tightly, not letting the corpse leave his grip.

"Tsk, you boring fuckers...!"

He clicked his tongue, ’Suicide magic...?’

The flames didn’t last long.

His mana swallowed the golden energy before it could spread beyond the chamber, leaving a blackened crater where the wolf had been kneeling, leaving nothing of the man except a few fragments of armour.

Velvet watched with an unpleasant expression.

"...Darling."

"I know, I know... this woman can’t be leg go."

Asmodeus turned towards the fox, whose face had turned completely pale at the current situation.

He smirked at her wide eyes.

"You knew that would happen, right?"

Yet the woman didn’t bother to answer him, her eyes were locked on Asmodeus as she quivered.

He approached her, but this time he didn’t bother releasing his aura.

"Take it off."

"..."

"Now."

The woman slowly raised her hands, but unlike what he expected, she began to unfasten her clothes and armour... stripping nude while her teeth chattered. Then, at the very end, her fingers trembled as she removed the animal mask, revealing a fairly ordinary human face beneath it.

Well, she was pretty, but compared to the world-ending women he’d married. The fox wasn’t so special. She appeared to be a woman in her thirties, with short brown hair and several scars around her cheeks.

However, something immediately caught his attention.

A golden mark rested beneath her left eye.

’That’s the thing that will end her life... let’s deal with this shit now.’

Asmodeus didn’t speak or comment on her naked body, he reached out, causing the fox-woman to gasp, her cheeks flushed bright red as his finger tapped the golden mark and he injected a huge amount of his energy into the dot.

The golden mark suddenly brightened, causing the woman to stiffen as an intense pain spread across her face.

"N-Ngh...! W-What are you doing?!"

"Removing the thing that’s going to kill you. Stay still."

Asmodeus narrowed his eyes, examining the strange energy flowing beneath her skin. It wasn’t an ordinary slave contract or curse, but something directly connected to a source much further away.

’It’s weak, but this is Divine energy for sure...’

The moment his mana entered the mark, several golden threads attempted to wrap around his fingers, almost as if the magic was trying to identify whoever interfered with it.

"Hmph."

He increased the pressure.

CRACK!

A thin fracture appeared across the golden symbol.

The fox-woman screamed, her body convulsing as she grabbed his wrist with both hands. However, Asmodeus didn’t stop, carefully separating the divine energy from her flesh before crushing it with his own.

Pop!

The golden mark shattered into several tiny particles before disappearing.

"Haa... Haa...!"

Her legs weakened, and she collapsed onto her knees, trembling while touching the skin beneath her eye.

"...It’s gone?"

Asmodeus examined her face one last time.

"Mhm. Though you might feel a little strange for a while."

The woman stared at him, seemingly unable to believe that the curse she’d carried for so long had disappeared within seconds.

Velvet approached from behind, her expression filled with curiosity.

"Darling... did you really destroy the Emperor’s magic that easily?"

"The Emperor’s magic? Hah! If he could use this magic, then why would he still bother letting Grigor exist and challenge it for so many years? No, this is borrowed power at most, and the divinity within these marks is barely at the level of you girls who’ve just reached Rank Four."

Asmodeus glanced towards his fingers, where a tiny fragment of golden energy remained trapped between his mana.

’Interesting...’

He could still feel the connection leading towards its original owner.

Rather than destroy the remaining fragment, he quietly enclosed it within his own power.

"Now then..."

His eyes returned to the trembling woman.

"Shall we try again now that I’ve saved your life? How about you start answering my questions, and maybe I won’t throw you into a pit of drugged orcs."

"Eeek!"

The woman turned pale as she covered her tits and crotch, as if realising that she was completely naked for the first time. Asmodeus frowned at the woman’s reaction before grabbing her chin and forcing her to look up.

"Stop screaming, you stupid woman. If I wanted to hurt you, would I have bothered removing that mark?"

"B-But you said..."

Slap!

His palm struck her cheek, sending her stumbling sideways. Though he’d barely used any strength, the woman’s eyes widened as she touched her reddened face.

"I asked you a question."

"..."

"Who ordered you to capture Velvet?"

The woman glanced towards the destroyed chamber, her lips trembling as she struggled to answer. Without the protection of her mask or armour, she looked nothing like the confident woman who’d commanded the Emperor’s Eyes earlier.

"I-I can’t..."

Slap!

"Wrong answer."

"Ngh...!"

Asmodeus caught her shoulder before she fell, holding her upright while his golden eyes narrowed.

"Listen carefully. I’ve already removed the mark beneath your eye. Your companions are dead, your mission failed, and your precious Emperor isn’t here to save you."

Velvet watched from nearby with both arms crossed, clearly with no intention of interfering.

The woman’s lips trembled.

"So, shall we try again?"

"...I’ll talk!"

"Good."

He finally released her.

The woman collapsed onto her knees, breathing heavily while rubbing her swollen cheek. Velvet watched from nearby with her arms folded, showing little sympathy for the woman who’d tried to kidnap her.

"Cat..." the fox whispered. "The orders came from Cat. She’s the commander of the Emperor’s Eyes."

Asmodeus crouched before her.

"Where is she?"

"I don’t know! She contacts us through special channels and only appears when necessary. Even the other Eyes don’t know where she’s staying!"

"Tsk... And why Velvet?"

The woman swallowed.

"Her draconic blood. We were ordered to confirm whether the reports about her transformation were accurate. If they were, we had to capture her alive."

Asmodeus glanced towards his wife.

’As I thought, those strange chains are the same as the ones that left marks on the heart of Valena’s mother..."

"And Baltimore?"

"A distraction... The incidents across the kingdoms were supposed to draw your strongest people away from Lumeria. We weren’t meant to capture Queen Velvet until the other operations succeeded."

"Haa..."

Alice had been right.

Asmodeus rubbed his forehead, feeling even more irritated than before.

"Then why did you move so early?"

"Because you stopped the incident in Baltimore! Cat ordered us to act before you discovered the connection."

The woman lowered her head again.

"Please... I’ve told you everything I know."

"Not yet."

Asmodeus leaned closer.

"Why does your Emperor need draconic blood?"

The fox remained silent for several seconds.

Her breathing gradually steadied now that the mark beneath her eye had disappeared. Perhaps she genuinely believed that answering his questions would allow her to survive.

Finally, she nodded.

"His Majesty... Emperor Albrecht..."

Asmodeus listened carefully, wanting to confirm the theory and information given to him by the annoying noble before Leviathan.

"...He’s searching for a way to remove the curse placed upon him."

’So the curse was real...’

"And?"

"The blood of dragons can help him overcome the restrictions, but ordinary dragons aren’t enough. That’s why he needs Queen Velvet and..."

Her lips suddenly stopped moving.

"...Ah?"

Asmodeus frowned.

"What?"

The woman’s eyes widened as her hands moved towards her chest, desperately clawing as if there was something itchy beneath them.

"N-No... I already told you..."

A faint golden light appeared beneath her skin.

’Another mark?!’

Asmodeus immediately reached towards her, but before his fingers could touch her chest...

BOOM!

The woman’s heart exploded inside her body with a disgusting pop. Fresh blood burst from her mouth as she convulsed violently before collapsing towards the ground.

"Fuck!"

Asmodeus caught her before she struck the stone, immediately pouring mana into her chest.

However, the damage was already done.

Her heart had been completely destroyed, and the golden energy responsible was rapidly consuming what remained of the organ.

Even so, he tried to isolate it.

Crack!

The remaining mark shattered beneath his mana, but the woman had already stopped breathing.

"..."

Velvet approached cautiously.

"Darling...?"

Asmodeus stared at the woman’s lifeless face, there wasn’t any movement within his chest after all he’d removed the mark beneath her eye and saved her once. Yet another had been hidden directly inside her heart, apparently waiting for her to reveal the Emperor’s secrets.

’So even removing the first one wasn’t enough...’

He slowly lowered the corpse onto the ground with a darkening expression.

"That fucking Emperor..."