*THANG!*
The Chamber of Hell shut close the moment Asher entered inside, and the sound of it closing startled most of them since it was proof that they were not dreaming and that they were about to see the royal consort die.
However, they felt the queen might only feel glad upon his death and that they could only see benefits from this outcome.
More people came to watch from the higher floors just to see if the crippled consort was really that stupid to take part in the trial.
Rebecca’s lips arched into a subtle smile, knowing that today would be the turning point of this kingdom. She was about to gladly activate the chamber when…
“What is this?? Warden Rebecca, don’t activate the chamber. This is the queen’s order!” A woman’s stern shout shook the entire floor as everyone turned their heads around to see a tall woman clad in black armor, head to toe, with a grand crimson cape hanging down her back. There was also a long jet black doubled handed sword sheathed on her back that was almost as tall as her.
Everyone was surprised since they easily recognized her as one of the five feared Bloodborn Guards who always guard the queen! What was one of them doing here, away from the queen?
Based on her weapon itself, they knew it was the Bloodborn Guard named Eradicator, the youngest among the guards but with strength that can’t be underestimated at all. The name was more like a title they earned, but that was all they had. None of them were named since their birth.
However, Darren was glad somebody came to stop this. Now he didn’t have to worry about being held responsible.
Asher was surprised and wondered why Rowena would send one of her Bloodborn Guards here. Did she really think he was in danger even within the Tower of Hell?
Rebecca had the same thought as well and was annoyed that someone was trying to ruin everything.
She scoffed and said, “What can I do if the royal consort insists on doing this? He even signed an agreement that said he would accept the consequences and nobody else would be responsible. What are you even doing here? Isn’t it your duty to be with the queen at all times?”
Eradicator stepped forward as she said in a cold, firm voice, “My duty is more than just protecting her. I also carry out her wishes, and she sent me here to make sure nothing was compromised, considering the attempts on the royal consort’s life before. So I will respectfully ask you one more time to let him out. Even if he insisted you can’t go against the queen’s wishes.”
“Watch it, Eradicator. I am the Floor Warden of this floor, and I decide how things should proceed,” Rebecca didn’t like this bitch’s attitude. Does she think being a sworn loyal guard of the queen would put her above everyone else?
Eradicator remained silent for a moment as she slowly raised her hand to grip the handle of her blade on her back, “Don’t force my hand, Warden Rebecca,” She curtly said in a stony voice. Based on how her voice didn’t even waver for a moment, it was enough to let everyone realize she was not joking!
Rebbeca became even more furious as she pointed her finger at her, “You dare threaten to raise your blade against me?”
Eradicator didn’t move her hand away from the hilt of her blade as she said, “I answer only to the queen and nobody else,” As she said this, a strong, bloody aura radiated from her, making the other demons shiver and feel like they were about to collapse.
Asher narrowed his eyes, feeling that this Bloodborn Guard named Eradicator was quite an interesting character. He wondered if the others were like her too. But he didn’t have time for this as he placed his hand on the glass.
*RINNNN!*
Everyone’s attention was distracted upon hearing the chamber getting activated.
“No…who activated the chamber?!” Eradicator asked in a cold, fierce tone upon seeing a dark fiery circle lighting up in the chamber, which marked the beginning of the trial.
“Hmph, how should I know?” Rebecca shrugged with a smirk, though even she was surprised by what was going on. She wasn’t the one who activated it anyway.
“Didn’t you just say you are the Floor Warden?” Eradicator’s tone became colder.
“Both of you stand down. Don’t disrespect the tower by causing a scene here,” An old man’s distant voice overturned the tension in the entire floor as everyone immediately bowed deeply upon seeing him.
He was wearing a dark silver robe and had white hair draped over his back till his waist, and had a long white beard extending over his chest.
His eyes were a dull red, yet those eyes were as deep as an abyss, and despite looking old, nobody would doubt the immeasurable aura emanating from his entire being.
Everyone knew him as the most powerful and respected figure in the entire tower, Duncan Doru, the Hell Warden and the oldest vampire in the tower as well. If there was a warden for every floor, then he was the warden for the entire tower.
His authority can’t be surpassed by anybody else in this tower, and nobody would dare to. Everybody knew he always stayed within the tower to keep an eye on everything and rarely showed himself outside.
However, the fact that he showed up made everyone realize the situation had turned quite serious.
Even Eradicator bowed deeply upon seeing him and didn’t raise her head till he stepped onto the floor.
However, she immediately said, “Head Warden, this is bad. The queen won’t like what is going to happen now.”
“Why don’t we first wait and see the outcome? There is nothing we can do now,” Duncan said as he turned his head to look at the chamber.
“Hey, how is that possible?”
“Why would the chamber summon a fire slime? Shouldn’t the trial be ineffective for a cripple?”
“No. Maybe it’s just random?”
Some demons started to discuss what was going on, making Eradicator turn her head towards the chamber as well, only to be surprised upon seeing a fire slime floating in the space in front of the royal consort.𝞸𝐯𝐋𝐞xt.𝑐𝗈𝚖
‘A fire slime? Did the chamber summon a random element?’ Rebecca wondered since he was a cripple. Otherwise, those with a mana circuit with an elemental pathway would get to face demons with the same element as them in this trial. Nobody including her had ever witnessed a cripple entering the chamber and had no idea how the chamber should react to one.
But she snorted, thinking that even if it was something as weak as a slime, this pathetic fool would end up dying by simply touching it. Even if he doesn’t dare to touch it, the slime will eventually swallow him up and digest him to nothingness.
Everybody else had the same thought and chortled in their heads thinking about it.
Asher saw the fire slime shooting towards him with a smug face. He chuckled in amusement as he simply took a short breath, and with a casual huff, he simply vaporized it to oblivion, marking the end of the first summoning.
What the fuck just happened?…Everyone had this thought ringing in their heads as they kept blinking their eyes in disbelief.
Did he just vaporize the fire slime by simply blowing at it? Were they dreaming or what?
Darren’s lips were slacked with a baffled look. The crippled consort made the fire slime look like a joke more than it deserved to. He had never seen anybody do that.
“Impossible…” Rebecca mumbled with a stupefied look. That was not a candle flame to simply blow at and get it over with. Not even someone with expertise as Darren would be able to do it, let alone a cripple.
Eradicator’s face was covered with her helmet, but by her body language, one could tell that she was surprised as well, just like everyone else.
“Send the next one,” Asher said with a yawn as he leaned against the glass, making the others come out of their daze and wonder if he was seriously planning to take on the second summoning. He had the chance to quit since the first summoning was over, and yet he was just going with it.
They thought it was by some luck or weird miracle that the fire slime got snuffed out. But no miracle of that sort would happen with the second summoning. It is the summoning where a good number of people die just like the fox girl was about to. And their deaths weren’t pretty at all.
“The Tower can see things we can’t see…That must be why it activated on its own,” Duncan mumbled as he twirled the ends of his beard while closely looking at the chamber.
Eradicator looked at him, wondering if that was really true. But she didn’t understand what it saw in the royal consort.
The dark fiery rune circle shone again, and this time a dark-skinned imp came out with flames flaring from its eyes and from the tip of its spear.
*Kreee!!*
The imp shouted in bloodthirst and excitement as it shot forward, aiming to cripple Asher’s legs and then poke out his eyeballs.
“Too weak,” Asher said with a shake of his head as he raised his right foot and stomped down on its head. Only those with a discerning eye would have noticed his right foot getting covered with a dark green aura for a brief moment.
*KREE—-*
Before the imp could even retaliate, it got crushed under Asher’s feet and got destroyed as well.
The entire floor plunged into pin-drop silence as, this time, most of them couldn’t even process what they just saw.