Under the powerful undulation of that mysterious Qi, the sealing spell cast by the Dread Duchess flickered.
The next mont, the Duchess’s head snapped toward the direction of the disturbance, and her eyes widened slightly beneath the veil.
A second later, another powerful undulation burst from deep within the earth. The air rippled, distorted, as if ti itself had hiccupped, and a wave of profound Qi surged forth.
This profound Qi for any Abyssal Being was extrely novel, unlike anything they had ever experienced. It was rich, intoxicating, and incredibly tempting, tugging at their very being and desire to devour it.
Even those rampaging Abyssal Beasts suddenly fell silent and turned towards the source of this mysterious yet intoxicating Qi.
The Dread Duchess’s veil fluttered from the pressure as her expression hardened and a hint of desire surfaced in her icy gaze.
"That strange Qi is imbued with a trace of the Law of Ti!" She murmured, her tone calm but edged with unmistakable alarm.
However, behind her, Khazar’s face drained of color as his eyes widened in raw disbelief and horror as if the effect of that intoxicating Qi were neutralized by sheer fright.
He trembled, whispering under his breath, and his voice cracking, terrified, "Oh no...h-how?!"
’It’s... not possible!’ He thought with a paled expression, ’That seal—it shouldn’t... it can’t react to temporal law...’
His gaze turned toward the castle, where faint ripples of golden and black light intertwined, as if ti and the abyss seed to resonate with each other. For the first ti, the mighty Overseer of Black Hermit looked truly afraid.
Right at that mont, the Duchess turned her gaze sharply toward him as she could sense the peculiar emotions suddenly raging within the City Lord’s soul.
She questioned in a voice like cold steel, "What is it, Khazar?"
Khazar tried his best to control his emotions at that mont, but under the piercing glare of the Duchess, he was failing as his throat bobbed, sweat rolling down his neck.
"Y-your highness, I...I don’t know." Khazar tried to shift their focus, "It might be soone ssing around because almost all the city’s forces are here. I’ll personally go and see who dared to disturb Your Highness!"
"This Qi is fascinating. I’ll personally go and see what this is about!" Dread Duchess coldly spoke with authority, stopping Khazar, who was clearly hurrying between in steps, making him paler than a ghost.
"B-but..." Khazar was determined to stop the Dread Duchess because he knew if she really reached the ’source’, it would ruin everything.
"You dare to question her highness’ direct command?!" Mirage Shadow, behind the Dread Duchess, coldly retorted that Khazar’s argunt was nothing but disrespect towards the Dread Duchess.
The Dread Duchess was now more curious about that Qi, and she could still feel her very bloodline faintly stirring with desire.
"Mirage Shadow, stay here. I’ll go with Lord Khazar." The Dread Duchess spoke, her tone was absolute, leaving no room for Khazar to retort.
"This subordinate shall obey!" Mirage Shadow acknowledged without hesitation, as she knew no one in this place could pose a threat to Dread Duchess unless an Abyssal King showed up.
However, Mirage Shadow could also sense that the strange Qi was at the realm of early-stage Abyssal Grand Lord at best, while the Dread Duchess was already a Half-Abyssal King.
On the other hand, Khazar was now stuck between an iron wall, as he couldn’t do anything,
Before he could try salvaging the situation, he was wrapped by a terrifying spiritual pressure, and the next mont, he was dragged within the folds of space, vanishing with the Dread Duchess!
---
When Khazar ca to his senses, he found himself standing in a very familiar place. The mont he saw the sealed door, his body trembled with terror, for it was the exact secret location below the castle, known only to him.
At this mont, Dread Duchess’s icy voice sounded, "What an interesting place. I wasn’t aware that there was a Quasi-Abyssal Grade-8 master lock vault built in the castle. Not to ntion the materials, just the Abyssal Master Locksmiths that can create sothing like this are very rare."
Khazar felt that he was in a nightmare, and no matter what he did, he couldn’t escape from it because of the terrifying existence of the Dread Duchess.
"Y-your highness, let explain, it wasn’t..." Khazar again tried to explain, but the Dread Duchess didn’t seem interested in his hoax explanation.
"No need to explain, Lord Khazar." Dread Duchess’s tone seed dismissive, but the intent behind it was getting more frigid, "The source of that strange Qi was most likely this master lock. I can still feel the residue aura.
"However, this place seed to be highly protected, which ans soone managed to break through your defenses and had done sothing. This is not only an insult to the Black Hermit City’s prestige but also a blunt attack on my reputation.
"Now, I want you to open this door so I can see what is kept there to compel soone to go against this Duchess, and they’ve done it right when I was present in the Black Hermit City!" Dread Duchess’s eyes were as sharp as a blade, and her Abyssal Law Sense was already scanning the entire castle for any anomaly.
Although she may seem indifferent, she was now filled with rage and also a sense of intrigue towards Khazar and that master lock.
’It seems I’ve been underestimating the Black Hermit City’s value. First, it was Nomad’s master who sent him to the Black Hermit Mines, but before that, he had paid this place an abrupt visit on his way out.
’Second, all of a sudden, the Sin Law appears, and then the chaos in the Black Hermit Mines, and now this strange Qi, and this master lock. Could it be the Moonless Wandering King is trying to help the Evernight Council again?’
The more Dread Duchess thought about it, the more she felt it was the case, and her misunderstanding grew stronger while she completely disregarded Khazar behind her, whose expression was now twisted like a venomous snake!
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