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Chapter 139 — The Unknown Royal Blood
The sky slowly cleared, the blinding divine light fading as if it had never existed.
Azel's power vanished.
His body could no longer endure the strain.
He collapsed.
---
From a distance, a pair of calm eyes watched silently.
They belonged to a small boy, standing beside several soldiers clad in unfamiliar armor. Each soldier bore an ancient royal symbol, unlike anything known on Earth.
The boy raised his hand.
"Take him," he said calmly.
"And bring him with us."
The soldiers bowed and moved at once.
---
Five Hours Later
Azel's eyes slowly opened.
Pain throbbed through his body.
Above him stretched a vast ceiling carved with glowing symbols. Tall pillars lined the hall, and the air carried a quiet, heavy authority.
"…Where am I?" Azel muttered.
Before him stood the same small boy.
"This is the royal palace," the boy said with a gentle smile.
"My name is Sael."
Azel sat up slowly, still disoriented.
Before he could ask anything, a familiar presence appeared beside him.
"You've been unconscious for five hours," Lare said.
Azel turned his head.
"Lare…"
Lare hovered nearby, his spirit form faint but steady.
"They brought you here," Lare continued.
"Soldiers wearing a royal emblem."
Lare's gaze fixed on the symbol engraved into the palace wall.
His expression tightened.
"I've lived for over a hundred years," he said slowly,
"watched kingdoms rise and fall."
He paused.
"But this symbol…"
"I've never seen a royal family mark like this—not in any era."
Azel frowned.
Before he could respond—
Sael smiled brightly.
"Hey, mister," he said.
"What are you looking at?"
Before Azel could answer—
A violent surge of dark mana ripped through the air.
A blade formed entirely of mana shot straight toward Azel's head.
CLANG!
Azel tilted his body instinctively. The blade missed by inches and shattered against a pillar.
At the hall entrance stood a boy.
Black hair. Cold eyes. Dark mana coiled tightly around him—not corrupted, not chaotic.
Controlled.
A blade of dark mana formed in his hand.
Azel's eyes widened.
"That mana…"
"Dark Mage power?"
The boy didn't respond.
He attacked.
Slash after slash—fast, sharp, merciless.
But none of them touched Azel.
Azel dodged calmly, his body still weakened.
"BROTHER, STOP!"
Sael rushed forward.
"He's my friend! Don't hurt him!"
The boy turned sharply, rage burning in his eyes.
"Move, Sael!" he shouted.
"He's a devil! One of those who betrayed our family!"
Sael stepped in front of Azel without hesitation.
"No," Sael said firmly.
"He's not like them."
"He's different."
The soldiers rushed in, trying to restrain the attacker.
But the boy—Saen, Sael's elder brother—broke free as dark mana exploded around him.
"I DON'T CARE!"
He charged again.
This time—
Azel moved.
One step.
One strike.
A clean punch slammed into Saen's core, sending him flying across the hall. He crashed into a pillar and collapsed unconscious.
Silence filled the palace.
---
Later
Saen lay on a large bed inside a guarded chamber, bandages wrapped tightly around his body.
Slowly, his eyes opened.
Standing in front of him—
Azel.
The moment Saen woke, instinct took over.
He tried to strike.
But before he could move—
Azel sidestepped and drove a single punch straight into Saen's abdomen.
THUD!
All the air left Saen's lungs.
His body curled as pain exploded through him, and darkness claimed him once again.
---
One Hour Later
Saen woke up a second time.
His body trembled.
Azel was still standing there.
This time, Saen did not attack.
Azel leaned forward slightly, a faint devilish smile appearing on his face.
"Do you want another punch?" Azel asked calmly.
Saen's eyes widened in fear.
"I— I don't!"
"I don't want it!"
The smile vanished.
Azel's expression turned serious—cold and focused.
He stepped closer.
"Then answer me," Azel said firmly.
His eyes locked onto Saen's.
"How did you get that power?"
"…Dark Mage power."
Saen swallowed hard, fear flooding his face.
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