Chapter 429: Assassination Attempt
Clank!
Every window within Damian’s chamber burst open simultaneously as violent winds flooded into the room, sending curtains whipping wildly through the darkness. The emerald rain outside was carried inward, scattering cold droplets across the polished marble floor. Damian’s eyes snapped open instantly, all traces of sleep disappearing as his brows slowly drew together.
His Divine Perception had already sensed it.
"Rats..."
His eyes glowed faintly beneath the darkness, but he quickly suppressed the instinct to act immediately. Beside him, Loth remained peacefully asleep, curled against his side, completely unaware of the danger creeping through the palace.
Damian carefully slipped out from beneath her embrace before sitting upright on the edge of the bed. His gaze slowly swept across the room until it settled upon the floor.
A familiar mist drifted silently across the ground. It was so dense that his feet disappeared beneath it.
His expression darkened. The last time he had seen this mist had been on Earth.
Damian quietly rose from the bed and adjusted his night robe before walking toward the chamber doors. Every instinct within him screamed that something was wrong, yet his footsteps remained calm and measured. He slowly pushed the doors open and stepped into the corridor.
The entire hallway had been swallowed by the same mist.
He calmly looked around.
Every palace guard assigned to his chambers lay sprawled across the corridor, sleeping so deeply that even the thunder outside failed to stir them. Their weapons remained clutched loosely in their hands while their breathing rose and fell peacefully as though nothing unusual had happened.
Damian slowly rubbed the bridge of his nose.
"Just great."
Only then did his gaze settle upon the lone figure standing at the far end of the corridor. The stranger towered well above fifteen feet in height.
His massive frame disappeared beneath flowing black ceremonial robes embroidered with ancient emerald patterns. A long ceremonial veil descended from his official cap, completely concealing his face. Resting within one hand was an ornate lantern attached to a short black staff.
Emerald flames quietly danced inside the lantern. Their glow perfectly matched the strange light pouring through the palace windows.
Damian narrowed his eyes.
Despite the eerie atmosphere he felt no fear. Only curiosity.
"Who are you?"
His calm voice echoed through the corridor.
The stranger remained perfectly still. Without uttering a single word, he gently shook the lantern.
Dong!
A deep emerald ripple erupted from the lantern before racing silently through the corridor.
The instant it reached Damian, his entire world exploded.
His skull felt like a massive war drum struck repeatedly by invisible hammers. Every thought shattered beneath the unbearable vibration as the corridor itself seemed to twist violently around him.
"What the hell..."
Blood immediately trickled from Damian’s nose and then, his ears. He staggered several steps before collapsing onto one knee, desperately clutching both sides of his head while his breathing became ragged.
His vision blurred.
Even the palace walls appeared to ripple unnaturally. Grinding his teeth together, Damian violently pulled his hands away before plunging his fingers directly into both ears.
Blood sprayed across the marble floor and his own eardrums ruptured beneath the force.
Yet, the sound continued. It never weakened or stopped.
"Foolish human."
A cold, unnatural voice finally emerged from beneath the assassin’s veil.
"The Song of Iniquity is heard by the soul... not the body."
His fingers slowly traced a single circle across the emerald lantern. Ancient runes immediately ignited across its surface. The emerald flames spiraled violently upward before exploding outward.
From within those flames, something crawled into existence.
It resembled an endless mass of brown flesh twisted into an abomination. Its enormous mouth stretched impossibly wide, revealing countless overlapping rows of razor-sharp teeth while its serpentine body continued extending farther and farther from the lantern without end.
The monster lunged forward.
Its gigantic body smashed through pillars as though they were paper, tearing apart the palace corridor while emerald fire trailed behind it. Stone exploded in every direction as the creature surged directly toward Damian’s kneeling figure.
Then, everything stopped.
"Don’t get cocky... you piece of shit."
Damian’s growl merged with another voice. One far deeper than his.
The entire corridor fell deathly silent beneath its weight. The assassin’s eyes widened and Damian slowly raised his head. Pitch-black darkness swallowed the whites of his eyes. Only two burning crimson irises remained.
Without another word he thrust one hand forward and a sea of endless black flames erupted from his palm.
"Abyss... Impossible!"
The assassin staggered backward.
BOOOOOOM!
The palace walls detonated outward beneath the force of the explosion. Glass shattered throughout the Violet Palace while the assassin shot backward like a cannonball in the sky, desperately attempting to escape through the hole blasted into the corridor.
He never made it.
A colossal fox arm erupted from the darkness beyond the shattered wall. The enormous limb dwarfed the palace itself.
"FLEE?! SINCE YOU’RE ALREADY HERE, STAY A BIT LONGER!"
Its black claws snapped shut around the fleeing assassin before he had traveled another meter.
Outside hundreds of guards, servants and attendants instinctively looked toward the palace. The assassin struggled desperately within the gigantic hand.
Only now did he truly see Damian.
One of Damian’s arms had transformed into an impossibly massive fox limb while seven colossal tails unfolded around him. His human body remained unchanged, making the monstrous limb appear grotesquely disproportionate.
Damian slowly opened his mouth. Above him, seven different infernal flames gathered together. Each tail contributed a different color as the fires spiraled together into a single sphere of unimaginable destruction.
The assassin’s breathing became frantic.
Damian would have loved to keep him alive for interrogation but he has seen too much. Keeping him alive was no longer an option.
"VANISH!"
His voice thundered across the Violet Palace.
The multicolored infernal sphere instantly compressed before erupting into a devastating beam that blasted through the broken corridor.
The assassin disappeared beneath the torrent of flames. His agonized screams echoed throughout the palace before abruptly ending.
... Several minutes later ...
Damian sat quietly upon the edge of his bed while Loth gently wiped the dried blood from around his ears with a warm cloth. Fresh skin was already beginning to regenerate where his eardrums had been destroyed, though the healing remained incomplete.
Outside hundreds of Royal Guards filled the corridor in perfectly ordered ranks. Every officer wore a grim expression.
No one dared speak.
Hazel, Rachel and Ruby hurried through the corridor before rushing into the chamber, panic written plainly across their faces. Their personal palaces stood far from Damian’s residence. By the time they received word the battle had already ended.
"Babe!"
All three immediately rushed toward him. Before they reached the bed, William calmly raised one hand and they stopped.
"I’m afraid His Majesty ruptured both of his eardrums while attempting to counter the Song of Iniquity."
William’s expression remained as composed as ever.
"They are presently regenerating."
The three women immediately turned pale. Then their expressions hardened into murderous fury.
"The Song of Iniquity..."
Hazel’s voice became frighteningly cold.
"Duke Dabin did this?"
William slowly shook his head.
"The assassin belongs to the Damika Clan."
His tone never changed.
"We have yet to determine whether the Duke himself ordered the assassination."
Hazel immediately turned toward the door. She barely managed two steps before Damian reached out and gently caught her wrist.
He slowly shook his head.
Storming into the residence of a Duke commanding forty-four legions would accomplish nothing. This matter belonged in court.
Hazel clenched her fists until they trembled.
"Then dispatch the Royal Guards. Place Duke Dabin under house arrest."
She looked directly toward William.
"Ensure he cannot leave the capital."
Before anyone could respond, Damian gently moved Loth aside before standing. He quietly pulled Hazel into an embrace, silently urging her to calm herself.
At that exact moment another figure burst through the chamber doors.
It was Rah.
Everyone instinctively turned. Her face was soaked with tears. Damian’s eyes immediately narrowed.
Unable to hear clearly, his voice resonated directly within her mind.
"What’s wrong?"
Rah’s lips trembled and her entire body shook. Finally ahe forced the words out.
"The old man The one who fed us this morning..."
Tears streamed freely down her face.
"He was killed."