FROM HELL
From Hell – Chapter 21&22
→ Craving•The•Unhinged ←
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No part of this publication may be reproduced, copied, or reposted in any form, or by any means without a BOLDLY written permission from ME.
Copyright © 2026
Naomi Cindy B.
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★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★
The court would be crumbling right now if shocks could demolish a standing castle.
All eyes got into a competition of who’d widen more, and all of them are effortlessly taking first position.
Edwin spranged up before he knew it, pointing a frozen finger. “What … What’s going…on!?”
“Abomination! No one goes close to the Emperor on his throne to defile him!” Minister Kai talked.
Then, several other mutters from shocked tongues…
• Are we dreaming?
• What’s she doing?
• Is she really a wh+re for His Majesty’s bed like the rumours say?
• She should have stayed dignified as the most feared woman in this nation. Defiling His Majesty on his throne is a death romance!
Lothar couldn’t talk nor move. His worried eyes are on Ares who looks like he’s been glued to his feet and compelled to stay still.
Ares’s lashes couldn’t blink, and this even feels worse than when he was experiencing the venom residue implications. This feels worse than death a thousand times.
It’s worse than any retribution. He stood there, bones sharpening under his skin, seeming to pierce through his flesh. His breathings stopped existing. Red lines stretched in his eyes, reaching his brain.
He rested his left palm on the surface of his table slowly, but he folded it slowly too, wanting to move.
Lothar quickly blocked him.
“No, Are$!”
Lucia’s teeth is still on Bones’ lip, biting so deep the kiss looks like a kiss of death.
A kiss of sin.
Blood poured from the middle of both lips, and Lucia grinned, her eyes gluing with Bones cos none of them closed their eyes.
Bones is already sweating.
Around his lips, around his brows, on his jawline. But he didn’t move.
In fact, he’s smiling.
Swear to the gods, he’s smiling like an escapee from a loony bin.
Lucia’s kiss stopped when she separated her teeth from his bottom lip, and she just tilted up a bit, her palms resting on the pure gold armrest of the throne.
“When you shot the gun at the sky three nights ago, I inhaled the venom, but the quantity is small, so the reaction didn’t start immediately. It only started this evening.” She muttered.
Raising his hand, Bones touched her hair, stroking deeply and staring obsessively at her dark eyeballs.
With the blood on their lips, they both look psychotic, and now, it’s like every other person in the court has been forgotten.
They’re in their own world of craziness.
Their world of war.
“Beloved, you should have told me about that immediately you detected. Why wait till it spread this much?” He whispered softly.
“I wanted to stage a play in court, and I also wanted to return the venom to you. It’s your fault for firing up and letting me get stray venom, Your Majesty.” She grinned.
Bones grin followed after her own, and he caressed her face, gently below her chin. “I like it, the play of madness…” He muttered, delighted.
“The anti-venom!” He yelled, and a guard brought the wrapped pills on a royal tray which he tendered.
By now, the venom has already started spreading on Bones, but before it could hit his veins, he unwrapped the first anti-venom and swallowed it without water.
“You might have transferred the venom to me, but you still need the anti-venom for a clear head. Have it,” He told the woman.
Lucia took the second one, unwrapped it and swallowed it too, smiling down at him.
“You’re excused from court tonight,” he smiled back. “Go back to your residence and rest.”
“You’re easily my knight in shinning armor, Your Majesty.” Lucia took a bow before turning around.
Her smirk wasn’t obvious, but it’s still there. Ares was staring at it as she walked out of the court, shinning blindingly again after wrecking havoc in the midst of men.
She didn’t look away.
She didn’t pretend not to see him.
When their eyes met, she maintained the dark contact, and her smirk grew bigger and bigger till she stepped out of your court powerfully.
Ares is back on his seat now.
As the meeting unfolded, his concentration got snatched.
He couldn’t concentrate for the first five minutes that rolled by, but when Bones asked Lothar about the upcoming war, he got back his concentration and poured himself some wine to wet his buds.
“The youths are ready, Your Majesty. The camp taught them everything they need to know. The main armies are rigid too, so I’m very sure of another win.” Lothar said.
“I still don’t get why 500 lives should be sacrificed for war when there are more than ten thousand capable armies.” Ares said.
He’s on the third cup.
The court fell in silence immediately, and those who have something to say stayed silent cos Bones ravenous eyes fell on Ares.
“Be clear with it, Ares Hellion.”
“You know what I’m talking about, Your Majesty,” Ares resumed.
Half of the Ministers gasped. No one has dared challenged the Emperor’s authority in court.
No one.
“Your main reason for recruiting the 500 more youths isn’t because you love the Empire, it’s because you want to show the Emperor of Fenxi how cruel you can go to to win—even as far as killing the youths of your Empire.” Ares continued.
Bones exploded.
“As a lowlife whose mother killed my father, as a lowlife I took into court to work for me instead of beheading you, you shouldn’t open your mouth to talk in this court unless I ask for it! You know the rules, but you still go against it? Lucia’s father might be innocent of the charges with my deep investigations, and that might leave your mother as the only culprit of my father’s death, but you dare look me dead in the eyes and challenge my authority? Ares Hellion!”
“If you see my view of your decision as a challenge, then maybe you’re scared I’m right?” Ares smirked. “And we both know deep down that your father wasn’t killed by my mother or Lucia’s father!” He snarled.
“Your mother didn’t deny when she was accused of the crime, and Lucia’s father didn’t deny too, so I beheaded them and hung their heads as a reminder for you the children!” Bones spat, livid.
“How would they deny when everyone was pointing at them? It’d be useless!” Ares stood.
At this point, Bones went silent, but his breathings turned harsh, heavy, clawing through the court walls as his eyes clashed with Ares’s.
The other officials employed silence. Loud, deafening silence.
Lothar looked tense, wishing Ares would just stop escalating things, but it’s a wish that’ll remain a wish cos Ares doesn’t stop.
Edwin’s finger tapped inaudibly on the side of his wine cup.
Dakota is the calmest here. That calm aura surrounds him like a shield, as usual. He looks impenetrable.
“Throw Ares Hellion into the imperial prison!” Bones ordered.
Lothar spranged up to appeal.
“Get down!” Ares told him, walking past him to the center where the guards are.
He was taken, and he simply followed them out fast as if the court is a cage he’s willing to escape from, and the prison is a home he can’t wait to return to.
“Why are taxes not aligning, and when will tributes start coming in?” Bones asked, obviously directed to Edwin.
“Tommorow, unfailingly!” Edwin quickly replied.
“Leads on Horror and Calamity?” Bones asked again, directed to Dakota.
“We’re waiting for them to strike again,” Dakota stood. “Then I strike back and trap them.”
“Kai, you’re in charge of supervising the Minister of Rites for the Dragon Festival preparation.” Bones said again, picking his words as he faced Minister Kai.
“And I’m doing just that, Your Majesty. You won’t be disappointed.” Minister Kai stood, bowing like the rest.
Bones got up, clearing his throat as the other Ministers stood too.
“Remember this, Lothar Draven,” he started. “If anything goes wrong in the next war, and we somehow lose. I won’t only kill you, but I’ll also slaughter every single person you’ve ever seen in this life.”
Lothar went rigid, bowing.
“But the granary is empty. We need a ration restock for the army.”
“Last restock was last month. A restock that’s supposed to feed the camp for a month. It’s not up to a month yet, and the food is all gone?” Bones scoffed.
“You added 500 youths, Your Majesty. It’s normal for more food to get consumed.” Lothar said carefully.
“Manager it, Lothar. Don’t bring this up again.” Bones glared and left the court dignified.
Everyone else dismissed with chills in their bones.
Minister Kai followed the Emperor though. Seems they have things to discuss.
“Don’t you feel something is wrong about Lucia’s act today?” Edwin whispered to Dakota once they were out of the court.
“I don’t follow,” Dakota blinked.
“That bî+ch is not someone who does something without a reason. Every act of hers comes with a gain. What if she’s playing His Majesty?” Edwin said.
Dakota choose silence.
—
[Palace of Silent Night]
Meeting a meal after his arrival from court isn’t a new occurrence, but tonight, the meal is a human.
Laying sprawled like a starfish in bed is Empress Sally.
Naked. Turned on. Ready.
She spread herself so wide the brightness of the room nearly entered her insides.
“You sure know how to play your games,” Bones said gruffly, opening the V chest of his robe before sitting in bed, hair pouring down.
His mind went back to Lucia’s play in court earlier, and his head ticked so many times before he grunted, staring at the burning candle till it became a blur of inferno.
Ares got the venom directly from the gun three days ago. He woke up at noon today and escaped the Palace after killing ten guards.
Yet, he’s fine now.
He’s fine enough to come to the court.
He only killed ten guards. Ares’s mass killings never start from ten. They start from twenty upward since he’s a trained killing god.
Meaning; after he left the Palace when he killed the ten guards, he should have killed more in the city and be unable to resist the venom push, but he didn’t kill more.
Suspicious.
Lucia claimed to have been poisoned by the stray venom three nights ago, but she also came to court to display raw madness tonight without killing anyone.
The Lucia he knows would even kill people without a reason.
The day she came out of her training camp at 15, she killed a noblewoman who was buying jewelry at a treasure store for no reason at all.
So…
That same person got the venom and didn’t slaughter the whole Empire?
She didn’t kill anyone?
Suspicious.
He couldn’t push the feel of getting played away.
He raised his thumb to touch his lip, feeling the pain from her bite.
He laughed.
He knows what to do.
“Bones,” Sally snuggled herself behind him, and he got out of his thoughts, looking at her through the shadow of his lids.
“Your lip, it’s got a cut…” Sally raised her hand to touch it, pressing her bre+sts hornily to his back.
Her nîp+les poked his robe, reaching his skin. He turned around and touched it, pulling the two between his thumb and pointer.
She moaned, pushing them closer to his hand.
“Touch them, they’re all yours…I’m all yours….” She whispered.
“Do you know how to play?” Bones smiled destructively again, referring to Lucia’s words in court earlier.
But Sally didn’t get it. She has been here, awaiting him since thirty minutes ago, so she has no idea what went down in court.
“Of course I do,” Sally smiled. “I’d love to play too…”
Anything to get his c+vk tonight. Anything to get his seed in her.
“Then,” Bones stood, towering above her as he peeled off his robes, all at once including the undergarments.
He pulled a pocket blade from a sachet and angled Sally’s face up. Before she knew it, he pressed the blade to her lower lip, cutting.
“Your Majesty!” She screamed, tasting metal as her blood ran down.
Bones threw the blade off, and with a piece of scaffolding rope, he tied her hands and legs down to the bed metal chambers. The blood from her lips is much, still running down her chin, painting her neck and bre+sts red.
But she doesn’t mind.
So far he climbs her, she’ll even drown in his world of sadism.
And Bones?
He’s seeing her as Lucia.
Lucia’s bre+sts.
Lucia’s pv+xy.
Lucia’s blood.
Lucia’s submission.
The replay of her mad kiss from the court made his erection grow harder, and when he plunged deep inside Sally’s weeping c+nt, she screamed.
Her lip tore more.
—
[Palace of Darkness – Bedchamber]
Princess Ina’s face stayed radiant with a smile, never fading as she sat in bed with a really big silver box in front of her.
Inside it, there’s her wedding robe, still fresh and properly folded—properly laid.
She finished supervising the making of Ares’s rich dinner few minutes ago, and she came here straight to gawk at this robe.
Ares is starting to warm up to her. Yeah, she likes her man cold-hearted to others, but she wants him to be soft for only her, and Ares is doing just that.
The way he allowed her on his laps and even pulled her head to his chest. He was so sweet she could die of diabetes right now.
She picked up the wedding robe and hugged the material, cackling.
Her mind went to Enya, and her eyes opened slowly.
“Why is that girl not here? Given her persistent personality, she should be here begging for my forgiveness for what her mother did, but she’s actually not here? Strange.”
She dropped the robe and called for a maidservant who rushed in.
“Your Highness!”
“Send a word to Duan residence. I want Enya to crawl here on her knees tomorrow morning. From that residence to this place, let her crawl under supervision of the imperial guards.” Princess Ina ordered.
The maidservant rushed out, and another one came in.
“Your Highness! Lord Ares has been arrested! He has been thrown into the imperial prison!”
“What!” Ina’s sight broadened.
“His Majesty ordered the arrest!” The maidservant further said.
Ina began rushing out, but the servant knelt in front of her quickly. “Your Highness! No, you can’t confront His Majesty again! Last time you did, he humiliated your mother. Please don’t do anything that’ll make him kill Lord Ares, I know how much you love your husband!”
Ina’s nerves went down immediately, but her fists still stayed folded.
Her veins popped on her neck.
“Dish my husband’s dinner, and prepare to visit my husband in prison with me.” She said.
“I’ll do that, Your Highness!” The maid quickly scrambled up and ran out of the chamber.
Princess Ina pushed away her makeup table with her shoe. Rouge, lip tint, powder and perfumes scattered across the floor.
She grumbled.
—
[Valmont Residence]
Lucia didn’t swallow the anti-venom.
She kept it in her throat till she arrived at her place, then she spat it out to a plate, rinsing her mouth clean with water.
Ares is ok without taking the anti-venom after he transferred to her, so she should be ok without the anti-venom too.
Her sole purpose for staging that play in court was to get this pill, and it was successful.
Bones would never release this pill if she hadn’t scratched his obsession by kissing him.
Also, she needed to scratch the idea of the fact that she got this venom from Ares, so she blocked his thinking faculty with the kiss too.
She killed time with it, literally.
She kissed the man she hates most in this world just to get a pill and cover tracks.
And she’d do worse if it means getting what she wants.
Her pride? She’d shatter it thoughtlessly if it means getting to the root of this matter.
Though, she’s not sure if that worked, cos that madman Void Emperor is sharper than a blade. He might eventually find out.
But for now, she got the pill, and she’s going to focus on starting the musket venom investigation from it.
She wiped her lips with her palm and untied the piece of clothe from her wrist. The blackness is reducing already, and the bloating.
She lifted her robe from her chest and checked out her wound—the wound from the arrow she received three nights ago.
If anyone is gonna shoot her cos of Ares, it has to be his sidekicks, and judging by the brutality of the shot, it came from Meng.
She has always known Meng doesn’t like her, and it’s peaceful to know that.
When people like you, it becomes a burden—a burden she doesn’t want to ever endure.
She began adding a powdered medicine to the arrow wound, and her sidekicks didn’t knock before entering the room.
“I didn’t say you could visit my house,” Lucia said without lifting her head. “Our transactions and operations ends in the forest. You can’t come here without my order. What part of that don’t you understand?”
“An arrow wound?” Limon frowned at the sight of her chest wound.
“I think we both know who did that already.” Falcon sighed.
“Meng,” Limon breathed.
Lucia covered up and raised her head, pushing the medicine aside.
“Why are you both here? It’s a question that needs an answer naturally!” She spat.
“We were worried, Horror. Also, we missed our operations since it’s been a while, but we understand you’re only allowing Dakota to settle in before we strike again, but can’t we at least come see you? Are you going to push us away, big sister?” Falcon said softly, each word meaningful.
“Don’t call me that,” Lucia muttered strictly, sitting back with her right elbow on the table. “I killed your elder sister in my training camp. She was one of the people I killed to get buns from the mud.”
“But you did it cos you had to, and after you got out, you took us as your junior brothers, and you take care of us. Our elder sister will be happy up there.” Limon said.
“Stop talking about it, now.” Lucia crankily said, eyes cold.
They both went silent, and she pointed at the pill in the plate.
“I need you both to investigate the ingredients of the pill, and find the origin of each of it. I need the name of the maker as soon as possible. The maker would be the maker of the gun itself.” She said.
“But you can give it to Doja, she knows medical and will recognize the ingredients at a glance.” Falcon said.
“Doja isn’t completely trustable, Falcon.” Limon said.
“Right,” Lucia nodded. “I only reveal things I know I can cover up to her. She might be acting like she’s on my side, but at the end of the day, she works for Bones.”
“We’ll get right to it, and you’ll have news soon.” Limon picked the pill and pocketed it.
He left with Falcon, both sliding out through the backdoor.
Lucia got up, and her arms went folded on her chest as she walked to her mother’s room.
But she was still halfway when the imperial Eunuch entered the household with a letter from the Emperor.
No exchange of words.
The Eunuch just tendered the letter, and Lucia took it with silence.
He left as quietly as he came, and Lucia opened the note.
There’s a mission for her in Northern Zura—the coldest part of this Empire.
She’s to leave at midnight and stay in a rainforest inn during the day tommorow, then at night, she’s to target the woman and kill her.
Her target is a woman this time.
She sighed, folding the note back before staring into her mother’s room.
Phoebe is asleep as usual.
She felt slight pain from her wrist and raised it.
The mark of Ares’s teeth is still there in six deep places.
“Bloody rascal,” she muttered.
—
[Imperial Prison]
The gates are gilded, edges sharp with death spirals, grounds insanely cold and roof terribly high. No bed, just smelly, dry straws for laying down.
It’s the cruellest prison existing, and the reason is glaring.
The walls were painted with blood of the executed criminals, so the smell of human blood is prevalent.
In the middle of the straws on the ground, there’s human hair—hair scrapped from the scalps of the executed criminals too.
You can’t not step teeth and nails after taking each two steps, and there’s a well in front of every room. In the well, there are skeletal parts of criminals who committed suicide before their execution.
It smells too bad you can’t enter and come out healthy.
A disease has to follow you out.
No lanterns or candles, so criminals find their ways with their hands even during the day cos there’s no space for the daylight to spill in.
Princess Ina wore a facecloth over her face as she emerged from the thin hall with her personal maids.
The maids are carrying Ares’s meals, packaged tightly, and some of them are carrying lanterns.
“Your Highness!”
The masked guards quickly filed out of the way for her entry, and she didn’t halt till she arrived at the door of Ares’s prison cell.
It was opened for her, and she stepped in to meet Ares standing in the middle of the room.
Every single prisoner is sitting on the floor straws of their cell rooms, but he’s Ares anyways.
He stood in the middle like a challenger, and immediately the lanterns flashed his face, Ina broke into a little run to him.
She threw her arms on him, hugging him so tight she could feel her organs pressing his.
“I’m so sorry you had to go through all these in the hands of my father. I’m so sorry please don’t hold it against me.” She sobbed.
Ares waited a long second like he wasn’t going to react, then he wrapped his arms on her too, stroking her hair slowly.
“Why would I hold this against you when it’s my fault I got arrested? I shouldn’t have argued in court that my mother was innocent.”
Ina broke the hug and looked up at his face.
She’s quiet short.
“You shouldn’t have said it in court. You know how crazy my father is. You shouldn’t have.”
“How do I get into the Palace of the late Emperor?” Ares suddenly asked.
Ina gulped.
Every Palace is open to inhabiting, except Palace of Fortune where the late Emperor stayed.
It has been locked since his death.
“Why do you need to enter there?” Ina asked slowly.
“I need to look for a book in the library over there. You’re going to help your husband, won’t you?” Ares asked, rocking her cheeks.
Ina melted again, but not for long before she recoiled and then stood on her toes to whisper…
“Maybe after you make love to me again. I’m hungry for your có+k, and I want it after you get out of here. I want to get pregnant.”
Ares’s mischievous eyes rolled, then he smiled deceptively.
“You should eat before we talk further,” Ina directed the maids forward with that food.
“You expect me to eat here and swallow infections?” Ares said with a light sneer, his polished voice deep.
“But I spent lots of efforts supervising the maids making the food!” Ina complained. “And—”
She was interrupted by the coming of the Eunuch who brought a letter from the Emperor.
No words.
Ares took the note, and when he opened it to read he has a mission tommorow, he scoffed.
He’s to leave for Northern Zura at midnight, and if he wants to really earn his release from this prison, he has to kill the female target.
“A mission? Seriously?” Princess Ina hissed angrily. “When am I going to enjoy my hubby if father keeps this up? Nonsense!”
She stalked out of the cell, and her maids rushed after her after they gently set Ares’s meals on the straw ground.
Ares held the bars of the cell tightly, but his palm hurts, so he let the bar go and spread his palm to stare at the cut in the middle of it from Lucia’s knife.
It’s red, painful, sore from lack of treatment.
As he stared, the kiss scene he has been trying to erase from his memories reloaded.
He could visualize Lucia kissing Bones, bloodied in his head.
He could see them clearly, and his head spiralled, rang violently.
Without minding the palm pain, he grabbed the cell bar again, tighter.
“Bloody, irresistible sin,” he muttered.
At the same time, he kicked away the package of Ina’s food.
—
[Duan Residence – Enya’s Room]
Enya woke with a chunky pain she can’t explain in her right hand, and her scream made Odessa’s head lift from the bedside where she rested it at.
She slept in this room with Enya cos Enya’s condition got worse, but seeing her awake right now made her gasp. Her sleep flew off.
“Enya! Enya!”
“It hurts!! It hurts!! I’m telling you, it hurts to my bones!!!” Enya cried hard, staring at her stump.
When she saw the wooden hand laying on the table for her, she cried louder, screaming.
“Enya!!” Odessa yelled, and she stopped with a jump, hiccuping.
“Listen to me,” Odessa held her face. “I’m very sure I’m already carrying His Majesty’s child, so you can be sure of becoming an adopted Princess in the future cos your unborn brother will be a prince. Your father’s plan of getting you married to the exiled Prince Fadey will never work cos you will not marry an outcast!”
“Your hand situation is a secret, and it’ll continue to be a secret till everything is settled, so no matter what it takes, you have to endure the pain. No matter what.” She instructed, greedily ambitious.
“But Lucia? Lucia is still alive! And Ares did this to my hand! Ares did this to me!” Enya cried.
“They’re not important now!” Odessa snapped at her.
“Why!!” Enya snapped back.
“If we do not climb higher in this Empire, then we can do nothing to them! They might be powerless to everybody, but the wise know their lives belong to the Emperor, and if I want to take their worthless lives, I have to give birth to the heir of this Empire!” Odessa shouted.
Enya hiccuped again, and Odessa began wiping her tears.
“I’ll leave your father to continue fooling around with Edwin, but you? You have me.” She assured.
“The Princess sent an order, Madame!” A maid announced.
Odessa quickly left the room and stepped out to meet the guard.
“Princess Ina ordered Miss Enya’s knees on a crawl job from here to Palace of Darkness tommorow morning. It’s her punishment for refusing to come see Her Highness for four days.” The guard relayed.
Odessa looked blank till the message finished coming, then she bowed.
“Enya will obey the order, unfailingly.” She said.
The guard left, and Odessa’s bravado broke to bits.
She panted.
“Her hand is still healing, it’s still…. healing.” She panicked, rushing back inside.
—
[Next Morning, Fenxi Empire- Offsprings Palace]
The war is tommorow, and everything is in place.
The armies of Fenxi are already putting finishing touches to the war preparations.
The Fenxi General somehow found out Lothar is allergic to garlic.
Garlic is like poison to him, so Lothar is as good as dead tommorow.
And Ruyi is already toying with Lucia about her parents death investigation. By tomorrow, she’s going to touch her brain again and ask her to meet during the war.
So ..
Lucia is also as good as dead tommorow.
Ruyi looks ecstatic about the plans in place as she skipped her shoes, making her way to her brother’s room, but when she entered, the echo of her own footsteps reached her ears
Zaine isn’t in.
Not in the tub.
Not playing chess.
Not playing the zither.
“Don’t tell me he went to Aloof Dessert again,” Ruyi muttered. “No, it’s not time to deliver another water jar yet, so where did he go?”
She looked around once again.
Zaine isn’t present, but then there’s a note written on his wall with black ink.
She read it fast…
★ Off to Northern Zura!
“Northern Zura? Zura???” Ruyi gasped. “He’s going to enemy territory? Oh hell!”
“Mother! Father!” Ruyi rushed out.
—
[Zura Empire, A Restaurant]
Meng and Qui decided to fill their stomachs before starting their task, so they came here to eat full meals.
They received a pigeon note from Ares early this morning, ordering them to look for the origin of the royal musket gun, actually.
And they look like they’re even in a hurry to start, but as they ate, Qui kept giving Meng questioning looks, and that forced Meng to pause her chopsticks in front of her lips…
“What?” She asked.
“You shouldn’t have shot that arrow to Horror,” Qui said finally.
“You’re still on that?” Meng scoffed. “Wow, your moral compass is so strong. She shot My Lord. Me arrowing her was even kindness!”
And that was replied by a unexpected stab on her shoulder from behind.
“Argh!!” She groaned in response, her blood splashing the table.
She looked back slowly, and her eyes caught Limon with his dagger stuck on her shoulder.
He’s the stabber!
“Horror shot him to dispel the Emperor’s suspicion, and your Lord bit her wrist! He gave her the venom so it’s already settled. Why the hell would you shoot him again?”
“I’ll kill you!” Meng spat, her shoulder bleeding as she rose, but before she could act on that, Qui threw her plate of broth forward, and it crashed on Limon’s face, giving him a cut on the forehead. The warm broth reddened his face too, making him choke.
Falcon didn’t wait.
He picked one of the broken pieces from Limon’s face and went for Qui.
Qui jumped professionally over the table to go meet him for a fight.
Falcon climbed that table too, both coming for each other, but before they could crash…
“The earring lady?” Lothar’s voice suddenly came, stopping them.
They all turned in sync to see Lothar on his horse in front of that restaurant, his eyes so wide as he stared at Qui.
He was on his way to the camp when he passed by the restaurant, and he recognized her immediately.
His shock effortlessly turned into a smile, and he got down from his horse.
He was already walking hurriedly into the restaurant when Doja appeared from nowhere, blocking him.
“General!” She cheerfully gushed.
—
[Northern Rainforest-8am]
Tangled vibes, steaming mist, and the deafening chorus of unseen creatures swallowed both light and direction in this part of Zura. The forest stretched endlessly beneath a suffocating canopy of colossal trees.
This Northern part is rumoured to be the most dangerous part of Zura hemisphere cos this is where weird tribes and strange hidden clans reside behind mountains and rivers.
And in this forest, stood an abandoned inn which looks over-beaten by age, but it’s still obvious a life is inside cos a horse is tied to a hitch in the old stead.
The old inn is half-swallowed by vines and damp moss. Rain drummed endlessly against its slanted wooden roof while warm mist curled through the stilts beneath it.
Old lanterns glowed faintly behind the shutters, their light trembling against the thick fog, and the air smelled of wet timber.
Lucia started the journey here from Somara City at midnight, and she arrived thirty minutes ago.
She entered the bathroom almost immediately to wash off the sweat and hours of her journey away from her skin.
She’ll be staying here till nighttime when she’ll go for the kill inside the northern tribe town.
She sat in the deep stone tub in the small bathroom, heat still steaming faintly beside a worn bar of jasmine soap whose soft floral scent lingered heavily in the room.
Water dripped steadily from her damp hair and soaked underclothes as she stepped out barefoot onto the creaking floorboards.
Her skin glistened from the bath while the sounds of rain battered the inn thin walls.
All she has in her mind right now is for nighttime to come so she’d carry out her mission and return to Somara City. She can’t spend too much time here when she’s finally getting something about the tragedy.
Before nighttime, she’s sure her sidekicks would be ready with the origin of the musket venom.
Above all that, she needs wine right now to soak her throat.
But turns out she’s not the only one in this inn.
As she stepped the doorstep of the bathroom, she felt the presence of another person.
It’s not strange—not new.
It’s familiar.
She didn’t bother covering herself better cos right now, her white underclothes are wet from the tub water, and it’s transparent, showing the curves of her hips, the lines of her underwear, and the dangerous v-shape of her pvxxy face under her see-through garment.
She didn’t care.
What she did was grab her knife, ready to slay, but then the second opposite door opened, and the last person he expected here came out.
Ares.
That opposite room is a bathroom too, so he’s also dripping with water from his underclothes which shaped out his broad chest and the dangerous shape of his c+vk inside see-through his pants.
The shock on his face shows that he wasn’t expecting to see her too.
It mirrored the shock on Lucia’s face.
Their eyes widened.
—
[Zura Empire, Palace of Silent Night]
Emperor Bones walked gallantly out to the outer room to meet two special guards waiting on their knees.
Sally is still asleep in the bedchamber. She’s going to need every sleep she can get after how he cut almost every part of her skin last night, so it’s just Bones.
He took his seat in front of the guards who kept kneeling.
“We got news, they’ve both settled in the inn.” They reported.
“Their mission is by nighttime. If they really aren’t bagging together, then they’re not expected to say a thing to each other till nighttime. Lucia is expected to ignore him as usual. But if they’re planning anything together, they’ll surely find a way to communicate, and they’ll fall into my trap.” Bones sighed.
“Your secret guards are everywhere in the rainforest, and some are on the roof of the inn, watching every of their moves. Reports will come through the pigeon every two hours till nighttime.” The guards said.
“Let’s see how the spend the next ten hours in the same space.” Bones said.
“Your Majesty, why did you send them on the same mission at nighttime though?” A voice came from the corner of the room.
It belongs to Minister Kai who’s just entering the room.
“They have to pass the test of not talking to each other throughout the day. And at night, they’re to go for the same target?” Kai continued. “Lucia has to kill the woman to maintain her loyalty to you, and Ares has to kill the woman to gain his full release from prison. You’re awesome, Your Majesty.” Kai nodded.
“I want proof, and I’m about to get it.” Emperor Bones responded, “The game stats now, properly.” His voice rattled the room.
TBC.
