461 Henrietta's Belief
Suddenly, a sharp wooden spike impaled Ember's thigh, causing her to groan in pain. But as if that wasn't enough to satisfy Queen Sybil, she split the wooden spike into thin little worms that wiggled inside Ember's wound, aggravating and exacerbating her pain.
Ember's cry eventually resounded once she couldn't endure the worm-like wooden splinters wreaking havoc inside her body.
The worm-like splinters entered through her thigh wound but exited from different parts of her body. Then, they drilled back into her body and ate away at it like parasites.
Henrietta was forced to watch Ember tortured in front of herself, and her low mood plummeted further. Her pressure surged under her silent rage.
"Just what the hell do you want, Sybil," Henrietta spat gloomily.
"Your secret. Isn't that obvious?" Sybil coolly smiled before commenting, "It seems Marquis Ember is pretty close to you.
Otherwise, you wouldn't be reacting . So I guess it was a good idea to bring her here. Teach me the secret of your power, and I will spare her life. That is my condition. I will not ask again."
"Don't do it, Your Majesty. A conniving bitch like her will only become a calamity if she gains more power—Arghhh!!"
"I did not permit you to speak."
Queen Sybil did not let Ember finish speaking before she tortured her with great pain. At the same time, Ember's pretty face quickly became bloodied and disfigured under the merciless stomps of her heels.
Henrietta's expression became so dark and ominous that it almost seemed like the sky outside would also darken from grey thunderclouds blotting out the sun.
"Truly an irredeemable fool. Even teaching a horse how to breathe underwater would be easier than trying to get my words through your head. Since you are so stupid, I will remind you again: you lack willpower and perception; your soul is weak! If you don't strengthen it, you will never improve!" Henrietta stated condescendingly.
"Hmph, I see you are also stubborn until the end," Queen Sybil snorted and said, "So be it. Since you don't want to cooperate, don't blame me for what I will do to Marquis Ember."
"Where are you taking her?!" Henrietta barked, seeing Queen Sybil dragging Ember away by the hair.
"Oh, don't worry. I won't kill her right away. Someone like her surely didn't come to my kingdom alone. As such, I still need to interrogate her and catch the remaining rats. After I kill them in front of her, I will torture her until she begs me for death," Queen Sybil stated.
"But why do you still care? Clearly, your secret is more important than their lives; you've already made your choice. So shut up, sit back, and wait for my good news. I'll make sure you feel regret."
"When I get out of this shitty cage, your death won't be pretty, Sybil.
Mark my words!" Henrietta vowed furiously. She would not rest until Sybil suffered hell before death.
However, Queen Sybil didn't take her threat to heart. After all, the person was trapped and couldn't do anything about it.
"Heh. I like to see you try," she snickered.
Shortly after, Queen Sybil left with the Marquis Ember, leaving Henrietta alone inside her cage. But, of course, Henrietta wasn't really alone.
'Master, please help out,' Henrietta mentally requested with a determined look.
Following Henrietta's determined request, the ancient female voice sounded in her head with some disappointment.
'Given another two weeks or so, you would have gotten out on your own. And with Sybil's fusion rate with the holy tree at that point, we could have refined them into an incomparably powerful Spirit Weapon. No, I dare say a Semi-Divine Weapon or even a Divine Weapon is possible with a bit of luck."
'That said, you understand the risk you're about to take if you let me take over, right? You have always been guarded against me. And yet, you are ready to risk everything and put our trust to the test for one subordinate.’
'She's not my subordinate; she's one of my dearest friends, someone who has been with me thick and thin, even before Gehenna existed.
She's family, Master. I can abandon anyone but not family,'
Henrietta declared resolutely.
'In the grand scheme of things...'
'In the grand scheme of things, all life besides your own is insignificant. Treasured friends, families, and lovers of today will merely become fond memories of yesterday. You've said this before, Master.'
"However, what is the point of eternity if you can only spend it alone? I don't know what happens if yours, but to me, such a life isn't worth living. People aren't meant to be alone. How can I be whole if everyone dear to me is gone? A piece of my soul would be missing."
When Henrietta said that, the ancient female soul sharing her body fell into a trance as if she was reminiscing a fond memory from the distant past.
Suddenly, a drop of tears ran down one of Henrietta's cheeks, but it wasn't hers; it was her master's tears.
"So this is what you really think, huh? You've hidden it well. I just wanted to save you from a lifetime of heartache and regret... But as expected of my disciple, you remind me of my younger self. Alright, I should live up to your trust. You don't need to worry about me stealing your body."
'There will be plenty of opportunities for you to create a better one for me in Chaos,' the ancient soul mentioned.
Nevertheless, shortly after Henrietta surrendered her control over her body, the ancient soul took over, causing an overall change in her aura. Even the world itself was affected as the cage rattled and the antimagic array cracked.
It was like the world's laws were trying to stop an incomparable powerful existence from emerging, and in the process, they destroyed the very shackles that kept Henrietta bound within her cage.
The rumbling phenomenon only occurred for a few seconds before it stopped.
However, the holy tree's roots all withered and died like cracked grounds that suffered prolonged droughts, and the antimagic array shattered like glass.
At the same time, blood dripped down from Henrietta's nose.
"Your body is too weak to contain my power for long. I can only reside inside your soul. Anyway, with this much damage, you should be able to get out now."