Rise Of The Dual Bound Sovereign

CHAPTER 9: Treasure

Only then did he turn his attention back to Azrael.

He stretched out his hand and Azrael immediately felt his throat tighten. An invisible force wrapped around his neck and slowly lifted him from the ground.

Azrael clawed at his throat, struggling for breath as his feet slowly left the ground.

Severin looked at him indifferently.

"You know, had you kept your mouth shut and pretended to know nothing, you could have lived out the rest of your miserable life in peace."

His voice remained calm, as though he were discussing the weather.

"A smart man knows there are truths he shouldn't touch and secrets he shouldn't uncover."

Severin took a step forward.

"Unfortunately, you chose neither."

Azrael glared at him through bloodshot eyes, hatred burning within them.

"Tell me, Azrael," Severin continued. "Did you truly think I would let you walk away after this?"

The invisible force around Azrael's neck tightened further.

"Still..." Severin's gaze briefly shifted toward Helene's lifeless body lying on the bed. "Considering how desperately you've clung to your mother all these years..."

He looked back at Azrael.

"Perhaps this is for the best. Since you miss her so much..."

The pressure around Azrael's neck suddenly intensified.

"I might as well send you to her… Consider this my final gift as your father."

Then Severin slowly clenched his outstretched hand.

Causing Azrael to release his final breath. The light in his eyes gradually faded as his body fell lifelessly to the ground.

—-----

As Azrael assimilated the last of the memories, he finally remembered everything that had happened.

The events that led to his death, the humiliation he had to go through, his mother's suffering, the injustice she endured, and the talent that had been forcibly stolen from him as a child.

His eyes gradually turned cold a the confusion that had filled his mind vanished, replaced by a hatred he would never forget for as long as he lived.

The confusion in his eyes gradually faded, replaced by an icy coldness. A deep-seated hatred took root in his heart, one that he would never forget for as long as he lived.

After a while, Azrael managed to rein in his emotions. He took a deep breath and looked around, carefully examining his surroundings.

He was still within the Ten Thousand Beast Forest, and in his current state, he was nothing more than easy prey. Although he was no longer a cripple and had finally awakened an element, he was still at the bottom of the food chain here.

“I have to leave this forest,” Azrael muttered under his breath.

However, that was easier said than done. He didn't even know which part of the forest he was in. Everything around him looked the same, and moving in the wrong direction would only lead him deeper into the forest.

HISS!!

Just then, his twin soul—Azrith suddenly hissed and flicked his tongue toward a particular direction. Being connected to him, Azrael instantly understood what he was trying to convey.

Azrith had sensed a faint trace of blood coming from that direction. For now it was their only lead.

Just as he was about to move, Azrael suddenly froze and glanced down at himself. There wasn’t a single shred of cloth on him—he was completely naked.

“Damn… don’t tell me I have to walk around like this.”

Azrael rubbed his forehead in frustration. “Sigh… how am I supposed to leave this forest without clothes?”

With no other choice, he followed behind Azrith.

—--------

“Arghhh!!”

Azrael and Azrith suddenly halted as a loud, pain-filled scream echoed through the area.

As the scream died down, they quickly moved toward its source and hid behind a patch of thick bushes, observing the scene without exposing themselves.

“You bastards! How could you do this to me?” an injured youth shouted angrily, coughing up blood.

A deep gash stretched across his chest, blood steadily dripping from the wound.

Standing before him were two other youths around his age. They stood side by side, their cooperation making it obvious that they had joined forces against him.

“We all agreed that whoever got the treasure first would keep it. How could you go back on your word?” the injured youth said through gritted teeth.

“Hahaha—!” one of the two youths suddenly burst into laughter.

“Isn’t it obvious?” he said with a mocking smile. “We lied.”

He looked at the injured youth with amusement.

“Honestly, I didn’t think you would be this gullible. What made you think two strangers would let you walk away with such a treasure just because you got to it first?”

The injured youth stared at them, a mixture of hate and shame filling his eyes. At that moment, he finally realized how foolish he had been.

This was a world where power was the ultimate currency. Even families wouldn’t hesitate to betray each other for a chance to grow stronger, yet he had believed two strangers would honor their word.

In the end, he chose to compromise. In his current condition, he could barely fight one of them, much less both at the same time.

“Fine… I’ll give you one of the fruits.”

The duo exchanged a glance before shaking their heads.

“You still don’t understand, do you?” one of them said calmly. “You’re not in any position to negotiate.”

He paused briefly. “Besides… we don’t plan on letting you leave alive.”

“W-what?” the injured youth stammered, his voice trembling. He was finally afraid.

Originally, he thought that handing over the fruits would be enough to spare his life, but now it was clear they had no such intention.

“You can’t blame us,” the youth continued. “It would be stupid to let someone we’ve made an enemy of live. What if you come back for revenge later?”

“I won’t! I… I promise!” the injured youth said desperately.

The duo shrugged.

“Yeah… unfortunately, we have trust issues.”

With that, both youths released their auras, preparing to attack.

From his hiding place, Azrael slowly shook his head. He actually felt a bit of pity for the injured youth, but this was simply how the world worked. He himself had been killed for no other reason than being deemed worthless.

Seeing that a fight could break out at any moment, both Azrael and Azrith quietly moved further away, putting some distance between themselves and the trio to avoid being caught in the crossfire.

Just as he expected, the injured youth finally snapped.

“Since you want me dead…” he shouted, his voice filled with madness. “Then let’s all die together!”

“Have you finally lost your mind?” one of the youths scoffed. “How do you plan to do that? You can’t even kill a fly in your current state.”

The injured youth ignored them. With a sudden burst of speed, he rushed toward the duo.

They were both caught off guard, momentarily stunned by his reckless charge.

As he closed the distance, his aura suddenly flared wildly, becoming unstable. It was at that moment the duo finally realized what he was trying to do.

Their expressions changed instantly.

“Shit!”

They turned to run, but it was already too late.

In desperation, one of them pulled out a translucent orb and crushed it. Almost instantly, a golden sphere formed around his body, shielding him.

*BOOOOOM!!!!!*

A massive explosion shook the entire area. The ground trembled violently as broken limbs, flesh, and debris flew everywhere.

When the dust settled, the only person out of the trio who still had an intact corpse was the one who used the defensive treasure. Even then, burn marks covered his skin, and his cloths were badly tattered.

Even the defensive treasure failed to completely shield him from the explosion.

Azrael stared at the scene in shock.

He had expected a fight, but not this. He hadn’t thought the injured youth would go this far and detonate himself.

Most people would rather put up a futile struggle, than choose such an ending.

“It’s a good thing I moved away when I did,” Azrael muttered, looking at the devastation.

“Well, at the very least, my clothing situation has been solved,” Azrael said, while looking towards the youth with the intact corpse.

He walked over and stripped him of his clothes. The clothes were a bit loose on him and slightly tattered, but it'll have to do for now.

Just as he was about to leave, his eyes caught sight of the sack the injured youth had been protecting.

Surprisingly, it hadn’t been destroyed by the explosion. In fact, it looked almost untouched, as though some invisible force had shielded it.

Azrael walked toward it and carefully picked it up.

“Could this be the treasure they were talking about?” he muttered as he examined the sack.