Chapter 195
Lutan was constantly sinking into the darkness. The scene of Roina, his light and hope, turning away from him, and the sight of her being handed over to the Crown Prince again and being violated, were constantly replaying in his mind.
He had searched for her for a thousand years, living as a human. He thought he had found her again, but he lost her in vain.
What if he had found her sooner, or what if he hadn’t condoned the corruption of the shadow in the Imperial Palace and had corrected the problem before it arose?
Or what if he hadn’t died a thousand years ago?
What if he hadn’t been careless?
What if she hadn’t met him?
She was everything to him, but he was nothing to her.
He was in no position to be greedy. Was he being greedy for nothing? He would have been happy just to be by her side.
Uncharacteristic and futile questions were repeated.
He knew that he had fallen into the trap set by the Crown Prince. But he didn’t have the confidence to face her again. It was better for her without him. He was the biggest reason she had fallen into the abyss.
She was too much of a salvation for him.
Roina and Yoseph hurriedly left that place.
When Yoseph checked the time with his pocket watch, there were 30 minutes left until midnight. After confirming that no one was watching them, the two went up to the second floor overlooking the banquet hall. In the banquet hall below, the Crown Prince had already begun the ritual.
In the center, the Crown Prince with golden shining hair, wearing a white ceremonial robe, was performing the ritual step by step with reverent movements, and the attendants helping him were moving and assisting with golden ritual implements around him. The scene was like angels in heaven paying homage.
This ritual would be completed at midnight, when the sun passes.
This ritual, which looked dazzling, beautiful, glorious, and sacred, was, in Roina’s eyes, stained with darkness. She frowned. She felt a black and evil energy surging, and that sensation was unbearably unpleasant. She felt a darkness similar to the Crown Prince, but even greater and deeper.
Yoseph, who glanced at Roina, asked her a question.
“Do you feel anything?”
“Something big and dark… I feel a connection with something sleeping down below…”
“A connection?”
“Yeah, the Crown Prince. He’s connected to something big and dark. I wasn’t sure before, but it’s clearly visible now that the ritual is underway.”
Yoseph silently looked at the ritual she was talking about. He didn’t feel anything. He could only analyze the order of the ritual and the incantation the Crown Prince was chanting.
“Since it’s probably a contract with a god… I think he might have replaced that position with some other demonic being. The meaning of the ancient language that just came out has changed from the original… Hmm, no, wait a minute.”
Yoseph raised his eyebrows and concentrated.
“Black Dragon…”
Hearing him mutter, Roina was surprised and raised her head. Black Dragon. It was a name that couldn’t be found in the Archmage’s library. However, if her memory was correct, the reason the Archmage died completely was because of the Black Dragon’s Orb.
“Black Dragon?”
“Yes, well. It’s not well known in the Kailum Empire. But recently, research materials on ancient magic from the Ryeo Kingdom came in, and I had a chance to read them. According to those materials, it’s a being with opposing power to the Golden Dragon that the first emperor defeated. The Golden Dragon is light and creation, and the Black Dragon is darkness and destruction. It seems too long to explain now…”
Roina held her breath at the mention of the Ryeo Kingdom. It was the country where Ryuhyeon, the man who kidnapped and imprisoned her, came from. Yoseph took a breath and continued.
“It seems the entity they’re trading with in this ritual is the Black Dragon. They’re offering the blood of the Golden Dragon and the people who make up the empire… and the Crown Prince is borrowing the power of darkness and destruction that the Black Dragon possesses. That’s the process.”
Roina closed her mouth at those words. She knew the identity of the entity, the Black Dragon, the essence of darkness, but that wasn’t enough. What was important to her now was stopping the ritual. Not only Yoseph, Lutan, and her, but also the empire’s revolutionary army and the anti-Crown Prince faction were gathered at this New Year’s Banquet. To expose the Crown Prince’s truth here.
If this failed, they would all die. Erika and Jason, who had saved her, as well.
‘I have to find the mana circuit.’
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