Chapter 188

Chapter 188

Orka continued to spout his nonsense, while Roxana made it clear she was just barely stomaching. However, when it came to his mention of the golden-haired puppet, he sounded surprisingly sincere.

The White Demon Tamer was the very same culprit who had taken down the knights standing guard outside of Noel Vertium’s quarters mere moments earlier. He had even destroyed the lock on the Gold Master’s door for good measure. Thus, there was a fairly good chance the emerald-eyed clan leader had already reached his precious puppet.

Although he may not have intended to, by dispensing his warrior dolls into Yggdrasil so ruthlessly, he had inadvertently aided the Fipellion. At the rate things were going, Orka would make away with Roxana while Noel took back the puppet he made from Achille’s body.

The White Heir had actually been quite impressed by the relentless obsession he noticed in the Gold Master’s eyes during the hearing. There was something both charming and familiar in the way the young clan leader so desperately longed to possess a thing of beauty in the wily demon tamer’s opinion. And just as Roxana had guessed, her current captor was able to control the demon monsters freely despite the neutral territory’s magic circles.

So many years had passed since their sorcery had sealed off Yggdrasil from the intrusion of such beasts, and without any of the five clans stepping forward to ensure its power was still potent, a massacre akin to the incident from days of old was currently underway. Most had whispered of the unlikelihood that the White clan would simply sit idly by for so many years without drawing up a plan to seize the neutral zone for themselves, and their young heir had proven time and time again just how adept he was at interacting with the most vicious of monsters.

That was the very reason it was possible for him to interact with the beasts just outside of the territory’s barrier where it had no effect on his abilities. It was merely a happy coincidence that he had been in the midst of testing himself a few days prior when he noticed the Vertium puppets making their way into Yggdrasil. He had also been one of the few guests at the castle who had sensed the large swarm of demon monsters charging toward the neutral territory the previous day.

The erratic behavior of the beasts had certainly been a mystery to him, yet Orka could not help smiling ecstatically at the knowledge that chaos was upon them. Just imagining the potential mayhem they would bring to the dull gathering was as delightful to him as being spoon-fed honey. He also reveled in the fact that it would afford him the perfect chance to kidnap the Agreces’ ethereal beauty without being seen in the midst of the commotion.

If it hadn’t been for her going out to face the approaching beasts, he would have followed through with his initial plan the previous morning. Unfortunately for him, the horde had been gobbled up in a flurry of crimson.

Orka couldn’t help but quake with euphoria as he watched the kaleidoscope of poison butterflies blot out the very sun.

There’s truly nothing like Roxana Agrece and her butterflies. Everything had been going his way until Cassis Pedelian showed up and ruined his plan. Even so, that proved irrelevant in the end.

The White Demon Tamer still had one more chance. He had never been a man who would give up the hunt easily. Thus, he returned to patiently waiting for the right time to strike. But as luck would have it, he was finally able to capture the master of the poison butterflies he so desperately yearned to possess the very next day.

“With so much going on at the moment, I’m sure no one will suspect me once they notice that you’ve gone missing.”

In truth, he was simply interested in the butterflies at first, but to his own surprise, he had come to covet both master and beast alike. He wasn’t a fan of her pretentious attitude, but he figured the ecstasy that would overwhelm him from watching her pride and stubbornness crumble at his feet would be worth the headache.

“You... You truly are absolutely demented.” Had he captured anyone else they would have shown fear or outrage at such indignation, but Roxana Agrece merely stared at him coldly. “Let me assure you of one thing, Orka. You will regret everything you’ve done here today.”

“Hmm... I wouldn’t be so sure of that if I were you. Of course, the Blue Heir will likely suspect me.” He smirked as he shrugged his shoulders. “But... I think even that will prove fruitless since no one will be able to find you after today.”

She hardly listened to his retort as she was busy measuring the distance between the two of them. The only weapons she still had in her possession were her poison-tipped earrings and her bracelet that could unravel into a whip. Both would certainly work on the Fipellion, unlike the puppets she had just escaped from.

However, with both of her wrists constrained and the demon tamer’s honed dexterity, the chance of him dodging her attacks was far too great to risk exposing what she still had up her sleeve.

What’s a surefire way to incapacitate this dolt? It was obvious from the way he had rambled on so pompously until then that he had made the fatal mistake of underestimating the Agrece simply because she was unable to use her butterflies. However, he also seemed to have retained some of his wariness while delighting in her capture as he had not crossed the space between them the entire time.

Suddenly, a sound in the distance reached her ears like the whisper of a shallow vibration. It was then that she noticed through one of the butterflies she had held the connection with that those who were hunting for Nix had finally infiltrated the wing.

She couldn’t afford to waste any more time on Orka Fipellion. Although the very idea disgusted her, she had, at last, decided on the most efficient tactic to free herself.

At the same time, the swamp monster pulled her in closer, then sprayed a pollen-like substance in her face. She tried her best to hold her breath, but some of the substance had already made it into her lungs.

“Why don’t you take a quick nap, my sweet Roxana,” he whispered in an amiable tone. “When you awake again, you’ll be inside the most beautiful birdcage made just for you!”

Her crimson eyes flashed one last icy glare at him before her long, blond eyelashes fluttered shut completely. The blurred image of Jeremy and an even blurrier figure following him played across the inside of her eyelids.

A cascade of golden hair fell over her face as her head slumped down.

Orka finally proceeded to move toward her once he was certain that she had fully lost consciousness. At long last, he could finally bask in the joy of having the master of the poison butterflies all to himself. Despite his tremendous exuberance, it was not yet the time for him to claim victory.

He felt that something either human or puppet-like was approaching their location. Thus, he accepted it would be wiser to hide the gargantuan demon monster before he could be found out. He boldly stepped toward the demon monster’s vines in order to take Roxana into his arms.

Ten...

Nine...

Eight...

Before long, the steps finally came to a halt. He took hold of the constrained Agrece, then removed her from the creature’s grip. It was at that exact moment that her scarlet eyes snapped open again. As soon as he met her cold, crimson gaze, he realized that the tranquilizer pollen had not had any effect on her.

“How’d y—? Mmph!”

She gripped his collar tightly, then yanked his head toward her face. Defenseless, the White Heir could do nothing but allow his head to bow toward her as she proceeded to strangle him. Before he could even think of how to retaliate, she made her deadly strike.

He barely noticed when it had happened, but she was suffocating him in an entirely different fashion than her initial attack. Unlike the soft hands she had used to choke him, her silky lips pressed so forcefully into his that he imagined his own would melt from the contact instantaneously. Even so, it was hardly the sort of act an observer would have described as a proper kiss.

In the brief instant Orka had become intoxicated by the sensation of her mouth against his, Roxana was already fast at work in viciously biting away at his lips.

“Mmrf! Mmurgh!”

Meanwhile, the poison in her saliva passed from her lips and down his throat until he felt his throat begin to swell shut. He was bewildered by such an unexpected outcome, yet he was quickly distracted by the abnormal activity taking place inside his body.

Yank.

Try as he might to direct the swamp monster to tear her away from him, Roxana’s vice-like grip on his collar only led to him getting dragged along with her as the vines thrust her back into the air.

“Hurgh! Mmmph!”

He struggled with all of his strength to push her away, but her grip tightened with every thrash. Before long, the paralyzing effects of her poison began to spread throughout his body. Then she suddenly felt something rough scrape against her tongue.

A sinister spark flashed across her red eyes for a moment, then in the next instant she bit down on the slippery muscle and ripped it out with her teeth. Almost simultaneously, the vines that had wrapped around her wrists and waist went limp. As soon as she sensed that the demon tamer was no longer of any use to her, she flung him to the ground.

“Agh! Urgh!”

He raised his trembling hand up to shield his mouth, then scurried backward. A trail of blood stretched out in front of him like an ominous reminder of the assault he had just endured. Within seconds, the hand he had used to cover his wounded orifice was also drenched in thick, red liquid that continued to flow out despite his stunted efforts to stop it.

Roxana’s own ruby lips were also stained with his blood. She glared at the quaking Fipellion with eyes as cold as a blizzard as she wiped away the stream of hot, red liquid making its way down her chin.

All the while, the demon monster roared behind him as he had lost control of the beast. She then spat out a trinket that had found its way inside of her mouth. As it landed on the marble floor near her feet, she noticed a tiny jewel was adhered to the tongue fragment she had bitten off much like a piercing.

It was indeed a demon-taming jewel that had been embedded in the piercing Orka had worn on his tongue until just moments ago. Not only that, but a considerable chunk of his tongue had come off along with it since she had ripped it out rather viciously.

Just like the gemstone her older sister Grizelda had engraved with her sorcery and instructed Roxana to hide on her body as a piercing before her trip to the Gold manor, it was apparent that the White Heir had employed a similar method to conceal a charm containing his contract with the swamp demon.

“Honestly...” She turned her head to spit out any remaining blood and fluid from her mouth before looking back at the sniveling man. “You’re even more pathetic than I ever could have imagined.” She glared as she watched him convulse and spew blood everywhere. “Did you honestly think you’d get to have your way with me by using some cheap parlor trick?”

He managed to slink his trembling body toward a nearby wall, then prop himself up against it before turning back to look at her. His eyes were full of rage unlike any she had ever seen directed at her before. Despite being under the influence of her poison, he reached out toward her with his hands still shaking.

The Agrece could have easily dodged his grasp, but she allowed herself to get caught instead since she could hear the sound of hurried footsteps approaching them.

“You little...” Just as she had grabbed his collar only moments prior, he now had a shaky hold of hers and used what strength he could muster to slam her against the wall he had been leaning on. “You fink you can ged oway wid di—?”

Despite the growling tone of his voice, his eloquent locution had been severely downgraded after losing half of his tongue.

“Xana!”

Jeremy Agrece had turned a corner and was suddenly barreling down the corridor toward his sister and her assailant. Thanks to the guidance of her butterfly, he had found her without running into any interference at all.

“Miss Agrece!”

Behind him were Pandora Fipellion and several other guards. They were the exact same group she had seen through her winged demon just before feigning unconsciousness.

“Wait!”

“A... A demon!”

The demon monster was still in full view despite having abandoned Orka’s control. The sheer sight of the muddy beast caused even the trained warriors of the small group to shout out in horror. Only Jeremy continued to charge toward his sister since the White Heir still had her pinned against the wall.

“You bastard!”

Jeremy lunged at the older man with frightening speed to deal him a devastating blow.